Solving Middle Age Crisis by Intelligence System-Chapter 464 - 285: Xiao Hanguang’s Reaction (Three in One) (Part 3)
"What’s going on?" Secretary Ji pointed at the gold bars covering the coffee table, clenching his teeth as he asked, his cold gaze terrifying.
Tian Yaosheng turned his head, puzzled by the sight of the gold bars: "Is there less of them? But no one touched them, they were just put in gold yesterday..."
"Bang!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Secretary Ji slapped him hard, his expression grim as he roared, "I’m damn asking if there are fewer or not!?"
"Tell me why there are gold bars in the box!"
Tian Yaosheng’s face swelled instantly from the blow, a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth. Holding his cheek, he bowed incessantly, "Please calm down, leader! Please calm down!"
"They were supposed to be gold bars inside."
"Yesterday, President Qi asked me to exchange twenty million gold bars for him, said he was coming to retrieve them. Then he said he didn’t need them for the time being and asked me to store all the gold bars in the safe. He sent someone to pick up the key."
Tian Yaosheng recounted everything in detail, then fumbled in his pocket nervously, pulling out a storage slip, pointing at the words "precious metals": "Look! It’s written here on the slip!"
"The bank originally had regulations, we can’t help clients..."
"Shut up!" Secretary Ji shouted impatiently, his face extremely unpleasant. At this moment he couldn’t help but realize that he and his people were clearly fooled by Qi Yun.
Tian Yaosheng shuddered at the shout, instantly not daring to say more. His actions today had already violated numerous regulations. If he further angered this person, losing his job would be secondary; it was highly likely he’d end up sewing in prison.
Secretary Ji turned around angrily, glaring at the stout man beside him, raising his hand for a big slap: "You’re a damn failure!"
The stout man’s head buzzed from the blow, his facial muscles twisted, yet he could only lower his head without daring to react.
"Let’s go!" Secretary Ji dropped the words, striding towards the door.
As for those gold bars, he didn’t spare them another glance.
He avoided potential troubles that might have hidden risks; secondly, as far as his position went, he didn’t need such trifles.
More importantly, his thoughts were now entirely focused on the USB drive Qi Yun possessed. If it couldn’t be destroyed in time, perhaps he’d also end up with silver bracelets one day.
Back in the car, Secretary Ji called Ma Chaoyang, his voice icy: "That kid fooled us, the stuff isn’t in the safe!"
Upon hearing this, Ma Chaoyang almost ground his teeth to bits. He tried to calm his emotions, hurriedly replying, "Not long ago, National Security took away Secretary Jiang, Old Li, and Old Feng. I must clear up some loose ends now, so I’ll rely on you for things there."
Secretary Ji nodded: "Alright, I’ll personally go over and keep watch."
...
Over half an hour later, the suburbs.
A bulb hanging from the ceiling barely illuminated the underground room with dim yellow light.
The smell of mold mixed with the scent of blood invaded the nostrils. Qi Yun was tied to an iron chair, the dried blood at the corner of his mouth, his shoulders mildly moving as if resting with closed eyes.
"Tap tap tap~"
A series of footsteps echoed. Secretary Ji led the two stout men into the underground room. The stout man immediately saw Qi Yun, feeling a surge of anger. He took a large step forward to prepare to rough him up, but was stopped by Secretary Ji’s raised hand.
Secretary Ji took out a packet of cigarettes and lit one, eyes fixed on Qi Yun, nastily saying, "I’ll give you one last chance. Before I finish smoking this cigarette, hand over the stuff and I’ll let you leave, everyone at peace."
Qi Yun slowly raised his head, his right eye already swollen shut, smirking coldly.
Though he didn’t know the person in front of him, he could guess their identity wasn’t low.
"Alright, let me go first, and I’ll give you the stuff."
If it were really as the other side claimed, handing over the item would ensure peace. He would have handed it over the moment he got the USB drive.
Can they really let him go though? 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎
Even with his special identities, didn’t he still end up here?
Secretary Ji kept a composed face, flicked off some ashes, his tone icy, "Seems you don’t want this chance after all."
Qi Yun licked his cracked lips, smiled, and shook his head, "No need to threaten me. I know in your eyes, I’m just a small fry."
"But... even a small fry can’t just go and die if you want me dead, no? What do you say?"
"Small fry?" Secretary Ji blew out smoke, his face full of disdain, "If you truly understand you’re a small fry, you should know some things aren’t for you to mess with."
"Once you touch them, if I say you die, you die!"
Qi Yun spat in disgust, baring his teeth, "Then you’re awesome, huh."
"Oh, forgot to tell you something: I had someone back up your accounting books to the internet. If I don’t contact them in three days, those things will be all over the web."
"Not just the local network, oh, Shanghai, Peng City, Beijing, even Hong Kong Island too. Your reach isn’t that long, right?"
The cigarette in Secretary Ji’s hand "plopped" to the ground, sparks scattering.
The words "accounting books" seemed to pull at his sensitive nerves.
If previously they only suspected the things were with Qi Yun, now it’s a one hundred percent certainty.
Secretary Ji lunged forward, grabbing Qi Yun’s collar, eyes fiercely staring, trying to judge the truth from Qi Yun’s expression.
However, Qi Yun didn’t shy away, meeting his gaze calmly.
After a long silence, Secretary Ji sneered, releasing Qi Yun’s collar, "Alright, you’re not crying until you see the coffin."
With that, he pulled out his phone and dialed Director Han’s number, "Go and catch his woman too, cooperate in a smuggling investigation!"
"Yes, now!"
Qi Yun’s pupils suddenly constricted, his expression twisted in rage, staring at Secretary Ji as if wanting to devour him whole.
Before he could reply, Secretary Ji beckoned, "No more scruples, cripple one of his arms first."
With those words, the two stout men sneered and stepped forward. One viciously grabbed Qi Yun’s left arm, while the other picked up an iron hammer from the corner.
Qi Yun let out a beast-like growl, veins bulging on his forehead, struggling desperately but unable to break free from the bindings. His arm, strapped by thick ropes, was already bleeding red.
"Damn, don’t faint from the pain, you’d miss out on the feeling." The stout man dragged the hammer close, instructing the other to hold Qi Yun’s hand firm, ready to swing the hammer down.
Just then, an untimely ringing echoed in the underground room.
The stout man paused his hand mid-swing.
Secretary Ji took out his phone, glanced at the screen, then walked aside to answer.
"Hello, leader."
"Did you get the stuff?"
"Not yet, this kid’s being uncooperative, the safe doesn’t have what we want." Secretary Ji turned to glance at Qi Yun, continued, "This guy is dead set against cooperating, I think there’s no need to hold back, just a bit more trouble afterward."
The voice on the other side remained silent for a few seconds, sighing somewhat wearily, "Pause for now, don’t touch him, you should come back."
Secretary Ji froze at the words, then hurriedly pleaded urgently, "Leader, we have to hurry!"
"I said don’t touch him yet! Come back!" The elder’s tone grew stricter.
Secretary Ji dared not say more, quickly stating he’d return at once.
Hanging up the phone, he gave Qi Yun a venomous look, then instructed the two stout men, "Don’t touch him yet, wait for my call."
The two stout men were somewhat puzzled but seeing Secretary Ji’s grim face, dared not question.
...
Over forty minutes later, Secretary Ji returned to that familiar office.
The atmosphere in the room was heavy, the elder sat behind the desk, fingers tapping the tabletop intermittently, the cup of tea on the desk long cold.
"Leader, has there been a development?" Secretary Ji had calmed down, his tone not as impatient as before.
The elder cast a glance at him, pointed to an A4 sheet on the desk, his voice slightly raspy, "Xiao Hanguang and Fu Zhiling are en route here."
Secretary Ji took the paper, his heart sinking.
The head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration personally stepping in weighed much more than they anticipated.
From his perspective, though Qi Yun had some background, it wasn’t enough for Beijing’s bigwigs to personally fly over and intervene, right?
This situation was quite rare.
Secretary Ji’s Adam’s apple moved, placing the paper back on the desk, contemplating as he spoke, "We’ve already agreed to let them take the batch of artifacts away, why are they still so aggressive?"
Indeed, as he said, the two coming from Beijing had clearly shown their stance.
The elder shook his head, eyes deep, "That’s why I instructed you not to touch that kid yet, to prevent things from fully blowing up and leaving no room for maneuver."
"We’ll know everything tomorrow morning..."
