Chapter 126: I Have Arranged a Private Doctor for You

Yang Meng stretched his arms as he stepped out of the police station, the morning sun stinging his eyes. He had been tied up in the station all night and was only now being allowed to leave.

The camera built into his motorcycle helmet was no mere ornament; it had clearly captured everything that transpired that night: how Lu Xintian had cried out for help, how Ma Dali had attacked him with a brick, forcing him to retaliate, and even the moment a fist had struck his helmet earlier on.

There was no escaping the consequences for the couple, Ma Dali and Lu Xintian, now.

Officer Zhou had been even more decisive. Upon obtaining the evidence, he immediately contacted several previous victims who had been extorted by the pair. In his own words, he refused to let good people lose faith in justice and was determined to clear their names at once.

The police station’s response was swift. In the middle of the night, they tracked down the previous victims to re-record their statements, which were then used to interrogate the couple. Ma Dali was currently receiving treatment in the hospital, but his wife, Lu Xintian, bore the brunt of it; she was arrested immediately on charges of filing false accusations. Ma Dali would face the same fate as soon as his treatment was complete.

At first, Lu Xintian gritted her teeth and refused to admit anything, but she was left dumbfounded when she saw the footage captured by Yang Meng’s helmet camera.

One should never underestimate the power of the police. Once in possession of evidence, they excelled at pulling on a thread to unravel the whole tapestry. Under intense interrogation, Lu Xintian not only confessed quickly but also spilled all the details of their previous crimes using the same modus operandi. She might have wanted to keep quiet, but since they were a pair of accomplices, she feared that if she didn't confess, Ma Dali certainly would.

Husband and wife are like birds in the same forest—when disaster strikes, they each fly their own way. To expect deep loyalty from a couple who could commit crimes together while ignoring the law? Let’s just say, good luck with that.

It had turned into a "dog-eat-dog" competition. Why wait for Ma Dali to come out of the hospital and turn on her? Lu Xintian was a smart woman, so she chose the best course of action: pin everything on Ma Dali first. They were clever—otherwise, they wouldn't have devised such a way to exploit legal loopholes—but the specialty of smart people is to always minimize their own liability before anything else.

Then again, their form of crime was essentially the same as "car-scamming." Or, to be precise, it was a form of "staged accident extortion." Why are there fewer car-scammers nowadays? Because almost every vehicle is equipped with a dashcam. The couple had assumed that ordinary people wouldn't be recording at all times, but they hadn't counted on Yang Meng having a camera in his motorcycle helmet.

Why do others get away with scamming motorcyclists, but when it’s their turn, they end up unlucky? Two years ago, an elderly man scammed a motorcycle owner, and the rider, unable to prove his innocence, eventually committed suicide to clear his name. It is exactly those kinds of "rotten apples" that chill everyone's hearts.

But he who walks by the river often gets his shoes wet. This time, however, they were in deep trouble. Because they had falsely accused Yang Meng of robbery, and they were repeat offenders! There had been four similar incidents; prison time was inevitable for the couple. It was only a matter of how long the sentence would be. Even after they were released, there was a high chance they would just end up back inside.

Can habitual offenders reform through incarceration? That is almost an impossibility. Generally speaking, those who commit major crimes rarely become "habitual" offenders; they are either executed or spend their lives behind bars. However, crimes like theft, robbery, fraud, or public indecency easily breed repeat offenders. The latter often stems from psychological issues, while the former is a different story: they treat crime as a life skill, using it to solve problems like poverty. After all, crime is faster and easier than working.

Yang Meng remembered someone from his village back in the day who was like that. He was first caught stealing and detained. Back then, supervision wasn't as strict as it is now; he escaped, was caught again for theft, sent to re-education, escaped again, was caught for theft again, sentenced to hard labor, escaped yet again, and was caught for theft once more! Finally, he was sent to a maximum-security prison in the west. He tried to escape again, was caught in the desert, and was summarily executed. Looking back, if he hadn't kept stealing after his first escape, he might have stayed out of trouble—back then, the system wasn't fully integrated.

But the world isn't what it was decades ago. Surveillance is everywhere, police forces are networked nationwide, and there is nowhere to hide—even if you flee abroad, you will still be caught. Criminals locked away in prison often lose touch with the rapidly evolving outside world. When they get out, they still view the world through outdated lenses, and as the saying goes, "reach out and you will be caught." They end up right back inside.

The Ma couple were "clever" enough to dodge cameras and exploit loopholes, but they overlooked one thing: society is constantly progressing. Even a veteran officer like Officer Zhou didn't know that modern high-performance motorcycle helmets were usually equipped with cameras, let alone the criminals. Seeing Yang Meng on a big bike, they thought they’d found a "fat sheep," only to walk right into a trap of their own making. This incident had severed their future "livelihood"—even if they were released, any future similar behavior would serve as evidence of their status as repeat offenders.

There is a wretched aspect to human nature: a good person can never recover from a single stain on their record, while a bad person can have their past sins masked by a single glimmer of light. Unfortunately, the law doesn't subscribe to that. For example, once they are released, if they ever get into a real fight in a place without cameras, the other party only needs to bring up their past conviction as a defense, and the Ma couple will almost certainly be the ones to suffer.

But who can they blame? When Lu Xintian saw Yang Meng, she knelt and begged for mercy, but Yang Meng was no "white lotus." Forgive them? That would be a disservice to himself. This kind of false accusation was truly the most despicable thing imaginable. Ever since the "first car-scamming case," the moral framework built over thousands of years had shown signs of collapse: people are afraid to help fallen elders, afraid to stop crimes in progress, and doctors are afraid to treat patients.

The couple was truly detestable; they immediately insisted Yang Meng had committed robbery and assault. If they weren't known repeat offenders, or if Yang Meng hadn't had video evidence, he would have been sent to a detention center. He would have ended up either in prison or having to pay a fortune to settle the matter. To show mercy to such people? Only someone with water in their brain would do that.

Yang Meng didn't just refuse to forgive them; he went to the hospital to get an X-ray to document his injuries. His arm had been fractured by that mysterious young man earlier, and it was slowly healing thanks to the "immortal wine." The X-ray confirmed it: a fracture. It was classified as a "minor injury, second degree," and the police, perhaps adding a bit of flair, bumped it up to "minor injury, first degree." It was now a criminal case. That alone would be enough to keep the Ma couple busy for a long time.

Still, the ordeal kept Yang Meng at the station all night. Nobody would be in a good mood after such a mess. What the hell was all this?

"Mr. Yang, what can I say? To think you’d run into something like this!" Before Yang Meng could finish his stretch, he heard a voice calling him. He tilted his head and looked. "Secretary Duan? What are you doing here?"

Duan Bowen smiled. "Lawyer Wang called to tell me what happened, so I came over. I’ve actually been waiting here for quite a while."

Yang Meng suddenly realized. Since he intended to deal with the Ma couple, he naturally needed a lawyer, and the only one he knew was Wang Zhihao. Since Wang was part of the Long Group’s legal team and had been introduced to him by Duan Bowen, it was no surprise that Duan knew.

"Haha, it's nothing," Yang Meng said, shaking the motorcycle helmet in his hand. "They walked right into the muzzle of the gun; that's their bad luck."

Duan Bowen laughed. "True. But I heard from Lawyer Wang that if you hadn't had this video evidence, it would have been quite troublesome."

Yang Meng shrugged, smiling. "Troublesome? What’s the trouble? Paying money? So be it. But whether that money is easy to take or not is another story. Some money is too hot to handle—you might have the life to take it, but not the life to spend it."

He said it lightly, but Duan Bowen didn't think he was joking and quickly nodded in agreement. "These people are truly abominable! They deserve the full severity of the law."

Yang Meng smiled and said nothing. If the law could punish them severely, that was for the best. If not, he certainly wouldn't mind doing it himself.

"Secretary Duan, why are you here so early? Anything you need?" Yang Meng asked, puzzled.

Duan Bowen replied, "I heard from Uncle Long and my father that you were injured, Mr. Yang?"

Yang Meng nodded and said softly, "I did break a few bones, but honestly, thanks to that break, those scammers are in big trouble now!"

Duan Bowen said urgently, "Mr. Yang, if you've broken some bones, shouldn't you be at a hospital?"

Yang Meng waved a hand. "It's nothing too serious. I just need to rest and let it heal."

Duan Bowen continued, "Actually, Uncle Long and my father know you were injured, and they know you don't seem to have a good relationship with the hospitals or a desire to go, so they’ve arranged for a private doctor to treat you specifically, to help you recover as soon as possible!"

Yang Meng laughed. "It's not that serious; a rest is all I need! I have things to do right now."

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Yang Meng, Duan Bowen said, "Tell you what, Mr. Yang, you handle your business first. I'll have the private doctor go to Longteng. When you finish your work and go to Longyun to inspect the training results, you can just have them take a look at you then. How does that sound?"

"Uh..." Yang Meng thought about it. It was indeed time to check on the situation at Longteng. "Fine, let's do that."