Chapter 111: Sabotage

Chen Xi spoke with a pitifully wronged expression, and Mu Lin looked utterly helpless listening to him.

'Li Xue is truly vicious when she starts yelling...'

Zhou Yu also looked on with wide, teary eyes.

"Brother Lin, Brother Xi didn't betray you in the slightest! Sister Xue just chewed him out for no reason."

Mu Lin said, "I'll talk to her about it later. Don't worry."

With that, Mu Lin sat back down in his seat.

Zhou Yu and Chen Xi looked at each other, both wondering what exactly the relationship between Mu Lin and Li Xue was.

Just then, his phone rang again.

It was Zhou Qianfan. "Mr. Mu, you must act immediately! Drop whatever you're doing, no matter how urgent!"

Mu Lin was baffled. 'On what grounds? Why?'

"What's happened?"

"Young Master Yang has sent people to sabotage your construction site!"

Mu Lin shot to his feet and strode quickly out the door.

"Explain the details. I'm going to find President Li."

"Finding President Li is the right move! Don't let her go to the site, whatever you do. It's a setup, a trap aimed at her and you!"

Mu Lin said, "Be specific. Make it clear!"

"Remember Dong Jia? After he died, his brother Dong Hua was furious and demanded accountability from the Yang Family. The Yang Family agreed to pay compensation—which Wu Long covered, of course. At the same time, they promised Dong Hua they would help him kill you."

"President Li is famous in the industry for her hands-on approach to her construction sites. If there's an incident, she's guaranteed to go there. Whether you go with her or not, they'd be perfectly happy to take the life of someone close to you."

"Their goal isn't just your life—they want to wipe the entire Li Family from Anhua!"

By now, Mu Lin had reached the office.

When the young secretary saw him approach, she said hurriedly, "President Li said she doesn't want to see you!"

Mu Lin pushed past the secretary, threw open the door, and walked in.

When Li Xue saw Mu Lin barge in, she was furious. "What are you doing? Get out!"

Mu Lin said, "You can't go to the construction site later! I'll go instead!"

Li Xue snapped, "What nonsense are you talking about? My project is at a critical stage. If I don't go to the site to oversee things and something goes wrong, are you going to pay for it with your life?"

Just as Mu Lin was about to explain, the phone rang.

"President Li, there's been an accident at the construction site!" It was the site supervisor, Wang Jinhang, on the other end.

"The scaffolding we were putting up suddenly collapsed! The workers on it... there are heavy casualties. I didn't dare to delay and called you immediately."

Li Xue's face darkened, and she let out a terrifying roar. "Are you completely useless? You're the site supervisor! How could you let something like this happen?!"

"I'm coming over right now! You'd better have a good explanation for me, or you can get ready to go to jail!"

Li Xue slammed the phone down and immediately grabbed her bag to leave.

Then she saw the grave look in Mu Lin's eyes and suddenly remembered what he had just said.

"You already knew?"

Mu Lin said in a low voice, "I didn't know what kind of accident would happen, but someone told me people are coming after you. I'll go check it out. You stay here."

Li Xue replied coldly, "Are you kidding me? I'm the president. How can I not go when there's been an accident? What would people think of me and the Li Group?"

Mu Lin said grimly, "If you absolutely have to go, then I'm going with you."

"What good can you do?" Li Xue snapped at Mu Lin as she rushed out the door.

Mu Lin didn't say a word; he just followed her.

Li Xue was exasperated but had no choice but to let him.

Handling an accident was a race against time; not a single second could be wasted.

Mu Lin and Li Xue piled into the car. Li Xue told the driver, "As fast as you can. Get to the construction site now!"

Seeing how anxious Li Xue was, and with her grim expression, the driver said, "Ye... yes!"

'President Li is usually so careful about safety. Why is she in such a rush all of a sudden?'

'And isn't that the vice-leader of the special projects team next to her? Why is he tagging along?'

A pile of questions popped into the driver's mind.

THUD!

Li Xue slapped the back of the seat.

"Faster!"

The driver, terrified, hurriedly stepped on the gas.

They tore through the streets at lightning speed, not daring to slow down, and quickly arrived at the edge of the construction site.

This was a plot of land the Li Group had acquired for a small-scale, lower-end development project.

Mu Lin had seen it in the files, but this was his first time here.

Li Xue grabbed two hard hats from the car, shoving one at Mu Lin. "Don't wander off. If you get yourself killed, I'm not going to be your widow."

The driver's head whipped around when he heard that. 'What kind of audacious words were those? What in the world is their relationship?'

Mu Lin obediently put on the hard hat. Although it was a top-quality model, it definitely wouldn't withstand a single blow from a top-tier expert.

He only put it on because he didn't want to give Li Xue another reason to nag him.

The site was already swarming with reporters carrying cameras. Mu Lin frowned slightly and said to Li Xue,

"You should probably let the reporters know that if they don't want to die here, they should leave immediately."

Li Xue shot him a glare. "Get lost. An accident has already happened. If we don't face the problem head-on and deal with the media openly, the Li Group will be dragged through the mud!"

Mu Lin sighed. He understood her reasoning, but when it came down to it, he still wished Li Xue would prioritize her safety.

It was clear Li Xue wasn't going to listen to him.

"Wang Jinhang, get over here!" Li Xue yelled as she got out of the car.

Wang Jinhang came scrambling out, rushing toward Li Xue while bowing and scraping.

Li Xue's face was stern. "What's the situation on-site?"

"My team and I have already moved the injured and the deceased," Wang Jinhang said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Five dead, ten injured, eight of them seriously. We're just shy of it being classified as a major safety incident..."

A sharp glint appeared in Mu Lin's eyes. A furious aura swirled madly around him, seeming to cause the temperature to drop a few degrees.

'Does the Yang Family really have no compassion at all?'

'Five lives, gone just like that.'

"President Li, don't worry. I'll take responsibility. I won't drag you into this. I just hope... that you can help look after my children..."

Li Xue said with a grim face, "Of course. I will take care of your family."

"Thank you, President Li! Thank you!" Wang Jinhang had already sentenced himself to life in prison. In his mind, he was already behind bars, and this was truly his only remaining wish.

Li Xue's shout had attracted the attention of the workers.

Li Xue visited the site often, so the workers recognized her.

"President Li, it's a disaster!" the workers clamored as they approached.

Li Xue was relieved to see that none of them had gone to the reporters. Wang Jinhang had clearly told them to be disciplined.

"Aren't you going to complain to the reporters?"

"Reporters are no good. If we talk to them, they'll just twist things to make President Li look bad. President Li is a good person. It's better to talk directly to her!"

The workers all said the same.

A warmth spread through Li Xue's heart. Her usual kindness toward the workers had not been forgotten.

"President Li, you have to help us! Our coworkers have elders to support and children to raise. If one of them dies, their whole family might starve!"

Li Xue said gently, "Everyone, please rest assured. I have all of you in my heart! For all the injured workers, the Group will cover medical expenses and lost wages, and we'll add an extra compensation payment. For the workers who passed away, there will be a substantial death benefit. The Group guarantees we will support their children's education through college, and they will be given priority for hiring after graduation!"

Hearing Li Xue's words, the workers' emotions began to settle, but the matter was far from over.

After calming the workers, Li Xue said to Wang Jinhang, "Can you take me to see the accident scene?"

Mu Lin reached out and gently tugged the corner of Li Xue's jacket, shaking his head at her.

Li Xue pulled her jacket free, her expression resolute.

Wang Jinhang nodded. "President Li, please follow me!"

Li Xue followed him.

Beneath the chaotic pile of fallen scaffolding, she saw pools of blood.

Not just bloodstains—in the shadows, you could even see severed limbs and ruptured organs.

Life was just that fragile. In a single instant, it could be utterly destroyed.

"Have you figured out what happened?" Li Xue turned to ask Wang Jinhang. His face was deathly pale, but he still shook his head.

"Theoretically, it shouldn't have. I strictly followed the construction requirements. I had the workers repeatedly check the connections, and I often double-checked them myself. But even with all that, the accident still happened..."

Li Xue bent down to inspect the pipe connections. They were all extremely secure. It was hard to imagine how such a collapse could have occurred.

Mu Lin said, "This was sabotage. Supervisor Wang has very little responsibility here. Don't blame him."

Li Xue glared at him. "What the hell do you know!"

But at that exact moment, a figure suddenly appeared on the scaffolding on the other side. In his hand, he clutched a steel spike as thick as a thumb and, like a javelin thrower, hurled it toward them.