Xu Mingjie sat in his office, his fingertips drumming rhythmically on the armrest of his chair, the tap-tap sound coming from his own lips.

The method of leveraging another person’s weakness to extort money is known by the term "blackmail," and the sound Xu Mingjie was making was his own simulation of that extortion.

As for the target of this extortion, it was, of course, the fellow who had recently gained a minor splash of fame online— "Brother Suzuki."

Even though Brother Suzuki refused to cooperate, there was an old saying: “The monk may run away, but the temple cannot.” Even if they didn't know Brother Suzuki's true identity, it didn't matter. By impounding that little Suzuki car, the 'oil' would naturally flow to their doorstep.

However, Xu Mingjie felt a slight sense of regret. The only drawback was that the Suzuki Wagon R was too cheap. The money extorted from seizing such a vehicle would certainly not compare to holding a Honda Accord. Furthermore, as the person involved had loudly claimed, the photograph itself didn't conclusively prove 100% sexual activity. This meant a direct conviction was impossible, and the potential profit naturally plummeted.

In contemporary society, automobiles are deeply integrated into every facet of life. If the photo had been more compelling, the enforcement standard could have been flexibly calibrated between a lifetime license revocation and merely suspending the license pending re-testing. For many, spending eighty or ninety thousand yuan on damage control to avoid a lifetime ban would seem worthwhile.

Traffic police enforcement possesses immense flexibility; with a few well-placed words, the cost paid by the punished party can vary tremendously. This situation provided fertile ground for opportunists like Xu Mingjie, which is precisely why he targeted "Brother Suzuki," Wang Zhuo.

If Wang Zhuo had shown fear upon meeting, admitting fault immediately, Xu Mingjie would have tailored his demand, setting the blackmail amount between one hundred and two hundred thousand yuan based on Wang Zhuo’s financial status. After all, a lifetime license revocation is a devastating penalty—enough for Xu Mingjie to drive a hard bargain.

But Wang Zhuo proved unexpectedly rigid. Xu Mingjie opted for an indirect strategy: first, pick on the softer target, Siyuan, squeeze what profit he could, and then decide whether to involve his police contacts for a "joint enforcement" action against the uncooperative Wang Zhuo. Xu Mingjie had dealt with such bluster disguising weakness before; he was certain that just a few days locked in a detention center would convince the man to hand over the money willingly.

"Shhh..."

Zhong Wei, sitting opposite Xu Mingjie, suddenly made a gesture for silence and picked up the phone from the table.

"Little Suzuki calling?" Xu Mingjie asked with a smile. Zhong Wei nodded silently and pressed the connect button.

The call was indeed from Siyuan, just as Xu Mingjie had guessed. However, what Xu Mingjie hadn't anticipated was that Siyuan was doing more than just talking; she was simultaneously recording the conversation.

An hour earlier at the tea bar, Wang Zhuo had discreetly activated a small recording device and passed it to Siyuan before leaving. Now, Siyuan was performing her role while secretly capturing the interaction between her and Xu Mingjie and Zhong Wei—this call was simply the follow-up to gather corroborating evidence.

But how could Zhong Wei anticipate that she, despite her young age, possessed such shrewdness? After a brief preamble, he stated his terms: "I'll intercede with the leadership for you. You only need to pay a fine of twenty thousand yuan, and we won't impound the car or require a deposit."

Siyuan naturally inquired, "Is there a receipt for this twenty thousand? If I pay and you two go back on your word and still impound my car, who do I appeal to?" Zhong Wei immediately scolded her for not understanding the rules, assuring her, "If you have a receipt, don't worry. Once the money is paid, this dangerous driving incident will be completely wiped clean!"

The two finally agreed that Siyuan would come to the traffic police squadron the day after tomorrow to pay the money, concluding the call.

"Dare to shake down Instructor Wang? Let's wait and see the police hide get peeled off!"

Hanging up the phone, Siyuan triumphantly shook her little fist and turned to Wang Zhuo to claim credit.

They were currently in Siyuan’s dorm room, one of those mid-range setups with loft beds, desks underneath, and an attached bathroom. Siyuan’s three senior roommates were conveniently absent.

The clean, warm ambiance of the girls' dormitory, even carrying a faint aroma of hormones intoxicating to a man, coupled with the locked door and muffled sounds of life in the hallway, added a layer of excitement. Unfortunately, Wang Zhuo couldn't afford any overly affectionate