Chapter 6: Climbing Up on Top of Third Brother

At the police headquarters office building, in an interrogation room.

Kris twirled a pen with his right hand and softly asked the young woman in front of him, "Are you feeling better now?"

"Mm."

The girl brushed through her hair, her eyes somewhat dazed, and her face showed signs of shock. After hesitating for a long time, she finally nodded.

Kris observed her condition, stood up, and walked over to the water dispenser to pour her a cup of hot water. He placed it on the table and said, "Drink some water. If you're feeling unwell, you can go to the hospital for a checkup."

"Thank you, but... no need to go to the hospital. I have no external injuries." The girl picked up the cup and, after politely thanking him, took a deep breath. "You can ask your questions."

"Alright, then." Kris sat back down and began filling out the interrogation forms. "Your name?"

"Sophie."

"Age?"

"20."

"Gender?"

"?!" Sophie looked confused. "Can't you tell?"

"It's being recorded by a body camera, so I have to ask," Kris explained with a smile.

"Female."

"Residence?"

"...!" Sophie hesitated when she heard this question. "Fengbei City."

"From the capital of the Special Administrative Region?"

"Yes."

"...So, what brings you here? Work, or a residency transfer?" Although Kris had never done an interrogation before, the forms were simple and easy to understand, and he didn’t want to make any mistakes since it was his first time.

"Work."

"…!"

After verifying the basic information, Kris began asking about the case. "You were kidnapped, where did the incident occur? Do you know who the perpetrators were?"

"I'm not sure. I just..." Sophie was about to answer when the office door suddenly opened, and Director Li entered, followed by OG Cat and the others.

Kris turned and immediately stood up to greet him. "Director Li."

"Are you still asking questions?" Director Li asked as he walked in, hands behind his back.

"Yes, just verifying the basic details."

"Hello, Miss Lin." Director Li nodded to Kris and then extended his hand toward Sophie. "I’m Director Li."

"Hello." Sophie nodded and shook his hand.

"The online streaming team is here to pick you up. You can leave now," Director Li said after a moment of thought, smiling. "We'll handle the case from here, and the other two suspects definitely won't get away."

Kris was curious when he heard this. Director Li hadn't been in the room earlier, but he now knew the girl's name and seemed ready to let her go without continuing the questioning. Kris couldn't help but glance at Sophie a few more times. She was about 1.7 meters tall, slender, and although her face was dirty and her hair messy, her delicate features were hard to ignore. OG Cat had mentioned Sophie looked a bit like the popular actress Jeon Ji-hyun, but Kris thought Sophie was even more attractive. She had larger, more expressive eyes, a better body proportion, and, most importantly, she had fair, porcelain-like skin. In this day and age, who could afford to look after themselves like this without doing any work?

Clearly, Director Li’s sudden visit and his decision to let her go without much questioning was not without reason.

After a brief exchange with Director Li, Sophie left with him and others, heading downstairs.

Five minutes later, downstairs. A few middle-aged individuals stepped out of an electric car, exchanged pleasantries with Director Li, and hurriedly took Sophie away. Kris noticed a pass on the windshield of the car, which indicated it was from the Songjiang City Propaganda Department.

After seeing Sophie off, Director Li stepped aside, made a few phone calls, and then turned back to call out, "You two, come to my office."

"What's going on?" Kris turned to OG Cat.

OG Cat scratched his nose and whispered, "You really stepped in it. Just got here, and the higher-ups are already noticing. But hey, it makes sense. A capable person never goes unnoticed."

Upon hearing this, Kris felt reassured.

...

A few minutes later, in the office. Director Li patted Kris's shoulder and sighed, "I knew you had potential, but I didn’t expect you to stand out so quickly."

"Just a coincidence," Kris grinned.

"You've earned us some face, really." Director Li couldn't hide his excitement and paced around the room. "This Matsushita guy has been involved in numerous big cases and is someone the headquarters specifically wanted to catch. But he went to a planned area two years ago, and they couldn't do anything about it. Now that he's back, he’s in your hands. After this meeting, I can boast about this in the department. You’ve really boosted my reputation, worth praising."

Kris silently listened, not responding.

"Sigh!" Director Li sat down in his chair, lit the cigarette Kris had given him, and continued, his expression slightly regretful. "If this had happened to someone else, they could have jumped straight from a third-level officer to a first-level, easily becoming a team leader. But you’ve just arrived, and your data hasn't even been entered into the system for 24 hours… if I push you too hard, there may be rumors."

OG Cat immediately spoke up on Kris’s behalf. "Merit isn't something forced upon you. Who caught Matsushita? Who shot him? Who saved the hostage? It's all clear. Why care about rumors? If you listen to the nonsense of others, you might as well quit being a director."

"Shut your mouth and use your brain," Director Li snapped, embarrassed, and shot a look at Kris before swearing at OG Cat.

OG Cat blinked but remained silent.

"Xiao Qin, the credit is yours, no one can take it. But the department's situation is a bit complicated. You just arrived, and if I push you too hard, it might cause issues," Director Li said, his face expressionless. "But there’s plenty of time. We’ll take it slow."

"Director, you've already helped me a lot. I'm grateful," Kris smiled. "It’s no big deal."

"Within a month, I'll get you promoted from probationary officer to third-level. Tomorrow, I’ll have someone write a case report and send it to the police department. A third-class merit should be no problem. Once the certificate arrives, you’ll be promoted to second-level by the end of the year." Director Li thought for a moment and added, "For now, you can’t be a team leader because you've just arrived, and no one in the team is familiar with you. If you're suddenly appointed as a leader, no one will respect you. But I'll talk to Yuan Ke and get you appointed as the deputy team leader. This position is decided by the department and won’t affect your system entry or job title. Once you're familiar with the team, I’ll find a vacancy and make it official. Also, I’ll give you a 3,000 bonus for this case, and you’ll be named an outstanding individual at the end of the month."

"Thank you, Director," Kris said, already quite pleased with the outcome, and immediately saluted in gratitude.

"Alright, that’s settled. You two can leave now," Director Li waved.

"You get some rest."

"Take care."

As Kris and OG Cat left the office, Director Li took a sip of water, just about to leave for home, when his phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Director Li, I wanted to ask. How should we write about Third Brother in the case report? Should we consider Captain Yuan's position...?"

Director Li pondered for a while, "I’ve heard about his situation. He didn’t go to the restaurant to arrest anyone. Here’s what you should focus on..."

...

The next day, at the hospital.

"So, what did the higher-ups say?" Third Brother asked his colleague, lying in the hospital bed.

"The medical expenses are fully covered by the department, and they’ll apply for a collective third-class merit for our team. As for the financial rewards, aside from Kris, the severely injured personnel will receive 5,000 each, and those with minor injuries will get 3,000."

Third Brother was stunned for a moment. "What about Kris and OG Cat?"

"I don’t know about OG Cat," his colleague shook his head. "But I heard Director Li has already promised Kris he’ll be promoted to second-level by the end of the year and that he’ll receive a third-class merit. The office has already informed the team that Kris will be the deputy team leader."

Third Brother’s head rang, and he asked angrily, "What’s going on here? Is Kris Director Li’s illegitimate son or something? I was the one who did the most, and I got hurt the most. A grenade came flying, and I thought we were all going to meet in the Martyrs' Cemetery, but in the end, the rookie benefits? Why is the department applying for a third-class merit for him while giving me a collective merit? Look at this bullet wound on my rear—if I hadn’t dodged it, it would have gone straight into my intestines. And the department gives me 5,000? What’s the meaning of this? Tell me, what’s the meaning?"

"Why ask me?" his colleague rolled his eyes. "There are people in the team supporting you, but Director Li shut them down. Matsushita is a hard target. Whoever kills him gets the credit. And Kris didn’t even kill him on the spot; he chased him down and took him out. Also, we all know why we went to the restaurant..."

"Don’t say another word." Third Brother groaned, exhausted. "My mom always told me... my luck’s just bad..."

...

Third Brother was disgruntled, thinking Kris had stolen his credit. But in reality, Kris wasn’t the biggest beneficiary. The true benefactor was OG Cat, who Director Li hadn’t even mentioned.

OG Cat went from a first-level officer to a third-level chief, quietly became the deputy team leader in Team Three, and had his third-class merit application approved in a day.

Not many people in the department knew about this, but those who did were privately speculating about OG Cat's relationship with Director Li, as well as Kris's involvement. They marveled at how lucky people could be, while those who worked hard had no chance against it.

The next day, Third Brother’s ally, Yuan Ke, boarded the train back to Songjiang City.