Chapter 53: The Case of the Gun King

A month later, Lin Tiansheng drove a Chevrolet with one hand, taking Li Shaifeng back to school. As they neared the school gates, Li Shaifeng, dressed in her white school uniform and sitting in the passenger seat, spoke with a timid expression: "Brother Sheng."

"What is it?" Lin Tiansheng asked casually, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Last week, at the school anniversary performance... a television producer wanted me to go and act in a drama. Is that okay?" Li Shaifeng asked.

Lin Tiansheng smiled. "Go ahead. As long as it's not Category III films, it's a good thing if someone's looking for you."

Only in 1980s Hong Kong would such a fortunate thing happen—where a producer could spot a passerby and invite them to act, propelling them to overnight stardom.

Every industry was developing at a rapid pace, and lacking formal talent training systems, they would recruit talent from outside the circle, creating opportunities for ordinary citizens.

The producer who approached Li Shaifeng was Sio Hin-fai from Rediffusion Television, who was currently preparing to shoot *The Land* and needed a rustic young girl for a role. After searching far and wide, he still hadn't found the right person.

As it happened, he saw the pretty and clever Ah Feng at the school anniversary evening and casually extended an audition invitation.

"Th-thank you," Li Shaifeng said, not expecting him to agree so easily. Her eyes and brows were filled with joy.

"Remember to let me see the contract so I can vet it for you." Lin Tiansheng parked the car outside the school gates.

"Mm."

Li Shaifeng pushed open the car door and walked into the school. She probably guessed that Lin Tiansheng wanted to modify her contract to pocket the money himself, but she didn't mind; as long as she could go play on the film set, it was fine.

She belonged to him anyway, and the money wasn't that much. Whether he wanted to gamble with it or spend it for fun, she didn't care.

Back at the West Kowloon Police Station, Ma Delong, Liu Yida, and the others were hard at work organizing files.

Shortly after making contact with Xi Mingle, they had gained his trust and obtained leads on key figures. Following more than a month of investigation and the strenuous cooperation of the Intelligence Section, they had locked onto one senior inspector at each of the three major customs checkpoints: Lo Wu, Man Kam To, and Sha Tau Kok.

According to customs regulations, each pier and checkpoint was headed by a chief superintendent, with two assistant superintendents in charge of personnel and operations respectively.

Each duty shift was led by a senior inspector.

Moving a batch of cargo involved at most a dozen vehicles, and customs clearance could be completed in half an hour. Bribing a single senior inspector was enough to secure clearance.

As for whether the senior inspector had received instructions from superiors to share the bribe with them, that fell outside the scope of this case's investigation, and there were no concrete leads.

Lin Tiansheng could only target up to the senior inspector level, and he had set his sights on "Deng Zongliang."

Zhang Jinrong picked up a stack of photographs and handed them to Lin Tiansheng. "Big Boss, newly snapped by the paparazzi."

"Deng Zongming seducing his sister-in-law?"

Lin Tiansheng riffled through the photos, narrowed his eyes, and said coldly, "Such fine family breeding, and quite the player, Ah Ming."

In the photographs, a man and a woman were fooling around in a car. The woman half-heartedly resisted, her face flushed, wearing a bright red lace camisole underneath.

Through their investigation, the team members had mapped out the Deng family's interpersonal network and learned that "Deng Zongliang" and "Deng Zongming" were the two younger relatives most heavily relied upon by Deng Yuchang.

Among them, Deng Zongliang was the orphaned son of the second branch, fostered in Deng Yuchang's home and treated like his own flesh and blood. In the prime of his life at just over thirty, he specifically managed the family's grey industries such as smuggling, gambling dens, and brothels. He held a significant position within the Luen Ying Shing and was a crucial behind-the-scenes boss.

Deng Zongming, on the other hand, was Deng Yuchang's late-in-life son, most favored, very young at just over twenty, and unable to study. He lived a life of idleness, managing the rural restaurants and markets while usually collecting rent.

"Anyone with eyes knows Deng Zongliang does the dirty work while Deng Zongming does easy tasks. Naturally, the biological son is more favored," Zhang Jinrong laughed. "Yet Deng Zongming seems to envy Ah Ming's prestige and always tries to take the lead in everything, hoping to surpass him."

"His ability to get things done is subpar, but his ability to pick up women is top-notch. Capitalizing on his youth and good looks, he's ridden Ah Ming's wife behind his back. If we mail these photos to Ah Ming, there's bound to be a good show."

Lin Tiansheng sat down, looked at the few colleagues who had gathered around, and deliberated: "A good trump card like this shouldn't be played indiscriminately. If we mail it to Ah Ming, the one who dies is a woman, not Ah Ming. Mail it to Ah Ming, and let's arrange a proper talk with him."

Is having your wife cuckolded a big deal? To some people, it's sky-cracking, but to others, it's not worth mentioning. Deng Zongang seemed more like the latter.

The fact that Deng Zongming was clueless enough to sleep with his sister-in-law indirectly proved that he was outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly, completely brainless. From a human nature perspective, he was easier to manipulate, and it might just yield unexpected results.

Ma Delong had already been promoted to sergeant and flattered him: "Inspector Lin is brilliant. Driving a needle right into the Deng family's heart—by then, Deng Yuchang will practically die of anger."

Zhang Jinrong chuckled, "Indeed. The more foolish a person's brain, the easier they are to use."

For a family, prosperity requires a pillar, but decline only takes a single piece of deadwood.

This case required painstaking effort, but as long as the police force was willing to put in the work, they could definitely dig up blockbuster material. Otherwise, street thugs and big bosses wouldn't be so wary of the uniform.

Chen Sheng walked out of Pak Chi-pong's office, and as he passed Lin Tiansheng, he said, "Inspector Lin, the boss wants to see you."

"Right away." Lin Tiansheng closed the case file, gave Old Ma a look, and walked toward the senior inspector's office. Recently, everyone in the squad had been keeping a low profile, strictly managing all case files and information for fear that the Deng family would pave the way with money and insert their hands into the Serious Crime Unit.

Human hearts cannot be entirely guarded against; they could only ensure absolute secrecy.

After closing the office door, Lin Tiansheng walked over to the desk, picked up Pak Chi-pong's Marlboros, and popped one into his mouth. "Sir Pak, what's up?"

Pak Chi-pong wore a gloomy expression and tossed a case file onto the desk. "East Kowloon has reopened an investigation into an old case. A gunman shot a rubber factory owner dead at the Cheung Chau Dragon Boat Festival, and was blocked in a stairwell by a tactical unit. After injuring four tactical unit officers, he calmly escaped. For years, the police force found no leads, but East Kowloon found one."

Lin Tiansheng took the file, opened the cover page, and saw a photo of a person wearing a mask, a duck-billed cap, and a motorcycle jacket. "East Kowloon?"

Pak Chi-pong exhaled a puff of smoke and warned, "Be careful. Those people in East Kowloon harbor no good intentions."

Carrying the file, Lin Tiansheng tapped the photograph with his finger, paced back to his office, set the document down, and asked, "Has anyone heard about the Cheung Chau Island Dragon Boat Festival shooting case?"

Deng Gengyun looked puzzled and scratched his head. "Big Boss, is that the 'King of Killers' case? I was on duty at the Dragon Boat Festival that day, directing traffic."

"The criminal acted alone, injured four tactical unit officers at the pier, and became notorious. The streets called him the 'King of Killers'; he's a professional assassin."

Lin Tiansheng took a deep breath, feeling as though sharp blades were pressing against his back. "The professional assassin who least wants to show his face... got his face photographed."

Ma Delong picked up the documents with a grave expression, and even Zhang Jinrong couldn't help leaning in, his eyes carrying a trace of worry. In police work, there are not that many coincidences.

Perhaps the professional assassin had simply taken on another job?

Lin Tiansheng's eyes were deep, concealing a hidden intent. "A case tossed over by East Kowloon. Ah Rong, go find him."