Chapter 336: In the Palm of the Buddha

“Colonel General Tang, you did an excellent job,” Chairman Zhen Weiliang said to Tang Guochang as he stepped out of the car.

“I merely followed the operational plan Director Cha prepared.”

“Ha-ha-ha! Is that so?”

Zhen Weiliang laughed in satisfaction and gave a slight nod.

At that same moment, Triad members pulled Liu Peiqi and the others out of the cars with their eyes covered, grabbed them by the arms, and dragged them off somewhere.

Watching them, Zhen Weiliang spoke in a puzzled voice.

“Colonel General Tang, why aren’t those bastards even trying to resist?”

“They probably understand perfectly well what fate awaits them.”

“Hmm... That makes sense. Shall we go inside?”

In the reception room where we had been waiting for their return, we immediately praised Tang Guochang for successfully completing the operation.

However, showing both tact and quick thinking, he redirected all the praise toward me.

I could only scratch the back of my head awkwardly.

Leaving the cordial atmosphere behind, we began reviewing the situation.

“Director Cha, how do you think Politburo member Liu will try to wriggle his way out of this?”

After thinking for a couple of seconds, I answered Tang Guochang’s question.

“Liu Peiqi considers himself a dead man because he eliminated Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan and Personal Secretary Deng Zhiping.”

“You mean he’ll beg me for a quick death?”

“Why would he? When he was detained in Dandong, he showed an extraordinary attachment to life. Considering that, there’s a very high chance he’ll try to offer you a deal.”

“A deal with me? What kind of trump card could he possibly have?”

“He took Chairman Xi Jinping’s secret funds for himself.”

Tang Guochang immediately understood the true meaning behind my words.

Liu Peiqi had forcibly seized Xi Jinping’s secret funds, which had been managed by Secretary Deng Zhiping.

He was convinced that we had no idea about it.

Which meant he would try to use that money as bait to bargain for his life.

Tang Guochang asked me whether his guess was correct.

“You’re thinking in exactly the right direction, Colonel General.”

“And how do we reduce his pathetic tricks to nothing?”

“He’s right in the palm of the Buddha.”

“Ha-ha-ha-ha!”

Tang Guochang burst into booming laughter as though I had voiced his own thoughts.

After waiting for his laughter to subside, I continued.

“We should simply sit back and watch what kind of tricks he tries to pull.”

“Ha-ha-ha!”

Tang Guochang chuckled with satisfaction, already knowing how this scene would end.

***

“Brother, where are we?”

“How the hell should I know!”

“Right, stupid question... Chief Pu, what do you think this place is?”

Public Security Bureau Chief Pu Zhenghua looked around and answered Director Liu Haoran’s question.

“Judging from the absence of bars on the windows, this isn’t a military prison.”

“Hmm... Good point. Then where are we?”

“I would guess this is a PLA safe house.”

“A safe house... But why didn’t Tang Guochang hand us over to Public Security? Why did he drag us here instead?”

“He probably judged that transferring us to Public Security would create unnecessary rumors.”

At that moment, Liu Peiqi barged into the conversation without hesitation.

“Tang Guochang never intended to hand us over to Public Security in the first place.”

“Brother, why do you think that?”

“That bastard knows Secretary Deng Zhiping managed the Chairman’s secret funds.”

“Could it be...”

Liu Haoran faltered as though something had just dawned on him.

“Exactly what you’re thinking.”

“But how could he know details like that?”

“He probably became suspicious because we eliminated Secretary Deng. And right now, he’s most likely reviewing the surveillance footage to confirm his suspicions.”

“Then what should we do?”

“Our best option is to voluntarily hand over the presidential funds we took.”

“And... he’ll let us live?”

“Rumors about his greed for money have been circulating for years. The chance is tiny, but it exists.”

Click!

The door swung open, and a group of people led by Tang Guochang entered the basement room.

Tang Guochang sat down on a chair opposite Liu Peiqi, with only a plain table separating them.

The others quickly set up a video camera and stood behind him.

He pointed at the camera and spoke unhurriedly.

“Politburo member Liu, I assume I don’t need to explain why the camera is here?”

Liu Peiqi silently nodded in understanding.

“Let’s begin the interrogation. You killed Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan and Personal Secretary Deng Zhiping. Do you admit that fact?”

“......”

“Politburo member Liu, should I interpret your silence as a refusal to testify?”

Instead of answering, Liu Peiqi simply nodded again.

At that, Tang Guochang rose from his seat, walked over, grabbed him by the hair, and sharply yanked his head backward.

With both his hands and feet restrained in cuffs and shackles, Liu Peiqi lost his balance and crashed onto his back with a dull thud.

Tang Guochang stared down at him heavily for a long moment, then kicked him hard in the stomach.

“Ghk!”

Liu Peiqi screamed wildly in pain and curled up on the floor.

Tang Guochang returned to his seat and gave a slight nod.

The men standing behind him immediately rushed over to Liu Peiqi and began methodically beating him with their boots.

“Ghh... A-ah...”

Blood sprayed from Liu Peiqi’s broken nose, covering his entire face.

The Triad members continued the beating mercilessly.

After some time, he lost consciousness and sprawled motionless across the concrete floor.

The Triad enforcers grabbed his unconscious body and dragged him into a corner of the basement.

Tang Guochang glanced briefly at the bloody heap before shifting his gaze to Liu Haoran.

“Are you planning to play the silent game too?”

“No! Of course not! Absolutely not!”

Terrified out of his mind, Liu Haoran waved his cuffed hands, begging for mercy.

“Very well. We’ll take your word for it. Answer my previous question.”

“Deputy Secretary Zhang and Secretary Deng were killed by Public Security Bureau Chief Pu Zhenghua!”

“You mean it was his own initiative?”

“No! I acted under direct orders from Politburo member Liu and Director Liu!”

Pu Zhenghua shouted the answer before Liu Haoran could.

“I see. And what carrot did they dangle in front of you to drag you into this crime?”

“They promised me two tons of gold and the position of Chief of the Beijing Public Security Bureau.”

“You mean the gold bars that belonged to Deputy Secretary Zhang?”

“That’s exactly right, Colonel General Tang!”

“So my suspicions were correct. Then why did you kill Deputy Secretary Zhang?”

“Politburo member Liu planned to present the Chairman with a gift of twenty tons of gold. But we didn’t have enough, so...”

Stripped of all unnecessary details, Pu Zhenghua’s lengthy explanation came down to one thing.

Liu Peiqi had eliminated Zhang Jinan simply to get his hands on his gold reserves.

“My, my. And your conscience didn’t bother you?”

“I chased wealth and a high position... I committed a mortal sin.”

“I’m glad you realize that. But why did you kill Secretary Deng Zhiping?”

Pu Zhenghua looked toward Liu Haoran with confusion on his face.

Understanding the silent appeal, Tang Guochang turned to Liu Haoran.

“Director Liu, I’m listening.”

“My brother owed Secretary Deng an astronomical amount of money. And rather than repay the debt, he decided to eliminate him.”

“You killed Secretary Deng over some ordinary debt?”

“...Yes. That’s exactly what happened.”

“In that case, what was Secretary Deng’s laptop doing at the crime scene?”

Liu Haoran went cold.

This was bad.

If he told the truth, the theft of Xi Jinping’s secret funds would come to light.

While he frantically searched for a way out of the dead end, Liu Peiqi, lying in the corner, showed signs of life and groaned.

Deciding it was the perfect opportunity, Liu Haoran shifted all responsibility onto his brother.

“Colonel General Tang, why don’t you ask my brother directly?”

“That’s not a bad idea.”

At Tang Guochang’s signal, the Triad enforcers headed toward the corner of the room.

They picked up the bloodied Liu Peiqi and sat him down on the chair opposite Tang Guochang.

Tang Guochang gave him an icy look and asked in an even voice.

“Still planning to remain silent?”

“...No.”

“Excellent. Then what was the real reason you killed Secretary Deng?”

Liu Peiqi darted a glance at Liu Haoran.

Understanding what he meant, Liu Haoran gave the slightest shake of his head, signaling that he had revealed nothing.

Catching the signal, Liu Peiqi nodded and answered Tang Guochang.

“I knew Secretary Deng managed the Chairman’s secret funds.”

“You mean you killed Secretary Deng so you could appropriate those government funds for yourself?”

Of course, Tang Guochang already knew the true reason in exact detail.

However, purely as a precaution, he continued pretending ignorance.

“I won’t deny it.”

“And you thought the Chairman would let you get away with it once everything came to light?”

“I had a plan prepared. I was going to pin the entire theft on the deceased Secretary Deng.”

“So you must be furious that we caught you.”

‘What the hell do you think?!’

That answer rose all the way to Liu Peiqi’s throat, but through almost inhuman self-control, he managed to suppress the impulse.

“To be honest... yes.”

“I see. Then how much of the Chairman’s fund did you manage to pocket?”

“A little over thirty-five billion dollars.”

Tang Guochang laughed inwardly.

He knew the exact figure down to the last cent.

“Politburo member Liu, don’t take me for a fool.”

Liu Peiqi felt as though all his hopes were collapsing.

Tang Guochang’s tone made it obvious that he knew the true size of Xi Jinping’s secret funds.

And Liu had been stupid enough to try deceiving him without knowing that.

“...My apologies.”

“If I were in your position, I would have answered exactly the same way.”

“Thank you for understanding.”

“No need. In any case, what should we do with the Chairman’s stolen funds? I’d like to hear your opinion.”

Liu Peiqi understood.

This was the decisive moment.

Their lives depended on what he said next.

“I believe the best solution would be to return everything to the Chairman.”

“Very well. That’s what we’ll do.”

Liu Peiqi screamed inwardly.

‘No, damn it, not like that!’

If they wanted to preserve their lives, they needed to hand the money over to Tang Guochang himself.

But Tang unexpectedly showed complete willingness to return everything to its rightful owner.

Forcing his brain to work at full speed, Liu Peiqi tried to redirect his thinking.

“To return the money to the Chairman, Secretary Deng needs to be alive. Since things have already turned out this way... Listen, Colonel General Tang, why don’t you take the money for yourself?”

“Hmm...”

Tang Guochang deliberately paused, pretending to think deeply.

After some time, as though he had finally made up his mind, he answered.

“I’m very grateful for your offer, Politburo member Liu, but I cannot agree to appropriate presidential funds.”

“Haa...”

Liu Peiqi let out a devastated sigh and stared at the ceiling.

Tang Guochang decided to toss the desperate prisoner a tiny shred of hope.

“Politburo member Liu, I’ll take responsibility for returning the Chairman’s funds.”

“But then we’re dead!”

“Would you like me to tell you a way to survive?”

“Of course! Please, tell me quickly!”

Losing the last remnants of his composure, Liu Peiqi hurriedly seized on the offer.

“I’ll arrange for your group to be sent to Russia as quickly as possible.”

“Name your price.”

“Give me the gold you were preparing as a gift for the Chairman.”

“Deal. I accept your proposal.”

Tang Guochang gave a curt nod.

At that moment, one of the Triad enforcers ran out of the basement and soon returned with a laptop.

He placed it on the table, lifted the lid, and turned it on.

Tang Guochang took a note from his pocket and handed it to Liu Peiqi.

“Politburo member Liu, transfer the presidential funds to the account written on this note.”