Captured By The Cold Detective (BL)-Chapter 117: New Member

Director Zhang did not evade his scrutiny. Instead, he looked Li Zhi straight in the eye. "Let me give you a piece of advice, Li Zhi. The reason why I can sit in this position is not because I am the strongest or the smartest. Instead, I know when to advance or retreat when the situation calls for it. Sometimes, the most important thing is to look and judge everything from the overall picture. Do you get it?"

Or in other words, he was telling Li Zhi to mind his own business.

Of course, he got it. How could he not? He would be an idiot if he did not catch such a blatant meaning. Li Zhi’s grip on the teacup tightened for a second before he bowed his head in acquiescence. "I shouldn’t have overstepped. It’s my fault."

Even if he wanted to seek the truth, the obstacles in front of him were too high to cross. The hierarchy of power in the police was deep and intricate, and they could not disentangle themselves from politics no matter how impartial they strived to be. Now that Director Zhang had clearly put it in front of his face, he knew that forcibly breaking his way in would not result in anything.

"Good," the director smiled lightly.

Realizing that he would not be able to obtain any more information, Li Zhi brought the teacup to his lips and tipped his head back, swallowing the liquid down his throat in one gulp. The tea had gone slightly cold and the strong astringent taste lingered on the base of his tongue. Li Zhi’s face almost crumpled in disgust, but fortunately he managed to keep his expression in check at the last moment.

He placed the teacup on the table, stood up and gave another bow toward Director Zhang. Just as he was walking toward the door, he heard Director Zhang murmur behind him, "I am not telling you to let it go. It’s just that this matter has exceeded the scope of your responsibility. Hand it over to the Interpol and let them handle the rest, got it?"

Li Zhi’s footsteps halted in shock. Director Zhang’s words might not mean anything notable but... he had just admitted vaguely that Mr. He indeed had something to do with Xuanlong! He might be someone who had dealt with Xuanlong before or... he could even be a core member! The polite, gentle and courteous Alpha’s face flashed through Li Zhi’s mind and he could not help but suck in a breath. Turning around, he offered the director a ninety degree bow, saying, "Thank you very much for your guidance, Director."

"Go, go, go." Director Zhang poured himself another cup of high quality West Lake Longjing Tea, amused. "It looks like the new member is going to arrive soon. Are you sure that you still want to delay?"

Li Zhi pinched his brows. Now that he was reminded of it, he had to go back and teach his group of wild monkeys how to behave more like a human. He exited the office and found a small intern rookie waiting outside for him.

The rookie straightened up and offered him a formal salute. "Captain!"

Li Zhi nodded and signaled for him to walk as they spoke. He found out that the green rookie had been waiting for him to sign the intern’s evaluation form. Li Zhi skimmed through it before placing his signature on the last page. He handed it over to the intern and patted his shoulder. "Good work. You have worked hard in this case." Li Zhi recalled what Director Zhang told him earlier and asked, "Has the new member arrived?"

"Oh!" This topic had been widely discussed in the Bureau to the point where the cooking aunties knew about it. The intern’s eyes lit up as he said excitedly, "Just now, I saw him downstairs. Captain, it seems like he is a Korean, and a very handsome one to boot! Just like those actors in the popular dramas nowadays! The female officers are now going crazy over him!"

"He’s already downstairs?!" Alarmed, Li Zhi let out a curse under his breath. He no longer cared about the intern and immediately ran down the hallway toward where his division was. Oh no no no, right now, there was no one reliable enough to welcome the new member!

Initially, Li Zhi was going to have his two most capable and cool-headed subordinates – Chen Lian and Mu Yuze – to instill a favorable first impression on the new member so that he would not receive too great of a culture shock when he encountered the unruly and chaotic others later. It was such a pity that both of them were unavailable at the moment. Chen Lian had a family emergency to attend to, whereas Mu Yuze... he did not specify the reason for his absence. But when Li Zhi recalled how this person had never taken any days off, he immediately gave approval and even asked if Mu Yuze needed a few more days. How he wished he could slap his nosy mouth for saying so!

Along the way, Li Zhi almost collided with a few people and set off a rain of curses and flustered cries. But in the end, he was still too late...

From afar, he could see a tall and lanky silhouette stepping into the door of the Violent Crime Unit’s office.

Li Zhi’s face paled and he instinctively tried to call that person back. "Wait—" Unfortunately, his voice was instantly drowned by a cacophony of cheers and hoots from inside.

"Annyeonghaseyo!!" The members of the Violent Crime Unit had clearly prepared themselves for this as their greeting was so loud that even the neighboring buildings could hear them.

Li Zhi was taken aback. Just as thinking of how they could be awe-inspiring and disciplined if he wanted to, in the next second, his hope was immediately shattered into pieces when the members started to talk in broken Korean one after another. The scene was extremely chaotic and unrestrained. All Li Zhi could hear was ’simida’, ’saranghamnida’ and more ’simida’...

Li Zhi buried his face into his palms and almost turned around right there and then to pretend that he had never led this kind of crazed and unbridled team. Oh he sorely regretted it! He should not have brooded over the case these past few days and allowed these people to go on rampage. Now they were going to make the entire division, no, the entire Bureau – no, to be exact, the entire China lost face!!

Then he heard a deep pleasant laugh full of mirth, followed by a fluent Chinese. "Oh, such an enthusiastic greeting. I am very flattered."

Everyone froze for a second before the atmosphere boiled even wilder. Unable to endure it anymore, Li Zhi rushed forward and banged his fist on the door, "Quiet!" He hissed.

The crowd of loud and enthusiastic monkeys immediately wilted upon seeing him and behaved themselves for once. Li Zhi swept a glare over them before his gaze finally landed on the newcomer.

Really handsome, was the first thought that popped up in his mind. Holy shit, the intern’s nonsensical blabbering had really gotten to him! However, he was a criminal investigator after all, and the thing he noticed would certainly be different from other people. For example, even though the man carried himself with lazy ease and he looked quite playful and flirtatious at a glance, Li Zhi could sense a sharp and dangerous aura akin to a sheathed sword from him. An Alpha, Li Zhi noted keenly. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The newcomer was taller than him by an inch, and his hair was tied in a short ponytail behind him. His figure was really enviable and adding on to his good fashion sense, he really looked like an actor in TV dramas.

"Captain Li Zhi?" He took a guess upon seeing the others’ reaction. With a friendly smile on his face, he stretched out a hand. "Nice to meet you, I am Tak Jung-Hwa. It’s an honor to make your acquaintance." After shaking hands with Li Zhi, he turned to address the others. "We will be comrades in the future. Everyone can just call me as you please."

The members had clearly done their homework. In unison, they sang out, "Welcome, hyung~!"

Li Zhi let out a silent groan and wished that he could fade into the background.

Tak Jung-Hwa was taken aback for a second before he burst out into a fit of hearty laughter. His peach blossom eyes glittered in amusement as he gave a playful bow. "Thank you, everyone. I really like the work environment here. Let’s work hard together and strive for the best result!"

"Jung-Hwa Hyung, is it true that you have faced off against XIU before?" Trust Kang Guanyu, the division’s social butterfly, cute mascot and gossip monger, to ask this kind of question upon first encounter. However, it was undeniable that this topic was extremely interesting. With their eyes twinkling in curiosity, everyone waited for their new member’s answer.

Tak Jung-Hwa gazed at Kang Guanyu with undisguised curiosity and mirth. Usually, being stared intently by an Alpha like that would make anyone feel a tad uncomfortable, but Kang Guanyu met his stare head-on with feigned innocence. "I really wonder where you got that information from..." he let out a brief chuckle. "But you’re right. I have indeed fought him once before." He instinctively reached out to tug on his high-collared shirt and a glimpse of a vicious-looking scar could be seen across his neck.

The sharp-eyed officers immediately spotted the scar and they could not help but gasp, appalled. It was an old scar, indeed. But holy shit, it was too deep and horrifying! They could not even begin to guess how severe it had been when it was first inflicted on him. The awe and respect in their gazes toward Tak Jung-Hwa reached a new height. Sure enough, the Interpol was really no joke!

The group was brimming in curiosity and they wished they could sit around Tak Jung-Hwa to hear the thrilling tale. However, one warning glare from Li Zhi shut their mouths one after another. Why was their Captain so stingy and dictatorial?! They are dying to know the truth here!

Kang Guanyu was the first to hide behind another person’s back, and he popped his head out just to chime in, "T–That’s amazing. I heard that everyone who meets XIU can’t live long enough to tell the tale..."

A gleam of bloodlust flickered in Tak Jung-Hwa’s eyes, giving his beautiful smile a tinge of terrifying oppression. "Yeah, that’s right. I almost died back then. It could be said that there is an irreconcilable blood feud between the two of us. This time, if we meet again... it is not certain who will be the winner."

He was one of the rare people who was lucky to survive after crossing paths with XIU. And that’s why he was the perfect man to carry this mission.