Chapter 708

The second day after Li Zhenyang drew his sword in self-defense.

The Criminal Investigation Division of the Wu Zhou Municipal Public Security Bureau received an anonymous tip-off letter — "Factual Materials Concerning Suspected Serious Illegal and Criminal Acts by Li Hengbo, the Former Actual Controller of the Rebirth Group."

A thick kraft paper file bag was taken out at 6:30 a. m. by the on-duty officer from the dedicated submission box.

Upon opening it and seeing the title and summary on the first page, the on-duty officer sucked in a breath of cold air, dared not delay, and immediately reported it.

At 7:00 sharp, the Municipal Bureau Chief personally brought the materials and rushed to Compound No. 1 of the Municipal Party Committee.

Li Zhenyang was already waiting in the study.

Today Li Zhenyang wore a neat administrative jacket, looking as if he hadn't slept all night, with bloodshot eyes, but his expression was unusually calm.

He quickly flipped through the materials.

This material basically matches the core content he drafted last night, only the format is more standardized; it is clearly a carefully compiled tip-off.

"The evidence is sufficient and the nature is extremely heinous." Li Zhenyang closed the materials, his voice steady and forceful: "The Rebirth Group's case involves a huge amount of money and has caused serious damage to our city's economic order. The bureau must immediately set up a special task force and, according to law, take coercive measures against Li Hengbo!"

He paused, then added emphasis: "Hurry up! This case has a wide scope, the suspect's social connections are complex, and once the news leaks..."

The Bureau Chief understood at once: "Secretary Li, rest assured, I will personally supervise and immediately deploy the arrest! We have already set up surveillance at the hospital, guaranteeing he won't be able to fly away!"

"Good."

Li Zhenyang nodded.

He then solemnly added: "Handling the case must follow laws and regulations, paying attention to procedure. The Rebirth Group's headquarters is in Jingcheng, and the Jingcheng police are very likely to intervene. If a conflict arises, we must proactively communicate and make clear our jurisdiction! The Rebirth Group also has a branch in our city, and the case location is here."

Though he spoke implicitly, the Bureau Chief was a perceptive man.

Upon hearing it, one knows the subtext: we must seize Li Hengbo before the Jingcheng police react!

This is not hard to understand.

If, under the Lin family's direction, the Jingcheng police manage to arrest Li Hengbo first, then Li Zhenyang would be powerless to stop it and might even implicate himself.

Only by arresting Li Hengbo ahead of the Jingcheng police can this remain under Li Zhenyang's control.

At 7:20, the arrest order was issued.

……

At six in the morning, Lin Dongfan was awakened by his phone's vibration.

He glanced at the soundly asleep Chu Lingxi beside him, then got up quietly and walked to the balcony.

The call was from Peng Tianhua, his voice tense: "Just got the news—half an hour ago the Wu Zhou Municipal Public Security Bureau received an anonymous tip-off with solid details, directly accusing Li Hengbo of multiple serious crimes. Li Zhenyang has already personally issued instructions, demanding the bureau arrest him immediately! The move was swift; the arrest team should already be on the road."

Lin Dongfan lit a cigarette, the morning mist cool: "Is he trying to seize jurisdiction?"

"The Rebirth Group's headquarters is in Jingcheng, and the Jingcheng police have full reason to intervene; should we notify the Jingcheng police to act quickly?" Peng Tianhua asked.

Lin Dongfan pondered for a moment: "We can say hello to the Jingcheng police, but don't try to muscle in. Let Li Zhenyang arrest if he wants; see if he can actually catch him."

"You mean..."

Peng Tianhua was a bit uncertain.

Lin Dongfan exhaled a puff of smoke: "If Li Hengbo lacks even this much vigilance, he doesn't deserve to be my opponent. Besides, in the act of a cornered dog jumping over a wall, someone has to play the part; we'll just watch from below."

After hanging up, Lin Dongfan dialed another number.

"Lao Ba, what's the situation at the hospital?"

"Just changed shift, everything's normal…… hold on," Lao Ba's voice paused, as if looking at something: "Master Fan, something's off. A few unfamiliar cars have appeared downstairs, and the people inside… don't look like good sorts, their eyes keep glancing upward."

"Plainclothes, Wu Zhou police." Lin Dongfan said calmly: "Li Zhenyang has made his move. Keep an eye on them, but don't intervene. If Li Hengbo runs, follow him."

"Understood!"

……

At 7:25, the VIP ward of Wu Zhou First Hospital.

Li Hengbo had a fitful night's sleep, plagued by nightmares.

He dreamed of being handcuffed, of Lin Dongfan coldly smiling at him, of Li Zhenyang turning his back and waving at him…

The faint beeping of the heart monitor now sounded like a death knell.

He suddenly opened his eyes.

An inexplicable palpitation made him break out in a cold sweat.

Wrong.

Too quiet.

He Qi xing should have been guarding outside, but there was no movement at all. The usual hallway sounds—footsteps, cart wheels, nurses' low murmurs—were unusually sparse this morning.

He struggled to sit up; the pain in his chest wound made him grimace, but the survival instinct overrode everything.

He crawled to the window.

He carefully lifted a corner of the curtain.

In the parking lot below, three dull-gray sedans had appeared, their windows covered with dark film.

One of the cars had its passenger-side window lowered a slit, with smoke drifting out—someone was inside, and had been there for a while.

He was all too familiar with plainclothes police staking out.

Li Zhenyang!

That old bastard, sure enough, knows how to play the "kill the donkey after the mill is done" trick!

Anger and fear intertwined, but Li Hengbo forced himself to stay calm! The memories of his past life as a reborn person surged wildly in his mind, yet they were utterly useless.

Those foresighted trends of era development were of no use at this moment.

He quickly scanned the ward.

The phone wasn't on the bedside—He Qi xing had said last night he took it to charge and never brought it back. Was that deliberate? Or had He Qi xing also been controlled?

No time to think it over.

He swung his legs out of bed, the movement tugging at his wound and making his vision darken, but he gritted his teeth and pulled open the wardrobe.

The suit he wore when admitted was still hanging; he reached into the inner pocket—hardcover passport, several bank cards under different names, a stack of US cash, and a spare phone.

The emergency kit was still there.

He quickly changed into the suit, stuffing the patient gown under the blanket as a disguise.

Walking to the bathroom, he faced the mirror, sprayed his temples white with the pre-prepared disposable hair dye, put on a pair of rimless flat glasses, then took out medical tape from the drawer and stuck a fake mole on his chin.

The man in the mirror looked ten years older, his bearing ordinary, a far cry from the imposing Li Zong.

He pushed open the bathroom window—sixth floor, but directly below on the fifth floor was an equipment platform, and further down was the roof of the annex.

This was an escape route he had scouted out on the day he moved in.

A habit from his past life—whenever he arrived somewhere, he'd first look for an escape route! After all, sleeping with another man's wife truly carries great risk.

Without hesitation, he climbed out the window.

The morning wind was biting, making it hard for him to hold onto the pipe. A tearing pain shot from his chest wound; he looked down and saw the gauze soaked through with blood.

He couldn't stop.

Using hands and feet, he inched down along the exterior wall's pipes and the air‑conditioner outdoor unit brackets. His palms were scraped raw by rough rust, blood mixing with cold sweat, but he gritted his teeth.

In his past life, while climbing a pipe, the lover's husband threw a bucket of oil at him, causing him to slip and fall to his death on the spot.

This time, no one poured oil onto the pipe.

Awesome!

Five minutes later, Li Hengbo crashed heavily onto the annex roof, seeing stars and nearly passing out.

He lay on the ground, gulping a few ragged breaths, then glanced back at the open bathroom window on the sixth floor; his eyes filled with boundless resentment.

"Lin Dongfan… Li Zhenyang… you wait."

Struggling to his feet, he staggered down the fire escape on the opposite side of the roof, merging with the early‑morning hustle of hospital staff moving supplies at the back door.

7:40.

A black car without license plates glided silently up beside him; the window rolled down, the driver wearing a baseball cap said softly, "Li Zong, get in."

Li Hengbo opened the door and slipped in; the car sped off.

Almost the same time, the hospital room he had been staying in had its door pushed open, and six plainclothes officers rushed in.

The lead detective saw the empty bed, the open window, and the hair‑dye cans and fake mole scattered on the bathroom sink; his face turned ashen.

"Chase! He can't get far! Seal all exits!"

……

At eight o'clock sharp, Lin Dongfan sat at the table, having breakfast with Chu Lingxi and his son Lin Fusheng.

Lao Ba's call came through: "Fan Ye, he got away. He climbed down from the sixth floor, got into a black car with fake plates, and slipped away. The Wu Zhou Police came up empty; now the whole city has checkpoints."

"I know." Lin Dongfan cut his fried egg, tone flat: "The wound's torn, he's lost blood—he can't go far. But if someone's meeting him, it's not certain."

"Who would be meeting him?" Lao Ba asked.

"Even a rotten ship has three pounds of nails—having someone help him is perfectly normal." Lin Dongfan popped the fried egg into his mouth, chewing slowly: "Ye Jiaying has, in the name of the Rebirth Group, submitted to the Jingcheng Police evidence that Li Hengbo is suspected of embezzlement and illegally providing state secrets to a foreign organization. The Jingcheng Police are also hunting him now—don't panic, just watch the show."