Chapter 259: The King of Police

Six First-Class Merits? An Honorary First-Class Title?

Everyone looked completely stunned. They stared in disbelief at the young officer standing before them.

Forget about the honorary title for a second. Do you know how rare it was for a cop even to see a Second-Class Merit in their lifetime? First-Class Merit? That was usually something awarded posthumously to the family, you know?

But this guy? He’d earned six of them while still alive, and here he was, standing in front of them, full of life. Can you even begin to imagine what kind of person he was?

And then there was the Honorary First-Class Title. It was the highest honor in the entire police force: the First-Class Honorary Police Officer title. Sure, it was not exactly an achievement or merit, but it was the most coveted award in the police system.

There were fewer than a hundred police officers in the entire country who held this honor. Think about that—out of millions of cops, only a few had earned it.

Once the group of detectives snapped out of their daze, they all turned toward Xiao Yu. Their gazes had completely changed.

And then, suddenly, eight officers stood at attention, raising their hands in a crisp salute.

Why?

Because this was the highest level of respect you could show to a fellow officer who had earned the ultimate honor.

In the military, they had the title “King of Soldiers.” 

And in the police force? There was the “King of Police.”

Every officer who had earned the highest honor was a king among cops.

Their serious expressions and synchronized salutes deeply touched Xiao Yu’s heart.

Without hesitation, he raised his hand in return.

“Alright, I won’t take up any more of your time,” Huo Bojian said seriously. “This case needs to be cracked, no excuses. The entire provincial department and our division will fully support you. If you need anything, just ask. The department has set a twenty-day deadline. You must solve this case within that time. Understood?”

“Understood!” 

Everyone, including Xiao Yu, replied in unison.

Was it a coincidence? 

Xiao Yu narrowed his eyes, watching Huo Bojian leave.

The operation to take down the terrorist cell had taken around nine or ten days, but his system hadn’t indicated that the mission was complete yet. That meant it wasn’t over. Now, the deadline for the case seemed to perfectly align with the twenty days left in his system’s countdown.

“Hey, brother!” 

A hand landed on Xiao Yu’s shoulder. It was Wu Jia, who grinned warmly. 

“It’s an honor to work with you.”

‘This guy’s a joker, right?’ Xiao Yu looked him over. His clownish energy was like a firefly in the dark—impossible to miss.

“I’m Wu Jia, but everyone here calls me Old Five,” Wu Jia introduced himself with a smile.

“Nice to meet you,” Xiao Yu nodded and then turned to the others.

“Gao Shengli.”

“Nice to meet you.”

“Qian Yi.”

“…”

“Qu Huaiguo.”

“…”

One by one, they introduced themselves, all of them smiling as they looked at Xiao Yu.

“Hi, everyone. I’m Xiao Yu,” he said, smiling back.

‘This is so awkward, can you guys please stop?’

“Ha!” The whole group laughed.

It was clear these guys were seasoned detectives, all veterans of the force. The youngest among them looked like he was at least thirty-four or thirty-five.

Some of the older officers looked like they were almost fifty, or at least that’s how it seemed to Xiao Yu. And every one of them? Superintendents.

Surprised? Not really.

This was the Serious Crimes Unit, after all. Every case they dealt with was a major one. People rose through the ranks fast but they also put their lives on the line. Their achievements? Earned through blood and sweat.

Take Wu Jia, for example—a Second-Class Superintendent. At this rank, you were at least a Deputy Section Director, maybe even a full Section Director. Some of these officers might even hold positions at the bureau level.

Superintendent? Bureau-level?

Remember, this was a provincial-level serious crimes unit. The heads of departments here were all at least bureau-level. Even if their rank hadn’t caught up to their position, their roles definitely had.

“Boss has given the word—twenty days,” said Director Gao Shengli, glancing warmly at Xiao Yu. “For this task force…”

“I’ll follow the leader’s orders,” Xiao Yu said with a smile.

“Huh?” Gao Shengli looked taken aback, and the others chuckled.

“Smooth talker, huh?” Gao Shengli shook his head, his expression turning serious. “The fact that the Chief brought you here makes it pretty clear. You’re the team leader and in charge of the task force. We’ll be working with you. And to be honest, with six first-class merits under your belt, no one here’s going to try and boss you around.”

That was true.

Although Xiao Yu technically had the lowest rank among them, it was obvious to everyone that something didn’t quite add up. Nobody working in a Serious Crimes Unit would be a fool, right? And yet, Xiao Yu, with his background, was just hanging out in a city-level Criminal Investigation Division? That didn’t make any sense.

Six first-class merits.

An honorary title of excellence.

The title of Police King.

Who’d dare mess with a guy like that? If someone was brave enough, they’d just take a couple of laps around the room.

No, the only explanation was that Xiao Yu just didn’t care about authority or rank. And if that was the case, it was kind of terrifying. What kind of powerful backer would be needed to keep someone like him at a lower rank deliberately? It was probably someone from Beijing. Even the provincial top brass wouldn’t have the influence to pull that off.

Everyone was silently freaking out. 

Who in their right mind would even try to give orders to someone like Xiao Yu? What would it take to be that delusional?

“Alright then,” Xiao Yu nodded, seeing that there was no way to turn down the offer. “I’ll take the lead.”

In reality, being in charge was just a formality. Solving the case was a team effort—whoever had a good idea or lead would step up. The most important thing was cracking the case, not who was technically in charge.

“So, what have you guys found so far?” Xiao Yu asked, glancing at the case files each of them had in hand.

“We’ve got nothing solid,” Wu Jia shook his head, though a glint of understanding flashed in his eyes. “But what we can say for sure is that this is directly connected to that massive counterfeit case we cracked here at the provincial level. After all, those two counterfeit plates were seized from that case. You understand what I mean, right?”

Xiao Yu nodded. 

Anyone working in the Serious Crimes Unit wouldn’t be simple-minded, and Xiao Yu had already figured as much. Regular criminals wouldn’t even know that counterfeit plates were stashed in S City. It wasn’t something just anyone could find out. The people in the know had to be connected to that counterfeit case, and only someone familiar with fake money would truly grasp the value of those plates.

Only someone like that would be willing to spend 20 million to hire terrorists.

“Anything else?” Xiao Yu asked, taking the case file from a veteran detective and flipping through it.