Chapter 166: Not a Single Witness Left Alive

Following the principle of offending no one, Yu Dazhang did his best to look flustered and innocent.

It wasn't that he was being melodramatic; he had long passed the age of youthful recklessness.

Yu Dazhang's mental age was already over thirty.

Add to that his years as a criminal investigator, and he had long since seen every kind of person and situation imaginable.

Adults, after all, have their own set of values.

Put it this way — why is the workplace reluctant to take on job seekers over thirty-five?

Clearly, this is precisely the age when one is experienced, well-off, and full of strength.

The reasons given are nothing more than: lacking vitality, lacking drive, not as aggressive as the young.

In truth, the real reason is: they're no longer easy to brainwash.

What age group is easiest to fool?

It has to be the young people just entering the workforce.

Draw them any old pie and they'll obediently do as they're told.

Don't believe those online stories about post-2000 kids "fixing" the workplace.

Go take a look at those big companies — the ones working their tails off are all post-2000 kids.

An HR person from a Shangshi Company once said this:

"Because young people are a blank sheet of paper, easy to shape and manage, while employees over thirty-five are more stubborn and find it hard to accept new things."

Can you taste something in that?

That's right — employees over thirty-five can't be fooled anymore.

They've been fooled for over ten years, long since fooled lame; even a fool would have woken up by now.

The tricks used to fool young people look like playing house in their eyes — utterly ineffective.

You talk to them about ideals, they talk back to you about labor law.

You hand them a crutch, and they're already in a wheelchair.

Feet off the ground, the virus shuts down, the clever brain retakes the high ground.

At this moment, Yu Dazhang was in exactly that state.

The olive branches the City Bureau had previously extended, he had snapped them all in half.

The Ministry of State Security was even less of an option — same old saying: better a chicken's head than a phoenix's tail.

"Your personality will make you countless enemies in the future," Li Mingzhao continued to persuade:

"Come to the Ministry. Only here can we protect you, and only here can your talents be brought to their fullest play."

His eyes carried hope and eagerness, fixed on Yu Dazhang in a way that made him thoroughly uncomfortable.

I don't want to go to Syria… Yu Dazhang placed his hand on the file bag on the table and slowly pushed it back.

Then he looked up and smiled at Li Mingzhao:

"Leader, I'm afraid of heights."

This was almost no different from a direct refusal.

It was also the first time Yu Dazhang had bluntly stated his own attitude.

In the previous two phone calls, Li Mingzhao had been on a helicopter.

So when he said "afraid of heights," he meant: he couldn't adapt to the Ministry's work.

Yu Dazhang had also guessed what was inside the file bag.

Nothing more than the file transfer procedures and an intra-system transfer application letter.

As long as he signed it and pressed his Fingerprint on it, the matter would be settled.

Why an intra-system transfer?

Because the Ministry of State Security is also police — one of the five major police forces — just a bit more special than the other four.

"No regrets?"

Li Mingzhao stared at Yu Dazhang, a hint of scrutiny in his gaze:

"I can give you one chance to reconsider. Give me your answer tomorrow."

At these words, Ye Lin beside him glanced at Li Mingzhao in surprise.

She could hardly believe what she'd just heard.

If the Ministry's entry requirements were strict, then the Special Operations Group was even stricter — getting in could only be described as difficult upon difficulty.

Every selected member was an elite who had been screened through layer after layer.

They possessed top-tier talent in their respective fields — some were even experts or scholars in their domains.

But the scene before her eyes…

Team Li Zuzhang was actually pleading with him!

Though it wasn't stated outright, Ye Lin still caught the unspoken meaning.

Even after being refused, Li Mingzhao refused to give up.

"While parents are alive, one should not travel far." Yu Dazhang tossed out another reason off the cuff.

This time the play was to lean on the word "filial piety" to pressure him. Working at the Ministry meant no fixed office location — he'd be running all over the country, just like Li Mingzhao and his people.

"You didn't finish that quote," Li Mingzhao corrected:

"If I remember right, there's a line after it: 'when you do travel, you must have a direction.'"

He's actually quite cultured… Yu Dazhang felt a slight throb in his temples.

Seeing Yu Dazhang hadn't replied, Li Mingzhao went on:

"At your age, your parents can't be fifty yet — it's not like they need you to support them in their retirement, right?"

"You can go home and discuss it with your parents first."

He of course knew this was Yu Dazhang's excuse; he could also tell that this fatty didn't want to come.

But Li Mingzhao had no intention of letting it go at that.

"No need to discuss it. My parents definitely won't agree." Yu Dazhang's attitude this time was very firm.

The longer the night, the more dreams—absolutely cannot drag this until tomorrow… he reminded himself in his heart.

Please... favor... bookmark... 6... 9... book.... bar....!

When it came to playing mind games, he didn't dare to compare with the one sitting across from him.

He still had that much self-awareness.

If he stalled any longer, who knew what pretext this Squad Li Zuzhang would come up with next.

Yu Dazhang couldn't help feeling a little curious.

He had clearly already refused quite obviously—why was the man still insisting?

With the kind of unit they had, whatever kind of talent they wanted, they could have it.

What exactly had he seen in him? Could it be that the Special Operations Squad was short a fatty?

This meeting ended with both sides in a rather unpleasant atmosphere.

After Yu Dazhang left, Ye Lin couldn't help asking:

"Squad Leader, you value him that highly?"

She had worked with Yu Dazhang once before, so she had some understanding of his abilities.

In Ye Lin's view, Yu Dazhang was very smart, and decisive in killing.

But as for being especially outstanding, that didn't really seem to apply—at least compared with the current squad members, no obvious advantage could be seen.

Li Mingzhao didn't answer her, but asked instead:

"If you faced seven foreign-mercenary soldiers alone, in a bare-handed fight, what would your odds of winning be?"

At these words, Ye Lin fell silent.

After a few seconds, she shook her head and said:

"Hard to say. Probably about a fifty-fifty chance of walking away unscathed."

Mercenaries aren't something just anyone can be.

Especially foreign military-mercenary soldiers—every single one has real combat experience.

One could say, each and every one of them is a person who walked out of the fires of war.

It was precisely because Ye Lin had taken all these factors into account that she had reached such a conclusion.

"What I mean is…" Li Mingzhao stared at her and asked:

"How confident are you that you could take out all seven foreign-mercenary soldiers?"

This question left Ye Lin stunned.

She furrowed her brow, thought carefully for a long while, and finally shook her head helplessly:

"Impossible. In close-quarters combat, I could at most take down two. Taking out all of them is absolutely impossible."

"And it's not just me—looking at the entire Special Operations Squad, no one could do it either."

What a joke.

One versus seven.

And bare-handed at that～

The opponents were foreign-mercenary soldiers—this was almost a mission impossible.

"He did it."

Li Mingzhao's voice was calm to the point of being eerie, yet carried an indescribable excitement:

"And he did it by snatching a blade and turning the tables—seven people, not a single one left alive…"

As he spoke, he opened an electronic document on his phone.

"Take a look. This is the Municipal Bureau's preliminary investigation report on this incident."

After Ye Lin took it, she read it carefully. She read very slowly, as if afraid of missing any detail.

A few minutes later, she raised her head and looked at Li Mingzhao with a face full of shock.

The latter nodded, his tone somewhat heavy:

"You can't judge a person by their appearance. We've all been fooled by his fat build."

(End of chapter)