Chapter 1 The Case

Strictly speaking, An Qiqi's case wasn't closed. She was technically a fugitive after Gou Liuzi "violently" rescued her from Bana City.

That's why An Zecheng brought the girl straight back to Dragon City after rescuing her, with the intention of protecting her.

Qiqi's mother, Yu Zhen, had recently bought a property in Dragon City, less than five hundred meters from both the garrison headquarters and An Zecheng's military department.

Furthermore, Yu Zhen hadn't returned to work in Hua Fu recently but had taken a long leave of absence to stay in Dragon City. This showed that the An family had been genuinely traumatized and had become extremely vigilant.

...

Inside the An family villa.

An Zecheng sat on the sofa in the living room, looking at the news on his tablet without even raising his head. "Who sent them?!"

"Kang Dinghuang did!" a lieutenant colonel staff officer replied. "They sent a lawyer and a military officer, wanting to talk to Qiqi."

An Zecheng slowly looked up. "What's the situation with Xue Ping'an?"

"He was taken back to Hua Fu, sent by Kang Dinghuang," the staff officer said, bowing slightly. "Currently, Xue Ping'an is being detained at the corps headquarters."

"Xu Zhou and Zhu Peng have both returned. Isn't the corps headquarters pursuing the matter? How could they let Kang Dinghuang release the Xue family's man so easily?!" An Zecheng asked, picking up his teacup.

"Bana City was lost, and Zhou Xian died. Vice Commander Xu, who supported him, is now in an awkward position. Such a huge burden has fallen on him, he can't avoid it." The staff officer lowered his voice. "Moreover, Zhou Xian's failure proves that Kang Dinghuang's previous strategy was correct. There is no harm without comparison. The corps headquarters is now preparing to promote Kang Dinghuang. And Kang's intention to protect the Xue family is so obvious, then... Vice Commander Xu probably won't dwell on avenging the Xue family. After all, the bandit leader has been caught, and his son didn't die. He doesn't need to offend Kang Dinghuang, such a future backbone of the corps. I estimate... Old Xu is not far from retirement."

An Zecheng slowly nodded.

"What's more, Kang Dinghuang had already released the Xue family's people when he arrested Xue Ping'an, claiming that half of the guards were killed in action when the War Hammer troops were forced to withdraw, and the Xue family's core members escaped in the chaos. So even if Old Xu wants revenge now, he can't find anyone. It's too easy for the Qingyi Bureau to hide a few people," the staff officer said softly. "Zhou Xian is already dead, and further investigation will make everyone look bad. To put it bluntly, if you really push Kang Dinghuang too hard, and the Qingyi Bureau shows ambiguity with Dragon City... Old Xu would probably want to hang himself! After all, the current political situation is no longer a single choice but a multiple-choice one. Hehe, and the bandit leader Xue Ping'an has been killed, which can be considered venting anger, that's enough."

An Zecheng interjected, "This Kang Dinghuang is quite righteous in his actions."

"He needs people, he needs long-term planning, so he has to be righteous." The staff officer frowned. "Zhou Xian stood on the upper-level's position to control the lower levels, while Kang Dinghuang is the opposite, he wants to use the lower levels to influence the upper levels. Completely different styles."

An Zecheng pondered for a moment. "Don't let Qiqi meet them. You go and talk, and quickly close this case!"

"Okay," the staff officer nodded.

"Dad!"

Just as the two were talking, An Qiqi walked down from upstairs. After more than a week of recuperation, her complexion had obviously improved a lot, and her pretty face looked radiant.

The only thing that hadn't changed was that she was still so thin, and her overall spirit had also changed, but it was hard to say exactly how.

"Hehe, you're down," An Zecheng said, standing up.

"I heard people from Hua Fu are here?" An Qiqi said, brushing her hair. "Are they looking for me?"

"Don't worry about it," An Zecheng waved his hand. "I'll let Li Ren handle it!"

"Qiqi, don't worry," the lieutenant colonel staff officer in his early thirties said with a smile. "I'll go and meet them."

An Qiqi paused. "Dad, I want to talk to them myself!"

An Zecheng frowned. "You shouldn't go, this kind of thing...!"

An Qiqi walked over and took her father's arm. "Let me go, I can negotiate it well."

...

The next day, a little after ten in the morning.

Inside a coffee shop next to the Dragon City Garrison Headquarters, a middle-aged lawyer sent by Kang Dinghuang extended his hand. "Hello, Miss An Qiqi! I am Yu Hai."

"Hello, Lawyer Yu!" An Qiqi nodded politely and sat down across from the lawyer.

A waiter brought two cups of coffee and placed them in front of them.

The lawyer placed his briefcase on the chair next to him, adjusted his glasses slightly, and asked, "You should know why I'm here, right?"

"I know!" An Qiqi's voice was clear and her attitude was polite.

The lawyer looked at this very beautiful and sunny girl, and said with a chuckle, "Then I'll get straight to the point."

"Okay!"

"It's like this," the lawyer paused. "Mr. Kang's intention is for the case to have a result in court, but a settlement out of court. The specific operations will be handled entirely by us, including the appeasement of the victim Wang Ying's family, as well as the replacement of testimonies, the judicial system process, and so on. You don't need to worry about any of that. We will first arrange bail for you, and in about half a year, you can return to Hua Fu to appear in court. Ultimately, the court will dismiss the criminal charges against you due to insufficient evidence! In other words, you won't have to live with a stain on your record in the future."

An Qiqi looked at him with a smile. "And then?"

"There's no then, hehe!" The lawyer looked at An Qiqi with some surprise, and responded with a smile.

"Are you sure you have no conditions?" An Qiqi asked.

The lawyer blinked and immediately said, "That's right, in order to reduce the impact of this case, you do need to cooperate in some ways...!"

"You want me to give up pursuing Xue Nan, right?!" An Qiqi interrupted and asked.

The lawyer frowned. "That's about the meaning. Simply put, if you don't keep pressing him, it will be...!"

"It won't do me any good. Xue Nan has already confessed, admitting that he framed me." An Qiqi interrupted the other party for the second time. "Frankly speaking, without your so-called out-of-court settlement, the court would ultimately find it difficult to prosecute me for murder."

The lawyer looked at her with a slightly astonished expression, and his mouth was no longer filled with false politeness, but rather full of threats. "You need to know that you are a fugitive! You may be arrested and returned to District One for trial at any time!"

"Lawyer Yu, I am also someone who has attended higher education and studied law, hehe, don't try to fool me." An Qiqi looked at him and said slowly, "Kang Dinghuang knows that Xue Nan is in our hands, and also knows that he has already confessed the facts of the case, so you can't kill me, that's why you want to protect Xue Nan and give Xue Ping'an an explanation! Right?"

"You...!"

"Let me finish." An Qiqi interrupted the other party for the third time. "I agree to your proposal! But there is one condition!!"

Lawyer Yu swallowed and picked up his coffee cup for the first time. "Speak!"