When the Possessive Omega Fell for Me - Chapter 72.1

The investigation plan progressed methodically, and the case in District Seven soon reached its conclusion.

Just as the investigation team was about to leave District Seven, the president of the district court sought out Yi Jing: “Officer, we owe this all to you. Without your involvement, our plan wouldn’t have advanced so smoothly. The arrangements made by the Yi family in District Seven would likely have been completely dismantled by the investigation team.”

Yi Jing was well aware of this but couldn’t be bothered to engage. She waved her hand dismissively and said, “I had my own reasons for doing this. What you should do now is stay away from me. The investigation team hasn’t left yet. If they discover we’ve been in frequent private contact, they might suspect my motives, and all our efforts would be wasted.”

The court president nodded, completely unfazed by Yi Jing’s attitude, and replied respectfully, “I understand. Initially, Mr. Wang and I had prepared a token of our gratitude for you, but considering you likely don’t lack for such things and with the investigation team still in District Seven, we thought it best to hold off for now to avoid arousing suspicion.

However, our sincerity will still be delivered to your estate once you return to District Thirteen. We hope you’ll accept it graciously.”

Sincerity?

Yi Jing glanced at the court president, wondering what kind of “sincerity” this person could possibly offer her.

It couldn’t be money as long as she remained tied to the Yi family, she’d never lack for wealth. Giving her money would be like presenting the most useless gift imaginable.

Then could it be resources from District Seven?

If that were the case, this “sincerity” might actually prove useful. The more she knew, the easier it would be to act against them. After a moment’s consideration, Yi Jing found herself looking forward to whatever additional information the court president and Mr. Wang might reveal about District Seven.

“Understood,” Yi Jing replied, her expression as calm as ever despite the thoughts racing through her mind. She nodded without refusing. “I’ll take a look once I’m back.”

The court president exhaled in relief, likely believing that establishing a connection with Yi Jing, both her superior and a member of the Yi family would secure their business dealings in District Seven. She offered Yi Jing an ingratiating smile and said, “Then I’ll take my leave. I wish you and the investigation team smooth sailing.”

Yi Jing gave a listless nod, thinking to herself, Of course it’ll go smoothly. With me and the investigation team leader working together, what could possibly go wrong with this case?

That night of secret talks in District Eleven, Yi Jing had already reached an understanding with the necessary parties.

Now, the only thing left for Yi Jing to do was prove to her superiors that a massive criminal syndicate was indeed lurking in District Thirteen of Jing’shan City and that allowing it to continue unchecked would plunge the entire city into chaos. This was precisely why Yi Jing had suddenly decided to target the Yi family’s operations.

To topple a colossal entity held together by shared interests, the first step was to weaken its strength to keep “bleeding” it dry.

Once the profits it generated could no longer satisfy those who depended on it, the syndicate would naturally begin to crumble. Then, picking it apart piece by piece would become far easier.

Another half-month passed, and the case in District Seven finally reached its conclusion. Under the investigation team’s supervision, the case was officially closed, and all involved parties were detained and sent to await sentencing.

Yi Jing took a distant glance outside the courthouse and left with the investigation team without waiting for the public trial. Even without staying, she knew the outcome wouldn’t change, all sentences would be carried out exactly as written in the District Seven court president’s plan. Those were the fates predetermined by the shadowy manipulators for their pawns.

Though perhaps District Seven might reduce their sentences after the storm passed, trying to get them released early if these people still had any chances left.

After over a month, Yi Jing returned to District Thirteen, her major case resolved.

This incident made it clear to anyone with sense that the rumors of “Yi Jing’s downfall” were pure nonsense, Old Master Yi wouldn’t abandon her anytime soon. The family members who once sought her favor came flocking back, even disturbing Yu Miao in the process.

Many wanted to see Yi Jing, but she refused them all, citing exhaustion from work.

She truly was drained. The District Seven incident had been unusually troublesome, consuming so much energy that she couldn’t bear wasting time on social calls now. All she wanted was to cling to Yu Miao and recharge.

Seated on the sofa, Yu Miao affectionately stroked Yi Jing’s head resting on her lap. After a moment of quiet laughter, her expression softened with concern. “Will the next steps be difficult?” she asked softly.

Yi Jing buried her face deeper into Yu Miao’s legs, weariness seeping into her muffled reply: “Probably. Too many uncertainties. Sometimes I worry even the investigation team leader can’t shoulder this. If that happens the situation might spiral out of control.”

Yu Miao lowered her gaze. “Are you afraid?”

“Not at all,” Yi Jing answered instantly. “Old Master Yi should be the scared one, his family fortune’s about to collapse. What’s that to me?”

Yu Miao chuckled, fingers threading through Yi Jing’s hair as she massaged her scalp. “Then we should begin our move.”

“Mmm,” Yi Jing nodded faintly.

Soon enough, the “sincerity” promised by District Seven’s court president materialized.

As Yi Jing anticipated, it came in the form of District Seven’s resources. The local government had reserved a major development project, the newly appointed district head, apparently hearing about Yi Heng (who often assisted Yi Jing) running an independent company, mistakenly assumed their relationship mirrored that between the Wang family and the Yis. Thus they painstakingly prepared a project perfectly matching the business scope of Yi Heng’s newly registered subsidiary, presenting it as a grand gift.

Yi Jing laughed upon receiving the news.

Initially reluctant, Yi Heng had rolled around Yi Jing and Yu Miao’s home protesting, trying to avoid District Seven’s troubled waters. But Yi Jing mercilessly refused, packing off one of Yi Heng’s teams to the district.

Her intention wasn’t to involve Yi Heng in the family business, she simply wanted trusted personnel in District Seven. With Yi Heng’s team stationed there, accessing insider information and understanding power dynamics would become far easier.

After this, Yi Jing made no further moves, as if she had truly given up opposing the family.

As a result, the Yi family’s business operations became even smoother.

With Delinke dead and Yi Jing standing down, all potential troublemakers were no longer threats. No one could hinder the Yi family’s infiltration and expansion anymore.

The conclusion of the District Seven incident marked a complete victory for the Yi family. Their various arrangements suddenly progressed without a hitch. Compared to the tense, crisis-ridden state of the past six months, this period was smooth sailing strategies fell into place, business thrived, and everything was under control. Even overseas branches saw increased profits. Yi Jing herself settled into a routine of regular work hours, no longer burdened by endless overtime.

In this relaxed atmosphere, the Yi family members noticeably let their guard down.

Amid this complacency, Yi Jing took several vacations with Yu Miao, enjoying the rare luxury of carefree romance before striking the Yi family with lightning speed.

The previous months had merely been her waiting for the right moment.

She and Yu Miao couldn’t act personally, nor could they plant moles outside District Thirteen,  but the organization could. Yi Jing and Yu Miao handed over all the information they had gathered about the Yi family’s gray-market businesses factories, shops, and enterprises to the organization. The organization then sent operatives to infiltrate these places, working undercover to gather evidence while using these fronts to uncover more links in the gray-market chain.

Now that the time was ripe, Yi Jing held nothing back.

The first crack appeared in a city over a thousand kilometers from Jing’an. A Yi-affiliated processing factory there was suddenly raided, with all workers detained on-site. A long-hidden underground distribution network was nearly wiped out by local narcotics police, while several local power brokers serving as the Yi family’s protectors were either arrested or issued warrants. Many involved were imprisoned.

The local trade network was almost entirely dismantled, but the Yi family didn’t pay it much heed.

For one, it wasn’t a high-revenue area just a remote outpost, insignificant to the Yi family. Secondly, all key suspects had already been arrested. If the police only caught small fry, it didn’t matter as long as the real players escaped.

As long as no trail led back to the Yi family, even a complete collapse of the network meant little. People could be replaced, power structures rebuilt. There would always be those willing to risk everything for wealth finding puppets was never hard for the Yi family.

But the situation didn’t unfold as optimistically as they imagined.

The raid in that distant city was only the beginning. More and more factories and enterprises in other regions were swept up in crackdowns even top-tier families like the Zhao’s and Xie’s couldn’t escape.

These families had risen by managing different segments of the Yi family’s gray-market operations. Now that Yi Jing was intent on dismantling the Yi family’s influence, they were the first to fall.

Several factories under the Zhao and Lei families’ names, along with the transportation companies they actually controlled, all received investigation notices from relevant authorities. This was quickly followed by shutdown and seizure orders. Many of the most trusted aides serving as legal representatives for these families had already been taken into custody. Only by relying on their past lawless reputation where killing was as easy as giving an order could they barely prevent these subordinates from revealing the truth.

But this precarious balance was already on the verge of collapse.

The families received more and more investigation notices, and the scope of enterprises under scrutiny gradually closed in on Jing’shan City. The Zhao, Xie, and Lei families grew desperate and couldn’t help but send people to the Yi family, demanding an explanation given their actions, even a death sentence wouldn’t be excessive. But if investigations truly unfolded, they would at most be considered accomplices, while the Yi family was the mastermind.

Surely, they couldn’t just let their own families face severe punishment while the Yi family stood by and watched?

Old Master Yi had always been ruthless in cutting off subordinates who could no longer provide value, treating them as disposable pawns the moment they became a liability. As long as sacrificing these scapegoats could protect the Yi family, he wouldn’t hesitate to abandon them.

This tactic had worked flawlessly in the past, and Old Master Yi loved using it. But this time, he had finally been backed into a corner with no retreat.

The Zhao, Lei, and Xie families were different from ordinary factions they knew too much. Just like Lawrence, Old Master Yi couldn’t simply discard them. He had no choice but to scramble for ways to salvage the situation.

“I saw unfamiliar cars at the gate when I came back, looked like the Xie family’s,” Yu Miao mentioned casually over dinner with Yi Jing during their usual evening meal. “Were they here to see Old Master Yi?”

“Mm,” Yi Jing scooped a spoonful of porridge, chuckling lightly. “They came to argue. I heard the old man was so furious with the Zhao family today that he started smashing things.”

Yu Miao laughed briefly before growing serious again. After a moment of thought, she asked, “You haven’t considered exposing the Seventh District yet, have you?”

Yi Jing shook her head. “Once the Seventh District is targeted, the higher-ups will realize how deeply entangled everything there is. That would inevitably lead to reopening the investigation into Delinke’s case. Handling both cases at once would be a nightmare even controlling public opinion would be difficult. It’s best to leave it for last, after all the other districts are dealt with.”

“And Yi Hen?” Yu Miao hesitated before asking.

Yi Jing smirked, her eyes narrowing like a cunning little fox. “I’ve already told them to prepare an exit. Not long ago, to show mutual trust and cooperation, I even had Yi Heng transfer the legal representative of her subsidiary to someone from the Seventh District.”

Yu Miao laughed at her expression. “Good. If things keep going like this, the Yi family will eventually collapse. Those people were never truly united when their own survival is at stake, they won’t trust Old Master Yi for long.”

“Plus, with your great-grandmother’s recent passing, the Zhao family lost their biggest protector. Old Master Zhao will definitely suspect that the Yi family plans to abandon them to save themselves. He’ll grow even more paranoid and start infighting with the other families.”

Yi Jing curled his lips mockingly: “His suspicions aren’t entirely unfounded. Old Man Yi is just afraid of burning his fingers he doesn’t dare make any rash moves for fear the Zhao family might reveal something. Otherwise, he’d have already found ways to abandon the Zhao, Lei, and even Xie families to save himself.”

Yu Miao nodded: “The higher authorities’ investigation is indeed difficult to deal with. Even with Old Man Yi’s considerable influence in Jing’shan City, it’s hard for him to affect the decisions from above.”

At this mention, Yi Jing paused thoughtfully, frowning slightly: “Actually, I’ve heard Old Man Yi is trying to obstruct the investigation’s progress. With several cases being investigated simultaneously recently, while the higher-ups are paying attention, they’re already short-handed.”

Yu Miao paused her spoon in the porridge bowl, setting the silver spoon down and pursing her lips worriedly: “So there’s still no direct evidence proving Old Man Yi is the mastermind, or that the Yi family is also guilty?”

Yi Jing shook his head: “Not yet. Old Man Yi is too cunning, the entire Yi family is deeply hidden, hardly ever appearing directly. All easily traceable arrangements are controlled indirectly through others, making it extremely difficult to trace anything back to the Yi family. Even I haven’t been able to determine which part of this industry chain the Yi family is responsible for.”

Yu Miao fell silent, her brows slightly furrowed as she muttered unwillingly: “Old Man Yi is indeed well-hidden.”

Even she hadn’t been able to uncover anything during all this time.

But she had a suspicion, since the Zhao, Xie, and Lei families all revolved around the Yi family, then the Yi family must be responsible for the most crucial part of the entire industry chain. For a black industry chain handled by the narcotics team, the most critical link would likely be research and development.

R&D is also the easiest part of the chain to conceal.

Find a remote location, build a few research centers, hire a group of scholars to work there minimal external contact and difficult to locate, perfectly explaining how Old Man Yi has remained so hidden.

Given the scale of the Yi family’s current operations, Old Man Yi must control numerous research centers. But how could they possibly find them…

As Yu Miao pondered with a frown, Yi Jing across from her spoke thoughtfully: “Actually, I’ve been wondering could Old Man Yi only be handling the R&D side? Or perhaps after establishing channels in this business, he gradually withdrew from other operational aspects, leaving those to his partners while using these favors to bind the entire interest group together?”

Startled from her thoughts, Yu Miao looked up, meeting Yi Jing’s gaze with surprise.

“Hmm? What is it?” Yi Jing asked, puzzled by her expression. “Did I guess wrong?”

Yu Miao shook her head and smiled: “I just didn’t expect we’d have the same thought.”

“Seems we’re on the same wavelength,” Yi Jing chuckled before turning serious again. “The truth likely lies in this direction. We just need to figure out how to verify it…”

Yi Jing was eager to uncover the core secrets hidden by Old Master Yi, but investigative operations were being launched in many areas beyond Jing’shan City. Those accustomed to shady dealings were growing increasingly cunning, and with the slightest misstep, members of powerful families like the Zhao’s and Xie’s could slip away. Yi Jing and Yu Miao had no choice but to devote most of their energy to monitoring the progress of the investigation. Old Master Yi had buried his trump cards deep, leaving the investigation with almost no breakthroughs.

As time ticked away, the latest investigative operations had drawn alarmingly close to Jing’shan City. The investigative team’s focus seemed to subtly point toward the city, and the Zhao and Xie families under the most scrutinywere nearly backed into a corner. At this point, even Yi Jing began to feel the pressure.

Time was running out. The reason she wanted to expose Old Master Yi’s weaknesses was to drag the Yi family into the mess before everything was settled, ensuring they would be a primary target when higher authorities launched a thorough investigation into Jingshan City.

But if the investigative team arrived in Jingshan before she could find any leverage against the Yi family, Old Master Yi might actually succeed in shielding most of his people.

What kind of downfall would that be?

Would she just be giving them the chance to prove that “no matter how fierce the wildfire burns, new shoots will rise again with the spring wind”? Worse, if these morally bankrupt individuals, who were used to underhanded methods were given the slightest opening, they might retaliate against her and Yu Miao in other ways.

She didn’t care much for herself after all, working in the judicial system, she was familiar with firearms and assassination attempts. But what about Yu Miao?

Who could guarantee Yu Miao’s safety?

No. Absolutely not. If they were going to do this, they had to finish it.

With time growing increasingly scarce and Yi Jing still at a loss, she spent several sleepless nights tossing and turning. Waking up in the middle of the night, she began considering whether to target the Yi family from within after all, outsiders like the Zhaos and Xies clearly didn’t know the inside story, or they would have already used it to blackmail Old Master Yi. The Yi family wouldn’t be this calm otherwise.

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