Li Tianran looked at the other party, not relaxing his vigilance because of their attitude.

He took a deep breath and gave a faint smile: "You've confused me. Should I be a criminal now, or a hero?"

Yuan Zhenghong's weathered old face showed a hint of embarrassment, and he sighed, "Our methods have been problematic!"

Yuan Zhenghong had arrived long ago.

He watched Chief Chen interrogate Li Tianran, watched Chief Chen fly into a rage and take Wang Bing to cell 03. Connecting the dots, he understood what had happened.

"I just received a report from Yang Yong of the Nancheng Military Police Bureau and rushed over," Yuan Zhenghong said in a deep voice. "I was worried about this kind of problem, but things always turn out as you fear… I'll call a meeting now to resolve this!"

Then, Yuan Zhenghong turned to Yuan Wen and said, "Go get Yang Yong. Tell him I'm waiting for him here!"

Yuan Wen nodded and hurried away.

"I'm truly sorry," Yuan Zhenghong said with a smile.

…

Yang Yong, director of the Nancheng Military Police Bureau, jogged down from his second-floor office, pushed open the door of cell 03, and, upon seeing Yuan Zhenghong, stood at attention and saluted with extreme seriousness: "Good day, Inspector Yuan!"

"Come in!" Yuan Zhenghong said sternly. "Close the door!"

Sweat broke out on Yang Yong's forehead.

He didn't know why this dignitary had come, but judging from the look on his face, he was in for a rough time.

He had prepared himself for a barrage of criticism.

Sure enough, as soon as he closed the door, Yuan Zhenghong stood up and pointed at his nose, scolding, "Yang Yong, is your head full of rice porridge? Did you let that little bastard Chen Yu conduct the interrogation?"

"Do you know how much damage your behavior has caused to the image of the military police and the country?"

"Can you still do your job as director?"

"If you can't, write your resignation report early, and I'll sign it. How about I transfer you to traffic duty?"

"..."

As soon as they met, Yuan Zhenghong gave Yang Yong a thorough dressing-down. Yang Yong wiped the spittle from his face, kept his head down, smiled wryly, and dared not argue back.

What a joke!

This dignitary was a battle-hardened general who had once been on the battlefield. He was transferred to a second-line position after being injured, but even so, he was a ruthless figure in the entire Handong Province military and police system, a man whose word was law.

Seven cities in Handong Province, a dozen or so military police directors, deputy directors, political commissars, and others, were all his students and disciples.

Even Yang Yong had studied with him for two years.

"Tell me, how should this matter be resolved?" Yuan Zhenghong asked after a torrent of abuse, pausing to catch his breath. "A hero who eliminated a criminal gang is being interrogated as a criminal? Isn't that turning black and white on its head? Is that what I taught you?"

Silence.

The cell was deathly silent.

Not only did Yang Yong's face turn ashen, but even Li Tianran sensed that the other man's attitude seemed genuine.

"Teacher Yuan, he hasn't admitted that he's the one who eliminated the Wells gang," Yang Yong said with a wry smile, picking up a paper cup, walking to the water dispenser to fill it, and respectfully handing it to Yuan Zhenghong. "I was just doing my job, trying to verify the truthfulness of Wang Bing's confession as quickly as possible. Other than that, I really had no malicious intent! Chief Chen may have misunderstood my meaning!"

In all honesty, Yang Yong had indeed wanted Chief Chen to find evidence of Li Tianran's crimes of possessing firearms and organizing a violent gang, but seeing Yuan Zhenghong's attitude now, if he admitted it, he would likely not only be scolded, but also receive a couple of "loving iron fists."

As a former intern who had studied under Yuan Zhenghong for two years, Yang Yong knew his temper all too well.

After saying these words, he sighed silently in his heart.

Old Chen, oh Old Chen, I'm sorry!

But subordinates are supposed to take the blame for their leaders…

"You're pushing it all away pretty cleanly!" Yuan Zhenghong's lips curled into a mocking smile upon hearing this. "You've been away from me for a few years, and your work ability hasn't improved, but you've become more and more slippery!"

Yang Yong chuckled awkwardly.

Then, he licked his lips and, like a magician, pulled out a red-headed document from behind him, walked to Yuan Zhenghong, handed it over, and said helplessly, "Teacher Yuan, please take a look at this document. It was faxed to me by Wang Dongchuan of the Municipal Party Committee three minutes ago."

Yuan Zhenghong narrowed his eyes and took the red-headed document.

"There are six big shots in the Nancheng Municipal Party Committee. Although Wang Dongchuan is ranked second, he's the youngest and has a bright future. The big shot ranked first seems to be avoiding his edge, so Wang Dongchuan's voice carries a lot of weight in Nancheng," Yang Yong explained. "After all, I'm working in Nancheng. He gave an order, how could I dare not listen?"

Yuan Zhenghong looked at the red-headed document.

Although Li Tianran was sitting far away from Yuan Zhenghong, due to the angle, he could use his super vision to see the words on the document.

Unsurprisingly, the content of the document was a request for Yang Yong to interrogate Li Tianran, find evidence of his organization of a violent gang, and uncover the identity of the gun supplier behind Li Tianran.

Wang Dongchuan believed that Li Tianran's gang was also intentionally supported by certain people.

The last line of the document ended with the following paragraph:

"Li Tianran's gang destroying the Wells gang, I don't think this is a good phenomenon. On the contrary, I think it proves that Li Tianran's gang has a stronger violent force than the Wells gang. If such a gang wants to do evil, the threat and consequences will be several times greater than the Wells gang."

"The current situation does not allow hidden dangers to appear. We must nip all threats in the bud."

Yuan Zhenghong was silent for a long time after reading the document.

Yang Yong tentatively asked, "Teacher Yuan, what… do you think?"

"Nonsense." Yuan Zhenghong waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "This is a typical case of worrying about the sky falling! In today's world of change, as long as people pick up a kitchen knife, they can become thugs! Can we arrest all the people in our jurisdiction?"

Yang Yong smiled wryly.

He couldn't afford to offend either Wang Dongchuan or Yuan Zhenghong.

So, in this matter, remaining silent was the best way to cope.

"But this is a document jointly issued by several big shots in the Nancheng Municipal Party Committee. If I don't execute it, I'll be disobeying orders…" Yang Yong lowered his voice, indicating that he was stuck in the middle and in a difficult position, wanting Yuan Zhenghong to find a compromise.

Yuan Zhenghong seemed to see Yang Yong's intention, clapped his hands, and a cold-tempered provincial military policeman walked in, placing a file bag on the table.

"I also have a file here, with a higher level of confidentiality and execution than this one. Would you like to take a look?" Yuan Zhenghong shook the file bag in his hand and asked in a deep voice.