Born with Luck

Two days later.

"How is this possible?" Qi Zhenxing widened his eyes as he flipped through the thick stack of reports in his hand. "Zhang Yi'ang managed to arrest Zhou Rong's entire gang, two robbery-murder suspects, Zhu Yifei's criminal organization, and two home-invading killers—all in a single day?" Over the past few days, Qi Zhenxing had been attending training in Beijing. During that time, Director Zhao had already informed him over the phone about Zhang Yi'ang cracking multiple major cases—all on the same day. With just Li Qian, two junior officers from the local police station, and a tow truck driver, five unarmed individuals had captured over a dozen armed criminals, setting an unprecedented record in the nation's law enforcement history.

"That's right. The day after Zhang Yi'ang solved the cases, higher-level public security authorities and government leaders came to commend him. This time, Zhang Yi'ang single-handedly infiltrated the criminals' hideout and even sustained serious injuries during the arrests." Director Zhao, who had previously held biases against Zhang Yi'ang, now beamed with pride. Although the credit once again went to Zhang Yi'ang, the entire Three Rivers Estuary Public Security Bureau had basked in the glory. As the bureau's office director and spokesperson, he had never had much opportunity to address the media before. But in the past two days alone, he had exhausted an entire pen drafting press releases. When questioned by leaders at various levels, he recounted the case with such enthusiasm that it almost seemed as if he and Zhang Yi'ang had worked side by side to apprehend the criminals.

Qi Zhenxing remained silent. Logically, he should be happy—this was a major achievement for the entire bureau. Yet, during these critical days, he had been away on a business trip, completely absent from the action. Even those who hadn’t participated in the arrests could claim they had contributed to logistics, assisting in the successful operation. Even Director Zhao now acted as if he were part of the criminal investigation team. But Qi Zhenxing had been in Beijing the whole time, and everyone knew this breakthrough had nothing to do with him, the bureau’s top leader.

"How badly was Zhang Yi'ang injured?" Qi Zhenxing had read in one of Director Zhao’s reports that Zhang Yi'ang had been shot by a Type 64 pistol. The bullet had missed his femoral artery by just five centimeters, posing a significant risk to his life. Though Qi Zhenxing had always harbored dissatisfaction toward Zhang Yi'ang, he couldn’t help but feel a twinge of admiration for the man who had risked his life for this honor.

"Zhang Yi'ang is still in the hospital, but don’t worry—he’s fine. The bullet hit him in the buttocks. The doctor said he’ll just have a scar, but it won’t affect his mobility at all."

"But didn’t you write that he nearly hit his femoral artery and was in life-threatening danger?"

Director Zhao chuckled. "A bit of dramatic flair, that’s all."

Qi Zhenxing nodded reluctantly. Seeing Director Zhao now siding with Zhang Yi'ang, even exaggerating a buttock wound as a near-fatal femoral artery injury, he couldn’t help but scoff. Why not claim the bullet missed his heart by half a meter and could have killed him instantly?

The entire bureau was now immersed in the joy of this monumental success—what could he do? He had even complained about Zhang Yi'ang to Zhou Weidong. Now, Zhou Weidong’s arrest was only a matter of time, and Gao Dong would naturally become the biggest beneficiary of Zhou Weidong’s downfall.

Sitting alone in his chair, Qi Zhenxing racked his brain over how to handle the situation moving forward. Suddenly, an idea struck him. If even Director Zhao—who had once openly clashed with Zhang Yi'ang—could now cheer for him, why couldn’t he swallow his pride and have a good talk with Zhang Yi'ang, this junior colleague of his, to bury the hatchet?Now, looking at Zhang Yi'ang—a man wholly devoted to his work, fearless in solving cases, and utterly sincere—Qi Zhenxing found himself growing fonder of him by the minute. He immediately decided, "This brother is mine to claim!"

In a private ward at Three Rivers Estuary First People's Hospital.

Due to his injured backside, Zhang Yi'ang had been lying sprawled on the bed like a large turtle since being admitted, his head tilted to one side as he listened to Wang Ruijun recount the interrogation progress of the various criminal groups.

Within Zhou Rong's gang, including Zhou Rong himself, many had been arrested but remained tight-lipped. However, since they were caught at the crime scene with irrefutable evidence, confessions were only a matter of time.

Fang Chao and Liu Zhi admitted to multiple instances of making explosives and committing robberies but denied killing Lin Kai, insisting he had died in the car on his own. They also denied murdering Liu Bei, claiming his body had been swapped to them by Gang Ge and Xiao Mao.

Gang Ge and Xiao Mao admitted to killing Li Penggai but denied murdering Liu Bei, saying his body had been seized from someone else.

The identity of this "someone else" was revealed through questioning Zhu Yifei's accomplices—it was none other than Huo Zheng, who remained at large.

In short, each group had confessed to some crimes, but how these previously unrelated gangs had come together remained a mystery to them and, after days of interrogation, to the police as well. Verifying the details of their crimes would keep the investigative team busy for months.

Wang Ruijun summarized the current findings and pinpointed the critical breakthrough: "If not for you, Director, infiltrating the enemy at great personal risk, severely injuring yourself to cripple Zhou Rong's gang at the crucial moment, we wouldn't have caught a single one of them. A horrific mass murder could have occurred!"

Zhang Yi'ang didn't shy away from acknowledging his contribution. That decisive, game-changing move had been driven by his sense of duty as a police officer. The wound on his backside was undeniable proof. Even the criminals expressed grudging admiration during interrogations—none had ever seen a deputy police chief of his rank go undercover alone to confront armed criminals. "Losing to Zhang Yi'ang—I, Zhang Debing, accept defeat," one said. "I underestimated mainland police," admitted Zhu Yifei.

After analyzing the case in detail, Zhang Yi'ang asked, "Has Zhou Rong's gang revealed anything involving Executive Deputy Director Zhou Weidong?"

"Zhou Rong's inner circle still refuses to talk, but their underlings mentioned Zhou Weidong being Zhou Rong's protector."

"Any evidence?"

"The most damning evidence was on the flash drive, which has been handed over to higher authorities. It implicates many officials. Rumor has it the Ministry of Public Security and Central Commission for Discipline Inspection have launched a joint investigation—no one on that list will escape. A government contact told me Luo Ziyue was taken from his home by disciplinary authorities late last night. These are economic crimes, though. Zhou Rong's inner circle's silence likely stems from Director Lu's disappearance."

Reading Wang Ruijun's expression, Zhang Yi'ang guessed the outcome: "Director Lu was killed by Zhou Rong, wasn't he?"

Wang Ruijun nodded grimly.According to one of Zhou Rong's henchmen, a year ago, the higher-level disciplinary committee received an anonymous tip about the corruption of Luo Ziyue, the mayor of Three Rivers Estuary. The tip included numerous photos of Luo Ziyue and Zhou Rong entering private venues at different times and locations. After investigating Luo Ziyue, the disciplinary committee found no concrete evidence of corruption and could only issue him a warning, advising him to keep his distance from businessmen. Later, Zhou Rong and Luo Ziyue secretly investigated who had taken the photos and discovered that Lu Zheng, the deputy director of the Three Rivers Estuary Public Security Bureau, had been tailing them for a long time. Unsure of what other evidence Lu Zheng might have, Luo Ziyue suggested Zhou Rong have him eliminated to prevent future trouble.

Zhou Rong assigned his most trusted subordinate, Zhang Debing, to handle Lu Zheng. Zhang Debing sought out Xiao Fei, a recently released convict, and offered him one million yuan to kill someone. Xiao Fei, too afraid to commit murder, contacted fugitive Li Feng, who ultimately didn’t go through with it either. When hiring someone to kill Lu Zheng failed, Zhang Debing killed Xiao Fei to prevent leaks. Then, one night when Lu Zheng was tailing Luo Ziyue, Zhang Debing personally murdered Lu Zheng, tied his body to rocks, and dumped it into the river.

This account came from one of Zhang Debing’s underlings. Given the gravity of the homicide case, the criminal interrogation team is still questioning Zhang Debing, who knows full well that confessing would mean the death penalty and has refused to admit anything so far. However, Wang Ruijun believes it’s only a matter of days before Zhang Debing cracks under pressure as others’ interrogations yield more breakthroughs. Once confronted with irrefutable evidence of the murder, Zhou Rong, Hu Jianren, and other core members of the organization will also be forced to confess.

Aside from Zhou Rong’s own group, Lang Bowen also acted as one of his henchmen, responsible for many past criminal activities. However, by the time the police went looking for Lang Bowen, he had already disappeared. His company is currently managed by his younger brother, Lang Botu. Although Lang Botu is also closely associated with Zhou Rong, existing evidence hasn’t implicated him yet.

Zhang Yi'ang pondered for a moment. While a series of major cases had been solved and many criminals apprehended, one case remained shrouded in mystery.

"Has Zhou Rong’s group confessed to killing Ye Jian?"

"No, they all deny any involvement in Ye Jian’s murder. They claim Ye Jian was Zhou Rong’s closest friend and that harming him would be unthinkable."

Zhang Yi'ang frowned. "Did you question them thoroughly?"

"We used every interrogation technique available. I told Zhou Rong, 'Stop pretending—Hu Jianren already admitted you ordered Ye Jian’s killing.' Zhou Rong shot back, 'Can’t you cops at least make your baiting sound professional? Why would I kill Ye Jian?' I told Hu Jianren the same thing, saying Zhou Rong had confessed, and he also mocked our questioning, insisting Zhou Rong would never allow anyone to harm Ye Jian. When I tried the same approach with Zhang Debing, his response mirrored theirs. During the interrogation, I got the sense that Ye Jian’s murder really had nothing to do with Zhou Rong, and this morning confirmed it."

"What happened this morning?"

"Someone found Lu Yibo’s body by the river. He’d been dead for several days, and the method resembled Ye Jian’s murder. Zhou Rong’s group has been frantically searching for the USB drive these past few days—they wouldn’t have had the time or motive to kill Lu Yibo."

"Wait—Lu Yibo is dead?" Zhang Yi'ang suddenly bolted upright from his hospital bed.

"Yeah."

"Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?!"Zhang Yi'ang immediately got out of bed, grabbed the pair of crutches nearby, and limped toward the door. Wang Ruijun hurried over to support him: "Director, where are you going?"

"To Lu Yibo's crime scene!"

"You... you're injured, don't aggravate your wounds. We've already sent people to investigate—you don't need to go personally."

"I don't need to go personally?" Zhang Yi'ang glared at him angrily. "Some bastard killed Ye Jian and framed me for it. I'm not afraid of not finding him out—if he's got the guts to try again, I'll drag him out myself!" Wang Ruijun kept urging him to calm down, reminding him that the doctor had ordered at least half a month of bed rest and that they could handle the case. But how could Zhang Yi'ang suppress his fury? Just after taking office in Three Rivers Estuary, someone had set him up. He was burning to find the culprit. Shoving Wang Ruijun aside, he pushed open the hospital room door and moved swiftly on his crutches, leaving the nurses chasing after him, shouting, "The patient's running away! The patient's running away!" No one could catch up to him.