Chapter 1261: Chapter 1261: Turbulent Undercurrents

"Have your people keep a close eye on those three’s movements and investigate thoroughly whoever they meet, and try to unearth the mastermind behind this." Ye Fan instructed Qiu Wen seriously.

"Don’t worry, leave this small matter to me. It will definitely be handled." Qiu Wen assured, then curiously added, "What do you mean, my people? Everyone in Ye Gang is yours, you’re the mastermind, I’m just the figurehead."

Qiu Wen emphasized this very clearly.

"No matter whose people they are, this time, it’s time for you to showcase your capabilities." Mengyao said with a smile, "Since they revealed a flaw, we must follow this clue and dig deeper."

"Ye Gang follows the rules, controlling all kinds of people in Dongfang City. Some petty crooks can only survive in the gaps by doing wrong, but if they offend us, we won’t let a single enemy go." Qiu Wen promised.

Mengyao, Qiu Wen, Du Xueqi, and the other two women were all secretly observing the situation. When Gou Ge and his three accomplices committed their crime, they naturally knew, which led to Ye Fan driving them away.

If not, Ye Fan couldn’t have intervened so quickly against Gou Ge and his accomplices.

Mengyao and the others naturally didn’t expose themselves; they only came out after Gou Ge’s group left.

"Should we do something about Jian Tao?" Du Xueqi asked kindly, "I saw Jian Tao’s foot was bleeding a lot, it needs to be bandaged."

"Leave it alone, it’s not a big deal. If we’re overly kind now, she’ll just see us as pretending to be good people. Let’s leave the rest to the police to handle." Ye Fan calmly replied.

...

The two bodyguards and Aunt Wu who fainted were fine. Zhang Lu personally came to investigate the situation, and after the two bodyguards woke up, they were fine and didn’t need to go to the hospital. Aunt Wu, who was injured, was sent to the hospital.

Ye Fan still needed Zhang Lu’s assistance in investigating Gou Ge and his group, so Zhang Lu personally participated in the investigation.

Otherwise, Zhang Lu wouldn’t have been involved in the police operation, as someone else could have handled it.

Jian Tao’s superficial wound was simply treated and bandaged, so it was not a big deal.

"Officer Zhang, who is the perpetrator? Any leads?" Jian Tao urgently inquired.

"Not yet, but the one thing we can confirm is that the perpetrator planned this kidnapping with a purpose." Zhang Lu said, "However, there’s one thing I can tell you: we have the perpetrator’s information, and catching them is just a matter of time, so you can rest assured."

Jian Tao couldn’t possibly be reassured and said bitterly, "Now that my daughter is the target, if they fail once, there will surely be a second attempt. Even if those three criminals were caught, can it be guaranteed that my daughter won’t be in danger? If the mastermind is still out there, they’d definitely hire others to kidnap my daughter."

"Miss Jian, how do you know those three criminals weren’t acting alone, but had a mastermind behind them?" Zhang Lu asked curiously.

"Isn’t it obvious?" Jian Tao said matter-of-factly. "I just moved in here, and then this happened. It must be a planned kidnapping. Without a mastermind, could those three criminals have done this alone?"

"Miss Jian’s judgment has some merit, we’ll keep it in mind." Zhang Lu said in a businesslike manner, "Does Miss Jian have any other clues to provide us?"

"That Ye Fan, after saving my daughter from the criminals, deliberately let them go. Could it be that he arranged it to create a kidnapping facade and then become the hero?" Jian Tao shared her suspicion with Zhang Lu.

If she knew about Zhang Lu’s relationship with Ye Fan and the others, she wouldn’t have said that. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

She would likely view Zhang Lu with bias as well.

Fortunately, Jian Tao wasn’t aware of this, so she could share some uncomfortable truths about Ye Fan with Zhang Lu.

"Miss Jian, if I were you, I wouldn’t doubt the benefactor who saved my daughter." Zhang Lu said earnestly, "We’ve already investigated. Without Ye Fan’s help, your daughter would have been missing long ago. I have reason to suspect you’re mingling personal grudges, trying to make the police suspect an irrelevant person. But you’ll be disappointed, as your thoughts are baseless, and there’s no such thing as you said. If you don’t trust the police, you can use the Zhao Family’s resources to investigate yourself."

Zhang Lu, strictly by the book, criticized Jian Tao’s baseless suspicions without any personal emotions.

Jian Tao showed embarrassment and couldn’t keep her composure. She naturally believed Zhang Lu’s words, realizing it’s inappropriate to accuse someone, especially her daughter’s savior, without evidence.

"Thank you for your criticism, Officer Zhang." Jian Tao rationally expressed her gratitude.

Zhang Lu didn’t plan to tell Ye Fan and the others about Jian Tao’s suspicion. Perhaps Ye Fan had already guessed it.

She somewhat understood Jian Tao’s perspective and motives, yet she couldn’t do much other than worry. How could she not worry?

Jian Tao harbored ill intentions toward Ye Fan and Mengyao, and who knows what might happen.

...

After saying goodbye to Jian Tao, Zhang Lu went to see Ye Fan and Mengyao and the others.

"I think you should just capture those three criminals and let me interrogate them. Wouldn’t that clear up everything?" Zhang Lu asked in confusion. "Why let them go only to create unnecessary trouble? What’s the point?"

This trouble includes two things: Jian Tao’s suspicion, and the extra effort needed to capture the three criminals again.

"I want to see who’s behind the three men," Ye Fan said calmly.

"If we catch them and interrogate them, won’t it become clear?" Zhang Lu questioned, having long guessed Ye Fan’s intention to keep a long leash to catch a bigger fish. Otherwise, she would have already captured Gou Ge and his group, and there’s no way they could have escaped.

"Interrogation might not reveal the mastermind." Ye Fan asserted, "Those who acted are small fry, with limited knowledge. We can only catch more small fry through them, hoping to lure in the big fish."

"What you said makes sense, I understand. However, since Zhao Family’s people are involved, they’ll definitely exert pressure, and my superiors will pressure me to solve the case quickly and capture the three criminals as soon as possible. That’s my duty." Zhang Lu said helplessly, "Since I’m involved, I have to resolve this case neatly."

"You’re not involved to solve the case, but to provide us support, to let the police withstand pressure at critical moments and not act against the small fry." Ye Fan earnestly stated, "Capturing three small fry is meaningless. It’s not too late to catch them once the big fish is lured in."

"It seems I’m only destined to be your runner, given your special status. I can only listen to you." Zhang Lu said with a helpless smile.