Upon hearing Chen Shao’s words, the atmosphere in the room instantly chilled.

Everyone present realized that he was planning to intervene directly.

The so-called “transfer according to procedure” sounded reasonable enough, but once the witnesses and evidence were actually handed over to the X City Branch, there was no telling what would happen next.

Perhaps the evidence would be “accidentally damaged” during the various stages of testing.

Perhaps the witnesses would “lose emotional control” during the transfer.

Perhaps the relevant records would be completely lost due to some staff member’s “operational error.”

In short, proposing a transfer at this particular moment was a statement of intent in itself.

Gu Xinglan was the first to lose her patience. She stepped forward, her eyebrows raised in fury.

“Bullshit.”

Chen Shao hadn’t expected someone to be so blunt. The smile on his face froze, and the expressions of the X City SAVE members behind him also darkened.

“This…”

Gu Xinglan didn’t care about any of that, her voice seething with suppressed rage:

“Hand over the witnesses and evidence to you? How is that any different from throwing them straight into a river? Are you actually going to investigate? Or will you ‘investigate’ until the whole thing turns out to be just one big misunderstanding?”

Chen Shao’s eyelid twitched, and he forced a smile.

“Miss, is there some misunderstanding between us? We are all colleagues in SAVE, and we are only following regulations…”

“Misunderstanding?”

Gu Xinglan sneered.

“The Radiant Foundation is clearly peddling illegal drugs in X City, yet they can still package themselves as a righteous and legal organization. Do you honestly believe that no one from your side is pulling the strings?”

Chen Shao was taken aback.

“Illegal drugs?”

He looked as if he were hearing about this for the first time, wearing an expression of surprise.

“What illegal drugs?”

As he spoke, his gaze swept across the room and quickly landed on the vial of pale gold liquid on the table.

Chen Shao’s eyes flickered slightly. He walked over naturally, appearing as if he wanted to reach out and take it.

But just as his hand was raised, he saw Zhao Chenfeng standing by the table, along with several other expressionless members of the Special Operations Division, blocking his path.

And so, Chen Shao withdrew his hand nonchalantly, as if he had just been adjusting his cuffs.

“Could it be that the item you seized today is this? I see…”

Chen Shao looked at Gu Xinglan, his tone returning to that gentle and oily manner.

“But, having said that, we still need further verification to determine its actual composition and whether it’s a controlled substance.”

“Even if we take a step back and assume it really is contraband, how can you be certain it has anything to do with the Radiant Foundation?”

Gu Xinglan was so angry she laughed. Pointing at Chen Shao, she said:

“Whether there’s a connection or not, I think you know better than anyone. This is intelligence we just extracted from the mouth of a drug dealer.”

Chen Shao spread his hands and explained earnestly:

“Since it’s just intelligence obtained from a suspect’s mouth, shouldn’t we treat it with even more caution? Who can guarantee that what he said is definitely the truth? What if it’s a frame-up?”

Chen Shao sighed, his tone even carrying a hint of heartache.

“Perhaps you all aren’t aware of how much charity work the Radiant Foundation has done in X City over the years. The free clinics in the Old District, the post-disaster temporary relief points, the low-cost nutritional meals, and the children’s medical subsidy programs, they are the ones behind many of these.”

“An organization like that is bound to offend some petty people during its development. I’ll be blunt: there are too many vested interests who can’t stand their selfless style of conduct.”

“Maybe this is all just a part of their scheme?”

He spoke with a look of utmost sincerity.

“Therefore, we cannot easily cast doubt upon the Radiant Foundation based on mere one-sided claims. After all, one is innocent until proven guilty. Wouldn’t you agree, miss?”

Gu Xinglan was so enraged her teeth itched. Her face turned bright red, and her breathing became ragged.

It was the first time she realized that someone could truly be this shameless, turning black into white and doing so with such high-sounding rhetoric.

“You—”

Her hand gripped the hilt of her blade so tightly that the veins on her hand bulged, as if she were about to draw her weapon and hack this hateful, nonsense-spouting man to death the very next second.

Startled, Chen Shao quickly took a step back.

But just then, someone lightly tugged at Gu Xinglan’s sleeve.

Gu Xinglan turned around in a fury, only to find that the one holding her back was Lin Han.

Lin Han shook his head at her, his expression somewhat helpless.

It was clear that Gu Xinglan had fallen into the other man’s rhythm.

The angrier she became, the more Chen Shao could maintain his victim act of “you outsiders don’t follow the rules,” putting their own side at an even greater disadvantage.

Gu Xinglan naturally understood this as well.

But understanding was one thing; it didn’t mean she wasn’t angry.

Her somewhat flat chest heaved several times. Finally, remembering that the Captain had told them to follow Lin Han’s lead before they set out, she could only grit her teeth and forcibly suppress her rage.

Eventually, Gu Xinglan let out a slow breath and retreated behind Lin Han, her beautiful eyes still full of fury as she glared fixedly at Chen Shao.

Seeing that the dangerous short sword had finally moved a bit further away from him, Chen Shao also felt a sense of relief.

Then, he regained some of his composure.

See?

So what if the Special Operations Division was strong?

As long as they were still within the SAVE system, they had to follow procedures, rules, and the hierarchy.

It wasn’t as if you could actually just slash me to death, could you?

Chen Shao looked at Lin Han as he stepped forward, his smile becoming a bit more smug and his expression incredibly relaxed.

“Oh? Does Team Leader Lin have some thoughts as well? Feel free to discuss them.”

“I don’t really have any thoughts.”

Lin Han shook his head and said, “I just have something I’d like Mr. Chen1 to take a look at.”

He did not continue to argue with Chen Shao over whether there was a problem with the Radiant Foundation like Gu Xinglan had, nor did he continue to discuss the veracity of the testimony. He certainly didn’t directly expose the possibility of the X City Branch harboring the Metamorphosis Society, something that could not be proven for the time being.

Arguing over these points was pointless; in fact, it would only hand the initiative over to the other side.

Since the other party wanted to follow protocol, then they would follow protocol.

Lin Han unhurriedly pulled up a document on his phone.

“This is the cross-city joint investigation order issued by the W City Branch after receiving authorization from Headquarters.”

The smile on Chen Shao’s face remained unchanged, but his brows furrowed slightly as he leaned in a bit closer, seemingly wanting to verify the authenticity of the document on Lin Han’s phone.

Lin Han showed him the order and said in a calm voice:

“According to this order, the nature of this operation is a cross-city assisted investigation. W City has the right to retain key evidence and relevant suspects related to the Metamorphosis Society until the preliminary evidence collection and risk assessment are completed.”

The corner of Chen Shao’s mouth twitched imperceptibly.

“If Mr. Chen wants to transfer the witnesses and evidence, it isn’t impossible, of course.”

“But at the very least, you need to produce a formal administrative document at the Director level from the X City Branch, specifying the reasons for the transfer, the receiving personnel, the storage protocols, and the subsequent investigation arrangements.”

He looked at Chen Shao, his tone equally sincere and his expression utterly earnest:

“Does Mr. Chen have those?”

“Because if not, it makes things a bit difficult for us over here.”