My Dearest General: It Has Always Been You

Chapter 77 - I Can't Be A Coward

Jin Renguang straightened his collar and knocked on the door.

"Come in," The voice from inside answered.

Jin Renguang opened and closed the door behind him gently, only creating a soft click sound. The man behind the table lifted his head and upon seeing Jin Renguang, he took off his myopic glasses. "Xiao Jin[1]? You're here?"

If it was any other person, even if it was his own parents who called him by this kind of cheesy nickname, he would have complained. But unfortunately, the other party was someone that he couldn't offend no matter what.

Jin Renguang performed a standard military salute. "Major General Fen."

Fen Huiguan, the Director of City S Police Bureau, laughed when he heard that title. "You're late. I retired long ago. Now, there's a new major general in the military already. You should know him."

"I know." Jin Renguang nodded as he scanned his eyes on the gray haired, robust, majestic man. "But no matter what, you're my major and it will not change."

"Has anyone told you that you're a sweet talker?" Director Fen walked to the low table and poured out a cup of tea. "Don't just stand there, sit down and talk."

Jin Renguang grunted in acquiescence and took his seat opposite the old man. His back was straight with his knees folded neatly and palms seated above it. No matter how long it had been, how senile the old man become, Jin Renguang was once a soldier under him.

Time had flown by so fast. Just a few years ago, Fen Huiguan was still the Major General of Elite Special Force, an independent organization that worked with the government to defend the nation from outside forces. Jin Renguang once worked under him, but now everything had changed. Ever since Fen Huiguan's sight deteriorated, he had retired and become the director, while Jin Renguang took a totally different path and became a criminal investigator.

Despite the twists and turns, he had once again become this man's subordinate.

Fate was really…Jin Renguang sighed, laughable.

Don't look at how the old man could brew tea so elegantly, so tranquil and serene, but the truth was, he was once the most feared personnel in the entire special force unit. The fear and reverence was embedded too deep into Jin Renguang's bone that he subconsciously turned into an obedient and meek person in front of Fen Huiguan.

If Ru Meiqi was here right now, she would have laughed her ass off.

"What do you want to talk about?" The aroma of Tieguanyin Tea suffused into the air, creating a warm ambience that could make anyone relax.

But Jin Renguang never let his guard down. "Two days ago, I talked about it on the phone with you. I know that currently, we have no evidence. But Miss Ru—our criminal psychologist's analysis wasn't unfounded." He took out the report that he had handwritten himself. "You can see the thought process and conclusion in it."

As Fen Huiguan put on his glasses and read the report word by word, Jin Renguang continued, "The more clues we have, the sooner we can catch the culprit. Right now, there has been one accident in the hospital where the culprit got close to Butterfly—"

"I haven't calculated it with you yet," Fen Huiguan lifted his eyes, sharp as a dagger. "What's wrong with your team? You can't even guard one person well?"

"It's the negligence on my part, I will take full responsibility for it," Jin Renguang took the blame humbly. His response made Fen Huiguan's brows relax slightly as he continued to read the report, "That's why, I really need a favor from you, Director Fen. I can't touch the upper echelon in society, but you can. If you're willing to help me—no, if you can shield me and give me authority to investigate this, then I will make sure to give you a satisfactory result."

Fen Huiguan finished reading the report and sighed. "Xiao Jin, you know that it's not easy to touch them. They have many connections with the government and police department, even higher and deeper than you can think of. If you want to pull a radish, you have to pull all of its roots and the soil on it[2]. It can even be more complicated than you think, can you guarantee that you can walk through it without staining yourself?"

"I can." Jin Renguang's straight, earnest and resolute eyes shone brilliantly with confidence. "I will do it."

Fen Huiguan fell silent for a moment before letting out a few chuckles. "You really haven't changed at all, always stubborn and determined to reach your goal. Have you ever thought of what would happen if you fail?"

"If I always fear failure, how can I continue to step forward?" Jin Renguang shrugged. "Now, I have many subordinates under me. Their life and death was in my hands. I will always be cautious, but I can't be a coward and shrink my neck every time I reach a bottleneck."

Fen Huiguan nodded, a hint of satisfaction arose in his heart. Truly, this was the seed that he nurtured himself. Unfortunately, he chose to become a police officer rather than a soldier. Such a pity…

But he could see the strong aura of a leader and determination of a soldier inside his eyes. The last bit of dissatisfaction in Fen Huiguan's chest dissipated and he finally felt relieved. "All right." The man smiled.

A flash of surprise passed through Jin Renguang's eyes and it didn't go unnoticed by Fen Huiguan. "What? Are you really that surprise? Should I retract my words?"

"No, sir!" Jin Renguang sat up straighter and answered loudly. "A soldier will never go back on his word!" Originally, he thought that he needed to launch some attacks, pull and tug war, all of the strategies he could think of to make Fen Huiguan agree. Jin Renguan didn't expect to receive a positive answer so soon. That's good, he beamed brightly.

Fen Huiguan didn't know whether he should laugh or be angry. He scoffed, the corner of his lips curled up in amusement. "I will give you direct authority, but remember not to go past their bottom line. Investigate it well, if you haven't got any result by the end of this month…" Fen Huiguan smiled. "Same rules. I will deduct your team's wages by half."

Jin Renguang's eyes lit up. "Yes, sir. I will not disappoint you!"

***

He closed the door behind him and let out the breath that he subconsciously held. Right at that moment, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Jin Renguang fished it out to find a few new messages and an incoming call from Xu Binchen.

"Xu Binchen?" He answered as he walked down the hall toward the elevator. "What's wrong? What...? A private website? Send it to me."

He hung up and made another call. "Tang Wei, check your email. I will send something to you, investigate where it came from and who posted it…No, I am on my way. Wait for me in the office. Yes, that's all."

Jin Renguang's face turned somber and his good mood plummeted down by this single news. However, a bubbling excitement slowly coursed through his veins. He had the premonition that the culprit couldn't wait any longer and started to make his move.

A man should fight head on instead of hiding and stalking, he harrumphed. He had just entered the elevator when his phone rang again. This time, it was Ru Meiqi. He had just remembered that there were unread messages sitting in his inbox.

"Meiqi," He took the initiative to plead guilty. "Sorry, I have been busy these past few days making a report to Director Fen. Yes, he finally gave me the authority and I can start to investigate it. Your messages? No, I haven't read it. Why so urgent? Wait, I will hang up for a second."

Jin Renguang opened his WeChat and easily found Ru Meiqi's chat which was pinned to the top. There were 2 unread chats there. He clicked it to show the latest chat which was when he sent her the drawing of the culprit based on Mr.Jiang's description. A vague outline of a man with glasses with a long mark on the side of his neck was drawn on a piece of paper.

Ru Meiqi's chat continued below.

[Renguang, I think I know what the mark is. It's not a burn mark or knife scar. But still, I need to investigate further because just one person's description will not be accurate enough.]

[Ever heard of a skin mask? I think it's the mark of it.]

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[1] Xiao Jin = Little Jin

[2] Basically, he said that there might be corruption in higher-ups and investigating it was very risky

A/N: Thank you very much for MoniqueDeLaVerite for your golden ticket [throwinglove.jpg] Thank you very much Umi_juvariel I can't believe my eyes to see 11 golden tickets from you QAQ I am so moved! Thankyou too for readers whom I haven't mentioned because I can only see top 3 contributors~ Please give more golden tickets for MDG ne~