Chapter 212: The Last Chance

"Oh no!"

Li Ya slapped his forehead and gritted his teeth; for a moment, he was somewhat panicked.

He had not intended to kill Dong Cheng.

But for some reason, seeing that damned smile made him think of the bitter days in Yancheng.

Over there, there were many people just like Dong Cheng.

Even though they were underfed and poorly clothed, they were still filled with an incomparably firm strength for life.

This damned atmosphere made him deeply worried for the Party-State; every day felt like living in a nightmare.

Because Li Ya understood.

That kind of strength was invincible.

Therefore, he hated and feared the Reds deeply.

Dong Cheng's smile had triggered this fear, to the point that Li Ya's emotions had completely spiraled out of control.

"Dong Cheng, Dong Cheng?"

Li Ya shook him.

After confirming he had stopped breathing, and following a brief moment of panic, he began to dispose of the paper scraps on the floor.

"Fifth Brother, you're back."

A voice came from outside the door.

Before Li Ya could finish cleaning up, Old Five and the others pushed the door open and walked in.

"Captain Li, did this old thing confess?" Old Five asked with a smile, a cigarette hanging from his mouth.

"No, I just came over to take a look," Li Ya said with a dry laugh.

"He won't talk?"

"Then it's because you weren't ruthless enough. I'll go give him a more spirited session."

Old Five let out a dry laugh and walked over to Dong Cheng.

Upon seeing that Dong Cheng had been beaten beyond recognition, Old Five checked his breath and his expression changed drastically, trembling as he said:

"Captain Li, he, he's dead!

"Dong Cheng is dead!

"This is the headquarters' golden nugget, you, you..."

"I know, hurry and report it to the Station Chief," Li Ya said, regaining his composure.

The person was already dead.

He could only take it one step at a time now.

Intelligence Section office.

Lu Qiao was organizing his files.

Yuan Peilin could not be found.

Rather than waiting to be sidelined and mocked after Li Ya rose in rank, it was better to pack up early and head to Jingling.

It just so happened that his son was in the Second Department, so father and son could see each other often.

Having drifted in Jinhai for nearly two years, it was time to live a life of family reunion.

Just as he was packing, he saw Little Li from the interrogation room running toward the Station Chief's office in a panic. Lu Qiao frowned slightly, put down the files in his hand, and chased after him:

"Little Li, what happened?"

"Section Chief Lu, Dong, Dong Cheng is dead!"

Little Li replied and hurried to the outside of the Station Chief's office: "Secretary Hong, I, I have an extremely urgent matter to see the Station Chief about."

"Come in."

Hong Zhiyou led him inside.

Entering the office, Wu Jingzhong was sitting with his arms crossed, feigning sleep.

"Station Chief, something big has happened!" Little Li shouted.

"Panicking like this, what kind of decorum is that?" Hong Zhiyou scolded him.

"Is something the matter?" Wu Jingzhong opened his eyes and asked indifferently.

"Dong Cheng is dead!

"He was, he was beaten to death by Captain Li!" Little Li said.

"Dong Cheng is dead?" Wu Jingzhong stood up abruptly.

"What happened? Speak quickly."

"I don't know.

"Old Five and I went to the cafeteria to eat, and when we came back, Dong Cheng was already dead.

"Station Chief, you should go take a look."

Little Li said in a panic.

"Call Qiao and Zecheng, yes, and Section Chief Xiao too.

"Go to the interrogation room immediately!"

Wu Jingzhong was overjoyed, but his expression remained as cold as frost.

Hong Zhiyou called for Lu and Yu.

Yu Zecheng and the other two walked slowly, whispering to each other.

"Secretary Hong, how could Dong Cheng suddenly die?" Yu Zecheng asked in a low voice.

"Who knows?

"Anyway, for us, it's a huge piece of good news.

"This is Dong Cheng, a treasure just like Yuan Peilin.

"The man Li Ya captured.

"Now that he's dead, Li Ya has one less card to play.

"Who knows, we might just find a way out of this and have a chance to turn things around."

Lu Qiao's previous dejection vanished, and he was suddenly filled with fighting spirit.

Yu Zecheng glanced at Hong Zhiyou.

Hong Zhiyou shook his head, indicating he knew nothing.

In truth, he had probably guessed some of it.

This must have been the Station Chief secretly feeding Li Ya a trap.

As expected of an old hand, one move and it was a fatal blow.

Even if it didn't kill Li Ya, it would be enough to make him suffer.

Arriving at the interrogation room, Li Ya stood straight with his hands in his pockets, a bloodstain on his white shirt.

Old Five stood trembling to the side.

Wu Jingzhong stepped forward quickly, checked his breath, felt his neck, frowned, waved his hand, and sighed painfully:

"Alas, it pains my heart! A perfectly good trump card has been ruined just like that!"

After speaking, he turned his head and coldly scanned the faces of Old Five and Li Ya:

"What on earth is going on here!"

Old Five looked at Li Ya and didn't make a sound.

"Speak!" Wu Jingzhong roared.

Old Five was startled, and hurriedly stammered his confession:

"I just went to the cafeteria to eat, and when I came back, I saw Captain Li alone in the interrogation room.

"Dong, Dong Cheng was already like this."

Li Ya had beaten him to death.

Lu Qiao's eyes lit up, his heart filled with wild joy.

In an instant, many sparks of inspiration flashed through his mind; he seemed to have found a way to topple Li Ya.

Yu Zecheng and Hong Zhiyou were silent.

Especially Old Yu, his heart was bleeding with pain, and the sourness in his throat surged into his eyes several times uncontrollably, which he forced himself to hold back.

Mr. Dong was not only his guide into the revolution.

He was also a wise teacher and a good friend.

When he was at Yang Village, every time he came, he would tell him about the freedom and brilliance of the border regions, spreading the new, kind, and progressive strength.

If one could say that Zuo Lan was the reason he joined the revolution.

Then Mr. Dong was the catalyst.

He took him from yearning, to pursuit, and finally to firm belief.

Just last night, Yu Zecheng was still discussing rescue strategies with Luo Anping.

Unexpectedly, in just one short day, they were separated by life and death.

He did not know what had happened in the interrogation room.

But seeing Mr. Dong tortured to death, Yu Zecheng's rage grew wildly like weeds.

He was in deep grief now.

He wanted to cry.

He wanted to kill.

But Yu Zecheng knew even better that Mr. Dong was using his death to protect him; the scraps of paper on the floor, with the fragmented characters for "Emei," were his final act of resistance.

He suppressed his grief.

He continued to lurk, continued to fight.

For himself, for Mr. Dong!

Hong Zhiyou glanced at Yu Zecheng, took off his coat, walked over to Mr. Dong's corpse, and covered his head with it as a sign of respect.

A flicker of tacit approval and appreciation flashed in Wu Jingzhong's eyes.

"My Captain Li, shouldn't you offer an explanation?" He turned his head to ask Li Ya.

"I wanted to interrogate him alone to confirm a few things.

"Unfortunately, he wouldn't cooperate with me.

"Then, I accidentally killed him."

Li Ya answered very calmly, his expression remaining arrogant.

"Captain Li, are you sure it was an interrogation and not silencing a witness?"

Lu Qiaoshan, standing to the side like a viper hidden in a corner, launched a lethal attack.

"Section Chief Lu, what do you mean by that?" Li Ya looked at him with cold eyes.

"Captain Li, you returned from Yancheng. I heard the Red propaganda there is very powerful; it can wash away a person's ideology. Even Mr. Sun's widow, Lin Tai, is a great admirer of them.

"I have reason to suspect you are a 'two birds with one stone' scheme of the Reds.

"You not only rescued Jiang Aimei and Huang Zhong but also managed to return and infiltrate the interior of the Party-State under the guise of a hero."

Lu Qiaoshan smiled unhurriedly.

Unfortunately, the person he was facing was not Ma Kui. Li Ya was not only unperturbed but actually smiled and said:

"That was a wonderful performance, please continue."

Lu Qiaoshan felt as if he had punched a cotton ball. He looked at Wu Jingzhong and said:

"Station Chief, I am not speaking empty words.

"First, Captain Li just returned and intentionally killed a representative of the Party-State Economic Investigation Team. As soon as he took office, he monopolized half of the Intelligence Section's equipment and began recruiting his own men.

"He has the personnel, and he has the equipment.

"Can he not even investigate such a small matter clearly?

"It is clearly an attempt to deliberately provoke conflict and attrition between the Party-State Bureau and our station, so he can fish in troubled waters and steal important intelligence from Jinhai."

"Hmm, that is a possibility." Yu Zecheng nodded in agreement.

"Continue," Wu Jingzhong said expressionlessly.

"Secondly, regarding the secret mission for the Battle of Zhangjiakou planned by the Chairman and Jiang Jianfeng, how did he know about it? Furthermore, he colluded with Sun Lianzhong and nearly ruined the Chairman's grand national strategy.

"For an action that harms the Party and the nation, it requires such great means and such extensive connections; to call it a 'misunderstanding' is far too childish.

"I believe this was absolutely not an order from Jiang Jianfeng.

"And this time, Dong Cheng was a high-level Red operative. What was he doing in Jinhai? Who was his contact? He hadn't confessed a single word.

"He was about to be sent to Jingling for trial, yet he was inexplicably beaten to death.

"Isn't this clearly silencing a witness?"

Lu Qiaoshan was silver-tongued and highly venomous.

"With three consecutive unfathomable masterstrokes, even Qian Zhuangfei would be no match for this.

"Station Chief.

"If you told me that Yuan had already reached Yancheng by now, I wouldn't be surprised at all."

Lu Qiaoshan continued his assault.

"Lu Qiaoshan, there is no need for you to dump your filth on my head to provoke me.

"I don't buy that.

"Yuan is in my hands. I have already filed a report to Jingling, and Jiang Jianfeng will send someone to pick him up personally.

"You should just give up on those little schemes of yours."

Li Ya raised his eyebrows, his arrogance undiminished.

"Station Chief, I have nothing more to say." Lu Qiaoshan shook his head and smiled.

"Send Dong Cheng's body to Jingling to be examined and processed by headquarters.

"Li Ya, come with me!"

Wu Jingzhong glared at him coldly and walked out first.

Back in the office.

Li Ya pulled the door shut.

"Li Ya, oh Li Ya, what am I supposed to say about you?

"Dong Cheng was something you traded Yuan Peilin for; it was wealth, it was merit!

"You could have done nothing at all and handed him over to headquarters, and it would have been a monumental achievement.

"Is your brain clamped in a door?

"You had to go and beat him to death!

"It is simply stupid and clumsy to the extreme!"

Wu Jingzhong pointed at him, feeling both hateful and pitying.

"Master, I didn't want to either.

"I just wanted him to identify if Yu Zecheng was Emei Peak. He had a guilty conscience and suddenly tore up my materials.

"And he smiled at me.

"I couldn't stand that damn smile of his, so I punched him a few times.

"Who knew he would just stop breathing."

Li Ya took his hand out of his pocket, brushed his bangs, and explained gloomily.

"You call that 'just punched him a few times'? With those punches of yours, you could go abroad and box professionally.

"Internal strife, internal attrition—why won't you listen after I've told you repeatedly?

"The Party-State's resources, such a good card as Dong Cheng, were just wasted in vain.

"My heart aches."

Wu Jingzhong slapped the table in annoyance.

"Station Chief, it was indeed my impulse, and I am willing to take responsibility.

"You report it to headquarters.

"Whatever Jingling decides to do to me, I will accept it."

Li Ya didn't waste words and said directly.

"Just wait."

Wu Jingzhong picked up the phone and dialed a number:

"Connect me to headquarters, Residence No. 2."

Soon, Jiang Jianfeng's voice came from the other end.

"Yes, yes!

"He was just momentarily enraged and accidentally killed the man after punching him a few times.

"Yes, yes!

"Understood."

Li Ya, standing to the side, saw him shielding him at every turn and felt quite moved.

He could almost be certain.

Wu Jingzhong loved money like his life and cheated him out of his money, which he could understand.

Liu Xiong's matter should have nothing to do with him.

After all, the Station Chief and Liu Xiong were old brothers who had been through life and death together.

The Station Chief must have been deceived by Yu Zecheng and Hong Zhiyou.

That was why he believed the nonsense about having connections with the Party-State Bureau.

Right.

It must be like that.

He had to avenge his mentor and "cleanse the side of the monarch" for the Station Chief!

Hanging up the phone, Wu Jingzhong looked at Li Ya:

"You've found yourself a good backer."

"What did Comrade Jiang Jianfeng say?" Li Ya asked.

"He only said two sentences: 'Use people while doubting them, doubt people while using them.'

"'Take this as a lesson, and let your merit atone for your fault!'"

Wu Jingzhong sighed with furrowed brows.

He was extremely disappointed in his heart.

Dong Cheng is dead, yet such an important figure, and Jiang Jianfeng actually refuses to allow an investigation, insisting on protecting Li Ya.

Even Dong Cheng's corpse is being handled by the Jinhai station.

Sigh!

All that busy work, all for nothing.

"Thank you for your trust, Comrade Jiang Jianfeng.

"Li Ya will surely perform new meritorious service to make up for this mistake."

Li Ya was overjoyed; he hurriedly straightened his uniform and bowed deeply toward Jingling.

"Oh, and thank you, Teacher, for your protection; I will keep this favor in my heart." Seeing the station chief's complex expression, he hurriedly bowed to Wu Jingzhong with a beaming smile as well.

"I don't need you to keep any favors in your heart.

"I only hope you will communicate with me about everything; it is not that you cannot investigate Yu Zecheng, but you must do it privately and only speak when you have conclusive evidence.

"Otherwise, you will be very passive this way.

"Do you understand?"

Wu Jingzhong narrowed his eyes, pretending to offer guidance out of deep concern.

"The student has received your instruction.

"Teacher, if there is nothing else, I will go handle Dong Cheng's corpse," Li Ya said.

"Go ahead," Wu Jingzhong said with a smile.

The moment Li Ya left, Hong Zhiyou walked in: "Teacher, how did it go?"

"Sigh!"

Wu Jingzhong slapped the table with both hands, shook his head from side to side, and sighed:

"Jiang Jianfeng trusts this person very much.

"He said something to me like, 'The dead cannot return to life, the living must strive forward.'

"Strive forward, my ass!"

"If even this can't take him down, didn't Director Zheng over there pass on a word?" Hong Zhiyou asked.

"If he were going to pass a word, he would have done it long ago.

"I suspect that passing a word would only cause harm; the Chairman and his son have never played by the rules.

"What others oppose, he insists on supporting.

"What others support, they insist on persecuting.

"So many people are trying to take Li Ya down; perhaps that is exactly why Jiang Jianfeng trusts Li Ya all the more.

"The minds of those at the top are things we cannot guess.

"Or perhaps this Li Ya is being kept in Jinhai for a more important secret mission.

"Or perhaps Yuan Peilin still holds a bargaining chip more important than Dong Cheng.

"Especially the latter; that is very possible.

"Don't forget, Yuan is one of the people in charge of the Red Ticket intelligence network; a single slip could reveal Xu Yuanshan or Dong Cheng, and it is entirely possible he could bite off an even bigger fish from the Ministry of National Defense."

Wu Jingzhong paced with his hands behind his back, analyzing the situation with great caution.

"What are Teacher's plans for the next steps?" Hong Zhiyou did not reveal Xie Ruo's plan.

"Given Jiang Jianfeng's attitude, I suspect he will soon call Zheng Jiemin back and finalize Li Ya's position as deputy station chief.

"We don't have two days left.

"At most, we have tonight, just this one night of opportunity.

"Whether we can find and eliminate Yuan Peilin all depends on this one night."

Wu Jingzhong was accustomed to preparing for the worst.

"Teacher, the situation is not very optimistic; it's as if all the luck in the world has been monopolized by Captain Li alone," Hong Zhiyou joked.

"You can't think like that.

"Dong Cheng is dead, and Jiang Jianfeng must be furious about it too.

"It is only because of Yuan Peilin's plan, and for the sake of the big picture, that he isn't punishing him.

"But if Yuan dies.

"These feelings of dissatisfaction will explode tenfold.

"Not to mention a military tribunal, Li Ya can forget about ever becoming deputy station chief in this lifetime.

"One must keep hope in their heart; until the very last moment, only Heaven knows who wins and who loses.

"That is a phrase Mr. Zhongfu often said to us when I joined the Red Ticket organization in my youth."

Wu Jingzhong reminisced about the past and gently encouraged Hong Zhiyou.

"Teacher is right.

"Actually, my luck has always been quite good; perhaps I can be like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse and bump into something."

Hong Zhiyou said with a smile.

He didn't say it, and Wu Jingzhong didn't ask; everything was understood without words.

Once he left, Wu Jingzhong called Xiao Guohua in:

"The plan to eliminate Old Five must be moved up.

"Li Ya is a very cautious person; once he realizes what's going on, he will definitely go to question Old Five.

"When you eliminate him, the reason must be logical.

"Doesn't he like to gamble?

"Go to the casino and finish him off, and make sure Little Li from the interrogation room is present; he is one of Li Ya's men, which will serve as collateral evidence.

"Otherwise, if Old Five suddenly disappears, Li Ya will be even more suspicious."

"Understood," Xiao Guohua acknowledged the order.

……

Hong Zhiyou returned to the office, where Lu Qiaoshan and Yu Zecheng were already waiting in the confidential room.

"Zhiyou, how did it go?

"What did they say in Jingling?" Lu Qiaoshan asked eagerly.

"Don't suspect the person you use, don't use the person you suspect.

"Dong Cheng's corpse is to be handled by Jinhai."

Hong Zhiyou shrugged and said.

The smiles on the faces of Lu Qiaoshan and Yu Zecheng froze instantly.

Lu Qiaoshan looked as if his strength had been drained, and he slumped into the sofa:

"Ho, how could it be like this?"

"Such an important person, and Jiang Jianfeng just said that?" Even Yu Zecheng found it unbelievable.

"I don't believe it either.

"But this is the fact; I suspect Jiang Jianfeng is having Li Ya do something more important, related to Yuan Peilin," Hong Zhiyou relayed the station chief's words.

"That must be it," Yu Zecheng said.

"Gentlemen, we likely only have tonight, this one night of opportunity.

"If we can't find Yuan Peilin tonight.

"Once Li Ya's greater scheme succeeds, this person might be promoted to Colonel, and by then, let alone deputy station chief.

"Even the station chief position will be within his reach.

"You and I can just wait to pack our bags and leave."

Hong Zhiyou looked at the two of them and said.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's split up and act immediately," Yu Zecheng patted the dazed Lu Qiaoshan.

"Yes, yes.

"We must take action."

Lu Qiaoshan pulled himself together and said.

……

Seven o'clock in the evening.

Li Ya arrived at the Lujunyi Academy and called in Director Liu Li, who had performed the autopsy:

"Director Liu, is the autopsy report out?"

"It is out.

"It is mainly severe internal hemorrhaging, as well as brain damage from a heavy blow to the head."

Liu Li replied.

Brain damage—Li Ya admitted that was his own doing.

But severe internal hemorrhaging?

That shouldn't be.

It was Old Five who administered the torture.

He is an experienced veteran.

For a high-profile prisoner like Dong Cheng, who was a key focus of the headquarters, it was impossible for him to have used lethal force.

"Was the internal hemorrhaging caused by the beating?" Li Ya asked.

"Yes."

"However, the patient is advanced in age and has underlying conditions."

"So it is also possible that it was caused by other complications."

"With our hospital's current equipment and technology, this is all I can determine."

Liu Li answered truthfully.

"Fine, I understand."

"Thank you."

Li Ya smiled and nodded, then turned and left the hospital.

Intuition told him that the death of Dong Cheng was a bit suspicious.

Moreover, truth be told.

When he went for the secret interrogation, why was it such a coincidence that only his own man, Little Li, was left?

Could this be a trap that Old Five deliberately set for him?

But then he thought about it again.

He felt he was overthinking it.

When all is said and done, if he had controlled his temper at the time and not hit Dong Cheng, he might not have died.

Sigh!

It is such a headache.

But none of that matters.

Yuan Peilin still has a more important trump card in his hand.

As long as this errand is handled well.

That would be a truly earth-shattering achievement.

It is still early; the thought of going to see the opera troupe now and having to listen to boring, screeching, and unbearable singing is awful.

And he would have to send flowers and gifts to Little Yunxian.

It is all money.

Better to wait until the performance is over before going.

At the mention of money, Li Ya slapped his thigh, nearly forgetting a major matter.

He had an appointment to meet the Meituo introduced by Hong Zhiyou.

American bonds.

At the thought of money, Li Ya's heart surged, and he hurriedly drove toward the East Sea Tea House.

(End of chapter)