The police officers apprehending them showed no mercy.
Of course, they harbored no affection for these two individuals in the first place.
Both the prosecutor's office and the police had been relentlessly pursuing Cao Yuntian, but his operations were so clandestine, so watertight, that not a drop of evidence leaked.
The prosecution and police had failed to find any substantial proof until the arrival of Zhang Debiao and Sister Hong today.
In the KTV lobby, Brother Pig roared, "What right do you have to arrest me? What crime have I committed? Believe it or not, I'll sue you for defamation!"
Brother Pig had no idea what defamation meant, but he yelled regardless, as if he were an expert in law.
Cao Yuntian remained silent, instead asking Prosecutor Liu, "Who? Who sent you to arrest me? Who betrayed us?"
Cao Yuntian was still lucid enough to understand that without decisive evidence, the prosecutor's office would not dare to lay a hand on him.
After all, on the surface, he was one of Jiangcheng's top figures.
Prosecutor Liu smiled faintly, "You'll find out in due time."
At the prosecutor's office.
Interrogation room.
Cao Yuntian and Brother Pig were interrogated separately. In addition to them, some of Cao Yuntian's key subordinates were also brought in.
The prosecutor's office deployed considerable resources to investigate Cao Yuntian.
"Do you know Zhang Debiao?" Prosecutor Liu looked at him.
"Did he betray me?" Cao Yuntian's expression was cold.
"He has confessed to certain facts, and we hope you can corroborate them."
"There's been a recent case of missing persons. According to Zhang Debiao's confession, you sold these individuals abroad, and some were even used as organ transplant victims. Is this true?" Prosecutor Liu stared into his eyes.
"Isn't it your job to find out if it's true? Why are you asking me? Of course, I'll say no." Cao Yuntian remained stubborn.
Unperturbed by his words, Prosecutor Liu produced a magnetic tape containing a recording. The audio documented Cao Yuntian instructing his subordinates to beat those who had been kidnapped.
"You found someone who sounds like me and recorded him, and you think this proves I did it?" Cao Yuntian continued to quibble.
Observing Cao Yuntian's defiance, Prosecutor Liu remained unfazed.
"You think the recording isn't enough? We actually have video evidence too." Prosecutor Liu, without any pretense, showed the video footage to Cao Yuntian.
Upon seeing his crimes captured on video, Cao Yuntian's face darkened.
"There's other evidence as well, and we have witnesses. Those people you trafficked out. You know, some of them are still in the country, and they're willing to testify. I don't think there's any point in you concealing this any further, as it will only worsen your sentence." Prosecutor Liu looked at him coldly.
He had always hoped to bring down Cao Yuntian, never expecting the opportunity to arrive so soon.
Cao Yuntian remained silent, no longer engaging with him.
"It's fine if you don't speak. I've brought all your subordinates here for separate interrogations. I'm confident that after seeing this evidence, they will confess to all the crimes you've committed."
"Oh, and not long ago you also kidnapped a female doctor, and she escaped, right? Now, she's willing to testify in person. Another witness is that doctor who was fired from the National Medical Hall, and the doctor who came out later and rescued the female doctor." Prosecutor Liu scrutinized Cao Yuntian's eyes.
"Lin Xiaotian!" Cao Yuntian spat out the name forcefully.
"It seems you haven't forgotten! Are you willing to talk now?"
"Heh, I never expected him to be so impatient." Cao Yuntian sneered.
"What are you laughing about? Do you think you still have any chance of retaliating?" Prosecutor Liu boomed.
"Why wouldn't I?" Cao Yuntian suddenly said. "Do you watch the news?"
"Why bring that up now?"
"You should take a look at the news right now, perhaps something unexpected will happen?"
Hearing Cao Yuntian's words, Prosecutor Liu frowned.
He picked up his phone and began scrolling through the local news.
Since Cao Yuntian was currently incapacitated, glancing at the news wouldn't hurt.
Soon, a headline caught his eye. "This is..." Prosecutor Liu froze.
Concurrently, Lin Xiaotian at the National Medical Hall suddenly received a notification to proceed to the Tian Shang Ren Jian KTV.
A major hostage crisis was unfolding, and everyone inside the KTV had become a target.
According to intelligence, dozens of powerful explosives had been planted in the KTV. With such a scale of bombs, there was no time to disarm them. If they detonated, not only would surrounding buildings be destroyed, but no one inside would survive.
The notification Lin Xiaotian received was to handle any abnormal situations, such as casualties on site, ensuring medical treatment would be provided by a doctor's presence.
However, in reality, with an explosion of this magnitude, Lin Xiaotian would be of little use. There would be no hope of rescuing anyone inside.
Looking at the KTV before him, Lin Xiaotian knitted his brows. He knew Cao Yuntian had been arrested recently, and now the KTV was in such a state. It was clear this was Cao Yuntian's doing; he intended to threaten everyone!
In the interrogation room, Prosecutor Liu's complexion turned deathly pale.
"Cao Yuntian, have you gone mad? Do you know the severe punishment you'll face for doing this? I urge you to stop immediately, or no one will be able to save you."
Watching the furious Prosecutor Liu, Cao Yuntian burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, do you really think I'd believe your lies? Can you save me? Given my crimes, I'm doomed to die anyway. If I want to live, I have to rely on myself."
"Prosecutor Liu, think carefully. Do you want to arrest me, or let those people die in vain?"
"What do you want?" Prosecutor Liu looked at him.
"Let me go. As long as I leave, these people will live. If I don't leave here within half an hour, you can expect those people to be buried with me. Hahaha... dying with so many people accompanying me would make this life worth it." Cao Yuntian laughed maniacally.
Facing the defiant Cao Yuntian, Prosecutor Liu was consumed by rage, yet utterly helpless.
He slammed the table fiercely and strode out of the interrogation room.
In the room adjacent to the interrogation room.
"What do you think we should do now?" Prosecutor Liu looked at the elder before him, resigned.
The elder took a deep breath, surveyed the people around him, "What does everyone think?"
These were influential figures from Xiangjiang City, including the mayor and heads of various security forces.
Silence lingered for a moment before someone finally spoke, "Forget it, let him go. If he doesn't disarm the bombs, many will die. We can always re-arrest him later."
The leading elder said with a grave expression.