met free Chapter 298 Bystanders Used as Pawns
Chapter 298 Bystanders Used as Pawns
"Dear family members, please rest assured, the murderer will definitely be punished. The prosecutor's office has intervened, and the court will conduct the trial as soon as possible."
Li Jitao immediately led people to help the victims' families up. Seeing the heartbroken looks on these victims' families, he felt very sad. The children were so young and no longer had a father.
"Sir, my husband Chen Daji is dead, so why are you arresting his brother Chen Dali? We don't trust Comrade Qi Tongwei; can't you find someone else to investigate?"
"Boss, so many people are saying that Qi Tongwei has problems. We'll only feel at ease if we replace him with someone else."
"Sir, I don't know what kind of person Qi Tongwei is, but Chen Dali's wife is still in the hospital and his son is dead, yet he still wants to arrest Chen Dali. This is outrageous!"
Li Jitao was in a real bind. He wanted to just agree to these people's request to replace Qi Tongwei and quickly quell the storm, but Qi Tongwei was Ye Xingguo's man, and he didn't have the right to move him at will. Even if he wanted to move him, he would have to ask for permission first.
"Dear family members, I understand your feelings, but please rest assured that a special task force has been established for this case, and Comrade Qi Tongwei is just one of its members."
The people of Chenjiazhai started shouting aggressively again.
"Get Qi Tongwei out here!"
"Get Qi Tongwei out here!"
"Get Qi Tongwei out here!"
"Qi Tongwei harbored a murderer"
"Qi Tongwei harbored a murderer"
"Qi Tongwei harbored a murderer"
Unaware of the truth, the onlookers thought Qi Tongwei had some connection with the murderer, and some people unconsciously started shouting along. There was no way around it; everyone had a herd mentality.
Hearing the deafening roar, Li Jitao felt a chill run down his spine. If this wasn't handled properly, it could easily escalate into a mass incident.
"Fellow villagers, please give us a little more time. We will hold a press conference tomorrow morning to report on the progress of the entire investigation."
"Please be patient and wait for one more day. Let's disperse for today. Please be careful."
Li Jitao's voice was hoarse from shouting, so he definitely couldn't escape having to write a self-criticism.
The people of Chenjia Village came prepared; how could they give up so easily?
"Officials have two mouths; they can justify anything they say. We ordinary people aren't so easily fooled. Qi Tongwei must be suspended from his duties immediately."
"Qi Tongwei must be suspended from his duties immediately."
"Qi Tongwei must be suspended from his duties immediately."
Another round of threats and coercion ensued. Li Jitao was furious inside, but on the surface he still had to pretend to be magnanimous.
"You want me suspended from my post immediately? What evidence do you have to sue me?"
Qi Tongwei walked out step by step, holding a megaphone, his imposing aura emanating from his over two-meter frame.
Li Jitao exclaimed that it was all over and almost fainted. Running out at this time was just adding fuel to the fire.
Chen Shunjun quickly helped Li Jitao up, saying, "My ancestor, please don't act impulsively!"
The people of Chenjia Village were afraid that Qi Tongwei would cower and not come out. Now, everyone's words can melt metal. The truth is important, and everyone's spittle can drown him.
"Qi Tongwei, do you admit to injuring many people in Chenjiazhai?"
Qi Tongwei, of course, couldn't follow the other party's line of thought, and immediately retorted, "Does Chenjiazhai admit to obstructing police enforcement and shooting at me?"
The voices were loud enough for even the most distant onlookers to hear. The onlookers were astonished. How dare Chenjiazhai shoot at the police? Could it be that the guilty party is the one who falsely accuses the innocent?
The people of Chenjia Village were caught off guard and retorted, "You have too many enemies. The person who shot you wasn't from Chenjia Village at all."
Qi Tongwei immediately retorted righteously, "I am a police officer. Many thugs and petty criminals want revenge on me, but why are you from Chenjiazhai stopping me from arresting the murderer? Are you all in cahoots?"
Another heavy punch landed on the faces of the Chen family villagers. This bastard is too good at talking.
The onlookers immediately started thinking. "That's right, if thugs shoot at police officers and Chenjiazhai tries to stop them, does that mean the thugs are from Chenjiazhai?"
Seeing that the wind had shifted, Li Jitao felt a little relieved; this kid was a relief.
The people of Chenjiazhai, of course, couldn't admit it. "Our Chenjiazhai isn't a gated community; how could we possibly manage any hooligans or thugs?"
"I'm asking you this: Chen Dali's wife and children were murdered, why did you arrest him? Is there some ulterior motive? Tell me!"
"Speak!"
"Speak!"
The people of Chenjia Village were united, their blood boiling with righteous indignation, and they angrily questioned the crowd. This time, there were far fewer voices from the onlookers.
Li Jitao gave Qi Tongwei a wink, warning the kid not to act impulsively and not to reveal Zhang Jian's motive for murder.
The people of Chenjiazhai were also taking this for granted. Now that the police have been killed, if the common people knew the truth, they would probably cheer with joy.
"You can't say it, can you? That's because you're protecting the murderer; you're an accomplice."
"Arrest this murderer's accomplice!"
"Arrest this murderer's accomplice!"
"Arrest this murderer's accomplice!"
Immediately, the people of Chenjiazhai became agitated and began charging at the police shields, intending to tear Qi Tongwei to pieces on the spot.
Qi Tongwei fell silent, and the onlookers immediately changed their attitude and supported the people of Chenjiazhai. The people of Chenjiazhai took control of the situation, and the onlookers who were unaware of the truth could only be led by the nose and become pitiful accomplices. Just like the fake news that spread like wildfire in short videos in later years, people were cyberbullying this person and that person every day, only to find out in the end that they were just idiots.
Li Jitao was frantic. He quickly ordered Chen Shunjun to take Qi Tongwei back. "Fellow villagers, fellow villagers, please don't be impulsive! Comrade Qi Tongwei is a policeman. He has absolutely no connection with the murderer, let alone be an accomplice!"
The people of Chenjiazhai remained unmoved, determined to make a big scene and get rid of Qi Tongwei and Ye Xingguo together in one fell swoop.
Armed police were already on their way, and the police could only hold them off tightly, not daring to make any big moves. There were four or five thousand people at the scene. If a real fight broke out, Ye Xingguo would suffer, and Mayor Chen Wenjie would also suffer. However, Chenjiazhai could be considered to have won a Pyrrhic victory.
Qi Tongwei shoved Chen Shunjun aside. If things continued like this, the consequences would be unimaginable. The big shots were playing games behind the scenes while the small fry were being used as cannon fodder. The most pitiful were the onlookers, who were just there to watch the show, but if they were treated as rioters, how wrong that would be.
"Listen up, everyone! You all want to know the truth, right? I'll tell you now."
"The murderer's name is Zhang Jian. Chen Dali raped Zhang Jian's wife, causing her to jump to her death. This is Zhang Jian's motive for the murder."
"The root of all this tragedy lies with Chen Dali; he destroyed the happiness of these eight families."
"Those who aren't from Chenjia Village shouldn't blindly follow the crowd and become pawns."
"With a criminal record, how will your children take the civil service exam in the future? They'll resent you for the rest of their lives."