"I guarantee that by this afternoon at the latest, he will spill everything."
After speaking, the two veteran officers left the area. Once they were gone, a pair of large hands pressed down on Chen Huijie's shoulders.
"Old Chen, you've changed!"
Chen Huijie looked up and saw Hoshiguma staring at her with a complex expression. She nodded; she had indeed changed. In the past, she would never have chosen such an aggressive and non-compliant method. But she thought of her fallen colleagues; their tragic states still echoed in her mind. The heartbroken expressions of their families were something she could not forget for a long time.
So, when she caught the mole—especially upon discovering he possessed the mustard gas that had killed those colleagues—the string in her heart snapped. She did want to take revenge, but her inner demand for justice kept her from going all out. That was why the scene just now had occurred.
Hoshiguma sighed; she knew all too well the pressure Chen Huijie was under. Wei Yenwu had completely entrusted the matter of dealing with the Cult of Truth to her. Although success would bring immense prestige in the Guard Department and Lungmen, the price of failure would be equally heavy. External pressure, the hatred of her comrades, and internal gossip were what made Chen Huijie's actions so "unwise."
While Hoshiguma wanted to help share the burden, her options were limited. Besides combat, all she could do was stand by the cliff's edge to remind her friend not to stray onto the wrong path.
Chen Huijie let out a long breath before looking at Hoshiguma. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome. Want some hot coffee?" Hoshiguma held out a cup of hot coffee.
"I want some too! I want some too!" Flandre Scarlet, who was nearby, lifted her head and sniffed. The coffee indeed smelled very fragrant, and she couldn't help but raise her hand to ask for some.
Hearing Flandre's words, Chen Huijie and Hoshiguma both showed mischievous smiles.
"What's a kid doing drinking coffee? Go drink some milk!" Chen Huijie said teasingly.
"I don't want to! I want coffee!" Flandre insisted that since there was something so fragrant, she wouldn't drink milk.
"But coffee is something only adults drink!"
"And this stuff doesn't taste good at all," Hoshiguma added, joining in the "persuasion."
Clearly, their efforts were useless. Flandre insisted.
"Then let's make a deal: if you drink it, you must finish it!"
"Wasting is shameful behavior." Chen Huijie finally revealed her trap.
"Of course, I'll definitely finish it!" Flandre answered very seriously.
"Well... alright then, I'll go prepare it for you!" After a show of "hesitation," Hoshiguma slowly went to pour a cup of instant coffee for Flandre.
Flandre picked up the coffee and sniffed it; it really did have a very nice, fragrant smell. She waited for the water temperature to drop a bit, then happily took a sip... and then her face scrunched up from the bitterness.
"Ugh, so bitter!"
"Hahahaha~~" Seeing Flandre like this, Chen Huijie and Hoshiguma burst into laughter simultaneously. The laughter attracted many other Lungmen Guard Officers. When they saw the cup of black coffee in Flandre's hand and her scrunched-up face, they immediately knew what had happened. Everyone started laughing out loud.
For a moment, the originally serious and gloomy atmosphere in the Major Crimes Unit was swept away. By the time Flandre regained her composure, she saw everyone doubled over with laughter. She puffed out her cheeks, very unhappy. At this point, Hoshiguma walked over and picked her up.
"Didn't I say this coffee doesn't taste good? You insisted on drinking it yourself!"
Flandre recalled that they had indeed repeatedly warned her. So... it was all her own fault? Flandre's head felt a bit dizzy for a moment.
"Alright, if it doesn't taste good, don't drink it!" Chen Huijie reached out and took the coffee from the dazed Flandre's hand.
"This stuff is so bitter, why do I see the big brothers and sisters drinking it every day?" Flandre declared she would never drink something so bitter a second time.
"Perhaps this is the price of being an adult!" Hoshiguma held Flandre with one hand and pinched her cheek with the other. Mmm, so soft.
Just after noon, good news arrived. After the interrogation room "accidentally" lost power for the entire morning, everyone inside had chosen to confess. Since everyone had been held separately and the interrogators were not allowed to communicate privately, there was no possibility of collusion.
Soon, a large stack of testimonies was delivered to Chen Huijie. Everyone in the Major Crimes Unit helped extract the key information. They quickly filtered out over a dozen names and several strongholds.
"No time to lose. Arrange for officers to carry out a surprise arrest immediately!"
"Our targets are these few locations. As for these two strongholds and targets in the slums, I will arrange people to watch them closely."
After confirming the names on the list, Chen Huijie decisively issued orders. First were the Cult of Truth strongholds and members outside the slum areas. Guard Department officers would directly arrest the targets.
As for the slums... Chen Huijie picked up her phone and dialed Lin Yuhsia's number.
"Give me the list!" Lin Yuhsia's voice came through as soon as the call connected.
"How did you know?" Chen Huijie frowned.
"Chief Executive Wei has already arranged for Shadow Guards to provide support. I will take the Shadow Guards and clean up all these people and strongholds in the slums."
Lin Yuhsia's voice was calm, but Chen Huijie was a bit unsettled. She had just finished the list, and Old Wei's side was already prepared. That guy was keeping an eye on her the whole time! Thinking of this, Chen Huijie felt a bit angry. But Wei Yenwu was her uncle, the Governor of Lungmen, and the acting Director of the Guard Department. In any of those capacities, it was only right for him to keep an eye on her.
At this thought, Chen Huijie calmed her emotions and began to describe the targets in the slums. The most troublesome was a place called the Iron Hammer Gang, because the leader, Zhang Meng, was one of the targets. Chen Huijie couldn't guarantee how many others among them had joined the cult.
But she didn't know that once she revealed these names, these people were destined not to see tomorrow's sun. The Iron Hammer Gang was directly slaughtered by the Black Cloak Shadow Guards. To ensure not a single cult member escaped, not a single soul from the gang was left alive.
Meanwhile, Chen Huijie, Hoshiguma, and Flandre split up for this operation. Flandre was assigned to arrest a member in a crowded night market. In a place like that, any commotion could easily cause a riot or injure innocent civilians. Flandre, however, could silently freeze the person so the accompanying officers could take them away.
Arriving at the night market, Flandre followed two plainclothes officers to look for the target. They quickly found him; he looked like an ordinary person selling small accessories. He seemed very kind, chatting with passing pedestrians. No one would imagine this smiling man was actually a Cult of Truth believer who had participated in several terrorist attacks.
Flandre walked past him like a tourist and then crouched in front of his stall. "Mister, how much is this?"
The man subconsciously looked up and saw the girl's smiling face and her pair of crimson eyes. Sensing something was wrong, he was about to act when he found he couldn't move a finger.
"Huh? What's wrong, Mister? Why aren't you talking? Are you sick?" Flandre's voice kept ringing in his ears. Although the words were warm, his heart was ice-cold.
Just then, two burly men stepped out from the side. "It might be a sudden illness. I have a car outside; let me take him to the hospital."
The two men picked him up and walked outside. The nearby vendors even enthusiastically said they would help look after his stall. No one noticed that Flandre had disappeared into the crowd. After the man was taken into the car, Flandre poked her head out from inside.
"Is this our only target?"
"Haha, Flandre isn't satisfied... You probably don't know, besides the two of us, all the other teams joined the operation with the expectation that something might go wrong. These dogs from the Cult of Truth are all extremely fierce."
One of the men smiled at Flandre. "So, to catch these guys in one go, we've mobilized everyone to give them no chance to escape."
Flandre understood. This operation involved almost simultaneous arrests, so there wouldn't be a second chance for her to act. Seeing this, Flandre let out a yawn.
"It was mostly just too fast; I haven't had enough fun yet..."
"There's ping-pong in the training room at the Guard Department. How about we play a few rounds with you later?" the officer asked with a smile.