Chapter 11 The Release

"Why did you bail them out?"

Yuan Wen, who had rushed back from the hospital, yelled at Yuan Zhenghong in anger, "This is absurd! Everyone knows they're the criminals! Otherwise, why weren't they surprised or resistant when I arrested them yesterday?"

Yuan Zhenghong was expressionless. He looked at his daughter and said after a moment of silence, "Everyone knows… but there's no evidence."

"Isn't the accounting and their attitude enough to prove it?" Yuan Wen asked through gritted teeth. "If they didn't have a guilty conscience, why haven't they uttered a single word of injustice since yesterday?"

"The court won't recognize these things!" Yuan Zhenghong said sternly, "Only cold hard evidence, witnesses, and confessions are the most powerful weapons, and all we have is a dubious accounting ledger…"

"That woman denied the deal with Li and Guo, and the confession is broken! We have no reason to continue detaining these two councilors."

Yuan Wen sneered, "Is this what you call… supporting the Nancheng military police system? Is this the result of your efforts?"

Yuan Zhenghong didn't speak.

"I should have realized that your mission in Nancheng was just to recruit the talents you need… As for whether the local cases in Nancheng can be solved, it has little to do with you." Yuan Wen questioned again, "Is that what you think?"

Yuan Zhenghong's heart was torn when he heard his daughter's words.

He knew his daughter misunderstood him, but he didn't know how to explain.

He had expected this to be troublesome because it involved two departments at the same time, but he didn't expect the opponent's counterattack to be so fierce.

Looking back now, what Wang Dongchuan said to Yuan Wen yesterday was just to relax the vigilance of the military police bureau and buy them time to operate…

"We've done everything we can, but with the simultaneous intervention of the Ministry of Politics and the Ministry of National Security, we can't change anything." Yuan Zhenghong seemed disheartened. "You can vent your anger on me, I can point at Wang Dongchuan's nose and curse his ancestors for eighteen generations, but can we change the result?"

"Unless I take a gun and kill Li and Guo right now, nothing will change."

Yuan Zhenghong comforted his daughter and said, "Moreover, bail doesn't mean that the other party is completely cleared of suspicion. We can continue to investigate, and once new evidence emerges, we can arrest them again."

Yuan Wen's face was pale, and she smiled self-deprecatingly: "The council can reverse black and white in one day. If they let the two of them go, I'm afraid we won't have any chance to catch them again."

The office fell into a deathly silence.

After a moment, a military police officer knocked on the door: "Inspector Yuan, Officer Yuan… the family of the victim in this morning's murder case has arrived, and also, that Li Tianran is here."

Hearing this, Yuan Wen glanced at Yuan Zhenghong and turned to leave.

…

Military Police Bureau Hall.

Two lawyers stood beside the released Li and Guo, whispering.

Li Ruya's parents sat on the row of seats in the corridor, silently wiping away tears.

Li Tianran stood with his hands in his pockets, expressionless.

"Councilor Li, Councilor Guo, you've suffered inside." The lawyer smiled and draped a coat over Councilor Li: "We're here to take you back to preside over the work. The Nancheng City Council can't be without you two pillars!"

"By the way, we'll handle this case for you, so don't feel pressured."

Another lawyer added.

"Hehe… What pressure can I have? The clear are clear! I won't be framed for things I haven't done. I believe in our military police department, and I believe in our political department. They won't wrong a good person, nor will they let go of a bad one." Councilor Li smiled. Even though he had been detained for twenty-four hours, he was still energetic.

Yuan Wen stood there with a gloomy face, staring at Li and Guo.

"Officer Yuan, thank you for your hard work." Councilor Li smiled and waved to Yuan Wen: "However, I hope that you can correctly identify criminals and good citizens in the future, and don't let similar incidents happen again. We are very busy at work and don't have much time to cooperate with your investigation."

Councilor Guo stood beside him, also showing a meaningful smile.

"Get out." Yuan Wen said expressionlessly, "Don't stand in front of me."

"Hehe, young people, bad temper." Councilor Li was in a good mood at this time and didn't seem to intend to argue with Yuan Wen: "This time, I'll pretend I didn't hear it, but next time, I will definitely complain that you insulted a councilor."

"Don't think this is the end. We'll have plenty of opportunities in the future. I'll keep an eye on you." Yuan Wen said word by word.

"Okay, then you can watch slowly, we're leaving!" Councilor Li took a cigarette from the lawyer, exhaled smoke, and strode out.

Pa!

Li Tianran stood in front of them, slowly raised his head, and asked expressionlessly, "Are you Li Ting? Councilor Li?"

Councilor Li frowned at Li Tianran, not taking him seriously, and just nodded slightly: "What's the matter?"

"You're innocent?" Li Tianran asked again.

"If I were guilty, would the military police bureau let me go?" Councilor Li smiled and spread his hands: "Funny question."

He didn't stop and walked straight out of the military police bureau, got into an SUV at the door, and drove away.

"What did you say? He is… Li Ting? That councilor?" At this moment, Li Ruya's mother seemed to have heard something incredible. She stared at Yuan Wen and roared, "He's the criminal! How can you let him go? He's the criminal my daughter was talking about!"

The old woman collapsed to the ground, crying, looking at Li Ting's departing back, her face full of despair: "My daughter was right! We really can't bring down these big shots… Even the military police bureau can't sanction them, who else can punish them?"

"Why did you let them go?" Li Tianran's expression was extremely cold. Standing in front of Yuan Wen, there seemed to be flames burning in his eyes: "Is this what you call… the justice that the military police defends?"

"Listen to me… things are not what you think…" Yuan Wen felt helpless, she wanted to explain something to Li Tianran.

"I was too naive, so naive that I believed whatever you said." Li Tianran expressionlessly took out the application form from his pocket.

"Do you know that just a few hours ago, the girl who helped you find the account and the USB flash drive was murdered, and her body was tied to a big tree less than a hundred meters from my door?"

"She exchanged her life for the things you wanted, and this is how you repay her…"

Shua!

Shua!

A crisp tearing sound rang out, and the application form turned into pieces in Li Tianran's hands.

"You said that all evils will receive their due punishment… Thinking about it now, it's ridiculous! Justice?" Li Tianran stared into Yuan Wen's eyes, "If this is the justice you speak of, then it disgusts me!"

Swish!

The fragments were thrown into the air by Li Tianran, like fallen leaves fluttering.

Just like Yuan Wen's heart at this moment.

"Accomplice."

Li Tianran calmly spat out two words, then slowly turned and walked out of the hall: "I can't stay in this dirty place for another second."

Yuan Wen stared blankly at Li Tianran's back. At this moment, her emotions also collapsed.

So much effort, but all in vain.

Now she was misunderstood by Li Tianran.

"It's not like this… it's not like this, you misunderstood! Listen to me…" Yuan Wen was in tears. She squatted on the ground to pick up the shredded application form, but how could the broken paper be restored?

Finally, she gave up, hugged her knees, slumped on the ground, and cried loudly.