To be honest, when Chen Che heard that name,

his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

Luo Qingtian... No way, such a coincidence?

Chen Che's expression turned slightly strange; could this man be Qin Qingyan's...

If so, he came at a very coincidental moment.

Chen Che estimated there shouldn't be another person with the same name.

After all, as far as Chen Che knew, Luo Qingtian himself was at the Night Empire Headquarters, appointed as a special agent assigned to the Ninth Special Zone, overseeing the Anti-Smuggling Division—his role seemed justified.

Still, this seemed too coincidental.

At this moment, Chen Che's men and Luo Qingtian's Anti-Smuggling Division were in a standoff.

The tension between the two parties was palpable.

There's no way Bobby would just stand by and watch Luo Qingtian take their goods.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Smuggling Division didn't back down an inch.

Chen Che glanced at the Anti-Smuggling Division personnel, equipped with the finest weaponry.

Looking at their special uniforms, Chen Che recalled An Nishang mentioning that this special agent might bring some of his own people.

With this in mind, Chen Che squinted his eyes.

The men from the Anti-Smuggling Division currently present likely weren't soldiers pulled from various forces within the Ninth Special Zone.

They were more likely brought by this young master Luo himself from the Night Empire Headquarters.

Understandably so—if this Luo Qingtian was indeed the one Chen Che knew.

An Nishang had suffered setbacks at the hands of Luo Qingtian.

How could this young master Luo possibly come here alone?

He would surely bring his private militia.

On one hand, to protect his own safety; on the other, to better handle matters.

Considering this, Chen Che couldn't help but click his tongue; it looked like today wouldn't resolve peacefully.

Luo Qingtian furrowed his brows; the situation before him didn't match his expectations. How could these smugglers dare to corner the government army with such excellent equipment?

The smuggling routes in the Ninth Special Zone truly exceeded his imagination.

Who was really behind these smugglers?

Luo Qingtian had just arrived in the Ninth Special Zone and gathered intelligence from the Finance Bureau.

The largest smuggling ring in the Ninth Special Zone was led by a gang called the Wildfire Gang.

And now, the smuggling intelligence only pertained to the Wildfire Gang.

He immediately brought his men to intercept this batch of goods.

Originally, he thought that even the boldest gangs wouldn't dare to be too arrogant.

Yet now, the gangs in the Ninth Special Zone had taught him a lesson.

Daring enough to trap him like this.

These gangs truly had nerve.

A cold glint flickered in Luo Qingtian's eyes. Just as he was about to make a move, his expression changed as he noticed something and looked in a specific direction.

He saw a man looking at him with a half-smile.

Next to that man stood an exceptionally beautiful girl with purple hair. At the sight of her, Luo Qingtian's eyes lit up.

He recognized the girl... Xia Na!

An Nishang's sister.

Why was Xia Na protecting this man?

Who was this man?

In terms of intelligence on the Ninth Special Zone, Luo Qingtian didn't have much to go on.

The standoff between both sides remained intense.

Not far away.

Vice Director Guan Ning stretched, her long, elegant legs akin to An Nishang's wrapped in tight leather pants, highlighting their perfect shape.

With her hair tied up in a high ponytail at the back of her head, she glanced at the tense standoff not far away and couldn't help but smile slightly.

Beside Guan Ning stood a rather burly white woman, whose imposing presence was clear to the naked eye.

The Finance Bureau's Director, Abeisa.

The Finance Bureau was responsible for coordinating the entire Ninth Special Zone's economy, commerce, and taxation... taxation being the most crucial, with quarterly taxes needing to align with the Night Empire Headquarters.

The Night Empire Headquarters deployed the Anti-Smuggling Division because the quarterly taxes remitted by the Ninth Special Zone's Finance Bureau were decreasing quarter by quarter.

This was something the Night Empire Headquarters couldn't tolerate.

This trend suggested a larger shift.

If this continued, a special zone might very well break away from the Night Empire Headquarters.

With its natural advantages, the Ninth Special Zone must not easily break away from the Night Empire!

Just the abundant resources transported annually to the Night Empire Headquarters were a huge wealth.

The Ninth Special Zone was entirely capable of self-sufficiency and developing its own resources.

However, how could the Night Empire watch the Ninth Special Zone become independent?

The Anti-Smuggling Section is designed to crack down on the smuggling economy of the Ninth Special Zone, to prevent some people within the Ninth Special Zone from amassing more wealth.

And then using this wealth to arm military personnel, and so on.

It's also considered a warning from the Night Empire Headquarters.

All political figures in the Ninth Special Zone can understand what the Night Empire Headquarters is doing.

The Finance Bureau, on the other hand, has diverted the blame.

Guan Ning looked at Chen Che not far away, let out a light chuckle from his lips, and said, "We have to thank the handsome young man for drawing this person's attention, otherwise it would be hard to explain if he started investigating the Finance Bureau's accounts."

Abeisa spoke calmly, "Let the two sides fight each other first. In the meantime, hurry up and deal with the accounts.

Don't let this mad dog find trouble with us."

The mad dog refers to Luo Qingtian.

This lunatic will stop at nothing to achieve his goals!

Abeisa spoke calmly, "Let's go down; if the two sides really start fighting, it would be bad."

…

Just as the atmosphere between Chen Che and Luo Qingtian was growing increasingly tense, ill-timed footsteps sounded.

"Director Luo, there might be a slight misunderstanding."

"Mr. Chen, please hold your temper for now. Director Luo, this is also about serving justice."

The woman's voice simultaneously eased the tense atmosphere.

Luo Qingtian and Chen Che both turned and saw Guan Ning nearby.

Guan Ning had a slight smile on his lips.

Luo Qingtian frowned slightly, glanced at Chen Che, then at Guan Ning, and said indifferently, "Vice Director Guan, what are you doing here? I actually have some questions for you. With such blatant smuggling, is your Finance Bureau really blind to this? I doubt your Finance Bureau's capability, or I suspect that your Finance Bureau is tacitly approving this behind the scenes.

If your Finance Bureau is allowing this, I am seriously questioning whether everyone at your Finance Bureau is involved in corruption, making the smugglers so brazen and audacious."

Guan Ning already understood Luo Qingtian's personality very well and faced his tactless, even deliberately targeted remarks with a calm smile, saying, "Director Luo might be mistaken; I just received the news and came here."

"Then I'd trouble Vice Director Guan to accompany me in arresting these audacious people.

I intend to thoroughly interrogate them and find out who is behind such brazen smuggling activities."

Not far away, Chen Che squinted his eyes, chuckled lightly, and said, "Director Luo, how come we're not even allowed to be onlookers? We're just curious about what you're doing. Isn't that right, everyone?"

Bobby was the first to react, loudly calling out, "Yes, Director Luo, we ordinary folks, to say the least, can't we even watch the commotion here?

Since when did the Ninth Special Zone not even allow citizens the right to watch a commotion?"

Receiving the hints from Chen Che and Bobby, the other members of the Wildfire Gang immediately came to their senses, chattering incessantly.

Continuously applying pressure.

Seeing this scene, Guan Ning couldn't help but smile and look at Chen Che.

Chen Che was indeed smart, not foolishly acknowledging ownership of this batch of goods just like that.

Hearing this, Luo Qingtian only felt his intelligence was insulted and sneered, "You're treating me like a fool watching a farce. I clearly saw your people transporting this batch of goods, and you are clearly the smugglers behind this shipment!

According to the laws of the Night Empire, smuggling and tax evasion can result in the death penalty!"

"Director Luo, listen to yourself, these are just ordinary citizens around, who would dare engage in smuggling? Obviously, this batch of goods was left here unclaimed, and everyone thought of taking it home to see if it was of any use.

Who knew you'd come and restrain them, calling us smugglers?

We're all good citizens here, who would dare do something as risky as smuggling?

I even suspect if Director Luo, you are engaging in entrapment?

Otherwise, as soon as commoners came to collect some goods, you appeared.

Entrapment is something worthy of a thousand cuts… Director Luo, you wouldn't be so despicable, would you?"

"Who the hell are you talking about?! Are you trying to fool people, treating them as idiots watching a farce?"

Chen Che was blatantly talking nonsense.

No normal person would believe what Chen Che was saying.

Seeing the timing was right, Guan Ning stepped forward and pulled Luo Qingtian aside, softly speaking into his ear, "Director Luo, as they say, there's a long way to go; you can't uproot the entire smuggling syndicate in one go, can you?

Moreover, you haven't made all the preparations yet.

The situation in the Ninth Special Zone is somewhat complex, haven't you noticed that these smugglers before you are completely different from the ones you've faced before?

The gang behind this, the Wildfire Gang, is not a simple underground faction like the usual drunkards and gluttons who scatter like bees when something big happens.

This gang has trained a regular army under its command whose military skills are no less than the regular army of the Ninth Special Zone.

This man in front of you has unified the Upper City District, the underground godfather of the entire underground faction.

Neither the Judicial Bureau nor the Finance Bureau has any evidence against him. Director Luo, it's best to cut your losses and take a step back, otherwise, nobody can bear the consequences..."

Guan Ning was also coaxing softly; the Finance Bureau here wanted to provoke a fight between Chen Che and Luo Qingtian.

But they didn't want to see the two of them immediately act like reckless fools.

The longer the conflict lasted, the better.

Luo Qingtian, hearing Guan Ning's words, also felt a hint of caution, couldn't help but glance at Chen Che.

He snorted coldly and said, "Let's go."

Luo Qingtian gave up on this batch of goods, saying there is always the future; he just arrived at this place, and he would return to challenge Chen Che again after he has gathered and digested all the information.

As he passed by Chen Che, Luo Qingtian turned his head and said in a low voice, "I hope you can always surprise me like this. Just don't let me catch any dirt on you…"

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