Chapter 332: There Are No Perfect Crimes in This World

“Hahaha!”

Director Liu Haoran understood perfectly well why Politburo member Liu Peiqi was laughing so loudly and heartily.

Chairman Zhen Weiliang had done exactly as requested and charged Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan an astronomical price. Naturally, under circumstances like these, Liu Peiqi’s mood couldn’t help but improve.

Liu Haoran waited until he had calmed down a little before continuing.

“I guess there’s a reason people say, ‘One man’s misery is another man’s joy.’”

“Hahaha! You can say that again. How much do you think Chairman Zhen sold those twelve tons of gold to that Zhang for?”

Liu Haoran spent a moment calculating on his phone before answering.

“If we assume Chairman Zhen gave him a three-percent discount, then the purchase should have cost around thirteen billion five hundred million dollars.”

“So that bastard overpaid by one billion two hundred million?”

“Since the price of gold rose by about ten percent, that should be roughly right.”

“Haha! I’ll have to treat Chairman Zhen to some excellent liquor.”

“I’m sure he’ll be delighted. Still, where did Zhang manage to scrape together that much money?”

“He borrowed it from everywhere he could, where else?”

“Ah, right! I heard he’s planning to meet Secretary Deng tonight.”

Liu Peiqi immediately saw through Zhang Jinan’s intentions.

Chairman Xi Jinping trusted every word Secretary Deng Zhiping said, even if he claimed soy paste could be made from beans.

Naturally, Zhang Jinan knew that perfectly well.

He was seeking the meeting simply to grease Secretary Deng Zhiping’s palm.

“That bastard is willing to do anything to get a seat on the Standing Committee.”

“You can say that again.”

“If we put Secretary Deng under surveillance, we should be able to find out where Zhang hid the gold.”

“That’s exactly what I was thinking, brother.”

Liu Peiqi nodded and turned to Public Security Bureau Chief Pu Zhenghua.

“Where is Secretary Deng right now?”

“One moment.”

After answering curtly, Pu Zhenghua dialed someone’s number. He exchanged a few words with the person on the other end, then ended the call.

“Politburo member Liu, Secretary Deng is currently accompanying the Chairman.”

“Understood. Put him under total surveillance and report every move he makes.”

“Yes. It will be done.”

“Still, what should we do with him?”

Director Liu Haoran immediately understood what Liu Peiqi was getting at.

Liu Peiqi owed Secretary Deng Zhiping four billion five hundred million dollars.

If Secretary Deng Zhiping was eliminated, there would be no need to repay the debt.

In a situation like this, noticing his true intentions and pretending ignorance would amount to outright negligence.

“Should we get rid of him together with Deputy Secretary Zhang?”

“I have a different opinion on that, Director Liu.”

Public Security Bureau Chief Pu Zhenghua spoke before Liu Peiqi himself could respond.

“You’re suggesting we leave Secretary Deng Zhiping alive? Did I understand you correctly?”

“If we eliminate him, the Chairman won’t let it go.”

“We’ll do it without leaving any evidence, so the Chairman won’t suspect anything.”

“There are no perfect crimes in this world.”

At that moment, Liu Peiqi cut into the conversation as though he had suddenly remembered something important.

“Chief Pu, there’s something you don’t know. Secretary Deng manages the Chairman’s secret slush fund.”

Pu Zhenghua immediately saw through Liu Peiqi’s cunning intentions.

He had his sights set on Xi Jinping’s secret funds.

But Pu Zhenghua did not share his enthusiasm.

“I understand your intentions perfectly well, Politburo member Liu, but there are two critical problems.”

“And what would those be? Enlighten me.”

“First, there is a high probability that Secretary Deng will report his meeting with Deputy Secretary Zhang to the Chairman.”

“He’s meeting Zhang to receive a bribe.”

“You mean he won’t report that to the Chairman?”

“Exactly. Now tell me the second problem.”

“We’ll need to obtain his laptop, which contains the account information for the Chairman’s secret funds.”

“And he carries that laptop with him at all times, like a second shadow. I assume I don’t need to explain any further?”

At that moment, Liu Haoran, who had a question, cut into the conversation.

“Brother, how much money is actually in the Chairman’s secret fund that Secretary Deng manages?”

“I was curious myself, so I once cautiously asked Deng about it. He let slip that it holds more than seventy-five billion dollars.”

“Whoa! That’s an astronomical amount.”

After exclaiming, Liu Haoran immediately turned toward Pu Zhenghua.

“Chief Pu, you understand how important your role is, don’t you?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Public Security Bureau Chief Pu Zhenghua’s loud, confident voice echoed through Politburo member Liu Peiqi’s office.

***

“Director Cha, do you think Liu Peiqi will really leave Secretary Deng Zhiping alive?”

Liu Peiqi owed Secretary Deng Zhiping four billion five hundred million dollars.

If he wanted to avoid paying that money back, he had no choice but to eliminate his creditor.

That was exactly what Vice Chairman Tang Guochang was asking me about now.

“If Liu Peiqi takes Deputy Secretary Zhang’s gold, he’ll end up with around forty-five tons. He can give thirty tons to Chairman Xi and sell the remaining fifteen. That would bring him roughly fifteen billion dollars. With that much money in hand, I doubt he’d take an unnecessary risk by eliminating Secretary Deng.”

“But he knows Secretary Deng manages Chairman Xi’s personal slush fund.”

At those words, my temples throbbed for a moment.

Liu Peiqi’s next move was as obvious as words written in an open book.

Pushing my brain to full capacity, I came up with a plan to crush his scheme and continued speaking with Vice Chairman Tang Guochang.

“Let me explain our contingency plan in case Liu Peiqi does decide to eliminate Secretary Deng.”

“Go on.”

“First, we need to install surveillance cameras in every corner of Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan’s safe house.”

Tang Guochang tilted his head in confusion.

Surveillance cameras had one major weakness: they didn’t record sound.

Cha Jiham obviously knew that, yet he was still suggesting they install them.

Tang Guochang directly asked why.

“Vice Chairman Tang, you’ll need to hand Chairman Xi video footage showing Zhang Jinan and Deng Zhiping being murdered by Liu Peiqi’s men. But if their conversation is recorded as well, we won’t be able to use the footage as evidence.”

“I understood barely half of what you just said, Director Cha.”

“Liu Peiqi will try to get his hands on Chairman Xi’s secret funds by any means necessary.”

“Well, that much is obvious.”

“Secretary Deng won’t simply comply with his demands.”

Only then did Tang Guochang begin to vaguely understand what I was thinking.

Liu Peiqi would torture Secretary Deng Zhiping to force him to surrender access to Xi Jinping’s secret slush fund.

Every conversation and scream during the torture would inevitably be captured on video.

If Chairman Xi watched such footage, he would immediately realize that Liu Peiqi had stolen his secret funds.

But those same funds would then be intercepted by Tang Guochang himself.

In that case, Chairman Xi’s suspicions would inevitably fall on Tang Guochang.

Cha Jiham intended to install cameras without audio specifically to prevent that outcome in advance.

Tang Guochang cautiously asked a question to confirm his suspicion, and I answered.

“You’re absolutely right, Vice Chairman Tang.”

“I never imagined there was such a deep plan behind it.”

“Haha, you’re exaggerating. Director Om, under no circumstances can those cameras be discovered.”

“You don’t need to worry about that at all,” NIS Director Om Giyeon replied confidently.

Once the discussion ended, Vice Chairman Tang Guochang left the safe house.

After seeing him off, we gathered in the living room to continue our interrupted discussion.

“Director Pan, where is Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan right now?”

“I just checked. He’s still at the warehouse where the gold bars were being appraised.”

“I see. And when is he planning to head to the safe house?”

“It looks like they’ve already finished loading the gold into special containers, so he should leave within ten to twenty minutes at most.”

“Director Om, when can the NIS operatives finish installing the cameras?”

Instead of answering immediately, NIS Director Om Giyeon made a call. After a brief conversation, he hung up.

“Director Cha, the work will be completely finished within ten minutes at most.”

“Then there’s no problem.”

“Tonight is going to be a very long night. Why don’t we get some rest?”

“Hahaha! Excellent words! Music to my ears!” Triad Vice Chairman Wei Chen was the first to break into a grin.

***

“Vice Chairman, what did the hospital say?”

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang had been scheduled to preside over a meeting of the senior command staff from all branches of the armed forces that afternoon.

However, right in the middle of preparations, Cha Jiham had called him and requested an urgent meeting.

Tang Guochang couldn’t tell the truth, so he lied to Northern Fleet Commander Wang Dazhong and claimed his stomach was hurting.

That was why Wang Dazhong was asking him now.

“I didn’t go to the hospital.”

“But what if your condition gets worse?”

“Nothing hurts. Why would I go to the hospital?”

“You were the one who said your stomach hurt!”

“I had my reasons. Ah, right. The senior command meeting is postponed indefinitely.”

Commander Wang Dazhong understood absolutely nothing.

Vice Chairman Tang Guochang himself had said he was going to the hospital because of stomach pain, yet in the end he hadn’t gone anywhere, and now he was ordering an extremely important military meeting postponed as well.

Naturally, Wang Dazhong couldn’t help asking why.

“Curious? I’ll tell you what’s going on, but first go check the situation outside.”

“Yes, sir!”

After answering sharply, Commander Wang Dazhong rushed out of the office.

A short while later, he returned and reported to Vice Chairman Tang Guochang.

“Comprehensive precautions have been taken. Not even a fly can get through.”

“Good work. Now listen carefully to what I’m about to say.”

“I’m listening.”

“I left earlier to meet an informant.”

“An informant?.. Who do you mean?”

There was no way Tang Guochang could openly admit that he had met with Cha Jiham, the NIS Director, and the Directors of the CIA and FBI.

“Why are you so damn curious?”

“My apologies. I wasn’t thinking.”

After Vice Chairman Tang Guochang’s stern rebuke, Commander Wang Dazhong immediately quieted down and reined himself in.

“Right now, Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan and Politburo member Liu Peiqi are both aiming for a seat on the Standing Committee.”

“I’m well aware of that.”

“Good. What the two of them have in common is that both are planning to present the Chairman with a large amount of gold.”

“So the rumors were true.”

“The problem is that Liu Peiqi has only half as much gold as Zhang. To make up the difference, he plans to eliminate Zhang Jinan.”

“What?!”

Commander Wang Dazhong froze in complete shock, genuine horror spreading across his face.

Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan was considered one of Xi Jinping’s closest associates.

Killing someone like that...

Who wouldn’t be shocked?

“When I first heard about it myself, my heart nearly dropped into my stomach, and it still does whenever I think about it.”

“That’s understandable. But Vice Chairman, are you certain the information you received is reliable?”

“Why would I lie to you?”

“That’s true... Now that I think about it, you’re right.”

“I want to use this opportunity to eliminate Liu Peiqi and Zhang Jinan in one stroke.”

“How?”

“Tonight, Zhang Jinan is supposed to secretly meet with Secretary Deng.”

With a completely composed expression, Tang Guochang repeated everything Cha Jiham had told him as though he had devised the plan himself.

“...And that’s how we’ll be able to eliminate Liu Peiqi.”

“I understand what you mean, but shouldn’t we save Secretary Deng?”

“Is there any point?”

Commander Wang Dazhong tilted his head in confusion.

Secretary Deng Zhiping was Chairman Xi Jinping’s right-hand man.

If they saved him, the Chairman would reward and praise them generously.

Yet for some reason, Vice Chairman Tang Guochang showed no particular desire to rescue Deng.

After voicing his opinion, Wang Dazhong asked what he thought.

“There’s a high probability Liu Peiqi will get rid of Secretary Deng as well.”

“But aren’t they supposed to be close?”

Tang Guochang knew the real reason Liu Peiqi intended to eliminate Secretary Deng Zhiping.

But he had absolutely no reason to reveal it to Wang Dazhong, nor did he see any need to.

“It’s been confirmed that Liu Peiqi borrowed four billion five hundred million dollars from Secretary Deng.”

“You mean he’ll decide to eliminate Secretary Deng just so he won’t have to repay four and a half billion dollars?”

“Exactly.”

“Damn... I guess when that much money is involved, there’s no room for mercy or conscience.”

“You’re thinking correctly. How we handle tonight’s incident will determine both your fate and mine. Can I count on you?”

“I’ll do everything in my power and live up to your trust!”

Clenching his fists, Commander Wang Dazhong displayed his complete readiness and unwavering confidence.