Chapter 136: The True Culprit Brought to Justice

Yang Ge held the gun with both hands, pointing it at Chen Shi, his brow furrowed tightly, whether from nervousness or nearsightedness, it was hard to tell.

Chen Shi said, “Firing that gun now is pointless. It will only add to your crimes.”

Yang Ge roared, “Even if I die, I’m taking a cop down with me!”

Chen Shi scoffed with disdain, “Afraid of dying? I’ve been dead once already. Death isn’t frightening; it’s living that brings pain and despair!”

“You… are you really a cop?” Skinny looked on incredulously.

“Sort of.”

“What do you mean ‘sort of’?”

“Stop interrupting!” Yang Ge shouted, turning back to Chen Shi. “You’re not afraid of death? Then I’ll let you experience it!”

“You think you can scare me with a fake gun?” Chen Shi said.

“Are you blind? This is a real gun!”

“Then shoot. Aim here. Why the shaking? You’re afraid. You’re just a worker; this cause isn’t worth your life.”

“Do it!” bellowed an old man from the bedroom, hurling something in frustration.

Yang Ge hesitated, and Chen Shi taunted, pointing to his chest, “Come on then, shoot me with that fake gun!”

“Damn it, this is a real gun!” As Yang Ge’s roar echoed, a gunshot reverberated around the living room, making the glass clink.

Skinny was petrified, feeling a warm stream in his pants.

Yang Ge’s gun was still pointed at the ceiling, where a new bullet hole had appeared. Before he could lower the gun, Chen Shi unexpectedly leapt from the couch with a flying kick. As Yang Ge fired a second shot, Chen Shi’s foot had already hit his chest, adding another bullet hole to the ceiling.

Yang Ge crashed into the study, his neck bending unnaturally against the edge of the desk with a crisp snap, then he lay motionless, his body twitching.

When Chen Shi got up, he casually picked up the gun, checked the magazine, and then returned outside.

The first to react was Skinny, trembling with fear, as Chen Shi commanded, “Kneel and cover your head.”

Skinny complied obediently.

Chen Shi then entered the bedroom, gesturing to a woman who also complied, and finally, the gun pointed at the old man who bargained with a furrowed brow, “My back is bad…”

“Then raise your hands.”

“I have shoulder arthritis.”

“Then sit.”

“I have hemorrhoids.”

“I’ll just shoot you then!”

“No, no, no…” the old man slowly raised his hands, sighing, “Young people these days, no respect for the elderly.”

Due to a signal disruption, the police, still searching the neighborhood, heard the gunshots and rushed over. Lin Dongxue kicked in the door, gun in hand, sweeping the area and surprised to find the chaotic scene inside: one person lying on the ground, another crouching in the corner.

Chen Shi, holding a cigar and a glass of red wine in one hand and a handgun in the other, strolled out from the bedroom. If Lin Dongxue didn’t know him, she might have mistaken him for a major villain.

“Why so slow?” Chen Shi commented.

Seeing Chen Shi safe, Lin Dongxue’s eyes teared up with a joyful smile, “Are you hurt?”

“Just a scratch, nothing serious.”

Lin Dongxue signaled everyone to apprehend the suspects. Chen Shi approached her, reflecting, “Such a magnificent house, every brick and tile bought with the lives of the innocent.”

“Why do you always have to play the hero?” Lin Dongxue punched him in the chest.

“Ouch!” Chen Shi bent over in pain.

“Are you hurt?” Lin Dongxue’s concern flared up again.

“Just kidding, I’m fine!”

“Jerk!”

With the suspects taken away, only they remained in the room. Lin Dongxue couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer and hugged Chen Shi tightly, tears streaming down, “You’re safe now, I’m never letting you go undercover again.”

“What silly things to say. My undercover days are too exciting to give up. I owe you thanks!”

Chen Shi gently pushed Lin Dongxue away to wipe her tears, her lips trembling as she tiptoed, leaning heavily against him.

Their faces drew closer, close enough to feel each other’s breath, when suddenly a police officer burst in, “Chief… Never mind, I won’t disturb you two.”

They quickly separated, and Lin Dongxue asked, “What is it?”

“The hideout on Jianfu Road has been cleared.”

“Good work, let’s wrap this up!”

Chen Shi got into the car, noticing Peng Si Jie was also there. Heopened a case and gestured for Chen Shi to hand him his arm. Peng Si Jie then meticulously cleaned Chen Shi’s knuckles with an alcohol-soaked swab, commenting, “You’re supposed to be the brains of the operation, yet here you are getting physical.”

“You don’t know me well enough!” Chen Shi retorted.

“Is that so?” Peng Si Jie smirked.

From the passenger seat, Xu Xiaodong turned around, clearly excited, “Chen bro, you took them all down by yourself? And disarmed him hand-to-hand? Are you for real? I always thought you couldn’t fight.”

“My skills aren’t what they used to be. In my prime, taking on ten guys wasn’t a problem.”

“Sure, dead men tell no tales, so you can say whatever you want,” Peng Si Jie said dryly.

“How about we spar sometime?” Xu Xiaodong suggested.

“Forget it, fighting isn’t really my thing… Ouch, Peng, that hurts!”

Yang Min, the real name of Yang Ge, had his neck broken by Chen Shi’s kick but fortunately didn’t suffer nerve damage and was rushed to the hospital.

The tough and resilient Yang Min was hard to communicate with in the interrogation room, as he was more used to giving orders than answering questions.

Skinny was taken to the station and quickly began experiencing withdrawal symptoms, thrashing and banging his head against the wall until he had to be sent to a detox center to be restrained.

The focus of the interrogation then shifted to the old man. His first words during the questioning were, “I’m just a businessman, I don’t know what crime I’ve committed.”

Lin Dongxue responded, “Then let’s talk about your business experiences.”

“Bring me a glass of Lafite and a Cuban cigar,” the old man requested.

“We don’t have that here, but we can offer you a cigarette,” Xu Xiaodong interjected.

“That’ll have to do,” the old man conceded.

After lighting his cigarette, he began, “I despise insurance companies. They promise the world when you’re buying policies but finding excuses in the fine print not to pay out when it’s time to claim.”

He recounted an incident from the previous year when he fell seriously ill, but the claims adjuster found a tiny loophole in the contract that excluded his condition from coverage. Despite having paid substantial premiums, he was dismissed with a single sentence.

Frustrated, he went to court but ended up wasting even more money without any results.

“I was so angry, I wanted to storm into the insurance company and slaughter those bastards. But what would that achieve? Those shameless companies would continue to operate and scam more people.”

So, he sought out others who shared his grievances, intending initially just to stand up for their rights. By chance, someone in their circle successfully scammed a large insurance payout, and everyone hailed him as a hero. That person was Yang Min.

As an insurance professional, Yang Min knew the ins and outs of the industry, which inspired the old man. He approached Yang Min with a proposal to collaborate…

The revelations from the old man painted a complex picture of frustration and desperation, illustrating how deeply personal grievances had spiraled into criminal activities, entangling several lives in the process.