Chapter Thirty-Three: Clash of Masters

Haifeng watched as Qiao Yuqian departed in sorrow. He could tell that Xu Dong’s actions had wounded the bureau chief deeply, and that the man must now be blaming himself—blaming himself for not keeping his subordinates under control, for allowing the head of a precinct to become the pawn of criminals.

Yet Haifeng felt there was no need for Chief Qiao to reproach himself. After all, the force he commanded was immense; in such a vast forest, it was only natural for a few rotten birds to appear. One or two scoundrels among so many people was almost inevitable.

In Haifeng’s view, it was Xu Dong who ought to feel guilt. Entrusted with responsibility, trusted by all, he had been given the command of a precinct, yet he had never thought to do anything for his team or his country. All he cared for was sating his own greed, treating the power granted to him by the people as a bargaining chip, turning the force entrusted to him by the organization into his own personal army.

It was his avarice that gave criminals their opening, and Xu Dong turned a deaf ear to their actions, caring nothing for whether Qian Zhen and the others endangered the nation. All he thought about was his personal gain.

Haifeng despised such conduct, yet his career had brought him face to face with far too many men like Xu Dong. He could never fathom why these people lost their sense of reverence, lost their original intentions, and so brazenly surrendered to their own desires, heedlessly harming the country and its innocent people.

Haifeng understood that, as society developed, many would chase after material satisfaction; the extravagance and indulgence of tycoons would inevitably attract envious eyes. Widening gaps between rich and poor would drive many to strive for wealth. He saw nothing inherently wrong with such pursuits—everyone had the right to choose their own path in life. But such choices ought never to be built on the suffering of others, nor on the harm of the nation.

As Qiao Yuqian had said, if a policeman left the force to pursue a career in business or to make money for personal reasons, there was no blame in that. He had the right to pursue his own happiness. But so long as he remained in his position, he was duty-bound to fulfill his responsibilities and complete the mission entrusted to him by the state. Xu Dong, it seemed, had long since forgotten this truth.

Even more disheartening was the fact that people like Xu Dong continued to appear, sometimes even in critical posts, causing immense harm to the force and the nation. Haifeng didn’t know how to prevent such people from emerging, but he knew what he himself could do: bring every Xu Dong he encountered to justice, no matter their rank, power, or the strength of their connections. Only by doing so would he truly fulfill his original promise.

Through interrogating Xu Dong and the others, the White Tiger Unit discovered that beneath the vast shadow of the Qian Group lurked deep darkness; behind its dazzling façade was an ugly core. Not only did it have protectors like Xu Dong, but also enforcers like Shi Heng, and scapegoats like Cao Jixiang.

Moreover, the Qian Group had used the internet as a natural amplifier for its crimes. This financial conglomerate, brimming with elite talent, had not used its gifts to benefit society. Instead, it had wielded its expertise to flout the law and harm the people.

Haifeng and his team knew that bringing the Qian Group to justice would be a daunting challenge, but they resolved to face it head-on, to engage in a battle of wits and will with these corrupt elites, and to make them pay for their crimes.

Before leaving Mingzhou, Qiao Yuqian went to see Qiu Zhiyong. The two men spoke at length; Haifeng and the others did not know what was said, only that when Qiu Zhiyong saw Qiao Yuqian off, he was all smiles, and Qiao Yuqian shook hands with each member of the White Tiger Unit, expressing his admiration and promising that Tanghua would give its full support to their work.

To facilitate the White Tiger Unit’s investigation, Qiao Yuqian left Xu Dong and the others in Mingzhou for the time being, telling Haifeng that once the White Tiger Unit had completed their mission, he would take these men back to Tanghua to face legal consequences.

Watching Qiao Yuqian depart, Qiu Zhiyong felt deep admiration for this kindred spirit, and as he recalled their conversation, he was lost in pleasant memories.

Seeing Qiu Zhiyong standing motionless for some time, the others gently nudged him back to the present. Gazing at the outstanding members of the White Tiger Unit—Haifeng, Liu Zhiyang, Wen Yuxin, Li Mengyang, Zhao Zhijie, Zhang Mufeng, and Li Weiwei—Qiu Zhiyong was filled with pride.

After Qiao Yuqian’s departure, Qiu Zhiyong and Haifeng’s team returned to Mingcheng University. There, Qiu Zhiyong watched as Haifeng began to outline the next steps of their operation.

Haifeng said, “Let’s review the case so far. Our investigation into the Qian Group’s crimes has revealed that the group is run by the brothers Qian Zhen and Qian Gui. On the surface, it’s a legitimate financial company, involved in P2P investment, insurance, securities, and other financial services.”

“In reality, it’s a company that uses the internet to conduct usurious lending. Of course, they’re clever—they don’t operate the loans directly, but instead funnel them through nine lending companies such as Jixiang Lending and Zhenwang Lending. Collections are then handled by thirty-six companies like Shiheng Finance and Wangyou Finance, using violent means, harassing phone calls, threats involving compromising photos, and other methods.”

Haifeng paused and glanced at Qiu Zhiyong, who signaled for him to continue.

Haifeng went on, “The Qian Group obtains huge sums through bank loans and P2P investments, and then transfers these funds to those nine lending companies to carry out high-interest lending in practice.”

“From what we’ve gathered, these nine companies engage in various online loan projects: campus loans, nude loans, glamour loans, credit loans, 714 payday loans, shopping loans, and so on. The thirty-six collection companies, like Shiheng Finance and Wangyou Finance, are responsible for debt collection.”

“This includes violent collection methods, round-the-clock harassing phone calls that disrupt borrowers and their families, spreading compromising photos of female students as threats, exposing defaulters’ photos online, demanding that borrowers sell their bodies to repay debts, or even selling them directly to criminal syndicates.”

“However, these thirty-six collection companies have no direct financial ties with the Qian Group—not even any acquaintance with the Qian brothers. All their contacts are with the heads of the nine lending companies. So, on the surface, the Qian Group appears to have committed no crime, and no illegal debt collection can be traced to them.”

“Now, all thirty-six collection companies are in our custody. Their leaders have confessed and are willing to testify against the nine lending companies. But these nine companies act as a shield for the Qian Group. Unless we can break through them and find enough evidence of the Qian Group’s criminal acts, the Qian brothers will remain at large, free to set up new lending and collection companies and continue their usurious operations.”

As Haifeng spoke, Qiu Zhiyong occasionally glanced at Liu Zhiyang. He knew this would be a major test for Liu Zhiyang. If an inexperienced officer were handling the case, the Qian Group would undoubtedly go unpunished—the brothers had done an excellent job of shielding themselves from legal risk, ready to sacrifice the lending companies if needed.

After all, those companies depended on the Qian brothers for their livelihood. So long as the group remained intact, a few years in prison meant little—they could still return to wealth and power. Expecting them to testify against their benefactors was wishful thinking. Moreover, the contracts between the group and these lending companies described only simple business relationships; any illegal acts committed by the lending companies would not legally implicate the Qian Group.

The only thing worse than a criminal is a clever criminal. The White Tiger Unit was now up against just such an adversary. And Liu Zhiyang, their legal expert, was about to prove his mettle.

Noticing Qiu Zhiyong’s gaze, Liu Zhiyang simply smiled, saying nothing more. Qiu Zhiyong turned his attention back to Haifeng’s plan.

Haifeng continued, “Our current task is to uncover evidence of collusion between the Qian Group and these lending and collection companies, to bring the true culprit to justice.”

“With the thirty-six collection companies in our hands, the Qian Group and those lending companies are bound to react. We’ll need to go to Tanghua, but this time, utmost secrecy is required—we can’t risk tipping them off. Yuxin, I’ll need you to put in extra effort. And Zhiyang, your legal expertise will be key; whether we can bring the Qian brothers to justice will depend largely on you.”

“Li Weiwei, Zhao Zhijie, you’ll assist Zhiyang in gathering evidence and keeping the Qian brothers and the nine company heads under surveillance. Zhang Mufeng, Li Mengyang, you’ll coordinate with Yuxin to collect relevant intelligence. Time is tight, so we’ll depart the morning after tomorrow. Use the remaining time to pack and prepare.”

Haifeng turned to Qiu Zhiyong. “Chief Qiu, is there anything else you’d like to add?”

Qiu Zhiyong smiled and shook his head. “Just follow your plan. I’ll be waiting for your victory banquet!”

At that very moment, the Qian brothers, Qian Zhen and Qian Gui, were as anxious as ants on a hot pan. Cao Jixiang, Wang Zhen, and others reported in succession that their collection companies had disappeared, there was no one left to recover debts, and asked what to do. No one could reach Xu Dong by phone. Even Cao Qin and Shi Biao were unreachable.

Qian Zhen told someone to ask the Tangping Precinct, and was told that Xu Dong and the others had gone out on an inspection with Chief Qiao. No one could explain why their phones couldn’t be reached. With no one to collect debts, repayments might fall through at any moment. To make matters worse, the banks were tightening credit, and cash flow was suddenly a pressing crisis.

Qian Gui looked at his brother. He knew that in recent days, Qian Zhen had been overwhelmed by company troubles. Though he himself had a stronger background in finance, it was his brother’s management that kept everything running smoothly. Professional skills alone weren’t enough to run a company.

Running a business was not like being an employee. As an employee, strong expertise would guarantee your place; even if a company went under, recruiters would line up with new offers. But as a boss, one needed not only professionalism but also to handle every aspect, manage relationships, and sometimes face off against thugs or rivals—problems expertise alone couldn’t solve.

Qian Gui knew that it was his brother who had always resolved these matters. Even with the Zhu Qiyu situation, had it not been for Qian Zhen, he himself would have long since been marginalized, pushed out by Zhu Qiyu.

Watching his elder brother frown in silence, Qian Gui felt pained. He wanted to share the burden but didn’t know how. Breaking the silence, he said, “Brother, why don’t we run away? Let’s go abroad, somewhere no one knows us. If we stop paying back the bank loans and the P2P investors, we still have billions in cash—enough for the rest of our lives.”

Qian Zhen looked at his brother, understanding his intention to help. But Qian Gui, for all his expertise, was a product of the ivory tower—his experience of the real world was lacking, and his thinking too naïve.

With a bitter smile, Qian Zhen replied, “It’s not so easy to move that much money in a short time. Even laundering such a huge sum takes time. If we make a wrong step, not only will the money be stuck, but we’ll both end up in prison. All our years of hard work will be for nothing.”

Qian Gui, alarmed, asked, “Then what do we do? Should I sell off our properties in Tanghua, liquidate what we can, and pay back the banks first?”

“But we can’t pay off all the P2P investors right away. We used to have those collection companies, so a lot of the loans are high-risk. Without their help, if we don’t recover the money, we’re in real trouble. Just the interest owed to the P2P investors is a huge sum. Do we just hope all the borrowers pay up? Or should we suspend the lending business for now? Our interest rates are high—so long as we don’t get a wave of defaults, we can cover the gap.”

After some thought, Qian Zhen said, “We can’t stop lending, nor can we liquidate assets. If the banks notice, they’ll freeze our assets; then the P2P investors will demand early redemption, triggering a run. That would only make things worse.”

Qian Gui instantly replied, “We absolutely can’t have a major run—after all, we don’t have a license for P2P investments. If anything goes wrong, we really will end up in jail. What do we do, brother? We can’t just sit here and wait for disaster.”

Qian Zhen looked at his brother and said firmly, “I’ve been to prison before. If I have to go again, I’m not afraid. But I promise I won’t let you go to jail. Just act as if nothing has happened and do your job as usual. Leave the rest to me.”

Looking at his brother’s determined face, Qian Gui was filled with guilt. He had thought he was grown, able to help his brother, but in the end, it was still Qian Zhen protecting him. Yet he was powerless to change their predicament. He could only leave quietly, praying for them both to weather this storm.