Chapter 18: I Know How to Do This!
Mengyang County Investigation Division.
Wang Chao and the Fatty were brought into the conference room.
“What exactly are you up to?”
“With what you’ve done, there’s no way the two of us are walking out of here.”
Even now, Liu the Fatty still had no idea what kind of trick Wang Chao was playing.
“Heh.”
“Look at you, so spineless.”
“Believe it or not, not only will I walk out of here today, but I’ll also take my brother Huang Ming with me…”
Before Liu the Fatty could finish hearing Wang Chao’s boast, two figures entered the room.
Lin Ziwei took the seat first, her expression laced with a cold sneer.
“I’m really curious—what makes you think you can walk out of here with anyone?”
Her gaze toward Wang Chao was brimming with mockery.
Beside her, Luan Yuan raised an eyebrow, sizing up the two men.
“Heh.”
Wang Chao truly didn't seem anxious at all, and said softly, “I haven’t done anything illegal. On what grounds are you detaining me?”
“Hmph.”
“Save the nonsense. Since you’ve come back of your own accord, you must have some bargaining chip for an exchange.”
“Otherwise, Director Luan won’t just let you walk out of here.”
At this, the conversation paused for a moment.
“You’ve distributed quite a few pills—let’s hear it.”
“If you know so much about what I’ve done, how can you not know who supplied me with those pills?”
Facing Lin Ziwei, Wang Chao remained unflustered.
Though their conversation was clear as day to them, Liu the Fatty felt utterly lost, as if shrouded in fog.
However, Wang Chao didn’t plan to keep playing riddles. “The source of the pills is most likely the Qian family.”
“What I can offer you is the information on the person who supplied me the pills.”
“As for who’s behind him, that’s just my speculation.”
…
In truth, Lin Ziwei had come to Mengyang County specifically to target the Qian family’s pill market in the surrounding towns.
Just as Wang Chao said, after all this time investigating, and with the Lin family’s own intelligence network, how could she not know the Qian family was the source of these pills?
To put it plainly, what she needed was the spark to light the fuse against the Qian family!
As long as she held ironclad evidence of the Qian family’s private sale of cut-rate pills, the Lin family would remain the undisputed core of the pill trade in Anqing Province, and the Qian family would be suppressed.
At that point, the provincial pill market would still be under their control.
…
It was precisely because Wang Chao had guessed, more or less, the rivalry between the two families that he dared to swagger in and “turn himself in.”
…
“In short, even if my brother Huang Ming and I have a batch of pills of unclear origin, with our rank as second-tier martial artists, and since you haven’t obtained the pills yourselves—how long do you think you can detain us, Miss Lin?”
Seeing Lin Ziwei silent, Wang Chao pressed his advantage.
Liu the Fatty could only curse inwardly, “This guy is cunning as a fox!”
“Even if your informant hasn’t fled, and even if you catch him, how can you be sure he’s really a Qian family man?”
Lin Ziwei’s brow tightened, her voice heavy.
“Heh.”
Though she wanted to use Wang Chao and his friend to doggedly pursue the Qian family, the two had never made direct contact with the Qian family, and as Wang Chao said, she didn’t have the actual pills.
Though frustrated, she was ultimately forced to compromise.
“Director Luan, what do you say?”
“You can’t bring yourself to say it, so now you need me,” Luan Yuan grumbled, though he had no desire to offend Lin Ziwei.
He turned to Wang Chao, “You have a point, but selling pills privately is still an offense—you’ll have to pay a fine.”
By now, Luan Yuan’s meaning was clear enough.
If Lin Ziwei wanted to use these two to bite at the Qian family, there was no way forward. Better for him to request some funds for the Bureau, and as for Lin Ziwei’s pursuit of the informant, he wouldn’t bring it up again.
“Leave the informant’s details, and you can go.”
“But recognize your own strength—being a second-tier martial artist doesn’t guarantee your safety.”
With that, Lin Ziwei stood and strode out.
After Wang Chao and Luan Yuan settled the fine, they were allowed to see Huang Ming.
The three left the Investigation Division compound together.
“Damn it, that kid is downright sleazy.”
No sooner had Huang Ming left the building than he began cursing.
“I’m a dignified second-tier martial artist, and I actually got taken down by some punk with knockout drugs.”
Hearing this, the Fatty shivered.
“He doesn’t know it was me who gave Xiao Ze those drugs, does he?” the Fatty muttered under his breath.
Wang Chao just laughed, “Alright, consider it a lesson learned.”
“Still, it’s not so bad. It looks like we’ve achieved our objective.”
“I just can’t figure it out—why didn’t you take up Wei Hu’s offer on the pill business, and instead went after some greenhorn like that?”
Grumbling, Huang Ming pointed at the Fatty.
“He hasn’t even broken through first-tier, just lugging around two hundred pounds of flab—what good is he?”
The Fatty, knowing his own limits, sensibly kept quiet and played dumb, refusing to rise to the bait.
“What Wei Hu proposed isn’t for us. Better to keep our eyes on the long game.”
“With the Qian and Lin families at each other’s throats, if we meddle in the pill trade now, we’re just courting disaster.”
Recognizing the truth in Wang Chao’s words, Huang Ming fell silent.
“But on another note, that punk who knocked you out is now on the Bureau’s radar.”
“If he passes the September assessment and becomes a Bureau recruit, how will you match up to him?”
To Wang Chao, Zhang Ze was a hot commodity.
“With those underhanded tricks? He could get into Anqing Martial Bureau?”
The incident of being drugged by Zhang Ze clearly still rankled with Huang Ming.
“Enough.”
“Even as second-tier martial artists, you know what price we’ve paid.”
“By comparison, Zhang Ze has already broken through first-tier.”
“He’s already stormed the He Yue City Investigation Division—do you think he’ll remain ordinary?”
Wang Chao made no secret of his admiration for Zhang Ze.
Their conversation made the Fatty feel uneasy all over.
“With how stingy Xiao Ze is, you still want to invest in him?”
Just thinking of Zhang Ze, the Fatty shook his head.
…
Seeing Huang Ming silent, Wang Chao laughed, “But you have to admit, the fine that got you out today—that money came from the kid.”
“Heh, the wool comes from the sheep’s back,” Liu the Fatty muttered, having guessed where Zhang Ze got his money.
“And right now, he’s training at a martial arts school in He Yue City, preparing for the Bureau’s September exam.”
“He called today, said there’s a business deal he wants to discuss with us.”
Wang Chao could barely conceal his delight at the prospect of Zhang Ze.
Huang Ming, however, remained clear-headed and asked irritably, “He’s just like us, scraping by—what kind of business could he have with you?”
“What, does he want us to go out and hustle for some petty cash?”
“Well, that’s something I know how to do.”
From start to finish, that was the only thing the Fatty said.
All he got in response were two exasperated looks.