The police officer standing before Xia Tian was none other than the Nike athlete Lin Bingbing. She froze slightly upon seeing him. Xia Tian had helped her complete a mission the previous night, and now they had crossed paths again under such unexpected circumstances.
"Everyone, stand to the sides. Collect all the evidence and take all the witnesses away," a male officer ordered as he stepped out from behind Lin Bingbing, hands on his hips.
"Officer, do you still need witnesses right now? If you have any questions, you can ask us directly," Zeng Rou said calmly.
"Who's the police here—you or me? You'll follow my orders. Since guns are involved, everyone here must come back for questioning," the man said arrogantly. Lin Bingbing frowned behind him.
"Mr. Xu, they were the ones who made the report. That man tried to shoot them. They're the victims. And those five old men over there already confessed—they said they were the ones who ordered the attack," Lin Bingbing said, not wanting to escalate the situation.
"Am I the officer in charge, or are you?" Mr. Xu shot her a dissatisfied look. "I doubt the authenticity of this case. Everyone will come back with me for investigation."
"Mr. Xu, right? My lawyer is right behind you. If you have any concerns, you can speak with him. If there's nothing else, we'll be leaving," Zeng Rou replied, pointing to the team of lawyers standing behind Mr. Xu. The Zeng Group was far too large not to have its own legal team.
"Are you trying to teach me how to do my job?" Mr. Xu barked at her. "Arrest them all! I suspect they're working together."
"Mr. Xu, are you sure you want to do this? Everyone here is a public figure. You don't even have a warrant, and you're trying to arrest people without any questioning. I can sue you for that," one of the lawyers said as the entire legal team stepped forward to block Mr. Xu's way.
Mr. Xu snorted coldly. "What are you waiting for? Arrest them all."
"Mr. Xu, you're violating procedure," Lin Bingbing finally said, unable to stay silent any longer. Something was clearly off about him today.
"I'll take full responsibility," Mr. Xu said curtly, waving his hand. The officers behind him immediately surrounded everyone.
"Fine. We'll go with you and see how this ends," Zeng Rou said, taking the lead toward the exit. There were more than a dozen people in total. Xia Tian stayed silent and followed them.
As they walked downstairs, Mr. Xu stepped aside and made a frantic phone call. "I did everything you said. Please, release my wife and daughter right now."
"Don't worry," a gloomy voice replied on the other end. "Just get those people into the large truck, and put the five elders of the Zeng family into the smaller one."
"When will you release my wife and daughter?" Mr. Xu demanded angrily.
"As soon as they're in the vehicles, your wife and daughter will be free."
After hanging up, Mr. Xu followed the group down. Four vehicles were waiting below—one of them a large prisoner transport truck. Everyone froze when they saw it.
Did Mr. Xu already know that so many people would be taken away? Was that why he brought a prison truck in advance?
"You five, get in that car. The rest of you, into the big truck," Mr. Xu ordered.
"Mr. Xu, we're only cooperating with the investigation. Why should we ride in a prison van? If your station is short on vehicles, we have our own," Zeng Rou said sharply, staring at the truck. If they were seen riding in that, it would cause a massive uproar—and even affect the stock market. They could not afford that.
"Get in the vehicle now, or I'll shoot," Mr. Xu shouted, pulling out his pistol and aiming it at Zeng Rou and the others.
"If you have the nerve, then shoot. We're not getting in that truck," Zeng Rou replied coldly.
"You think I won't fire?" Mr. Xu roared.
"Try it."
The chilling voice came from behind him—Xia Tian. He hadn't followed them downstairs to go to the J0 Bureau. He wanted to see what Mr. Xu was really up to.
"Where did you come from, you brat?" Mr. Xu spun around, pointing his gun at Xia Tian.
"I advise you to put that gun down. Now," Xia Tian said icily.
"Oh, should I?"
Bang!
Xia Tian's hand moved faster than anyone could see. He slapped Mr. Xu across the face, and the gun was instantly gone from his hand.
"What are you doing? That's an attack on an officer!" Lin Bingbing frowned. Although she didn't like Xia Tian much, she didn't want to see him get arrested—especially since he had helped her before.
"All of you, step back," Xia Tian said to Zeng Rou and the other executives.
Though they didn't understand what he intended, they obeyed immediately. After what Xia Tian had done in the conference room earlier, none of them dared to go against him.
"Xia Tian, do you have any idea what you're doing?" Lin Bingbing asked, her brow furrowed.