Chapter 719: Eavesdropping

At 2:27 a. m., below Building 3 of Splendid Jiangnan B District.

Li Zhenyang gripped the phone, his face grim and terrifying.

Li Hengbo's remark—"What inappropriate thing did you say?"—was undoubtedly a heart‑piercing thorn, precisely striking Li Zhenyang's most sensitive nerve.

The entire scene fell silent, save for the faint electric hum of the rotating police lights.

Dozens of eyes focused on Li Zhenyang—on‑scene police, outer perimeter inspection team members, media reporters from all quarters, and even residents hiding behind curtains in distant apartment blocks, peeking out.

Li Zhenyang was weighing the pros and cons.

Each second felt like a stretched rubber band, pulled tighter and tighter.

Finally, Li Zhenyang spoke, his voice calm and steady: "Li Hengbo, we can discuss your terms—but you must guarantee Shuting's safety; that is the bottom line."

"Okay."

Li Hengbo chuckled lightly on the other end of the line: "I also need to guarantee my own safety. So, Secretary Li, please take some concrete action—have the inspection team and Lin Dongfan's people withdraw from the residential area. I'm watching."

Li Zhenyang turned his head, his gaze sweeping through the crowd to rest on Lin Dongfan and Peng Tianhua fifty meters away.

In that look lay an unmistakable air of command.

Peng Tianhua's face turned ashen; just as he was about to speak, Lin Dongfan patted his shoulder.

Lin Dongfan gave a faint smile, turned and walked away: "Our Secretary Li has a big case to handle; let's not get in his way—withdraw."

His steps were decisive and unhindered, without a hint of hesitation.

Peng Tianhua wanted to speak but held back; seeing Lin Dongfan's signal, he nevertheless led his people to retreat outward. In front of Master Fan, Peng Tianhua truly did not act like an inspecting censor.

They withdrew beyond the police line, but did not leave the residential area.

The group merely pulled back to the edge of the green belt a hundred meters out; the lit 28th floor remained within sight, but they could no longer directly interfere on scene.

At the window of the 28th floor, Li Hengbo watched the scene below, the corners of his mouth turning up in a satisfied smile.

"Very well." Li Hengbo said to Li Zhenyang: "Then please, Secretary Li, come up yourself so we can talk face to face."

"No way!" Liu Shu urged anxiously: "Secretary Li, this is far too dangerous! You absolutely must not go upstairs…"

Li Zhenyang raised a hand to stop Liu Shu.

He stared at the lit window, silent for three seconds, then slowly replied to Li Hengbo: "All right! But I need to bring two people—Chief Liu, and a negotiation expert."

"The negotiation expert is fine, but Chief Liu is not."

Li Hengbo immediately refused: "Secretary Li, I'm no fool. Liu Shu is your right‑hand man; if he comes up and suddenly lashes out, what am I to do? With just you and the negotiation expert, one more person and I'll shoot on the spot."

He said the last four words lightly, but everyone heard the killing intent behind them.

Li Zhenyang took a deep breath: "All right, just me and the negotiation expert."

"Secretary Li!" Liu Shu exclaimed, sweat beading on his forehead: "This is absolutely out of the question! You're the top official of Wu Zhou—if anything happens…"

"Shuting is in his hands." Li Zhenyang cut him off, fatigue finally showing in his voice: "Chief Liu, carry out the order. Prepare the car and the money, do as he says."

Having said that, Li Zhenyang straightened his collar, nodded to the negotiation expert beside him—a man in his forties wearing glasses—and said, "Professor Wang, let's go."

The two walked toward the unit entrance under everyone's gaze.

……

A hundred meters away, by the green belt.

Watching Li Zhenyang's disappearing back as he entered the unit door, Peng Tianhua lowered his voice to Lin Dongfan: "The surveillance equipment is fully activated, but the situation inside the 28th‑floor apartment is unclear; the signal may suffer interference."

"Enough."

Lin Dongfan turned and returned to the surveillance van.

He took control of the surveillance computer.

The computer screen split into six small windows, each showing the real‑time audio waveform from a different surveillance device.

"Does Li Zhenyang have our surveillance gear on him?" Lin Dongfan wondered.

"No, but the negotiation expert Wang Ming does—he has it on him." Peng Tianhua whispered: "His shirt buttons are specially made; unless Li Hengbo searches him, they won't be found."

Lin Dongfan nodded and put on a wireless earpiece.

In the earpiece.

First came a rustling of footsteps—the elevator ascending—then a "ding" as the elevator reached the 28th floor.

The door opened.

Footsteps echoed down the hallway.

"Room 2801." Li Zhenyang's voice came through, calm: "Professor Wang, after we go in later, follow my cues."

"Understood." Wang Ming's voice was a little tense.

A knock on the door.

The door opened.

Through the earpiece came Li Hengbo's hoarse laugh: "Secretary Li, you kept your word—please come in."

The door shut.

Then a brief silence—presumably Li Hengbo checking whether the two were carrying weapons.

"Sit." Li Hengbo said, as if greeting an old friend: "Don't worry, I haven't planted a bomb under the sofa; I'm still counting on you to get me out of town."

Footsteps, the sound of sitting down, and so on trickled into Lin Dongfan's ears.

"Shuting." Li Zhenyang's voice finally revealed suppressed emotion: "Are you all right?"

"Dad… I'm fine."

Li Shuting's voice was fairly steady—no surprise for a mature woman.

"Li Hengbo, the car and money you asked for are being readied." Li Zhenyang regained his composure: "Now we can discuss the details."

"Details?"

Despite the wound in his chest continually sending waves of sharp pain, Li Hengbo's lips still curled with a hint of triumph.

This situation of turning the guest into the host obviously greatly satisfied his desire for control.

He held a gun in his right hand, his eyes fixed on Li Zhenyang sitting opposite: 'Secretary Li, do we still need to discuss details? You should know what I want—nothing more than a way to live.'

'There are many kinds of ways to live!'

Li Zhenyang's gaze was like a torch, his voice clear and resonant: 'Turn yourself in, cooperate with the investigation, clarify the issues, strive for leniency! This is a way to live—you used to be a political and legal cadre, you should understand…'

'Damn it, I hate your official tone!'

Li Hengbo's smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a hint of impatience.

He looked at Li Zhenyang like he was looking at an idiot: 'Are you acting with me? Please make it clear—this is a negotiation scene, not your podium!'

'Who's acting with you?'

Li Zhenyang lived up to his name—his speech was flawless! He obviously didn't trust anyone around him, especially that Wang-surnamed negotiation expert.

This left Lin Dongfan, Peng Tianhua, and the others in the surveillance vehicle somewhat surprised.

If Li Zhenyang continued to maintain this vigilant mindset, speaking in official tones all the way and not mentioning a word about the related sensitive incident, then today it would be hard to gather any valuable information via surveillance.

Just as Lin Dongfan and the others were pondering how to overcome this technical difficulty,

Suddenly, Li Hengbo's light laughter came through the earphones again: 'Leniency for confession, severity for resistance! Secretary Li, I advise you not to play this game with me. I have several lives on my hands—Xu Yaqiu was killed by me, and Duan Xiaobin's life can also be counted against me, plus all the dirty work I did for you before…'

'Shut up!'

Li Zhenyang warned angrily: 'I came up to see you to give you a chance, a chance to live! I didn't come here to listen to your nonsense.'