Chapter 72: Death Threat

A long confession was laid bare in the interrogation room, everything revealed in a dramatic showdown.

This was the first time this card had been shown openly before Li Yufeng. Previous interrogations had strictly adhered to protocol—nothing could be revealed without solid proof, but today, all such constraints were cast aside.

Reasoning and hypotheses were laid out before Li Yufeng.

Li Yufeng jerked her head up. "No! That's not true, I didn’t know that Oudu Divine Oil was a narcotic, I don’t know Du Lifeng, you’re just making things up, you—"

Zhou Mei cut her off with a raised hand. "P39 and its antidote—those were from Du Lifeng too, weren’t they?"

"Officer, your leading questions won’t work on me. I won’t admit to anything, not even if you torture me! I’ll never confess!" A faint blush rose on Li Yufeng’s face.

Outside, Lin Xiaosu allowed herself a small smile.

Though Li Yufeng’s words were flawless, her agitation was itself a flaw. Her composure had cracked; Zhou Mei’s blow had struck home.

In the interrogation room, Zhou Mei didn’t press further. She simply watched Li Yufeng in silence.

Li Yufeng, realizing her earlier outburst, slowly regained her composure.

Once she was calm, Zhou Mei spoke deliberately. "Li Yufeng, you’re being so stubborn because you’re certain we have to follow the law, that we can’t use extreme measures, and that you’ll be released soon, aren’t you?"

Li Yufeng lifted her gaze. "Officer, I know the law. The day after tomorrow at 11:17 p.m., I’m due for release. If you dare hold me past then, my lawyer will sue you!"

"Yes. As things stand, you’ll be released the night after next," Zhou Mei replied. "But Li Yufeng, do you really think that after your release, Du Lifeng will welcome you back with open arms? Throw a banquet for you?"

"Officer, you’re trying to lead me again. I’d love it if such a big boss would throw a banquet for me, but unfortunately, I really don’t know Du Lifeng," Li Yufeng replied, half-smiling.

For a moment, her sharpness shone through.

"It’s true what they say: you can’t talk sense to someone doomed," Zhou Mei sighed softly, closing her notebook. "Xiao Sun, end the interrogation."

Li Yufeng’s smile froze on her face.

Zhou Mei left.

The room fell silent.

Two officers escorted Li Yufeng out and returned her to her solitary cell. She lay quietly on her side on the bed...

Everything looked normal.

But to Lin Xiaosu, this guise only betrayed Li Yufeng’s inner turmoil.

Night fell...

Deep into the night...

In her cell, Li Yufeng still lay motionless on her bed.

She hadn’t turned over for a long time.

But she was surely not asleep.

No one could know the torment raging inside her. Zhou Mei’s words that afternoon had struck her to the core.

What would Du Lifeng do to her once she was out?

The more she thought, the more uneasy she became...

Suddenly, a scream echoed from the duty room outside!

Li Yufeng’s head shot up. A dark shadow surged into the corridor, carried by a ferocious gust.

"Who’s there?"

A stern shout rang out, followed by two officers bursting in.

Guns drawn!

But the masked figure in black flicked his hand, and two black streaks darted toward the officers.

Both clutched their throats, blood seeping between their fingers, their eyes full of disbelief.

Li Yufeng’s face turned deathly pale...

Bang!

Her cell door burst open, icy air pouring in.

A pair of piercing eyes, shining like cold stars in the dark, appeared.

"You... What do you want?" Li Yufeng backed into the corner, terrified.

"You know too much. The boss won’t take that risk."

Slash!

A blade flashed—

Li Yufeng screamed, "No—"

A gunshot thundered. The figure in black jerked, collapsed face-first to the ground, blood oozing from the back of his head.

In the corridor, Captain Zhang stood radiating murderous intent...

The assassin’s body was dragged away. Captain Zhang stood before Li Yufeng, who couldn’t stop trembling, sweat matting her hair into a disheveled mess...

Captain Zhang gave her a cold glance and turned to leave.

Not a word.

But as he reached the door, a desperate cry came from behind: "Captain Zhang, I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything..."

Back in the interrogation room, Li Yufeng, washed out and terrified, confessed to everything.

She had acted on Du Lifeng’s orders.

The P39 narcotic had come from him. So had the antidote.

Her purpose matched Lin Xiaosu’s earlier deductions exactly—Du Lifeng sought to consolidate the nine bases of Hongxing Pharmaceuticals. The last obstacle was Wang Changfa. So they had targeted Wang Changfa in this way to clear the path for their pharmaceutical empire...

Originally, she would never have confessed. Du Lifeng had promised her that if she kept silent, her future would soar alongside Dell Corp...

But tonight had shown her the truth.

In the big boss’s world, the word "trust" did not exist. They never truly trusted anyone. Dead men, after all, caused no trouble.

So, she confessed.

She had one condition: the police must guarantee her safety—even if it meant keeping her locked up for ten years, she must never be released before Du Lifeng was arrested.

She could never have guessed that the nerve-shattering scene tonight was nothing but a staged performance.

The "assassin" sent to kill her was none other than Chang Ye, a mysterious agent from Dragon’s Shadow.

The mastermind behind the plot was the same super-sleuth, Lin Xiaosu, who had orchestrated her arrest.

The purpose of this elaborate act was rooted in Lin Xiaosu’s conviction about human nature.

Human nature is strange—faced with a dire threat, people naturally choose the lesser of two evils.

And what is "lesser" or "greater" is always defined by comparison.

As long as her illusions remained, confession was the greater pain. So she would rather die than talk.

But when a more brutal reality unfolded before her, the balance shifted.

Compared to her own life, confession suddenly seemed trivial.

So, she talked.

With her testimony, the legal groundwork for the operation against Dell Corp was laid.

The next day, the sky was clear and bright.

Dell Corp was holding a live enterprise culture event. Eighty-two business representatives and relevant departments from the county were in attendance.

Vice County Chief Xu Sanqiang gave a speech: "...Dell Corp has always put strengthening the county and benefiting the people first, striving to create a clean and upright corporate culture, hosting book clubs and various cultural and sports activities, embracing the essence of Daxia’s heritage, serving as a model for all local enterprises. On behalf of..."

Du Lifeng sat on the dais, radiant and full of pride.

Suddenly, the conference room doors swung open.

A large squad of police strode in.

Xu Sanqiang’s speech was abruptly interrupted. His face darkened as he fixed his gaze on the man at the front.

It was Captain Zhang of the Criminal Investigation Division.

"Captain Zhang, what is the meaning of this?"

Captain Zhang extended an arrest warrant. "Du Lifeng, you are under arrest for involvement in a narcotics case!"

The room erupted in chaos.

Du Lifeng’s expression changed completely. "Captain Zhang, I’ve always abided by the law, I—"

Captain Zhang signaled. "Take him!"

Four officers mounted the dais.

Xu Sanqiang’s face grew even darker. "Captain Zhang, this is a county-wide corporate culture event. Is it appropriate for you to storm in and make an arrest like this?"

Captain Zhang replied coldly, "Vice County Chief Xu, are you calling whitewashing a criminal part of corporate culture?"

"Outrageous!" Xu Sanqiang exploded. "You’re the head of criminal investigations—do you have no sense of discipline?"

"Sorry, Vice County Chief, the only thing I recognize is the law!" Captain Zhang gestured. "Arrest him!"

Four officers stepped forward, pulled Du Lifeng to his feet, and cuffed him.

Xu Sanqiang raised his hand. "I’ll call Secretary Sun right now and see if there’s any rule of law left in Fengcheng!"

At the county committee, Secretary Sun’s phone rang off the hook...

The head of the Investment Promotion Bureau...

The vice county chief in charge of industry...

The vice county chief in charge of the economy...

All were clamoring that the Criminal Investigation Division was making a mess!

The enterprise culture event was still underway, the TV station’s cameras set up to broadcast across the county, the vice county chief still on stage—and at this moment, the police stormed in to make an arrest.

Whose face did this slap?

What a blow to the business environment...

Secretary Sun was beside himself and immediately called Police Chief Wang Feng, unleashing a tirade: "Wang Feng, what are you doing? I warned you—your Captain Zhang is a loose cannon. Now look at this mess. Stop him immediately..."

He ranted for two and a half minutes. Wang Feng remained silent.

When he finally finished, Wang Feng spoke: "Secretary Sun, this was not my decision. It’s Dragon’s Shadow!"

"Dr—Dragon’s Shadow!" Secretary Sun’s face changed at once, and even his voice trembled.

"Yes."

Secretary Sun’s hand with the phone slowly dropped, trembling as it did.

Suddenly, he burst from his office. "Get the car. Now!"

Car number 001 sped toward the industrial park.

Secretary Sun arrived in person.

By the time he got there, most of the county’s key figures had already gathered. The parking lot was nearly full—some police cars, but mostly vehicles with very low registration numbers...

As soon as Secretary Sun appeared, Vice County Chief Xu hurried over. "Secretary Sun, this is outrageous—the Criminal Investigation Division needs to be brought to order. This is a disgrace! Is there any—"

Secretary Sun, face dark as thunder, strode directly to the event, took the microphone, and cleared his throat: "Today’s event is about corporate culture. Everyone needs to understand what corporate culture is. First and foremost, it must be lawful! I know what you, the entrepreneurs, care about most—the business environment! But what is the best business environment in your eyes? It’s still the rule of law! So, when the Criminal Investigation Division is working a case, no one is to interfere!"

Vice County Chief Xu was shaken to his core, staring at the secretary in disbelief.

Wasn’t this the secretary who valued Dell Corp above all? Didn’t he praise Dell Corp at every meeting? What had gotten into him today?

After his brief speech, Secretary Sun left the stage.

Vice County Chief Xu tried to step forward, perhaps to say something, but someone else spoke first—it was Captain Zhang.

"Now I finally understand why Vice County Chief Xu is so agitated." Captain Zhang lightly raised a green ledger. "This book records your private dealings with Du Lifeng..."

The crowd was in an uproar.

All eyes darted to the green ledger, beads of sweat breaking out on many backs...