Chapter 601: A Cascade of Chaos

Holding his ID from the Qinggang Special Pollution Cleanup Department, he reported someone for illegally renting a hotel room. What result did that produce?

The effect was nothing short of spectacular.

Two police officers immediately grabbed their walkie-talkies to report back to the Security Hall, demanding reinforced support. Their faces hardening with the determination of a life-or-death decision, the veteran officer clutched his handgun while the rookie brandished his baton. In a hundred-meter sprint toward the hotel, the piercing sound of alarms erupted from every corner along their short dash.

The entire security system of the Second Satellite City was mobilized, and every nearby officer rushed to support them without hesitation.

The Armed Police units were on standby, ready to blockade several street intersections at a moment’s notice.

The head of the Second Security Hall personally took charge at the frontlines, codenaming the mission ‘Illegal Lodging.’

……

……

“This is making quite a racket…”

Listening to the steadily growing wail of sirens, Lu Xin and the others hiding nearby couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

He hadn’t intended for things to escalate so much—he was merely trying to find the most suitable solution in a natural course.

Wasn’t the situation blatantly obvious?

To love someone, there must be a reason. So, the real question is: why does that girl love him?

And besides, as Little Meng had noted, they’d already entered the hotel.

She had told Little Meng that once she secured a job, they’d get married. That clearly meant she wasn’t married yet, right?

So, casually reporting the incident and bringing them to the Security Hall for questioning—was that unreasonable?

Meanwhile, Vice President Xiao and his group of friends were utterly stunned. Having cooperated with him for several days before, they’d gradually sensed that this ghost-hunting master, Mr. Lu, was nothing special—aside from his nerve, his habit of carrying a gun, and his willingness to fire, he was quite ordinary. Yet now, they witnessed a terrifying side of him like never before…

Could a simple report trigger such an elaborate operation?

Even Little Meng, who’d been anxious at first, began to think it was rather over the top.

……

Just as the police cars arrived, Chen Wei had just helped Cao Ye step into the room.

After everything that had happened, anyone would have lost their nerve, but Cao Ye gritted his teeth and insisted on pressing on.

He even boldly offered to compensate for the broken glass ornament in the hotel, suggesting that there was no need to call the police.

Worried that he might defy Cao Ye’s wishes, Chen Wei ended up paying the money and supporting him into the hotel.

“This is just too much…”

As Chen Wei dabbed some medicine on him, her eyes welled up with sympathy. Muttering under her breath, she cursed, “Zhang Weiyu’s gone mad—he hit him so hard.”

Cao Ye, tilting his head slightly to keep his nosebleed at bay, glanced at Chen Wei’s neck. A sneer of cold, vengeful hatred flashed in his eyes as he snorted, “Are you really that angry?”

Chen Wei retorted, “He’s beaten you up like that; of course, I’m angry.”

Cao Ye let out a cold laugh and deliberately added, “But he seems to know you well. I remember you two used to be inseparable…”

“That was all in the past, alright?”

Chen Wei pursed her lips, her anger plain on her face. “You don’t even believe me?”

“Heh, believe, believe…”

Cao Ye’s smile turned dismissive as he slowly wrapped his hand around Chen Wei’s waist and whispered, “I do believe you. But you keep shouting that you love only me, yet strange people keep showing up—another obnoxious rich brat from who-knows-where… damn it, I’m losing all sense of security here.”

“Then how am I supposed to trust you?”

……

As he spoke, he pulled Chen Wei forcefully close, their faces nearly touching.

Chen Wei’s face turned slightly red as she realized what he intended. Lowering her head, she murmured, “Isn’t marriage enough?”

Cao Ye replied quietly, “Marriage is just a formality. If you truly love me, would you worry about such trivialities?”

He continued in a low voice, “Or are they just empty words?”

Chen Wei hesitated, at a loss for words.

Taking a deep breath, Cao Ye suddenly embraced her tightly, pressing his body against hers.

Instinctively, Chen Wei tried to pull away, but Cao Ye let out a sharp sound as if he’d hit a wound, and she immediately froze.

Cao Ye chuckled darkly, glancing down at the trembling, eyes-closed Chen Wei. In that brief moment, a ruthless glint of ferocity flashed in his eyes.

In silent declaration, it was as if he were announcing, “Damn it, I still claim her…”

……

The hotel was enveloped in a desolate silence as night fell, the darkness about to hammer the city—and certain people—with despair.

Then suddenly, urgent footsteps echoed down the corridor outside.

“Open the door!”

“Room inspection by the police!”

A commanding, authoritative shout boomed outside the door.

“Beat it, beat it…”

Soon, the sound of alarms echoed from every direction. Countless officers blocked both the front and back exits, guns in hand, poised for action.

……

……

“Oh my god…”

The sudden commotion sent the entire hotel into chaos. In the once quiet corridor, startled shouts, the rustle of hurried clothes, cries about missing trousers, and even questions of whether one might die jumping from the fourth floor filled the air.

It was as if a stone had been thrown into a tranquil forest, startling a flock of illegally paired birds into a frantic flurry…

“Oh wow…”

A group of onlookers hiding not far away were taken aback. “This many people?” they murmured. “We just wanted to report that couple…”

Especially when they even caught sight of a man in nothing but his underwear suddenly emerging from one of the hotel windows. With almost superhuman agility, he dashed out, clung to the wall’s heating pipe, and scaled to the rooftop in a whoosh.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished after leaping onto the roof ridge.

Everyone watching was dumbfounded, their eyes nearly popping out.

“Do we really have to start performing acrobatics now?”

“……”

Lu Xin was the most puzzled of all: “That man in his underwear—his back looks just like a gecko’s?”

No, he must be mistaken.

Besides, geckos don’t even live in the Second Satellite City…

And geckos supposedly enjoy a certain immunity from detection—unless…

…could it be that he’s afraid of his husband finding out?

……

Before long, Chen Wei and Cao Ye were led out, along with several others. Their heads hung low as they were handcuffed, lined up, and loaded into police cars. Many of them desperately argued, “We were being completely legal…”

A police officer scolded sharply, “If you’re so legal, why run when you get brought back to the station?”

“Let’s move!”

Seeing Chen Wei and Cao Ye taken away, Lu Xin finally relaxed and stood up.

The others looked at him in mild astonishment. “Where to now?”

Lu Xin smiled and replied, “Of course, we’re heading over to the Security Hall to see what they have to say…”

At that moment, it seemed only natural to ask: why expend official resources when it’s easier to have the police handle any issues? After all, Chen Jing had told him from the start to rely on the police when problems arose.

……

……

Meanwhile, CEO Xiao and his group were visibly astonished. No matter how they looked at it, they never expected that a ragtag investigative team of social misfits could actually mobilize police forces. Their shock deepened when they saw Lu Xin confidently lead them into the Security Hall. With familiar ease, he greeted the duty officers before heading upstairs.

“Huh?”

Upon reaching the second floor, a young female officer approached. At the sight of Lu Xin, she was both surprised and delighted.

But she quickly recovered, glanced at the clock, and her expression soured.

“It’s not even dinnertime yet…”

“I’m here on other business,” Lu Xin explained with a smile. “I need you to carefully question those two high school students we just brought in.”

The young officer paused, then immediately adopted a stern tone, “Understood.”

……

……

“What are you two doing…”

Inside a cramped room, Chen Wei, exasperated and aggrieved, struggled to explain, “We’re actually boyfriend and girlfriend.”

The young officer retorted in a severe tone, “Being boyfriend and girlfriend isn’t enough.”

Facing her, the officer’s expression was unyieldingly serious: “If you’re over eighteen, don’t act like this is some playground outside the wall.”

Chen Wei snapped back, “I’m of age—didn’t you check my ID?”

The officer replied, “That was just barely enough.”

Chen Wei fell silent.

Pressed for details, the officer prodded, “Explain how you two got together, or else we’ll have to record your information with our classifications…”

Chen Wei stammered, “Really, we’ve been together for so long, and I truly love him.”

She added hurriedly when asked by the officer how she ended up with Cao Ye, “We’ve been together for ages. I even graduated high school with plans to work and eventually marry him.”

……

The young officer tilted her head slightly, recalling what Lu Xin had said. Deliberately scrutinizing her, she asked, “Tell me, how did you two meet? How can you prove you’re a couple?”

Chen Wei hesitated, not expecting such a question. With some reluctance, she murmured, “He doesn’t like to talk about the old days…”

But following Lu Xin’s instructions, the officer pressed, “You’d better be clear, or it’ll be him who ends up in trouble.”

Chen Wei insisted, “We’ve already been questioned once. Although there’s no direct money exchange, he even bought me… two apples!”

She continued, “That’s over a buck’s worth!”

The officer coldly stated, “If you can’t prove you’re a couple, that amount is equivalent to paying for a date… and once we set your status, all your records will be kept.”

There was a pause.

Chen Wei’s face went pale as she hurriedly explained, “We’ve been together for a long time, and I really love him.”

She recalled softly, “I still remember when I was in middle school, my parents were taken away by that cult. I ended up with Grandma Liu, who treated me kindly. Even though times were hard in the Second Satellite City, Cao Ye was always there for me—sneaking me food, protecting me from strangers…”

She continued, “At school, when I was bullied, he’d fight for me. He saved every penny by forgoing luxuries just to take care of me. I remember once when I was burning with a high fever, he carried me barefoot to the hospital, pleading with the doctor…”

Her voice softened, “He’s the best person in the world…”

Chen Wei’s eyes glistened as she recounted, “Even when he was so poor that he went three days without food, he would still pretend to be full just to take me out for fried chicken, telling me to study hard so I wouldn’t end up suffering like he did. I remember looking at the blood blister on his hand from work, and he slapped me for the first time, warning me that I must never stop studying…”

A final, wistful pause filled the room as she concluded, “Only through education can I avoid a life of hardship…”

……

The young officer listened intently, a smile of tender happiness flickering even as her brow creased. Chen Wei’s genuine, heartfelt narrative moved her deeply.

Yet still, she couldn’t help but ask, “Who exactly is that neighbor’s grandmother?”

Chen Wei hesitated, a confused expression crossing her face. After a long moment, a look of disgust briefly clouded her features as she replied, “It’s Grandma Liu. She treated me well, and I used to be close to her grandson, but he… has gotten too out of hand…”

Chen Wei continued, “He would always sneak up behind me, peeking whenever we were on the stairs…”

She faltered, “Once, he even took advantage of me while I was in the restroom…”

Finally, exasperated, she ended, “He’s just so weird.”

Unable to continue, Chen Wei stopped, her face clearly showing contempt she couldn’t hide.

……

Behind a one-way glass, Lu Xin and the others sat observing the entire interrogation.

When they heard Chen Wei’s account, their expressions became strangely conflicted as many of them shifted their gaze to Zhang Weiyu, some with puzzlement, others with outrage and disgust…

Zhang Weiyu, trembling uncontrollably, clenched his fists until his veins showed. His face twisted as he struggled to regain control, his eyes burning red. After a long moment, he suddenly lifted his head and, almost pleadingly, looked at Lu Xin and managed to say with great difficulty:

“Everything she said… is true…”

“But these…”

Using every bit of strength, he finally shouted, “It’s all the opposite!”

“I was the one who treated her well from childhood, fought for her, carried her to the hospital…”

“It was all me…”