Chapter Thirty-Six: Decisive Victory

When Haifeng learned that Qian Zhen had assigned Zhang Yue to handle debt collection, he knew his opportunity had come. As long as Zhang Yue took any concrete action, it would only be a matter of time before the Qian brothers were brought to justice.

Following Qian Zhen's instructions, Zhang Yue took over the debt collection business of nine lending companies. Only then did he realize he was severely understaffed; with just his own men, they could barely manage to harass debtors by phone, let alone pay visits in person or supply people to President Chai as required.

Thus, he began recruiting aggressively, bringing in large numbers of people from Yanbei to Tanghua. Zhang Yue knew these newcomers could not handle much, but as long as they could make calls for debt collection, it would suffice.

Among the new recruits, one man named Zhang Dongfeng stood out. He learned the ropes the fastest—while others were still fumbling, Zhang Dongfeng was already making effective collection calls. Zhang Yue saw talent in him, and as they shared a surname, he felt it wasteful to have Zhang Dongfeng only handling phone calls. He decided to keep him close.

After years of running high-interest loans in Yanbei, Zhang Yue was thoroughly familiar with every aspect of debt collection. Within a week, he had the entire operation running smoothly.

The newcomers handled the phone collections. Once given scripts, they followed them faithfully—even if their delivery was sometimes a bit green, it was intimidating enough for those who owed money. After all, no one wanted people around them to know they had borrowed from loan sharks.

When encountering particularly stubborn debtors, Zhang Yue was never in a hurry. He would first offer them jobs with the gambling syndicate. If they refused, he and his men would pay them a visit—detaining, threatening, and beating them until they complied and paid up.

For those who had taken out “nude loans” or “beauty loans,” Zhang Yue found them even more to his taste. He would simply force them to work on President Chai’s adult streaming platform. He knew that, for these girls, being watched in a live show was preferable to being forced into prostitution, and most of them submitted obediently.

Zhang Yue began to feel that everything was going his way. He truly believed he was a master at loan sharking, and he much preferred collecting debts to negotiating business deals. The sense of power made him feel like a local tyrant. He even thought that if Qian Zhen had let him handle collections earlier, instead of relying on strangers, the business would have grown even larger.

Once Qian Zhen saw that Zhang Yue had gotten a firm handle on the collections and Qian Gui’s funds were nearly ready, he knew it was time to contact Li Xian and recruit him as the next “Xu Dong.” So, he called Li Xian and invited him to the castle for a gathering. Li Xian did not refuse, and the two agreed to meet at the castle the following evening.

After hanging up with Qian Zhen, Li Xian immediately called Haifeng. Over the phone, Li Xian said, “Haifeng, is your White Tiger Squad ready? Are you planning to move? Qian Zhen just called me to the castle—he wouldn’t have done that without some ulterior motive. How much longer is this undercover operation going to last? I don’t want to accept his ‘gifts’!”

Haifeng chuckled, “You didn’t refuse, did you?”

“Of course not,” Li Xian replied. “Otherwise, how could your act go on? If he knew Xu Dong was caught, he’d be gone in a flash. I’m still helping you stall him.”

Haifeng laughed, “Good, then go. Not everyone gets to enjoy the castle’s fare—think of it as a rare treat.”

Li Xian retorted, “Do you really think I’d sell myself for a meal?”

Haifeng replied, “It won’t just be a meal. There’ll be good gifts too—maybe even a box of gold bars, enough to cover your salary for two or three years.”

Li Xian couldn’t help but curse, “Whose side are you on, Haifeng? First you had me take money from Cao Jixiang, now you’re tempting me with Qian Zhen’s gold bars. Are you so devoted to anti-corruption that you want to drag me back to Mingzhou with you?”

Liu Zhiyang chimed in, “Don’t worry, Li Xian. We’re all brothers here—I won’t let Haifeng take you back to Mingzhou. Who would feed you there? We’re all just ordinary folks, we can’t even afford boxed lunches!”

“Plus, isn’t Director Qiao still around? No need to return to Mingzhou. Just accept the gold bars without worry.”

“Oh, and didn’t Qian Zhen say, ‘In books there are houses of gold and beauties like jade?’ I bet he’ll offer you more than gold bars—he’ll throw in a beauty too. Just make sure you check her age first, so you don’t end up like Xu Dong.”

“You might as well ask Qian Zhen for something—since he’s so keen to win you over, he’ll oblige. Tell him you want to learn a foreign language; maybe the beauty he sends will be from abroad, and you can enjoy some foreign romance. I’m happy for you already—what do you have to worry about?”

“Director Qiao’s a good man—even if you get taken down, he’ll see you treated well. At least your boxed lunch will come with an egg, so you won’t lose out!”

Li Xian burst out laughing at Liu Zhiyang’s words, “You never change, Liu Zhiyang—always teasing. Learn a foreign language yourself, don’t drag me into it. But seriously, when are you planning to make your move?”

Haifeng looked at Liu Zhiyang with a smile. Usually, when teased by Liu, Haifeng would get flustered, but when it was someone else’s turn, he found it endlessly entertaining. Hearing Li Xian’s question, he came back to himself and said, “You’re meeting at the castle tomorrow night, right? Go enjoy your meal. We’ll join you there afterward.”

Li Xian realized Haifeng’s preparations must be complete and said, “You sly dog—you’ve been ready for action for ages, haven’t you? You even knew about the dinner invitation.”

Haifeng replied with a smile, “I only found out when Qian Zhen called you just now.”

Li Xian said, “You two are always scheming. I’m doing you a huge favor here—you owe me a drink. How many men do you need for the operation tomorrow? Director Qiao has already ordered us to fully cooperate.”

Haifeng said, “We’ll come to your bureau in the morning to discuss deployment.”

“Alright, see you tomorrow morning,” Li Xian said, and hung up.

Haifeng turned to Liu Zhiyang. “Weren’t you worried we couldn’t bring the Qian brothers to justice? Now we have their every move tracked—there’s no issue with closing the net. But you’ll need to stay sharp during questioning; the outcome depends on you.”

Liu Zhiyang smiled, “Don’t worry—the path is laid out. Catching them before they launder the money is a win for the people. As for the interrogations, once the Qian Group falls, those nine company heads will confess everything. The Qian brothers’ years of crimes will finally be punished by law, and those scoundrels won’t escape justice any longer.”

His tone turned reflective. “Honestly, I really admire you for predicting Qian Zhen would handle collections himself. But it makes sense—he trusts his own more than outsiders. Losing over thirty collection companies at once must have been a huge blow; naturally, he’d turn to his own men, and that’s helped us immensely.”

“When you think about it, people should learn to be content. What’s the point of immense wealth? A vast estate, but you eat only what you can stomach; a grand mansion, but you sleep in a single bed. To sell your soul for money only ends in prison. The Qian brothers are truly insatiable—if they’d done honest business, they could have lived happily, but instead they let money blind them.”

“How many lifetimes would it take to spend what they’ve made? Becoming slaves to money is a terrible bargain. And what’s more infuriating is Qian Gui—after so many years of education, instead of contributing to society, he keeps skirting the law, testing its limits again and again.”

“He thinks he can get away with it, but I believe he’s missed the point. The law isn’t just words on paper; it’s the scales of justice. Legal codes may lag behind or have loopholes, but we, as enforcers, make up for those gaps with our dedication to justice. How can they not understand something so simple?”

Haifeng agreed wholeheartedly with Liu Zhiyang’s perspective, and appreciated his interpretation of the law. But Haifeng also knew that few people viewed or practiced law as Liu did, which is why so many dared to cross the line and challenge it.

To them, the cost of breaking the law seemed too low—as long as they profited, the legality of their actions hardly mattered. Haifeng understood this was the price of the times; economic disparity made some willing to risk everything, and solving it would require great effort from many.

Haifeng said, “Save the reflections for later—let’s focus on the task at hand. Tomorrow, have Zhang Mufeng find an excuse to pull back. The White Tiger Squad will head to Tanghua’s bureau together for the final showdown!”

The next morning, the White Tiger Squad gathered at the Tanghua Municipal Bureau, joining Li Xian to finalize the arrest plan. As Qiao Yuqian listened to their discussions and task assignments, he felt as if he were seeing his younger self, and was filled with pride for these dedicated young people and the team they formed.

Qiao Yuqian thought that having such a united and outstanding group of colleagues was one of the great joys of work. If only everyone could work as the White Tiger Squad did! But he also knew the complexity of police work meant most could only stay busy, unable to focus solely on fighting crime as true police officers should.

Thus, his responsibility was to ensure frontline officers received more support, whether in life, time, or work conditions. Only then would they have the capacity to study, to strive, and to fulfill their missions and dreams.

That night, Li Xian arrived at the castle as planned, finding Qian Zhen awaiting him at the gate, beaming as he invited Li Xian inside.

At the banquet, Qian Zhen said, “The last time I saw you, I felt we really hit it off. I’ve always wanted Director Xu to arrange another meeting for us, but work was too busy. Later, when I had more time, Director Xu was away on business and couldn’t be reached, so I never got to invite you. I heard he traveled with Director Qiao. I see Director Qiao is back, but Xu isn’t—nothing’s happened, has it?”

Li Xian knew Qian Zhen was fishing for news of Xu Dong, so he smiled and replied, “Fate always brings people together again, and here we are. Director Xu is handling an important case, so he’ll be out of touch for some time. Even I can’t reach him—only Director Qiao has contact.”

Qian Zhen smiled, “What kind of case is so important that Director Xu himself has to handle it? At your level, I’d think you wouldn’t need to handle cases personally.”

Li Xian replied, “No matter how high the rank, we’re still public servants. There are no special privileges—when a case needs handling, we do it ourselves.”

Qian Zhen pressed, “Is it really that important? He can’t even take calls?”

Li Xian answered, “Director Qiao assigned it personally, so of course it’s important. As for the details, that’s confidential—I don’t know them myself.”

Qian Zhen smiled, “Right, I shouldn’t ask. My mistake—I’ll drink as a penalty.”

The two chatted and drank, playing off each other. When Qian Zhen saw that Li Xian had drunk enough, he clapped his hands and two alluring young women entered. Li Xian looked at them in confusion and asked, “Who are these ladies?”

Qian Zhen smiled, “Just two companions to liven up our drinking. Let them help you relive your youth—think of them as messengers of love!”

Li Xian waved his hand, “No need—I’m perfectly happy just drinking with you. I have no youth to revisit; my youth was spent fighting crime and upholding the law. Having these girls here would just make me uncomfortable—let’s keep it between us.”

Seeing Li Xian unmoved, Qian Zhen waved the girls away. After another round of drinks, he took a box from a side seat and handed it to Li Xian.

Li Xian looked at the box in puzzlement. “What’s this?”

Qian Zhen smiled, “A small token of friendship—I hope you’ll accept it.”

Li Xian opened the box a crack and glimpsed the golden gleam inside. Smiling, he said, “You’re really generous, Mr. Qian, but I can’t accept such a gift for nothing.”

Qian Zhen laughed, “It’s nothing valuable—just a gesture. I just want to be friends. Don’t worry, I’ll never ask you to do anything illegal. I’m in finance, and there’s no business overlap with the police, so you can relax. If I really did anything wrong, Director Xu wouldn’t befriend me, right?”

Li Xian glanced at his watch, then looked up at Qian Zhen with a smile. “Really nothing shady? If you did, I wouldn’t let you off lightly!”

Hearing this, Qian Zhen thought Li Xian was willing to accept the gift. He pushed the box closer and said, “I swear I’ve done nothing wrong. If I have, I’ll confess to you myself.”

Li Xian smiled, “As long as you think that way, that’s good. Now, let’s meet our old friend!” With that, he stood and opened the door.

Qian Zhen looked at Li Xian in confusion, then was even more astonished when he saw the face outside.

“You—what are you doing in Tanghua?” Qian Zhen asked.

Haifeng smiled, “Mr. Qian, I hope you’re well. Surely you haven’t forgotten me? Allow me to introduce myself—my name is Haifeng, a police officer from Mingzhou. I’m here today to ask for your cooperation in an investigation. I hope you’ll understand and support us.”

Qian Zhen looked from Li Xian to Haifeng, bewildered. “What’s going on? What do you want?”

Li Xian smiled, “Nothing much—we just hope you’ll keep your promise and confess to any wrongdoing.”

With a stern tone, Haifeng continued, “Qian Zhen, you are now suspected of multiple crimes. We need you to cooperate with our investigation. Please come with us. If you refuse, we’ll have to take you by force—which would be undignified for you, don’t you agree?”

Qian Zhen glanced at Li Xian, then Haifeng. He knew there was no way to avoid leaving, so he straightened his clothes and, accompanied by Li Xian and Haifeng’s team, walked out of the castle.