Chapter 335: Answer Me, Now!

Politburo member Liu Peiqi glanced briefly at Secretary Deng Zhiping, who lay dead with his head covered in blood, then turned to Public Security Bureau Chief Pu Zhenghua.

“Chief Pu, what do you intend to do with Secretary Deng’s and Deputy Secretary Zhang’s bodies?”

“I plan to take them to Dandong and dump them into the sea.”

“Can’t you dump them somewhere in the waters around Tianjin?”

“I’ll put it this way. Dandong is territory under my personal control.”

“I see. You understand what will happen if their bodies are found, don’t you?”

“You don’t need to worry about that at all.”

At that moment, Director Liu Haoran joined the conversation as though he had something to add.

“Brother, how about giving Chief Pu the two tons of gold you promised him right now, when he heads back to Dandong?”

Liu Peiqi immediately understood what Liu Haoran was getting at.

Earlier, Liu Haoran had suggested killing Pu Zhenghua in the basement.

The fact that he was bringing this up now could mean only one thing.

He was trying to lower the police chief’s guard.

Once Liu Peiqi understood his intention, he had no choice but to play along.

“Sorry, but I have a different opinion on that.”

“You mean you intend to break the promise you made to Chief Pu?”

“It would take Chief Pu far too long to liquidate two tons of gold. So instead of paying him in gold bars, I’m thinking of giving him cash.”

“Ah, I see! And how much do you plan to pay Chief Pu?”

Liu Peiqi looked at Pu Zhenghua with a benevolent smile.

“I’m planning to pay you five billion dollars for your trouble.”

“W-what? Is that true?”

Pu Zhenghua’s voice trembled in utter astonishment.

“You know yourself just how enormous Chairman Xi’s secret fund is.”

“I sincerely thank you for your generosity, Politburo member Liu!”

“There’s no need to thank me. However, I won’t pay you right now.”

“What do you mean...?”

Liu Peiqi understood perfectly well why Pu Zhenghua had faltered halfway through his sentence.

“It means I’ll hand over the money only after you dispose of Deputy Secretary Zhang’s and Secretary Deng’s bodies perfectly.”

“Ah, now I understand what you meant.”

While this cordial conversation was taking place, Liu Haoran suddenly asked an unexpected question.

“Brother, when will the Chairman learn that Secretary Deng is missing?”

“Tomorrow morning at the latest.”

“The Chairman will undoubtedly raise hell trying to find him. Are you sure we won’t run into problems?”

“The alibi Chief Pu prepared is flawless, so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“Even so, shouldn’t we check once more whether we overlooked any small detail?”

Pu Zhenghua silently thought it through, searching for possible holes, and mentally clutched his head.

Once a missing-person report was filed for Secretary Deng Zhiping, the police would first trace the location of his mobile phone.

If that happened, it would only be a matter of time before they discovered that Deng had been here.

There was also a high chance the police would inspect every surveillance camera in the surrounding area.

Then they would discover that Politburo member Liu Peiqi’s vehicle had come here as well.

If that happened, their fate would be plunged into impenetrable darkness.

‘Hmm... Is the only way for me to survive to flee abroad?’

While he was lost in grim thought, Liu Peiqi suddenly called out to him.

“Chief Pu, what are you thinking about so seriously?”

“Oh, nothing... I was checking whether there were any flaws in our alibi.”

“And? Did you find anything?”

Pu Zhenghua tensed inwardly.

Because he had found an extremely serious hole.

But if he answered honestly, this date next year would become the anniversary of his death.

That was only natural.

After all, he himself had devised most of the alibi.

“I didn’t find any particular problems.”

“Ha-ha-ha. Excellent. Then shall we move on to transporting the gold?”

“Yes, of course.”

After answering briefly, Pu Zhenghua dialed a number on his phone.

But something was strange.

His direct subordinate’s phone was turned off.

While he stared at the screen in confusion, Liu Peiqi asked suspiciously,

“Chief Pu, what happened?”

Crash! Bang!

At that exact moment, several windows shattered at once, and armed men stormed into the living room.

They rapidly flooded the room and pointed their weapons at Liu Peiqi and the others.

“Don’t move!”

Liu Peiqi was instantly gripped by terror.

The intruders had obviously come for the gold bars hidden in the basement.

‘Damn it... We’re finished.’

As he groaned inwardly, the raiders approached and cuffed both his hands and feet.

However, Liu Peiqi could not simply surrender the gold without putting up any resistance.

“Listen! How dare you break into someone else’s house without permission?”

Click!

At that exact moment, the tightly locked front door swung open, and several people entered.

Liu Peiqi reflexively turned his head and nearly lost the power of speech. His eyes looked as though they might pop out of their sockets.

Because among those who had entered was Vice Chairman Tang Guochang.

“Y-you...? How are you here?”

“Why? Is there some reason I’m not allowed to be here?” Vice Chairman Tang Guochang replied indifferently.

Then he turned to Commander Wang Dazhong standing behind him and gave an order.

“We need to preserve the evidence, so do not touch Secretary Deng’s or Deputy Secretary Zhang’s bodies.”

“Understood. But do you really think these bastards will try to deny their guilt?”

“Of course. Deputy Secretary Zhang was an extremely cautious man. I’m sure he installed hidden cameras.”

“Ah, now I understand. Find the surveillance cameras immediately!”

“Yes, sir!”

The special forces soldiers responded loudly and immediately began searching for the cameras.

Liu Peiqi and his accomplices could only watch them in stunned silence, trembling all over.

Some time later, one of the soldiers reported loudly,

“Comrade Vice Chairman! There’s a camera installed over there, on the chandelier!”

“Really?”

Of course, Tang Guochang knew perfectly well where the camera had been installed.

However, just in case, he pretended to be surprised with complete composure.

“Yes, sir. If you look closely, you can see a lens about the size of a fingernail.”

Tang Guochang stared intently at the spot the soldier was pointing toward.

After confirming it, he nodded and asked,

“The camera couldn’t have been operating on its own, could it?”

“Of course not. There must be a recording device somewhere around here as well.”

“Good thinking. What are you waiting for?”

“I’ll find the recorder immediately!”

After giving a crisp report, the soldier ran upstairs.

Tang Guochang watched him go, then ordered Wang Dazhong,

“Take down the camera on the chandelier.”

“Understood!”

The moment Wang Dazhong nodded, one of the special forces soldiers brought over a chair from the dining room.

Standing on it, he carefully removed the camera hidden in the chandelier.

At that moment, a soldier came rushing down from the second floor.

Breathing heavily, he reported to Tang Guochang.

“Comrade Vice Chairman, we found a video recorder in the study on the second floor!”

“Excellent work. Let’s see what was recorded.”

With those words, Tang Guochang sat down on an empty sofa.

The special forces soldier connected the storage drive to Secretary Deng Zhiping’s laptop lying on the table.

When he played the video, an image of the empty living room appeared on the screen.

“We don’t have much time. Fast-forward straight to the important part.”

At Tang Guochang’s instruction, the soldier began quickly skipping through the footage using the mouse.

He returned it to normal playback from the moment Liu Peiqi and his men entered through the rear door.

Soon, Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan and Secretary Deng Zhiping appeared on the screen, coming up from the basement.

The moment they spotted Liu Peiqi’s group, both froze in surprise.

At that exact instant, Public Security Bureau Chief Pu Zhenghua shot Zhang Jinan with his pistol.

The bullet struck Zhang Jinan in the head, killing him instantly as blood poured from the wound.

“Stop.”

The special forces soldier paused the video immediately.

Tang Guochang fixed the seated Pu Zhenghua with an icy stare.

“Did you even know who Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan was?”

“...I did.”

Pu Zhenghua answered in a weak, defeated voice, fully aware that his fate was sealed.

“You knew, and you killed him anyway?”

“...I committed a mortal sin.”

“Who ordered you to shoot him?”

“......”

Pu Zhenghua clenched his lips tightly, not daring to say a word.

Watching him, Tang Guochang barked in a voice sharp with icy menace.

“Answer me, now!”

“It... It was Politburo member Liu’s order.”

“Just as I thought. Was it Liu Peiqi who also ordered Secretary Deng’s elimination?”

“...Everything is exactly as Vice Chairman Tang says.”

Tang Guochang stared long and hard at Liu Peiqi before speaking.

“Politburo member Liu, don’t you think this has gone far too far?”

“......”

Liu Peiqi had nothing he could say in his defense.

He merely lowered his head in silence.

After giving him a contemptuous look, Tang Guochang turned toward his companion.

“Commander Wang, I believe we should report what happened here to the Chairman.”

“I completely agree with you, Comrade Vice Chairman.”

“But before that, shouldn’t we find out why these scum killed Deputy Secretary Zhang and Secretary Deng?”

“Of course. That absolutely needs to be investigated.”

“I’m glad we understand each other. Load these bastards into my car.”

“You plan to interrogate them somewhere else?”

Tang Guochang intended to take Liu Peiqi’s group to the safe house where Cha Jiham was staying.

But he could not reveal his real objective, so he came up with another excuse.

“Would you rather interrogate them here, right above the corpses?”

“Hmm... You have a point.”

“Just in case, put blackout bags over their heads before putting them in my car.”

The special forces soldiers approached Liu Peiqi’s frozen accomplices and pulled thick bags over their heads.

Then they lifted all three men up and took them outside.

Watching them leave, Tang Guochang seemed to remember something and quietly addressed Commander Wang Dazhong.

“Deputy Secretary Zhang intended to present the Chairman with thirty tons of gold. However, there are more than thirty-one tons stored in the basement.”

Wang Dazhong immediately understood Tang Guochang’s train of thought.

Tang intended to appropriate the gold exceeding those thirty tons.

To confirm his guess, Wang cautiously asked,

“You’re absolutely right. Distribute the remaining gold among the special forces soldiers who participated in the operation, and don’t forget to take your own share.”

“What about you, Comrade Vice Chairman?”

Tang Guochang planned to take all the secret funds Liu Peiqi had stolen from Chairman Xi Jinping.

Moreover, he also intended to seize the fourteen tons of gold in Liu’s possession.

For that reason, he had no need to lay claim to Zhang Jinan’s gold.

Naturally, he could not reveal any of that even under threat of death.

“It’s enough for me to earn the Chairman’s complete trust.”

“I understand what you mean, but... don’t you feel that’s a little unfair to you?”

“I don’t like repeating myself.”

“...My apologies.”

Sensing the threat in Tang Guochang’s voice, Wang Dazhong immediately lowered his tone.

“You understand what will happen if the Chairman learns that we concealed part of the gold, don’t you?”

“Of course. I’ll personally make sure my subordinates keep their mouths shut.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“Still... is it really necessary to give all thirty tons to the Chairman?”

Truthfully, Tang Guochang had thought the same thing himself.

However, after listening to Cha Jiham, he had changed his mind.

“The Chairman already knows that Deputy Secretary Zhang intended to hand the gold over to him. What do you think will happen if a shortage comes to light?”

Wang Dazhong shuddered at the mere thought of the consequences.

“I assume there’s no need for me to continue?”

“No. None at all.”

Some time later, the special forces soldiers who had escorted Liu Peiqi’s group away returned.

Tang Guochang thanked them for their service and stepped outside.

After the door closed behind him, Commander Wang Dazhong looked around at the soldiers and spoke in a lowered voice.

“There are more than thirty-one tons of gold in the basement...”