This world needs order. An order where a price is paid.
Order is law, and law is order.
It is justice, and it is the social conscience.
Of course, Xu Huo couldn’t be bothered with whether delayed justice was still justice. He only knew one thing...
When the iron fist of justice smashes down, it feels... damn good!
"Human traffickers?"
Wang Hu froze. In the next instant, he completely ignored the documents and snatched the slip of paper.
They all knew about Han Shi’s case. It wasn’t just them; the higher-ups knew as well.
Every detail, the entire sequence of events from start to finish, had been compiled into a single, complete file and submitted to the higher-ups.
The higher-ups fell silent.
The file Zhang Jian had brought into the conference room was passed among many hands.
They were either Zhang Jian’s colleagues or the chiefs from other city districts, but without exception...
...they all fell silent.
No one spoke. They opened their mouths as if to say something, but no words came out. In the end, they were all lost in deep thought.
Han Shi’s very existence...
...was a complete tragedy.
To be honest, Zhang Jian had been prepared to protect Han Shi at all costs. But no one expected that she would be the one to close the case file herself.
She had killed herself.
After two years of madness, dragging her ravaged body, the moment she stood before Sun Jingyun, she snapped back to lucidity—a final, fleeting moment of clarity.
And the first thing she did after regaining her senses... was to kill herself.
Then came Sun Jingyun. It was as if he sensed it. Surveillance footage showed him staring back at the police station for a long time. The moment the police on the phone failed to give him a clear answer, he calmly embraced death.
’Perhaps... it would have been better if Han Shi had remained insane.’
"Give me an answer."
Xu Huo took a deep breath. His expression was placid, his gaze unwavering as he watched Wang Hu.
Wang Hu glanced at the information the other had given him, thinking it over for a moment.
"Two groups of people. The first group, we can arrest this afternoon."
"The second group..."
"Ten days at the latest!"
The information Xu Huo provided wasn’t just about the human traffickers, but several other people as well.
The people from Zhang Family Town back then!
"Ten days?"
Xu Huo’s brow furrowed.
Ten days is a very short time. If any city district could claim to bust a human trafficking ring in ten days, the local residents’ opinion of their police department would be anything but low!
However...
"Seven days."
Xu Huo said in a heavy tone, "Seven days!"
He couldn’t wait. The anger in his heart was swelling, making him increasingly agitated.
It wasn’t just him.
The entire police department was the same.
They needed an outlet...
"Fine."
Wang Hu didn’t haggle. He just nodded.
"Seven days!"
"Within seven days, I’ll give you an answer!"
Xu Huo nodded, not pushing his luck by demanding even less time.
In this day and age, tracking down human traffickers was difficult.
No surveillance, no big data. How were the police supposed to investigate amidst a sea of people?
A police force that hadn’t implemented the Celestial Eye System was practically blind.
Of course, this didn’t mean they would just sit around and wait for seven days.
Xu Huo wasn’t the type to sit idle.
The traffickers were for seven days from now, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a target... right now!
...
...
Human society is a constructed pyramid. The peak shines with a brilliant light, while the base sees none.
If you’re willing to dig through the layer of earth beneath your feet, you’ll find another level below the base, buried in the soil, a place that never sees a single ray of sunlight.
It is dark and damp, a place that shuns the light and hides from sight. Similarly, its inhabitants exist beneath everyone’s feet, in unseen places where, no matter what they do...
...no one will ever know.
Of course, if you are willing to dig...
Then the piercing, scorching sunlight will subject them to a devastating exposure!
The 23rd.
Evening, eleven-thirty.
This was one of the few places in Linlan City with any nightlife.
Of course, the so-called "nightlife" was just a few food stalls and a couple of bars.
You couldn’t really call it high-end consumption. Only the bars were a bit pricey, but in this day and age, as long as you weren’t buying a round for the entire house, it wouldn’t cost you much.
"CLINK... THUD~"
A crisp sound rang out in the dim alley, echoing into its depths.
A dim streetlight cast a shadow on the wall.
The shadow leaned against the wall, bent over and vomiting. After a long moment, it straightened up and staggered away.
The shadow’s owner was a man. He hummed an unidentifiable song, a low buzz, and clutched a bottle of liquor. Every so often, he’d bend over and take a huge swig.
Then he would continue staggering deeper into the alley, his steps unsteady, lurching from side to side.
The man froze. He turned his head and looked around but found nothing. A flicker of confusion crossed the eyes on his flushed face. He scratched his head and continued on his way.
As he walked...
"TAP..."
"TAP... TAP..."
A footstep sounded out. The man paused and instinctively turned his head slightly, glancing behind him.
But there, a hooded figure with hands shoved in its pockets was now following him, though he had no idea when it had started.
A flash of confusion appeared in the man’s eyes, wondering when the figure had started following him, but he didn’t think much of it.
He went back to humming his song and walked on.
But before long...
"TAP TAP TAP..."
The echo of footsteps grew heavier. The man looked back and saw that, at some point, a group of people had surrounded him.
They were hidden in the darkness, their identities obscured, like countless shadows standing there.
The man began to sober up. He shrank back, stopping in his tracks, hoping to let them pass.
But unexpectedly...
The moment he stopped walking, the crowd in front of him... stopped in unison.
In an instant, the sound of footsteps in the alley vanished.
"GULP."
The man swallowed hard. He was now realizing that they were... after him!?
He leaned against the wall, legs trembling, heart pounding, racking his brain to think of who he could have offended in recent years.
But after thinking for a long time, he came up with nothing.
He was just about to speak, but...
"Take him!"
In a daze, a voice commanded, and several people rushed him at once. A look of shock appeared on the man’s face. He was about to protest, but was met with several blows from unseen attackers.
A punch landed on his abdomen, the immense force making his eyes bulge as he nearly vomited.
"CLINK~"
The liquor bottle in his hand fell to the ground with a crisp sound, then rolled into a corner.
The man, in pain, could only let himself be dragged away like a dead dog to some unknown location.
A few moments later, as the pain in his stomach subsided slightly, a powerful survival instinct filled him.
"Who... who are you people?"
"I haven’t offended you, have I?"
"Let’s talk this out, we can talk this out! I’m a good person... You want money? I’ll give you money, I have money! I have money!"
He panicked. Looking at the crowd around him, his thoughts were a chaotic mess.
"A good person?"
The speaker scoffed, as if they had heard something hilarious.
"Think hard, and then speak."
’Think hard?’
Sweat beaded on the man’s forehead. He was completely sober now, his mind racing, picturing countless faces but unable to recall anyone he’d wronged.
After a long while, as his heart beat faster and faster, he realized he’d been brought to the docks...
...and besides him, there were three other people with hoods over their heads.
"THUD!"
Someone kicked him, and the man fell to his knees on the pier.
"RIP!"
The hoods were yanked off. The four men had terrified expressions, their eyes darting around wildly. They paused when they saw each other, looks of astonishment crossing their faces.
"So you all know each other. That makes things easier."
"Why don’t you tell me what you’ve done."
Xu Huo lit a cigarette. He squatted in front of Zhang Gou, took a deep drag, and blew the smoke out. The cloud of smoke hit the man’s face before dissipating.
"Here’s a hint: ’99, after March."
Xu Huo added, smacking his lips before putting the cigarette back in his mouth.
"I... I don’t know..."
Zhang Gou’s face was a mask of panic. He tried desperately to think as Xu Huo suggested, but his mind was a blank.
"You don’t know?"
Xu Huo paused, then a smile spread across his face. "So I grabbed the wrong person?"
Zhang Gou was about to answer, but a sudden force knocked him over.
"SLAP!"
The crisp sound of a slap echoed. Xu Huo pulled his hand back and continued squatting in front of him, saying with a chuckle:
"Think. Harder."
Zhang Gou was a complete mess. He felt the stinging pain on his face and trembled uncontrollably as he looked at the man before him.
"I... I... I really don’t know..."
Zhang Gou quickly adjusted his posture, kneeling before Xu Huo, shaking all over, and yelled hoarsely.
"Let me go! Please, let me go! I have money, I’ll give you money..."
Hearing this, the other three quickly chimed in.
The four of them were on their knees, and even with their hands bound, they still managed to kowtow.
"SLAP!"
Another crisp sound.
Xu Huo had a gentle smile on his face. He used the hand he had just pulled back to straighten the man’s head.
Looking at the face before him—the one he had seen from the red-clothed woman’s perspective in his dream—he smiled gently and said:
"Be good. I don’t want your money. I’m not part of some shady gang. What would I do with your money?"
"I just want an answer."
"Think hard about what you’ve done."
’What have I done...’
Zhang Gou shivered, trembling like a leaf in the wind, his mind racing.
’99, after March...’
’Is it... is it that woman?’
In a daze, the image of a woman appeared in Zhang Gou’s mind, and his trembling intensified.
"Is it... is it about that woman?"
"SLAP!"
Xu Huo pulled his hand back again, still smiling. "Correct. But you answered too late."
"So, tell me. What did you do to Han Shi?"
"I didn’t do anything! I don’t even know her! I didn’t do anything..."
Zhang Gou burst into tears, pressing his forehead to the ground, snot and tears streaming everywhere.
"You’ve got the wrong person! It was the three of them! It has nothing to do with me! Nothing to do with me!"
"Is that so?"
Xu Huo smiled, his tone devoid of any accusation.
If he wanted, he could probably pass the exam to be a kindergarten teacher with a tone like that.
"SLAP!"
"Why don’t you think about it again."
Xu Huo righted the man’s body. "’99. She escaped from Wang Jinyuan’s house and came to yours, wanting to call the police. What did you do to her?"
"A misunderstanding! A huge misunderstanding!"
"I didn’t do anything! I really didn’t do anything!"
Zhang Gou continued to wail. Xu Huo watched his crumbling face, the snot and tears...
Several of the men standing nearby faltered, hesitating slightly.
Noticing them from the corner of his eye, Xu Huo looked away, wiped the tears from Zhang Gou’s face, and spoke in a slow, deliberate voice.
"A misunderstanding?"
"Then how come the information I received shows..."
"...that when she ran to your house, you raped her, then personally delivered her back to the Wang Jinyuan brothers, and subsequently raped her multiple times on later occasions?"
Hearing this, Zhang Gou’s body froze, then began to shake violently.
’This... how could he possibly know about this!?’
"Go on. Wasn’t it a misunderstanding? Explain this misunderstanding to me."
Xu Huo’s expression was like he was coaxing a child, but unfortunately for Zhang Gou, his tone sounded like the whisper of a demon.
"THWACK!"
Xu Huo threw a punch, and the man’s face immediately started bleeding as his nose broke and he passed out.
"You all need to understand something."
Xu Huo glanced at the two rookie cops beside him and said leisurely.
"These people are experts at playing pitiful. Their acting is better than any professional actor’s. Their tears... are worthless!"
"He was there when Han Shi was being tormented. Han Shi is dead, but he got to take a pile of demolition compensation money and go out drinking, living it up, free and happy."
"Tell me, isn’t that terribly unfair?"
Xu Huo’s voice was even and his tone gentle, but it left the other officers frozen in place.
He paid the two no mind, instead turning his gaze to the other three on the ground and speaking with a grin.
"Alright, now..."
"...it’s your turn."
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