Cheng Rushan quickly confirmed that Jiang Lin was unharmed and not overly frightened.

He finally felt relieved.

He stepped forward, hugged her tightly, and held her close.

Su Xingyun and the others were used to this, but the local police in Pingde County were seeing such open displays of affection for the first time.

They were astonished and couldn’t believe their eyes.

“This is too open! A few years ago, such public hugging could have been considered immoral,” they thought.

Jiang Lin gently patted Cheng Rushan’s back, signaling him not to worry, saying she was fine.

Cheng Rushan then let her go, looked at her with deep affection, and asked, “Did the police go to arrest the suspects?”

Jiang Lin smiled and replied, “Deputy Director Zhang personally got involved. The head of the criminal investigation team arranged for people to investigate, and they’re acting quickly.”

Jiang Lin explained what happened, and Su Xingyun and Xiao Chen added their comments.

Jiang Lin analyzed that the robbers chose that particular location for the ambush, indicating they were familiar with the area.

For some unknown reason, they didn’t mask their faces.

Both Jiang Lin and Su Xingyun had strong sketching skills and could draw their faces for identification in nearby villages.

Knowing their names and appearances would make it easier to capture them.

One of the robbers had his leg broken by Jiang Lin, so he couldn’t escape.

Even if he didn’t go to a hospital, he would need medicine; otherwise, his leg would be severely affected.

With a clear plan, the police acted decisively, and Liu Squad went to the area to arrest the suspects.

It seemed the robbers had specifically targeted them without caring about their government positions.

Cheng Rushan’s dark eyes narrowed, and Su Xingyun, standing directly opposite him, instinctively took a step back.

Cheng Rushan said, “This matter is probably related to them.”

He was referring to Jiang Ling, Meng Yiyi, and Bian Haitao.

Jiang Lin had previously told Cheng Rushan about meeting Jiang Ling and Meng Yiyi at Quanjude.

To avoid upsetting him, she didn’t mention Hu Kun’s deliberate mistake in identifying people, only discussing Jiang Ling and Meng Yiyi’s situation.

Cheng Rushan quickly guessed they were involved with Bian Haitao, so he intensified the investigation into Bian Haitao and also asked connections in the capital to look into Jiang Ling and Meng Yiyi’s activities.

This, in turn, accelerated the progress of the case in the provincial capital.

At this moment, Cheng Rushan sharply sensed that the robbers might have been hired by someone to target Jiang Lin, or perhaps they intended to strike at him through her.

It must be related to Bian Haitao!

Cheng Rushan clenched his fists, “I’m going to have a word with Deputy Director Zhang.”

After discussing with Deputy Director Zhang, Cheng Rushan instructed Jiang Lin and the others to wait at the Public Security Bureau while he went out to capture the suspects himself.

The suspects were quite skilled and managed to hide well, so the police had difficulty apprehending them at the moment.

However, Cheng Rushan was not afraid of their evasion; when it came to tracking, he was more adept than the police.

At 10:30 PM, Cheng Rushan and his team found the man with the broken leg at the home of a barefoot doctor in a rural area.

The barefoot doctor, who had previously been a bone-setter and was now the village doctor, was known for his good bone-setting skills.

These men had sought him out for that reason.

Perhaps fearing being implicated, since their injured accomplice couldn’t escape, they left him with the doctor.

As a result, the man was captured.

Cheng Rushan glanced around; without a plaster cast, the man’s leg had been set with a splint.

“Name,” he asked coldly.

The man glanced at him, trying to act tough and remain silent, showing a defiant attitude as if daring Cheng Rushan to capture him without getting him to cooperate.

Cheng Rushan sneered, lifting and pressing his long leg down, the heel of his leather shoe smashing into the man’s broken leg.

The freshly applied splint broke instantly, causing the man to tumble off the examination table in agony.

Cheng Rushan’s movement was so swift that the other officers didn’t have time to react.

A young officer instinctively spoke up to stop him, “He has surrendered; we shouldn’t continue to beat him or abuse our power.”

Cheng Rushan gave him a cold glance and said, “Abuse? Vigilante justice? I was just saying hello.”

He then looked at the man on the ground and coldly asked, “Name.”

The man, unable to bear the pain, shivered and said, “Wang… Zhaolong.”

Cheng Rushan crouched in front of him, staring coldly at his face. “Tell me, who sent you to rob three government officials on the road?”

“We… We didn’t do it on purpose. We saw them driving and thought they were rich… Ah—”

Before he could finish, Cheng Rushan punched his other broken leg, causing intense pain and cold sweat to pour from the man’s body.

He nearly fainted.

The others went to record statements with the doctor, tactfully pretending not to notice.

They allowed Cheng Rushan to do whatever he wanted as long as he didn’t kill the man.

“This is your last chance.” Cheng Rushan’s eyebrows slightly raised, and his eyes grew even colder.

Wang Zhaolong, who prided himself on being fierce and tough, having robbed over a hundred times and hurt many people, felt a deep fear facing Cheng Rushan.

This man was terrifying.

“It… It’s Lao Si. He paid us to rob them and… deal with that woman.” Wang Zhaolong could barely speak, feeling the temperature around him drop significantly, even in the hot weather.

Cheng Rushan didn’t attack him further but contemptuously said, “Being tough only with ordinary people isn’t impressive. Being strong in prison is what counts.”

Even if there’s a death penalty, it wouldn’t be immediate.

They’d first experience the harshness of prison before facing execution.

Once Wang Zhaolong spoke, it was easier to handle.

They interrogated him on the spot and clarified Lao Si and his accomplices’ roles.

Cheng Rushan reviewed the confession and, instead of resting, led his team to arrest Lao Si and the other accomplices.

Wang Zhaolong was monitored by a police officer and would be sent to the police station later.

With Cheng Rushan’s anger driving them, the police handled the case swiftly.

Within three days, they had arrested all involved parties and even caught three other groups involved in robbery and theft.

By capturing Lao Si through Wang Zhaolong and then tracking him down to a man in the capital known as Lao Wai, who specialized in handling and distributing illegal jobs, Cheng Rushan realized that contacting the local police through normal channels would be cumbersome.

It would involve various reports, applications, communications, and eventually transferring materials—normal procedures could take at least ten to fifteen days, by which time the person could have already disappeared.

Therefore, Cheng Rushan used connections in the capital to quickly apprehend Lao Wai.

Once Lao Wai was interrogated, the truth about Jiang Ling hiring the killers was uncovered.

Jiang Ling, waiting for news, was not very cautious and was soon arrested.

However, Meng Yiyi had disappeared and her whereabouts were temporarily unknown.

A few days later, Cheng Rushan, Jiang Lin, and the others returned to the provincial capital, where Jiang Ling and Lao Wai were also being escorted.

Jiang Ling, exposed due to the criminal case, was desperate to save her life and started spilling everything without waiting for the police interrogation.

In the end, she implicated Bian Haitao and Meng Yiyi in the scheme, trying to shift the blame and escape her own responsibility.

Originally, Bian Haitao was already in a precarious situation due to Kuang Guomei’s confession.

With Jiang Ling’s accusations, his fate was sealed.

All the related suspects were gradually captured.

At the same time, the central government reiterated the earlier document titled “Severe Crackdown on Criminal Activities.” Previously focused on crimes such as hooliganism, this time the emphasis was on urban and rural bullies and organized crime elements, with demands for swift, strict, and severe penalties, aiming for the most effective crackdown in the shortest time possible.