novelraw Chapter 513 Who has the higher military rank?
Chapter 513 Who has the higher military rank?
I had expected to see the office scene of this branch, but, to my surprise, the young man led Ling Feng and Lin Xue into a small room.
There was only a table and four chairs in the room, nothing else.
Ling Feng was utterly puzzled, thinking to himself what’s going on, why does this place feel like an interrogation room?
As he was wondering, the door opposite them opened, and two young people came out.
Both appeared to be around twenty years old, dressed in plain clothes that were very trendy and fashionable.
The hairstyles and the earrings they had were also quite conspicuous; Ling Feng even thought he had entered some nightclub or bar.
After the two arrived, the young man in military uniform closed the door and left.
"What are you staring at, have a seat!"
The two glanced at Ling Feng and Lin Xue, lingering a few seconds longer on Lin Xue’s face, then spoke in a laid-back manner.
Ling Feng was slightly upset but still sat down and asked in a stern voice, "And you are?"
"I’m Chen Xiao, and he’s Zhang Meng, detectives from the local branch!"
"Oh, I’m Ling Feng..."
"I know, I’ve already looked over your profiles!"
Before Ling Feng could finish, Chen Xiao rudely interrupted him.
Ling Feng was at a loss for words, thinking to himself, what’s this, we’re all colleagues, do they have to be this rude?
"Since you’ve looked over them, then you should also know the purpose of our visit, right?" Lin Xue asked at that moment.
Chen Xiao glanced at her, "That’s correct, but we don’t need your involvement in this matter. Just go back to the hotel and rest. Once everything is over, you can have your share of the credit, if you want!"
His words carried a hint of arrogance; Ling Feng, upon hearing this, felt displeased and said coldly, "Sorry, but we’re here on duty, not for tourism!"
"You?"
Chen Xiao scoffed, fiddling with his fingers carelessly, "No offense, but I’ve heard of your branch; it’s ranked near the bottom among the branches. I’m just looking out for you—why not finish the mission with ease?"
Ling Feng’s brows furrowed tightly, wondering where this kid’s arrogance was coming from. He forced a smile and said, "If that’s the case, we’ll just go back and let our superiors know you don’t need our help."
"Hey!"
At this, Chen Xiao’s expression changed, and he quickly said, "That won’t do!"
"Oh? Are you also afraid of being dismissed?" Ling Feng said with a smile.
"You!"
The comment struck a nerve, and Chen Xiao was instantly choked with anger.
The head of the branch had just been dismissed, and everyone there was holding back frustration.
Logically, the head did have a lapse in duty, failing to detect the Black Dragon Sect’s members covertly crossing the border, and it was rightful to receive punishment.
However, Chen Xiao and Zhang Meng, as well as others, being of the younger generation and followers of the former head, couldn’t help feeling that such punishment was overly harsh, and it was also embarrassing in front of their peers.
So, they swore to capture members of the Black Dragon Sect not only to redeem themselves but also to strive for their head’s reinstatement.
Ling Feng and Lin Xue’s arrival at this juncture seemed like a way of questioning their competence.
It was clear that those above didn’t believe in their work capabilities!
This was the underlying reason for Chen Xiao and Zhang Meng’s hostility towards Ling Feng and his companion.
Ling Feng took a wild guess and, seeing Chen Xiao a bit infuriated, chuckled and said, "It’s not about you and me, we’re all colleagues working towards the same goal. If you guys don’t want to cooperate, you can hand over the intelligence information you have and let us act on our own!"
Chen Xiao’s eyes darted around, "That won’t do. If you act alone, wouldn’t that be a slap in our face?"
"What do you suggest we do now?" asked Ling Feng.
Not leaving, nor acting on our own.
Cooperate?
Given their attitude, this cooperation definitely won’t be pleasant!
"How about this, we can give you the detailed intel, but before you make any move, you must report to us!" Chen Xiao said.
Ling Feng, speechless, gave a wry smile and asked, "Why?"
"You are outside detectives, and when you come here to act, you must follow our command!" Zhang Meng said.
Ling Feng glanced at him, "Alright, may I ask if you currently have a chief? What about an acting chief?"
Chen Xiao and Zhang Meng: "..."
The former chief had been dismissed, a new one hadn’t been appointed, and there was no acting chief either.
Seeing them like this, Ling Feng continued to smile and said, "In that case, since we are all detectives and therefore equals, why should I report to you?"
At this, he simply took out his credentials and, showing them, asked, "You’ve seen my profile and should know my military rank, right? May I ask what your ranks are? Are you also Lieutenant Colonels?"
"Uh..."
With those words, Chen Xiao was left speechless, and he now realized that Ling Feng was not an easy person to provoke!
Indeed, his own military rank wasn’t as high, so after hesitating for a moment, he relented and said, "How about this then, you don’t need to report to us, but you must notify us before taking any action, okay?"
"It’s a major issue. If your actions disrupt ours, then everyone must be prepared to share the blame!"
Upon hearing this, Ling Feng chuckled, nodded, and said, "That’s doable!"
He didn’t want to pull rank, and he could understand Chen Xiao and the others’ feelings, so now everyone took a step back and reached a mutual understanding.
After obtaining the desired documents, Ling Feng and Lin Xue didn’t stay long at the substation and left quickly.
The pair returned to their hotel and immediately got down to studying the documents.
The information was quite detailed, documenting some of the Black Dragon Sect’s activities in the city across and their own county town.
Being a border port, there was frequent interaction between both sides, and ordinary people from the two countries could move back and forth quite easily since the border management wasn’t very stringent.
This presented the Black Dragon Sect with opportunities, and some of their members had infiltrated with various motives to carry out their activities.
Previously, they were only being monitored, but since no offensive actions had been detected within Huaxia’s territory, no direct measures had been taken against them.
However, after the Luo Nanlin incident, the higher-ups were furious; an Elder of the Black Dragon Sect had been lurking in the heart of the Inland for over a decade, which was like an invisible ticking time bomb!
Therefore, once Ling Feng and Zhang He learned about this from Lei Hong, the Security Bureau internally started responding with strategies, gathering quite a bit of information about the Black Dragon Sect.
After reading intently for a while, Lin Xue looked up at Ling Feng, "Any thoughts?"
"Not at the moment."
Ling Feng shook his head, smiling, and said, "But instead of waiting, would it not be better to take the initiative? What do you think?"
"What do you mean?" Lin Xue asked, a bit confused.
"Since they’re frequently active around here, how about we catch a live one?" Ling Feng asked.