For the sake of his own life and property, he knew he had to be extremely careful, exceptionally cautious. As for Niu Huan… if Niu Huan had truly replaced those auto parts, he was beyond saving. Maintaining distance at a time like this was paramount, lest he be mistaken for an accomplice.

"Officer?"

Niu Huan, not noticing anything amiss, turned to Shen Dao and the others.

Shen Dao looked at Niu Huan and his colleague and began, "Hello. Someone has reported that your maintenance staff illegally stole 14 auto parts from a car with the license plate Jin XXXXXXX. Were you responsible for that vehicle's repairs?"

"We were the ones who did the repair work."

Niu Huan's heart sank, but he still nodded. The 4S dealership had a work schedule, and each person was on record for the car they were responsible for. He couldn't argue his way out of it.

"So, regarding the issue of part substitution, are you two aware of it?" Shen Dao then presented an auto part appraisal report. The report detailed the quality, performance, and factory parameters of various components, highlighting all the parts he and Chang Yingcai had replaced.

Hearing Shen Dao's question, Niu Huan couldn't help but swallow, his gaze darting away nervously.

"Are you two aware of this matter?" Shen Dao looked intently at Niu Huan, his brow furrowed slightly. He asked again, ensuring it was captured by his bodycam. Years of investigative instinct told him there was definitely something fishy about this.

"I... I... Brother Niu, I told you we shouldn't do it! Now the police are here..." Chang Yingcai, unable to bear the pressure, began to whimper.

"Shut up!" Niu Huan's expression hardened, and he snapped through clenched teeth.

Chang Yingcai, startled, couldn't help but complain, "Why are you being so aggressive? If we're caught, we just admit it. Isn't the rule in our line of work to offer triple compensation if a part is found to be counterfeit?"

Hearing this, Niu Huan's face turned utterly grim, his body trembling slightly. Half of it was from anger at his incompetent teammate. He hadn't even fully grasped the situation yet, and his teammate had already confessed.

Obviously, the police had arrived! From the look of things, this was clearly not a simple matter of offering triple compensation for counterfeit parts.

In the lobby, their exchange was heard clearly by everyone present.

"So it really was you?" Yu Zijin looked at the two, his expression complex. This kind of behavior, though a common ailment in the industry... But now that Qin Mu had appeared, it was highly likely this wouldn't be a simple matter of monetary compensation.

"In that case, please come with me to the station," Shen Dao said gravely, seeing no need for further questions. Based on the work schedule and the conversation captured by their bodycams, it could be preliminarily determined that the two were suspected of theft, meeting the requirements for temporary detention. As for the specific criminal acts, a detailed interrogation would be necessary back at the station.

"We have to go to the police station?" Chang Yingcai cried out.

Niu Huan's eyes also widened in disbelief. He had swapped car parts dozens of times. Whenever he was discovered, it was always a matter of "refund and triple compensation." He had never dealt with the police, let alone been to a police station.

"Wait! We're willing to settle, willing to offer a refund and triple compensation!" he blurted out, quickly looking towards Qin Mu, who stood behind Shen Dao. According to Shen Dao's introduction, Qin Mu was the owner of the car whose parts he had replaced.

"Settle?" Behind Shen Dao, the corners of Qin Mu's mouth twitched. He didn't respond. This case already involved theft, placing it in the realm of criminal offenses. It was a public prosecution case, with the Procuratorate as the prosecuting authority. Whether Qin Mu agreed to a settlement was irrelevant unless the Procuratorate decided to settle and not prosecute.

"Take them away." Shen Dao, wasting no more words on the two, gestured with his hand. Other officers immediately stepped forward and escorted the pair from the 4S dealership.

Qin Mu naturally left with them, heading to the police station. He was the one who had reported the case and needed to go and give a statement.

「At the 4S dealership.」

After Qin Mu and the police departed, the atmosphere suddenly fell silent. The onlooking employees of the 4S dealership were all shocked into speechlessness. The incident just now... had lasted no more than half an hour, yet two colleagues from the maintenance department had been taken away by the police, reportedly suspected of a criminal offense with extremely serious consequences.

"Too dangerous..." After a moment, Yu Zijin swallowed, remarking with lingering fear. He still hadn't fully processed it. According to the repair order, Qin Mu had only driven the car away the previous day. Today, he had returned and had two colleagues from the maintenance department taken away. This was truly ruthless. Fortunately, the man didn't seem to have any issue with them, only taking Niu Huan and Chang Yingcai.

No, I still feel uneasy about something. He took a deep breath, growing more apprehensive the more he thought about it.

He turned and looked at Zhu Li, the saleswoman behind him, who had also been their 4S dealership's top seller last month. The car with the replaced parts... Zhu Li had sold it to Qin Mu.

"Zhu Li, I have an important task for you, one that concerns the safety and future development of our 4S dealership," he said, staring at her earnestly. "Later, I want you to proactively seek out Qin Mu. Make our intentions clear. Tell him..."

"Tell him that due to the personal actions of our employees, we've caused him serious inconvenience, and for that, we are deeply sorry. Make sure your attitude is sincere."

"Additionally, we'll arrange for maintenance staff to perform a comprehensive quality check on his car as soon as possible. Any aftermarket parts will be replaced with original factory parts. Please assure him he can rest easy."

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