Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 570 Zhu Yiba (Part 1)
Chen Shu was cautious. Although he reluctantly agreed to Chen Chuan's suggestion, he still changed the princess in the private room to the young master. Even though the princess who was leaving kept looking around curiously, he still insisted on keeping the young master who was carrying the wine into the room.

"Why don't you ask the young master to leave as well?"

"It's all because you're so quick to pay up. You gave me a tip as soon as I put down my beer. We can't let that go to waste."

"Hehe, so I should have paid the princess's tip earlier. Book, is that really the reason?" Chen Chuan crossed his arms and glanced at Chen Shu sideways.

This young master happened to be fair-skinned and had a rather sweet voice. In today's trendy terms, he was the "puppy dog" type.

Chen Chuan, who was sitting on the sofa watching the show, couldn't stop laughing when he saw that Chen Shu was speechless and didn't refute him: "Let me make it clear first, I'm a straight man."

After saying that, he seemed to suddenly remember something, and glanced at Zhu Yiba, who was singing "My Old Squad Leader" with his head held high and chest out. Those steel-like, well-defined pectoral muscles would probably make certain types of people drool.

"Book, you won't..."

Chen Chuan stiffened his neck and slowly twisted it around.

"Snapped."

Chen Shu slapped him on the head and scolded, "Don't make jokes like that, it's hilarious."

"You're the one who's hilarious. Aside from male model agencies, this is the first time I've ever seen someone choose a young master over a princess."

Chen Chuan scratched his head nonchalantly, opened four or five 330ml bottles of Budweiser that had just been placed on the table, handed one to Chen Shu, clinked glasses, and drank it all in one gulp.

A cool sensation went down into my throat and then exploded in my stomach. The icy feeling rushed upwards, my hair stood on end, and even the sweat on my face decreased.

"Burp~ That feels so good. Beer is the best!"

After a few more rounds of back and forth, Chen Shu, holding the small bottle, nudged Zhu Yiba, who was in high spirits, and said with a smile, "Chen Chuan, it's obvious that you like this guy the most among this batch of border guards. Tell me, what's the reason?"

Chen Chuan glanced at the other person sideways, deliberately speaking in a high-pitched voice, "Hehe, so you like this guy, don't you~"

"Don't interrupt. I know you have connections in the bureau. Tell me, what's this person all about? What's his background?"

"Book, when did you become so gossipy?"

"I'm just a little curious."

"More than ten have been transferred over, and you're only curious about this one?"

"Stop arguing and hurry up."

Chen Chuan looked at Zhu Yiba closely and said, "Actually, I don't know who he is, where he comes from, or what his background is."

"Seriously, stop joking around. It'll get boring if you keep doing this."

As he spoke, Chen Shu seemed to suddenly remember something and said seriously, "You mean you can't find any information about him either?"

"Yes, his name is just a string of numbers, can you believe it?"

Chen Shu recalled the somewhat cold attitude he received from the other border guards while dining at the restaurant. Soldiers value camaraderie above all else, and this clearly unfamiliar way of interacting suggested they were all transferred from the same batch; something was definitely not right.

Thinking of the restaurant, Chen Shu immediately recalled the "two heroes of Dongzhou" that Chen Chuan had mentioned with his arms around the shoulders of the two men, one of whom was naturally Zhu Yiba.

"Chen Chuan, what did you mean by 'hero' when you were eating?" Chen Chuan was probably getting a little annoyed by the conversation. He opened a bottle of wine, took a big gulp, wiped his mouth, and laughed, "But I guessed Zhu Yiba's identity."

"Really?" Chen Shu stood up abruptly, somewhat excited. He had heard of people whose names were replaced by a string of numbers, but had never actually met them. Now that he knew Chen Chuan had connections, he was naturally curious.

Chen Chuan held up one finger: "Undercover agent."

Chen Shu immediately retorted, his finger practically poking Chen Chuan's forehead: "Give me a break, you've been working in the same system for almost ten years and you're still this naive. Do you think this is a TV drama or a novel? Undercover agent? Why don't you go and infiltrate it yourself?"

Older police officers have vaguely mentioned that undercover police officers did exist 20 or 30 years ago, but now the law has basically eliminated the possibility of using police officers as undercover agents.

The public security system safeguards public safety interests, not national security interests. Public safety interests uphold order, which requires adherence to law and procedure. Therefore, illegal means cannot be used to obtain evidence, nor can law enforcement be conducted in an illegal manner.

Conversely, even if a case is solved because of an undercover police officer, the officer is commended, and the unit receives performance bonuses, it is still just one case.

What if things go wrong? If this undercover cop dies, the higher-ups will probably be held jointly responsible. Getting him stripped of his uniform would be considered a safe landing.

So, as things progressed, the concept of "special expenses" emerged. Each administrative detention could be reimbursed 1,000 yuan, and those detained under criminal charges received a minimum of 3,000 yuan. If the case involved organized crime or firearms, the amount could be doubled, with no upper limit.

To put it bluntly, spending so much effort and risk arranging for a police officer with official status to go undercover is less effective than simply bribing an informant. These are people living at the bottom of society; they don't have that much loyalty or righteousness. For example, those who use or traffic drugs—even 300 yuan for groceries is enough. Giving them more is unacceptable, because they're afraid they'll die from a drug overdose.

“I understand what you mean, but they’re not police officers.” Chen Chuan pouted, feeling wronged, then said seriously, “According to this reform, the border police stations along the coast in Dongzhou have been transferred to the local public security bureaus. For example, this batch of them has joined our special police brigade; while the border police stations along the inland border have been transferred to the National Immigration Administration, or more specifically, the entry and exit border inspection stations.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Shu immediately realized what was happening.

At the previous New Year's dinner at the hotel, Zhu Yiba was clearly not familiar with the border police station officers from the coastal area of ​​Dongzhou who had come with him. They were all from the same local police station, and Zhu Yiba was not young, so he must have been transferred from the border region.

Judging from Zhu Yiba's accent, he wasn't a local of Dongzhou; he sounded like he was from the inland province of Jiang. If he could find connections to come to Donghai from a border province, why didn't he just go back to his hometown?

Their names are replaced by a string of numbers, suggesting they likely came here under an assumed name.

Why would someone from an unfamiliar place come here?
Chen Chuan raised an eyebrow and said, "Back when you two were in the private room, I mentioned 'two heroes,' and Zhu Yiba didn't seem uncomfortable at all; he was quite used to it."

It's highly likely that he made a great contribution but didn't want a promotion, so he came to Dongzhou to retire.

Why not transfer back to your hometown?

Is the name followed by a string of numbers?
Chen Shu glanced quickly at Zhu Yiba, who was still standing in front of the TV, yelling.

This former border guard, who had recently been transferred to a new post, had a hoarse and unstable voice due to excessive drinking.

His singing was not pleasant to listen to, and was even noticeably off-key, which might give people the illusion that he was shouting.

Zhu Yiba closed his eyes and sang with complete passion. Although his singing wasn't great, his expressions and movements were full of passion and genuine emotion. His hands moved as if he were reliving the battlefield of yesteryear, expressing the emotions deep within his heart.

"My old squad leader, how are you doing these days?"

"My old squad leader, do you still think of me?"

"It's been so long since I received a letter from you; I often think of you."

(End of this chapter)