Chapter 229: The Apology that Came Late
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Needless to say, Bureau Chief Zhou complimented Zhao Yu and said, "Zhao Yu’s performance was remarkable! His work and effort is highly recognized in closing the Mianling Case."
Apparently, Bureau Chief Zhou had been under heavy pressure ever since Hao Gang was detained. Business associates, business representatives, municipal bureau leaders. and even municipal committee members called to pressure him. They urged him to deal with Hao Gang with extreme care since he had a special background. There could be serious consequences if anything went wrong.
Due to those reasons, the lawyer Feng Caoyang was so barbaric and unleashed his wrath at the police officers fearlessly. But when he that saw Hao Gang had confessed through the surveillance camera, he stunned and finally fled with his tail in between his legs!
"Son, that was amazing!" Bureau Chief Zhou gave Zhao Yu a thumbs up. "Beating up Feng Caoyang was great. You did great! I was dying to give him a few punches too! Hehehehe…" Bureau Chief Zhou was so excited that he could not speak.
Since Zhao Yu knew that Bureau Chief Zhou was happy, he took the opportunity to admit that he had not been kidnapped. He told him that he had accidentally heard about Hao Gang’s involvement but he had no evidence to request for backup. So he lied about being kidnapped.
Bureau Chief Zhou obviously did not blame him, but praised him for being smart and said that desperate times called for desperate measures. He definitely understood. He told Zhao Yu not to worry and that that he would explain on behalf of Zhao Yu when writing the closing report.
In the end, Bureau Chief Zhou advised Zhao Yu, "You’re injured and you’ve been working so hard, you must be exhausted! You have to go home and rest. Let your colleagues help you wrap up all the work. Don’t worry! Whether it’s recognition or a cash reward, you’ll get your share!"
Zhao Yu felt delighted when he heard that. He was really exhausted. He had not gotten any proper rest for the past couple of days. His body was worn out. Rest was just what he needed. So he went home straight after he left the Bureau Chief’s office.
Although Zhao Yu’s mind was preoccupied with the Mianling Case, his exhaustion sent him to sleep really quickly. He slept for the whole day. He did not eat, and he did not even hear the system’s ending message.
The next day when he woke up, he realized that he had an extra device in his system—an invisible bullet proof suit, signifying the completion of his adventure for the previous day. He had no idea what his adventure completion rate had been.
Zhao Yu was finally re-energized after a good sleep. With the start of a new day, he was full of motivation and saw a bright future ahead of him. So with this amazing feeling, he smoked a cigarette to get a new hexagram. The result was the same as the previous day: a "Zhen-Gen" hexagram. It seemed that his status would increase again. There was always a new achievement to be made in his career.
Zhao Yu knew that the Mianling Case was not small. This case affected many things. As the suspect, Hao Gang, was a public figure in Qinshan, the trial would be complicated and lengthy. It was definitely not a case that could be closed within a few days.
Just as he had predicted, when Zhao Yu got to the police station after having breakfast, there was a crowd at Rongyang Police Station, both in and outside of the station. The police might have announced the news. Reporters from every media outlet gathered to get an interview. To the people in Qinshan, this case was no less important than a deadly bomb that was destined to cause a shockwave.
Zhao Yu knew that the reporters were difficult to deal with. He immediately entered the building via the back entrance. But who knew it would be just as crowded in the lobby? He had no choice but to go upstairs, and attempted to take another route to the office.
As Zhao Yu had slept since yesterday afternoon, he had no idea what was going on. "How has the case developed? Is there anything new?" he wondered. He wanted to find out soon.
When he passed the identification bureau, he found an even bigger crowd, far larger than the one in the lobby. In the crowd Zhao Yu saw a few familiar faces, such as Mr. and Mrs. Tao and the other family members of the victims. The ambience was rather depressing and there were people crying. Zhao Yu guessed that the case had been closed and that the bodies of the kids could now be claimed.
Just when Zhao Yu walked through the crowd to confirm that, he heard an old and eager voice. "Zhang Ying! It has been tough for both you and your child all these years!" The one who spoke was Liang Wanqian, an old man. He was holding his cane, standing in front of Niu Weiguang’s wife when he said regrettably, "We accused Ah Guang wrongly! Ah Guang was a good man. It was our fault to have forced you and your son to move away back then! I apologize!" The old man then threw his cane and knelt in front of Zhang Ying and her child.
Zhang Ying was frightened and immediately bent down to hold him. Then Mr. Tao and the other parents all went in front of her and knelt as well.
"We wrongly accused Ah Guang! We’re so sorry!" Mrs. Tao cried, "We shouldn’t have wrongly accused a good man! After all these years, we are so sorry!"
"It’s all our fault!"
"…" Hearing all of these apologies that had come late, Zhang Ying weeped. "Weiguang, did you hear that? I’ve waited for the day that you would be proved innocent! Wooo… You can now rest in peace! Woo…" Zhang Ying’s weeping had caused everybody to cry, especially Niu Weiguang’s son. He cried his heart out in his mom’s arms.
Looking at the situation, Zhao Yu felt uneasy and complicated. He hated the cruelty of the murderer that caused so much pain to these families. On the other hand, he felt sense of achievement as Niu Weigang was finally proven innocent. He felt his days of hard work had paid off.
But Zhao Yu could also tell that, in these peoples’ eyes, besides sorrow, there was hatred! He was worried that these people might scheme to take revenge on Hao Gang and the others. Gao Yang had no one, but Han Wenjun had a big family, and Hao Gang had his son, Hao Jiajun. Would these people lose their minds and do something bad?
At that very moment, even Zhao Yu himself was trapped between the devil and the blue sea. He could not tell the difference between right and the wrong anymore. He was certain that Hao Gang and Han Wenjun were the two murderers. He hated their guts and thought that death would not do them justice!
But on the other hand, he did not want to see Han Wenjun’s grandchildren or Hao Jiajun be killed because of that. A man should pay for his own sins, not his family. Doing so would only be taking one’s rage out, but it would never heal one’s wound.
This applied to both the Lost Hand Case and the Mianling Case. Zhao Yu could not find a balance in these two cases! The bad guys would be punished, but whatever crime they had committed had caused harm to others that could never be undone.
Zhao Yu returned to his office with mixed feelings. The office was quiet and not many people were there.
"That’s not right," he thought. Since the entire police station was busy handling the Mianling case, Zhao Yu thought that the detectives would be busy as hell. Why was it empty?
Just as he was thinking, Li Beini suddenly brought coffee out from the pantry. She greeted Zhao Yu excitedly when she him. "Aiya! Isn’t this the famous Detective Zhao? Bro, you are now famous among Qinshan Police Officers! I heard that the leaders have arranged for you be interviewed on TV! That’s amazing bro! Quick, give me an autograph!"
"Don’t be silly…" Zhao Yu was flattered but he pretended not to be. "Beini, where are the others?"
"The others?" Li Beini thought for a while and replied, "Oh, Captain Jin just came back and is in his office! Everyone hasn’t seen him for a while so they went to say hi!"
"Captain Jin? The Old Jin?" Zhao Yu was surprised. "What made him come back?"
"I heard that he had surgery earlier, so he might not be able to work on the frontline anymore!" Li Beini put down the coffee and continued, "He’s probably back today to go through some procedures, and he may be transferred to a training center to become a clerk."
"Hehehe." Zhao Yu laughed and said quietly, "Great! Old Jin, you came back just in time! Not that it’s not happening, it’s just not time yet. It’s time for payback! Hehehe…" He ran towards captain’s office without acknowledging Li Beini’s suspicion.