Insights Chapter 107: Side by Side

Chapter 107: Side by Side

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Early the next morning, when Shen Junci woke up, he found that it was already past nine o’clock in the morning, and Gu Yanchen, as an injured person, was not in bed. Both of them had taken the day off today. Director Ding had also instructed them to rest well for a few days.

Rubbing his eyes, Shen Junci got up and found that Gu Yanchen had already taken the dog for a walk and prepared a table full of breakfast. Seeing him awake, Gu Yanchen said, “Hurry up and freshen up, then come over for breakfast.”

Shen Junci asked, “Why did you wake up so early?”

Gu Yanchen looked at the culprit, “Had a bit of insomnia, woke up in the middle of the night and couldn’t fall back asleep.”

For a moment, Shen Junci didn’t know if he was here to take care of the injured or being taken care of by the injured.

He washed his face and sat at the table. Gu Yanchen turned towards him and kissed him on the cheek, “Morning kiss.”

Shen Junci asked Gu Yanchen, “Is the wound still hurting?”

“Just a little, doesn’t affect my work,” Gu Yanchen replied, looking at Shen Junci. “I have something to tell you today.”

Shen Junci remained silent for a moment before saying, “I also have something to say to you.”

In the past period of time, they had been fighting their own battles, but after some time of fighting, the situation had changed. Now, things seemed a bit different. At this moment, it seemed they both needed this communication, they needed to exchange information, stand side by side, in order to be prepared for whatever the future held.

Shen Junci quickly finished his breakfast and tidied up the dishes. Gu Yanchen brought over a whiteboard that was placed in the living room. The whiteboard was a bit heavy, and Shen Junci wanted to help, but Gu Yanchen waved him off, gesturing for him to sit on the sofa.

Wuliang also jumped onto the sofa, lying down next to Shen Junci. Medical examiner Shen ran his hand over the dog’s fur. The board was bought by Gu Yanchen to assist in organizing case clues, and he erased the previous records on it. Then Gu Yanchen opened the cabinet in the living room that had been locked all along and took out a thick stack of documents.

Shen Junci already had a premonition of what he was going to say.

Gu Yanchen roughly organized the documents and began speaking as if conducting a usual meeting, “To win, we must understand our opponents and recognize the current situation. To understand the current situation in Penang, we need to go back six years ago when Lin Xianglan, the director of the Penang Municipal Public Security Bureau, was still in office.”

Shen Junci nodded, listening to him continue.

“Director Lin had been dedicated to the long-term stability of Penang. He once dismantled Penang’s largest criminal organization, led by Xu Chenghuang, also known as the Night Emperor of Penang. At that time, Penang’s casinos were raided, several entertainment venues were shut down, the police seized tons of drugs, and a large number of illegal firearms. However, Director Lin later discovered an issue…”

Shen Junci’s expression became serious as he asked, “What issue?”

Gu Yanchen turned around and began drawing on the blackboard. “In this city, there have always been two sides: black and white. Our law enforcement, prosecution, and judiciary, representing justice and the law, are the white side.”

With that, he drew a circle and wrote ‘police’ inside it.

“The underground black markets, casinos, drug trafficking, and lawlessness represent the black side.” Another circle appeared on the whiteboard, and Gu Yanchen wrote ‘black’ next to it, representing Xu Chenghuang’s criminal empire, “But everything is not so simple. Between black and white, there are many gray areas. Some people, leveraging money and power, operate on the edge of criminality, evading legal consequences. On the surface, they appear innocent, but behind the scenes, they engage in illicit activities such as murder and smuggling. These people belong to the gray area. At least on the surface, they do not belong to either side.”

As he explained, Gu Yanchen drew some diagonal lines in the empty space.

Shen Junci nodded in understanding.

Gu Yanchen pointed to the diagram and continued, “Originally, the relationship between black, white, and gray forces was one of opposition between black and white, with gray lurking in between. But when the black areas were dismantled, the gray forces absorbed some of Xu Chenghuang’s remaining connections, industries, and territories, rapidly expanding. The city seemed peaceful on the surface, but in reality, these gray forces suddenly grew, even surpassing the white forces at the time.”

As he spoke, Gu Yanchen erased the original black area on the board, symbolizing the white sphere of justice fading into a sea of gray. The morning sunlight streamed into the room through the balcony, casting beams of light. Gu Yanchen’s expression was incredibly serious, “Subsequently, these gray areas began to darken in color. Director Lin reflected on the fact that by dismantling Xu Chenghuang’s organization, he failed to handle the subsequent issues properly, allowing others to benefit from it. Then Director Lin wanted to turn against those hiding behind the scenes. However, those people were far more cunning than Xu Chenghuang’s men. It was not easy to catch them or even uncover their relationships.”

“Because of their wealth and influence, they began to infiltrate and corrupt some individuals within the white side.” Gu Yanchen turned to the table beside him and faced Shen Junci as he continued, “Director Lin initiated an investigation. He hoped to rally the forces of the police and the judiciary to confront them.”

What he said now was just a simple statement, but what he did back then was not easy. Black was easy to identify, but gray was difficult to discern, and to eradicate it would inevitably touch the interests of many. Such confrontation was undoubtedly a declaration of war. It was a great endeavor, but incredibly difficult.

Director Lin fell because of it. The lonely grave he left behind became a beacon guiding people to seek the truth and pursue justice.

Gu Yanchen’s voice lowered, “And it was at this moment that the other side also discovered Director Lin’s intentions and chose to strike first.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Junci lowered his eyelids. He stated the fact that both of them were already certain of, “Director Lin was murdered.”

“Those people have reached a state of madness in order to prevent being investigated. Captain Lin left me a dying message, asking me not to pursue the cause of his death. At that time, I also told Lin Luo about this,” Gu Yanchen said, “When Captain Lin passed away, I was the only one by his side, and he left me a dying message.”

Shen Junci blinked, looking up at him. “What did Captain Lin say?”

He knew this dying message was incredibly important. Back then, he wasn’t part of the police force. Even as Lin Xianglan’s only direct relative, Gu Yanchen hadn’t told him. Years later, he finally sat across from him, discussing these matters. These dying messages were of great importance and could be the key to unraveling the situation.

Gu Yanchen lowered his voice slightly. “Captain Lin told me about the existence of the Hetu Trading Association. Then he told me that there was some evidence at Mount Luming.”

“Mount Luming?” Shen Junci’s brows furrowed lightly. He had already investigated the Hetu Trading Association, but Mount Luming was new to him.

Gu Yanchen turned back and erased the words on the whiteboard. He took out some magnetic stickers and began to paste various pieces of information on them.

“Captain Lin mentioned the name Mount Luming before he died. It’s a mountain north of Penang. After Captain Lin’s death, I began to investigate secretly. Over the years, I’ve climbed Mount Luming almost every one or two weeks. But to be honest, until today, I haven’t found what Captain Lin mentioned, the evidence worth calling incriminating.” Gu Yanchen then placed photos of Mount Luming and various related news reports and information on the whiteboard.

Organizing this information was not something that could be done overnight. Shen Junci looked at the contents on the whiteboard and felt a warm surge in his heart. For so many years, Gu Yanchen had been working hard to find the truth, never giving up.

“Regarding Mount Luming, I haven’t found too many clues yet, so I’ve been investigating the Hetu Trading Association behind it first. Over the years, I’ve also collected some information about the Hetu Trading Association,” Gu Yanchen began to draw a hierarchical chart. “The association is basically divided into four levels from top to bottom: the chairman on the first level, several core members on the second level, senior members on the third level, and ordinary peripheral members on the fourth level.”

He then attached corresponding names to each level, “For example, some of the people we encountered in the case, like Zhong Zhichun, are peripheral members, while Yao Lin is a senior member. As for Han Qingyi, who embezzled funds for the foundation, he’s a core member. Among the core members, there are also people like Sheng Qiancheng, who claims to own half a city, and a woman named Huo Lei.”

On the whiteboard, a map had been drawn, depicting these people who were their adversaries, many of whom were either rich or influential, with complicated relationships, “There are also some organizations outside the association that serve it, such as the boss’s cleaning company. Within the cleaning company, there are planners like Ding Yueran, set designers like Hound, and cleaners responsible for cleaning up the scene and traces.”

Shen Junci nodded. Gu Yanchen’s information collection was very detailed.

“I couldn’t understand the connection between Mount Luming and the association until this case, when I discovered the relationship between the foundation and the Hetu Trading Association, and I found some connections,” Gu Yanchen said, handing a document to Shen Junci.

Shen Junci looked at the materials in front of him and also found some clues. “The founder of the Penang Love Foundation, Zhen Jiaxu, once donated hundreds of millions of dollars for afforestation on Mount Luming, purchasing a large number of saplings for planting… So, is it possible that Zhen Jiaxu is the chairman of the Hetu Trading Association?”

“It’s very likely,” Gu Yanchen nodded, his expression serious and earnest. “I believe he’s covering up something.”

So much money, vast forests planted under the guise of afforestation, preventing soil erosion, was a good thing for the people of Penang. But was there something they didn’t know afterwards? They had no way of knowing.