Chapter 482 - 455: Accountability
Hua Zhuyue glanced at Xu Chunliang; there was no need to ask—he was undoubtedly the director of this farce. Although she knew he had great skills, she still couldn’t figure out how he managed to get dozens of yellow weasels and how these weasels would listen to his commands and cause chaos in the OMMIA Bar. The whole thing seemed too fantastical.
They had already retreated to the entrance. Meanwhile, the guests, overwhelmed by the stench and questioning their life choices, were also rushing toward the exit. Xu Chunliang, who had reached ahead, patted Hua Zhuyue on the shoulder, reminding her to leave quickly before the place became overcrowded.
Xu Chunliang and Hua Zhuyue left the bar one after the other. As soon as they reached the entrance, guests swarmed in from behind, turning the scene into a mess.
At the same time, the fans who had been waiting at the entrance for their idol, Xie Weiting, took advantage of the chaos and rushed inside. Not knowing what was happening and seeing people fleeing, they thought their idol was in trouble, surged in with adrenaline pumping, ready to defend their beloved idol.
The two crowds met head-on at the door. The people inside couldn’t get out and were instead pushed back into the bar by the frenzied fans.
Xu Chunliang, protecting Hua Zhuyue, reached an open space, watching those fans charge one after another. He sighed, "So many human purifiers. The fairy aura of dozens of yellow weasels isn’t enough for them to absorb."
Hua Zhuyue couldn’t help but laugh. She took off her mask and playfully chided, "You, you can think of any kind of crazy idea."
Xu Chunliang also removed his mask, "It has nothing to do with me. I just said that reckless people have misfortune; even the yellow weasels couldn’t stand his arrogance."
He reminded Hua Zhuyue that now was the time to report to the fire, security, and environmental protection departments. OMMIA Bar had too many safety hazards, and if not rectified, it could lead to a big incident.
"This isn’t about kicking someone when they’re down; it’s a responsible citizen’s duty. If you don’t want to do it, I don’t mind making a few calls," he said to Hua Zhuyue.
Hua Zhuyue said, "You’ve gone to such lengths to vent my anger; shouldn’t I reward you?"
Hua Zhuyue’s eyes sparkled as she said, "Let’s do it with meat!"
Xu Chunliang was caught off guard with delight, "Sis, isn’t that a bit much?"
Hua Zhuyue laughed sweetly, "Don’t get any wrong ideas; I’ll treat you to Northeastern barbecue."
Xu Chunliang patted his stomach, "Tomorrow then."
##
Chen Weiwei had stopped breathing before arriving at the hospital. She had been so frightened that she accidentally fell from the escalator, breaking her neck midway. She was sent to the nearby Changxing Hospital, where the doctors determined she no longer had any vital signs and immediately pronounced her dead.
Yang Mulin was scared out of his wits when he heard the news, continuously explaining, "It has nothing to do with me. I didn’t even touch her."
Li Zhong angrily pointed at Yang Mulin’s nose and said, "Nothing to do with you? Dare say that again! I saw with my own eyes you chasing Chen Weiwei. If it weren’t for your pursuit, why would she run?"
Yang Mulin said, "I’ve never seen her. She harmed my brother, so I went to confront her. She ran when she saw me because she had a guilty conscience over harming my brother!"
Lu Qi was also furious. This matter was too shameful. It was he who insisted that Chen Weiwei be released first, and now, less than an hour after she left the police station, she was dead. In all this, he had to bear the responsibility.
Angrily, Lu Qi asked, "Who told you she harmed your brother?"
Yang Mulin stated the source of the information, insisting it was Xie Chunlei who told him.
After explaining the sequence of events, Yang Mulin cautiously said, "Officer, I’ve explained everything. She fell to her death herself. It has nothing to do with me. Can you let me go now?"
Lu Qi replied, "No way!"
He instructed his colleague to take Yang Mulin away, as, even if Yang Mulin had no intention to kill, his pursuit was the main reason for Chen Weiwei’s death, and he definitely needed to be held accountable.
Li Zhong patted Lu Qi on the shoulder, suggesting they go outside for some fresh air.
The two went to the rooftop terrace, and Li Zhong handed him a cigarette and lit it for him.
Lu Qi took a drag, cursed, "Damn it!"
Li Zhong comforted him, saying, "Things have come to this point; getting angry won’t solve anything. It’s my fault for not stopping Yang Mulin in time. If I had controlled him earlier, maybe this tragedy wouldn’t have happened."
Lu Qi said, "It’s not your fault. I suggested letting Chen Weiwei go." In this, he felt deeply guilty; if he’d agreed to his colleagues’ opinions and detained Chen Weiwei for further questioning, this tragedy wouldn’t have happened.
Li Zhong said, "Yang Mulin and Yang Mufeng are twins. They look almost identical. It must have been his sudden appearance that scared Chen Weiwei. I bet Chen Weiwei thought she’d seen a ghost."
Lu Qi said, "These are not words a police officer can say. Chen Weiwei knew Yang Mufeng for so long; could she truly know nothing about his family?"
Li Zhong said, "It’s not like she’s his wife. What man doesn’t have secrets? Besides, Chen Weiwei was interested in Yang Mufeng’s money, not his family."
Lu Qi nodded.
Li Zhong said, "Isn’t the case now problematic? With Chen Weiwei dead, all clues are cut off."
Lu Qi said, "I think the investigation’s focus shouldn’t be on Chen Weiwei but on Yang Mufeng..."
His phone rang, Lu Qi glanced at it and answered, "Boss!"
Li Zhong tactfully moved to the side, waiting for Lu Qi to finish the call. Seeing his displeased face, he guessed that Lu Qi was probably getting scolded over Chen Weiwei’s death and whispered, "Shall I go and explain to the boss?"
Lu Qi shook his head and said, "The higher-ups want Captain Chen to take charge of this case."
Li Zhong patted his shoulder to offer comfort. It was clear that Lu Qi was being held accountable for Chen Weiwei’s death, and the higher-ups had already removed him from the case.
The opening event of the OMMIA Bar revealed many safety hazards. In the final rush of fans into the bar, three people were injured and hospitalized. Although no one died at the scene, it still raised alarms among the relevant departments.
Considering the SEVEN STAR Bar poisoning murder case not long ago, the overseeing departments decided to conduct a joint law enforcement safety inspection throughout the city before the Spring Festival, adhering to the principle of treating everyone equally and thoroughly investigating any issues. Entertainment venues with problems would be resolutely shut down and required to rectify.
SEVEN STAR wasn’t planning to reopen before the end of the year anyway, and OMMIA had just opened up, initially prepared to poach customers, only to become the focus of a city crackdown, receiving even more attention than the former.
At the year-end safety meeting, Secretary Zhou specifically addressed the safety issues of entertainment venues, demanding that police, traffic police, fire, environmental protection, judiciary, industry and commerce, and other nine departments form a comprehensive enforcement team to trace the roots of problems found at any problematic units.
Finding problems was only the first step; they needed to delve deeper into the causes of these issues, not only identifying the direct responsible parties but also investigating the responsibilities of the approval personnel from related departments.
This time, the city was taking it seriously. Secretary Zhou was particularly dissatisfied with the recent work of the police system.
Director Chen was harshly criticized at an internal meeting, left feeling ashamed, but there was nothing he could say. Two homicides had occurred consecutively in Dongzhou City Center, and he could only vent his anger on his subordinates.
Lu Qi was unfortunate enough to bear the blame for the inefficiency, and the case he was originally in charge of had to be handed over to someone else. The higher-ups ordered him to be suspended for investigation.
Feeling overwhelmed, Lu Qi left the sub-bureau that evening, wanting to talk to someone. He thought of Xu Chunliang and tried giving him a call.
Xu Chunliang was with Hua Zhuyue at a barbecue place in the High-Tech Zone, enjoying grilled meat and beer.
Lu Qi took a taxi to the place, and upon hearing he was coming, Hua Zhuyue asked for a different room and ordered new food.
Lu Qi said, "I hope I’m not disturbing you guys?"
Hua Zhuyue laughed and said, "You two brothers chat, I’ll head out."
Lu Qi said, "No need to avoid us. After all, what we’re talking about involves you too."
Xie Chunlei opened a beer for him, then remembered he might be on duty: "Can you drink?"
Lu Qi filled his glass himself and downed a large cup in one go.
Xu Chunliang noticed he seemed down and thoughtfully placed a freshly grilled piece of pork belly on his plate.
After Lu Qi finished the pork belly, he raised his glass and said, "I’ll punish myself with another drink!" and drained another cup.
Xu Chunliang quietly reminded him, "Don’t you guys have a drinking ban?"
Lu Qi said, "The higher-ups gave me a break, suspension for investigation."
Xu Chunliang laughed.
Lu Qi said, "What’s so funny? Gloating! Are you even human?"
Hua Zhuyue said, "I’m on your side, Xu Chunliang. Be kind; don’t build your happiness on someone else’s pain."
Xu Chunliang said, "Sister Hua, what are you saying? I’m also under suspension for investigation now, I laughed because we’re both in the same boat."
Lu Qi then remembered his suspension from a few days ago, indeed realizing they were both in the same predicament, feeling better about it, as two people having bad luck was better than one.
Xu Chunliang raised his glass and said, "To our shared misfortune."
Lu Qi quickly followed suit.
Hua Zhuyue also raised her glass, "Count me in. Our boss is also quite unhappy with me at the moment, and I suspect I’ll be suspended for investigation in a few days too. All three of us share the same fate."
Lu Qi clinked glasses with them, and the three of them downed their drinks together.
Xu Chunliang said, "Feeling better now?"
Lu Qi nodded.
Xu Chunliang told Hua Zhuyue, "See, the best way to console someone is to prove you’re worse off than they are."
Hua Zhuyue chuckled.
Lu Qi also laughed, "I’ve got to admit, this pork belly is pretty good. I’ll have another piece."
Hua Zhuyue said, "The marbled beef is even better. You guys chat; I’ll start grilling."
Xu Chunliang asked, "Is it because of the SEVEN STAR case?"
Lu Qi sighed and recounted the events. What really bothered him wasn’t the case itself but Chen Weiwei’s death. Even now, he couldn’t get over it. He believed that if he hadn’t made the decision to release Chen Weiwei, she might have survived.