RBCT Chapter 84 People from the General Administration Arrive
Chapter 84 People from the General Administration Arrive
Just as Chen Shi returned to the Bureau of Supernatural Abilities, Sun Tiemei called again, but this time her tone was calm, indicating that there was nothing urgent.
"When you arrive, come directly to Director Liu's office. I'll be there too."
Chen Shi went straight to the top floor, knocked on the door, and entered the office. Inside, besides Director Liu and Sun Tiemei, sat a burly, unfamiliar middle-aged man.
The man was over 1.9 meters tall, with broad shoulders, a thick back, and a robust physique. He exuded a powerful and imposing aura, and even sitting on the sofa, he couldn't hide his domineering presence.
As soon as Director Liu saw him enter, he immediately spoke to the burly man beside him.
"Master Xing, this is Chen Shi."
The middle-aged man stood up, gave Chen Shi a quick once-over, a kind smile on his face, and offered his hand.
"Xing Mufeng, Captain of the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the General Administration."
"Hello, Xing Da." Chen Shi quickly stepped forward to shake hands. The other person's hands were rough and hard, with solid strength, which looked particularly comical compared to Chen Shi's slender figure.
Director Liu explained, "I went to the headquarters to report on the details of solving the Huanlang and Xiaoyuan cases. After reviewing the case files, Director Xing was particularly interested in your investigative approach. He came to Linchuan for supervisory work and specifically requested to meet you, which is why I hurriedly called you over."
When Xing Mufeng reviewed Chen Shi's case records, he found them very interesting. This newcomer didn't follow the rules and had many ideas. Even that seemingly outrageous but extremely practical exclusive ability piqued his curiosity, and he had long harbored the idea of recruiting him.
"I've read through your entire case file," Xing Mufeng said frankly. "Several times the investigation reached a stalemate, and it was you who found the key breakthrough. It's rare to find a newcomer like you who can break through with his brain."
His eyes grew increasingly pleased: "You haven't been in this industry for long, and you haven't had any systematic in-depth training, yet you can quickly grasp the logic of case handling. That's real talent."
Chen Shi was a little flustered by the praise and quickly waved his hand: "Director Xing, you flatter me too much. I was just lucky and relied entirely on the support of the bureau and the team."
Xing Mufeng waved his hand to interrupt: "You don't need to be modest. To tell you the truth, the Criminal Investigation Division of the General Bureau is currently short of key personnel. Would you be interested in transferring to my unit?"
The moment those words were spoken, the atmosphere in the office became subtly awkward.
Those present were somewhat surprised. Xing Mufeng was indeed straightforward and outspoken, but poaching someone in front of his direct superior was rather abrupt. However, for a newcomer to be directly transferred to the General Bureau's Criminal Investigation Division was, by all accounts, a groundbreaking opportunity for rapid advancement.
Neither Director Liu nor Sun Tiemei interrupted, silently watching Chen Shi and leaving the choice entirely to him.
Chen Shi thought for a moment and then refused, jokingly saying that one should never flirt with other leaders in front of their direct superior.
"I think I'll pass. Thank you for your kind words, Xing Da. I've only been here for less than three months, and I haven't gotten to know many of my colleagues yet. I haven't mastered the basics either, so I want to focus on building my skills and experience first. Besides, my team leader has been mentoring me and teaching me diligently, and I don't want to leave Team Five so soon after starting out."
Upon hearing this, Director Liu was initially pleased, but then glanced at Sun Tiemei with some disbelief. Sun Tiemei, looking straight ahead, simply turned her head away, pretending not to see anything.
Xing Mufeng's admiration deepened: "If a formal transfer isn't possible, how about a temporary assignment? Spend some time helping me out at the General Administration."
Director Liu inwardly grumbled; secondments from the General Administration were never to be returned. He simply skipped the topic and abruptly changed the subject: "Xiao Chen, since Xing Da is here today, I can inform you in advance. Some time ago, I discussed this with the leadership team. Although you haven't been with the company long, your contributions are significant. The bureau has decided to promote you to deputy leader of Group Five, exceptionally."
Upon hearing this, Xing Mufeng knew he couldn't force the issue, so he could only chuckle helplessly, "Alright, then it'll be good for you to stay at the grassroots level and gain some experience first."
The little incident of poaching talent was thus put aside, and the group composed themselves and got down to business.
Xing Mufeng replied seriously, "The General Administration's assessment of the mole within the Linchuan Municipal Bureau is completely consistent with Chen Shi's previous deductions, and the actual situation may be even more serious than you previously predicted."
"After Xiao Yuan was arrested, the inspection team followed the clues and found three mid-level cadres who took the blame. These three people were in different positions, at independent levels, and were not subordinate to each other, but they were precisely linked together to take the fall, perfectly covering up the person behind the scenes. Ordinary mid-level cadres simply do not have this authority; one must have cross-departmental dispatch authority."
Director Liu added, "Moreover, this person has an excellent grasp of the overall structure, case-handling procedures, and special operations, and can even predict the direction of our investigation in advance. This is not an ordinary mole who was temporarily bribed, but a senior high-ranking official who has been lurking in the core circle for many years."
This person holds a high position and has access to overall information. During each internal investigation, he can secretly guide the direction of the investigation, making everyone bypass him, and has remained flawless for many years.
"I'm going to the General Administration for two reasons: first, to report the suspicious points truthfully, and second, to seek authorization and endorsement from the General Administration," Director Liu said in a deep voice. "Without support from higher levels, it would be against the rules and regulations for me to rashly investigate the senior officials in charge, and it would easily give others grounds for criticism."
Sun Tiemei realized: "So, Xing Da's public supervision of Linchuan this time was just a pretext; his real mission was to secretly guide us in uncovering the mole?"
Xing Mufeng shook his head and corrected, "The mole is only part of the job. Recently, there has been a high incidence of supernatural crimes in Linchuan, and the General Administration attaches great importance to it. Special supervision is my main job, and assisting in the investigation of the mole is an additional task."
"Currently, all clues and authority points to seven leaders at the municipal bureau level in charge," Director Liu said.
Sun Tiemei's expression was grave: "Bugs and start/stop devices were found in this office before. It seems highly likely that the mole was among the high-ranking officials who attended the meeting that day. He was there at the time and witnessed the bugging devices he had installed being dismantled."
Everyone fell silent.
After a moment's thought, Director Liu suggested, "Director Xing, could we try luring him out by deliberately releasing false leads to force him to reveal his weakness?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Xing Mufeng and Chen Shi said in unison, "It won't work."
Xing Mufeng raised his hand, signaling for Chen Shi to explain.
Chen Shi glanced at Director Liu sheepishly: "Xiao Yuan has just been arrested. This high-ranking mole has just undergone a comprehensive risk assessment, so he's definitely on high alert. He's always been good at hiding his true intentions, and even if we release a lot of false clues at this stage, he won't risk taking action."
"That's right." Xing Mufeng nodded in agreement. "Right now, he'll only hide, he won't make a move."
Sun Tiemei interjected, "By the way, Xing Da, yesterday the remnants of the underground community kidnapped Chen Shi's mother, intending to exchange her for the criminal suspect Tong Ying. In the end, the hostage was safely rescued because of an inexplicable internal conflict on the other side."
"The information of the family members of the officers of the Supernatural Abilities Bureau is classified information." Xing Mufeng's face darkened. "Moreover, to put it bluntly, Xiao Chen is somewhat well-known within the Linchuan system, but outside of this city, nobody knows him. If the underground forces want to get someone released, they can just kidnap any employee and negotiate. There's absolutely no need to deliberately provoke the Fifth Group, which has been in the spotlight recently, especially since they're targeting you, Sun Tiemei. This is far too targeted."
Director Liu immediately realized: "Director Xing, you mean the other side is targeting us precisely. They are well aware of Chen Shi's key role in several recent major cases, and know that his existence poses a great threat."
"That's exactly the point." Xing Mufeng nodded. "Outsiders or ordinary employees can only see the surface of the case and won't understand Xiao Chen's core value. Only high-level personnel with top-level authority who have reviewed the core case files can accurately pinpoint Chen Shi."
"This also shows that this mole was no longer satisfied with secretly colluding with the other party. He began to actively use underground forces to eliminate the core case-handling personnel in the bureau."
"Chen Shi's successive breakthroughs have disrupted his long-standing strategic plans and covert operations, making him a prime target for assassination. Going forward, assassinations, traps, and retaliations targeting Chen Shi will only increase."
This man had been plotting for years, meticulous in his thinking and ruthless in his methods, treating the entire Linchuan Supernatural Abilities Bureau as his own chessboard. Chen Shi's rapid rise and successive breakthroughs completely shattered the secret balance he had maintained for so many years.