Military Region, Operation Meeting Room.
Regimental Commander Mai sat at the head of the table, hands crossed, with a stern look, talking about the red-headed document he had just received from his superiors.
"In view of the increasingly rampant highway bandits in E County, who have been crazily committing crimes on the national highways for days on end, they are extremely brutal and malicious in their methods, treating murder and robbery as a burgeoning industry. They have a clear division of labor and professional ways of operating, seriously affecting the entire social atmosphere. Now the higher-ups have asked us to send troops for reinforcement, in a combined effort with two provinces, to crack down on these criminals and maintain national legal security," he said.
Qi Taiguo sat in his seat, flipping through the document, his eyebrows tightly furrowed.
This should be a file escalated from the municipal Public Security Bureau, not only explaining the cause of the incident but also accompanied by photographs, whose gruesome scenes of murder and abandonment were too cruel to bear.
"These criminals, who don’t even regard the Public Security comrades, dare to kill them. Even undercover agents from the Public Security who infiltrated their ranks were discovered and killed, showing that they are highly vigilant and organized. Moreover, there have been several cross-provincial murder cases. So, this is a malignant event that has led to widespread panic, with drivers not daring to go out without a small firearm by their side," he explained.
As soon as Regimental Commander Mai finished speaking, Gao Linbing banged his fist on the table and said angrily, "I’ve long heard of the despicability of these highway bandits, but I never expected them to become so rampant. They’re blatantly disregarding the nation."
"Exactly, nowadays we live in a society governed by law, yet they dare to treat human lives like grass, utterly disrespecting us soldiers who maintain the nation’s stability."
"Regimental Commander, give the order, I’ll take on this mission. If I don’t catch these scumbags, I swear I won’t consider myself human!"
"Yes, I’ll go too!"
The meeting room was in an uproar, everyone visibly inflamed with righteousness, their bulging veins emphasizing their anger.
"Silence!" Regimental Commander Mai waved his hand.
Everyone quieted down.
Regimental Commander Mai said, "This crackdown on crime will not be easy. According to the reports from below, the murderers we’ve caught so far are just low-level thugs. There’s suspicion that a huge organized crime syndicate is behind them, and to catch them all in one fell swoop won’t be easy."
"Therefore, the higher-ups have also specifically named individuals from our military region to participate in this crackdown task," Regimental Commander Mai said as he glanced at the people present, "Those whose names are called, stay behind to continue the meeting. Gao Linbing, Qi Taiguo..."
The meeting lasted for a good half-day, and upon leaving the meeting room, Gao Linbing offered Qi Taiguo a cigarette.
"So many years since liberation, and who would’ve thought that as the days get better, public security has gotten worse," Gao Linbing said as he took a puff of his cigarette. "Gone are the days of the uncollected roads and the nights without locked doors."
Qi Taiguo responded, "People are never satisfied when life gets easier. Criminals just think about making quick money, not about working hard and relying on themselves."
"But this is just too outrageous, they don’t even take the public security into account," Gao Linbing frowned, looking around and asking in a low voice, "What do you make of what Regimental Commander Mai said, is it true? Is someone really protecting these scumbags from behind?"
He pointed at the sky.
Qi Taiguo pursed his lips, as Regimental Commander Mai had explained in the meeting room. The reason why this criminal gang was becoming increasingly rampant and brazen, with an ever-growing force, was because they had a strong backer.
After the meeting disbanded, he had subtly hinted to him that the higher-ups suspected that the backers might be from within the military. Therefore, besides cracking down on crime, this mission would likely also entail dragging out those behind the scenes, a task far from simple.
Thinking of this, he said in a deep voice, "No matter who it is, anyone who disregards national security and flouts national laws is a criminal!"
Gao Linbing took a puff of his cigarette and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Brother, it looks like we’re going to fight side by side this time. You’d better go back and explain things properly to your sister-in-law."