Chapter 723

At 5 a. m., the interrogation room of Wu Zhou Municipal Public Security Bureau.

The harsh white fluorescent light bathed the room without a shadow, and the air was filled with a heavy, oppressive smell of disinfectant mixed with old furniture.

Through the one-way glass, several silhouettes could be faintly seen swaying.

Lin Dongfan sat alone in the interrogation chair, his posture relaxed as if he were in his own living room.

He wasn't handcuffed—Liu Shu ultimately didn't dare go too far, but two young police officers stood left and right by the door, eyes alert.

The door opened.

Liu Shu walked in, his face ashen, bloodshot eyes.

He slammed a stack of files onto the interrogation table with a dull 'thump', then pulled over a chair and sat down opposite Lin Dongfan.

The two locked eyes.

One burned with repressed fury, the other was calm as a deep pool.

"Mr. Lin." Liu Shu spoke first, his voice hoarse from fatigue and anger: "Do you know why you were summoned?"

"Didn't Chief Liu say it on the phone?"

Lin Dongfan gave a faint smile.

This damned relaxed feeling made Liu Shu grit his teeth in hatred!

He, Old Liu, hadn't personally interrogated a suspect in years! A deputy minister‑level official sitting here, yet he couldn't make Lin Dongfan feel the slightest bit nervous.

"Answer my questions seriously—now isn't the time for you to turn the tables on me!" Liu Shu instinctively raised his voice, trying to overwhelm Lin Dongfan with presence.

Lin Dongfan replied calmly with a slight smile: "Rumor has it I'm suspected of murder, which almost scared me into wetting myself. Personally, I'd rather see this as—being invited for tea while listening to some people's frame‑up story."

"A frame‑up story?!"

Liu Shu slammed his palm down, making the table let out a painful sound—'thump!'

He glared angrily at Lin Dongfan: "Li Shuting died in that car crash! The driver who caused it, Chen Dazhi, was arrested on the spot! Our police found in his bank account that yesterday afternoon he received a transfer of two million yuan! Although the remittance account had been laundered through layers, we traced the source!"

He leaned forward, staring intently at Lin Dongfan.

As if he wanted to devour him!

"An offshore shell company registered in the Cayman Islands. Coincidentally, its controlling party is linked to James, the overseas intelligence operative who previously colluded with Li Hengbo. Even more coincidentally—James, the very person you, Lin Dongfan, have been tracking, is now someone you can influence."

Lin Dongfan listened, then raised his eyebrows slightly: "So Chief Liu's reasoning is that I, Lin Dongfan, to avenge Li Hengbo, hired a hitman through James's channel, staged the car accident, and hoped to kill Li Hengbo and his daughter Li Zhenyang together?"

"Isn't that the case?!" Liu Shu's voice rose: "Li Hengbo is your sworn enemy, common knowledge! Watching him escape, you're unwilling to accept it!"

The interrogation room fell into dead silence.

The two young officers by the door instinctively held their breath.

Lin Dongfan looked at Liu Shu and suddenly laughed—not a cold sneer, not a mocking laugh, but a pity‑tinged, almost absurd smile.

"Chief Liu."

He spoke slowly: "I've also spent a few years in the political‑legal system; though not long, I still grasp basic investigative logic. Your reasoning just now… was it because you didn't sleep well last night, or because you've watched too many TV dramas?"

Liu Shu's face darkened: "What do you mean?"

"First…"

Lin Dongfan raised a finger: "If I wanted to kill Li Hengbo, I have at least a hundred ways cleaner and more covert than staging a car accident."

"When he fled the warehouse I could have shot him dead—he was armed and resisting arrest, giving me full justification for self‑defense."

"But I didn't do that—why?"

"Because I wanted him alive to stand trial and to confess all his dirty deeds."

"Second…"

Lin Dongfan raised his second finger: "Li Secretary was in the car—who would dare cause an accident? What rank is Li Secretary? After all your years in the bureaucracy, surely you understand the gravity of this."

"Third…"

Lin Dongfan raised his third finger: "You just mentioned James—this is even more damned absurd. James was arrested by the Jingcheng police, and who am I, Lin Dongfan? Just an ordinary citizen. How could I influence the will of a detained prisoner? How could I get him to cooperate with a transfer?"

Speaking, Lin Dongfan lowered his hand and leaned his body slightly forward.

He and Liu Shu faced each other squarely:

"In short, every link in your chain of reasoning is wrong—motive wrong, method wrong, even the mastermind you fingered is the wrong person. Want me to send you some walnuts? They're said to boost the brain."

"!!!"

Under the sarcasm, Liu Shu's face flushed red then turned pale.

But as a veteran public security officer, he quickly steadied his emotions.

He gave a cold smile: "Mr. Lin, you're indeed eloquent! But the two million in Chen Dazhi's account is genuine illicit gains! He confessed that someone contacted him anonymously online, promising another three million after the job. The encrypted communication software he used is the very tool James's gang often employs!"

"Oh?" Lin Dongfan's eyes lit up: "That's an interesting piece of information, Chief Liu—can your tech team trace the communication source?"

"We're looking into it." Liu Shu fixed his gaze on him: "But the other side is very professional, using multiple layers of proxies and jump hosts, making it hard to pin down quickly."

"Then that's correct."

Lin Dongfan leaned back in his chair, hands clasped on his knees, relaxed: "If I really did it, would I use James's tools? Would I leave such obvious clues? Chief Liu, are you underestimating my intelligence, overestimating the real killer's stupidity, or are you just stupid yourself?"

"!!!"

Liu Shu was once again left speechless, choked.

Lin Dongfan continued: "Let me help you sort your thoughts. Who was the real target of this accident? Li Hengbo. Li Shuting was merely an unfortunate collateral victim. Why would the killer want to kill Li Hengbo? Because he knew too much and had become uncontrollable. Who would profit from Li Hengbo's death?"

When he got to the question of who would benefit, Lin Dongfan paused his speculation at the right moment.

Yet the implication of his words was clear.

Although Liu Shu hadn't yet eaten those brain‑boosting walnuts, his mind was sharp right then.

After a brief thought, it became clear that Lin Dongfan was hinting to him—tonight's car accident was very likely a self‑staged bitter‑sweet drama by Li Zhenyang!

The reason is simple.

The truth behind Duan Xinhua's disappearance and Duan Xiaobin's death are deadly threats! Once Li Hengbo dies, those secrets will sink forever into oblivion.

Could it really be a play staged by Secretary Li himself?

In order to safeguard his own future!

Even his own biological daughter could be sacrificed?

Thinking of this, Liu Shu couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine, and the look of fear also appeared on his face. The reason for the fear is simple: if Li Zhenyang can even sacrifice his own biological daughter, then naturally he could also sacrifice Liu Shu!

One day, if Liu Shu loses his usefulness, he probably won't have a good ending.