Chapter 1412
I was just a temporary worker back then, and you're using police procedures to int
The infiltration from Japan, the development of Shintoism, that school that has always existed openly yet has never been shut down, the traps set against him... He had always thought that the shadows behind all of this were just external enemies.
But now it seems that an unseen hand is hidden within, in the high places of our own people.
These hands were even capable of contending with figures like Grand Secretary Wei, and of manipulating a national instrument like the Dali Division, to casually label him, the Director of the National Security Bureau, as a "traitor" and throw him into this cold interrogation room.
Being stabbed in the back by your own people feels a hundred times worse than being hit head-on by the enemy on the battlefield.
His heart was filled with anxiety and anger at not being able to avenge his brothers. The blood on the ruins of the training center had not yet dried, and the last images of Wu Peixiong and Wang Feifei still haunted his dreams.
He should have embarked on a path of revenge, heading towards that island nation where cherry blossoms fall, but now he sits here in handcuffs, awaiting a fabricated interrogation.
This feeling, stuck in his chest, made him feel like a fire was burning inside.
But his face didn't show much expression.
Because he remembered Lei Wanting's words.
Just before he was taken away, Lei Wanting gave him a silent look—a kind of communication only veterans understand: Stay calm, don't be impulsive, there's more to this than meets the eye, I'll figure something out.
If it weren't for Old Master Lei's instructions, given his temper, he would have already torn these handcuffs in two, and the walls of this interrogation room might not have been able to confine him.
But now, he chooses to wait and see.
Let's see what these guys in the shadows are up to.
The door to the interrogation room was pushed open.
A man and a woman walked in.
The man was around forty years old, of medium build, dressed in a meticulously tailored dark suit, his hair neatly combed, and wearing gold-rimmed glasses. He carried a folder in his hand, his gait steady yet carrying a deliberate air of authority.
When those eyes behind the glasses looked at Luo Fei, they held a condescending scrutiny, as if looking at prey already nailed to a chopping board.
The woman was about the same age as the man, with short hair and an ordinary, unremarkable face, but her eyes were like a scalpel, cold and sharp. She sat down next to the man and turned on and adjusted the recording equipment and laptop in her hands one by one, her movements practiced and silent.
The man sat down opposite Luo Fei, placed the folder on the table, crossed his hands in front of him, looked at Luo Fei, and curled his lips into a professional but somewhat arrogant smile.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Zhang Gangwei, and I am the head of the third interrogation team of the counter-espionage department of the Dali Division. This is my colleague, Chen Ke."
His voice was steady, his pace moderate, and every word was enunciated with extreme clarity, carrying a businesslike tone.
"Luo Fei, this is the counter-espionage investigation team. Today's interrogation of you will be recorded in its entirety. All you need to do is maintain a proper attitude and answer each of our questions truthfully. Do you understand?"
Luo Fei leaned back in his chair, meeting the other person's scrutinizing gaze.
He didn't answer directly, but instead slightly raised his handcuffed hands, the silver metal rings reflecting a dazzling light under the lamp.
"Team Leader Zhang, before answering the question, shouldn't you remove this thing first? I'm not your prisoner."
Zhang Gangwei's gaze fell on the handcuffs, his eyes showing no emotion.
He slowly leaned back in his chair, removing his hands from the folder and crossing them over his chest. The slight upturn of his chin and the barely perceptible curve of his lips revealed a well-disguised, condescending disdain.
"Luo Fei, whether you are a criminal or not is not up to you or me. It is up to the evidence, the law, and the decision from above."
His voice carried a subtle hint of sarcasm.
"In this place, I'm in charge of only one thing—I'll ask you questions and get your answers. As for when these handcuffs will be removed, that depends on your performance."
Luo Fei stared at him, his eyes narrowing slightly.
"Oh?"
His voice trailed off, and the corners of his mouth curled up.
"What if I don't answer?"
Zhang Gangwei's gaze behind his glasses darkened slightly, colliding with Luo Fei's eyes in the air, as if sparks were about to fly.
"Not going to answer?"
He repeated those three words, his tone carrying a hint of amusement, but more so an undeniable coldness.
"It's very simple. We'll keep you in the dark until you answer. There's plenty of time and plenty of ways to do it."
Luo Fei's fingers slowly clenched under the table, the cold alloy handcuffs emitting an extremely faint metallic groan as he squeezed them.
He desperately wanted to tell the guy sitting across from him, staring at him with those dead fish eyes, that these handcuffs were no better than paper to him.
But then he heard Old Master Lei's voice again in his mind, and the admonition in his eyes.
He took a slow breath, loosened his clenched fist, leaned back in his chair, and looked at Zhang Gangwei with an almost defiant attitude.
"Okay. Cooperate with the investigation, right? Ask away."
Zhang Gangwei looked at his seemingly compliant yet prickly demeanor, a cold glint in his eyes. He opened the folder in front of him, picked up a pen, and began the formal interrogation.
"Name."
"Luo Fei."
"age."
"Twenty-seven."
"gender."
Luo Fei glanced at him.
"male."
Zhang Gangwei scribbled notes on the document. After asking for the basic information, he turned the page, his gaze lingered on one spot for a moment, then he looked up and sharply shot it at Luo Fei.
"Last July, you were just an auxiliary police officer. During that time, you participated in a kidnapping case. The kidnappers abducted Luo Sihai, the grandson of former director Lei Wanting, and demanded a huge ransom."
During the investigation, you located the kidnappers' hideout and interrogated them separately. Is this true?
This is not a question, but an affirmative statement of fact.
Luo Fei did not deny it, nor was there any need for him to deny it.
"Have."
“The kidnappers refused to speak at the time and were extremely tight-lipped. But you got them to reveal the hostage’s whereabouts in a very short time.”
Zhang Gangwei's pen tip hovered above the paper, his gaze sharp as a knife.
"Tell me what method you used."
Luo Fei looked into his eyes and answered frankly, "I learned that the kidnapper was a lecherous man, especially interested in actresses from the Japanese entertainment industry. So he found a Japanese actress, used some seduction to lower his guard, and after drinking, he revealed the location where the child was hidden."
Zhang Gangwei's pen tip struck the paper heavily, making a soft "tap" sound.
"You admit that during the interrogation, you used a Japanese actress to 'seduce' her and obtain a confession?"
He emphasized the words "Japan of Cherry Blossoms" and "seduction" in his tone.
Is this true?
"Have."
Luo Fei nodded again.
Zhang Gangwei put down his pen, leaned forward slightly, and his eyes gleamed with the sharp light of prey that had finally fallen into a trap.
"Luo Fei, do you think that, as a police officer, using such methods is in accordance with police regulations? Does it comply with our law enforcement discipline? More importantly—"
His voice was deep and heavy, each word carrying immense weight.
Does this align with our core values?
The air in the interrogation room seemed to freeze for a moment after those words were spoken.
Upon hearing this, Luo Fei's pent-up frustration and anger finally surged up from the depths of his heart.
He didn't answer immediately, but instead looked the well-dressed man sitting behind the interrogation table, who was wielding the moral cudgel against him, up and down with an almost scrutinizing gaze.
Then he spoke.
The sound wasn't loud, but it carried a sharpness honed through countless battles and brushes with death.
"Team Leader Zhang, in this life-or-death situation, human life is of paramount importance. Tell me, which is more important: the life of an innocent child or the so-called 'interrogation rules'? Are your values used to save lives, or to shield bad guys?"
Zhang Gangwei's expression changed slightly, and his eyes turned cold.
"Luo Fei! Straighten your attitude! This is an interrogation room, not a place to debate philosophy with you! You only need to answer my questions!"
Looking at him like this, Luo Fei felt a surge of anger—from being betrayed by his own people, being unjustly accused of treason, and having his path to revenge abruptly cut off—combined with the frustration of being interrogated by this arrogant and condescending person. This feeling made his chest feel tight.
He suddenly smiled, a faint smile, yet one that carried a chilling coldness.
He ignored Zhang Gangwei's reprimands, simply leaning back in his chair. His gaze lingered on the cold walls of the interrogation room for a moment before finally settling back on Zhang Gangwei's face, which was now tinged with anger.
He curled his lips slightly, his tone full of undisguised sarcasm.
"What an imposing official presence!"
Zhang Gangwei slammed the pen on the table with a "bang," stood up abruptly, and his eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses turned completely cold.
"Luo Fei! You—"
"Luo Fei! You—"
Zhang Gangwei slammed his hand on the metal table, making a dull thud. He stood up, glaring down at Luo Fei, who sat in the interrogation chair, his chest heaving with anger.
The eyes behind those gold-rimmed glasses no longer held the carefully maintained professional composure they once possessed; instead, they were filled with stinging anger.
"Don't you understand your current situation?"
Zhang Gangwei's voice rose a few decibels, echoing in the closed interrogation room, carrying a deliberately created sense of oppression.
"What do you think this place is? Do you think you're still the powerful Director Luo who used to wield influence in the National Security Bureau? Let me tell you, here, you are nothing. You're just a criminal suspect accused of treason, colluding with foreign forces, and leaking state secrets!"
He emphasized the words "criminal suspect" very heavily, as if he were using these words to remind Luo Fei, or as if he were trying to bolster his own confidence.
Luo Fei leaned back in his chair, glancing up at Zhang Gangwei's face, slightly flushed from emotional agitation. His expression was calmer than before. This calm wasn't one of submission, but rather a disdainful composure, as if to say: Is that all?
"Team Leader Zhang."
Luo Fei spoke, his voice neither hurried nor slow.
"You said I'm a criminal suspect. Then let me ask you something."
Zhang Gangwei did not sit down, but remained standing, staring down at Luo Fei with that condescending attitude.
"ask."
Luo Fei tilted his head slightly, as if he were pondering a very simple logical problem.
"Auxiliary police officers, are they considered police officers?"
Upon hearing this question, Zhang Gangwei's expression visibly faltered. He hadn't expected Luo Fei to suddenly bring up the issue of auxiliary police officers at this moment; it was completely different from the interrogation pace he had anticipated.
"What do you mean?"
Zhang Gangwei frowned but did not answer directly.
Luo Fei continued speaking slowly and deliberately.
“When you questioned me just now, you kept saying ‘as a police officer,’ and that my behavior ‘did not comply with police procedures.’ After thinking about it carefully, I realized that what you said was based on the premise that I am a police officer.”
He paused, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"But Team Leader Zhang, you've got one thing wrong. Last July, when I was involved in the kidnapping case of Director Lei's grandson, my position was that of an auxiliary police officer. Do you know what that means? It means an unofficial staff member, a temporary worker."
They're paid temporary wages, doing backbreaking work. No official positions, no law enforcement power, not even a police ID.
Luo Fei's voice was steady, but every word carried a disdain for those who sat in air-conditioned offices interrogating him, a sentiment born from his own hard-won rise from the bottom.
“When we caught the kidnappers and rescued the child, no one mentioned my status as a ‘police officer.’ At that time, I was just a junior auxiliary police officer, an unofficial staff member who wasn’t even a police officer. Now that the job is done and the child has been rescued, you’re going to try to apply the rules of ‘police officer’ to me?”
He raised his handcuffed hands and rubbed his chin with the back of his hand, a gesture that carried a hint of roguishness.
“Team Leader Zhang, if you’re going to use the rules to interrogate me, then tell me first, is an auxiliary police officer, who is not part of the official police force, considered a police officer? If not, then what do those ‘police officer case-handling regulations’ and ‘law enforcement discipline’ you just mentioned have to do with me?”
Zhang Gangwei stood there, his lips moved, but he didn't say anything for a moment.
This is definitely a trap.
To say that auxiliary police officers are police officers? The law enforcement authority of auxiliary police officers is completely different from that of regular police officers. Applying the disciplinary regulations of regular police officers to the behavior of an auxiliary police officer is itself a legal loophole.
To say that auxiliary police officers are not police officers? Then Luo Fei can use this as a shield to completely deny all those "irregular operations" in the past.
Zhang Gangwei's expression turned somewhat grim.
He realized he had been tricked by Luo Fei. He had originally intended to use the point of "irregular interrogation" to break through Luo Fei's defenses, but Luo Fei directly deflected his attack with the logic that "auxiliary police officers are not police officers."
A few seconds of silence followed in the interrogation room. (End of Chapter)