Chapter 220 The End of the Local Tyrant
The largest restaurant in town, Yue Lai Fu.
In the most impressive "Reception Hall" private room on the second floor, the smell of alcohol, cooking fumes, and sweat mingled together, giving one a headache.
The bloated and ruddy-faced Ma Weiguo was holding a glass of Moutai, his tongue slurring: "Don't worry, gentlemen! In the Northwest, my word is law! Don't even mention a few truckloads of stones, if you wanted the stars in the sky, I'd get them for you!"
Across from him sat several men in polyester shirts, their hair slicked back and shiny. They stared at the table laden with meat and fish, their eyes revealing a shrewdness and impatience. One of them, the leader, wore a gleaming gold watch that clashed sharply with his surroundings.
"Director Ma is straightforward," the man with the gold watch said with a forced smile as he raised his glass. "Price is negotiable; Mr. Huo values efficiency. When can the next batch of goods be shipped?"
"Three days! Three days at most!" Ma Weiguo patted his chest, his fat jiggling. "I've already had my son go and buy a good piece of jade, I guarantee it's top-quality!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than a commotion broke out downstairs.
First came a few screams, followed by the ear-piercing sound of tables and chairs being overturned. Then, the sound of uniform and extremely heavy footsteps approached from afar, thumping on the wooden stairs, each step feeling like a blow to the heart.
"What's all this noise? Who's the fool who dares to cause trouble here?" Ma Weiguo, his breath ragged from the alcohol, slammed his glass down on the table and was about to get up and start cursing.
The door to the private room opened faster than he moved.
"Bang--!"
With a loud crash, the heavy solid wood door was kicked open from the outside, and the entire door frame trembled.
A tall figure in military uniform stood backlit at the doorway. Behind him, the corridor was filled with heavily armed soldiers, their dark gun barrels all pointed at the private room.
The chilling murderous aura instantly dispelled the stench of alcohol that filled the room.
The drunkenness on Ma Weiguo's face vanished instantly. He looked at Lu Jingyan's icy face and the bright rank insignia on the soldier's shoulder, and swallowed back the curse that was about to come out of his mouth.
Relying on his local connections, he still tried to be defiant: "You...which unit are you from? Do you know who I am? Breaking into a private residence with guns, are you trying to rebel?"
Lu Jingyan ignored him completely.
The soldier behind him had already stepped forward, the sound of the bolt being pulled back crisp and deadly.
Ma Weiguo trembled with fright, his legs went weak, and he shut his mouth completely.
At this moment, Bai Zhu slowly walked in.
She wore simple cloth clothes and had no makeup on her face, yet she looked like a lady who had stepped out of the misty rain of Jiangnan, completely out of place in this rugged northwestern town. She carried a cloth bag in her hand and walked to the round table where cups and plates were scattered.
Amidst everyone's astonished gazes, she emptied the contents of the cloth bag.
Splash—
A bloodstained, yellowed lab log and a dark purple stone shimmering with an eerie luster rolled onto the greasy table and came to rest next to a half-eaten roast chicken.
Bai Shu raised his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the Hong Kong businessmen whose expressions had suddenly changed. His voice was soft and gentle, with the distinctive accent of a Shanghainese, yet every word was icy cold.
"Can you handle this shipment?"
The Hong Kong businessmen turned deathly pale upon seeing the logbook and spodumene. How could this be here?!
They knew it was over.
His secret deal with "Eagle's Nest" has been completely exposed.
The Hong Kong businessman with the gold watch flashed a fierce light in his eyes, and his hand suddenly reached for his waist, attempting to draw his gun in a final struggle.
He's fast, but someone is faster than him.
Qin Zheng, who had been standing silently behind Lu Jingyan, suddenly appeared in front of him. Everyone only saw a blur as Qin Zheng's hand chopped precisely at the back of the gold-watched man's neck.
"Well!"
The man with the gold watch didn't even utter a sound. His eyes rolled back, and he collapsed to the ground, his head hitting the corner of the table with a dull thud.
The remaining Hong Kong businessmen were terrified, raising their hands high and shouting repeatedly, "It's none of my business! It's none of my business! We're just tourists!"
Lu Jingyan then turned his gaze to Ma Weiguo, who was slumped in his chair, his voice devoid of any warmth.
"Ma Weiguo, you have been formally arrested on suspicion of treason, leaking state secrets, harboring and abetting, intentional homicide and other crimes."
Each charge was like a heavy hammer, striking Ma Weiguo's heart hard.
All his strength was drained away, and he slid off the chair, collapsing to the ground. He knew that his twenty-year reign as a local tyrant was over.
The area outside Yuelaifu Restaurant was already completely surrounded by people.
The townspeople watched from afar, craning their necks and discussing amongst themselves.
"What's going on? Why are the troops here?"
"I heard they're catching bad guys! They've surrounded the restaurant!"
"My goodness, such a big fuss, what kind of incredibly important figure are they arresting?"
Just then, the restaurant doors opened.
All the onlookers saw Ma Weiguo, who was usually arrogant and known as "Lord Ma," being dragged out like a lump of mud by two soldiers and put into a military truck.
The crowd fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone stared wide-eyed, unable to believe what they were seeing.
That bully who rode on everyone's heads for twenty years has fallen just like that?
The next second, someone shouted, "Lord Ma has been arrested!"
The crowd erupted instantly.
"Well done! Well done!"
"Heaven has eyes! This beast has finally gotten his comeuppance!"
"Waaaaah... my poor daughter..."
The anger and resentment that had been suppressed for twenty years finally erupted at this moment. The deafening cheers almost shook the entire town, and some people even excitedly ran home, took out the firecrackers they had prepared for the New Year, and lit them on the spot.
Amidst the crackling of firecrackers, the whole town was as festive as if it were Chinese New Year.
Standing in the crowd, Shi Gandang watched his enemy being led onto the vehicle, tears welling up in his cloudy old eyes. He straightened his back, which had been hunched for twenty years, and gave a deeply unpolished military salute towards the military vehicle.
The makeshift interrogation room was dimly lit.
Ma Weiguo's psychological defenses had already collapsed. Before Lu Jingyan could take any action, he cried and confessed everything.
"I'll tell you everything! Please, sir, give me a way out!"
"I...I'm just a nobody. I was ordered to do this by my superiors! I'm just a messenger..."
"Twenty years ago, they ordered me to block the base's information. For the past twenty years, they have also ordered me to watch over this mountain and not allow anyone to approach it."
Lu Jingyan asked expressionlessly, "Who are they?"
“I don’t know!” Ma Weiguo said with a mournful face. “I’ve only had one-way communication with him. He has never shown his face. He just has a Hong Kong number, and he’s always the one who calls me. I only know his code name, which is… ‘Butler’.”
housekeeper?
A fierce glint flashed in Lu Jingyan's eyes.
Meanwhile, in another room.
Bai Shu was slowly and methodically examining the items he had taken from the Hong Kong businessmen: wallets, keys, and several crumpled foreign exchange certificates.
She was very meticulous, not even missing the seams of the lining of her clothes.
Finally, her fingers found a thin card in the inner pocket of a Hong Kong businessman's wallet.
She pulled out the card.
It was a well-made business card, with an ivory-white background and gold lettering, exuding an air of capitalist luxury.
It has a name printed on it: Huo Qishan.
His position is: Executive Director of the Hong Kong Island Fok Group.
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