Meanwhile.
Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau.
At the entrance.
"A-Hao, why don't I stay here with you!"
Stepping out of the car, Qi Tongwei looked at Li Hao and voiced his thought.
He was worried about leaving Li Hao here all by himself!
Who knows if they might try to frame Li Hao?!
Li Hao shook his head and refused, "It's fine, Tongwei! You go on back first! I can handle myself!"
"You know what I'm capable of. Right now, I just want to see how they plan to deal with me!"
Hearing this, Qi Tongwei sighed.
"Sigh! All right then! If anything comes up, remember to let me know! As the director of the Public Security Department, I still have some say around here, after all!"
Actually, Qi Tongwei wasn't worried about Li Hao's physical safety.
What worried him was the higher-ups insisting on going after Li Hao and setting traps for him!
After all, Hou Liangping was an absolute scoundrel!
And Li Hao? He was headstrong and completely unapologetic. If he stayed here too long, would he end up stirring up even more trouble?
At this thought, Qi Tongwei made up his mind.
He had to get Li Hao out of here as soon as possible!
"Don't worry! Go take care of your own business first!"
Hearing this, Li Hao nodded and urged Qi Tongwei to leave.
Now that he had arrived in Jingzhou, he had relieved some of the pressure on Qi Tongwei, but Qi Tongwei himself undoubtedly had a mountain of messy affairs waiting for him!
Whether Qi Tongwei would even be able to help him later was another question entirely.
Not that he needed Qi Tongwei's help anyway.
Right now, he just wanted the people in Handong Province to dance a little longer!
The happier they danced now, the more miserable they would be later!
"All right!"
Seeing Li Hao's carefree expression, Qi Tongwei nodded and turned back toward his car.
Just as Li Hao suspected, he really did have matters to attend to!
Right on his way to the police bureau, his mentor, Gao Yuliang, had already called him, telling him to get over there immediately!
He had to hurry over now!
Watching Qi Tongwei's car drive away, Li Hao finally walked into the public security bureau under the escort of the surrounding police officers.
[Influence event: Destroying the Mosaikou drug den has been triggered! Initial reward: Danger Perception (Gold-tier)]
As he walked, a mechanical voice sounded in his head.
The System's reward had arrived!
And judging by the name, this ability was quite remarkable!
Danger Perception—wasn't that the ability to foresee danger in advance?
With this skill, he could act even more recklessly in the future!
At this thought, Li Hao's mood brightened considerably.
For now, he would just quietly sit back and watch the show!
Let's see what kind of surprises Handong Province had in store for him.
Li Hao's emotional shift did not go unnoticed by the police officers flanking him.
The looks they gave Li Hao were filled with strangeness.
Could this guy genuinely be mentally ill?
Why was he still so happy after being dragged into a police station?
Which criminal didn't look remorseful after getting caught?
Li Hao showed not a shred of remorse; if anything, he looked excited! Truly a psychopath!
No wonder he was a deranged serial killer!
At this thought, the police officers guarding Li Hao subconsciously distanced themselves from him just a bit.
......
Elsewhere.
At the home of Gao Yuliang, Deputy Secretary of the Handong Provincial Committee.
Qi Tongwei had rushed over.
All the way here, he had been thinking about how he should explain himself to his mentor.
How could he explain things to calm the fallout from this incident, and ideally get Li Hao released?
Yet try as he might, he still couldn't figure out what to say.
No matter how he phrased it, the impact of this incident was simply too big to be swept away!
Right now, his only hope lay with his mentor, Gao Yuliang!
Pushing open the door, Gao Yuliang's voice reached Qi Tongwei's ears.
"Oh, if it isn't Director Qi. What brings you to my place all of a sudden?"
Hearing his mentor's sarcasm, Qi Tongwei lowered his head slightly, stepped forward, and began to explain in a gentle, conciliatory tone.
"Mentor, please don't be angry."
Before Qi Tongwei could even finish that sentence, Gao Yuliang let out a cold laugh.
"Ha! Mentor!? You still remember I'm your mentor? Since I'm your mentor, why didn't you listen to what I told you!"
Gao Yuliang was furious, utterly dissatisfied with Qi Tongwei's previous actions.
He had told Qi Tongwei long ago to bring Li Hao to see him, but Qi Tongwei kept insisting he had things to do!
Insisting on waiting until he finished handling his business!
Sensing his mentor's wrath, Qi Tongwei hurriedly explained, "Mentor, it's not what you think! We really had urgent matters at the time!"
Gao Yuliang let out another cold laugh. "Tell me, what could possibly be more urgent than shooting a state cadre?"
"Someone dares to brandish a gun, dares to open fire right in front of the provincial public security director and assassinate the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and instead of arresting him, you go off doing other things?"
"You call yourself a competent director of the Public Security Department!"
Gao Yuliang's anger flared up; even at this point, Qi Tongwei was still being stubborn!
Did he even realize the gravity of this situation?
This concerned his entire future political career!
To the higher-ups in Handong Province right now, he, Qi Tongwei, was Li Hao's backer!
He had already been branded with a label: a major corrupt official!
At these thoughts, Gao Yuliang pointed a finger at Qi Tongwei and said indignantly, "Come on, tell me what actually happened back there!"
He wanted to hear if this matched what Hou Liangping had reported!
Hearing this, Qi Tongwei said, "Mentor, it was like this!"
"At the time, we were heading to Yantai to take care of some business, but halfway there, Hou Liangping ambushed us! He blocked us right at the highway toll booth!"
"Without a second word, Hou Liangping came up and demanded to take me away! He suspected me of graft and bribery! And all of this was based purely on his own guesswork!"
"Mentor, you tell me, is any of this our fault?"
"Li Hao fired his gun, and I actually stepped in to stop him, otherwise Hou Liangping would already be a dead man!"
Hearing this, Gao Yuliang gave a heavy wave of his hand.
"By your logic, Hou Liangping should be thanking you? When all is said and done, you've turned out to be his savior?"
"Hou Liangping is the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau; making a reasonable suspicion isn't a crime. Even if he did something wrong, that's no excuse for anyone to point a gun at him!"
"Let me ask you, what is your relationship with this Li Hao? Does this Li Hao happen to be named Qi Hao?"
Sentence after sentence spilled from Gao Yuliang's lips, leaving Qi Tongwei with nothing to do but offer a bitter smile.
But when Qi Tongwei heard that final sentence, he was so startled he immediately stood up.
"Ahem! Mentor, you can't just throw around talk like that! I have no such virtue or ability!"
"If he were my son and dared to pull a gun, I'd slap him across the face twice myself! I certainly wouldn't let him stir up a mess like this!"
Watching Qi Tongwei's reaction, Gao Yuliang raised an eyebrow and continued, "So are you saying you accepted favors from Li Hao instead?"