activa-t Chapter 444: One wave has not subsided, but another wave has arisen!
Chapter 444: One wave has not subsided, but another wave has arisen!
Suddenly, he turned around abruptly, his gaze fixed on Wang Tian, filled with suspicion and scrutiny:
"Wang, tell me honestly, from the time you received the goods until they were delivered here, did anything go wrong? Did they ever leave your sight? Or... did they come into contact with people they shouldn't have?"
Wang Tian felt a chill run down his spine under that gaze, and cold sweat instantly broke out. He understood his superior's unspoken message: he suspected Wang Tian of switching the work midway and embezzling funds!
"Sir, I am utterly loyal to you, with absolute devotion!" Wang Tian was so anxious he almost jumped up, his voice trembling.
"I swear to God, I absolutely didn't tamper with anything. The goods were unloaded from the ship, loaded directly onto the truck, and driven straight here without stopping, without even going to the toilet along the way."
"I... I don't have the time, and I don't have the guts to do something like switching things. Really, sir, you have to believe me..."
Seeing his subordinate's earnest expression, Robertson's anger subsided slightly. He figured Wang Tian wouldn't dare to play him for a fool, and snorted coldly.
"Looks like we underestimated these tomb raiders from the mainland. They pulled this stunt on us, huh!"
Wang Tian breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that his superior believed him, but then gritted his teeth and said:
"Sir, I'll take some men to investigate right away and dig out those bastards. They dare to mess with us in Hong Kong. I'll show them who's boss!"
"never mind!"
Robertson waved his hand, his tone carrying a hint of frustration at having made a wrong move.
"After all this tonight, they've definitely already run back to the mainland. Where are we going to catch them? Do you want to apply for cross-border arrest for a few 'attempted smuggling' con artists? It's all shady stuff anyway, don't make a big fuss about it, you're just asking for trouble..."
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. Not only did he not get the treasure he expected, but he also wasted a HK$50,000 deposit and got a bunch of fake goods that nobody would want even if they were thrown in the trash.
Frustrated, he tugged at his collar and ordered Wang Tian:
"Find a way to get rid of these 'things' and earn back that 50,000 yuan deposit for me."
"what?!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Tian was stunned. Pointing to the box on the ground, he stammered:
"Sir, these...these are all fakes! You might not even find anyone to buy them at a street stall. Who...who am I supposed to sell them to?"
"That's your business!"
Robertson interrupted him impatiently, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.
"As long as I see the money, it's fifty thousand, not a penny less!"
Having said that, he didn't look at the box of awful stuff or Wang Tian's miserable face anymore. He turned around and strode away from the warehouse, leaving only the roar of the car engine quickly fading into the distance.
Wang Tian stood there, staring at the taillights of his boss's car as it sped away, then looked down at the broken box at his feet, feeling a surge of anger and frustration rush to his head.
I cursed Robertson's ancestors in my mind. Damn it, when there's money to be made, he doesn't share much with me, but he readily dumps this lousy job of cleaning up messes, taking the blame, and even paying out of my own pocket on me.
What utter bullshit!
Despite the cursing, the higher-ranking official had absolute power, so he could only swallow his anger and accept his bad luck, starting to rack his brains about how to turn this pile of scrap metal into cash.
Damn, this is harder than solving a major case.
However, even more devastating misfortunes were yet to come.
The next morning, several of Hong Kong Island's largest-circulation newspapers, such as the Oriental Daily News and Sing Tao Daily, simultaneously published explosive news on their front pages.
[Last night, a swift and decisive operation was launched along the Yuen Long coastline, with the valiant anti-smuggling team cracking a major cultural relics smuggling case!]
[Important Shang and Zhou bronze artifacts, Tang and Song dynasty porcelain, and ancient coins from various dynasties were seized at the scene; their value is immeasurable!]
The report, complete with pictures and text, not only highly praised the "brave and resourceful anti-smuggling officers," but also included several photos of the "arrest" and "seizure" at the scene.
Although the lighting was dim and the image was somewhat blurry, the figures of Wang Tian and his men, dressed in mismatched "uniforms," bending over to carry boxes from the sampan were captured clearly.
Even the license plate number of the black sedan used for transport was faintly visible in one of the photos.
When Wang Tian saw the newspaper, his head buzzed, his vision went black, and he almost fainted.
Normally, he would be excited, but now he feels no joy at all. This was an illegal scheme involving impersonating customs officials to embezzle stolen goods; it was something that couldn't be done in the open.
Now look what's happened! Not only has it been exposed, but it's also made the front page of the entire Hong Kong Island!
He, Wang Tiancheng, has become a 'celebrity,' which is practically putting him on the hot seat!
Sure enough, less than two hours after the newspaper was published, the real customs anti-smuggling department called his superior, Robertson, with an extremely dissatisfied and stern tone, questioning why the police had overstepped their authority, acted without authorization, and failed to notify him in advance or hand over the matter afterward, completely disregarding the professional anti-smuggling department.
This constitutes a serious overreach of authority and procedural violation!
Robertson was indeed a superintendent, but he was far from having absolute power. He was overwhelmed and had to personally intervene, explaining the urgency and special nature of the intelligence report, offering apologies, and promising to severely punish his subordinates for "acting without authorization."
They also transferred the seized cultural relics to the relevant departments as soon as possible, and only after much humility did they manage to temporarily suppress the anger of the anti-smuggling side.
Wang Tian was given a severe dressing-down by Robertson over the phone, who ordered him to immediately find a way to clean up the mess.
What else could he do to clean up the mess? Actually, he felt somewhat relieved; a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. Since the cultural relics had to be handed over, he wouldn't have to worry about the 50,000 yuan deposit loss. Handing the relics over to the anti-smuggling department...
The mess was at least somewhat cleaned up, but before we could even catch our breath, another problem arose.
A wave of unrest, a wave of up!