You think I want to be the deputy team leader?!

The office of the brigade leader.

After the meeting, Ling Yue contacted the various company commanders of the First Battalion and asked them to notify their respective companies.

Gu Huai and Hou Hao were summoned to Wu Feilin's office, where they sat with their heads down.

Wu Feilin paced back and forth in his office.

"How have I always taught you? I told you to talk less in meetings, but you've forgotten everything I taught you!"

Hou Hao muttered under his breath, "Isn't it nothing? Didn't you become the deputy team leader?"

"Do you think I want to be this deputy team leader?" Wu Feilin glared at Hou Hao.

"Do you know how dangerous it is to be the deputy team leader? Do you think I'm qualified to be the deputy team leader?"

"I've always told you to follow the rules, but you just won't listen..."

That last sentence was already Hou Hao's limit.

Normally, Hou Hao wouldn't dare to say a word back, so he didn't dare to say anything back to what Wu Feilin said next.

Although he didn't retort, Gu Huai could clearly see that Hou Hao wasn't convinced, or rather, he hadn't understood the meaning behind Wu Feilin's words.

In fact, Wu Feilin's words were very simple: when working in an organization, one should not display any sense of threat.

Although Gu Huai had never worked in an organization, he still had some understanding of the intricacies involved.

In an organization, the person in charge is the head, but many specific tasks are done by the deputy head.

Gu Huai was not clear about the specifics, but judging from Wu Feilin's behavior, he seemed very worried that serving as the deputy leader of the task force would cause him trouble.

"Do you know how many eyes are on your master in the detachment right now? They're all waiting for me to make a mistake. Let's not even talk about anything else, just that..."

"Ahem..." Gu Huai coughed lightly from the side. "Captain Wu, do you think I should excuse myself for a moment?"

Seeing that Wu Feilin was getting more and more excited, and the subsequent topics were gradually becoming things that Gu Huai could not listen to, Gu Huai could only speak up to remind him.

"Don't go anywhere." Wu Feilin glanced at Gu Huai. "Since Captain Wang asked you to come with me, you have to take responsibility and don't even think about slacking off."

Although he didn't say it explicitly, Gu Huai could still understand the meaning behind his words.

Wu Feilin wanted to tell Gu Huai that he was already tied to a large group of war chariots and could not escape unscathed.

However, in Gu Huai's opinion, Wu Feilin's actions were somewhat like judging a gentleman by the standards of a petty person.

He is certainly not the kind of person who would choose to protect himself.

"Don't just stand there." Wu Feilin sat back down in his seat. "Tell me quickly, have you noticed any details from the deceased's family?"

Seeing that the conversation had turned to the case, Gu Huai didn't dwell on Wu Feilin's earlier words. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "There's something I find very strange."

"Zhang Zhenhua has been missing for three days. His family has not received any extortion or threats. This murderer is not after money, nor does he seem to care about leaving a body behind. It seems that what he wants is for people to find out."

Wu Feilin looked up, frowning as he looked at Gu Huai. "Continue."

"The murderer dumped the body in the culvert, seemingly trying to hide it, but the car was left in a ditch just a few dozen meters away. He didn't care about the car or the body being discovered."

Gu Huai spoke slowly, but every word seemed to have been carefully considered.

"What he wanted wasn't money, or a car, or even just murder."

"Based on my feeling, it seems like he wants to show everyone this in a way that will instill fear in them."

The incandescent light bulbs in the office emitted a slight hum.

Wu Feilin stared at Gu Huai for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled.

That smile didn't carry any goodwill; instead, it seemed more like a confirmation.

He felt that Gu Huai was talented when they were at the funeral home, and now it seems that his judgment was correct.

"You little rascal, you don't seem like you're a new cop."

Gu Huai didn't respond, but continued talking to himself.

"One more thing, Zhang Zhenhua was missing for three days, but according to the autopsy results, there was a gap of one and a half days between his disappearance and his death. During that day and a half, Zhang Zhenhua must have been controlled by the murderer."

"I think our next step should focus on investigating the people around Zhang Zhenhua to see if there are any people who have conflicts with him and do not have an alibi."

Wu Feilin nodded steadily, his eyes filled with even more appreciation.

Although Gu Huai had caused him a lot of trouble that day, he was indeed very knowledgeable when it came to discussing the case.

[Hey, if only this kid weren't so bad at causing trouble, I'd definitely keep him on the team.]

Two knocks sounded from outside the door, followed by an unfamiliar male voice.

"Old Wu, almost everyone's here."

"Okay, I understand." Wu Feilin got up and walked out.

When he reached the door, he turned back to look at Gu Huai and said, "You two don't need to participate in the case analysis meeting later. Just go through the basic materials with Ling Yue."

"Yes." Hou Hao nodded weakly.

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night.

As soon as Wu Feilin opened the door, a man with a buzz cut and a round face, who looked to be around forty years old, stood in the doorway.

As soon as he saw the dejected Hou Hao, a smile spread across his face. "What's wrong, little monkey? Did your master scold you again?"

"No, Uncle Jiang, Master said I was only doing it for my own good."

"You little rascal." Jiang Cheng smiled and affectionately patted Hou Hao's head.

"Stop touching his head! You're making him stupid!" Wu Feilin urged from the side. "Let's go, we need to get to the meeting."

"What's your rush?" Jiang Cheng said with a chuckle. "Anyway, I won't be sleeping tonight."

After saying that, Jiang Cheng turned to Hou Hao and said, "Monkey, go to the door later. Your aunt will be bringing over some late-night snacks."

"Okay, Uncle Jiang."

Jiang Cheng smiled and ruffled Hou Hao's hair before following Wu Feilin toward the brigade's office.

Seeing the relationship between the two, Gu Huai couldn't help but lean closer to Hou Hao and whisper, "Who is this Uncle Jiang?"

Hou Hao replied, "He is the deputy captain of our brigade."

"I see." Gu Huai nodded in agreement. He had originally wanted to ask one more question about his relationship with the vice-captain.

But after a brief moment of thought, he decided not to pry into other people's privacy.

"Was everything Captain Wu said inside true?"

"What?"

"Is there really someone in our department targeting our Captain Wu?"

"Probably not." Hou Hao scratched his head. "That's just how my master is. He's always suspicious. Everyone in our department is very serious when it comes to solving cases, and everyone is very nice to me."

Gu Huai didn't believe the first half of Hou Hao's words at all; he didn't think Wu Feilin was that kind of person.

But the second half of his words reassured Gu Huai a lot.

As long as you are serious about your work, a little bit of backstabbing and infighting at work is fine.

Thinking of this, Gu Huai put his arm around Hou Hao's shoulder.

"Let's go, let's fight together until dawn!"