The journey from the 18th floor to the 22nd floor didn't take long. After waiting a few minutes, the elevator arrived. On the 22nd floor, there was the office of the bureau chief and the offices of the three deputy bureau chiefs. The lobby was the office building, and there were also several meeting rooms of various sizes.
Zhang Lei was naturally familiar with the place and led Zhou Xuan straight to the director's office, which was located at the far end.
The office of the top leader, regardless of the organization, is basically in the best location. It makes sense when you think about it. If the top leader of an organization doesn't give the best location, then if other deputies use the best location as their office, they certainly won't last long. Everyone understands this. Moreover, if the deputies use the best location, it will definitely cause jealousy and disputes. But if the top leader uses it, nothing will happen.
Zhang Lei stopped at the door of the director's office. She glanced at Zhou Xuan and tried to keep her expression more refined. She wasn't being willful earlier; she was angry because her superiors wouldn't give her important tasks. Of course, familiarity with Zhou Xuan also played a role, as did her family background. But facing the new acting director, Zhang Lei didn't dare to be too willful. After all, this was an office, a workplace, a place to do work, not her home. And a director of the municipal bureau was no small position. Good performance could lead to a place on the municipal standing committee. Once you entered that circle of power, your future would be limitless.
Therefore, even Zhang Lei's parents dare not underestimate a bureau chief. Even though Fu Yuanshan is only an acting bureau chief and there is still a distance between him and the actual position, the fact that he can act as the acting bureau chief shows that he has a strong background. At this critical juncture, let alone being promoted, even being an acting bureau chief like Fu Yuanshan would be impossible without a strong background.
Zhang Lei gently knocked on the door, and Fu Yuanshan's voice came from inside: "Come in."
Zhang Lei turned around and whispered to Zhou Xuan, "Don't talk nonsense, I'll handle everything."
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly and said, "Alright, you can do it then."
Zhang Lei then gently pushed open the door and went inside. Zhou Xuan followed behind her. There was only Fu Yuanshan in the office. The office was quite large. Fu Yuanshan sat on a large chair and turned his body slightly. He was not looking at any documents or the computer.
Zhou Xuan and Fu Yuanshan exchanged a glance and smiled slightly, their unspoken understanding unspoken. Zhang Lei, naturally unable to see Zhou Xuan's expression, quickly stepped forward, saluted Fu Yuanshan, and said, "Zhang Lei, officer of the Fourth Criminal Investigation Team, Zhou Xuan reporting to the Acting Chief."
Fu Yuanshan waved his hand and said to Zhang Lei, "I understand. You can go outside or wait in the lobby. I need to talk to Officer Zhou."
Zhang Lei paused, seemingly unable to believe her ears. They were both here to report for duty, and neither she nor Zhou Xuan knew Fu Yuanshan, yet Fu Yuanshan wanted to talk to Zhou Xuan alone first. In the past, regardless of her skills, her outstanding appearance alone would have earned her more favor than men, but something seemed off today.
Could this Zhou Xuan really be the "super cop" that Liu Xingzhou mentioned?
Although Zhang Lei was unwilling, Fu Yuanshan was the acting director, and she could not defy his opinion. She had no choice but to obey, so she saluted and left the office in a huff.
Zhou Xuan watched Zhang Lei close the door and leave the office before smiling at Fu Yuanshan and saying, "Brother, this place is like the waters off Somalia, a dangerous and dangerous place. It's not simple."
Fu Yuanshan nodded and said, "That's true. The deputy directors' inner circle are basically all watching me and keeping an eye on me. It's not easy to get anything done, and it's not easy to accomplish anything. But since they're only focused on me, this is a good opportunity. They would never think that our focus is not on me, but on you. Go to the archives department and sift through the files. Look for those major cases that can't be solved yet, and see if you can find a clue and crack one or two. Once I have absolute power, our situation will immediately change."
Zhou Xuan nodded. Although this place was not as dangerous as the sinkholes and dark rivers he had encountered before, the power struggles in the officialdom were no less dangerous. In those dangerous situations, he could use his supernatural abilities to transform and devour monsters without hesitation, but now, he could not simply make people disappear.
"I'll give you a heads-up and write a note. You can go with that girl. She can actually be your shield. With your abilities, she naturally won't notice anything unusual. Go to the computer archives together and retrieve the cases. You can choose whichever case you want. I'll try my best to make things easier for you."
Zhou Xuan understood what Fu Yuanshan meant. As the newly appointed acting director, Fu Yuanshan's foundation was not solid and his base was not strong. People from other departments might initially be somewhat wary and resistant. Therefore, the things he arranged might not be followed by other departments. That's why Fu Yuanshan said "try his best."
Zhou Xuan chuckled and said, "That section chief Liu Xingzhou is very cunning. The partner he assigned to my team is a tough one. This girl seems carefree on the surface, like a pretty face, but that's not the case. I think she's quite clever, but maybe because she comes from a good family, she hasn't suffered much hardship, so she's a bit lacking in social skills and experience. She's just a little inexperienced, but she's not bad in other aspects. She might even be better than some men, so I can't let my guard down."
"It's not appropriate to say more. You can go ahead. I still need to gather a few deputy directors and cadres for a meeting to chat and distract them." Fu Yuanshan wrote a note, handed it to Zhou Xuan, and then waved his hand, letting Zhou Xuan go and do his own thing. He was also prepared to proceed according to the plan.
Zhou Xuan turned and left with a grin. There was no need to say anything more to Fu Yuanshan at this moment. Many eyes were watching Fu Yuanshan's every move, so it was best to avoid running into him as much as possible.
Zhang Lei waited in the lobby, where most of the clerks were women, and she knew them well. They chatted comfortably, and when she saw Zhou Xuan come out, she immediately asked, "Zhou Xuan, you're out? I'll go in then."
Zhou Xuan shook his head and said, "The acting director asked you to show me the computer files so I could familiarize myself with the case beforehand and practice my observation and thinking skills."
"Oh?" Zhang Lei was taken aback. Fu Yuanshan had clearly said that he would talk to Zhou Xuan and then ask her to wait a moment. Why did he just stop talking to her?
However, looking back now, Fu Yuanshan did not actually say that he would talk to Zhou Xuan first and then talk to her. It's just that Fu Yuanshan directly rejected her, which made him feel a bit slighted.
Although somewhat reluctant and unhappy, Zhang Lei was too embarrassed to go in and argue with Fu Yuanshan, nor did she dare. This acting director didn't seem to give her any face. She thought it best to let it go. This "super cop" seemed easy to handle; she'd first test his tone, probe his background, and see just what made him truly "super."
Zhang Lei casually pointed to the archives room in the right corner of the hall and said, "Let's look at the files there."
Zhang Lei, the staff member in charge of the archives, also knew them. She handed over the note that Zhou Xuan had taken, which Fu Yuanshan had given her, to the staff member, who immediately opened the door for Zhou Xuan and Zhang Lei, allowing them to go in and look up the information.
The archives are not connected to the internet, so the information cannot be found online. You can only search for it by going to the archives and turning on the computer. Zhang Lei accompanied Zhou Xuan to search and study on the computer in the archives.
Major cases submitted to the municipal bureau are usually unsolvable. This was the first time Zhang Lei had encountered these case files. She pulled them up one by one and looked at them. Each case had photos of the scene and physical evidence files. At this moment, Zhang Lei completely lost her barbaric and rude demeanor. Instead, she quietly and carefully read the information on the computer and looked at these cases with her own perspective and thinking.
Let alone the municipal bureau, even the branch bureaus or police stations have plenty of talented people. These cases have all been reviewed and handled by experienced and skilled personnel. If they cannot solve the case or find useful clues, then naturally there is a difficulty in solving the case. As a young girl like Zhang Lei, it is impossible for her to find flaws or solve the case just by looking at the information. This is not to say that Zhang Lei is not capable.
Zhou Xuan was different from Zhang Lei. He picked about ten influential cases, wrote down the case numbers and evidence names on the files, glanced at Zhang Lei, and saw that she was still engrossed in looking at the files. He figured he couldn't get her to leave at this point, so he simply lay down on the computer desk and went to sleep.
Zhang Lei paid no attention to Zhou Xuan, focusing on studying the case file. When she felt a pain in her back, she shifted her body, glanced at the time on her phone, and was startled.
It was already past 2 PM, even lunchtime had passed. I arrived at the computer room around 10 AM, and now it was 2:30 PM. Four hours had passed in the computer room. Lunch time is from 12 PM to 2:30 PM, and now that time has passed. There's nothing left to eat at the city bureau's canteen, so I'll have to eat outside.
Fortunately, she and Zhou Xuan were not restricted. The acting director seemed to have a long-term plan for them, allowing them to act as they saw fit. As for Liu Xingzhou and Director Chen, they had not restricted their freedom since they were sent to Fu Yuanshan's office.
Zhang Lei also felt very hungry. She looked at Zhou Xuan and couldn't help but feel annoyed. He was fast asleep on the computer desk. She snorted and pushed him. Zhou Xuan looked up blankly. Looking at computer materials was not much different from reading books. Zhou Xuan would feel sleepy as soon as he looked at these. At that moment, he forced himself to copy down the case he had chosen and then fell asleep.
Zhang Lei said angrily, "Are you here to freeload or to do something?" After her anger subsided, she added, "And 'super' too!"
If it were someone else, they wouldn't understand the meaning of Zhang Lei's later addition. But Zhou Xuan wasn't an ordinary person; he had already heard Liu Xingzhou's boasting to Zhang Lei, and he naturally understood the meaning of "super." Zhang Lei clearly doubted and looked down on him, this so-called "super cop."
Coming out of the computer room, Zhang Lei said, "It's past lunchtime, and the city bureau's canteen is closed. We'll have to eat out. Let's grab something quick and come back quickly to review the case files."
"Whatever, let's go out to eat." Zhou Xuan's mind was finally fully clear. He readily agreed with Zhang Lei, telling her to eat wherever she wanted. After they finished eating, they would go to the evidence room together to retrieve the case evidence he had recorded and examine it to see if they could find any clues.
Two hundred meters ahead of the city bureau gate is a supermarket with a KFC. There aren't many restaurants, only two, but they are both upscale. Although Zhang Lei is a pretty girl, she has never developed a habit of extravagance since childhood, so her first thought was to go to KFC. A meal for the two of them would cost a maximum of one hundred yuan.
The two took the elevator downstairs, and when they reached the parking lot in front of the building, Zhang Lei asked, "Do you want to drive out?"
Zhou Xuan shrugged and said, "I don't have a car."
“I have one,” Zhang Lei said, pointing to a women’s motorcycle at the corner of the parking lot. “I have a motorcycle, so driving there would be faster, but it’s still a bit inconvenient to ride it to the KFC supermarket across the street.”
Zhou Xuan said calmly, "Then let's walk there. It's not far anyway, and driving is indeed inconvenient."
Hearing Zhou Xuan say the same thing, Zhang Lei nodded and said, "Okay, let's go over there."
Just as the two were about to leave, a tall man in a police uniform approached. He was quite handsome, and after giving Zhou Xuan a few deep looks, he said to Zhang Lei, "Zhang Lei, are you going to eat? I'm going too, my treat."
Zhang Lei pointed at Zhou Xuan and said, "My partner Zhou Xuan forgot about the time while working, and neither of us has eaten. If you're going to treat us, you'll have to treat both of us."
"No problem, just a moment, I'll drive there," the man said, turning and walking towards the parking lot.