The door of the interrogation room closed, and the lamp on the table flickered on. It was suddenly turned in Lin Jingzhe's direction, and its glare blinded him.

Someone politely put a cup of hot water in front of him. Lin Jingzhe smiled and said, “Thank you, I'm not thirsty.”

The two men on the other side of the table exchanged glances, their expressions a bit disconcerted. Seeing he was so young, one of them said in a friendly manner, "There's also c.o.ke, Sprite, and Jianlibao. I'll get you a bottle?"

Lin Jingzhe had to hold back a smirk. In his last life, Gao Sheng told him the first thing interrogators did was make people drink a lot. Then, if someone stubbornly refused to cooperate, they'd drag on without letting him go to the bathroom. This method had been in practice for a long time, and even after two decades, nothing had changed.

He shook his head, refusing again, and the man had no choice but to give up. He put a stack of papers in front of the young man instead. "Sign it," he ordered.

Lin Jingzhe was cuffed to the chair, but his posture wasn't uncomfortable. He picked up the doc.u.ments and scanned through them.

It was a confession, in which Lin Jingzhe admitted that his deceased grandfather had colluded with black market traders to illegally acquire cultural relics and that he knew about it. He also repented his behavior of concealing the cultural relics instead of reporting them and promised to voluntarily hand them over to the State Bureau of Cultural Relics, and so on.

It was very well-written, much better than if he wrote it himself.

After he finished reading, he set it down and leaned back against the chair, closed his aching eyes, due to the dazzling light. "I won't sign it. I never said any of that."

The interrogators didn't expect him to be so challenging to deal with. They looked at each other for a moment, then one threatened, "It's all there, what do you pretend for now? It seems you want to do this the hard way!"

The second man played the good cop: "Child, I advise you not to refuse. You'll sign it anyway, whether now or later. The end will be the same, so why make it harder for yourself?"

Lin Jingzhe knew the interrogation was being recorded, so he dug his heels in and refused to budge, "I didn't say anything you put in this confession. Besides, these legal antiques have already been, equally legally, donated—the expert from the National Museum received them already. So, what's the use of making me sign?"

"'The expert from the National Museum?' You mean that old man in your house?" The man who spoke revealed a mocking smile. "You shouldn't so easily believe what random strangers tell you, child! The PSB has already sent people to arrest him. Just keep being stubborn—soon, you'll cry."

In a certain upscale club in Liyun Town, the munic.i.p.al leader, Du Kang, was being hauled over the coals through the phone.

Did the delegation complain about something? Just what mistake have I made? He repeatedly pondered the day's proceedings but really couldn't find what he'd done wrong. The reception he'd arranged was of the highest standard possible in Liyun Town: the delegation members were settled in the finest quarters of the Party cadre's guest house, and the dinner was a banquet held in Liberation Hotel, the best in town. Even the alcohol he prepared was Maotai of the excellent vintage he was usually reluctant to part with.

After dinner, he brought them to a club and invited the most beautiful girls to accompany them drinking. Despite clamoring they had important things to do which couldn't be delayed, none of the guests looked dissatisfied nor angry, at least as far as he could tell.

He took the handkerchief his secretary handed him and wiped the sweat on his forehead. He hurried to ask, unconsciously hunching his back, "Is there a problem with the reception? Have the delegation members found something offensive? Please tell me what's wrong, and I'll certainly fix it!"

{You still have the nerve to ask! Before the delegation arrived, I stressed again and again: you need to ensure their absolute safety!} The leader on the other end of the phone was clearly not mollified by his repentance—on the contrary, his voice became loud to the point of breathlessness, {You, do you look down on me, treat my words as the wind in your ear?!}

Du Kang's innards trembled at the hoa.r.s.e roar, but he replied, aggrieved: "How can this be? I always keep your instructions in mind. As soon as the comrades from the National Museum arrived in Liyun Town, the public security forces were put on high alert. All the munic.i.p.al leaders.h.i.+p, including me, is accompanying them. I also called the best doctors and nurses from the town's hospitals—they are always nearby, just in case. I swear, you've wronged me this time, Mr. Zheng."

Zheng Cunzhi almost vomited blood. {I wronged you? Well, Comrade Du Kang, let me make clear just how wronged you are: just now, the most senior expert of the National Museum's delegation called me asking for help. He's surrounded by the people from your PSB, and they'd already taken away the young man who generously volunteered to donate cultural relics to the National Museum. He thinks they might harm him. Now, do you dare say this is nothing and you're wronged by me!?} He slammed his fist on the table. {I dare you to say it!!!}

Du Kang's knees went soft, and he felt short of breath. There was a senior expert who separated from the delegation team and acted independently? Why hadn't he heard anything about this?

"Mr… Mr… Mr Zheng." Du Kang stuttered, so dumbfounded by the news he couldn't form a complete sentence. He tried to defend himself, sweating profusely: "I had no idea about this, you must believe me, I really don't know…"

{You don't know? This happened in Liyun Town, under your jurisdiction, and you tell me you don't know?} Zheng Cunzhi sneered. {Du Kang, do you know who that senior expert is?}

The munic.i.p.al leader gulped.

{You don't know? Is there anything you do know?! Maybe you know Elder Fang, huh?!}

Boom. It was as if silent thunder burst through Du Kang's heart, turning his internal organs into a mess of flesh and blood. If before he felt some weakness in his limbs, now he lost the ability to even keep himself upright.

He grabbed the table, barely managing to not to fall, but his voice began to tremble noticeably: "Fang… Fang…"

{The other provincial leaders and I will arrive in Liyun Town in three hours at the latest,} Zhang Cunzhi interrupted him. {And you—you should begin to pray,} he added before hanging up.

The dial tone was like a crossbow bolt plunging from his ear into his brain without warning.

Clatter.

The telephone receiver slipped out of Du Kang's suddenly limp hand. The disastrous news left his mind blank.

It was the first time the secretary had seen him like this. He immediately realized something must've gone terribly wrong and asked in hurry, "What happened, boss?"

The moment Du Kang's dull eyes fell on him, they regained a spark of hope.

The secretary watched his boss' expression change from lifeless to panicked and from panicked to desperation, like colors in a kaleidoscope. Finally, it settled on irrepressible rage—he almost thought he saw smoke coming out of his ears.

The next second, Du Kang, who weakly supported himself on the table, suddenly recovered all his energy and slammed his hands on the wooden tabletop with a deafening bang.

"Call the PSB town headquarters! Ask them where they are now!" Usually, Du Kang was a rather jovial man. This was the first time the secretary ever saw him grinding his teeth while visibly trying to suppress hatred as if he couldn't wait to tear out someone's throat. He banged on the table again, yelling, "Quick!!! Hurry up!!!"

In the "wealthy area" of Liyun Town, Lin Jingzhe's house was surrounded by people. The searchlights focused on the small, rather modest building, temporarily turning night into day.

Dozens of guns were pointing at the door, and solemn warnings kept flowing from the megaphone, "The people inside, listen…"

Cla.s.s 5's students had never encountered anything similar. Zhou Haitang peered through the crack in the door, and his face turned pale. He looked over his shoulder at Gao Sheng, "What should we do?"

Gao Sheng appeased, forcing himself to stay calm, "There are so many people inside, and most of them are students—they won't dare to shoot. I'm more worried about Jingzhe. They took him away and who knows what's happening to him now."

As he spoke, he secretly observed the five people who looked entirely out of place in this ordinary living room.

Elder Fang had been so agitated he had to take medicine after the phone call. Now, he was resting on the sofa with eyes closed but still discussed something with his four companions.

There were too many people talking in the living room, however, and the noise overwhelmed the old man's quiet voice. Gao Sheng thought for a moment. He went to the kitchen and poured a cup of hot water then approached the sofa. After coming closer, he heard, "How could this be, this is outrageous…"

Then he was stopped by the bodyguards. The old man opened his eyes, and the look that flashed across his face made Gao Sheng unconsciously shrink.

Elder Fang saw the cup of water, and his expression softened a bit. He gestured to the bodyguards, indicating they needn't be so nervous, then received the cup and took a sip.

"Thank you, young man."

"Grandpa." Gao Sheng hesitated for a moment, but he wasn't worried about himself. "Jingzhe… won't be in danger, will he?"

Elder Fang's eyes shone with fury like that of a fierce G.o.d: "They would dare!"

Outside the house

Deng Mai's father stood in front of Deputy Commissioner Liu, blocking his way, and argued: "There are so many innocent students inside, what are you doing?!"

Deputy Commissioner Liu pushed him away. "Then what do you say I should do? Let these vile criminals happily escape? Who will take responsibility for that—you, Deputy Commissioner Deng?"

The other man choked, appalled. "Then who is going to take responsibility if your men shoot and injure the students? What then?"

Deputy Commissioner Liu's face was gloomy—he also worried about this. However, this worry paled in insignificance compared with the recognition he would get if he caught a gang of big-time antique traffickers.

Right now, there was an opportunity for a major promotion. It could be the turning point of his life: a step-up in his career and his future would be bright. But if he didn't seize this opportunity…

He didn't need to guess—just how many people in the neighboring cities held the position of deputy commissioner until their retirement, never able to advance higher? This was likely to be his future too.

At that thought, his hesitancy abruptly disappeared. He glanced at his watch, then at the team waiting behind him, ready to act. Finally, he issued the crucial order of the day: "Carry out the arrest!"

Deng Mai's father shouted, shocked and outraged, "No! Deputy Commissioner Liu!!! I disagree with your decision, you're too ras.h.!.+"

"Rash? Would you rather me act like a fearful old woman as you do? If we're afraid to make a move, the criminals will only get more and more arrogant! You think the students will be safe then?" Deputy Commissioner Liu retorted. He lowered his voice and sneered, "Deputy Commissioner Deng, this is my case and my subordinates. You have no business being here. You should leave!"

Then he kicked open the courtyard gate.

Anxious, Deng Mai's father called several people he'd brought along and rushed to stop him, but Liu's subordinates, who had the advantage in numbers, quickly surrounded his group. A moment later, there was another loud noise—this time, it was the front door that was kicked open.

The house rang with the screams of the students, but no gunshots were heard. Elder Fang shouted at his bodyguards, ordering them not to resist, "Stop, let them catch you!" Then, they were all forced to the floor and restrained.

Deputy Commissioner Liu strode over. He put a foot on the back of one of the bodyguards and pointed his gun at Elder Fang's forehead, smirking triumphantly. "You were so arrogant not too long ago—do you dare to mouth off again, hmm?"

The old man only gave him a dark look and sneered.

Deputy Commissioner Liu was delighted at his victory. He straightened and said, "Take them away!"

Just as the s.h.i.+ny handcuffs closed on the old, frail wrists, there was a sudden commotion outside.

One after another, there came a sharp screech of the car brakes. Soon, a policeman ran inside and whispered something in Deputy Commissioner Liu's ear.

Liu's face brightened. He waved at his subordinates, rus.h.i.+ng them: "Come on, move it!"

As a group of people walked into the living room with large strides, he smiled wide and hurried to greet them, "Oh, it's the munic.i.p.al leaders! I'm truly sorry for this mess. Fortunately, the situation is already under control—"

He intended to boast about his achievements but sadly didn't succeed.

Du Kang, who walked in the front, approached and slapped his face hard.

"I never knew you were so daring, Liu," he spat. Then, the expression of his face s.h.i.+fted into an apologetic smile. He approached Elder Fang and bowed, his voice respectful to the utmost, "Master Fang, this is all a misunderstanding. I a.s.sure you I had no idea about this."

Deputy Commissioner Liu stood frozen because of the unexpected slap, his eyes subconsciously following Du Kang. When he saw this scene, his mind became sluggish with shock.

Translator: Eques

Editor: Bet