?Chapter 315: Chapter 315 Bribery   Chapter 315: Chapter 315 Bribery                                   At the very moment the re gun was fired, the responding personnel outside had already sped off in their vehicles, heading directly towards the path ahead.


    All team members understood that every second counted.


    Every second could mean greater danger for their teammates inside. The car raced to the front gate and saw it slowly opening, with Zhiyuan waving his arms, “Be careful, they have guard dogs and weapons, but no guns.”


    All personnel jumped out of their vehicles, all those who leapt from the trucks were in uniform.


    As they shouldered their guns, the sight of hoodlums brandishing clubs and running towards them in a frenzy, they were utterly stunned. They were hooligans and ruffians; even though they were thugs, they feared death. The sight of the dark gun barrels made only a few unafraid.


    “It’s the police, run!”


    With a whoosh, someone shouted, and the disorganized crowd immediately scattered in all directions, some rushing to inform the boss upstairs.


    Mr. Xu had just hung up the phone. The moment the signal gun sounded, he thought it possible that someone had broken in. Such equipment was definitely that of undercover police; he thought immediately to call his backer.


    The person on the other end said they would send someone right away, which allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief as he and his men went downstairs.


    Zhiyuan and his team had already subdued most of the thugs downstairs when they saw a burly man with a bare head, like a human lightbulb, approaching them.


    “Captain, who is that man?”


    “Do I even need to say it? See how he doesn’t hide or dodge, he must be the owner here.” Zhiyuan, being the highest-ranking officer there, of course went to confront him.


    “Hello, I’m the owner here, Xu Youcai. Which one of you is in charge?”


    Xu Youcai was neither servile nor overbearing, and Zhiyuan immediately could tell that Mr. Xu had seen the wider world. Facing a situation like theirs, he was calm and collected, clearly confident.


    “Hello, I am the captain leading the team, Zhiyuan. Since you’re the owner, that makes things easier. One of our officers has gone missing, and he wasst seen at your establishment. We’re here to find him and take him back! As you know, a police officer’s disappearance can be a major or minor issue. Whether he has run away or has been detained, it’s a serious matter that goes to court. Who knew that upon arrival, we would find your coal mine suspected of illegally detaining people? We need to take all your miners back for an investigation.” Zhiyuan took out the documents prepared by their superiors.


    They were local personnel, and it wouldn’t be legal to use their manpower for this operation without an order from higher up.


    So, they found the best pretext.


    Upon hearing this, Mr. Xu felt annoyed. Why would they do something so stupid? If they recognized a policeman, how could they dare to casually bring him here? All the people they had tricked intoing were almost exclusively illiterate vigers, many fresh from rural areas for their first jobs, people with no rtives, no connections, no one to rely on.


    To suddenlye up with a policeman was like deliberately smearing filth on them, and it was all done legally – they were looking for their man, what did that have to do with them?


    They had unwittingly uncovered their dirty secrets.


    This was a deliberate provocation.


    But Mr. Xu’s face showed not a hint of displeasure; instead, he cheerfully pulled Zhiyuan aside.


    Zhiyuan shook off Mr. Xu’s hand, “Mr. Xu, if you have something to say, just say it. No need for this pushing and pulling.”


    Mr. Xu cursed inwardly, clearly knowing that they hade to demand a share, yet still putting on this fa?ade of righteousness.


    Damn!


    He discreetly slipped a paper bag into Zhiyuan’s hand while blocking the view of everyone else.


    “Captain Zhiyuan, you and yourrades have worked hard in this cold, bleak weather, carrying out your duties. Please take this for the brothers to buy some snacks and drinks. It’s not much, just enough to buy a couple of packs of cigarettes for the brothers. After all, we’re all one family, right?” Mr. Xu knew he would be bleeding money today. Facing their weapons, he couldn’t get away without paying up, it was simply impossible.


    Of course, he wasn’t too scared; his own backing wasn’t weak. It just wasn’t necessary to confront these people head-on.


    If money could solve the problem, then it wasn’t a problem.


    Zhiyuan weighed the paper bag in his hand and called out to his teammate, “Dazhuang,e here.”


    Seeing that Zhiyuan didn’t immediately refuse, Mr. Xu’s smile became sincerely warmer—it’s always easier when money is involved.


    Dazhuang hurried over, “Captain, what’s up?”


    “This bag of money was just given to me by Mr. Xu. Take it and count it. Record the amount and make a note. I’m not sure which criminalw applies to this kind of bribery, as I’m not aw student, but we do have rules that we cannot ept a single needle or thread from the people. It seems Mr. Xu here wants to go to court.” Zhiyuan’s words struck Mr. Xu like a bucket of ice water, chilling him to the bone.


    This Captain Zhiyuan was impervious to bribery; he was firmly determined to make things difficult for Mr. Xu.


    His face darkened, “Captain Zhiyuan, you are not the public security police andck the authority to enforcews. You barged into my mine without any documentation; this is a private invasion. If I pursue this matter, you could be held greatly ountable. The person you’re looking for is certainly not here. Now if you and your men would just leave peacefully, we can act as though today’s incident never happened. Otherwise, I can have your captaincy stripped from you right away—believe it or not?”


    This was a shift from a soft to a hard approach.


    Zhiyuan nodded, “Dazhuang, make sure to note down what Mr. Xu just said. We are acting under orders, including the document that has our unit’s official seal on it, within our jurisdiction. We have lost a person and thus have the right to search for him, and every individual has the right and the duty to cooperate with us. But now, the situation here isn’t as rosy as you’re making it out to be. I really don’t believe you have the kind of power to dictate what I do or don’t do.


    I’m not one with good temper. If someone tries to push me, I actually want to see, Mr. Xu, what you can actually do to me today?”


    The miners from the mine shaft had been brought up. Each had faces darkened with soot and was d in ragged cotton clothes, bewildered because the working day hadn’t ended before the bells rang, summoning them to the surface. Coming up and seeing the ring military uniforms and rifles, they were all a bit dazed.


    They couldn’t grasp what was going on.


    Just then, three police cars came speeding in with their sirens ring.


    Everyone watched everything unfold.