Out of trust for him, Zhao Donglai didn't look much and just put it aside.

"Captain Zhao, if there's nothing else, I'll head out first."

"Wait a minute, Luo Fei, at the end of this month the city is holding an award ceremony. Although the police team's honors for the Old Wu case were revoked before, ours are still there."

"Plus, you've continuously achieved merits in the anti-drug team and the Guo Jing case, so Director Zheng awarded you a personal first-class merit, and I got a personal second-class merit."

Luo Fei had already received a first-class merit before, so hearing this news again didn't excite him as much as the first time, but he was certainly still happy.

Zhao Donglai encouraged him a bit more and then let him go.

Afterwards, everyone got busy with their own tasks, and before finishing up for the day, Liao Xingyu and the others submitted their reports.

Zhao Donglai went through all of these reports, confirmed there were no issues, and organized all the materials related to the two cases, planning to hand them over to the prosecutor's office on Monday.

After doing all that, it was almost five o'clock.

He walked out of the office and, sure enough, saw everyone already waiting in the hall.

"Is everyone here? Speak up about what you want to eat, so we can head straight there."

"With this weather, it has to be barbecue and beer."

"Come on, Zhao Hai, have some ambition. It's not often Captain Zhao treats us; we should at least go to a nice restaurant."

"But I think Zhao Hai's suggestion is great, grilling skewers while having a cold beer, can't be beat!"

"Haha Zhang Lei, you sneaky fellow, but even if you're planning to rip off Captain Zhao, don't make it so obvious, otherwise what if you scare him into not treating us?"

After everyone got familiar with Zhao Donglai, they started joking around.

Amidst a wave of laughter, Zhao Donglai laughed heartily, "Don't worry, I won't run. You decide the place today, I'm fine with anything!"

"Captain Zhao, you're the boss!"

"With Captain Zhao's words, we won't be polite now!"

Such a magnanimous promise naturally led everyone to playful teasing and praise once more.

Finally, after everyone discussed, they decided to go for hot pot.

Though they said they wanted to fleece him, no one actually meant to cross the line.

Right then, a group of people marched to a hot pot restaurant not far from the police station.

It was still early, and they were the first customers.

The owner was overjoyed at seeing so many guests at once, and hurriedly had the waiter bring the menu over, personally delivering several fruit platters to them.

After ordering, everyone started chatting away noisily.

Since there were quite a few of them, one table wasn't enough, so they sat at three tables that were close together.

At this moment, Zhao Hai suddenly leaned over from the neighboring table, "Captain Zhao, Group Leader Luo, are you going to drink white liquor or beer later?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Donglai looked at the few people next to him grinning mischievously, clearly realizing these guys intended to make him drink, and quickly shook his head.

"I have to drive later, so I won't be drinking. You can ask Luo Fei."

Zhao Hai and the others indeed planned to get the two of them drunk, and seeing Zhao Donglai refuse, their expressions turned a bit disappointed.

But soon, they refocused their target on Luo Fei.

"Group Leader Luo, what about you?"

"I need to get home..."

Just as Luo Fei was about to refuse, Zhao Hai interrupted him.

"Group Leader Luo, you're not catching a ride with Captain Zhao, a bit of drinking won't affect anything."

"That's right, if you get drunk later, Captain Zhao can drive you home, or I can call a cab for you!"

"Exactly, it's rare for everyone to gather, and you can't do without a couple of drinks."

"Anyhow, today you have to drink a bit..."

"Group Leader Luo, are you our buddy or not? If you are, you can't refuse!"

Seeing their plan to get Luo Fei drunk, Zhao Donglai chuckled secretly to himself.

Others might not know, but he was well aware of Luo Fei's drinking capacity.

Back in the day, a whole group could not drink more than him alone, and Zhao Hai and the others were just asking for trouble!

He, eager to watch the fun, chimed in, "Luo Fei, since they've all said it, don't spoil everyone's fun, have a good drink with them; I'll drive later."

Zhao Hai and the rest, oblivious to the impending fail, excitedly responded to that.

"With Captain Zhao saying so, Group Leader Luo, you can't refuse now."

Previously unsuspecting, Luo Fei internally grumbled about Captain Zhao's sneaky nature as he looked at Zhao Donglai rather helplessly.

"Alright, just a few drinks then."

"That's the spirit. So, are you having beer or white liquor?"

"Whatever."

"That's brave! Waiter, bring us a bottle of Erguotou and a dozen beers!"

With that, Zhao Hai grinned at Luo Fei, "Group Leader Luo, tonight we're not going home until we're drunk!"

Sporting a too-bad expression for Luo Fei, he calmly returned the sentiment, "Alright."

In terms of drinking, he had never lost, so he was naturally fearless.

However, Zhou Fan appeared a bit worried, unable to hold back, "Zhao Hai, teasing is fine, just don't actually get Luo Fei too drunk."

"Ah, don't worry, Leader, we know our limits."

Soon, the waiter placed a bottle of white liquor and a dozen beers on the table.

But drinking on an empty stomach not only gets you drunk easily but is also unhealthy. Zhao Hai and his group only meant to tease him, so they didn't immediately start drinking.

In a short while, dishes came one after another, and everyone chatted while eating.

Once they nearly finished eating, Zhao Hai and the others finally began their operation, finding various reasons to offer Luo Fei drinks.

Not one to refuse, Luo Fei drank one cup after another with them, starting with the white liquor, then moving to beer.

With his style of drinking, the group watching beside couldn't help but worry, only to find out Zhao Hai and his crew were the first to get tipsy.

Observing Zhao Hai's flushed face, someone teased, "Zhao Hai, maybe you can't handle it?"

"Nonsense, a man can't say he can't!"

Zhao Hai instantly snapped back, fighting for his dignity and resolving to endure the dizziness, "Group Leader Luo, your drinking capacity is indeed impressive, but I, Zhao Hai, don't give up easily, let's toast again!"

He still couldn't believe that several of them couldn't outdrink one person.

"Alright, bottoms up." Luo Fei tilted his head back, draining a cup of beer.

Having just had several cups of white liquor, Zhao Hai was already feeling drunk, and seeing Luo Fei's straightforward gesture sent a shiver down his spine.

But for pride's sake, he still gritted his teeth and downed it in one go.

Before he could compose himself, Luo Fei smiled, "Want more?"

"... Sure, sure."

Though his smile seemed forced, Zhao Hai braved through another seven or eight cups.

During this, Wang Lei and a few others also respectively toasted several cups to Luo Fei.

After all that, he alone had at least drunk about twenty cups, yet still showed no sign of intoxication, while two individuals among them couldn't endure any longer.

"No more, no more, Group Leader Luo, I admit defeat..."

Wang Lei was the first to wave his hand in surrender.

By this point, his face was bright red, and he could barely speak clearly, evidently having drunk too much.

Seeing him concede, Xue Ping also yielded from the third group.

Luo Fei looked at the remaining three, "What about you guys, still drinking?"

Finally realizing they'd hit a wall, Zhao Hai and his companions backed down.

"No more, no more... Group Leader Luo, we admit defeat. This time we're completely impressed!"

"Didn't expect you to hide it so well, we truly didn't recognize a hero!"

"Group Leader Luo, your drinking capacity is astonishing, I humbly concede."

"Hahaha... Back in the county's criminal investigation team, Luo Fei took down everyone in the team with his drinking, yet you dared try to get him drunk, now you know his prowess."

Seeing their concession, Zhao Donglai laughed heartily.

Only now did everyone understand why Zhao Donglai usually took care of Luo Fei, yet calmly let Zhao Hai and his group try to get him drunk, knowing full well of his capacity...

The few who realized they'd been set up couldn't help but gripe about Zhao Donglai's cunning.

"Captain Zhao, that wasn't fair, you clearly knew but didn't tell us."

"Haha... Even if I told you, would you have believed me?"

"Uh..."

The group was momentarily speechless.

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