Chapter Fifty-One: I Have Nothing to Do with You

The fat man saw that the six people on Zhang Can’s side remained motionless, clearly showing no intention of fighting. If they weren’t going to fight, they must be prepared to pay. He waved his hand, and among the men who’d come down from upstairs, two immediately went back up. After a few minutes, amidst the sound of light footsteps, the two returned, bringing with them two young women.

Zhang Can had been watching that direction intently. The two young women who came down were as pale as ghosts, but there was no mistake—it was his younger sister Zhang Hua and the beautiful nurse Liu Xiaoqin.

The moment Liu Xiaoqin saw Zhang Can, she visibly relaxed, opened her mouth as if to call out, but no words came—only her eyes turned red with tears.

Zhang Hua, on the other hand, rushed over without hesitation, flung herself into Zhang Can’s arms, and burst into tears. “Second Brother, wuuu…”

Zhang Can gently patted his sister’s back. It seemed she and Liu Xiaoqin had only been frightened and hadn’t suffered anything worse; this eased his mind. He spoke softly, “Don’t cry, little sister. Tell me, what happened?”

Now that her second brother was here, Zhang Hua felt safe at last. Her tears released the fear and anxiety she’d bottled up over the past few days. She finally raised her head and sobbed, “Second Brother, the day after you left, Sister-in-law Xiaoqin’s family came to our house to visit, but you’d already gone. Dad said you were delayed on business, and Sister-in-law Xiaoqin even told our parents that she’d marry into our family no matter what. So Dad and my brother decided that I should come with her to Jincheng to find you. After we got off the train, we tried calling you but couldn’t get through. With no other choice, we had to look for a place to stay. But even the cheapest hotels cost several hundred yuan a night, and we didn’t want to spend that much. Then someone asked if we needed a place to stay, said it was only forty yuan per person, eighty for two, and it was a proper suite. Since it was cheap, and the person who asked was a woman and seemed enthusiastic, we followed her. But as soon as we got here, they changed their tune, said it was eight hundred per person plus all sorts of extra fees. I told them we only had two thousand yuan; we were worried about something happening, so we didn’t bring much cash. Dad gave me a card with twenty thousand on it, to use only if we absolutely had to. They searched us but didn’t find the bank card because I’d hidden it well… Second Brother, they were so fierce and kept threatening us…”

The situation was clear enough. Though Zhang Hua hadn’t gone into detail, it was obvious to everyone what had happened.

Zhang Can looked at the pitiful Liu Xiaoqin, sighed, pulled her to his side, then turned to the fat man. “This rundown place, boss, I’ll give you a chance. Don’t be so greedy. Refund our money; charge us eighty yuan a day, so three hundred sixty for four days. Return us sixteen hundred yuan and we’ll call it even.”

The fat man’s eyes bulged. He burst out cursing, “What? Not only do you refuse to pay, you want a refund? Damn you! Brothers, grab your weapons and beat the hell out of this bastard… Damn it, ow—!”

He didn’t get to finish. One of the men at Zhang Can’s side darted forward like lightning, landed two heavy punches square on the fat man’s mouth, sending blood and teeth flying.

The speed stunned the fat man’s crew, who only snapped out of it after a moment. They shouted, grabbing steel pipes and prepared to charge.

Zhang Hua, Liu Xiaoqin, and even Zhu Senlin shrank back in fear. The plainclothes officers with Zhang Can suddenly drew their guns and shouted, “Police! Get down on the ground. Anyone who moves gets shot!”

Special forces don’t act like regular police; their tone was far more intimidating. Seeing six black gun barrels aimed at them, the fat man’s crew immediately froze, glaring but not daring to move.

But the fat man, blood gushing from his mouth, scrambled to his feet and shouted, “Get them! Break their legs! Those are fake guns, fake cops. Hit them! Hit them hard!”

Street thugs like to shout when they have numbers on their side; it gives them courage. Besides, none of them had ever witnessed a real shooting. The fat man’s yell stirred them up, and they surged forward.

One of the plainclothes officers with Zhang Can raised his gun and fired into the ceiling—a crisp crack echoed as a light fixture shattered, scattering glass across the floor.

“…They’re real…”

“They’re real cops! Run!”

This ragtag group was completely cowed by the gunshot. No one cared about the fat man anymore. Each turned and ran for the door, only to be met by shouts outside: “Police! Get down!”

What followed was the sound of fists and feet, shouts of pain, and chaos. Those who tried to escape were intercepted by the police waiting outside and given a thorough beating. These special police treated the affair as a chance to vent, pounding away with relish. Now that everyone realized they were facing real police, no one dared fight back. In fact, most were terrified of being caught with a steel pipe, which could be considered a deadly weapon, so as they fled, they threw their pipes as far away as possible. Against regular people, a steel pipe was useful, but against the police, it could only bring more trouble.

In less than a minute, the fat man’s nearly twenty men were all subdued, handcuffed in pairs, and made to squat in a long line outside the entrance.

The fat man was stunned. The woman at the front desk was shaking uncontrollably—she’d never seen anything like this running an illegal hotel. Blood streaming from his mouth, the fat man quickly tried to save himself. “It’s a misunderstanding, officers! Which station are you from? The North Gate station has Chief Zhang, we know each other well. The hotel is registered with the station. We didn’t… we didn’t do anything illegal… It’s a misunderstanding. We’ll refund the ladies’ fees, all of it, not a cent less…”

The plainclothes officer at Zhang Can’s side snorted, “Fat man, call the police yourself. Report your own crimes. Now!”

The fat man pulled a long face, wiped blood from his mouth, and sidled up, whispering, “Officer, please let me go. I’ll throw a banquet at the hotel to apologize. I guarantee you’ll be satisfied…”

“Cut the crap. Are you going to call or not?” The officer glared. “With all these witnesses, do you want to add bribery to your charges?”

The fat man, cowed by the officer’s fierce look, dared not argue further and hurriedly urged the woman at the desk, “Call the police! Quickly!”

She fumbled with shaking hands, grabbed the phone, but then hesitated, “Boss, what’s the number?”

“How would I know?” the fat man snapped, then forced a smile at the officer. “Officer, what’s the number?”

Even Zhu Senlin couldn’t help laughing; the fat man and the woman were so frightened they’d lost their wits. He laughed aloud, “Idiots! Don’t you know 110?”

Both the fat man and the woman suddenly realized, “Oh!” They’d been scared senseless.

She quickly dialed 110, and as soon as the call connected, stammered, “I… I need to report an incident. Someone beat us… No, no, we beat someone else… No, no…”

She babbled incoherently, confusing herself and the operator. The operator must have realized something serious was going on, otherwise she wouldn’t be so flustered, so instead of asking further, focused on the address.

The woman gave the address clearly, hung up, and glanced at the plainclothes officers, unsure what they would do.

The officer knew the procedure. When the 110 center receives a report, they first confirm the location, then notify the nearest patrol officers, and then alert the local station. If it’s a major case, they notify the city’s criminal investigation and SWAT teams.

The fat man had mentioned Chief Zhang at the North Gate station. The officer knew exactly who that was and recognized him, so he let the woman call, waiting to see how the responding officers would handle things.

There were two sofas in the small lobby for guests to sit while registering. Zhang Can helped his sister to a seat, beckoned Liu Xiaoqin to sit as well, and waited for the police.

Almost twenty minutes later, officers from the local station finally arrived, strolling up the alley, expecting nothing more than a scuffle over extortion at the fat man’s hotel. Only three patrol officers came, and they were stunned at the scene: twenty people squatting in a line at the entrance of the Anle Hotel, more men in black standing to the side, shouting. The men in black were unfamiliar, but the ones on the ground were well-known regulars—many a cigarette and drink had changed hands with them.

The three officers immediately drew their guns, pressed against the wall at the alley’s mouth, and called out, “Police!”

Hearing them, the plainclothes officer with Zhang Can chuckled and stepped outside, calling, “Zhang Yousheng, I know you’re with the police. What’s with all the shouting? Come in already.”

Zhang Yousheng, at the alley’s mouth, was taken aback, his face changing as he quickly holstered his gun and hurried in. At the entrance to the Anle Hotel, he strode forward and gripped the plainclothes officer’s hand, shaking it vigorously with a forced smile. “Captain Li, what’s going on here? How did you end up here? Is it…” He glanced inside the hotel and lowered his voice, “Did someone get killed here?”

The “Captain Li” he mentioned was Li Qingsheng, deputy captain of the city’s criminal investigation enforcement unit. The city bureau was the headquarters, overseeing six district branches, each with its own stations. In terms of rank, Li Qingsheng far outranked Zhang Yousheng, and since Li was with city headquarters, their paths rarely crossed. But Zhang Yousheng had attended training at headquarters before and knew Li Qingsheng by reputation—a man known for his iron discipline. If he’d turned up, something serious must have happened.

Li Qingsheng cast a sidelong glance at Zhang Yousheng, snorted, and said coldly, “Zhang Yousheng, do you think I only show up for major cases? Hm? The boss here says he knows you well—are you protecting him? We have witnesses and evidence. This is an illegal hotel, involved in extortion, blackmail, threats. Explain yourself!”

Zhang Yousheng’s face turned ashen. Forgetting his two subordinates, he rushed over and began kicking the fat man, sending him rolling across the floor.

“Chief Zhang! Chief Zhang! I know I was wrong! I was just talking nonsense! I swear, I was just talking nonsense! Ow… oh my god, it hurts… Chief Zhang, I was really just making it up! I have nothing to do with you…”