Chapter 67 Psychological Offense and Defense
Inside the fire escape of the Peace Hotel, Zheng Kai was roughly dragged down the stairs.
His expensive suit was covered in dust and blood, and his gold-rimmed glasses were askew, making him look utterly disheveled.
Lu Jingyan casually wrapped the wound on his palm, which had been cut by a military dagger, with a piece of white cloth. Blood quickly soaked through the cloth, but he didn't care at all.
"We caught one, but one got away." He said in a low voice, looking at Su Wantang.
Su Wantang's gaze fell on the ventilation vent panel that Lin Zihang had smashed open in the wall, behind which was a dark, narrow secret passage that could only accommodate one person at a time.
Du Kangnian also came over, and when he saw the secret passage, his face turned extremely ugly.
"Miss, I swear on my life, I've worked at this restaurant for almost decades and never knew there was a secret passage there!"
Even Du Kangnian didn't know, so how could Lin Zihang, an outsider, know so much?
Unless... someone told him in advance.
Who is this "someone"?
Was it Zheng Kai's backup plan, or... a higher-level force that had already figured out the structure of the Peace Hotel?
Su Wantang's eyes narrowed dangerously.
......
In the suburbs of Shanghai, a warehouse modeled after a textile factory serves as a secret interrogation room.
Zheng Kai was tied to an iron chair, but his face wore a strange, indifferent sneer.
Lu Jingyan stood in front of him, his tall figure casting a shadow that almost completely enveloped Zheng Kai.
"Where is Lu Wenbo? Where is 'Candle Dragon'?" Lu Jingyan asked.
Zheng Kai twitched his lips and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
"Commander Lu, don't bother. I never thought I'd leave this job alive. You want to get anything out of me? Maybe in your next life."
His nonchalant attitude made the plainclothes police officers who were helping him frown.
In the other room, the Hongmen expert whose sternum had been broken by Lu Jingyan's Iron Mountain Lean was also tightly bound.
He remained silent, his eyes vacant, like a soulless shell.
Suddenly, the muscles in his neck tensed up, and he was about to bite his tongue and commit suicide!
"Um?"
Li Hu's eyes turned cold, and his figure moved as fast as lightning. No one could see his movements clearly. With a crisp "crack," the expert's jaw was dislocated.
Blood trickled down the expert's lips as he struggled, his eyes filled with resentment at having failed to die.
The interrogations from both sides made Lu Jingyan's face darken.
He had seen plenty of tough guys, but these thoroughly brainwashed, death-defying fugitives were the most difficult to deal with.
Conventional interrogation methods are completely ineffective against them. It seems we'll have to resort to more drastic measures.
Just then, the warehouse's iron door creaked open.
Su Wantang walked in.
Wearing that begonia-red cheongsam, she was breathtakingly beautiful in this gloomy and dilapidated environment, yet also possessed an eerie sense of incongruity.
"I'll give it a try," she said, her voice cool and aloof.
"Wantang, no way." Lu Jingyan immediately objected, standing in front of her.
"He's a madman, dangerous."
"Soldiers have their methods, and businessmen have theirs."
Su Wantang looked up at him, her beautiful eyes flashing with a cold light called "capital" that Lu Jingyan had never seen before.
"He's a desperado. Desperados aren't afraid of death, but they are afraid of... being worthless."
She walked past Lu Jingyan and stood in front of Zheng Kai.
"You may all leave."
Lu Jingyan frowned, but seeing the unyielding look in Su Wantang's eyes, he finally nodded. He led everyone out, his tall figure standing guard outside the room.
In the room, only Su Wantang and Zheng Kai, who was tied to a chair, remained.
Zheng Kai looked Su Wantang up and down, his eyes becoming lewd and unrestrained.
"What? Commander Lu's old tricks didn't work, so you've switched to using your feminine wiles?"
He licked his chapped lips and grinned lewdly.
"Miss Su, I must say, your figure is truly amazing. Look at that waist and that hip, you're sure to be great at giving birth to a son."
"Too bad, even if you strip naked and kneel in front of me, I won't say a word!"
Zheng Kai looked at her coldly, his eyes like he was looking at a fool who didn't know what was going to happen to her.
“Zheng Kai,” Su Wantang finally spoke.
"I've checked your file; you're not from Shanghai. You're from a rural area in northern Anhui, right?"
Zheng Kai's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.
Su Wantang didn't look at him and continued speaking to herself: "I heard that you have a younger sister."
She paused, raised her eyes, a slight smile playing on her lips, and softly uttered three words.
“Zheng, Xiao, Rou”.
When that name was uttered from her rosy lips, Zheng Kai's face, which was as impenetrable as a fortress, cracked for the first time.
The sarcasm and indifference in his eyes vanished instantly, replaced by overwhelming horror and panic!
"How...how did you know?!" he cried out, his voice trembling.
Su Wantang smiled.
She didn't answer, but slowly took a photo out of her bag and gently placed it on the ground in front of Zheng Kai.
The photo shows a girl with a pale face but a serene smile, sitting in a wheelchair.
A thin blanket covered her legs, and behind her were blooming crabapple blossoms and a corner of antique-style eaves.
The background is the back garden of Tangdixuan in Beijing.
"Xiaorou..."
Zheng Kai stared intently at the photo, the ferocity and violence in his eyes vanished without a trace, leaving only endless pain and longing.
That was his sister, his only family member in this life, and also the softest spot in his heart that he couldn't touch!
Years ago, in an attempt to raise money for his sister's medical treatment, he accidentally killed someone and became a fugitive.
He thought his sister had long ago... had long ago...
"She has a very serious heart condition, doesn't she?"
Su Wantang's voice was like the devil's whisper, each word striking his heart with precision.
"When my men found her, she had a high fever and was huddled in a dilapidated mud-brick house. She was almost dead."
"I brought her to Beijing, hired the best doctors, and used the finest medicines to keep her alive. Do you know how much those old ginseng roots that were keeping her alive cost per piece on the black market?"
Su Wantang extended three slender fingers.
"This price. Moreover, it's priceless."
She stood up, looking down at the man who was on the verge of collapse, her voice icy and devoid of any emotion.
"Zheng Kai, I'm not negotiating with you."
"I'm informing you that your sister's life is now in my hands."
"Her life or death is entirely up to me. Of course, it also depends on your performance."
"boom!"
Zheng Kai's psychological defenses were completely shattered at this moment by the gentlest yet cruelest blow.
Looking at his sister's pure, smiling face in the photo, he could no longer hold back his emotions.
This ruthless killer, who dared to sneer even during Lu Jingyan's interrogation, suddenly burst into tears like a helpless child.
"Wow--"
He cried his heart out, tears streaming down his face, his whole body trembling violently from the immense grief and fear.
All those Hongmen, Lu Wenbo, and loyalty turned to dust in front of my sister's smiling face.
Outside the door, Lu Jingyan heard the crying inside. His heart skipped a beat, and he was about to push the door open when he stopped.
He leaned against the cold iron gate, listening to the man's wailing, but in his mind, he saw Su Wantang's cunning, fox-like smile.
His wife always manages to bring him unexpected "surprises".
After an unknown amount of time, the crying gradually subsided.
Zheng Kai, as if all his strength had been drained, slumped in his chair and recounted everything in detail.
From how he was desperate back then, to how he was noticed and recruited by Lu Wenbo's confidant.
It tells us how he used ruthless methods to build a huge smuggling network in Shanghai.
However, he didn't know where the crucial military supplies, such as "Zhulong," were hidden.
Finally, as if remembering something, a glimmer of survival flashed in his bloodshot eyes.
“I…I still have something!” he said urgently.
“Lu Wenbo is inherently suspicious. I was afraid he would kill me to silence me after he succeeded, so… so every time I talked to him on the secret line, I secretly recorded the conversation!”
Lu Jingyan pushed open the door and entered, his eyes sharp: "Where is the thing?"
"It's... in the safe at Huitong Bank! Besides the tapes, there are ledgers containing all the illicit money I've helped him dispose of over the years!"
"The key...the key was sewn into the lining of my suit!"
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