Chapter 19: The Rabble

At this point, the elegant woman was clearly troubled. She tossed her pen aside and pinched the corner of her eye. "Now then, if you were me, could you let them go?"

"Of course, if I were you, I’d have released them already," Ma replied decisively.

"You…" She raised her hand, ready to swat the back of his head, but seeing the supervisor passing by, she held back.

The supervisor walked past, hesitated, then returned to ask the policewoman, "Zhang Jing, what’s the issue with these two?"

Zhang Jing found it hard to explain, so she vaguely picked up the graphics card and said, "These two can’t clarify the source for now, and ownership can’t be proven."

Lacking details and context, the supervisor grew impatient and waved his hand, "Don’t dwell on it. Let them go. Qu Changfeng is waiting for your help."

Zhang Jing frowned. "Let them go?"

The supervisor pointed to his trousers. "What else can you do? If you asked me to prove these trousers are mine, I couldn’t do it. So what now?"

"Really... just release them?" Zhang Jing was still hesitant.

The supervisor, looking exasperated, waved her off, "Let them go, let them go. You’re either making things messier here or shirking your duties. Qu Changfeng is furious waiting for you."

With that, he disappeared.

Ma felt triumphant—now that the supervisor had spoken, surely they could leave. Yet, as the saying goes, the county magistrate is not as effective as the current manager.

Zhang Jing hesitated. "Don’t get your hopes up. He has his ideas, but so do I. If there really is a case at that house, and I go, handle it, and let you two go, it’s easy for him to say a word, but when I, Zhang Jing, am left crying in the restroom afterwards, who’ll take responsibility?"

This woman…

Ma began to resent her.

Zhang Jing leaned in with a teasing tone, "Don’t think that bald supervisor is a good man. He says 'let them go' so lightly, but I’m telling you, he’s already forgotten what he just said, believe it or not?"

Ma, recalling the behavior of previous department heads, was dispirited, but absolutely believed her.

Zhang Jing continued, "So you’d better start explaining yourself. Otherwise, when I go to Qu Changfeng and your problem isn’t resolved, you’ll be in trouble. You’ll definitely be at a disadvantage. After now, it’ll become a minor case, and I’ll have other things to deal with, my enthusiasm will fade, and dragging it out may take two weeks. Even if you find someone to vouch for you, you know how things go in government agencies—my case won’t be touched by others. If Qu Changfeng sends me on a trip and your witness can’t find me, they’ll just leave. Do you know how long that could drag on?"

"You’re making trouble for me," Ma complained weakly.

Zhang Jing said, "I have no grudge against you, but this is reality. When I first left the army, I was very proactive, but later realized I couldn’t handle everything by myself. When I was on the front lines with the traffic police, I dealt with minor disputes for months, mostly like what I’m describing. I’d be the one dispatched, and the case would be mine. I’d call the parties to resolve several accidents, finally get everyone together, then a traffic emergency call would come in, and by regulation, I had to rush to the scene immediately."

"So, most often, I’d summon them to resolve things, but when they arrived, they couldn’t find me, sometimes waiting all afternoon. Naturally, I’d be accused of acting like a bureaucrat. But what else could I do? My cases had to be handled by me, no one else. When I was scolded, I could only send them to the captain’s office, but was that any use? The captain always wore a smile, but to get him to sign anything or handle a case was nothing but a dream."

Complaining thus, Zhang Jing summed it up, "Now you see why you shouldn’t trust that bald supervisor’s words? You think he’s a good man. If you fell into his hands when he was on the front lines, I guarantee you’d be three times worse off than now, believe it or not?"

Oddly, Ma’s body seemed to be warming up to her now.

Zhang Jing tapped the table, "I’m not trying to scare you. Strike while the iron is hot—I’m willing to pursue your case now, otherwise, after this, it’ll be like when I was a traffic cop. You bring your witness, but can’t find me; finally, I have time, but your witness isn’t a criminal, they have their own temper. After coming several times without finding me, they won’t want to come again. It’s a minor matter, but without the procedures, it won’t be resolved. Your graphics card and cash will remain impounded. That’s the rule. Don’t blame anyone—you just have to endure it, even if it’s a misunderstanding. What if it’s not a misunderstanding and really is burglary? What if other issues are involved? If these problems are caused by my negligence, I won’t sleep, but impounding your graphics card and money—even if I’m wrong, I feel no pressure. Now do you understand why you shouldn’t listen to the supervisor?"

"You… how dare you…" Ma’s face was covered with dark lines.

And once again, his head received a slap!

But that wasn’t all. Zhang Jing glanced around to make sure the supervisor wasn’t present, then stomped on Ma’s foot, pointed at him and said, "You little turtle, complain all you want. When I was a military police officer in the West, hunting terrorists, was I ever afraid of anyone? Am I supposed to fear your complaints? Calling me a loser—who’s the real loser between us?"

Seeing Ma attacked in violation, the chubby guy was terrified. He pulled out his phone to record evidence, but—smack!—he received an even harsher blow to the back of his head, and his phone was snatched away by the policewoman.

When the supervisor passed by again, Zhang Jing pretended to be proper, raising her teacup and appearing serene.

The supervisor, passing through, looked displeased. "Why are these two still here? Why haven’t you released them? Aren’t you going to Qu Changfeng?"

But as the seasoned Zhang Jing said, the supervisor was just mouthing off. Three seconds after speaking, he forgot all about it and headed off with his assistant to a meeting at the city bureau.

Once the supervisor disappeared, Zhang Jing’s mischievous side peaked. Ma was lucky; the chubby guy truly suffered.

Zhang Jing inspected the chubby guy’s phone, checking for unauthorized recordings. She found none, but instead discovered numerous apps featuring inappropriate content. The chubby guy’s skull was soon resonating with blows, and he was beaten until he cried.

Ma watched this scene in horror, barely believing it was happening in