Chapter 1034: Wang Anguo and His Gang Have Been Arrested!

South of the City. A Certain Courtyard!

A dozen or so young men in their early twenties were gathered in a room, clinking glasses and toasting one another. The large courtyard table in the center was laden with over a dozen plates and dishes.

Seated at the head of the table, a young man who was clearly drunk was pouring liquor down his throat with one hand while the other roamed freely over his female companion’s body, causing her to cast him a seductive glance.

This young man was none other than Liu Dongping, head of the Propaganda Section at the Military Region Printing Plant and leader of the Dragon-Tiger Gang. This compound served as the gang’s headquarters, where all matters—big and small—were typically handled.

After several rounds of drinks and a variety of dishes,

A young man with a crew cut sitting at the lower end of the table pulled a newspaper-wrapped package from his bag and handed it to Liu Dongping, saying, “Brother Ping, this month’s protection money has been collected in full—6,260 yuan total. Please count it!”

Liu Dongping took the package and opened it right away. Inside, he saw nothing but brand-new 100-yuan notes—six full bundles (1,000 yuan each) and several loose bills. The amount matched what his underling had reported.

After a quick glance, Liu Dongping pulled out one full stack of 1,000-yuan notes and tossed the loose bills to the short-haired guy standing beside him.

“Buzz Cut, same as always—go ahead and split this money up among the guys!” Liu Dongping said.

“Thanks, Brother Ping!”

Immediately, the others at the table shouted in unison, “Brother Ping is the man!”

“Thanks, Brother Ping! You’re so badass…”

Liu Dongping clearly relished the feeling of being fawned over. In high spirits, he immediately raised his glass and shouted, “Brothers, follow me, Liu Dongping, and you’ll not only have meat to eat, wine to drink, and women to play with, but you’ll also never have to fear anyone bullying you. Come on, bottoms up!”

“Brother Ping is the man! Let’s drink to him—bottoms up…”

After downing a few more glasses, the guy with the crew cut suddenly grinned and said, “Brother Ping, the South Gate Little Theater has assigned a batch of pretty good actresses. Should we go check them out tonight?”

Hearing this, the others at the table immediately perked up and chimed in in agreement.

However, Liu Dongping, seated at the head of the table, went from initial interest to disappointment, and finally to anger.

“You guys go ahead. I can’t make it tonight!”

With that, Liu Dongping downed two gulps of liquor, his anger plain for all to see.

“Brother Ping, what’s going on? Who’s upset you? We’ll take care of them for you!”

“Exactly! Whoever dares to upset Brother Ping, I’ll make sure they regret it!”

“Right. Whoever it is, they’ll pay the price…”

Liu Dongping frowned and said, “Shut the hell up, all of you. It’s my old man who won’t let me stay out overnight. If you’ve got the guts, go deal with my old man!”

The moment those words left his mouth, everyone in the room fell silent.

They knew full well what kind of figure Liu Dongping’s father was—they weren’t even in the same league to take him on!

“Brother Ping, why won’t your old man let you stay out overnight? Is it still because of that incident?” the man with the crew cut asked again.

“Yeah.”

“But that matter was resolved, wasn’t it? Why is your old man still harping on it?” said the man with the crew cut.

“Hmph, it’s all those idiots at the police station. They’ve all been fired, yet they’re still harping on it. My old man’s afraid I’ll cause trouble again, so he’s ordered me to go straight home after work for the time being. If I dare disobey, he’ll break my legs!” Liu Dongping said indignantly.

“Those bastards really aren’t afraid of dying. You already beat them to a pulp, Brother Ping, and they’re still not letting go. Why don’t we take care of them for you?” the man with the crew cut said.

“Don’t do anything rash. This is Beijing, and they’re all police officers. If we take them out, the repercussions would be massive!” Liu Dongping said in a grave tone.

“But what if they keep holding on?”

Liu Dongping paused to think for a moment, then said, “I’ve already had someone warn them. If those bastards still won’t back down, I’ll have them locked up.”

“That’d be letting them off too easy…”

Before he could finish, Liu Dongping spoke again: “Pingtou, I’ll have someone pull up those punks’ records. You take a team to investigate their family backgrounds—it might come in handy later!”

“Got it!”

“Alright, enough of this gloomy talk. Let’s keep drinking!” Liu Dongping said.

“Come on, let’s keep drinking. Bottoms up…”

……………

Before they knew it, three days had passed!

These past few days, aside from taking Jiang Xue and the kids to and from school as usual, Li Yi had spent most of his time helping out at the barbecue and hot pot restaurant in Dong’an Market.

Originally, Third Sister was in charge of the shop, but now she was in the hospital giving birth, and her husband was there to stay by her side.

As a result, the shop was now being run solely by a young girl named Long Xiaofeng, who was clearly struggling to keep up.

And since Third Sister is a very career-driven person, even though she was in the hospital, her mind was constantly on the shop’s affairs.

To allow her to rest comfortably during her postpartum recovery, Li Yi had no choice but to shoulder the extra burden himself. The distinguished vice-departmental-level CEO had temporarily taken on the role of store manager.

It had been a long time since he’d been this busy, and suddenly taking on all these complicated tasks was a bit of a stretch for Li Yi.

But what can you do? She’s his own sister—he has to spoil her!

Fortunately, Third Sister was being discharged today. With their mother and Third Sister’s mother-in-law there to help look after her, her husband would be free to manage the shop, and Li Yi would finally be off the hook.

Even though he was swamped, Li Yi kept a close eye on the movements of Liu Dongping and his crew, waiting for them to make their move.

However, even though Wang Anguo, Li Gang, and Yin Jianping were still relentlessly investigating that bastard—and doing so quite openly, making no attempt to conceal their actions—several days had passed, and Liu Dongping and his crew still hadn’t made a move, as if they’d already backed down.

Liu Dongping and his crew’s lack of response had Wang Anguo and the others on edge; they called Li Yi several times a day.

But Li Yi told them to stay calm. Knowing Liu Dongping as he did—that arrogant, self-important bastard who held a grudge over the slightest slight—he would never tolerate such provocation from Wang Anguo and the others.

The fact that he hadn’t made a move yet likely meant he either didn’t fully understand the situation or was brewing something sinister.

As long as Wang Anguo and the others continued their investigation, that guy would strike sooner or later.

Although Wang Anguo and the others were a bit anxious and felt somewhat helpless, they still followed Li Yi’s instructions and continued investigating Liu Dongping and the Dragon-Tiger Gang he had set up.

Sure enough, Li Yi’s prediction about that guy came true…

That day, just as customers were starting to trickle into the shop, the phone at the bar suddenly rang urgently.

As soon as Li Yi picked up the receiver, An Hong’s anxious voice came through the line: “Xiao Yi, it’s bad news—Anguo and the others have been arrested.”

Hearing this, Li Yi’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately said, “Sis, don’t panic. Take it slow—what exactly happened?”

“It’s like this: this morning, Anguo and Gangzi suddenly got a call from the station saying they had to go back to hand over their duties, so the few of them went back, and they haven’t come back since.”

An Hong continued, “I was worried, so I went to the station to look for them a little while ago. The staff wouldn’t even let me in the door, but they told me that An Guo, Li Gang, and the others had been arrested on charges of disobeying orders, abuse of power, and disturbing public order. And…”

“And what?” Li Yi asked immediately.

“And they also said that An Guo and the others have already been detained and are currently under investigation. They’ll be indicted soon, and it’s highly likely they’ll be sentenced!” An Hong said anxiously.

Li Yi immediately snapped, “What a complete distortion of the truth! Instead of arresting the criminals, they’re going after the police officers who are doing their duty impartially. They’re literally trampling on the law of the land.”

“Brother Li Yi, what should we do now?” An Hong asked.

“Sis-in-law, don’t worry for now. Just follow my lead: immediately take some people to the station and demand their release. If they refuse to hand them over, then take a banner to the Municipal Bureau to protest. Leave the rest to me!” Li Yi said.

“Alright!”

Then An Hong asked again, “Xiao Yi, will An Guo and the others be all right?”

“Sis, Brother Wang and the others might have to endure some hardship this time, but they definitely won’t come out worse for it!” Li Yi said with absolute certainty.

“I understand!”

With that, An Hong hung up the phone…

Chapter 1,035: Luring the World’s People into the Game!

After ending his call with An Hong, Li Yi immediately dialed Jiang Longcheng’s number.

“Hello… Who’s this?”

“It’s Li Yi. I’m looking for you!” Li Yi said.

“Brother-in-law, what brings you to call me?” Jiang Longcheng asked with a laugh.

With the situation urgent, Li Yi skipped the pleasantries and got straight to the point: “Third Brother, how’s it going with the media contacts I asked you to reach out to?”

“I’ve already made the arrangements. Why do you need them now?”

“Yes. Have the reporters you’ve arranged to head to the entrance of the Jingcheng Municipal Bureau right now and wait there. A major story is about to break there,” Li Yi said.

“Alright, I’ll call them right away!”

“Also, send a group of workers from your factory over to the police station to back up An Hong. But make sure to tell them to just act as bystanders—under no circumstances should they clash with the police,” Li Yi instructed.

“No problem…”

After that, the two exchanged a few more brief words before hanging up.

After ending the call, Li Yi called Lan Xinyi.

Li Yi first gave a brief overview of the situation, then instructed Lan Xinyi to call the Investment Promotion Bureau, the Ministry of Commerce, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in her capacity as General Manager of Star Investment’s mainland branch.

She was to lodge a formal complaint against the Beijing Municipal Bureau staff for their high-handed and unreasonable behavior—detaining employees’ family members without cause, which had severely impacted the physical and mental well-being of the company’s staff and disrupted normal business operations…

Although Li Yi knew that relying on such tactics to force the Liu family to release the detainees was unlikely to succeed, it would at least ensure that Wang Anguo and the others were not mistreated while in custody.

After all, Lan Xinyi’s status was no ordinary one; she represented foreign investment…

Many might ask, “So what if it’s foreign investment?” but Li Yi was well aware that foreign investment currently enjoyed preferential treatment in the country.

This is no exaggeration. From the highest authorities down to local county and district leaders, foreign investment—including Hong Kong capital—is held in the highest regard.

To attract this foreign investment, we’ve offered them extremely favorable terms. Moreover, to retain them, governments at all levels go out of their way to resolve the problems of these foreign-funded enterprises—they’re practically treating them like gods.

Even the most trivial matters concerning small businesses are taken very seriously by higher-ups, let alone a mega-corporation like Star Investment.

Setting aside the fact that this company is backed by the Hong Kong-based Star Investment Group—a true industry titan—the mere fact that its mainland branch has invested over 1 billion yuan domestically in the past year alone means no government department would dare to take it lightly.

Add to that the fact that Lan Xinyi, the CEO herself, is personally making the call—and that it involves the company’s Deputy General Manager, An Hong—and it’s clear the higher-ups won’t be able to ignore this.

As long as anyone is paying attention to this matter, the Liu family won’t be able to sweep it under the rug. When the time comes, it won’t matter if you’re the son of a general or the offspring of some other official—we won’t hold back when it’s time to deal with you.

Originally, Li Yi had wanted Lan Xinyi to also transfer the company’s employees to the Municipal Bureau to act as bystanders.

But upon reflection, he realized their company’s nature was different—foreign-invested enterprises are always a sensitive matter.

If the higher-ups were to misinterpret this, it would be a disaster. So, after careful consideration, Li Yi ultimately decided against having Lan Xinyi send staff from the branch office over.

After hanging up the phone, Li Yi had no heart to attend to matters at the store.

After a quick word with Long Xiaofeng, he took Zhou Wen and left the Dong’an Market branch, heading straight for the police station where Wang Anguo and the others were working.

By the time Li Yi arrived at the police station entrance, An Hong and the others were already there.

Besides An Hong, there were five or six others, including Yin Jianping and the wives and parents of Wu Yue and others, as well as three or four children aged six or seven.

They stood at the entrance holding a banner they had prepared in advance, demanding justice. The banner was made of a long white cloth, with black ink inscriptions reading, “Clear my family’s name! Severely punish the rapist Liu Dongping and his corrupt protectors!”

The black characters on white cloth, combined with the sight of these elderly people, women, and children standing at the entrance of the police station, created a scene of great visual impact.

Before long, a large crowd had gathered at the entrance.

Of course, among them were workers from the Second State-Owned Cotton Mill, but there were also many passersby.

Everyone looked on with curiosity at the elderly, the infirm, women, and children, discussing what had happened.

Seeing this, An Hong immediately began tearfully recounting the plight of Wang Anguo, Li Gang, and others to the onlookers.

When the onlookers learned that these elderly people, children, and women demanding answers were all relatives of the police officers at the station, they were all deeply shocked.

After learning of the plight of Wang Anguo and the others, they immediately rallied to support An Hong and her group.

Naturally, the commotion also caught the attention of those inside the police station, and soon the new station chief emerged with his staff.

Upon seeing An Hong and the others, the new chief immediately ordered his men to disperse the crowd.

In their view, An Hong and the others were engaging in a public disturbance; they believed that once they were driven away, the onlookers would disperse.

However, their actions also sparked discontent among the onlookers. The people of Huaguo still possessed a strong sense of justice; they stepped forward to protect the elderly, the weak, and the women and children, creating a standoff with the police officers from the station.

Seeing the situation about to escalate, An Hong immediately stepped forward to calm the crowd, just as Li Yi had taught her, urging everyone to remain calm.

To prevent any bloodshed, she took the initiative to lead the elderly, the weak, and the women and children away from the police station.

As An Hong and the others left, the onlookers gradually dispersed, much to the relief of everyone present, including the new station chief.

What they didn’t know, however, was that the entire scene had been captured on camera by reporters hiding in the crowd.

More importantly, after leaving the police station, An Hong did not go home. Instead, she took a detour and got into several cars parked in a nearby alley. Before long, the group appeared at the entrance of the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

And so, a familiar scene played out once again…

And compared to the scene earlier at the police station entrance, there were now even more onlookers and an even larger number of reporters and media outlets present…

……….

While An Hong and her group were busy stirring up public opinion, Li Yi returned home, locked himself in his study, and began writing his article.

It is said that the greatest strategists use themselves as bait to lure the masses into their schemes, thereby gaining a decisive advantage.

Wang Anguo and his cohorts were Li Yi’s bait. Now that the fish had taken the hook, it was time to lure the masses into the trap.

But to draw the masses into the trap, he needed a few reports with sufficient influence—and Li Yi decided to handle this himself.

It wasn’t that he doubted the skills or writing prowess of the reporters Jiang Longcheng had recruited; rather, when it came to creating buzz and stirring public sentiment, who in this day and age could compare to Li Yi, a man who had lived through the information explosion?

To put it simply, a single piece written in the “UC Sensational Style” would be enough to keep the common folk entertained for a whole year these days.

Li Yi spent the entire afternoon working in his study, and by a little past five o’clock, he had finally finished drafting several articles.

Immediately, Li Yi called Jiang Longcheng again, first to check on the progress of the situation, and then to ask him to come over to his house.

Soon, Jiang Longcheng hurried over to the Li family’s courtyard house.

Li Yi handed him the finished articles and instructed him to pass them on to the journalists he had already contacted, asking them to publish the pieces with accompanying photos as soon as possible.

Jiang Longcheng always carried out Li Yi’s orders without question. Without a word, he took the manuscripts and left the Li residence.

After watching Jiang Longcheng leave, Li Yi couldn’t help but let a faint smile touch his lips. He was about to draw the entire world into his scheme—just wait and see how the Liu family would respond…