159: Chapter 158 The Lone Commander

Chen Huaiyu glared at Cao Xiao with frustration, as if he were a lost cause. "Give you an inch and you take a mile! I really don't know where a kid like you robbed all that money from. Since you're so capable, why don't you just contribute all the money in your account?"

"Don't, a person shouldn't be too excessive! My money didn't just blow in with the wind, so stop eyeing it. If you mention money again, I'll get angry with you!" Cao Xiao put on a furious expression and glared back fiercely at Chen Huaiyu.

He was truly afraid of Chen Huaiyu. The man was insatiable and always pushed his luck; scamming him once wasn't enough, he even wanted to clean him out. For the sake of public business, he practically disregarded his own family. Having such a self-disciplined and selfless elder brother was both an honor and a headache-inducing helplessness!

Commissioner Zhang watched the two bickering with a smile. Only after they finished did he speak up. "Commissioner Chen, as the older brother, you should stop constantly eyeing other people's things. Since Cao Xiao has said so, I will first thank you on behalf of the Municipal Government! I will keep this matter in mind, and the Municipal Government will remember your contribution. You're getting engaged tomorrow; you wouldn't mind if I came to ask for a cup of wine, would you?"

"It is our honor that you can attend the engagement ceremony for Yueyou and me. I heard your stomach isn't well; I have a few authentic wild boar stomachs. Tomorrow, I'll have someone prepare some medicinal herbs to stew a pot of stomach-nourishing soup for you. You must come early, or I'm afraid there won't be any left." Cao Xiao was delighted to hear this. He had heard from his elder brother that Commissioner Zhang was not a local and never attended any private commercial activities, rarely even personally attending the weddings or funerals of colleagues and subordinates. His initiative to attend the engagement ceremony was a rare exception.

Commissioner Zhang's eyes lit up, and he looked at Cao Xiao with satisfaction. "Good! I will definitely arrive early tomorrow. I've heard from the elders that you have some rare and hard-to-find ingredients there. Usually, I wouldn't be able to go—nor would I dare to go—to your house to eat. Eating just a bit of those expensive ingredients would be equivalent to a month of my salary, but I can't miss such a good opportunity as your engagement treat!"

Cao Xiao couldn't help but smile. China's food culture has a long history, and gourmet food holds a massive temptation for the vast majority of Chinese people. Even someone as indifferent to worldly desires as Commissioner Zhang was no exception!

With the official business concluded, everyone chatted for a while after eating and drinking their fill. As it was getting late, Commissioner Zhang let the others leave first. The crowd tactfully stood up to bid their farewells, leaving only Cao Xiao, Chen Huaiyu, and Commissioner Zhang in the private room.

"Xiaoyu, bring the things in," Commissioner Zhang shouted toward the door after the others had left.

The door to the private room opened in response. A dignified and elegant young woman with picturesque features, dressed in a small suit, walked in unhurriedly in high heels. She handed a thick document bag she was holding to Commissioner Zhang and said, "Commissioner, your wife just called and asked you to return early to rest."

"Xiaoyu, there are no outsiders here. Have a seat for a while; we'll go home after we finish talking," Commissioner Zhang said kindly to the dignified woman as he took the document bag.

"Uncle, my aunt said that if you aren't home by eleven o'clock, she'll bring Guan'guan to pick you up." The dignified woman did not sit down as told but instead stood beside Commissioner Zhang, looking at him calmly.

"You! It was all for nothing that your uncle treated you so well since you were little; you always help your aunt keep an eye on me every day. Don't worry! It won't take much time, just a moment." Commissioner Zhang looked at his niece beside him with a helpless expression, then turned back with a wry smile and handed the document bag to Cao Xiao. "This is my niece, Wang Jinyu. She's so young yet acts so old-fashioned; she's the little spy my wife sent to be my secretary. Inside are the credentials for you and several of your subordinates. Huaiyu should have told you everything just now, right?"

"Yes, my brother mentioned some things, but I know nothing about the Supervision Department and don't know how to carry out the work," Cao Xiao said somewhat blankly as he took the document bag.

Commissioner Zhang looked at Cao Xiao strangely and said, "I thought you had some contact with them! I really don't know what those people are up to. I'm not a member of the Supervision Department either, and I don't know much about it. When the people from the Supervision Department found me yesterday, I felt it was very strange and couldn't understand why they designated a layman like me to manage it. They just asked me to hand the credentials to you, then told me about the duties of the Supervision Department and some situations regarding the Huanghe City Supervision Office, telling me to strictly follow the relevant systems for management in the future. They didn't say much else. I originally wanted to refuse, but then they showed an order from the State Council. After considering it, I agreed. I don't need to do the heavy lifting myself; anyway, the system is there. If things are done well, they won't say anything, but if you make a mistake, you'll be punished according to the system."

Cao Xiao's face was lined with frustration. He had thought Commissioner Zhang knew at least some of the inside story, but it turned out that after all this time, he was just like him—being forced into a role he wasn't prepared for! "Uh! Then where is the office address for the Huanghe City Supervision Office? How many personnel are there? What are the specific functions?"

Commissioner Zhang looked at Cao Xiao with sympathy and said, "The office address is a residential house in Xiaochen Village by the East Lake. However, the house there is rented, and the rent expires in a few days, so you need to go and renew the lease as soon as possible. As for the personnel of the Supervision Office, they have all been transferred to the Provincial Supervision Bureau. You need to recruit members yourself, but you must strictly follow the standards set by the Supervision Department to absorb members. The functions of the Supervision Department are generally to supervise and manage supernatural individuals within the jurisdiction and handle supernatural phenomena. For specifics, you'll have to check at the Supervision Office; I'm not clear on them either."

"You mean to say that I, this Director of the Supervision Office, am just a commander without an army? Is the Supervision Department that poor? They can't even afford the rent. They didn't leave me a single subordinate; if something really happens, am I supposed to go in myself? I'm a non-combatant, okay! They're bullying me! I also know a bit about the Supervision Department's recruitment standards; at the very least, one must have the strength of a Mingjin Martial Artist to qualify. I've only seen one such person in Huangshan City, and he was someone else's bodyguard. Where am I supposed to find people!" After hearing the situation described by Commissioner Zhang, Cao Xiao was completely shocked! He had originally thought it was a good thing, getting a powerful Director position for nothing, but it turned out he was expected to play by himself. He knew this wasn't Commissioner Zhang's arrangement, but now he could only vent his grievances to his superior, Commissioner Zhang.

"These things aren't for me to worry about. I don't understand them and couldn't manage them even if I wanted to. However, there are benefits to this; at the very least, you can be completely independent and autonomous in the Supervision Office. As long as you don't make mistakes, I won't interfere in the affairs of the Supervision Office. Don't complain about them either; the people from the Supervision Department told me about your situation, saying your personal strength is very formidable, otherwise they wouldn't have made such a decision and placed you in a dangerous position. Furthermore, the people from the Supervision Department also asked me to help you more in other aspects. I think they want you to gain more experience; otherwise, they wouldn't have given you such great autonomy. Additionally, if you encounter an emergency, you have the authority to command the Huanghe City police to assist, and you can mobilize a regiment of soldiers from the Provincial Military Region or the Provincial Armed Police Corps to execute combat missions. You can also seek help from the Provincial Supervision Bureau. The people from the Supervision Department have explained everything; they won't let you fight alone." Commissioner Zhang felt a bit of a headache. The Supervision Department must have a reason for doing this, but he wasn't the one who made the decision, yet he was the one who had to be the 'bad guy.' What was more frustrating was that as Cao Xiao's superior, he had to take care of Cao Xiao's emotions, but after racking his brain, he found he couldn't give a reasonable explanation to comfort him. He wouldn't even believe his own rhetoric if he were in Cao Xiao's shoes.

Cao Xiao saw that Commissioner Zhang was also struggling and knew the man was in the dark as well. Besides, even if there were no people, he could serve as ten people on his own—being invincible within ten thousand meters was no joke. He just didn't want to be tied down by the affairs of the Supervision Office, so he said indifferently, "Forget it! It's useless telling you this! The personnel problem can be solved slowly; if I can't recruit qualified people, I can use weapons to make up for it. By the way, if they won't leave me any people, they should at least give me some resources to recruit and build my forces, right? How is my salary and benefits calculated? What about weapons and equipment?"

Commissioner Zhang said with a wry smile, "Not only have no resources, funds, or weapons and equipment been allocated, but the Supervision Office has no reserves either. They said you have to find a way to solve it yourself. You have the authority to purchase weapons and equipment directly from various domestic munitions factories. As long as you have enough funds, you can purchase anything you want except for strategic weapons. As for your salary and benefits, you can only apply for them after the one-year probationary period ends."

"Fine! I accept my fate! Self-discipline, selfless dedication, seeking no reward, plus doing everything personally, standing alone, one against a hundred, omnipotence, brave service to the country, regarding death as coming home, and eternal glory—all these words can be used to describe my great qualities in the future. Commissioner Zhang, when they contact you again, you must help me ask if their hearts are made of flesh!" Cao Xiao did not hide his deep resentment. He hadn't even met anyone from the Supervision Department yet, so he had no one to argue with and could only vent through self-mockery.

"Pfft! Tee-hee!" Seeing Cao Xiao's resentful and aggrieved look, coupled with those quirky words, Wang Jinyu, who had been standing beside Commissioner Zhang without expression, suddenly burst into laughter, her whole body trembling with mirth.

"Haha! Don't be so pessimistic. Things can be taken slowly; they won't directly interfere with you, and I won't rush you. Just do your best. If there's real trouble, the Provincial Supervision Bureau is also in the city area; they won't just stand by and watch." Commissioner Zhang couldn't help but laugh out loud upon hearing Cao Xiao's self-mockery, but he still spoke to comfort him.

"I'll deal with the Supervision Office after I'm done being busy. Who knows, I might have to get up early tomorrow morning to have a heart-to-heart with that troublesome Landlord-game lover. Let's go!" Cao Xiao had no heart to talk further and stood up absentmindedly, speaking to the others.

...

After leaving the hotel and bidding farewell to Chen Huaiyu and Commissioner Zhang, Cao Xiao got into his bodyguard's car and returned to Biyuntian Villa.

The night passed in silence.

The next day, Cao Xiao got up before five o'clock. After washing up and having breakfast, he practiced a set of boxing. While his family was still asleep, he drove a small truck that he had asked his bodyguard to rent yesterday into the courtyard. He took the ingredients prepared for the engagement banquet at noon out of his space and put them into the truck bed; various ingredients in large and small boxes filled the truck. Originally, according to Cao Xiao's family, the engagement ceremony was to be simple, inviting only close relatives to witness it. However, for He Yueyou's family, the engagement of the eldest miss of the Hongdu helm was no small matter. He Yueyou was the first-in-line successor of the Hongdu Group; her marriage was not only related to the future development of Hongdu, but this engagement ceremony was also an important stage to demonstrate their strength to the outside world. It not only had to be a big event but also a grand and dignified one.

So, after the two families consulted, they decided to hold a grand engagement ceremony, solemnly inviting friends, relatives, business partners, and famous people from all walks of life. The venue was at Cao Xiao's Tianxing Garden, which was also the result of Cao Xiao's insistence. There were several five-star luxury hotels in Huanghe City, but Cao Xiao felt that holding it in a hotel was somewhat perfunctory. The guests invited by He Yueyou's family were all people used to fine food and clothing; they had long grown tired of hotel food. Moreover, there would surely be hundreds or thousands of guests attending the banquet, and a single floor of a hotel couldn't accommodate so many people. It was far less spacious than Tianxing Garden. Although it was an open-air venue, the scenery of green grass and fruit trees was beautiful and unique.

A few days ago, He Yueyou's parents had found several of the best wedding planning companies in Huanghe City. Sparing no expense, they used the most beautiful materials and flowers to exquisitely decorate the area from the main gate to the surroundings of the villa in Tianxing Garden. At a glance, it was a festive scene of lanterns and colored banners. Cao Xiao wasn't clear on exactly how much this cost, but the money spent on flowers alone was definitely no less than a hundred million. This kind of scale was not something an ordinary wealthy person would be willing to spend. They even invited more than ten famous master chefs from all over the country to take charge of the cooking. All the wine, tea, and drinks were the best that could be bought. Coupled with the ingredients provided by Cao Xiao, it would definitely leave a deep impression in terms of food.

Naturally, someone would deliver the ingredients. What Cao Xiao had to do was welcome and receive the guests, but it was not yet eight o'clock; at least until ten o'clock would guests start arriving one after another. There was a specialized wedding planning team to organize and manage everything, so Cao Xiao didn't need to worry about other arrangements. What he had to do now was wait until eight o'clock to see if that bomb maniac would post information today. The police helicopter he had asked Liao Kai to prepare yesterday was already parked outside the villa. If the cyber police at the Municipal Bureau could quickly lock onto the location of the internet cafe used for the ID when the bomb maniac posted information, Cao Xiao would quickly take the helicopter to that area for detection and search. A ten-kilometer range would take some time even by car. As long as the opponent was still in that area, Cao Xiao would then collect all the physical appearance information of everyone in that area. This way, even if he couldn't identify the person immediately, the suspect would be among them, which would greatly narrow the scope of the investigation. If it didn't work once, then the number of people who still appeared in the information-posting area a second or third time would be very small. Aside from local permanent residents and some people without the capability to commit the crime, investigating the remaining people wouldn't take much time. Moreover, the suspect's level of chemical knowledge and physical fitness were very high; such a person could be screened out just by checking their educational background and work experience. Cao Xiao was certain that even with the worst luck, it wouldn't take more than a few days to catch the person; it was just a bit troublesome and time-consuming.