Chapter 137 What a Mess

Within the central streets of Zhanan District, Tang Baiqing bent down and got into Xu Hu's car: "What's up?"

"Got something to show you." Xu Hu took out his phone, brought up a photo, and handed it to Tang Baiqing: "Does this look familiar?"

Tang Baiqing squinted, examining the photo on the phone: "Isn't this…?!"

"Right," Xu Hu interrupted, nodding. "Found it outside the district."

Tang Baiqing was stunned: "So you mean?"

"This whole thing is too frustrating," Xu Hu said, his face dark. "We can't lose the goods, lose the money, and then take the blame ourselves."

"I'll go." Tang Baiqing already understood Xu Hu's meaning. He said almost without hesitation, "Damn it, leave it to me. I'll get the Coast Guard guys to do it."

"District-external cases, will the Coast Guard approve that?" Xu Hu asked.

Tang Baiqing had been irritable lately and tended to act impulsively. Xu Hu's words made him realize, "Right, cases involving areas outside the district are more troublesome. Where was this cargo found?"

"In the southern, ungoverned zone. It'll be hard for your unit to get approval for this kind of case. If anything goes wrong, the higher-ups won't want to take the blame." Xu Hu pondered for a moment. "And I'm not planning on notifying the authorities."

"Why not?"

"Think about it, Wang Daolin is also involved in this case, and his relationship with Yu Mingyuan is a bit unclear right now. If we go in all guns blazing, it'll be easy for the news to leak." Xu Hu's thinking was cautious. "Let's just do it ourselves, get results, and then notify the higher-ups."

Tang Baiqing gritted his teeth: "Who are you planning to send?"

"Let Lao Er (Second Brother) take some men," Xu Hu replied.

"I'll go with him." Tang Baiqing's eyes were gloomy. "Damn it, if we're going to do this, we won't mess with small fry, we'll go straight for the Yu family."

"Alright." Xu Hu paused. "Lao Er doesn't think things through enough. I'll feel better if you go with him. Lao Mo's people are coming these next few days, and I have to arrange things. Plus, with the New Year coming up, I have to go door-to-door, building relationships. I'll be busy."

"It's fine, Lao Er and I will go."

"It might take a few days. Aren't you spending New Year's at home?" Xu Hu asked.

"I don't want to be at home for even a minute right now," Tang Baiqing said with a sigh. "I can't stand my dad's looks."

"Alright, then that's that!" Xu Hu said, picking up his phone. "I'll send you the information."

…

At the police station, inside the criminal detention center, Da Xiong (Big Bear), who had been beaten by a dozen people, was now being taken to the infirmary.

The officer on duty frowned and asked the prison doctor, "Is he alright?"

"It's pretty bad." The doctor bent down and pressed on Da Xiong's nose. "Does it hurt?"

"It hurts…!" Da Xiong lay on the bed, his body convulsing in pain. He had just been beaten by a group of men in the cell, and he was badly injured. His nose was bleeding, his eyes were bloodshot, and the left side of his ribs was throbbing.

The doctor reached out and pulled open Da Xiong's right eyelid, shining a medical flashlight into it: "Is your vision clear? Do you feel a stinging sensation?"

"White… white light… can't see clearly." Da Xiong's eyes were extremely bloodshot, and tears and faint traces of blood were already flowing from the corners of his eyes.

The doctor put away the flashlight and turned to the officer on duty. "Take him to the hospital. I can't handle this."

The skills and equipment of the prison doctor were limited to treating colds and prescribing anti-inflammatory drugs. They simply couldn't handle even slightly serious external injuries.

"He has to go to the hospital?" the officer on duty asked, sounding annoyed.

"Yes, he has to. I can't tell what's wrong with his eyeball. If he goes blind, who's going to take the blame?" the doctor said matter-of-factly.

"Damn it!" the officer on duty cursed, then looked up and replied, "Then give me a slip, and I'll get the director to sign it."

"Alright," the doctor nodded.

The officer on duty walked out of the prison clinic and saw a row of suspects squatting outside. These were the people who had beaten Da Xiong earlier.

"Who started it?!" the officer on duty demanded.

"Officer, this guy was sleeping on duty and hit us first," the leader of the cell said weakly.

The officer on duty walked over to the leader, grabbed his chin firmly with his left hand, aimed with his right, and swung it around.

"Smack!"

A crisp sound rang out, and the leader of the cell was knocked directly to the ground.

"You're causing me trouble right before the New Year, aren't you?! I'll add sixty pounds of shackles and hang them on you until the fifteenth day of the New Year!" the officer on duty yelled at the leader before turning and walking away.

In the eyes of the other suspects in the cell, Da Xiong was not even human. But in the eyes of the officers who held power, anyone wearing a suspect's uniform was nothing more than an animal awaiting trial.

…

A little after three in the afternoon, the officer on duty completed the release procedures, got the director to approve the slip, and then took Da Xiong out of the detention center, heading to the police station hospital.

In fact, these prison officers hated taking suspects to the hospital, because it was a thankless and very troublesome job.

First, the suspect needed to be closely guarded, and the officer had to carry a gun. Second, if the suspect needed to be hospitalized, someone had to stay and watch him to prevent him from escaping. In this way, the officer might not be able to go home for several days, wasting their personal time.

Of course, if the suspect was particularly rich or powerful, that was another matter, because a sensible suspect would definitely not let these officers run around for nothing. But Da Xiong clearly didn't have that kind of capital, so the officer's mood was very irritable when he took him away.

With only two days left until the New Year, who the hell wanted to be doing this?

There were relevant regulations for taking suspects out of the criminal detention center. Generally, for ordinary suspects, about three or four people were enough, because the suspects were wearing shackles and their movements were very inconvenient. But if the suspect was likely to be sentenced to life imprisonment, a suspended death sentence, or the death penalty, then at least eight people had to accompany them, and a special car from the police station hospital had to be used. The officer on duty also had to notify the local police unit.

Da Xiong was clearly not a serious suspect. The crime he committed was clear, and at most he would be sentenced to ten years or less. So this time, only four people escorted him, including the officer on duty who was responsible for him.

Along the way, the four officers were talking and cursing, and Da Xiong sat in the back seat, his head lowered, not daring to speak. Because he could tell that these people were in a bad mood, and if he said anything wrong, he might face another beating.

A little after five in the afternoon, Da Xiong was taken to the police station hospital, but as soon as they entered the lobby, they saw many burn victims being pushed upstairs.

There were a lot of people, and a lot of police officers were present.

"Don't move!" the officer on duty ordered, pointing at Da Xiong, then said to his colleague, "I'll go ask what's going on."

…

The Yu Family.

Yu Mingyuan sat under the red lanterns and dialed Su Tianyu's number. "Liu Zi (Sixth), are you free? Come over here for a bit."

"Sure, I'll be there in a little while," Su Tianyu replied immediately.