Chapter 739: Assault

This 'teacher' might be someone from Jingcheng, or might be from overseas. I only know one thing—Xu Jijun is very afraid of him. Once I was on the phone with Xu Jijun and accidentally mentioned the two words 'teacher', he immediately hung up. Three minutes later he called back from another number, saying only three words—'Don't ask further.'

Li Zhenyang's words touched on the point and stopped there, without delving deeper into the truth.

The night grew darker.

Lights came on in the old street outside the tea house; the dim yellow light streamed through the window lattice, casting mottled shadows on the tabletop.

Lin Dongfan put away his phone.

'I'll take care of your son's matter,' Lin Dongfan said. 'But there's a condition: you must hand over the complete list of all names in Wu Zhou's interest network. Including those hidden behind the scenes, even Liu Shu doesn't know about them.'

Li Zhenyang gave a bitter smile: 'Handing it over would be utter betrayal.'

Betrayal?

Lin Dongfan felt this damn thing was simply the biggest absurdity under heaven!

As a Party cadre, what is your belief? Who gave you your power? Leaving aside betrayal of the organization and betrayal of the people, are we now talking about betraying your little interest group?

'You have no room for choice anymore,' Lin Dongfan said indifferently. 'If you want me to protect your children, you need to have the attitude of someone seeking help.'

Reality is cruel, but it's real.

Li Zhenyang, who held a high position, was now so dispirited he couldn't muster an ounce of official dignity; he closed his eyes and let out Along breath.

'Alright, I'll hand over the list.'

He suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes already dead empty: 'The list is in my home study, on the third shelf of the bookcase, second tier, inside that set of 《Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government》. The book is hollow, containing a USB drive inside.'

'The USB drive's password.' Lin Dongfan remained as cold as ice.

'My son's birthday, six digits.' Li Zhenyang spoke the number: '.'

Lin Dongfan noted it down.

'There's one more thing,' Li Zhenyang suddenly said. 'Xu Jijun has told me to go to the Municipal Party Committee tomorrow morning and wait for Li Mingtang to bring people to arrest me. What I want to say is, I won't just sit and wait for my doom.'

'Where are you going then?' Lin Dongfan asked with a smile.

'I don't know.' Li Zhenyang stood up, straightened his Zhongshan suit: 'Maybe I'll find a place to stay quietly. Or perhaps… go do one last thing.'

He walked toward the door, his steps a bit unsteady.

When he reached the door,

He glanced back at Lin Dongfan.

His gaze was complex—filled with resentment, unwillingness, despair, and a hint… of relief?

'Lin Dongfan, your Lin family has won,' Li Zhenyang said. 'But this game isn't over yet. On the Wu Zhou chessboard, you've only taken a few pieces; you're still far from checkmating the general.'

The door opened, then closed.

Footsteps faded away.

Lin Dongfan sat alone in the private room, staring at the cup of cold tea on the table, motionless for Along time, unable to judge whether Li Zhenyang's compromise was genuine or feigned—big shots are all Oscar‑level performers.

The next day.

Jingcheng western suburb villa.

Eleven twenty‑seven p. m.

Liu Shu finished writing the last page of the materials, set down his pen, and rubbed his sore wrists. On the table lay several dozen pages of handwritten notes, densely recording Wu Zhou's secrets over the past twenty years.

He rose and walked to the window, gazing at the night outside through the bullet‑proof glass.

The villa's surroundings were quiet, only a few courtyard lights emitting a dim yellow glow. The distant woods were pitch‑black, like a crouching giant beast.

The four bodyguards arranged by Lao Ba: two were smoking and chatting at the entrance, one was patrolling the yard, and another sat in front of the monitor screen.

Everything looked normal.

But Liu Shu inexplicably felt uneasy in his heart.

From the afternoon onward, his right eyelid kept twitching. The old saying goes, left eye twitching brings wealth, right eye twitching brings disaster—this made him restless.

He picked up the water cup on the table, intending to take a sip, but found it empty.

He hesitated a moment, then pushed open the door.

The hallway lights were dim; from the far end of the stairwell came the sound of a television—probably the on‑duty guard watching a game.

Liu Shu went to the stairwell entrance, looked down, and saw no one.

'Anyone there?' he shouted.

No one answered.

The television sound suddenly stopped.

A chill surged up from his spine.

Liu Shu instinctively stepped back, but bumped into someone.

'Chief Liu, what are you looking for?'

It was Lao Ba's voice.

Liu Shu turned around sharply, seeing Lao Ba appear behind him at some point, holding a tray with a late‑night snack and a bottle of water.

'You scared me…' Liu Shu let out a breath of relief: 'I just wanted a drink of water.'

'I brought it over.' Lao Ba handed him the tray: 'Freshly boiled wontons, eat them while hot. Finish up and rest early—Master Fan might want to see you tomorrow.'

'Mr. Lin wants to see me?' Liu Shu's eyes lit up.

'Maybe.' Lao Ba didn't commit: 'First get the materials organized; Master Fan wants to look at them.'

Liu Shu nodded, took the tray, and returned to his room.

Lao Ba stood in the hallway, watching the door close, his smile gradually fading.

He walked to the stairwell entrance and shouted down: 'Xiao Wu, shift change.'

No response.

Lao Ba frowned, his hand moving to his waist, and descended the stairs slowly.

The living room TV was still on, playing a late-night shopping program. But Xiao Wu, who should have been sitting in front of the monitor, was missing.

On the sofa sat a half-finished cup of tea; the ashtray held a half-smoked cigarette, the butt still smoldering.

Someone had just left.

Lao Ba scanned the surroundings; the living room was normal, doors and windows shut tight.

"Xiao Wu?" he called again.

"Brother Ba, I'm in the toilet, my stomach feels a bit off."

The voice was Xiao Wu's, but… it sounded muffled, as if he were speaking with his hand over his mouth.

Lao Ba didn't move; his hand had already found the gun grip.

"And the others?" he asked.

"Da Zhuang and Gangzi are out back smoking; Lao San went to check the wiring." Xiao Wu's voice came from the upstairs bathroom: "The circuit breaker just tripped."

Lao Ba looked up toward the upstairs bathroom.

The door was closed, the light on.

Everything seemed reasonable.

But his sense of unease grew stronger and stronger.

It was too quiet.

Da Zhuang and Gangzi, who were out back smoking, usually talked a lot, but now they made no sound at all.

Lao Ba slowly walked to the living-room window, pulled back a corner of the curtain, and looked outside.

In the yard, two red dots flickered.

They were cigarette butts.

Da Zhuang and Gangzi were indeed smoking, backs to the villa, standing under the yard light.

But their stance…

was too stiff.

Like two statues.

Lao Ba's pupils contracted; he whipped around and sprinted for the stairs.

Almost simultaneously—

"Bang!"

A muffled thud came from upstairs, like a heavy object hitting the floor.

Immediately followed by the sound of breaking glass.

"Xiao Wu!"

Lao Ba roared, drew his gun, and charged up the stairs.

The bathroom door was ajar, a smell of blood drifting out.

Lao Ba kicked the door open.

Xiao Wu lay in a pool of blood, a deep knife wound on his neck exposing bone, his eyes wide, already breathless.

The window glass was shattered, cold wind pouring in.

Lao Ba rushed to the window and looked down; all he saw was a black shadow quickly disappearing into the woods.

"Damn!"

He turned and burst out of the bathroom, heading straight for Liu Shu's room.

"Liu Shu! Open the door!"

He pounded on the door.

No one answered.

Lao Ba stepped back two steps, then lifted his leg and kicked hard.

"Bang!"

The solid wood door was kicked in.

The room was empty.

The window was open, the curtains fluttering in the night wind.

The materials on the table were also gone.

Only that bowl of wontons remained, still steaming.

Lao Ba rushed to the window and saw drag marks on the lawn below, leading all the way to the edge of the woods.

He pulled out his walkie-talkie: "Everyone, alert! Liu Shu has been abducted! Xiao Wu is dead!"

The walkie-talkie only emitted static.

No one responded.

Lao Ba's face turned ashen; he knew something major had happened.

He climbed out the window, slid down the drainpipe to the first floor, landed, and quickly rolled to the wall.

In the yard, Da Zhuang and Gangzi were still standing there smoking.

But upon approaching, he discovered they were already dead.

They had the same kind of knife wound on the neck.

One strike, fatal.

The cigarette butts were clamped between their stiff fingers, so they were still burning.

Lao Ba examined the bodies; the wounds were extremely deep, the technique professional—this was the work of a professional killer.

And there was more than one of them.

Able to simultaneously knock down four well-trained bodyguards, the other side had at least six people or more.

Lao Ba took out his phone and dialed Lin Dongfan's number.

It rang three times.

Connected.

"Master Fan, something happened." Lao Ba's voice calm but speaking fast: "The villa was attacked, Xiao Wu, Da Zhuang, and Gangzi died, Lao San went missing. Liu Shu was kidnapped, and the materials are also gone."

The other end of the phone was silent for two seconds.

"What's the other side's background?" Lin Dongfan asked.

"Professional assassins, clean and efficient. At least six people, possibly more." Lao Ba said: "They first cut off communications, then eliminated them one by one. By the time I went downstairs to check, they had already succeeded."