Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 554 Pressure from Multiple Parties
Xiao Ma is a hard-working, passionate, and righteous young man; he's a pretty good guy.

He had also stayed up all night, but he seemed completely unaffected. Before dawn, he took the approval documents and went to the Municipal Bureau's Technical Investigation Detachment, and returned to the team around nine o'clock.

Accompanying him was a similarly young policeman, short and thin, with a nonchalant expression, except for his rapidly shifting eyes.

Technicians, forensic experts, and criminal investigators all gathered for a meeting. The room was filled with all sorts of people talking, and the case analysis was in full swing.

Sitting behind his desk, Nie Chaofan could tell at a glance that this guy had come attracted by the smell of blood and wanted a piece of the pie.

Nie Chaofan stood up and greeted him with a smile: "Captain Wei, what brings you here? You could have just called to let me know if there was anything, there was no need for you to come in person."

Wei, who was wearing a 1.2-bar badge, stood at the door without going in, yawning: "Old Nie, actually I didn't want to come either. I just finished my shift yesterday, and I was supposed to have a day off today. But this morning, our branch manager Yang specifically asked me to come and learn from you guys."

"Isn't your office duty just a change of scenery for sleeping? I heard you sneak home by 10 pm. And you call that compensatory leave? You must be playing games all night." Nie Chaofan thought to himself, but on the surface, he didn't dare to be careless at all. After all, they, who worked in criminal investigation, were always begging for the cooperation of others.

He spoke with a serious and respectful attitude: "What do you mean by 'learning'? Captain Wei is too modest. With you here to guide our work, this case will be solved in no time. Captain Wei, the two leaders from the Criminal Investigation Department and the Pre-trial Department are discussing the case with Zhang Da in the next lounge. How about I have Xiao Ma take you there? You're all in the same building, so it'll be easier for you to communicate."

Seeing that Nie Chaofan was sensible, Captain Wei was happy to let go. After all, he and the criminal investigation and pre-trial units had the same purpose in coming: to take the opportunity to share the credit. As for whether the case really needed his guidance, Captain Wei was well aware of his own limited abilities.

Team Leader Wei chuckled and pulled a USB drive from his shirt pocket, shoving it into Nie Chaofan's hand: "Old Nie, everyone in our office says you're the most capable in criminal investigation, and I think that's absolutely true. Here, this is a temporary digital certificate the branch has approved for you. Use it well!"

Nie Chaofan accepted it with both hands and chuckled.

Team Leader Wei was about to take a step when he stopped and whispered in Nie Chaofan's ear, "Old Nie, to be honest, the brigade has reserved a promotion spot for me at the end of the year. I'm just waiting for this third-class merit award."

After saying that, Captain Wei took a step back and stared into Nie Chaofan's eyes: "We must solve this case."

Nie Chaofan said solemnly, "Captain Wei, don't worry, we will definitely solve this case this time."

After saying that, he gestured for Xiao Ma to take the person to the next lounge.

The Criminal Investigation Division's office building isn't large, and it's usually quite cramped, but even in such a cramped situation, this rest room is indispensable. As a grassroots case-handling unit, especially for a criminal investigation team like theirs, it's always been a place where higher-level agencies come to gain prestige or claim credit.

Whenever a major case occurs, the officers from the headquarters take turns sending people over. Procedurally, this isn't wrong. The Criminal Investigation Division is responsible for operational guidance, the Technical Investigation Division for technical guidance, and the Pre-trial Division for legal oversight. Sending people over is considered as supporting the police force.

But given their ability to sit in an office all day, who knows what kind of mess they might make if they were actually given the chance to handle cases. Although some police officers in government agencies were eager to do something in the past, the results were all unsatisfactory, and over time, both sides tacitly accepted the current relationship.

The higher-ups send people over, granting them authority and technical expertise, but the specific tasks are still handled by the grassroots units. When it comes to distributing credit, the higher-ups don't ask for much; they just give them a small share, leaving the lion's share to the grassroots units.

Over the years, things have been peaceful.

"It's just a USB drive, and they had the nerve to deliver it, saying it's important police equipment. Pshaw!" Xiao Ma said angrily as he returned with the person.

Nie Chaofan remained silent, sitting to the side drinking tea cup after cup. After Xiao Ma had finished venting his frustrations, he began to instruct this man, who was probably the last disciple of his criminal investigation career.

"Envious?" "Envious my foot! Being a police officer is something else, especially being a criminal investigator. It's so prestigious!"

"to be honest."

"I envy you, but that's not my ideal."

Nie Chaofan interrupted by slamming down his cup, then smiled and said, "It's understandable that you're envious. I'm quite envious of those in government offices too, sitting in an office from nine to five and still getting a political and legal allowance. But there's nothing we can do, we don't have that kind of luck. But what we have, they may not have. When they get old, they'll be the ones envying us."

He paused, then his voice became firm: "That's the sense of honor a police officer has, something you only develop by actually solving cases at the grassroots level."

"Nie Tan!" Xiao Ma's face flushed red; this had really struck a chord with him.

As a police officer, his ideal is to solve cases, solve cases, and solve cases again, to bring justice to the victims and to restore peace to society.

Nie Chaofan waved his hand: "Let's skip the fluff and get down to business. Xiao Ma, as criminal investigators, besides solving cases, we also need to work together with our colleagues. Don't think that everyone in the criminal investigation department or technical investigation unit is a bunch of incompetent idiots."

Xiao Ma muttered, somewhat resentful: "They come here every day just to read novels and play games. When the case is solved, they get a few credits. There aren't even enough for our own team."

Nie Chaofan said in a deep voice, "Little Ma!"

"But," Xiao Ma still wanted to argue.

"There are no 'buts'. Remember this: as long as the first credit stays with the team, distribute the rest of the credit as it can. The rest will eventually come back to us." Nie Chaofan stared intently at Xiao Ma until the other lowered his head.

Xiao Ma remained silent for a long time, his frustration building up inside him, making him extremely uncomfortable.

Nie Chaofan took a breath and said, "Now, let's get ready to leave immediately. I've already tracked down Zhao Zhiguo's route. He's driven from his hometown to Haishi in Fujian Province again, and he'll most likely pass through here on his way home. As long as we block this highway checkpoint, we don't even need to go to his hometown to wait for him."

Upon hearing that the suspect had appeared and they were to immediately set off to apprehend him, young Ma's dejection vanished. Like a person who hadn't eaten all day smelling the aroma of meat, he exclaimed with excitement, "Yes! Go right away!"

"Damn it! We have to catch this beast!" Little Horse turned around and trotted away with high spirits.

Watching the young man's energetic figure, Nie Chaofan sighed inwardly, touched the rounded curve of the teacup, put the lid on, and got up to leave.

As someone who had been working diligently in criminal investigation for twenty years and was still just a junior officer, what right did he have to give Xiao Ma pointers? Xiao Ma was a young police officer with ideals and beliefs.

However, right now, the pressure from higher authorities such as the Criminal Investigation Detachment, the Pre-trial Detachment, and the Technical Investigation Detachment to solve the case is truly on his shoulders.

The pressure he puts on himself is no exception.

It weighs more than a thousand pounds.

(End of this chapter)