Chapter 339: Better to See Once Than Hear a Hundred Times

Private ward of the People’s Liberation Army Naval Hospital.

Zhang Hui, Chief of the Central Committee Secretariat, looked worriedly at Tang Guochang, Vice Chairman of the Military Commission, who was sitting on the hospital bed.

“Tang, how are you feeling?”

“The bullet only grazed my side, so fortunately the wound isn’t serious.”

“Thank God it wasn’t worse.”

Zhang Hui then asked Wang Dazhong, Commander of the Northern Fleet, the same question.

Wang replied that he had been shot in the left thigh.

The Secretariat Chief nodded and resumed his conversation with Tang Guochang.

“Tang, who exactly did this?”

In reality, Tang Guochang had been wounded in the side by a bullet fired by Wang Dazhong himself.

To conceal that fact, the two had prepared a single matching story in advance.

“During the struggle, Pu Zhenghua, Chief of the Public Security Bureau, fired a pistol and grazed me.”

“Can you tell me why you ended up fighting with him?”

“I can explain everything down to the smallest detail, but it would be better if you understood the overall situation first.”

“Hmm... I suppose you’re right.”

“We need to report last night’s events to the Chairman, so arrange a meeting.”

“Before that, answer just one question. What you told me over the phone... was it true?”

Tang Guochang took a flash drive from his pocket and showed it to Zhang Hui.

“Zhang, the answers to all your questions are on this flash drive. It would be better to continue our conversation after you watch the recording.”

“What’s recorded on it?”

“Footage of Pu Zhenghua killing Deputy Secretary Zhang Jinan and Personal Secretary Deng Zhiping.”

With those words, Tang Guochang handed the flash drive to Wang Dazhong, who was sitting nearby.

The Commander rose from his bed and limped over to the television before inserting the flash drive into the port.

He turned on the television with the remote and pressed play.

To save time, Wang Dazhong fast-forwarded through the opening footage.

Soon, the screen showed the events in sequence: Liu Peiqi and his men entering the living room through the back door, followed by Pu Zhenghua shooting Zhang Jinan and Deng Zhiping.

Zhang Hui watched the video with an expression of complete disbelief.

When special forces soldiers appeared on screen, smashing through the windows and storming inside, he paused the recording.

Tang Guochang immediately addressed him.

“Zhang, do you believe me now?”

“Of course. But I have a question. Where was this filmed?”

“At Zhang Jinan’s safe house in Langfang.”

“I see. And how was the footage recorded?”

“Zhang Jinan himself had a hidden surveillance camera installed in the chandelier.”

“So that’s how... And the special forces? Who called them?”

“They weren’t dispatched by the police. Deng Zhiping called them.”

“You mean he knew something terrible was going to happen?”

Tang Guochang shook his head and answered Zhang Hui’s question.

“Deng Zhiping had no idea.”

“I don’t quite understand you, Tang.”

“Last night, Deng Zhiping called me. He said that Zhang Jinan planned to present the Chairman with a gift of thirty tons of gold this morning and asked me to assign a military convoy to guard the trucks, just in case.”

“And what did you tell him?”

“To be safe, I suggested deploying troops that very night. But right in the middle of our conversation, Deng Zhiping mentioned that the power had suddenly gone out. I had a bad feeling, so I immediately sent special forces to the location, but...”

“Hmm...”

Zhang Hui trailed off, as though something was bothering him.

Unable to tell what he was thinking, Tang Guochang did his utmost to maintain a calm expression.

After a while, the Secretariat Chief finally spoke.

“Tang, don’t you find that strange?”

“What exactly seems strange to you?”

“Power outages are extremely rare these days.”

“Are you implying that I’m lying?”

“Oh, don’t misunderstand me. I’m only saying that it looks suspicious.”

Tang Guochang mentally returned to the events of the previous night.

While he had been talking with Cha Jiham and the others, Deng Zhiping really had called him.

Just as he was about to answer the Personal Secretary’s call, Cha Jiham had advised him to record the conversation, just in case.

Thinking the suggestion reasonable, Tang Guochang had recorded the entire conversation with Deng Zhiping.

‘Whew... I almost got caught.’

Thinking how fortunately things had worked out, Tang Guochang continued.

“I’ll send you the audio file. Why don’t you listen to it before drawing any conclusions?”

“An audio file?”

“As the saying goes, hearing it once is better than hearing it a hundred times.”

With those words, Tang Guochang sent the recording to Zhang Hui’s phone.

Without delay, Zhang Hui played it.

A few minutes later, he looked apologetically at Tang Guochang.

“Tang, I apologize for doubting you.”

“It’s nothing. If you have any more questions, ask.”

“I have no more questions. Give me a minute.”

Zhang Hui immediately dialed Chairman Xi Jinping’s number.

After several rings, an irritated voice came through the phone.

[Zhang, do you know what time it is?]

“An emergency has occurred. I had no choice.”

[An emergency? What happened?]

“Deng Zhiping and Zhang Jinan were murdered last night.”

[What?!]

Xi Jinping’s shocked exclamation rang loudly through the speaker.

The Secretariat Chief waited for him to process the news.

A few moments later, the Chairman’s bewildered voice came through.

[Zhang, what you just reported... is it true?]

“I received video footage showing both murders.”

[Hmm, so it’s true...]

“Yes, Chairman. Tang Guochang has already begun handling the aftermath of last night’s incident.”

[Don’t tell me...]

Zhang Hui immediately understood why the Chairman had stopped mid-sentence.

“Your suspicions are incorrect, Chairman.”

[Then who the hell is the killer?]

“It has been established that Liu Peiqi was responsible.”

[Liu?! Why would he do that?]

“May I suggest that you personally receive Tang Guochang’s report on the details of the incident?”

[Fine. Bring him to me immediately.]

“While neutralizing Liu Peiqi, Tang suffered a gunshot wound and is currently at the Naval Hospital.”

[Then I’ll come there myself.]

Click.

Chairman Xi Jinping hung up without concealing his urgency.

Lowering his phone, Zhang Hui addressed Tang Guochang.

“The Chairman is coming here.”

“My injuries aren’t that serious. Wouldn’t it be more appropriate for me to go to the Chairman myself and make the report?”

“There’s no better place than this for a confidential conversation.”

Tang Guochang fully agreed with Zhang Hui.

Zhongnanhai, where Chairman Xi Jinping’s office was located, was primarily home to members of the Standing Committee and other top officials.

For that reason, the entire compound was practically crawling with intelligence agents, including CIA operatives.

Fearing information leaks, Xi Jinping often held his most important meetings not in Zhongnanhai, but inside a military bunker.

“Ah, now I understand what you mean.”

“Now, moving on. Where are the bodies of Zhang Jinan and Deng Zhiping?”

“They’re still at the scene because a forensic investigation team needs to work there.”

“I see. Who’s guarding the crime scene?”

“It’s under heavy protection by special forces.”

“Shouldn’t the police have been notified?”

“The police themselves were involved in the murder of those two.”

“Couldn’t that have been Pu Zhenghua’s personal initiative?”

“Zhang, allow me to answer that,” Wang Dazhong cut in before Tang Guochang could respond.

“Go ahead.”

“Last night, we detained or eliminated fifteen police officers at the crime scene. Considering that, we have every reason to believe that the department was involved systematically.”

“Hmm... That makes sense. And where are Liu Peiqi and the accomplices who led the crime?”

“In this hospital’s morgue.”

“You... eliminated them?”

Wang Dazhong did not actually know the exact circumstances surrounding the deaths of Liu Peiqi and the others.

Zhang Hui was far too perceptive, and an unconvincing answer could spell disaster.

While the Commander was thinking about how to respond, Tang Guochang intervened.

“Zhang, in a manner of speaking, they committed suicide.”

Liu Peiqi was a man who clung desperately to life.

How could anyone believe that he had killed himself?

Zhang Hui asked Tang Guochang what he meant.

“Liu Peiqi killed Zhang Jinan and Deng Zhiping. Did he really expect to remain alive after that?”

“There’s logic in what you’re saying. But shouldn’t you have prevented them from killing themselves?”

Tang Guochang had expected this question. Recalling Cha Jiham’s instructions, he answered.

“Of course we tried, but the odds were against us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Commander Wang and I were interrogating Liu Peiqi at a People’s Liberation Army safe house.”

“Why were you in such a hurry to interrogate him?”

The real reason was that they had been trying to force Liu Peiqi to reveal Xi Jinping’s secret accounts.

But Tang Guochang could not admit that even under threat of death.

“We were desperate to report the motive behind the crime to the Chairman as soon as possible.”

“I understand. But why were you conducting the interrogation personally?”

“They killed Deng Zhiping and Zhang Jinan—the Chairman’s favorites. How could we entrust the interrogation of such an important case to subordinates?”

“You’re right about that. So, did you learn the motive?”

“Of course. But I’ll report that personally to the Chairman.”

“That would be more appropriate. Tell me what happened afterward.”

“During the interrogation of Liu Peiqi’s group, I needed to use the restroom.”

“Zhang, allow me to continue from here,” Wang Dazhong naturally took over.

“I’m listening.”

“While Tang Guochang was away, I suspended the interrogation and decided to use the break to deal with some accumulated paperwork. But suddenly...”

Wang Dazhong paused for dramatic effect before continuing.

“Pu Zhenghua suddenly lunged at me.”

“Why?”

“I had a pistol on me.”

“He wanted to take your weapon?”

“Exactly. To keep him from getting the pistol, I fought with him. Seeing an opportunity, the Liu brothers attacked me as well. While I was fighting three against one, Tang Guochang came back from the restroom.”

“The moment I saw what was happening, I rushed in to help,” Tang Guochang added.

“And what happened next?”

“A shot went off during the struggle. When I turned around, I saw Commander Wang’s pistol in Pu Zhenghua’s hand. Wang himself was writhing in pain—he had been shot.”

“My goodness...” Zhang Hui sighed sympathetically.

“The moment I rushed toward Commander Wang, Pu Zhenghua shot at me too. By sheer luck, the bullet only grazed my side.”

“How fortunate.”

“Exactly. And now comes the most important part, so listen carefully.”

“I’m all ears.”

“Pu Zhenghua suddenly turned the pistol around and opened fire on the Liu brothers.”

“What? Really?”

Naturally, that was a lie.

Tang Guochang continued without the slightest change in expression.

“Yes. Both were shot in the head and died on the spot.”

“Hmm... Why on earth would Pu Zhenghua kill both of them?” Вставленный Markdown