HLnovel Chapter 351 Obedient and Clingy Younger Brother (62)
Chapter 351 Obedient and Clingy Younger Brother (62)
"Dududu-"
"Hey?"
During the few rings of the phone, Jin Shuhe's heart almost stopped.
When the phone was finally answered and he heard Sister Li Ruan's voice, which was no different from usual, he felt his heart sink heavily.
"call--"
Only then did I realize that I had been holding my breath the whole time.
"what happened?"
Lu Liruan could hear his panting on the other end of the phone.
"Xiao He? What's wrong?"
Lu Liruan was confused: "Didn't you say you'd be back tonight? It's so late..."
"Sister Li Ruan, something came up at work, so I hadn't gone far before I had to come back," Jin Shuhe said as calmly as possible.
"Oh."
Lu Liruan wasn't very surprised.
"I knew it was this late."
Jin Shuhe then glanced at his phone screen.
Just now, because he was so nervous, he didn't know how long it took Jin Shuhe to get through the back-and-forth struggle with that car.
It's almost 1 a.m. now.
He was too nervous just now and didn't even realize that calling Sister Li Ruan at this time was a bit too abrupt.
Fortunately, Sister Li Ruan did not notice anything.
but……
Should I tell Sister Li Ruan the truth?
Even if she can't fully explain the current situation, she should at least let Sister Li Ruan know what kind of predicament she is in.
We need to make Sister Li Ruan pay more attention to safety and her surroundings, and minimize any potential dangers.
"Will you be able to rest tonight?" Sister Li Ruan's voice remained gentle.
"Do you have enough clothes at work? If not, I'll bring you two more tomorrow..."
"Need not!"
Jin Shuhe interrupted her instinctively.
"I might be away on a business trip for the next few days, so there's no need to trouble Sister Li Ruan." Jin Shuhe let out a sigh and leaned against the wall.
He lowered his head slightly, looking at his dusty shoes.
If I tell Sister Li Ruan, will it scare her?
The deputy captain said that people have been sent to protect the safety of the family members.
If I suddenly told Sister Li Ruan these scary things, and I couldn't even be by her side, wouldn't Sister Li Ruan be even more frightened...?
I remember the way Sister Li Ruan looked when she watched horror movies; I was still in school back then.
After reading it, Sister Li Ruan was so frightened that she couldn't sleep that night. Trembling with fear, she pretended to be calm and knocked on her own door.
"Want some midnight snack, Xiao He? I'm hungry!" She blinked and made an excuse.
"Eat, I'm hungry too." Jin Shuhe had already brushed her teeth and lay down, but she still obediently went out the door as she was told.
The living room lights were on brightly. Sister Li Ruan cooked some glutinous rice balls and threw in a few pieces of sweet potato. Everyone shared some, and they sat facing each other, eating slowly.
The danger at that time was false.
Jin Shuhe recalled that he felt the days he spent with Sister Li Ruan were so warm and cozy.
He was so happy that he can still remember the details...
But things are different now. The danger is real now, and it is he who brought it.
This is by no means something that can be taken lightly.
Even if Sister Li Ruan is safe and sound this time, what will happen next?
He's only been working for less than a year, what about the years and months to come?
Jin Shuhe felt empty inside, as if something had been pulled out of his body and replaced with something heavy and cold, making him feel uncomfortable.
He ultimately didn't speak; even if he were to, it couldn't be now.
Otherwise, what will happen if Sister Li Ruan can't sleep well?
He wanted to protect Sister Li Ruan completely, even if it meant... giving up his own life!
The thought involuntarily popped into Jin Shuhe's mind.
After this thought came to him, Jin Shuhe felt that it was right.
"Don't worry, it'll be okay."
After finishing his work, Qin Wen saw that he was still standing there somewhat reluctantly, so he walked over and patted him on the back to offer him support and comfort.
"The faster we solve the case and arrest those who should be arrested, the sooner the people connected to us will be safe."
"Brother Wen...aren't you worried?"
Jin Shuhe stood in the shadows of the lamplight and asked in a low voice, looking somewhat confused.
Qin Wen knew what he was talking about.
“Actually, everyone in our line of work goes through this process. It’s not just you, and it’s not just us.” Qin Wen pulled him down to sit.
"The situation you encountered today is something that others have also encountered. But even if you haven't encountered this situation, what we have to do every day is to face this society and the darkest side of human nature. There are some crimes, some terrifying abysses, that would make any normal person cower at just a glance. We are human too, and it's perfectly normal for us to be afraid."
This was the first time since Jin Shuhe started working that he had truly felt fear from the bottom of his heart.
It wasn't about him personally; as Qin Wen said, he developed a fear of the people connected to him, and even of the world at large.
Qin Wen poured him a glass of water.
"But if you don't face them, do they cease to exist? No, they still exist, so someone has to face them."
"Isn't it better for us to face it than for the people you care about and love to face it? If we don't do it, those evils, that unbridled abyss, might swallow each and every one of them..." Qin Wen was more serious than ever before, without a trace of his usual carefree attitude.
"Therefore, we must build a line of defense to keep evil out! Each of us, and our entire industry, is a barrier separating normal society from evil. Jin Shuhe, hold on! You cannot let your guard down or fall first!"
He patted Jin Shuhe's shoulder hard a few times, making a sound.
Jin Shuhe listened attentively, agreeing with every word he said.
But... if he didn't do this job, would he no longer pose a danger to Sister Li Ruan?
"I can't really answer that question," Qin Wen said, shaking his head at his next question. "I'm not married yet."
Jin Shuhe was eager to know what other people's answers were to this question.
But for now, he can only keep it to himself.
Everyone was so busy they were practically running around, and he couldn't let his personal matters interfere with his work.
When it was broad daylight outside, the anti-drug officers from upstairs came down and went to the canteen with them for lunch.
As they walked, Deputy Director He patted his arm: "Don't worry, I found out about your situation last night. We've already deployed the manpower. We have experience with these kinds of things!"
He could tell that the child hadn't quite recovered yet, and he understood how he felt.
When he arrived at the cafeteria, he sat opposite Jin Shuhe and watched him silently eat a bowl of porridge.
"You must be hungry after working all night. Eat more."
"Captain He... are you married?"
After swallowing a bite of steamed bun, Jin Shuhe suddenly asked.
"Oh? It's done! You've been married to your sister-in-law for over twenty years, and your child is almost in college!"
Jin Shuhe wanted to ask, "Have you experienced these things?"
But I feel that this question is impolite and I don't know how to bring it up.
Deputy Director He could see his inner conflict.
"Do you want to ask me how I balance family and career? Or do you want to ask me how I made up my mind to get married back then?" He pointed out Jin Shuhe's thoughts.
Jin Shuhe lowered his head somewhat awkwardly and nodded slightly.
"Wow, you're so young, and you're already facing this problem!"
Deputy Director He made a joke at him.
He then replied, "Well, we are ordinary people too, and we have the right to live ordinary lives. But in some ways, not only we, but also our families, face a more dangerous situation than normal people."
"Child, this is a choice you and the person you might marry are making together," Deputy Director He said earnestly.
“It’s often said that military and police families are equally honorable, and that’s part of the point. Some people will choose you because of you and willingly take on this risk. If that’s the case, you can’t let them down,” Deputy Director He said with a smile.
"Don't think too much. You're just experiencing this for the first time, so you feel insecure and surrounded by danger. But it's not as serious as you think."
"While it's true that cases of revenge against family members do exist, they've become much rarer in recent years. The crackdown is very strong now, and most large criminal gangs have been dismantled. Pucheng is a relatively safe area."
Deputy Captain He told him about the situation in recent years, knowledge that cannot be learned in school but is gained through practical work experience.
"So don't worry too much, and don't make decisions on your own. You also need to give others the power of choice, right?"
Jin Shuhe nodded, thinking to himself: If Sister Li Ruan still doesn't like me... should I continue to try?
But just thinking about leaving Sister Li Ruan made him feel so uncomfortable that he could hardly breathe.
Am I being too selfish?
Jin Shuhe was unable to answer this question.
While the anti-drug team is tracing the source of the drugs, Zhong'an is continuing to follow up on the missing persons case.
After receiving the call and hearing that their daughter's disappearance would be reopened for investigation, the parents became extremely agitated: "No matter what, we've found her alive or dead. This is all so mysterious... Where did my perfectly healthy daughter go?"
Local police officers went to the home of the girl surnamed Kang who was working with him. Her parents looked worried: "We want her to come back. After what happened, we're worried about her, but she won't listen!"
"And what else did she say... that it's not something she can just quit whenever she wants?"
These reports also indirectly prove that she and the missing girl may have had a relationship of forced control.
After conducting preliminary investigations, the major crime unit ultimately discovered that the group controlling these girls was related to, but not closely related to, the criminal gang that the anti-drug task force was currently investigating.
We can make the arrests first and see if we can get any information about the supplier from them.
These girls are controlled by local bullies who force them into prostitution.
They frequent various nightclubs and clubs, and their main method is similar to pyramid schemes.
Most of the girls there come from rural areas outside the city to work.
They controlled him, and then he returned to his hometown.
They lured girls from other villages to Pucheng under the pretext of work, and then controlled them.
And a large part of the means of controlling them is drugs.
These girls from rural areas generally have low levels of education and more rigid thinking.
Once they are controlled, they are easier to manipulate.
In particular, most of them hold more conservative and unspeakable ideas that are common in rural areas.
With the addition of drugs, they become complete playthings to be manipulated, unable to muster any will to resist.
"They're fucking beasts! These girls already have it tough enough, thinking they can change their fate through their own hard work and take care of their families in return. I never imagined that it was this very mindset that led them into this abyss. Tell me, how should we protect these girls?"
Wu Qidong slammed the report on the table, and the entire conference room fell silent.
The drugs they possessed came from the line currently being investigated by the anti-drug authorities.
Moreover, over the past year or so, they have established a cooperative relationship in the opposite direction.
These girls, who were previously just prostitutes, were manipulated into deceiving or even forcing their clients to take drugs.
Then, through this line, drugs are sold to them.
This further binds the lines between pornography and drugs, making the situation even darker and more depraved...
"Beasts! They're all beasts!"
Jin Shuhe almost never swore, but he managed to squeeze it out through his teeth at this moment.
There's no other word to describe it!
It felt as if a raging fire was burning in his chest.
Jin Shuhe looked through the one-way glass at the girls in the interrogation room, some numb, some weeping, and some tortured beyond recognition.
This fire was almost burning away his reason!
He understood what Captain Xie of the Major Crimes Unit had said when he first joined the company: "You must maintain your anger, your sharpness, and your sense of justice and goodness!"
These evil deeds were even committed against their own mother!
Now they're trying to target Sister Li Ruan, and countless other innocent people too!
He cannot back down and will absolutely not leave this post!
"Alright, now that we've cleared the grass, let's see how the snake gets scared out."
Wu Qidong said to Jin Shuhe, "Don't worry, they're too busy taking care of themselves."
Although they were coerced into committing the crime, a crime is a crime, and those girls will receive fair punishment.
"The missing persons case... is there still no result?" Jin Shuhe flipped through the case files several more times, trying to find any clues.
"Nobody knows what happened to this girl, but they all saw her and then she suddenly disappeared." Sister Lü nodded; she had already led people to search the hideout several times.
“Sister Lü, you said… that girl from our hometown surnamed Kang has been saying that she ran away with a man. Could it be that what she said is true?” Jin Shuhe suddenly asked.
"You have a point!"
Sister Lü nodded, understanding Jin Shuhe's meaning: "Come with me, we'll drive to the detention center!" She tossed the keys to Jin Shuhe.
The two men asked the girls what kind of people they had seen her interact with, especially a man.
This time, I actually heard from several girls that she had a so-called boyfriend.
"You said someone once ransacked your place?" Jin Shuhe interrogated his fellow villager again.
The girl now seemed more energetic and relaxed than before, and it seemed that being tried was much more comfortable for her than being controlled.
After hearing that all those who controlled them had been arrested, she became much more open: "Yes, I don't know those people. They warned me not to say anything more, or they would kill me..."