Half an hour passed.
Yu Mengzhi grew increasingly disappointed as she received no reply from the other party.
It seemed they were ignoring her.
Understandable.
Even if the other party possessed the so-called evidence, why would they give it to her?
Yu Mengzhi exhaled a breath of stale air. Her cursor hovered over the close button, but a pop-up window suddenly appeared in the bottom right corner of the screen, notifying her of a new message.
Yu Mengzhi's heart pounded. Without hesitation, she clicked the pop-up.
The other party had only two sentences.
"I am very interested."
"I am curious, what price are you willing to pay for this damning evidence?"
After much thought, Yu Mengzhi replied, "I can offer you generous compensation. Just name your price."
"Sorry!"
"I am not short of money. You can offer a different kind of reward."
Seeing the reply, Yu Mengzhi's eyebrows furrowed. If the other party wasn't short of money, she truly had nothing better to offer.
"The world bustles for profit; the world bustles for gain."
After pondering for a long time, Yu Mengzhi shook her head inwardly. "Why don't you be more direct? If I can afford it, I won't be stingy. I desperately need that evidence."
When negotiating a business deal, revealing one's desperate eagerness to the other party is a major taboo, as it leads to price gouging.
But now—
Yu Mengzhi genuinely needed this evidence.
"Haha..."
"You are indeed an interesting person. Is Chen Jinzhao worth any price to you?"
Yu Mengzhi did not answer.
In the first half of her life, she had never done anything that truly pleased herself.
She told herself that if she didn't do this now, this regret would haunt the second half of her life.
"I can give you the evidence, but you have to promise me one thing."
Yu Mengzhi's heart leaped with joy. It seemed the other party was likely a rival of the Yu family, possessing much unsavory evidence against them. Even so, Yu Mengzhi felt no moral burden.
After all, the Yu family had done so many disreputable things.
When they did those things, the Yu family should have been prepared for the consequences of being exposed, rather than trying to silence people.
"Alright, please speak." Yu Mengzhi agreed.
"I can't think of anything specific for you to do right now, so you owe me this favor. I'll tell you when I think of something later."
Yu Mengzhi was stunned by the reply.
"Aren't you afraid I'll go back on my word?"
The other person replied with confidence, "Since I possess certain evidence against the Yu family, my influence is naturally not small. If I wish, I can have Chen Jinzhao sent back to prison at any time."
Yu Mengzhi fell silent.
Ultimately, she agreed to the person's request, with the condition that it would not involve any acts of evil.
The other person did not continue chatting but sent Yu Mengzhi a document.
The content of the document puzzled her. It contained information on over fifty individuals, including their work addresses and ID numbers. These people had one thing in common: they were all workers in entertainment venues, and the majority were women.
"What is this?" Yu Mengzhi asked, confused.
"If I hand this information to the police, they might be able to uncover something."
Yu Mengzhi wasted no time. She prepared to contact Tao Qiyue. However, before she could dial, she hesitated. "Tao Qiyue is Yu Huaixuan's fiancée, and the Tao family and the Yu family are close..."
"Forget it."
"If Tao Qiyue doesn't act, I'll send it to someone else."
Meanwhile.
Tao Qiyue had already contacted Sister Hong's family and taken them under protection.
Just as she was breathing a sigh of relief, Yu Mengzhi suddenly sent her a document. After a quick glance, she couldn't understand its meaning and immediately dispatched her subordinates to investigate.
The investigation revealed a startling fact: none of the people on the list could be contacted; they were all missing.
Tao Qiyue suddenly felt a surge of excitement. This might be a breakthrough. She had no time to consider where Yu Mengzhi got the list, nor did she plan to rest. She threw herself back into the investigation.
Before taking any further action, Tao Qiyue called Yu Mengzhi.
"Sister Yu, your lead is very useful."
"These people are all unaccounted for and are likely connected to this case. I hope you won't give this list to anyone else. I will investigate thoroughly."
"Please believe me!"
Another day passed.
Tao Qiyue managed to sleep for a mere six hours before diving back into the case.
On Yu Lingxiao's end, they had begun to realize something was amiss. Shen Liangping had already sent people to search for Sister Hong's family, but Tao Qiyue had intercepted them all. This filled Yu Lingxiao with deep unease.
If this continued, Yu Shenxing would be in danger.
After much deliberation, Yu Lingxiao called Tao Zixing, asking him to intervene and make Tao Qiyue stop her investigation.
"Know when to stop!"
Tao Zixing expressed his helplessness. Ever since Tao Qiyue returned from the military, she had become a changed person, completely ignoring his advice. "I even suspect that if I interfere, this girl will send me to jail."
"Old Yu, you figure it out yourself."
Yu Lingxiao was at his wit's end and had no choice but to call Zhou Linghui again.
However, he did not state things too explicitly, fearing the phone conversation might be recorded. Zhou Linghui, holding his position, was certainly no ordinary person and immediately understood Yu Lingxiao's intention.
"Alright, I understand," Zhou Linghui replied.
At nine o'clock in the morning.
Tao Qiyue was preparing for fieldwork when Wang Zhenliang called her into his office.
After closing the door, Wang Zhenliang first praised Tao Qiyue for her diligent work attitude and outstanding abilities, then changed the subject. "Little Tao, you should rest well for the next few days. I've already assigned someone to take over your work."
"Director Wang, what do you mean by this?" Tao Qiyue frowned.
Wang Zhenliang sighed. "This is not my decision. It's the city's decision, and it's also your grandfather's wish."
"Actually, it's not that you're not doing well. We just think you're too tired."
"Let you rest. You're still young. If you wear yourself out, how can I explain it to your grandfather?"
Despite Wang Zhenliang's kind words, Tao Qiyue did not appreciate them. Instead, she frowned. "No. This is the result of the hard work of our entire detachment. I cannot retreat at this critical juncture."
Wang Zhenliang's expression turned grim. Just as he was about to say something, Tao Qiyue cut him off. "Director Wang, I haven't even held you accountable for having Chen Jinzhao interrogated jointly last night. Overstepping your authority is not part of your job. I'm stating this now: if you don't let me continue investigating, it means you have something to hide. I will directly report your inaction to the provincial or even central authorities with my real name."
"You..."
Wang Zhenliang deflated instantly.
To be honest, he was just a small fry. Without powerful backing, if things escalated to that point, he would at least be demoted to a county town.
He came from an ordinary background and was destined to be incapable of great responsibilities in the future.
Why bother serving these powerful figures diligently?
It was better to be true to himself!
"Fine!"
"You just go ahead and do what you need to do. If you encounter any obstacles, just tell me."
Tao Qiyue's body trembled. She looked at Wang Zhenliang in disbelief. Wang Zhenliang took a sip of tea and chuckled. "I've been mediocre for half my life. Once upon a time, I also wanted to achieve great things like you. The harsh realities of life have smoothed out my rough edges."
"Perhaps..."
"I can really do something."