Chapter 60: A Rough Ceramic Bowl Saves a Life Under the Blade

The man's eyes were shot through with blood: "Gu Lingzhi, stop feeding me your damn sweet talk. If you hadn't insisted on digging into the theft at the scrap warehouse, how would things have ended up like this?"

If you hadn't insisted on making an example of someone, I wouldn't have lost my job, my wife wouldn't have been fighting me over a divorce and slipped down the stairs, and the baby in her belly wouldn't have been lost just like that. My child is gone, so I'll take your grandson to pay for it."

The moment those words left his mouth, the woman collapsed on the floor and sobbed as if her heart were being torn apart: "Please let my son go, he's innocent, he's so young, he'll be scared."

The man only let out a wild, crazed laugh: "He's young—what about my child?

I'll send him down right now to keep my child company."

With that, the knife in his hand was thrust straight toward the child's neck.

One look at the man's expression told everyone he wasn't merely talking; the watching crowd all held their breath.

Someone tried to step forward to rescue the child, but the man sensed it at once and immediately backed himself against the wall: "One more step from anyone, and I'll take his life on the spot."

Gu Lingzhi, afraid of truly hurting her grandson by accident, hurriedly waved her hand to make those well-meaning people who wanted to step forward retreat: "What will it take for you to let go?"

The man's face was set with absolute resolve: "Let go? How could that be possible?

No matter what, I'm a dead man walking anyway. Better to take this kid with me—at least I won't be lonely on the road to the Yellow Springs."

The boy held hostage by the man was so scared he burst out crying: "Grandpa, Mommy, save me."

Seeing the man's expression turn bloodthirsty at the sound of the boy's crying, Liu Chuxue knew things had gone wrong—this man had truly come with the resolve to die.

Just then, the sound of chaotic footsteps came from downstairs. The man holding the child naturally heard it too, and grew even more frenzied: "Good, you dared to call the police—very good."

Saying that, he raised the knife and slashed at the boy he had pinned in his arms.

Just as the woman collapsed on the ground let out a heart-wrenching "No—", in that split second between word and deed, Chuxue seized the instant of the man's final wild laugh and hurled the rough ceramic bowl in her hand out at blinding speed.

In the very instant the knife was about to pierce the boy's heart, the rough ceramic bowl finally saved him from under the blade, striking the kidnapper squarely on the head.

Amid the crowd's collective gasp, first the knife dropped from the man's hand onto the ground, and then his whole body crumpled softly down.

The woman opposite scrambled over on hands and knees, gathering the boy—who was crying so hard he could barely catch his breath—into her arms: "Son, it's okay, it's okay, Mommy's here, Mommy's here."

Seeing his grandson was safe, Deputy Factory Director Gu couldn't help but let out a great sigh of relief; his body swayed and he nearly fell, but luckily someone behind him caught him with a steadying hand.

At that moment the police also arrived at the scene: "What's going on here?"

Deputy Factory Director Gu hurried forward to negotiate with the police.

It turned out the man knocked out by the bowl was called Cao Xiangguang. He had fallen into gambling and often stole things from the scrap warehouse to sell outside.

A few days earlier, a unit in a township below had had an accident because of substandard parts they had purchased; the police traced the trail back to their factory—and what they found was shocking.

The amount stolen from the scrap warehouse was actually quite substantial—no small matter.

The factory's security section finally ferreted out more than ten people. Cao Xiangguang was made an example of by the factory. But since the factory's own management had a loophole, he was not held legally liable—only summarily fired.

Cao Xiangguang went to the factory leadership several times, trying to get a lighter punishment, but the leadership's answer was: if he caused any more trouble, he would be handed straight over to the police.

And so came today's scene.

(End of this chapter)