Having worked with Chen Cong for many years, Sun Ruohai knew his temper inside out. Dealing with Chen Cong was simple and clean, nothing more than the whip and candy✦ translator's noteWhip and candy (鞭子糖果策略): The Chinese equivalent of the "carrot and stick" approach. strategy: give him a beating, then give him a piece of candy.
The stubborn, donkey-tempered Chen Cong was immediately met with force by Chief Sun.
Slamming the table plus a harsh scolding formed a complete armed suppression.
Chen Cong swallowed a bellyful of fire, preparing to roar back: What the hell is this paratrooper Captain! So many damn rules! I'm busy solving a case, I don't have time to cater to him!
But before his bellyful of complaints could leave his mouth, Chief Sun, who had just chewed him out, switched emotions as fast as a face-changing opera performer. Almost seamlessly, he gave Chen Cong absolutely no opportunity to interject or roar.
"Chen Cong, the situation is special. Peach Wood is currently executing an undercover mission among criminals. If you don't go to him, should he just openly walk into the police station to hold a meeting with you? Are you complaining that his undercover mission is too easy, that he's hiding too well? Do you want to help the criminals expose his identity as quickly as possible? Besides, the case you have on hand is already within the special operations squad's jurisdiction. Since you're so eager to solve the case, I suggest you stop dawdling here and hurry up to meet your Captain! Discuss the case with him, exchange information, and see if he has any new ideas for the investigation."
Following that, Sun Ruohai detailed Peach Wood's undercover identity to him.
He informed him of Song Ci's social connections and status, and repeatedly ordered Chen Cong to mobilize all available resources during the mission to coordinate with operations according to Peach Wood's demands.
"In short, in all future operations, you must unconditionally obey all of the Captain's orders! Stop acting like a thorn in my side✦ translator's noteThorn in my side (刺头): Slang for a troublemaker, rebel, or someone who is difficult to manage and always challenges authority. and embarrassing the Municipal Bureau! Do you understand?"
At that moment, Sun Ruohai was sitting in the dedicated official car assigned to him by the city. Had he not been attending a meeting in a neighboring city, he wouldn't have needed to communicate with Chen Cong via video call.
This video call involved many mission secrets; even with a driver who had been with him for decades, Sun Ruohai still took precautions.
The partition between the driver and the backseat had been raised early on. The specially treated partition provided top-tier soundproofing.
Sun Ruohai pulled back a corner of the curtain and glanced outside; they were almost at the meeting location.
But on the other end of the video, Chen Cong was still endlessly nagging: "This is hilarious! You want me to unconditionally obey all his orders? That doesn't even sound right! Chief Sun, I haven't offended you, have I? It doesn't sound like you're sending me to execute a mission! It sounds like you're sending me to be a protective umbrella for a local thug!"
"Where's all this nonsense coming from! Even if you're ordered to be a protective umbrella! You will still cooperate!"
Sun Ruohai did not reveal "Peach Wood's" true background to Chen Cong, only introducing Shen Ting's situation as "Song Ci." As for Shen Ting's personal information, Sun Ruohai felt it was up to Shen Ting to decide how much he wanted to reveal after meeting Chen Cong.
"You might not understand now. But I believe that after working with him, you will trust him as much as you trust yourself."
Chen Cong was a subordinate with an overly abundant questioning spirit. Although highly capable, he had a significant temper. Sun Ruohai knew he was dissatisfied, but he had faith in Chen Cong; otherwise, he wouldn't have chosen him to assist Shen Ting.
And toward Shen Ting, Sun Ruohai had even more absolute faith.
After the video call ended, Sun Ruohai made another call to Chang Qing, asking him to inform Shen Ting that his Vice Captain, Chen Cong, would arrive to report to him in an hour.
Having organized his thoughts all night only to be chewed out by his boss, Chen Cong's explosive anger gave way to a low mood.
The direct commissioner of the express courier, Wang Jianan, was not the killer. The suspect who instructed Wang Jianan to place the order had vanished without a trace. All direct leads investigated so far had ended in dead ends.
And this so-called national-level mission actually required him to obey the every command of a paratrooper Captain who hadn't even shown his face yet...
Despite his low mood, Chen Cong was not someone who let personal feelings interfere with public duty. After gathering his emotions, he called in the other three colleagues who had already passed their political background checks.
Upon hearing that they were actually joining such an incredible mission, Wen Di, Jiang Zhi, and Pan Xiaozhu all got as excited as if they had been injected with chicken blood✦ translator's noteInjected with chicken blood (打了鸡血): Chinese internet slang meaning to be overly excited, energetic, or pumped up (originating from an old pseudoscientific health fad).. They had seemingly already forgotten about the time they worked themselves to death only to receive a "verbal commendation" from the city.
Indeed, they are still young, Chen Cong thought. Classic case of forgetting the pain once the scar heals. Despite thinking this, he didn't have the heart to dampen their enthusiasm.
"Regarding the operations squad, maintain the highest level of secrecy!"
The three replied in unison: "Understood!"
"Go get to work."
Before heading out for field duty, Chen Cong specifically instructed the team to focus on investigating whether Li Guangqiang, the murderer from 15 years ago, had any close friends or other family members who had recently appeared in Jianghu City or its surrounding areas.
Because he was extremely disappointed with the current progress of the investigation, Chen Cong's temper was even more explosive than usual. The young officers in the detachment all buried their heads in their work, acting exceptionally obedient, terrified of accidentally catching fire.
And this feeling of disappointment reached its absolute peak when Chen Cong laid eyes on the excessively young Captain standing before him.
This young man, wearing a bathrobe, with wet hair, and an expression that practically screamed "Let them eat cake"✦ translator's noteLet them eat cake (何不食肉糜): A famous historical quote by Emperor Hui of Jin. When told his people were starving because there was no rice, he asked, "Why don't they eat meat porridge?" In English, the equivalent idiom is "Let them eat cake" (attributed to Marie Antoinette). Both describe a privileged person who is dangerously out of touch with the hardships of common people. Here, Chen Cong uses it to describe Shen Ting's seemingly out-of-touch, pampered, and privileged appearance., didn't look in the slightest like a Captain capable of leading a "national-level mission"!!
Half an hour ago.
Although one hundred and twenty percent unwilling in his heart, Chen Cong strictly followed Chief Sun's orders. Dressed in plainclothes and carrying his police badge along with case-related files, he hurried over to the Yuehuai Hotel—where his Captain, "Peach Wood," was currently staying.
The Yuehuai Hotel was famous nationwide for its exorbitant prices and luxurious style. It was the country's first "seven-star hotel," and the Yuannan Center Mall where it was located was dubbed the "Vertical World" by media at home and abroad.
The Yuannan Center Mall had an overall construction area of hundreds of thousands of square meters. Its interior was divided into ten major vertical communities encompassing various sectors: entertainment, shopping malls, hotels, and high-end boutique offices.
As one of the best hotels in the Center Mall, and indeed the entire country, Yuehuai Hotel was collaboratively designed and decorated by twenty-one world-class designer teams.
The main building of the Yuannan Center Mall, where the hotel resided, stood at a towering 639 meters with 110 floors. Floors 88 and above housed the hotel's guest rooms.
Its exterior was tall, straight, and imposing, strongly emphasizing vertical lines to pursue an intense, magnificent visual impact. From a distance, it looked like a modern, stepped, towering pyramid piercing the clouds. This was the timeless Art Deco✦ translator's noteArt Deco (Art Deco风): A prominent design style of the 1920s and 30s characterized by sleek, geometric, or stylized forms and man-made materials. style, consistent with the Empire State Building.
The interior decor of the hotel, however, uniformly adopted a Hong Kong-style "light luxury" aesthetic that balanced Chinese and European elements. It was fashionable and bright, yet not lacking in extravagant nobility, avoiding the outdated, oppressive ostentatiousness of other traditional luxury hotels.
The guest rooms at Yuehuai Hotel were fully equipped with smart home systems. All the interior soft furnishings and toiletries were world-class luxury brands, specially customized for the VIP guests staying at Yuehuai.
Naturally, the services accompanying such a hotel were also top-tier.
Guests staying in executive suites and above could enjoy complimentary chauffeured pick-up and drop-off services provided by the hotel, using vehicles like Rolls-Royces and Bentleys, according to their needs.
And beyond considerations for guest transportation, the hotel management clearly understood that the consumption habits of high-net-worth clients differed from ordinary customers.
Therefore, at the very top of the hotel, extending along the edge of the building, was a cantilevered helipad. This incredibly expensive small patch of empty space existed solely so that VIPs' helicopters had a direct place to land.
As a paragon of clean hands✦ translator's noteClean hands (两袖清风): A Chinese idiom literally meaning "both sleeves hold nothing but clear wind," used to describe an honest, uncorrupted official who refuses bribes and remains poor but righteous. in the criminal investigation force, Chen Cong had never set foot in such a luxurious hotel. Even the last time he came to the Yuannan Center Mall, it was only to attend a blind date dinner arranged by his parents.
He wandered around the ground floor lobby bearing the hotel's logo for ages without finding a front desk. Only after pulling a security guard over to ask did he learn that the true entrance to this hotel was not on the first floor.
Yuehuai's reception area was located on the 101st floor. Not only did this floor boast an excellent view of the cityscape, but the number itself metaphorically suggested that the distinguished guests who could stay at Yuehuai were all "one in a hundred," the chosen ones.
When people find themselves in an unfamiliar environment, it's easy for them to feel cramped and uneasy. In the luxurious lobby where crystal chandeliers sparkled and even the security personnel were all dressed in sharp suits, the usually rugged Chen Cong felt highly uncomfortable.
With a major case looming, time was the most precious commodity. After this tedious bout of fumbling around, he had wasted another dozen minutes. He couldn't help but feel even more dissatisfied with this Captain "Peach Wood," who stayed in high-end hotels, cared about keeping up appearances, and came with so much unnecessary bullshit.
While waiting for the elevator, Chen Cong thought with a resentful heart: Why do I have to sit on a hard bench in the office, while this official Captain who hasn't even shown his face gets to sleep comfortably in a high-end hotel like this?
He had no idea that the reason "Peach Wood" chose this hotel was entirely out of considerations for privacy and security.
Room rates at Yuehuai started in the five digits. Guests willing to spend tens of thousands of yuan to stay for a single night were naturally all figures of considerable status and prestige.
To protect the privacy and security of its clients, the interior and surroundings of Yuehuai Hotel were densely covered with surveillance and strict security. Their security department was notoriously difficult to deal with.
Previously, a well-known entrepreneur was embroiled in a sexual assault scandal while staying at Yuehuai. No matter how various interested parties threatened or bribed them, Yuehuai refused to provide any surveillance or visitor records, citing client privacy.
Even later, when the Municipal Bureau intervened to investigate due to fermenting public opinion, the hotel still didn't easily give face.
Client First was Yuehuai's ironclad rule.
Even if it involved criminal disputes, the relevant authorities had to possess complete paperwork and follow fully compliant procedures to receive even "basic cooperation" from the formidable hotel management.
With Peach Wood staying here, it would be as difficult as ascending to heaven for outsiders to use the hotel's surveillance to find out who he met or what he did. Therefore, compared to other hotels, staying here was much safer. Besides, the room fee was paid by the Song family; there was no need for the state to reimburse it.
After the sweet-smiling receptionist repeatedly verified his visitor identity, the highly impatient Chen Cong was finally led into the elevator by a young man from the hotel's concierge department.
The young man, dressed in the hotel's uniform, was exceptionally attentive. Smiling brightly, he swiped the elevator card for Chen Cong, pressed the floor button, and then backed out of the elevator lobby.
Before the doors closed, he respectfully bowed a full ninety degrees.
Chen Cong looked down at the gleaming, mirror-like marble floor of the elevator car, unable to resist mentally calculating his annual take-home salary.
Being a criminal investigator truly was the most thankless job. Even though they were civil servants with permanent positions—which sounded respectable and reliable on normal days—the reality was that whenever a major case occurred, they worked overtime until they didn't even see their own homes.
When encountering high-profile cases, they had to endure public opinion pressure unimaginable to ordinary people. If they were unlucky enough to encounter a politically sensitive case, they were caught between a rock and a hard place. If they acted cautiously, the uninformed public would easily misunderstand them as "inactive." If they acted swiftly and efficiently to arrest people, it would easily trigger an uproar of "insider conspiracy." In short, they couldn't win either way.
Working in this position, having high rates of both singledom and divorce was one thing, but they also had to be constantly prepared to "die young" and "sacrifice themselves for the country."
And that wasn't even mentioning the anti-narcotics officers, every single one of whom was a classic "high-risk individual" who would likely be rejected if they tried to buy personal life insurance.
But so what?
The people of the nation were always well protected by this bravest group among them.
And justice and happiness were being defended to the death by this very same group of people.
Chen Cong scratched his messy hair.
I fucking love being a police officer.
Shen Ting hadn't gone to sleep until dawn. But compared to Chen Cong—who had stayed up all night and hadn't even shaved—he looked exceptionally put-together having just finished a shower.
Chang Qing had called early in the morning, saying that Vice Captain Chen Cong would arrive to report very soon. And just moments ago, the hotel front desk had repeatedly verified the visitor's identity with him.
Therefore, Chen Cong's visit was no surprise to Shen Ting.
But when Chen Cong saw him, he was completely dumbfounded.
Standing outside the door, this Vice Captain who had clearly stayed up all night had hair sticking up everywhere and an unfriendly expression. He looked like an angry cartoon dragon, and the kind that could change its face at that.
In the brief ten seconds of seeing Shen Ting, the angry dragon's expression shifted from resentful to surprised, from surprised to suspicious, before finally settling into an expression of This is too complicated for words.
Drying his hair with a towel, Shen Ting stepped aside, gesturing for him to come in.
Suspecting he had knocked on the wrong door, Chen Cong entered the room with complex emotions.
He wasn't a believer in the theory that "seniority equals capability." On the contrary, within the CID, Chen Cong himself belonged to that small group of young and promising officers.
But the moment he laid eyes on "Peach Wood," he couldn't help but be shocked: This Captain is way too fucking young!
Someone with his outstanding qualifications had worked himself to the bone, bearing resentment and toil for ten years, just to reach Vice Captain.
Yet this young man standing before him, who looked no older than thirty, was already the core figure in a national-level mission?!
In a flash of realization, Chen Cong—who already held a preconceived negative impression of Peach Wood—came to a conclusion: This bro is highly likely some top-tier Nth-generation government official's✦ translator's noteNth-generation government official (官N代): A spin on "second-generation official" (官二代), referring to the children or descendants of powerful government officials who benefit from extreme nepotism and privilege. son. Participating in this mission is probably just to attach his name and gild his resume✦ translator's noteGild his resume (镀个金): Slang for taking a position or participating in an easy task solely to make one's resume look better for future promotions., paving the way for rapid promotions in the future.
Chen Cong felt deeply distressed: Sigh, human hearts are no longer what they used to be, public morals are declining day by day. Even someone as upright as Chief Sun couldn't resist bowing to power!
He silently resolved that he absolutely had to find an opportunity later to teach this young "Peach Wood" a very good lesson!
He needed to make this youngster understand that trying to use their CID system to gild his resume wouldn't be that easy!
This is another chapter where I'm low-key showing off President Chu's—our 'Ear-Husband'—capitalist power. Forget the hotel, the entire MALL belongs to President Chu~
I've never written such a slow-burn story before; I'm so impatient! However, trust me, I am diligently planting seeds/foreshadowing right now. All this buildup is for the brilliant explosion that's coming later~
I'm constantly being 'killed by the cuteness' of my own plot holes and ideas.
There will be another update at 3:00 PM today! See you in the comments, cuties~
Whip and candy (鞭子糖果策略): The Chinese equivalent of the "carrot and stick" approach.
Thorn in my side (刺头): Slang for a troublemaker, rebel, or someone who is difficult to manage and always challenges authority.
Let them eat cake (何不食肉糜): A famous historical quote by Emperor Hui of Jin. When told his people were starving because there was no rice, he asked, "Why don't they eat meat porridge?" In English, the equivalent idiom is "Let them eat cake" (attributed to Marie Antoinette). Both describe a privileged person who is dangerously out of touch with the hardships of common people. Here, Chen Cong uses it to describe Shen Ting's seemingly out-of-touch, pampered, and privileged appearance.
Art Deco (Art Deco风): A prominent design style of the 1920s and 30s characterized by sleek, geometric, or stylized forms and man-made materials.
Clean hands (两袖清风): A Chinese idiom literally meaning "both sleeves hold nothing but clear wind," used to describe an honest, uncorrupted official who refuses bribes and remains poor but righteous.
Injected with chicken blood (打了鸡血): Chinese internet slang meaning to be overly excited, energetic, or pumped up (originating from an old pseudoscientific health fad).
Nth-generation government official (官N代): A spin on "second-generation official" (官二代), referring to the children or descendants of powerful government officials who benefit from extreme nepotism and privilege.
Gild his resume (镀个金): Slang for taking a position or participating in an easy task solely to make one's resume look better for future promotions.