Chapter 201 The Return of the Zhao Siblings

The subsequent handover, reporting, and preliminary interrogation were carried out swiftly under a high degree of secrecy and tight security.

Madam Bai was sent to a special medical care facility directly under the military, where she was looked after by people personally appointed by Lu Zheng's uncle, Regiment Commander Lu Yuntian.

Fu Lilian and Han Ming, as key witnesses and collaborators, were also properly accommodated and subjected to detailed questioning.

The core intelligence they provided regarding the Sacred Heart, Crescent Moon, and the Deep Sea Base was like a boulder thrown into a lake, creating huge waves at the highest levels.

Lu Zheng and Su Xiaonuan were sent directly back to the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

When they stepped into the city bureau gate, looking slightly tired but with clear eyes, they were greeted not by the expected coldness or solemnity, but by an atmosphere that was almost boiling, filled with suppressed excitement and relief.

"Captain Lu! Xiao Nuan! You're finally back!" The first one to rush up was Qin Haoran, whose eyes were red and who was almost crying.

His police uniform was a little wrinkled, and his hair was a little messy, but his peach blossom eyes, which always carried a bit of a cynical smile, were surprisingly bright at this moment, filled with worry, lingering fear, and the immense joy of regaining what he had lost.

He rushed over and punched Lu Zheng hard in the shoulder. Lu Zheng groaned but didn't dodge. Then Qin Haoran turned to Su Xiaonuan, seemingly wanting to give her a hug, but his hand froze halfway through. In the end, he just patted her shoulder heavily, his voice choked with emotion: "It's alright! It's alright! If you had come back a few days later, I..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but Su Xiaonuan could feel a slight tremor in his hand.

"Officer Qin..." Su Xiaonuan's nose also felt a little sore. Just as she was about to say something, she was interrupted by another familiar voice.

"Su Xiaonuan! Lu Zheng!"

Su Xiaonuan looked in the direction of the sound and saw two figures walking quickly towards her from the other end of the corridor.

The woman walking in front was tall and dressed in neat casual clothes. Her cold and beautiful face showed undisguised excitement and travel-weary fatigue. It was Zhao Liyue.

Behind her, the man with a rugged face and a murderous aura between his brows, who else could it be but Zhao Liming?

"Sister Yue! Officer Zhao!" Su Xiaonuan exclaimed in surprise, and Lu Zheng also visibly breathed a sigh of relief, his tense shoulders relaxing slightly.

Zhao Liyue quickly walked over and carefully looked Su Xiaonuan up and down to make sure she was unharmed. Then she pulled her into her arms, her voice hoarse with relief: "We were so scared! We heard that you were taken away by that Han Ming and your whereabouts were unknown. My brother and I almost turned the place upside down!"

Standing behind his sister, Zhao Liming nodded to Lu Zheng and said in a deep voice, "It's good that you're back. I received the briefing on the details on the way. Well done, Captain Lu." He was concise, but the praise and satisfaction in his eyes were genuine.

"You too..." Lu Zheng looked at the Zhao siblings, who were noticeably thinner but still in good spirits, and felt a great weight lifted from his heart.

“We’re fine.” Zhao Liming waved his hand, his face immediately darkening. “We were just tricked and trapped in a secluded ‘safe house’ until Commander Lu sent people to find us.”

"Commander Lu?" Su Xiaonuan keenly caught the title.

Just then, a series of steady and powerful footsteps came from the direction of the stairs.

Everyone looked in the direction of the sound.

Several officers in crisp military uniforms, exuding an imposing aura, were seen walking down the stairs.

The leader had prominent epaulets, a handsome and resolute face, and a resemblance between his eyebrows and Lu Zheng, but with a more profound and imposing aura of someone who had been through many battles and held power.

It was the same handsome middle-aged man whom the old man playing chess had called "Little Lu" when they met briefly at the nursing home.

A young officer, also dressed in military uniform and wearing thin-rimmed silver glasses, followed half a step behind the man.

He had a refined and handsome face, with a gentle smile that seemed to have been precisely calculated and just right at the corners of his mouth. His temperament was elegant, like a scholar who had stepped out of a classical painting, which formed a subtle contrast with the tough military aura around him.

It was the same assistant who had resolved the dispute with a few words at the entrance of the nursing home last time, and whom Su Xiaonuan secretly described as a "refined scoundrel... no, an upright soldier."

Lu Yuntian's gaze swept over Lu Zheng and Su Xiaonuan as they returned, a hint of barely perceptible approval and satisfaction flashing in his eyes, but he quickly regained his seriousness.

He walked up to the crowd and nodded to Lu Zheng: "Thank you for your hard work, Xiao Zheng."

“Uncle.” Lu Zheng straightened up.

Su Xiaonuan was somewhat surprised; it turned out he was Lu Zheng's uncle!

Lu Yuntian's gaze fell on Su Xiaonuan again, and his serious face seemed to soften for a moment: "Comrade Su Xiaonuan, you did a very good job. Your father would be very proud if he knew."

Su Xiaonuan was surprised that the imposing Commander Lu would remember her and even mention her adoptive father. She was a little flustered and could only blush and whisper, "Thank you, Commander Lu."

Lu Yuntian nodded slightly, then turned his gaze to everyone, his voice steady and powerful, carrying an unquestionable determination: "Based on the key evidence and intelligence brought back by Xiao Zheng and the others, combined with the results of our previous secret investigation, the situation is now basically clear."

He paused, his gaze slowly sweeping over each of the officers present, finally settling on a person standing quietly at the back of the crowd, with his usual gentle smile on his face.

"Xu Zhixian".

Xu Zhixian, whose name was called, was slightly taken aback, and then the smile on his face seemed to become even gentler and more impeccable.

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, took two steps forward, and said calmly, "Commander Lu, you wanted to see me?"

Zhao Liyue and Zhao Liming stepped forward almost simultaneously, their eyes sharp and fixed on Xu Zhixian.

“Xu Zhixian,” Zhao Liming’s voice was icy cold, filled with suppressed anger, “what is your relationship with the Sacred Heart Society? Were you the one who orchestrated my and Li Yue’s imprisonment and Haoran’s false accusation and dismissal?”

Qin Haoran also turned his head sharply, looking at Xu Zhixian in disbelief.

In his memory, Xu Zhixian was always the best-tempered, most caring senior in the bureau, and an enviable senior and father with a happy family.

Xu Zhixian's smile remained unchanged; he even let out a soft sigh, a strange, almost relieved weariness in the sound. "As expected... I couldn't hide it after all."

He spoke calmly, as if discussing the weather, “Li Ming, Li Yue, I’m sorry for making you suffer. Hao Ran, I’m sorry for dragging you down with me.”

His admission was so straightforward and calm that it sent a chill down the spines of everyone present.

"Why?" Qin Haoran couldn't help but ask, his voice dry. "Brother Xu, why...why did you do this? My sister-in-law...and Youyou..." He thought of Xu Zhixian's lovely and clingy eight-year-old daughter, and his throat felt like it was blocked by something.