Chapter 468: Chapter 298, This Wine is Poisoned!

Imperial First Military Hospital.

When Tang Fei arrived, the members of the second team had already assembled there.

“Captain.”

“The captain is here.”

“It must have been the Lu Family… they are retaliating…”

Seeing Tang Fei coming, the team members seemed to find their mainstay, greeting Tang Fei and voicing their grievances.

“How’s the situation?” Tang Fei asked urgently.

“Captain,” Tan Yu approached, speaking solemnly, “Wang Chao died on the spot in the explosion, and Shen Yan is still being resuscitated inside…”

Wang Chao was a young man with a simple and honest face, not very talkative, but very reliable in handling matters.

Just this morning, we were drinking coffee together in the break room, and now, after leaving for a mission, he was gone forever.

Tang Fei’s eyes were sharp as he asked, “What exactly happened?”

“Captain Shen and Wang Chao went to visit Wang Wenyou’s family. They were shot at in the parking lot of the residential complex… The attackers used powerful energy bullets, their car was blown away, the vehicle disintegrated, and Wang Chao, who was in the driver’s seat, died on the spot, while Captain Shen was also seriously injured…”

“Who reported the incident? Any surveillance in the area? Did you manage to retrieve the surveillance video?”

“A bystander reported the incident. After the report, the police and ambulance rushed over immediately,” Tan Yu said, “I’ve sent someone to cooperate with the local police station to help us obtain the surveillance video of the shooting.”

The Monitoring Bureau had the responsibility of overseeing hundreds of officials, wielding immense power. However, getting the surveillance video from the scene still required assistance from the local police station.

Surveillance videos were not something all departments could freely access; everyone had their scope of responsibilities and work permissions.

“What did they say?”

“No results yet.”

Tang Fei nodded, quite satisfied with Tan Yu’s approach.

But now, Wang Chao was dead, and Shen Yan’s fate was uncertain…

Was this the Lu Family’s revenge?

Or was someone trying to muddy the waters even more?

Shen Yan was the second person from the Monitoring Bureau to align with him, and lately, their cooperation had been particularly in sync. Shen Yan was brave and meticulous, a vital assistant to Tang Fei.

Facing the formidable Lu Family, Tang Fei had support behind him, ambitious, therefore, robust and fierce.

And Shen Yan supported Tang Fei’s efforts wholeheartedly, following Tang Fei’s lead without faltering.

Taking down Shen Yan was like cutting off one of Tang Fei’s arms.

Tang Fei looked around and called out, “Lin Hai, Li Dezhu…”

“Here,” Lin Hai and Li Dezhu quickly approached.

Both were members of the Ghost Team, loyal to Tang Fei, and possessed capabilities that other inspectors did not.

“You two, go to the scene of the shooting and see if you can find any useful clues.”

“Yes,” Lin Hai and Li Dezhu responded, then turned and left.

Tang Fei watched the red light at the entrance to the operating room, silently praying in his heart, hoping that Shen Yan would be alright and safely get through this ordeal.

Tan Yu looked at Tang Fei and said, “Captain…”

Tang Fei waved his hand and said, “Focus on rescuing Shen Yan, we’ll discuss other matters later.”

“What? The surveillance video is gone?”

“Yes.” The deputy chief of the Xiuying District police station, Huang Xu, wiped the sweat from his forehead and explained, “I had them copy the video from the time of the incident, but the tech department said that segment had been erased.”

Area surveillance was within his scope of responsibility, and such a significant oversight meant he had to take responsibility.

Especially since there had been a shooting involving inspectors during this period, with one dead and another injured…

If the higher-ups pursued it, his days as deputy chief might be numbered.

“What is your tech department doing? How could such crucial video material be erased?” Wang Jinlong, an inspector from the second team, shouted angrily.

Although he was just a regular inspector, far junior in administrative rank to a district police station’s deputy chief.

The nature of the work at the Monitoring Bureau was special, and its members were regarded three ranks above officials.

Not to mention just a deputy chief of a police station, even the heads of police stations had to be exceedingly polite when facing inspectors, fearing to offend this group known as “Black Robed Dogs.”

If these people got their teeth into someone, it wouldn’t end well for them.

In the officialdom, who could withstand such scrutiny?

“The hackers behind it were very skilled, silently carrying out their scheme…” Huang Xu said with embarrassment, “If you hadn’t come to check the video data, we wouldn’t have even known our system had been hacked.”

“Is it recoverable?”

“No,” the head of the tech department, Zhang Quanyou, shook his head and said, “They erased all the surveillance video of that area, and not only that, after deleting the video data, they also planted a new ‘Panda’ virus. This virus is quite dreadful and has covered our entire system…”

Wang Jinlong paused for a moment, then asked, “So, this area is now a blind spot?”

“Yes.”

“Where did the vehicle involved in the incident come from? Can you find surveillance videos of its route?”

“Like I said, the entire Xiuying District surveillance system has been infected with the Panda virus… It might be possible to find it, and it might not. We need to deal with the virus first, and then see if we can find the surveillance videos of its route.”

“How long will it take to handle that virus?”

“We have invited AI experts from the Star Alliance, and they estimate it can be resolved within twelve hours.”

“Make it fast,” Wang Jinlong said. “If it’s too late, the person will have disappeared without a trace.”

“We will do our utmost,” Zhang Quanyou said. “But it’s hard to say with these things… It keeps mutating. Who knows what kind of electronic monster it might turn into?”

“…”

——

The door to the surgery room was pushed open, and the attending physician quickly walked up to everyone and asked, “Who is in charge here?”

“I am,” Tang Fei stepped forward and asked. “Doctor, how is my colleague? Is he out of danger?”

“Through our full efforts, the patient is no longer in immediate danger. However, his entire left arm is severed due to severe damage to the bones and flesh, and it’s now unusable… Therefore, we suggest installing a mechanical arm. What are your thoughts on this?”

Tang Fei frowned and asked, “Will it affect his future life?”

“Not at all. The current bionic mechanical arms are quite advanced and intelligent. Whatever a human arm can do, it can do. Even what a human arm cannot do, it can still accomplish,” the doctor said as he looked at Tang Fei. “Also, each model of mechanical arm has different functions and ranges of use.”

“Use the best one,” Tang Fei said bluntly.

“Captain, that might not be appropriate…” Tan Yu cautioned.

Shen Yan was injured on duty, so naturally, the state would pay for his treatment.

However, he was only a squadron leader, and reimbursement had its limits. A high-tier bionic mechanical arm was very expensive and might exceed the reimbursement range.

In that case, someone would need to cover the excess amount.

If Shen Yan could not bear the cost, then Tang Fei, being the “Decision Maker,” would have to pay.

“No problem,” Tang Fei understood what Tan Yu meant and said. “I will cover the additional costs.”

“Yes, Captain.”

Tan Yu had been worried that Tang Fei, being new here, might not understand some of the ins and outs.

Since he had offered to take on the extra portion of the medical cost, there was no need for further reminders.

The doctor looked deeply at Tang Fei and said, “Understood, we will try our best to save his arm.”

“Thank you, doctor,” Tang Fei said gratefully.

Everyone else looked at Tang Fei with admiration. Who wouldn’t appreciate a wealthy and generous boss?

Putting themselves in his shoes, if they were in such a situation, they would also hope that Tang Fei would stand up for them.

Just then, Tang Fei’s phone on his wrist rang. He glanced at the caller ID and immediately answered the call.

“What? Hacked?” Tang Fei inadvertently raised his voice. “Where did that car go? Can you trace its route?”

“The entire area’s surveillance videos have been hacked.”

“What about other vehicles? There are so many cars in the parking lot, check the cameras inside other cars to see if they captured the criminals’ information…”

“We are on our way to the scene now,” Wang Jinlong said.

“You guys go ahead. Lin Hai and Li Dezhu are already at the shooting scene… Coordinate with each other and see if you can find any crucial information.”

“Yes, Captain.”

After hanging up the phone and seeing the inquiring eyes of the team members around him, Tang Fei explained, “They hacked the surveillance system; the videos from the time of the shooting have been wiped.”

“These people are lawless.”

“They knew we would come looking, so they made preparations in advance.”

“The kind that can hack into police surveillance systems are no ordinary characters… It must be the Lu Family’s doing. This is what they’re good at,” Tang Fei said as he looked around, cautioning, “Find evidence. With evidence, we can go arrest them. Without evidence, avoid making baseless guesses. It could undermine our work.”

“Yes, Captain!” everyone responded in unison.

Although Tang Fei had not been in the Monitoring Bureau for long, through his time here and his assertive attitude when dealing with the Lu Family, he had gradually established his authoritative leadership.

——

Bang!

The man threw a bag of Phoenix Empire currency onto the table and said, “Take this money and leave quickly. From today, you are not allowed in Phoenix City. Don’t use electronic accounts; stick to cash as much as possible.”

“Yes,” the scar-faced man replied gruffly.

The man picked up the whiskey bottle from the table, poured a drink for everyone present, and said, “Here, drink this and get on your way.”

Clink!

Four glasses clinked together, and the man tipped his head back to down his whiskey in one gulp.

Seeing the man lead by example, the other three followed suit and drained their glasses.

The man swept his gaze over the three men and said, “Safe travels.”

Bang!

The scar-faced man spat out blood and collapsed to the ground.

“This drink is poisoned…”

The other two exclaimed in shock and rushed toward the man, hoping to find an antidote in his hand. But with a “thud,” their bodies heavily fell to the ground.

Like the scar-faced man, their bodies convulsed and vomited mouthfuls of fresh blood.

The man stood still, waiting until all three of them were dead beyond any doubt, no longer making any sound, before he quietly said, “Dead men are our most trusted comrades.”

He picked up the bag of money from the table and walked toward the exit.