Che Zhen pushed the door open, white raincoat and boots in his left hand, a gas mask in his right, and a fire axe tucked under his arm.
He placed the items on the table next to Jiang Ye and silently returned to stand by the sofa.
Zhang Qiongshi stared at the fire axe, her face pale. "Gladstone was appointed by me personally. He sends me greeting messages every holiday."
"You trust him a lot?" Jiang Ye frowned.
"If he were hostile to me, his forces would have attacked long ago," Zhang Qiongshi said. "The Governor's Mansion guard wouldn't be able to stop them. I think he just wants to force me to make changes."
"Greeting messages, do you find that amusing?" Jiang Ye sneered. "Even if he called you his mother and kowtowed to you every day, he could still be a second An Lushan. Where are the mercenary troops you dispatched?"
Zhang Qiongshi glanced at her phone. "Five minutes away from the nearby streets, but the nearby streets are blocked by police cars."
"Tell them to wait in the nearby streets, preferably make some noise, shine some lights, honk some horns," Jiang Ye said. "Let the people outside know that a counter-encirclement has been formed."
Zhang Qiongshi nodded, picked up her phone, and started giving orders.
"Report! Gladstone and Hodgson are requesting entry!" A guard appeared at the door.
"Let them in, bring them straight up!" Jiang Ye's eyes gleamed with joy.
Zhang Qiongshi nodded, and the guard immediately disappeared.
The walkie-talkie on the table crackled to life:
"Report, Gladstone and Hodgson have entered and are coming upstairs, unarmed."
"Report, they've reached the second floor."
"Report, the third floor."
Jiang Ye picked up the raincoat and put it on, then donned the boots, holding the gas mask in his hand.
"Lend me a hand," Jiang Ye said to Che Zhen.
Che Zhen understood. He reached out and patted the division commanders beside him. The division commanders immediately opened their briefcases, from which they took out many parts. They dumped the parts out with a clatter and quickly assembled energy pistols in about ten seconds, each holding one.
The division commanders took off their coats, revealing bulletproof vests, rolled up their sleeves to show their strong forearms, and then unhurriedly walked behind the main door, standing and waiting.
Finally, two figures in black police uniforms appeared at the door.
Both were middle-aged white men with bushy beards and stern expressions.
Gladstone, walking in front, wore a golden police badge on his chest, while Hodgson, following behind, wore a silver one.
As the two men entered and were about to speak, Che Zhen and several division commanders lunged forward instantly, knocking them both to the ground in a flash. Che Zhen straddled Gladstone's chest and punched him repeatedly in the face, drawing blood from his nose. Hodgson, on the other hand, had another division commander sitting on his chest, also punching his face until it was swollen and bleeding profusely from the nose.
The other division commanders were not idle either. They used leather belts to securely bind the hands and feet of the two men, and then poured a bottle of water onto their faces.
Gladstone and Hodgson choked violently on the water, unable to utter a single word from beginning to end. Then, the clicking of energy pistols being cocked echoed all around. The two men opened their eyes to see seven burly men standing nearby, holding gleaming pistols.
"Don't speak. If you speak, you die," Che Zhen said, standing up.
Gladstone and Hodgson lay on the ground in shock, not daring to move, their eyes scanning the room.
A man in a white raincoat walked over. "I am Jiang Ye. You can answer when I speak. Don't say anything I don't ask. Obey me and you live, understand?"
The two men on the ground nodded cautiously.
"Who started this?" Jiang Ye asked.
Hodgson immediately pointed at Gladstone. Gladstone glanced at him and slowly raised his own hand.
"Who instructed you?" Jiang Ye said.
Hodgson continued to point at Gladstone.
Gladstone remained silent.
"What was the purpose of the mutiny?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Zhang Qiongshi is not suitable to be the leader," Gladstone said.
"Then who is suitable?" Jiang Ye said.
Gladstone fell silent.
"Damn it, are you saying no one is more suitable than her?" Jiang Ye asked.
"Many people are more suitable. This cannot be decided by me; it should be decided by the cabinet," Gladstone said. "I am only fulfilling my historical mission."
"Who is in the cabinet?" Jiang Ye asked.
"The ministers of each department and the governors of each continent," Gladstone replied.
Jiang Ye turned to look at Hodgson. "Why did you participate in the mutiny?"
Hodgson's expression was tense, sweat beading on his forehead, his nose still bleeding, looking pathetic. "He told me to come. I have to obey his orders. The capital guard is part of the military sequence, and a soldier's duty is to obey orders."
"Obey Gladstone's orders, or obey Chief Zhang's orders?" Jiang Ye reached out and grabbed Hodgson's hair, yanking his head back forcefully.
Hodgson gritted his teeth in pain. "Both... both must be obeyed."
"You obeyed Gladstone because he was the superior and you were the subordinate, right?" Jiang Ye asked, increasing the force of his pull on Hodgson's hair, almost tearing off his scalp.
"No," Hodgson said, his face reddening with pain, his body arching like a shrimp.
"Then this is simple," Jiang Ye released his grip, grabbed Hodgson's silver police badge on his chest, and yanked it off.
He then grabbed Gladstone's golden police badge on his chest, yanked it off forcefully, and placed it on Hodgson's chest.
Jiang Ye turned to look at Zhang Qiongshi. "Is this arrangement acceptable?"
Zhang Qiongshi nodded. "I can issue the appointment letter immediately and announce it globally."
Hodgson was stunned, looking bewildered and at a loss.
"Don't rush," Jiang Ye turned back, pointing at Hodgson's nose. "Do you know who I am? You should know that my words carry weight, right? I'm recommending you as the superior, and your position will be stable. So, are you a grateful person?"
"I will definitely be grateful!" Hodgson gritted his teeth.
"How will you show your gratitude?"
"I will pledge my loyalty to you!" Hodgson said.
Jiang Ye slapped him across the face. "Nonsense! I'm not from your planet, so what are you pledging loyalty to me for! Who will sign your appointment letter?"
"I will pledge my loyalty to Chief Zhang!" Hodgson realized.
"How will you show your loyalty?" Jiang Ye asked. "Just with words?"
"Whatever Chief Zhang asks me to do, I will do!" Hodgson almost shouted.
Gladstone's face turned red. Just as he was about to speak, Che Zhen quickly raised his military boot and stomped on his mouth.
"Issue the appointment letter," Jiang Ye said, turning back.
Zhang Qiongshi nodded to an official beside her. The official immediately said, "After deliberation, it has been decided to appoint Hodgson Cleveland as the new Chief of the Capital Guard! The original Chief of the Capital Guard, Gladstone Patlame, is relieved of his duties! The appointment letter has been announced globally and is effective immediately!"
"Come, untie the Chief. The Chief has been through a lot," Jiang Ye said. "It's the middle of the night, and there are bound to be scoundrels causing trouble and committing crimes in the city. The police force on night duty needs to go catch them. At the same time, the Governor's Mansion needs to sleep. If there's anything, we can discuss it tomorrow, right, Chief?"
"I'll try to order those outside to leave," Hodgson said, being helped to sit up. "But I don't know if they'll listen to me, especially with Gladstone still here."
"Gladstone has quite a bit of influence, doesn't he?" Jiang Ye smiled and put on his gas mask. "This kind of thing is best handled."