Chapter 113 - 82: Verification! Nobody Knows Compliance Better Than Me

"So that’s how the model worked. It’s basically a sophisticated way to commit subsidy fraud."

With that,

it was like a revelation for Wang Chao. He understood everything in an instant.

’No wonder Zheng Tong, with nothing better to do, took the risk of buying children from human traffickers...’

’And no wonder Xu De started by checking the personnel flow records from the very beginning!’

"Does that mean Cheng Tao..."

Wang Chao’s eyes widened as he spoke in disbelief.

Xu De shook his head, bluntly refuting the idea. "No, Cheng Tao didn’t do it... Or rather, while she was using this to make money, she never crossed the line. She didn’t buy from traffickers."

"The children transferred to the high-end orphanage were all legitimately abandoned infants."

Although it sounded like some sort of shady dealing,

in reality, it didn’t break any laws. It was within reasonable bounds—legal and compliant. The police couldn’t find anything wrong with it even if they investigated.

Only Zheng Tong sought out human traffickers!

It was just by chance that he happened to buy Liu Jingqi.

"In other words,"

"Liu Jingqi was bought and brought to Lusen City under the pretense of being a healthy child for a foreign couple to adopt,"

Lin Yue steered the conversation back on track, speaking thoughtfully.

"It’s just that she ended up being adopted by Liu Hao and his wife."

Wang Chao’s spirits lifted. His expression was serious, his hands gripping the steering wheel.

"So what’s the plan? Do we go to the police or the prosecutor’s office?"

This was already a human trafficking case, and a particularly ugly one at that...

The police would definitely have to get involved.

However...

"We’re doing neither."

From the passenger seat, Xu De thought for a moment before finally shaking his head.

Wang Chao was stunned. "Neither?!"

"Neither!"

Xu De nodded.

"First, Zheng Tong is already retired, and the children he bought have mostly been properly placed with adoptive families."

"Second, he’s been retired for at least six years!"

"Six years... God knows where the traffickers have run off to. The police will take the case, but they won’t give it top priority."

"Or rather... they don’t put much effort into investigating old trafficking cases. Instead, they’ll focus their energy on cleaning up the Lusen City welfare system."

The difficulty of solving a trafficking case is just too high.

If it just happened, it’s a different story. The police would lock down the entire district and make arrests immediately.

But six years ago...

Finding them now is next to impossible. At most, they’ll compile the child’s characteristics and publicize them to see if there’s a match with any families searching for missing children... although it’s not like those families are guaranteed to see the police announcement.

What about just looking for Liu Jingqi’s origins? After all, they already have clues.

"A cross-city police collaboration spanning nearly two thousand kilometers?"

Xu De said, sighing even as he spoke.

It wasn’t that he was being cynical.

It’s just so damn slow!

Filing reports, holding meetings, investigating the case with Cheng Tao and Zheng Tong, Zheng Tong refusing to talk, Zheng Tong confessing, more meetings, discussions, applications...

It’s questionable if they could even get it done in a month!

It would be different if there was objective evidence proving Liu Jingqi is an adult.

But Cheng Tao saying she was five or six years old falls right within the forensic lab’s ±2 year margin of error. They can absolutely continue to try her as a 16-year-old.

Besides,

what if Liu Jingqi claims she wasn’t trafficked? That would drag things out for a long time.

After all, Liu Jingqi is already in custody. It doesn’t make much of a difference how long it takes.

In short...

"If you’re willing to spend the next six months with all your time tied up here, then by all means, report it to the police first and let them investigate."

"Of course, I’m not saying we shouldn’t report it at all."

"I’m saying that when we do, we leave out the part about Liu Jingqi and only mention the welfare center’s subsidy scheme. Meanwhile, on our own..."

Xu De said casually.

Hearing this, Wang Chao fell into deep thought.

"But wouldn’t that be against the rules for us?"

"Against the rules? What rules?!"

Xu De shot back, his expression serious as he faced him. "We’re not going to pull any files, nor are we going to the Civil Affairs Bureau."

"We’re just going to Lianshan County for a ’trip,’ walk around a bit, and chat with the locals."

"How is any of that against the rules?!"

No one understood what was "legal" better than Xu De!

With that,

Wang Chao was speechless. He couldn’t utter a word for a long moment, finally just giving a silent thumbs-up.

Seeing this, Xu De adjusted his posture and glanced back at Lin Yue in the back seat.

"What about you, True Monarch?"

"You two have already decided. What objection could I possibly have?"

Lin Yue sighed and spread her hands in a gesture of agreement.

Whether they told the police or withheld the information about Liu Jingqi, it wouldn’t affect the time it took the police to investigate her case. Why?

Because even if the police knew about Liu Jingqi ahead of time, they would have to finish investigating the main case first before they could spare a few people to go to Lianshan County.

But by taking advantage of this information gap...

they could quickly solve the case without breaking any rules!

"Then let’s go."

Lin Yue nodded.

However, Lianshan County was nearly two thousand kilometers away. It was going to take some time.

Xu De thought for a moment, then asked, "True Monarch, do you know how to perform any Spells?"

Lin Yue froze, subconsciously replying, "What kind of Spell?"

Xu De made a gesture with his hand as he described it:

"You know, the kind of Spell where you form a hand seal, and then you can shrink the land to an inch and travel hundreds of kilometers in the blink of an eye!"

"Do you know how to do that, True Monarch?"

Lin Yue: "..."

Lin Yue fell silent. It had been a long, long time since she’d been this utterly speechless.

"To be honest, I’m suddenly realizing you can be a real smart-ass sometimes..."

"So, can you do it, True Monarch?"

"Come a little closer..."

"...Alright... Hey, why are you pinching me?!"

"Hmph, hmph..."

...

...

「That same day, the 18th, at 1:30 PM.」

Lusen City Detention Center.

In an interrogation room.

"You’re Liu Jingqi, right? It’s not too late to confess. Lv Guangjun has already spilled everything."

Prosecutor Huang Shi sat across the table, his gloomy eyes fixed on the person before him.

This was an interrogation room in the detention center.

The surroundings were dim, with no visible light, making the entire room feel incredibly oppressive.