“Wang Er, brother, have you forgotten me?”
“Wang Er? Who’s Wang Er? Shouldn’t you at least check your father’s name before you try to scam someone?”
Lu Liang replied in a bad mood.
“Ah?”
Lin Deqing was stunned, thinking aggrievedly, Weren’t you the one who said you were Wang Er? After pondering for a moment, Lin Deqing figured he might not have explained clearly, so he added,
“Do you still remember our encounter in the Subway?”
Subway?
Hearing the other party’s tone, which sounded as if they were quite familiar, Lu Liang frowned.
After thinking for a bit, Lu Liang really did recall such a person, so he probed,
“Police Officer Lin?”
“Yes, yes, that’s me.”
Inside the Police Affairs Department, Lin Deqing excitedly typed,
“But now, you should call me Lin Deputy Chief. Thanks to my brother Wang Er, I’ve already been promoted to Deputy Chief of Police Affairs.”
“Oh… Well, that’s quite something. Lin Deputy Chief took my stuff, still wanted to pull a gun to stop me, and now even got a promotion. I’m honestly jealous. If I were to spill the beans about that day, I’m afraid Lin Deputy Chief wouldn’t be able to keep his position, right?”
Lu Liang let out a cold laugh.
He still remembered, back in the Subway, this Lin Deqing was following a Magical Girl’s order and even tried to draw his gun on him.
If it hadn’t been for his transformation into a monster, he would’ve been caught by Star-Splitter right then and there.
Seeing Lu Liang’s reply, Lin Deqing felt his vision go black and his breath grew uneven.
What he feared most had really happened.
Ever since Lu Liang escaped from his hands, Lin Deqing had been worried that his acceptance of a bribe would be exposed by him.
Especially after seeing Lu Liang’s actions in the Subway, it was clear that he was a ruthless person.
A Scavenger called Night Owl had only tried to rob Lu Liang and ended up beaten so badly he couldn’t stand.
Lin Deqing wiped the cold sweat from his face.
If someone like this could be arrested and locked up, then no matter how ruthless, he couldn’t cause much trouble.
But of all things, he had to let him escape that day. And of all things, Lin Deqing had to have a handle in Lu Liang’s hands.
Judging by Lu Liang’s tone, he seemed quite dissatisfied with this whole thing.
The only comforting part was that, from the wording, Lu Liang hadn’t exposed Lin Deqing yet.
That meant he wasn’t planning to burn all bridges—there was still some room for negotiation.
“It’s all a misunderstanding, Brother Wang Er, you know how it is—orders from the Magical Girl are absolute for us front-line police. Unless I want to get kicked out of the system, I can’t possibly defy a Magical Girl’s will… As for working with you, it was great, but the system is just a better fit for me, you know?”
“Besides, Brother Wang Er, you’ve done me a favor, I wouldn’t just leave you hanging. Like the saying goes: ‘The rich lead the way for the rest.’ Brother Wang Er, you understand that principle too, right?”
Lu Liang sneered inwardly, so now it’s about “the rich leading the rest”? If he were still a naive high school student, he might have believed it, but life had tempered him for years—his eyes had long since lost their shine, and now he was just a seasoned player in society.
If he were dumb enough to believe it, then when Lin Deqing betrayed him in the Subway, he would barely have time to shout before being tied up and used as a performance report.
“So, what Lin Deputy Chief means is you want to help me get rich, too? Actually, I know you’re a good person and don’t mean any harm, so you don’t need to worry about helping me get rich. I didn’t lose that much in the Subway. Lin Deputy Chief, please don’t send me exactly 14,325.2 yuan.”
Lu Liang typed with a meaningful tone.
That was the exact amount he lost during his transformation.
Of course, he could ask for more, but asking for more would be an outright declaration of war with Lin Deqing.
Even if he got the money, he wouldn’t be able to stay in the Cleaner Profession after that.
Just enough to cover his loss—that was a fig leaf for both sides, so things wouldn’t be irreparably broken.
On the other end, Lin Deqing’s expression froze and his face turned strange.
Is he hinting at me?
He had planned to buy Lu Liang’s silence, but never intended to give that much—just a token gesture of a hundred or two yuan.
Asking for fourteen thousand? Wasn’t that daylight robbery?
And why was that amount so specific? Was there some hidden meaning?
“Don’t push your luck. You think you have me cornered? You don’t have any proof I took a bribe, and with one order from me, you won’t be able to survive in the Scavenger world!”
Lin Deqing’s face turned cold.
It was true that Lu Liang had a hold on him, but Lu Liang had no evidence of their dirty deal.
Lin Deqing was only reaching out to Lu Liang to prevent trouble.
If Lu Liang thought he could blackmail him, he’d picked the wrong target.
With a frosty face like an enraged Buddha, Lin Deqing waited as Lu Liang sent another message.
This time, it was a recording.
Hmph, pitiful Scavenger, have you finally realized your place and started begging for mercy?
Lin Deqing snorted from his nose and smugly clicked play:
“What official can resist such temptation?… Magical Girls are nowhere near as easy to deal with as I am… Well then, may our paths cross again…”
This… Wasn’t this what he’d said in the Subway? When did that bastard record this?
Lin Deqing’s smile froze instantly.
Secret recording! This wretch! He actually made a secret recording!
Calm down, calm down.
Lin Deqing stroked his heaving chest and told himself not to panic. It was just a recording—those were easy to fake. All he had to do was insist it was fabricated evidence…
Ding!
Lu Liang sent another video.
Hands trembling, Lin Deqing clicked it open and his eyes shot wide open.
On the screen, clear as day, was footage of him accepting the bribe.
And it was 24k HD!
Bastard!
When did he record this?
Lin Deqing racked his brains but couldn’t figure it out. In the Subway, Lu Liang’s every move had been under his nose.
If he’d pulled out his phone, he should’ve noticed—unless… Lu Liang had set up the recording before Lin Deqing even entered the Subway…
Despicable!
What happened to trust between people?
I trusted you so much, even accepted your bribe! And you went and got dirt on me!
With a bang, Lin Deqing slammed his new office desk, scattering papers everywhere.
Lu Liang could pretty much guess how furious Lin Deqing must be on the other end, but it didn’t matter anymore.
The audio and video had been prepared in advance.
When he used his Super Wisdom to plan the bribe, he’d already set up this backup plan, thinking if Lin Deqing tried to double-cross him after accepting the bribe, he could use this as leverage.
He just didn’t expect to use it so soon.
After a long exhale, Lin Deqing realized he’d been outplayed this time.
After a moment of silence, face gloomy, Lin Deqing transferred the requested amount to Lu Liang.
“Wang Er, brother, we’re in the same boat now. We need to stick together, so after you’ve received the money, don’t go around saying anything that might hurt our unity.”
“What do you mean? I don’t know anything at all. Aren’t I just here chatting nicely with you, Lin Deputy Chief?”
After receiving the money, Lu Liang wisely chose to play dumb:
“You know, as a good citizen, I’ve always been the most loyal and devoted supporter of Lin Deputy Chief.”
Loyal and devoted supporter?
Lin Deqing let out a laugh—an exasperated one.
A dog can’t spit out ivory. If he didn’t check the chat record, he wouldn’t even remember who just bared their fangs at him.
Still, maybe it was this type of person who suited Lin Deqing.
Ruthless, but able to read the situation and control the extent of blackmail.
If Lu Liang had just bottled up his grievances and not let out a peep, Lin Deqing would only look down on him, treat him as disposable, and wouldn’t think of him first for assignments from the Police Affairs Department.
“Actually, I contacted you for another reason.”
“The Association of Magical Girl Branch issued an order for us to deal with the Scavengers in the Subway. But the Scavenger crowd is a mixed bag, with all sorts of people, and if we try a large-scale roundup, it’s easy for unnecessary casualties to occur.”
“So the Police Affairs Department discussed it and decided to hire a civilian to be our Black Glove. I wonder… are you interested…”