mtl008 Chapter 283 The Fickle Leader
Chapter 283 The Fickle Leader
Li Yong'an beckoned, "Comrade Xingguo, sit down and let's talk."
Ye Xingguo sat down. "Secretary Li, I happen to have something to report to you."
"Tell me about it."
Ye Xingguo became serious. "Secretary Li, the special task force has just cracked a major drug case. According to the initial confession of the drug traffickers, it may involve customs."
This surprised Li Yong'an somewhat. "Comrade Xingguo, do you mean drug traffickers are smuggling drugs directly through customs?"
Ye Xingguo dared not speak too definitively, "Secretary Li, at this point it's only the drug dealer's confession; further verification and investigation are needed."
Li Yong'an asked anxiously, "Comrade Xingguo, have you found out which company it is?"
"Secretary Li, this is still under investigation. The drug traffickers arrested today smuggled themselves in from Hong Kong. According to their confessions, they hid the drugs inside television sets to transport them."
This is a serious matter. In China, drugs are a death sentence for anyone who touches them. Li Yong'an can mediate other matters, but when it comes to drugs, he dares not hide anything. It's not worth risking his political career. He doesn't have the iron-fisted anti-corruption determination of Secretary Zhu from Shanghai. The task the central government gave him was to maintain economic growth in eastern Guangdong, and that's all he needed to do.
"Comrade Xingguo, don't think about anything else right now. This matter must be thoroughly investigated to see if it involves customs. Comrade Qi Tongwei has made a great contribution this time, so I suggest we let him handle the investigation."
Ye Xingguo could tell from Li Yong'an's words that the drugs had touched a nerve, and he seemed to be compromising.
"Secretary Li, I will stand guard until the very end, and so will Comrade Qi Tongwei."
Li Yong'an was quite satisfied with this statement. "Comrade Xingguo, whether it's you or Comrade Qi Tongwei, the organization will recognize your contributions. I have one request: the evidence regarding this customs matter must be conclusive. I hope to minimize the impact."
"Yes, Secretary Li, I will definitely do my best to safeguard the economic development of eastern Guangdong."
The two talked for a while longer and had a pleasant conversation. Li Yong'an was not an assertive person; he preferred to solve problems through communication.
After returning to his office, Ye Xingguo called Qi Tongwei and said, "You kid, don't think about anything else right now. You have to investigate this case thoroughly and find out if it involves customs, understand?"
Qi Tongwei laughed and said, "Director Ye, three days isn't enough time for me."
"Don't play dumb with me, kid. When did I ever give you a three-day deadline to solve a case?"
The boss is a real dog; he can tell you to do something with a single word, and he can tell you to stop with a single word.
"Understood, Director Ye. Mission accomplished."
Ye Xingguo knew that the young man harbored resentment. Young people are impulsive and hot-blooded, and he had been through it himself, thinking that leaders were all incompetent. However, when he reached a high position, he seemed to understand that without rules, there can be no order.
"Work hard"
After much deliberation, Qiu Jinkun decided to send someone to kill Lu Jin. Chen Wenru was right; only the dead can truly keep secrets.
At the hospital, Zuo Dao, dressed in a white coat and wearing a mask, went to scout out the location, pretending to be a doctor.
There were four policemen guarding Lu Jin's ward, and four more inside. It was heavily guarded; not even a fly could get in.
A short while later, Qi Tongwei arrived at the hospital and almost bumped into Zuo Dao at the entrance. Zuo Dao immediately blended into the crowd and avoided him.
Qi Tongwei glanced back and saw Zuo Dao's back, feeling a sense of familiarity.
Lan Ying asked, "Qi Zhi, what's wrong?"
"It's alright, let's go."
Qi Tongwei felt himself becoming a little paranoid.
In the ward, Lu Jin, having just undergone surgery, looked pale and somewhat weak.
Qi Tongwei took a stool and sat down in front of the hospital bed. "Lu Jin, congratulations, you're lucky you won't die."
"Is he speaking human language? Is this something a police officer should say?" Lu Jin was furious and wanted to file a complaint.
"What are you doing here? I don't want to see you."
Qi Tongwei chuckled, "Lu Jin, I think you didn't just get shot in the thigh, you got shot in the brain. You've gone mad, haven't you?"
When Lu Jin saw Qi Tongwei, he felt a deep sense of despair; this bastard was his nemesis.
"I don't want to talk to you, and I won't say anything. Don't waste your breath."
Qi Tongwei grabbed Lu Jin's wound on his thigh. "Are you sure you don't want to talk to me?"
Lu Jin was startled, but thankfully Qi Tongwei, that bastard, didn't use too much force.
"Officers, you all saw it, didn't you? This is torture to extract a confession; this is murder!"
Lan Ying and Wu Dali remained expressionless, pretending not to see anything.
Qi Tongwei withdrew his hand. "Lu Jin, is this all the guts you have? You dare to traffic drugs? I'm starting to wonder if you have some kind of split personality."
"I have nothing to say. I admit to drug trafficking; if I deserve to be executed, then so be it."
Lu Jin became smug. He wasn't afraid of death, but he was afraid of torture. Being shot was a relief, but being tortured was worse than death.
Qi Tongwei lit a cigarette, took a puff, and exclaimed, "Ah, that feels good!" Lu Jin was drooling at the sight. If he hadn't been arrested, he would definitely be singing and dancing with girls in a nightclub right now.
"Lu Jin, do you think he'll be especially grateful to you if you don't implicate Qiu Jinkun? No way. If I were him, I would definitely send someone to kill you. Only when you're dead can I sleep peacefully."
"I know your concerns. A thousand kilograms of drugs—you'll die whether you talk about it or not. It's better not to talk about it. That way, Qiu Jinkun will take care of your family out of brotherhood."
"Unfortunately, you're being naive. Once you're dead, your family will still be surrounded by a major drug lord, which is a ticking time bomb. Since you're going to die anyway, you might as well defuse this time bomb in advance so that your family will be truly safe. Am I right?"
At first glance, Lu Jin thought this made a lot of sense, but wasn't this just asking him to be a traitor? He wasn't a small fry; he couldn't be a traitor. He wanted to die a quick and painless death.
"I take full responsibility for my actions. No matter what you say, I won't believe a single word."
"Stubborn to the end," Qi Tongwei said, taking a drag of his cigarette. "Lu Jin, how about we make a bet? I bet Qiu Jinkun will send men to kill you tonight. I'll withdraw all the police and leave your life to your own devices. Are you in the mood for the bet?"
Upon hearing this, Lu Jin was overjoyed, but then immediately realized that this must be a trap set by Qi Tongwei. Qiu Jinkun would definitely send someone to rescue him, which would be like walking into a trap.
"Qi Tongwei, do you think I'm stupid? The police station isn't your private property, you can't just do whatever you want. And you want to remove all the police? You might as well fire yourself!"
Qi Tongwei laughed heartily, "Lu Jin, have you finally gotten your brain back? The boss definitely won't allow me to do this, but he's not around tonight. It's not like the brothers can't go out for a late-night snack after all their hard work. If something really happens, what's the big deal if a drug dealer dies? At worst, I'll just get a disciplinary action. How about it, want to take a gamble?"
Lu Jin felt a little guilty. Since ancient times, killing to silence witnesses has always been the safest method. Killing someone is much simpler than saving someone. But no matter what, he had another chance to live.
I'll bet you.