Once, I wanted to be a good person

Unexpectedly, Fang Ze didn't hesitate and said, "Of course, I have objections."

"Hmm?" Qingping's gaze shimmered with a dangerous light, "What are your objections?"

"You don't think that because this case was initiated by your team and you've achieved great merit, you want to keep handling it, do you?"

Her words were cutting, almost explicitly accusing him of "stealing credit."

However, Fang Ze didn't respond directly, but instead stood up with a smile and said, "Officer, I think you've misunderstood."

"Whether the merit is great or not, I really don't care. Which department handles the case, I don't care about that either."

"After all, it's all for the sake of the Federation, for the sake of Xida State."

"Then why do you still have objections?" Qingping looked at Fang Ze.

Fang Ze smiled and said, "Because you are not aware of the situation; the progress you have on the case is still three days old."

"In fact, the nature of the case has changed over these past few days."

Upon hearing Fang Ze's words, everyone present was momentarily astounded.

Qingping couldn't help but look towards Bai Zhi.

Bai Zhi...... She was actually very anxious.

She didn't know what Fang Ze was talking about or doing. The Special Case Team had been ordered by the state to halt all operations in recent days and hadn't made any progress on the case.

So, she didn't actually know about any new developments in the case.

But since Fang Ze had said it that way, she obviously couldn't contradict him, so she nodded and seriously said, "That's right. The case has been updated."

Hearing this, Qingping, infuriated, slammed her hand on the table and reprimanded, "Nonsense! I remember that the state issued an order requiring you to suspend the case for these few days!"

"You actually disobeyed the order and continued to investigate secretly?"

Seeing Qingping react this way, Fang Ze quickly said, "Officer, you've misunderstood. We are the most obedient. After the state issued the order, we suspended the case."

Qingping, "Hmm? Then..."

Fang Ze smiled and then said, "But... the case evolved on its own."

As he spoke, he pulled out a document and, while handing it to Qingping, explained, "It happened like this. A few days ago, at the same time we were apprehending Minister Qianfeng, Hua Jian Department Chief from our Emerald City Security Bureau suddenly disappeared mysteriously."

"Originally, we didn't pay much attention to it."

"After all, it's the Security Bureau, going on missions frequently. Disappearing for a day or two is quite normal."

"But, the strange thing was, Hua Jian Department Chief actually didn't show up for work for three or four consecutive days and didn't request any leave."

"And whether it was Officer Bai Zhi, Director Gu Qing, or their department colleagues, none found any record of him having any outside mission."

"It was at this time, I received a report from the public."

"Someone saw a masked person fighting with Hua Jian Department Chief near the Security Bureau, knocking him unconscious and taking him away."

"I visited some locals nearby and inquired around. I confirmed the authenticity of the information."

"To clarify the truth of the matter, we urgently investigated Hua Jian Department Chief."

"It turned out that he... was closely connected with Qianfeng and Qiu Yue and the three of them had many dealings that weren't meant to be seen. He must be another member of this organization."

"Therefore, we had reason to suspect that Hua Jian Department Chief might have been silenced or kidnapped by some people because he knew too many secrets."

"And because Hua Jian Department Chief's ability was at Fusion first level, based on the situation at that time, the Awakener that kidnapped him must be at least in Fusion third level or higher."

Upon hearing Fang Ze's words, Qingping asked sternly, "Why wasn't this reported?"

Fang Ze smiled and said, "You've said before. The state issued an order and the Special Case Team suspended all investigations."

"So, after we found out that Hua Jian Department Chief was involved in this case, we suspended the investigation and sealed the files."

"I plan on reporting to you after the restart," Fang Ze argued, using Qingping's own words against her, causing her face to turn red with anger.

Yet, that wasn't the end of it. After saying so, Fang Ze went on to counter with a question, "Although all this is a coincidence."

"But Officer, look. Doesn't this fall precisely within the jurisdiction of the Security Bureau?"

"Moreover, let's not even mention jurisdiction. One of our department chiefs has been abducted, and their fate is unknown. This is clearly a matter of internal affairs."

"It can't be handed over to another department."

"That would be too embarrassing."

Hearing this, the entire conference room fell silent for a moment.

Bai Zhi and Xun Yi exchanged glances, while Gu Qing smiled and yawned there.

Qingping, meanwhile, expressionlessly turned to Councilor Wu.

Having heard Fang Ze's comments, Councilor Wu also fell silent for a moment.

After a moment, she laughed twice and suddenly changed the subject, "This must be the newly recruited genius commissioner from Emerald City, Fang Ze, right?"

"Indeed, he lives up to his reputation."

"In just a few days, there's new progress in the case."

Alerted by this, Fang Ze hastily defended, "Your Honor, the progress in this case has nothing to do with me. It's all coincidence... just a coincidence..."

Seeing that Fang Ze was watertight, Councilor Wu did not continue to probe.

She thought for a while, then asked, "This new criminal case, it wouldn't require Commissioner Jiang Cheng to stay behind and continue cooperating with the investigation, would it?"

Fang Ze smiled, "Of course not. After all, Commissioner Jiang Cheng is a noble, and if there are issues requiring scrutiny, they should be investigated by the Noble Court, right?"

"Our Security Bureau doesn't have jurisdiction over that."

Between these lines, the bargaining was completed.

Although it didn't meet Councilor Wu's expectations, her mission was solely to get Jiang Cheng out, everything else was secondary.

Thus, she eventually nodded in agreement,

"Alright then. Since this is an internal affair of the Security Bureau, and it involves crimes by Awakeners, there's no need to transfer the case to the Supervisory Department."

"However, solving a case is both a right and a responsibility."

"Now that the case is in your hands, do solve it quickly. There must be no delays!"

Upon hearing Councilor Wu's words, Fang Ze smiled and nodded.

With this exchange, the matter was settled. Stay connected through My Virtual Library Empire

The atmosphere on site also eased as a result.

However, just then, during the meeting, Jiang Cheng, who had been looking down at his book the entire time, suddenly spoke up, "Wait a minute."

Hearing this, everyone present turned their gaze toward him.

Jiang Cheng closed his book, placed it to his right, then looked up expressionlessly first at Councilor Wu, then at Fang Ze, and slowly stated, "I disagree with leaving this case with the Security Bureau."

——————

There's one more chapter today, which I expect will be around 6 PM.

Been a bit busy lately, and my fingers are sore, so my writing has slowed down. Please bear with me. Writing ten thousand words a day is indeed busy for someone with my condition, but I keep persisting.

Finally, quietly asking for a monthly pass.

I will post the second chapter at 6 PM.