Seeing the strange reactions from Zhou Xuemin and Qian Dong to his claim that Qian Dong was his "savior," Qi Xiaowei realized that what happened back then might not be so simple.
"The reason the mission failed back then was because you betrayed the information?" Qi Xiaowei's voice was cold, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.
Qian Dong's smile froze, then replaced with a mocking expression: "What else did you think?"
"Why?" Qi Xiaowei asked coldly.
Upon hearing this, Qian Dong looked at Zhou Xuemin.
Zhou Xuemin nodded slightly, tacitly acknowledging Qian Dong's confession. A hint of mockery flashed in his eyes as he looked at Qi Xiaowei, as if he were looking at an ant.
"Why? Of course, it's for my future." Qian Dong curled his lip in disdain. "Qi Xiaowei, you've always lived in your own world, thinking that you can solve all problems with just passion. But reality is cruel. I need to climb up, I need more power and status. And the commander, who had already been promoted to deputy director of the branch, gave me this opportunity. He promised to give me a broader space for development in the Haidu police force."
"Bastards!" Qi Xiaowei's face was frosty. "If you want to mess with me, then come at me. Why drag others into this?"
During that mission, due to the leak of intelligence, 9 out of the 11 people who were on the mission died. Moreover, these 9 were his brothers who had gone through thick and thin with him. How could he not be furious?
He didn't kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren died because of him. This was even more painful than killing him!
Taking a deep breath, he suppressed his anger, stared intently at Qian Dong, and said in a deep voice, "I'll ask you one last question: why did you risk serious injury to save me during that mission? Did you still have a shred of brotherhood with me back then?"
A hint of amusement flashed in Qian Dong's eyes, as if he felt a sense of pleasure at Qi Xiaowei's despair. He said, "You have two questions, but it doesn't matter. Seeing how pitiful you are, I'll satisfy your curiosity."
"First of all, if you die, who will take the blame for betraying your teammates? If I don't seriously injure myself, how can I clear my name?"
"Let's talk about your so-called 'brotherly friendship'." Qian Dong's face suddenly turned ferocious as he said this. "Qi Xiaowei, do you know? I hated you to death back then! You were so reckless, you didn't know your own limitations, you insisted on trying to climb the social ladder, and you dragged our whole team down with you! I risked my life with you to solve a major case back then, and what was the result? Just because you offended the higher-ups, our whole team didn't get a single benefit. At least you got the honor of 'Anti-Drug Hero,' but what did we get? Nothing! This isn't the first time."
Qian Dong's emotions became increasingly agitated, almost to the point of losing control: "You always think you're so great, that you're a hero, an embodiment of justice, but have you ever thought about how we feel?"
“How many times have I advised you? Police officers like us, being low-ranking officers, need to recognize our place and not provoke those above us! You just won’t listen! You insist on going your own way, going against those above us, and thinking about things you shouldn’t be thinking about! Do you think a peasant like you can even think about the deputy mayor’s daughter?”
At this point, Qian Dong took a deep breath, composed himself, and continued, "Since you're willing to listen to my advice, then there's no other way. For the sake of my future, I can only make you my stepping stone to climb higher."
Qi Xiaowei listened to Qian Dong's words with disbelief. He couldn't understand whether the temptation of power was really that great. In order to climb the ladder, Qian Dong was actually willing to betray his brothers and sacrifice the lives of others.
At this moment, Qi Xiaowei's anger and grief intertwined, as if countless knives were cutting into his heart.
In fact, if he thought about it carefully over the years, he would have noticed the clues.
That mission was extremely secretive; only the 11 people involved knew the plan. The other 9 people sacrificed themselves during the mission, leaving only him and Qian Dong. So, the person who betrayed the mission was either himself or Qian Dong.
However, because Qian Dong was seriously injured while saving him, he assumed from the outset that the other party was innocent.
Therefore, when the higher-ups investigated the matter, he even took the initiative to speak well of Qian Dong.
As for himself, since he did not have enough evidence to prove his innocence, and the police station could not prove that he had betrayed the intelligence, based on the principle of presumption of innocence, he was able to retain his police status, but he was transferred away from the front line and assigned to guard a fishpond in a remote town.
Over the years, Qian Dong's career has been smooth sailing. It can be said that whenever Zhou Xuemin was promoted, Qian Dong was promoted as well, making their relationship quite obvious.
However, Qi Xiaowei was unaware of the problem. Instead, he was genuinely happy for Qian Dong's every promotion and kept his happiness for Qian Dong to avoid being implicated in the slightest.
Thinking of all this, Qi Xiaowei gave a bitter laugh, finding his own foolishness laughable.
"Qi Xiaowei, you're really pathetic. You've lived most of your life and still haven't figured it out. I'm starting to feel sorry for you." Zhou Xuemin sneered with a hint of disdain.
He slowly walked up to Qi Xiaowei, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate his heart and look directly into the fragility and resentment deep within his soul.
"You've come all this way to Haidu, probably thinking I've lost power in this chaotic world. But you're too good to be true. I'm more secure than ever before, while you're nothing but a pathetic creature abandoned by the times."
"This is the difference between you and me! A farmer's son can never leap over the dragon gate, no matter what. But I was born standing at a higher starting point. Even in chaotic times, I can navigate the waves with ease and become a trendsetter of the times."
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