Six was a ruthless man.
"The number one fighter" didn't back down.
At least, that's what everyone thought.
Chen Nairong knew very well that as his business grew, he would inevitably attract the attention of his enemies. Six was not someone easily impressed. Yet, Chen Nairong had managed to hire him through some unknown means, and by becoming sworn brothers, he had successfully linked himself with local figures.
"This bastard is so stubborn! I want to kill him!" Lu Yuan, a police officer from the preliminary examination department of the Hechen City Public Security Bureau, pushed open the door of the interrogation observation room and said to Gao Xiaofei, who was dozing in a chair. "Captain Gao, after all your trouble, you only caught this one guy? He's not only unyielding but also incredibly talkative. I just asked him at the beginning, 'Are you the number one fighter under Chen Nairong's gang?' and he gave me a lecture on the realities of modern-day fighting and skirmishes, going back and forth to prove he hadn't actually harmed anyone..."
"Let me handle it!" Gao Xiaofei was amused by this and wanted to experience it himself.
The interrogation room door opened, and Gao Xiaofei walked in with his teacup.
"Six! Stop beating around the bush. Talk about something else, like drug trafficking! Or the deaths of Niu Jian and Wu An, or the assassins who chased you to the hospital," Gao Xiaofei said calmly to Six.
"I haven't heard of these things. I don't know anything," Six said, adopting a stubborn demeanor.
"Six, according to you, you should be a good person," Gao Xiaofei said. "Then why did I arrest you?"
"I don't know either? You chased me, I was scared, so I ran. I only knew you were a police officer after you handcuffed me," Six said, rolling his eyes.
"Bang!" Gao Xiaofei slammed the table and said loudly, "We've dug into Chen Nairong's hometown. Ten kilograms of drugs! That's enough to get him executed several times. According to witness testimony, you personally escorted every drug shipment. Do you dare say you have nothing to do with it?"
"Officer, I'm uneducated. I truly didn't know that was drugs. I thought it was fireworks," Six began to act again, with a hint of tears in his voice.
"Less nonsense. Tell me, why did you meet Chen Nairong a few days ago?" Gao Xiaofei, unfazed, asked directly.
"I ran into him. I didn't meet him. I was wondering, why did he suddenly become a bad person?" Six said with surprise. "Sir, I am in a righteous fight against evil! The day I saw him, I intended to report him immediately!"
"Get out! Six, if you don't cooperate, I won't be able to help you," Gao Xiaofei suddenly said with a sly grin. "Your brother Ping An has spoken highly of you. I know he's grateful that you helped him deal with the owner of a WeChat public account. Honestly, I'm just going through the motions. If you tell the truth, I can gather some intelligence, and it will be easier for me to report back. Who will care about bothering you then? Perhaps—right!"
"Interest in what? Officer, Ping An the reporter is my good friend! I knew he would definitely help me. I saw him wink at me at the circus, but alas..." Six said.
"Cough, cough, cough. What are you talking about, Six? Just say it straight. Give me something useful, and I can consider leniency for you," Gao Xiaofei said.
"Alas! Alright, I'll tell you the truth," Six finally seemed to be honest, his eyes no longer darting around. He thought for a moment and began to answer Gao Xiaofei's questions.
In fact, Six had not been with Chen Nairong for long, not even as long as Wu An. But the other brothers looked down on Wu An. Wu An also didn't like to compete with others; he was the type who was obsessed with money.
"When Chen Nairong became my sworn brother, he was already dealing drugs. He was completely open about it, saying that all the police in Hechen were his brothers. I believed him because I often saw him treating police officers to meals. Although they never misbehaved, they would address each other as 'brother' and 'younger brother' at the table, making it seem quite serious. People in the underworld generally respected him for this and didn't provoke him," Six said. On his first day with Chen Nairong, he was assigned to escort a vehicle, and the driver was Wu An.
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It turned out that Chen Nairong's "procurement" channels were very ingenious. Ostensibly, a dispatcher would act as a customer and use a ride-hailing platform to book a car. The transport personnel would be actual ride-hailing drivers, like Wu An. After the transport person pretended to accept the order, they would pick up the dispatcher at a designated location. The dispatcher would then pretend to be going out of town and provide an address. The transport person would then pretend to haggle, finally agreeing on a price and heading to the destination.
"Upon arrival at the destination, the dispatcher would get off at the designated location and negotiate with the drug dealers, pay the money, purchase the goods, and then hand them over to the escort," Six said. Typically, while the dispatcher negotiated with the drug dealers, the transport person would pretend to rest in the car or eat, which was understandable after driving over a thousand kilometers.
After the dispatcher and drug dealers completed the transaction, the purchased drugs would be handed over to the escort. The escort would then pretend to be a local from Hechen and "happen" to meet the transport person. The transport person, using the excuse of not wanting to return empty, would offer the escort a discounted price for a ride back. Upon returning, the escort would deliver the drugs to Chen Nairong, while the dispatcher would loiter in another city for a day or two to ensure everything was proceeding smoothly before slowly returning.
"How cunning!" Gao Xiaofei silently pieced together Six's words, finally grasping the meaning. In such a drug transportation process, the dispatcher was the mastermind, knowing all the information about the drugs and responsible for contacting the drug dealers for procurement. They were the core, yet they could almost entirely avoid contact with the drugs. Even after the drugs reached Hechen, they could remain in another city to observe. The transport person had a legitimate identity as a cover. Chen Nairong didn't even need to inform them about the drug transaction; they would simply believe they were doing regular business, responsible only for driving and transporting people, and nothing else. The transport person wouldn't know the details of the drugs they were transporting, or even what they were transporting, only needing to deliver the goods to Hechen.
In this way, a drug transportation team of three was clearly divided. If discovered by the police, the dispatcher had not touched drugs or transported them, and could escape. The transport person could insist they didn't know there were drugs in their car. The escort could claim they didn't know what the transported goods were. Even if the transport person and escort confessed, they would still essentially know nothing.
"No wonder after arresting Chen Nairong's subordinates, they only knew bits and pieces, making it difficult to build a coherent chain of evidence," Gao Xiaofei thought. Today was a significant gain, at least he knew how Chen Nairong transported drugs.
"Where did you buy drugs? When were these occasions? Who was your contact person?" Gao Xiaofei seized the opportunity.
"I went to Bado five times in total. The earliest was in mid-February last year, then at the end of May last year, and then around September 20th last year. Wu An drove for these three times, and I didn't know the escort. At the end of the year, I returned home for the holidays, and then on March 19th this year, Niu Jian drove, and the escort was my subordinate named Pan Chao, who ran away. He's from Chaozhou. The last time was on July 17th, Niu Jian drove, and Pan Chao was the escort again," Six recalled. "I didn't know the contact person at all. No phone calls were needed. It was just instructions from Chen Nairong. I would wait in the men's restroom of the public toilet at the central park on Chengfu Avenue in Bado City, in the second stall from the left. As soon as I entered and lit a cigarette, I would extend the cigarette butt. After a while, someone in the stall to my right, that is, the third stall from the left, would knock three times on the partition. I would knock back three times. The other party would first send a sample under the partition. After I confirmed it was acceptable, I would knock three times again and send the money under the partition. After they counted the money, they would send the goods under the partition. When leaving, they would always go first. Only when I heard someone playing 'Good Man Song' on their phone outside would I leave the restroom. Usually, by the time I left, the other party would be long gone. I just needed to hand over the goods to the escort, and the task was complete."
The complex transportation methods and extremely cautious transaction methods were not what one would expect from Chen Nairong. Especially the transaction method; without extreme trust, how could they start trading without seeing each other? In a restroom, three police officers could surround it. Was Chen Nairong too trusting, or was the other party too trusting of Chen Nairong? Gao Xiaofei fell into deep thought, and complex questions continued to arise.
"How did Niu Jian die? And Wu An?" Gao Xiaofei paused and then asked new questions.
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"Niu Jian was brought in by Wu An. Niu Jian had no idea about Chen Nairong's drug trafficking activities from beginning to end. He thought he had joined a 'mutual aid society' and often got long-haul jobs," Six said. "Since he didn't know about this, we didn't bother to enlighten him. As long as he did his job well, who would care about the details."
"As for Niu Jian's death, I can't say for sure if Chen Nairong was responsible, but I really didn't hear him mention or hint at killing them two in person," Six said. "As for Wu An, the person who most wanted to kill Wu An was actually Niu Jian. If I were Wu An, I might have acted first..."
"Be serious, don't joke around," Gao Xiaofei thought Six was talking nonsense.
"I'm not joking, officer. Do you know Niu Jian's son is in his third year of high school and is about to go to college? Wu An induced him to take drugs, and he became dejected. He didn't get into college, stopped studying, and his life was ruined," Six said. "It was because of this that Niu Jian went around in the passenger transport industry, vowing to kill Wu An. Later, it seemed someone mediated, and Niu Jian stopped bothering Wu An. At the suggestion of the intermediary, Wu An proactively introduced him to long-haul jobs, and as a result..."
"Which resulted in helping Chen Nairong traffic drugs, is that right?" Gao Xiaofei asked sternly. "Who was the intermediary?"
"I don't know. I heard it from someone. Niu Jian wasn't a good person either. He was quite influential in the taxi industry, bullying competitors and clashing with ride-hailing drivers. He also knew many people in society. The person who could mediate for them was probably someone of consequence. When Wu An introduced Niu Jian to transport goods, Chen Nairong was reluctant because Niu Jian knew too many people. It was the intermediary who smoothed things over, and perhaps the intermediary also knew about Chen Nairong's dealings," Six said. "Besides, Niu Jian also knew Chen Nairong, and they seemed to be on good terms. When they met, Chen Nairong would call Niu Jian 'Niu Er Ge' (Second Brother Niu). Oh, Niu Er Ge is Niu Jian's nickname."
"Then why did Niu Jian report Chen Nairong?" Gao Xiaofei said impatiently. "Tell me everything, don't make me drag information out of you like squeezing toothpaste!"
"I really don't know, brother. When you're in this line of work, knowing less is a blessing. If it doesn't concern me, why would I bother inquiring!" Six said. "Chen Nairong did openly tell me to beat up Niu Jian, warning him not to talk nonsense, to destroy the photos quickly, and that he didn't want to work with him anymore and should get lost..."
"What photos?" Gao Xiaofei suddenly interrupted Six.
"I don't know! I really don't know," Six said. "Also, from what Chen Nairong said, it seemed like, it seemed like..."
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"Seemed like what?" Gao Xiaofei slammed the table.
"Niu Jian wanted to report someone, but it wasn't Chen Nairong," Six said, lowering his head.
"What? Niu Jian wasn't reporting Chen Nairong?" Gao Xiaofei was shocked.
"To be honest, if Chen Nairong hadn't been introduced by someone, who would do business with him? Drug trafficking, usury – these are not businesses that someone who has shed their police uniform can easily get into," Six said mysteriously. "How many years has it been since Chen Nairong took off his police uniform? How did he get so big? Where did he get the capital? Without the guarantee of a major underworld figure, people would still think he was an undercover agent..."
"So, you mean there's someone behind Chen Nairong?" Gao Xiaofei narrowed his eyes and asked word by word.
"Brother, I sincerely repent. I'll accept the prison sentence this time. I'm still young and don't want to get too deeply involved, so I'm telling you everything I know and have heard," Six said. "We always believed that Chen Nairong had a 'big director' behind him, and he was the real boss. It's said that he's a police officer, and even a high-ranking official in your department. He has connections everywhere. He's not from the underworld, but he's the most powerful 'gang boss' in Hechen. Anyone who wants to do business must make way for him, or they'll be dealt with."
"Alright, let's not talk about this for now. Tell me, what did you do when you met Chen Nairong that day?" Gao Xiaofei interrupted Six's reply.
"That's a long story. The day Chen Nairong hired an assassin, he arranged for me to defend the girl around Ping An the Great Reporter. I have great respect for Ping An the Great Reporter, so I worked diligently and completed the task. That night, after reporting back, Chen Nairong pulled me aside and told me he had arranged for someone to take care of Ping An the Great Reporter. I was both shocked and scared. He seemed to be in a difficult situation too, telling me that Ping An was blocking the brothers' path to wealth and he had no choice. The matter was still ongoing, and to prevent any unforeseen circumstances, he gave me a bag of money, about over a million, and told me to take a few reliable brothers and drive around Hechen, keeping our phones on." Six said. "The next day, I learned about the assassination of Ping An from the news. At that moment, I knew Chen Nairong was in trouble. Sure enough, not long after, he called me and told me to stay on standby. I was to keep half of the money and split the remaining half among us brothers."
Gao Xiaofei had a rough understanding of the rest of the story. While Ping An and Mei Qian were hospitalized, he tracked down Six through an informant, deduced that Six would meet Chen Nairong, and had people follow him. It was only when they heard through surveillance equipment that Six was about to meet Chen Nairong that they took action last time.
"I waited for Chen Nairong for several days. The people around me wanted to split the money and run, leading to near internal conflict several times. Finally, they threatened me to give them their share of the money. I had no choice but to give them half. They ran off, and I took the remaining half and continued to wait for Chen Nairong," Six said. "Actually, I also wanted to run, but I knew Chen Nairong had someone behind him, and that person was even more powerful, so I didn't dare to run, fearing retaliation. Later, Chen Nairong found me, and I went to deliver money to him."
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"When I delivered the money, Chen Nairong was alone. He didn't say much. Seeing that half the money was missing and I was alone, he understood what had happened. He also told me to hide and wait for his news," Six said. "I expressed my loyalty and asked him if he wanted to take care of Ping An! He said absolutely not. Then he thought for a moment, looked at me, and perhaps felt I was untrustworthy, so he didn't say anything else and let me leave."
"Did you know where Chen Nairong was planning to go later? Did he meet anyone that day?" Gao Xiaofei asked.
"I don't know. I didn't ask. In the underworld, you don't cross paths!" Six said. "I haven't seen anything else."
"How did you escape when the police took action?" Gao Xiaofei asked the last question seriously.
"I didn't escape. After I separated from Chen Nairong, I actually wanted to know what he was doing, so I secretly followed behind him. Later, when I saw you suddenly appear, I just found a tea shop and went in for tea," Six said.
"Nonsense! Do you think no one was watching you? After Chen Nairong left 'Hao Chi Chi,' the people tailing you didn't see you come out of the small eatery," Gao Xiaofei said angrily.
"I did come out, I just borrowed a Meituan delivery uniform..." Six said aggrievedly. "I once heard reporter Ping An talk about 'visual traps' and such, meaning to create more distractions and blend in with the crowd. I was just..."
"Shut up!" Gao Xiaofei awkwardly interrupted Ren Liu.
"Let me ask you again, Liu Juan? Do you know her?" Gao Xiaofei asked.
"Yes, Chen Nairong's girl," Ren Liu said.
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"Did she traffic drugs?" Gao Xiaofei asked.
"She doesn't need to. She just needs to serve him well in bed," Ren Liu said.
"Do you know Liu Juan's husband?" Gao Xiaofei asked.
"Yes, Gao Min, the 'cuckold king'," Ren Liu said with a sneer.
"Him? How is he?" Gao Xiaofei asked.
"He's a coward. He just runs errands and delivers things," Ren Liu said.
"Have you ever killed anyone?" Gao Xiaofei suddenly changed the rhythm and asked unexpectedly.
"No! The government has wronged me! I haven't!" Ren Liu said. "Don't let my fierce appearance fool you; I actually dislike violence the most. I always try to reason with people."
"Take him away!" Gao Xiaofei opened the interrogation room door and said to a police officer.
"Brother, can you pass a message to reporter Ping An for me?" Before leaving, Six made a request to Gao Xiaofei.
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"What message?" Gao Xiaofei asked impatiently.
"Actually, Chen Nairong asked me to relay this message for him," Six said sheepishly.
"Then why didn't you say it just now?" Gao Xiaofei asked.
"I felt the message wasn't that significant and was somewhat a matter of human sentiment," Six said sheepishly.
"What message?" Gao Xiaofei tapped the table.
"Chen Nairong said that if anything unfortunate were to happen to him, please take care of his third uncle," Six said, word by word.
"That's all?" Gao Xiaofei asked.
"That's all. Isn't it strange? His parents are alive, so why only mention taking care of his third uncle?" Six muttered as he walked out of the interrogation room.
After a strenuous interrogation, it seemed there were many gains, but regarding the deaths of Niu Jian and Wu An, there was still no progress.
"Still no substantial evidence to prove Chen Nairong killed Niu Jian and Wu An?" Gao Xiaofei sat in his office, organizing the interrogation records, but his mind was racing with thoughts.
"What was the content of that photo?"
"Is there really someone behind Chen Nairong? If so, who could it be?"
"Third uncle? Why did 'uncle' appear again? What does this have to do with Ping An?"
"Six spoke convincingly today. How much is true? How much is false? Is he really repentant, or does he have another motive? This kid is known for his loyalty in the underworld."
"Chen Nairong, how big a storm have you stirred up? Not only killing people and dealing drugs, but now you're involved in a crackdown on organized crime?"
"Was Wu An really an informant? If so, why did he let Niu Jian's son take drugs?"
"Who did Niu Jian want to report?"
"Who killed Niu Jian?"
"Who has such great power?"
"That intermediary?"
"Who could it be?" Gao Xiaofei closed his eyes and sat motionlessly at his desk, his mind rapidly processing various pieces of information: "Are there many people Chen Nairong respects? Are there many people who could make the seasoned underworld veteran Niu Jian, who was so unyielding, set aside his hatred for his son's ruin? How many people can make Chen Nairong set aside his prejudice and 'hire' someone directly without even vetting them? Such individuals in society must be at least at Ping An's level..."
"Ping An? Ping An! Ping An..."
"Ring, ring!" Gao Xiaofei's phone suddenly rang.
He picked up the phone and saw that the caller was Ping An.
Gao Xiaofei, with unusual hesitation, answered the call.
At this moment, night had fallen, and the moon was hidden behind dark clouds, peeking out coyly. It was dark, yet tinged with light; bright, yet casting shadows.
Gao Xiaofei shivered involuntarily before speaking, and then heard Ping An's calm voice from the other end: "Xiaofei, there are some things I need to confess to you!"