Hong Kong variety show: Starting from Cold War 1994

Chapter 20 The Righteous and Loyal Li Wenbin and the Courageous Shen Shaofeng

4:35 a.m.

After settling everything down, Shen Shaofeng found a phone booth and dialed Cai Yuanqi's number.

The phone rang seven or eight times before being answered, and a slightly annoyed voice said, "Who is it?"

"Officer Choi, it's me. The matter is settled."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone, then the person on the other end snapped to attention: "Come to my villa to talk."

"clear."

After hanging up the phone, Shen Shaofeng walked out of the phone booth, waited for a while, and then hailed a taxi for the night.

XX Repulse Bay Road

……

Repulse Bay, a hillside villa area.

Cai Yuanqi hung up the phone, sat up in bed, and lit a cigarette to revive himself.

I thought that after a week, Shen Shaofeng would chicken out and wouldn't dare to do it, but I didn't expect him to actually succeed.

That's interesting. In that case, why not give him a chance? No one can have too many talented people.

Cai Yuanqi stubbed out his cigarette, went into the bathroom to take a shower, and came out wearing a bathrobe. Hearing the doorbell ring, he picked up the intercom extension for the room.

"Officer Choi, I've arrived."

"Come in, I'm in the bedroom upstairs."

No sooner had he hung up than a Black Star pistol was pressed against his head from behind.

"Cai Yuanqi, would you like to talk?"

……

Shen Shaofeng pushed open the door and walked along the stone path toward the main house.

Cai Yuanqi certainly knows how to enjoy life. As the Deputy Commissioner of Police, the luxury of this villa is probably not much different from that of Government House.

Upon reaching the second floor, Shen Shaofeng saw a room with light shining through the crack in the door and was about to go up and knock.

"What do you want?" Cai Yuanqi's voice rang out.

"Release them." Another voice spoke up, and Shen Shaofeng instantly recognized him: it was Li Wenbin!

He paused, immediately retreated to the corner, and listened intently, holding his breath.

"Roy, Abi, and everyone in the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau's B Division, all internal charges against them are dropped, and they are all released."

"What makes you think you can negotiate with me?"

"Just because of this."

"Click."

The sound of a pistol's safety being released!

Shen Shaofeng was stunned—Li Sir, what are you doing again?

In the bedroom, Cai Yuanqi's voice remained calm: "Damn it, threatening the deputy director with a gun, do you know the consequences?"

"I have information on Huang Jiahui's case, Fang Zhanqiang's death, and the wooden crates at the airport. I believe reporters will be very interested in it."

Li Wenbin's voice revealed a stubbornness: "Inspector Cai, my brothers protected me before, now it's my turn to protect them."

A moment of silence fell over the bedroom, while Shen Shaofeng's mind raced outside the door.

He had clearly hinted that he would be secretly working for Cai Yuanqi during this period, and that he would find a way to help the brothers in Group A.

Li Wenbin is now clearly backed into a corner and can't wait any longer.

Cai Yuanqi's voice rang out again: "MB, actually I've always admired you, but you're too stubborn. This world isn't just black and white."

Li Wenbin remained silent.

"Okay, I'll put in a word with the internal investigation department. Your men will be back in the unit tomorrow."

"However, you must hand over that 'evidence' that your Organized Crime and Triad Bureau took back. Otherwise, if I can mess with your gang once, I can do it again."

"MB, I'm the DCP (Assistant Commissioner of Police), and you're a CSP (Chief Superintendent of Police) in your early thirties, plus your dad's connections. If we cooperate well, we'll have a whole world to explore after '97."

Cai Yuanqi is indeed Cai Yuanqi; he slaps someone and then gives them a sweet treat.

Shen Shaofeng could imagine how Li Wenbin felt at that moment.

Anger, humiliation, and helplessness—this once spirited O-district supervisor was worn down by reality in less than a month.

Shen Shaofeng also hoped that his superior would quickly realize a truth—to deal with a wicked person, you have to be even more wicked than them.

Li Wenbin finally spoke, his voice hoarse: "I... I promise you, and I hope you'll keep your word."

It's a deal.

After a while, there was a "bang" as the door closed.

Then came the sound of footsteps heading towards the stairs.

Shen Shaofeng quickly retreated to the first floor, watching Li Wenbin go downstairs and silently leave.

Only after Li Wenbin's figure disappeared outside the iron gate did Shen Shaofeng go back upstairs to the second floor and knock on the door.

"Inspector Cai".

"etc."

A dozen seconds later, Cai Yuanqi opened the door, wearing a dark blue bathrobe and smiling.

"Come in."

Shen Shaofeng entered the bedroom and saw an exquisite set of table and chairs in the corner of the room. On the coffee table were a bottle of whiskey and two glasses.

"Sit down." Cai Yuanqi sat down first, pointing to another chair.

Shen Shaofeng picked up the wine bottle and poured a glass for Cai Yuanqi first.

Cai Yuanqi took a sip: "Is everything cleaned up?"

"Yes." Shen Shaofeng nodded. "I won't reveal the specific details. Please trust me, Inspector Cai."

"Great, you're even more capable than I thought."

Cai Yuanqi was very satisfied with Shen Shaofeng's attitude; he didn't reveal any details to him, so the matter had nothing to do with him.

"I will naturally take care of the task assigned by Inspector Cai."

"You heard everything outside just now?"

Shen Shaofeng nodded: "I heard that. Li Wenbin is indeed loyal, but he's still too green to climb any higher in this position."

Cai Yuanqi was stunned for a moment, then realized... you kid are talking about my lyrics?

He rubbed his temples and said, "Starting tomorrow, you'll keep an eye on Li Wenbin for me. I need to know everything he does at the Organized Crime and Triad Bureau."

"I understand, but if something like what happened at the airport last time happens, I can't do anything about it, after all, he is the chief superintendent."

"Inspector Cai, I'm not trying to shift the blame prematurely, but I'm afraid it will affect your plans. After all, the current top dog, Xu Huaihan, is quite aggressive right now."

Shen Shaofeng put on an act of being completely open and honest with Cai Yuanqi.

Cai Yuanqi poured Shen Shaofeng a glass of wine, which Shen Shaofeng accepted with both hands and lightly clinked glasses with him.

"My business with Brother Yi is not something you can discuss at your level right now, so you don't need to get distracted."

"As for Li Wenbin, you just need to continue gaining his trust. He'll confide in you when he has something to say, understand?"

Shen Shaofeng immediately nodded: "Don't worry, Inspector Cai, I know what's important. Li Wenbin is my superior, but you are my boss. I will inform you immediately of any important developments."

As for what constitutes "significant developments," that's of course up to Mr. Shen to define.

"Alright, now that we've finished discussing business, let's talk about your reward." Cai Yuanqi's serious expression faded.

He stood up, walked to the desk, opened the drawer, took out a thick kraft paper envelope, and threw it into Shen Shaofeng's arms.

"Here's 500,000 in cash, just for pocket money. As for the one million US dollars, I've already arranged for someone to open a secure offshore account for you. Here's the account number and password."

As he spoke, he pulled out a slip of paper from the thick stack of books on the bookshelf and handed it to Shen Shaofeng.

Shen Shaofeng glanced at it, then took out a lighter and burned it: "Thank you, Officer Cai, but I don't need the woman. I don't have time to be distracted."

"Very well, young man. With power and money, are you afraid of not having women?"

"I'll arrange your promotion to full inspector, but you'll have to rely on yourself for S2 (Standard II Exam), especially English. Are you confident?"

"No problem, Sir! Thank you, Sir!"

……

December 23, 1994, Hong Kong Police College.

"bell……"

"Time is up. All candidates, please stop writing, place your exam papers on the desk, and leave the examination room in an orderly manner."

Shen Shaofeng, winner of the Silver Flute Award in the 93rd Inspection Class, put down his pen.