Chapter 36: The Confrontation

Xiao Ziguang dialed Xiong Yaohui’s number. "Director Xiong, there’s been a hazardous materials explosion on the outskirts of Tianhai City. Kong Ersheng and a large number of Xiling Gang members have been killed! While surveying the scene, I discovered a suspect. I fired three shots; the suspect was hit but managed to escape. I am requesting police reinforcements now."

"What did you say? Xiao Ziguang, do you realize what you’re talking about?" Xiong Yaohui’s voice was laced with disbelief. A hazardous materials explosion, the annihilation of the Xiling Gang, and a suspect escaping after being shot!

These were all words he understood, but gathered together, they felt like a surreal, waking dream. He pinched his own thigh, and the sharp pain brought tears to his eyes. Such an absurd turn of events, yet it wasn't a dream!

Xiao Ziguang’s voice remained icy. "Director Xiong, calm down! No matter how massive this situation is, it has already happened! We must face it squarely."

"After all, the public security system is not like other departments; the red lines are very clear. Homicide cases must be solved, and shooting cases must be solved. People have died here, and I have discharged my weapon; this suspect must be apprehended."

"You are the Deputy Director in charge of criminal investigation. If you solve this case, it will be your merit. If this case is handed over to someone else to solve, then who knows what might happen!"

"The truth of what occurred is not actually important. As long as you can provide an explanation to everyone, then what you say becomes the truth. Regardless of whether you remain a Deputy Director in the future, you must abide by the rules of the game!"

After saying this, Xiao Ziguang hung up coldly. Whether Xiong Yaohui liked it or not, Xiao Ziguang had dragged him into the fray. This was the lesson Xiao Ziguang had distilled from living two lifetimes.

In his previous life, the reason the Xue family had been able to dominate Tianhai for years was precisely because everyone tacitly agreed to follow the rules of the game. Even if they committed heinous acts, as long as they offered enough in exchange and provided a scapegoat to pacify the situation, even the most monumental crises could be resolved.

Zhou Huajian stared at Xiao Ziguang in astonishment, holding back for a long moment before blurting out, "Why do I feel like you’re more of a villain than the actual villains?"

Xiao Ziguang smiled helplessly. "If you aren’t ruthless, you won’t have a footing. To deal with these criminals, you have to be more ruthless than they are. Since I cannot reform them with love, I can only meet evil with evil and violence with violence."

Zhou Huajian leaned in close to Xiao Ziguang’s ear and whispered, "How should I write the report for the Provincial Department?"

Xiao Ziguang kept his voice equally low. "Write it exactly as it happened! Isn't it true that this warehouse exploded due to an accident involving the storage of hazardous materials?"

Zhou Huajian hesitated for a long time before nodding. "It was indeed an explosion caused by the improper storage of hazardous materials..."

***

In the distance, sirens wailed as criminal investigators moved in to cordon off the scene. Firefighters prepared for rescue operations, and ambulances stood by to rush any survivors to the hospital.

As for the traffic police, the entire department had been mobilized; all intersections were blocked. Every vehicle leaving Tianhai was being inspected to see if the drivers or passengers had sustained gunshot wounds.

Hospitals and small clinics within Tianhai had received orders: the moment anyone with a gunshot wound was discovered, they were to report it to the local police station immediately.

The criminal investigation team, the public security squad, and the riot police were all on twenty-four-hour standby, armed and ready. Once an order was given, they had to reach the scene within fifteen minutes.

When Xiong Yaohui arrived at the scene, he saw Xiao Ziguang standing at the edge of the ruins. A surge of rage ignited in Xiong Yaohui’s chest, rushing straight to his head; he couldn't suppress it no matter how hard he tried.

"Xiao Ziguang, how could you do this! This is lawless! This is just..."

Xiao Ziguang was perfectly calm, smiling at Xiong Yaohui. "Director Xiong, you do unto others, and they do unto you. It’s a fair exchange. If you insist on shouting about the details of this, if you want to make a spectacle for everyone to mock, then there’s nothing I can do."

"After all, you are the Director—a rank higher than me. I’m just an ordinary police officer with no status and no background. When an opportunity arises, I have no choice but to risk my life."

Xiong Yaohui frowned at him. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means nothing more than to tell you that the current situation exists because of the bet you made with my father-in-law, and because someone was spreading information that shouldn't have been spread!"

"I didn't want to lose, so I had to find a way to win!" Xiao Ziguang finished, feigning helplessness as he gave a heavy shrug.

Xiong Yaohui lowered his voice. "You didn't want to lose, so you used a bomb to blow up the warehouse and killed everyone inside!"

"You... you... you!" Xiong Yaohui was so agitated he couldn't form coherent sentences.

If one were to look at it objectively, it was indeed true that Xiong Yaohui had spread the news to make Xiao Ziguang’s mission more difficult, and because Xiao Ziguang refused to accept defeat, this massive scene had unfolded.

Xiao Ziguang pulled Xiong Yaohui aside. "Old Xiong, don't get excited. What do you mean I used a bomb to blow up the warehouse? It was clearly a massive explosion caused by the suspect hoarding hazardous materials in the warehouse due to poor storage."

"Now that the suspect has run off with a gunshot wound, we have to catch him. We must bring him to justice!"

***

Xiong Yaohui took two deep breaths, finally suppressing the fire in his heart. "I have already blockaded Tianhai and am arranging for people to hunt him down. As long as this person is still in Tianhai, we will definitely catch him."

"The key question now is, how do you plan to clean up this mess here?"

Xiao Ziguang looked into Xiong Yaohui’s eyes, his expression indifferent. "How else? Send those with a pulse to the hospital for treatment, and drag those without one to the crematorium. Once the fire department clears out, let the sanitation workers in to clear the trash and haul it all away."

Even the notoriously ruthless Xiong Yaohui couldn't help but gasp at Xiao Ziguang’s proposal. "These are over a dozen human lives, not a dozen cats or dogs. You can just flip the page like that with a few words?"

"Old Xiong, we’re on the same side, so let’s not play dumb." Xiao Ziguang took out a cigarette case and offered one to Xiong Yaohui. "These bastards from the Nanling Gang have done every evil deed imaginable. Are they even human?"

"Besides, the place has been blown to bits! Everything inside is just a pile of mush. Can you even tell who is Kong Ersheng, who is a cat, or who is a dog? Just send them all to the furnace!"

"As for their household registrations, they won't be recorded as deaths, just disappearances!" Xiao Ziguang puffed deeply on his cigarette. "Director Xiong, it’s not that I’m cold-hearted; it’s that they aren't worth pitying."

Looking into Xiao Ziguang’s icy gaze and then at the smears of crimson in the ruins, Xiong Yaohui felt his anger dissipate rapidly, replaced by an involuntary shiver.

Isn't it said that those who marry into families and live off their wives are weak and easily bullied?

How could Xiao Ziguang possess such an intense murderous aura? Would someone like this truly be content living off someone else’s success?

A smile suddenly tugged at the corners of Xiong Yaohui’s mouth. The men under him had always been obedient dogs; perhaps the sudden appearance of a man-eating wolf wasn't a bad thing at all—perhaps it was a great one.

With Xiao Ziguang as this variable, perhaps those opportunities that had always been just out of reach could now be seized if he dared to take the gamble!