Seeing him say this, Chen Wei no longer insisted, nodded silently, started the car, and left.

After the other party left, Qi Yun returned to the house and began preparing breakfast for his daughter and Zhao Qing.

Fried eggs, toasted bread, hot milk.

Just as he was putting the fried eggs on a plate, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang.

He quickly wiped his hands, picked up the phone, and saw it was a call from Zhang Dayong.

Qi Yun's heart tightened, he quickly pressed the answer button.

"Zhang, do we have a result?" Qi Yun asked urgently.

Zhang Dayong sighed on the other end of the line: "Those four tomb raiders are very tight-lipped. We've tried various methods, but they won't budge. I checked their history, and these guys have been inside before, they're seasoned veterans."

"There's another situation to inform you about; the city has already formed a special investigation team for this incident. Not only will they be responsible for this case, but they'll also conduct a thorough sweep across the city."

"So I estimate that after work, these people, including Shi Feng, will be taken away. Sorry, brother. I've tried my best."

Qi Yun felt a sinking feeling, his fingers unconsciously tightened.

If the situation continues like this, then whether these people speak up or not, Shi Feng is very likely to be taken in...

The only way to exonerate Shi Feng was the method Zhang Dayong mentioned last night, getting those people to take the fall themselves.

He lifted his watch to check the time; it was now nine in the morning, with one hour until work.

He hurriedly said, "I'm coming over now; can you let me meet with those people?"

He knew doing this was against regulations and would make things difficult for the other party.

After all, these people have sensitive identities, unlike meeting Shi Feng last night.

But right now, to save Shi Feng, he didn't care about all that.

Zhang Dayong was silent on the other end of the line for a moment, sighed, and said, "Only you. If anyone else asked this of me, I certainly wouldn't gamble with my future."

"Get over here, hurry."

After hearing this, Qi Yun didn't say more, thanked him, and hung up the call.

...

Half an hour later, Zhang Dayong led Qi Yun to an interrogation room and ordered the officer outside to turn off the surveillance before the two entered.

Inside the room, a small-framed man was handcuffed to a specially-made chair.

Qi Yun glanced at him briefly, feeling from the man's sinister demeanor that this was no good man.

Zhang Dayong raised his watch and checked the time, then nodded towards Qi Yun.

Qi Yun understood, walked up, and looked at the tomb raider: "Can we talk?"

The man merely glanced at him, snorted coldly, then turned his head away, ignoring him.

Qi Yun wasn't bothered, his gaze fixed on the man's expression, then he lowered his voice and said two words: "Culvert."

The man had no reaction to this, not even a blink.

Seeing this, Qi Yun knew this wasn't the person he was looking for.

He turned to Zhang Dayong, shook his head, and said, "Take me to the next one."

Zhang Dayong looked at him full of doubt, not knowing the significance of this action.

But with time running short, he didn't ask further, opened the door, and led Qi Yun to the next interrogation room.

Qi Yun repeated the process, probing two more people, with results like the first—tight-lipped, unwilling to say a word.

The last interrogation room held a sturdy man in his forties.

This man gave Qi Yun a different feeling than the previous ones, he seemed very calm.

Qi Yun approached and again asked: "Can we talk?"

The sturdy man turned to him and smiled, but didn't answer.

Qi Yun leaned his hands on the chair, his sharp gaze fixed on the man, again said the words "culvert."

The man's pupils involuntarily contracted upon hearing "culvert."

However, he clearly had excellent composure, his face remained calm as if nothing had happened.

But Qi Yun was staring at him, so he caught this subtle fluctuation.

He now could confirm that this guy was the one mentioned in the intel, the only person who knows the location of those buried Ming Dynasty artifacts.

Qi Yun felt slightly relieved inside, but outwardly he maintained his composure, not allowing his emotions to show too much.

He turned to Zhang Dayong and quietly asked, "Can I have a private chat with him?"

Zhang Dayong looked at the sturdy man, nodded silently, and left the interrogation room.

After the other person left, Qi Yun approached the man again.

He leaned his body forward slightly, his gaze intense as he stared at the man, slowly saying: "There's no need to pretend anymore, you should understand the significance of me saying these two words."

"My time is limited, I'll give you three minutes to think it over. If you still don't want to talk, I won't force you, as for the consequences, I don't need to say more." With that, Qi Yun stepped aside, lit a cigarette, and secretly observed the man's reaction.

In the man's eyes flashed a hint of panic, his furrowed brow showing his inner struggle.

The clock on the wall ticked away.

After a long silence, he looked up at Qi Yun and said in a deep voice, "Are you an officer?"

Seeing the man finally willing to speak, Qi Yun stubbed out the cigarette, pulled a chair over and sat down, answering, "No, but my ability to be here talking to you, you should understand my influence."

The sturdy man heard this, paused again, after long contemplation asked again: "Did you take the items?"

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