Chapter 167: Underestimating the Enemy

"Alright then, Director Wang, Section Chief Zhang, and Principal Bai, thank you for the trouble. Oh right, and little Hong Tao, thank you too for supporting our work. You are a good child, but next time you encounter something like this, you must remember to protect yourself and use your head a bit more, right?"

The older policeman watched the young policeman and Hong Tao—one tall, one small—spar with words, making no move to intervene, treating it like a good show. Once Hong Tao finished signing, he stood up, thanked everyone present, gave Hong Tao a special parting piece of advice, and then pushed the door open with a chuckle, leading the young policeman away.

"Director Wang, if everything is settled, I'll let him go back to class..." Director Bai finally breathed a sigh of relief. After all that commotion, it turned out Hong Tao wasn't the one causing trouble; looking at it now, it was actually something worthy of praise.

"Not so fast. We are from the Xicheng Zhanlanguang Police Station. The person who came earlier to inquire about a previous case was an officer from the Chongwen Sub-bureau. Now, we also have some matters to ask Student Hong Tao about. Principal Bai, if it's convenient, we'd like to have a private chat with him," Director Wang suddenly spoke up.

"Ah? There's more?! I still have to excuse myself?!" Director Bai felt like her heart condition was about to be triggered by all this emotional rollercoastering. And this time seemed even more serious than the last. How on earth had Hong Tao managed to attract officers from multiple police stations in one go? What on the world had he actually done?

"Yes, this is our protocol. If it's inconvenient here, we'll have no choice but to take him back to the station for questioning. What do you think?" Although Director Wang was younger than the previous older officer, his demeanor was noticeably more composed and steady.

"Oh, convenient, convenient. Then I'll step outside first. Call me in the adjacent faculty room when you're done... Hong Tao, don't be nervous. Uncle Police Officer just wants to ask you about some things, same as before—just answer honestly and don't throw any little temper tantrums, you hear me?"

Director Bai certainly couldn't say it was inconvenient, yet she couldn't completely set her mind at ease regarding Hong Tao. Before stepping out, she gave him one final admonishment.

*Damn it! I still fell for their trap! So the previous round was just a diversion! The real heavyweight was waiting behind the scenes!*

Although Hong Tao's face remained utterly expressionless, inwardly he was fiercely cursing himself for being too careless just now. In particular, playing psychological games and sparring with that young rookie officer had all been observed by this Director Wang, which placed him at a severe disadvantage for continuing to play the fool.

"Student Hong Tao, we basically have a grasp of your situation. You're different from other kids; one could say you've been very smart since childhood. Therefore, I won't treat you like a child. That should make our communication much easier and help us clear things up as quickly as possible. Don't you think?"

As soon as Director Bai closed the door, Director Wang wasted no time on pleasantries and went straight into a frontal confrontation with Hong Tao.

"I have no objections..." Hong Tao kept his words to the absolute minimum. Through his interactions with police friends in his past life, he was thoroughly familiar with their methods and techniques.

At the beginning, they would chat idly about this and that, then abruptly drop the question they actually wanted answered, before returning to casual banter. As long as they caught even the smallest flaw or weakness of yours, they would zero in on it—bluffing, hinting, doing whatever it took to make you believe they already knew everything you wanted to keep hidden. Slowly, they would coax you into spilling the details yourself, until the breach widened and you could no longer hold the line, leaving gaps everywhere.

"That clothing store, barbershop, Fenjin Store, restaurant, and that gadget shop at the mouth of the alley—they're all run by your family, aren't they?" Sure enough, the core issue had arrived.

"The clothing store is run by my maternal grandmother, and the tailor in the shop is my youngest aunt; the barbershop is run by my eldest aunt's husband, and my cousin is in charge there; the restaurant is run jointly by my classmate's grandfather and a friend of mine; as for the Fenjin Store, Uncle Zhao should be familiar with that, the business license was handled by the sub-district office."

Hong Tao stuck to his principle: if something could be answered in one word, he would never use two. More words meant more room for error.

"Well, that Fenjin Store is a reform pilot project in our district. Not only does it comply with national policies, but it also resolves employment issues for quite a few unemployed youths in the district. Both the district mayor and the deputy mayor have previously issued written approvals for it, and they even attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony when it opened. Their license was indeed assisted by the sub-district office."

True to form, Section Chief Zhao from the sub-district office delivered the appropriate response at the precise moment. It seemed Eldest Aunt's husband hadn't wasted his efforts over the past few years; having such a testimony made a world of difference.

"I'd like to ask you, besides this Fenjin Store, are there any other employees in the barbershop and the clothing store?" Realizing he could no longer press the issue of the stores, Director Wang had no choice but to pivot to another topic.

"Yes, all our employees have registered in detail at the police station and the neighborhood committee, right, Uncle Zhou?" Having deployed Section Chief Zhao as a weapon, Hong Tao had no intention of sparing Officer Zhou the community cop either.

"......" Officer Zhou was obviously not as impactful as Section Chief Zhao and remained completely silent. Still, it was hard to blame him; he was merely a foot soldier, especially given the semi-military management of their specialized profession. He certainly didn't possess Section Chief Zhao's backbone.

"We're asking you now!" Another policeman nearby began playing the bad cop. While Director Wang maintained a genial and pleasant demeanor, this officer brought the storm—the classic good-cop, bad-cop routine.

"I really can't remember all of that. Look, even among your own colleagues, it's impossible for you to remember the detailed personal information of every single person, right? What is it you actually want to ask about?" Hong Tao had no choice but to continue playing dumb.

"There's a girl named Han Xue in your shops, right?" Seeing that Hong Tao wasn't falling for his tricks, Director Wang dropped the circumlocution and asked directly.

"Yes, she resigned right after the Spring Festival. Word is she had some family matters to attend to." Only at this moment did Hong Tao confirm that Han Xue and her circle had indeed gotten into trouble—at the very least, she had been implicated by someone else.

"Then do you know where she went after her resignation?" Director Wang pressed on.

"Not clear. Normally, the day-to-day management of the shops is handled by that friend of mine. Granting leave, keeping attendance records, and things like that—he's the one in charge. I only found out she had resigned when I went over to reopen after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month."

At that moment, Hong Tao felt that his forty-odd years of experience still weren't quite enough. If Old Man Er hadn't taken all the blame upon himself, it would have been extremely difficult for him to extricate himself from this situation.

"Little classmate, you're not being entirely honest, are you? As far as I know, these shops are actually managed by you, aren't they?" The muscles on Director Wang's face were twitching slightly; his patience was wearing thin.

"I don't manage them; I only teach them the technical skills. Strictly speaking, I'm their master, and they are my apprentices. Whether it's cutting garments or hairdressing, I taught them all. That's why I have to check on their work conditions and quality frequently—we can't cheat our customers, or it will ruin my reputation.

"However, specific personnel management is handled by my younger aunt, my cousin, and that friend of mine. I'm far too young; who would listen to or be managed by me?"

Hong Tao didn't bother hiding things that could be easily verified. He used his old strategy: mixing truth with falsehood, stirring it well, and serving it up.

"That friend of yours is Na Xiangwu, right? He's right here in the police station now. You've tried pushing all the responsibility onto him, but he's also pushed all the responsibility back onto you! You're still young, and you have a long road ahead of you. If you can cooperate with us to find Han Xue, there won't be any major trouble.

"However, if you intentionally harbor and protect her, this won't be something that can be resolved simply by talking here. By then, your entire life will be ruined. You need to think carefully!"

Seeing that Hong Tao remained completely impervious to persuasion, Director Wang finally played his trump card. First, he dropped Old Man Er's given name, intentionally making Hong Tao suspect that Old Man Er had already confessed, and then used his future as the ultimate threat.

"I understand everything you're saying, but I really don't know!" Hong Tao desperately wanted to squeeze out a few tears, but no matter how hard he tried to work up the emotion, he felt not a single trace of sorrow.

"Hmph! Step outside, and ask your principal to come in." Abandoning his friendly facade entirely, Director Wang let out a heavy, cold huff.

Hong Tao wasn't afraid for himself at the moment; his only worry was whether Old Man Er's end might actually run into trouble. As long as Old Man Er held firm, these policemen could do absolutely nothing to him. Even if they dragged him back to the station, it would amount to little more than intimidation.

"Principal Bai, this matter is quite troublesome. It involves a key member of a hooligan gang who used to work at Hong Tao's family store and suddenly vanished right after the Spring Festival. Therefore, we plan to take Hong Tao back to the station for further questioning, and we wanted to consult your opinion first."

While Hong Tao was sweating outside, the group of adults inside wasn't feeling entirely comfortable either. After a long moment of thought, Director Wang decided to make one more push.

"Can't you just question the adults in his family? He's still a child; what does this have to do with him?" Principal Bai found it utterly incomprehensible.

"According to our investigation, these shops owned by his family are actually managed by him. Please don't rush to refute this—at first, I didn't believe it either, but the facts are indeed as such. We aren't making wild claims; this is definitely based on thorough investigation and interviews." Director Wang appeared thoroughly prepared.

"Even so, that doesn't prove any particular employee has anything to do with him! At most, he bears some leadership responsibility. If a teacher at my school were to break the law, surely you wouldn't arrest me along with them?" Director Bai was still attempting to secure Hong Tao's release.

"Look, we aren't arresting him. It's just that this child is extremely astute. If we only talk here, I'm afraid we won't get any answers even if we go on until next year. Taking him back with us is simply to understand what he knows in greater depth. As for whether he has any culpability—even if he does, I don't think it's anything major."

Director Wang also felt that playing hardball with a child was a bit beneath his dignity, but he was left with no choice. Based on the confessions of the hoodlums already apprehended, this Han Xue was supposedly an important figure within the gang. Although she seemed to have dissociated herself from them over the past couple of years, that didn't mean she was entirely in the clear. The matter had to be thoroughly investigated; perhaps more leads could be unearthed through her. *(To be continued...)*