Chapter 464: Good News

Chapter 464: Chapter 464: Good News

Upon hearing the verdict, Zoe Sawyer pumped her fist in excitement. ’What a satisfying outcome!’

It was no surprise that Mr. and Mrs. Morrison couldn’t bear to stay, either.

After all, too many people had seen Zhang and his girlfriend being taken away. Anyone who followed the police bulletins afterward would surely find out what had happened.

"Zhang’s parents had already sold that apartment to someone else before the incident. He and his girlfriend were just renting."

"After the incident, the new owner rushed back immediately to deal with the aftermath. He even sent some fruit and snacks to the two children and the police department," Heath Hale said, reading from the file.

If we hadn’t stopped it in time, a murder would have occurred, and the apartment would have been stigmatized as the scene of the crime.

Its value would have plummeted.

So the fruit and snacks the owner sent were nothing compared to the financial loss he would have suffered from the property’s depreciation.

"After he was arrested, Zhang actually requested to meet Ms. Crawford several times and even wrote multiple letters of repentance. But Ms. Crawford refused to see him and didn’t read a single letter," Evan Keller said, pointing to another section in the file.

After his arrest, Zhang was very cooperative, appearing to have genuinely repented.

In reality, he was just scared—scared of being locked up for decades, scared of getting out with nothing to his name.

He did have regrets, but only that he’d failed to cover his tracks properly and had let the police find him.

People like him only regret getting caught; they never reflect on why they committed the crime in the first place.

"In any case, I’m just glad we resolved it successfully." Zoe Sawyer’s tone was firm. ’I don’t care what the criminal thinks. All that matters is that my abilities helped save the victims and bring the culprits to justice!’

The others all nodded in agreement.

The case of Zhang’s attempt to kill his children was finally closed.

With no new cases coming in over the next few days, Zoe Sawyer went back to her routine, gradually catching up on the physical training she had missed because of the investigation.

At noon, Zoe Sawyer and the others returned to the office after lunch to find the chief sitting in Evan Keller’s chair, his expression grave as he replied to a message on his phone.

Seeing the chief’s expression, Zoe Sawyer and the others instinctively straightened their postures, their minds buzzing with questions.

’Why is the chief here now? Don’t tell me there’s a major case to solve?’

’Or has another situation popped up?’

Before Zoe Sawyer or the others could ask, the chief noticed the commotion at the office entrance.

He looked up, and his stern expression softened considerably. "Sawyer, come over here. I have some good news for you."

Seeing the chief’s expression relax, Zoe Sawyer and the others knew it wasn’t anything too serious. They all gathered around with grins on their faces. "What is it, Chief?"

"You had such a grim look on your face earlier. It really gave us a scare."

The chief shot an annoyed glare at them before turning back to Zoe Sawyer. "The higher-ups have noted your outstanding contributions this past year in fighting crime and dismantling criminal organizations."

"They feel your achievements shouldn’t remain in the shadows, so they’ve decided to publicize some of your contributions. That’s what I was just discussing with them."

Hearing this, Heath Hale frowned and took a step forward. "Zoe Sawyer’s accomplishments are too high-profile. If they’re made public, I’m afraid some of the elements still lurking in the shadows will come after her."

"Even now, there are still plenty of people in the country who’ve been turned, or who’ve been sleeper agents for decades."

Heath Hale was worried that rashly publicizing Zoe Sawyer’s achievements would draw too much attention all at once, which would be disastrous if it made her a constant target.

The chief glared at Heath Hale and said irritably, "You think we haven’t considered that?"

"Don’t worry. It’ll just be a silhouette; it won’t reveal Sawyer’s face or identity. Besides, we need something like this to see if we can bait a few fish."

"Some of these people are hidden far too well. How are we supposed to catch them if we don’t use some potent bait?"

"Besides, we never intended to use Zoe Sawyer as the bait. We’re just borrowing her name to lure them out!"

At that thought, the chief shot another glare at Heath Hale. "Are you the only one worried about her safety? What does that make the rest of us, her wicked step-parents?"

Hearing this, Heath Hale scratched his cheek, a little embarrassed, and took a step back.

’I was just worried, that’s all. My brain wasn’t working for a second there.’

Zoe Sawyer looked at the chief and said, "I understand. What do you need me to do?"

"You don’t have to do anything. A designated team will come to conduct an interview, and you just have to read from the script I’ll give you."

"There are two main goals here: one, to let people know about your contributions, and two, to do a little fishing. It’d be great if we hook something, but it’s no big deal if we don’t," the chief said with a chuckle, waving his hand dismissively.

Even if we don’t achieve the second goal, it’ll still serve as a deterrent to potential criminals, making them think twice before actually committing a crime.

Zoe Sawyer thought it over. It didn’t sound difficult at all. Since a script with all the answers was already prepared, she would just have to read it aloud.

’Then there’s no problem at all.’

The day after the chief’s announcement, Zoe Sawyer was called into an office for the interview.

She had been a little nervous, but upon seeing the two reporters in military uniforms, Zoe Sawyer instantly relaxed.

The rest of the interview went just as the chief had described; she read from the script the entire time.

They took one last photo, and the entire interview was wrapped up perfectly in under half an hour.

The speed of it all was almost unbelievable to Zoe Sawyer.

The story broke just as quickly. By the next evening, Zoe Sawyer saw it trending online and clicked the link.

Just as the chief had promised, her photo and name were not revealed. She was referred to only by a title, and even the audio from the interview had been voice-modulated.

Zoe Sawyer also noticed there was no mention of the "Big Sister" case. A little curious, she asked Heath Hale about it.

"The ’Big Sister’ case is too sensitive. We still can’t be certain whether her network has been completely dismantled within the country. To avoid causing public panic, it can’t be publicized for now," Heath Hale explained.

Zoe Sawyer nodded in understanding. After confirming that nothing was needed from her, she put the matter out of her mind and thought no more of it.

But unexpectedly, less than a week later, the chief called again.

"Evan Keller, your team doesn’t have any active cases right now, do you?" the chief asked, getting straight to the point.

Evan Keller glanced at Sean Hughes and the others, who were debriefing a previous operation, and then at Zoe Sawyer and Beau, who were engrossed in their studies. He replied, "No, we’re currently reviewing some old cases. Zoe Sawyer and Beau are studying."

"Is something the matter, Chief?"

Hearing the answer, the chief first let out a sigh of relief, then ordered in a grave voice,

"Bring a few of your people and Zoe Sawyer, and come to my office."