Chapter 23.1: Fighting to Recruit Talent
Pushing her flashlight aside to better illuminate the road ahead, Jiang Xia pedaled toward home.
She was in an excellent mood.
The case had been solved. The missing child had been rescued. The traffickers had been arrested. Her transfer to the Municipal Public Security Bureau was all but guaranteed, and she’d even be joining the Technical Division, where forensic trace examination was done. Three pieces of good news all at once.
The only downside was that her master would probably take it hard when she left. She’d have to find a way to cheer him up.
As for Lu Yixing, whom she’d teased earlier?
She’d simply been in a good mood and flirted with him on a whim. After all, he was handsome.
She didn’t give it another thought.
She arrived at the apartment building.
Looking up, Jiang Xia saw that most of the lights had already gone out. Only the light in her own home was still on, casting a warm, welcoming glow.
…
Early the next morning, Municipal Public Security Bureau.
Tan Bingyi hadn’t gone home at all the previous night.
He’d spent the entire night interrogating suspects and had obtained quite a few valuable leads.
But he was getting older, and an all-nighter had taken its toll. In the second half of the night, he’d grabbed an empty bunk in the bureau dormitory and caught a brief nap. As soon as dawn broke, figuring Deputy Chief Duan would be arriving for work soon, he hurried over to intercept him.
The Municipal Public Security Bureau occupied the former city government building, a three-story structure shared by all police departments. The first floor housed reception, the traffic police offices, and the personnel office. The Criminal Investigation Division, being the largest department, occupied the entire second floor.
At that moment, Tan Bingyi was positively beaming with confidence.
Solving a case in just eleven hours—who could top that?!
Granted, the greatest credit didn’t belong to him, and because he’d been delivering the composite sketch to the bus station, he hadn’t participated in the arrest. Still, he’d commanded the operation. Even if he was only sharing in the glory, it was enough to make him proud.
He practically strode with the wind at his back. Officers passing him on the stairs greeted him one after another.
“Morning, Captain Tan.”
“Morning, Captain Tan!”
“Morning, morning.”
“Captain Tan, you solved yesterday’s case incredibly fast.”
“Hahaha, just luck. Pure luck.”
Just as Tan Bingyi was modestly accepting the compliments, the door to the Technical Division office clicked open.
Section Chief Liao Zhongsheng stepped out.
Holding a teacup in one hand, he looked up and spotted Captain Tan, surprise flickering across his face.
“Captain Tan, you were interrogating suspects so late yesterday. Why not get some more rest? What brings you here this early?”
As he spoke, Liao Zhongsheng glanced in the direction Tan Bingyi was headed.
“Going to see Deputy Chief Duan?”
Tan Bingyi immediately went on guard.
If Old Fox Liao was asking questions, he definitely had an ulterior motive.
Could he be trying to pry information out of him about Jiang Xia?
“I got a few more leads from the interrogation, so I’m here to report to Deputy Chief Duan.”
His heart tightened, but he answered casually before countering, “What about you, Section Chief Liao? Where are you headed?”
“To wash my cup.”
Liao Zhongsheng gave the teacup in his hand a little shake.
“If you’ve got business, Captain Tan, I won’t keep you. See you around.”
With that, Liao Zhongsheng headed toward the restroom on his own.
He really had come out just to wash his cup?
Tan Bingyi paused in surprise. Seeing that Liao hadn’t asked any more questions, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and hurried toward Deputy Chief Duan’s office.
He knocked on the door.
“Deputy Chief Duan isn’t here.”
A familiar voice came from inside.
“Just come in and wait.”
Tan Bingyi’s face instantly turned green. He shoved the door open, and sure enough—it was that bastard Zhao Zhenzhong from the Second Investigation Team!
Damn it. What was this mutt doing here waiting too?
Glowering at him, Tan Bingyi demanded, “What are you doing here?”
With his arms folded across his chest, Zhao Zhenzhong wore an expression that practically said, ‘What are you going to do about it?’
“The same thing you are.”
“You—!”
“What, me?” Zhao Zhenzhong cut him off, exposing him without mercy. “You know perfectly well how much of yesterday’s case was thanks to someone else.”
“Our team just happens to be one person short. Jiang Xia would be a perfect fit.”
“Zhao Zhenzhong, have you no shame?!”
Tan Bingyi exploded.
“Your team just got three new police academy graduates this year! One of them’s even a junior college graduate! You’ve already got plenty of fresh blood, so why are you still trying to steal people?”
‘Those three combined still couldn’t compare to a single Jiang Xia,’ Zhao Zhenzhong thought.
Following that line of reasoning, he said, “Exactly. Jiang Xia’s a police academy graduate too, isn’t she? That makes her an even better fit for our team.”
“That’s a ridiculous argument!”
“And you? You’re just trying to keep her all to yourself!”
The two men were already loud by nature. Now, locked in a heated confrontation, their voices only grew louder and louder.
Liao Zhongsheng, who had supposedly gone to wash his cup, came to a stop.
Tilting his head, he listened for a few moments before smiling faintly.
What’s the point of arguing like that?
Watch closely. I’ll only demonstrate the proper way to compete once.
Changing direction, he headed upstairs to the third floor.
This floor housed the offices of the bureau chief and deputy chiefs, the finance office, and the Narcotics Investigation Division.
Liao Zhongsheng walked up to the office of the head of the Narcotics Division and knocked lightly on the door.
A voice came from inside.
“Come in.”
Liao Zhongsheng pushed the door open and stepped inside.
The head of the Narcotics Division was Gao Luoshan. At only thirty-five years old, he had already reached the rank of deputy section chief, making him one of the bureau’s rising stars. Few people envied him, however—the narcotics unit was one of the most dangerous assignments in the force, and officers were killed in the line of duty all too often.
He looked up in surprise at Liao Zhongsheng’s unexpected visit.
“Well, this is a rare guest.”
Gao Luoshan wasn’t one for formalities. Setting down his pen, he asked directly, “What wind blew Section Chief Liao into my office today?”
“The wind of composite sketches, of course.”
Liao Zhongsheng pulled out a chair, set down his teacup, casually grabbed Gao’s kettle, filled his own cup with hot water as though he were in his own office, then sat down.
“With all the commotion yesterday, don’t tell me you didn’t hear about it, Chief Gao?”
“The entire bureau’s motorcycles were requisitioned yesterday. How could I not know?”
Gao Luoshan smiled.
“But I doubt you came all the way here just to chat about that.”
“Of course not.”
Liao Zhongsheng took a folded composite sketch from his jacket pocket, spread it open, and laid it on the desk for Gao to examine.
“Take a look. This sketch was drawn solely from a witness’s verbal description, and it’s the spitting image of the trafficker. Just imagine how useful something like this would be for tracking down dr*g dealers.”
Gao Luoshan lowered his gaze to the sketch.
He had worked late the previous evening and had actually crossed paths with the trafficker. Looking at the portrait now, he had to admit Liao wasn’t exaggerating—it was astonishingly accurate. If it weren’t composed entirely of lines, he would have thought it was a photograph.
His interest was instantly piqued.
In the past, things had been much simpler. Most addicts grew their own poppies in secret and processed them into opium. As long as someone reported them, the police could usually catch them without much difficulty.
But things had changed over the past few years.
More and more narcotics were being smuggled in from overseas. Dealers distributed them through multiple layers of middlemen, making the network highly mobile. On top of that, they almost always used aliases during transactions, leaving the police with no knowledge of their real names, hometowns, or other identifying information. Investigating them was practically impossible.
Now, if they could have addicts describe their dealers and produce composite sketches, whether or not they immediately caught anyone, at least officers staking out the black market wouldn’t have to rely solely on vague verbal descriptions to identify suspects.
Even so…
After a moment of thought, Gao Luoshan still shook his head.
“Narcotics work is simply too dangerous. Their families are often targets for retaliation as well. I doubt she’d be willing to take that kind of job.”
Liao Zhongsheng’s expression remained unchanged.
Slowly and deliberately, he unfolded the real map he’d been hiding up his sleeve.
“What about our Technical Division?”
With a genial smile, Liao said, “Think about it. We may fall under the Criminal Investigation Division, but we’re all part of the same bureau. Whenever a department needs technical support, we’re the ones who provide it. If Jiang Xia joins the Technical Division, wouldn’t that make it much easier for her to draw composite sketches whenever they’re needed?”
“Hah! So that’s why an old fox like you came looking for me!”
Finally seeing the dagger behind Liao’s smile, Gao Luoshan slapped the desk.
“If you want to poach her, go talk to your Deputy Chief Duan. Why come to me?”
Liao let out a long sigh.
“Our Technical Division has only a handful of people. We’re the neglected child of the bureau—no one dotes on us. There’s no way we can outcompete them.”
That much was true.
China’s criminal forensic science was still in its formative stages. Local police departments had yet to develop particularly advanced investigative techniques.
Take the forensic pathology unit, for example.
Sun Guochang, the bureau’s medical examiner, had originally been an ordinary criminal investigator who’d taught himself autopsies after transferring into the role. His skills were mediocre at best. On one occasion, he had examined a body that had been dead for only five days and concluded it had been dead for half a month instead. The Criminal Investigation Division had berated him mercilessly over the blunder.
When your technical expertise wasn’t up to par—and even hindered investigations—it was only natural that both your superiors and your colleagues would be less than enthusiastic about your department.
Now that Liao Zhongsheng had finally found someone with exceptional technical talent, there was no way he was letting her slip away. Even if the Technical Division didn’t officially have a position for someone specializing in composite sketches, he’d bring her over first and sort out the details later.
By this point, Gao Luoshan understood exactly what the old fox was up to.
If Liao went directly to Deputy Chief Duan, there was no way he could outcompete Tan Bingyi and Zhao Zhenzhong. So he needed outside support.
Of course, Gao himself couldn’t make the decision—but he could report it to the deputy bureau chief.
Once the deputy bureau chief made the call, it wouldn’t matter how fiercely Tan Bingyi and Zhao Zhenzhong argued in front of Deputy Chief Duan. The matter would be settled.
To be honest, Gao Luoshan was tempted.
After all, the arrangement would benefit his division as well.
If the composite artist belonged to the Technical Division—which routinely provided technical support to other departments—requesting a sketch would simply be standard interdepartmental cooperation.
But if she belonged to another investigative team, every request would mean calling in a favor.
The Narcotics Division didn’t need composite sketches all that often, but not owing favors was still preferable to owing them.
Tempted as he was, however, Gao still didn’t agree.
This old fox was clearly asking him to put in the effort for something the Narcotics Division should have been entitled to anyway. Even when borrowing someone else’s ox to plow a field, you couldn’t work it that hard without giving the owner something in return.
If Liao wanted his help, he’d have to offer some tangible benefits.
Since Liao Zhongsheng couldn’t bypass the chain of command and report directly to higher-ups himself, Gao feigned ignorance. Spreading his hands, he said, “I can’t exactly go fight Deputy Chief Duan for you, can I?”
“Chief Gao, you’re already interested, so let’s stop dancing around the issue.”
Liao wasn’t annoyed in the slightest. He raised a hand and held up a number with his fingers.
“Our Technical Division has a batch of chemical reagents that can be used for dr*g testing. I’ll give you this many. How about it?”
Gao glanced at the gesture.
“Not enough.”
Liao lowered his hand. Instead of sweetening the offer, he simply asked, “Then what is it that you want?”
After a moment’s thought, Gao Luoshan said, “Our Narcotics Division has a standing need. She’ll have to handle our composite sketches first.”
“That’s out of the question.”
Liao shook his head immediately.
“If we do it your way, I won’t be able to survive in the Technical Division.”
Liao Zhongsheng waved his hand repeatedly.
“All right, let me think… I’ll give you ten priority slots for urgent sketch requests. How about that?”
“Too few. I want at least fifty.”
“Twelve at the absolute most. There aren’t that many dr*g dealers, and that’ll be enough to last you three years!”
“I don’t even know if I’ll still be here in three years. Twenty-five. Take it or leave it.”
“No. Fifteen at most. Otherwise, forget it.”
“Deal.”
The two men happily concluded their under-the-table agreement.
Taking the composite sketch with him, Gao Luoshan headed for the deputy bureau chief’s office.
Meanwhile, Liao Zhongsheng picked up his teacup and leisurely strolled back downstairs.
As he passed Deputy Chief Duan’s office, he heard the commotion coming from inside and smiled faintly.
‘Amateurs. You think you can compete with me? You don’t even know how the game is played.’
Without sparing another glance for the two defeated rivals inside, Liao thought of Jiang Xia.
She was destined to become the Technical Division’s star.
She had to be treated accordingly.
Hmm… I’d better ask around and find out what she likes. That way I can make arrangements in advance.
…
Inside the office of the Criminal Investigation Division chief.
Division Chief Duan Guoqiang had already arrived.
He hadn’t even had time to sit down and catch his breath before the two squad leaders started arguing in front of him.
Zhao Zhenzhong argued his case logically.
“Chief Duan, the officers in the First Squad are all getting on in years. Jiang Xia’s young—she won’t fit in over there. Our squad has plenty of young officers, and they’re all police academy graduates. She wouldn’t need any adjustment period and could jump right in. Just transfer her to our squad.”
“Bullshit! With that many young officers, can you even manage them all?”
Tan Bingyi shot back immediately.
“Chief Duan, this year’s police academy graduates all went to their squad. It’s only fair that we get one this time, isn’t it? Besides, Jiang Xia and I just worked together on that trafficking case. You’ve seen the results yourself—we caught the traffickers in just eleven hours. She’s clearly a better fit for our squad.”
Listening to the two men bicker, Duan Guoqiang felt a headache coming on.
The decision to transfer Jiang Xia had already been made.
Her composite sketches were simply too good. There was no reason to keep her at a local police station handling trivial neighborhood disputes. Bringing her to the Municipal Public Security Bureau, where she could contribute to more important cases, was the obvious choice.
But there was no need to rush.
She had just wrapped up a major case. Waiting another couple of days before transferring her wouldn’t have made any difference.
Who would have thought these two wouldn’t even give him time to drink a glass of water before showing up to fight over her?
The problem was, both captains were his trusted subordinates.
There was only one Jiang Xia. How was he supposed to divide her between them?
The two men continued arguing while Duan Guoqiang nursed a growing headache, wondering how he should settle the matter.
Just then, the office phone rang.
He raised a hand, signaling them to quiet down, and picked up the receiver.
“Hello, Director Lin. You’ve heard about Jiang Xia too? Yes, yes, we’re discussing it right now…”
As he listened, his brow furrowed at first before quickly relaxing.
“Oh… the Technical Division? No problem. No problem at all. Understood. I’ll take care of it immediately.”
Come to think of it, the Technical Division really was the ideal solution.
She could still assist both investigative teams whenever needed, and they wouldn’t have to keep fighting over her.
Duan Guoqiang hung up the phone, feeling as though a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
“No need to argue anymore. Director Lin just called. Jiang Xia is being assigned to the Technical Division. If either of your teams needs her in the future, just request her assistance.”
“Huh?”
“What?”
The announcement left both Tan Bingyi and Zhao Zhenzhong stunned. They stared at one another in disbelief.
Why would Director Lin suddenly specify that Jiang Xia be assigned to the Technical Division?
In an instant, Tan Bingyi pictured Liao Zhongsheng’s crafty face.
His expression cycled through red and green.
This has to be his doing!
Damn it! I thought that old fox wasn’t making a move, so here I was, arguing with Zhao Zhenzhong until we were both red in the face. Meanwhile, he wasn’t even playing the same game—he went straight for the home base!
That damned old fox… I’m going to skin him alive!
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