In the conference room of the Provincial Public Security Department, after the morning's routine study report meeting, the director asked everyone to stay for a few more minutes as he had an announcement to make.
"Just last night, the Three Rivers Estuary Public Security Bureau successfully apprehended Mei Dong. Some of you may not be familiar with Mei Dong. This year, the financial regulatory authorities led by the State Council, in collaboration with our public security departments, have been cracking down on underground banks to combat foreign exchange outflows. Mei Dong is a key figure behind multiple underground banks. According to prior investigations, Mei Dong not only established dozens of foreign trade import-export companies to facilitate currency exchange and overseas transfers but also had deep collaborations with several domestic and international underground banks. Capturing Mei Dong marks another major achievement in our province's fight against financial crimes this year!"
The attendees around the conference table burst into applause, their gazes turning toward Gao Dong.
"Gao Dong, your protégé is quite capable," the director praised.
"Just luck, just luck," Gao Dong replied modestly with a smile.
"No need to be humble—this isn’t about praising you. I heard Mei Dong had been operating overseas all along, and it was Zhang Yi'ang who orchestrated the operation to bring him back. As for the arrest of Li Feng, the Ministry hasn’t yet finalized the commendation documents, but the bureau was informed that the Three Rivers Estuary Criminal Police Team would receive a collective first-class merit. And now, not long after, Mei Dong has been captured. What do you think—should the bureau reward the team this time, or the individual?"
"It must be a team effort."
The director chuckled. "It could be both—a team commendation, plus individual recognition. I heard Mei Dong almost escaped during the arrest. He fled to an underground parking garage and ran into Zhang Yi'ang, who was alone, unarmed, and completely unprepared. Mei Dong had a knife, but Zhang Yi'ang charged straight at him, fought, and subdued him in just a few moves—without a scratch on himself. Impressive!"
Everyone nodded in agreement. Solving cases and apprehending criminals wasn’t unusual—Gao Dong himself had cracked many cases in the past—but arrests were usually handled by the rank-and-file officers. For a leading cadre to single-handedly capture a suspect, that kind of courage alone commanded deep respect.
Just then, a man in his fifties sitting beside the director cleared his throat. With a square jaw, large ears, and an authoritative bearing, he was unmistakably a high-ranking official even without a uniform. This was Zhou Weidong.
"I believe we should carefully reconsider the issue of individual commendations, with a focus on evaluating the individual’s daily work conduct and character."
"Of course," the director nodded, sensing something unspoken in his words. "Weidong, is there a problem?"
Zhou Weidong leaned in and whispered a few words to the director. Moments later, the director’s expression shifted subtly.
The others watched the exchange, unsure of what was being discussed.
"Extraction of confession by torture?" The director’s voice rose slightly on these words, ensuring everyone heard. He glanced around the room, then at Gao Dong, realizing that since the matter was now out in the open, leaving it unresolved today could lead to negative repercussions.
Frowning, the director addressed the group frankly. "Someone has reported to the bureau that Comrade Zhang Yi'ang engaged in extraction of confession by torture during the investigation process."Gao Dong noticed that the director still referred to Zhang Yi'ang as "comrade," which indicated the issue wasn't too serious. Extraction of confession by torture—every local criminal investigation team engaged in it to some extent. When dealing with stubborn criminals, what else could you do if they refused to confess without some coercion? Officially, it was strictly prohibited, but in practice, most turned a blind eye as long as it wasn't excessive. What had Zhang Yi'ang done to someone that it was escalated to the provincial department? Gao Dong knew nothing about the situation, so he kept silent without expressing an opinion.
Zhou Weidong feigned concern and asked, "Xiao Gao, do you know anything about this?"
Uncertain how deep Zhou Weidong's trap was, Gao Dong chose to distance himself first. "After he was assigned to fieldwork, he no longer reported to the provincial department. I'm not very clear about his recent work."
A leader nearby curiously asked, "How is the suspect? Is it serious?"
This question made Zhou Weidong pause. Qi Zhenxing had reported the matter to his secretary early that morning. The nature of the incident wasn't severe. Initially, Zhou Weidong had only brought it up to suppress the commendation the director was about to announce on the spot. But the director had spoken a bit too loudly, and everyone heard the words "extraction of confession by torture," forcing Zhou Weidong to address it openly.
"The suspect's physical condition isn't too serious, but the method of extracting a confession by torture is highly inappropriate."
Someone else asked, "What exactly did he do to the suspect?"
"Zhang Yi'ang threatened to detain the suspect—who lacked concrete evidence of a crime—and have someone... have someone beat his—" He had intended to say "beat his prostate," but given the formal setting, he changed it to "beat his head in."
"Did he actually go through with it?" The others were shocked. Taking an untried suspect to a detention center to beat them up was a serious violation of the law. If anything went wrong, the public security department would be held accountable.
"He... he hasn't done it yet."
Seeing Zhou Weidong's expression, Gao Dong already had a rough idea of what had happened and quietly sighed in relief. Calmly, he said, "So Zhang Yi'ang threatened the suspect during interrogation but didn't actually carry it out, right?"
Zhou Weidong coughed and nodded.
"Well then..." Gao Dong chuckled, and the others followed suit.
One person remarked, "Threatening extraction of confession by torture—is that 'verbal torture'? Heh, what's the big deal? Back when I was in criminal investigation, we were much worse. We—" He paused, realizing such talk was inappropriate for the occasion, and quickly corrected himself. "Minor flaws are inevitable in fieldwork. If suspects can't be hit, scolded, or even intimidated, how are investigators supposed to interrogate them if they refuse to cooperate? It's just the reality of our system. If verbal threats count as extraction of confession by torture, how are frontline officers supposed to do their jobs?"
Everyone nodded in agreement, even those close to Zhou Weidong.
Gao Dong sneered inwardly. Zhang Yi'ang had lucked out big time. After this meeting, if the provincial department didn't award him a major commendation, word would spread that the provincial authorities forbade even scolding suspects. That would demoralize the frontline officers—who would care about solving cases then? All the leaders understood this logic. Zhang Yi'ang's commendation was now set in stone. Zhou Weidong had tried to play a trick but ended up worse off.
After the meeting, Gao Dong returned to his office and immediately called Zhang Yi'ang.Zhang Yi'ang was racking his brains on how to apprehend the two robbers before Zhou Rong when Director Gao's direct line rang.
Director Gao revealed three things over the phone: First, regarding the recent capture of Li Feng, the Ministry of Public Security would award the Three Rivers Estuary Criminal Police Team with a collective first-class merit. Second, last night's arrest of Mei Dong had earned high praise from the provincial police chief. Based on his estimation, the team would likely receive another collective first-class merit, while he personally would be awarded at least a second-class merit. Third, someone had reported negative remarks about him to Zhou Weidong, but it wasn't an immediate concern—just something to be wary of. Director Gao speculated that the only person who could directly report workplace matters to Zhou Weidong was Qi Zhenxing. For now, he advised against provoking Qi Zhenxing and to prioritize the bigger picture.
After Director Gao finished, Zhang Yi'ang immediately reported the robbery of Zhou Rong's USB drive, which contained crucial evidence. This sudden revelation shocked Director Gao. After recovering from his surprise, he asked, "What's your plan?"
"I will exhaust all means, overcome every difficulty, deploy comprehensive measures, and execute precise strikes to ensure we capture the two robbers before Zhou Rong gets to them."
"Speak plainly!"
"I've stationed people to monitor every move at Zhou Rong's villa. Police are also posted at all bus stations and major transit points. But we don't have clear facial descriptions of the suspects, and our criminal police team is understaffed. The additional officers I can mobilize are limited, so—"
Without wasting words, Director Gao cut in, "How many more men do you need?"
Zhang Yi'ang thought it over. Director Gao was now working at the provincial level, not a local unit, so he didn't have direct command over personnel. Asking for too many might be unrealistic—he didn’t want to put his superior in a tough spot. Still, Director Gao’s influence could probably secure a few dozen officers from neighboring cities. "If... if I could get twenty experienced criminal police officers, I'd be much more confident."
"I'll give you two hundred. They'll arrive by this afternoon. Once they're here, you just give the orders—don’t worry about bureaucratic red tape. I want them caught within three—no, make it a week. One week at most."
Two hundred officers? Zhang Yi'ang had never commanded such a large force in his life. His heart swelled with excitement, and he repeatedly promised to get the job done.
"Remember, label these two as suspects in the terrorist bombing case and Yang Wei's murder. Don’t mention Zhou Rong."
"Understood."
After hanging up, Zhang Yi'ang rubbed his hands together. Two hundred additional officers arriving in just a few hours—Director Gao truly was full of surprises. Now it was time to go all out. On the other end of the line, Director Gao also rubbed his hands after hanging up. Once that USB drive was recovered, both Zhou Rong and Zhou Weidong would be finished. The thought stirred his excitement. A moment later, he frowned and pinched himself. Was he really relying on Zhang Yi'ang to crack this case? Could this be a dream?
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