I closed all the valves before enduring the wine-laden air as I exited the workshop. From the side door, I watched to see if they had withdrawn.
Qing Ge's men stood outside, observing Wu Guodong's subordinates retreating from the factory's side gate. Once the last person had passed, their leader looked at me. I called for everyone to hurry forward; this was a precarious time, and we couldn't afford to relax.
More than half the day had passed. Those who needed to make an appearance had done so. All that remained was to ensure no further mistakes occurred.
It was time to settle accounts with Wu Guodong and Principal Sun. I used the walkie-talkie to call Wen Siqiang to the office building. I needed to attend to those two assassins.
Wen Siqiang waited for me outside the exhibition hall, and we went to the office together.
"Estimate where Zhou Yingying might be now," I said.
Wen Siqiang replied, "Since she high-profilely followed surnamed Sun, she'll definitely be at their newly established company. I know this company; it's not far from the school. It used to be the school's factory and has now been converted into their office."
"Let's go meet them," I said.
Wen Siqiang seemed surprised. "Now?"
"Yes, now. He won't expect me to have time to look for him now. He thinks we're busy dealing with Wu Guodong's men. Finding him now will catch him completely off guard. Let's go see those two assassins first, control them, and use them as leverage when we confront Wu Guodong."
Wen Siqiang nodded and followed me to the office building.
The two were locked up on the first floor. As I entered, they were sitting on the ground, their hands bound behind their backs.
When they saw me, they showed a hint of disdain. They seemed displever that a mere kid like me had subdued them, professional assassins.
I walked over and kicked the one closer to the outside. "You two will eat a good meal tonight," I told them. "Tonight, I'll send you both home."
They hesitated, then suddenly seemed to understand. They looked at me with fear. I met their gaze with certainty. "Murder deserves a life for a life. You understand this principle, don't you? You wantonly took the lives of our innocent employees. Letting you two pay with your lives is the least I can do. By custom, I should capture your brothers and sisters to be buried with you to do justice for mine!"
They lowered their heads, not daring to make a sound. I squatted down and whispered to one of them, "There's still some time. Think about what you want to eat, and if you have any last words to leave behind. I'm a soft-hearted person and easy to talk to. I'll try my best to satisfy your requests, except for sending you on your way, which is non-negotiable. Everything else is negotiable."
After speaking, I stood up and told the security guard watching them, "Take good care of these two. If they have any requests, write them down in a notebook and have your manager handle it."
With that, I walked out. Wen Siqiang had already driven the car downstairs. I got in and told him to drive to Principal Sun's company.
At that time, many enterprises and public institutions had tertiary industries, allowing them to engage in commercial activities. The school followed suit and established a border trade company.
I surmised that the company established with the school's funding would eventually become Principal Sun's private property.
The key issue wasn't whose property it became. He engaged in border trade with the Burmese and was a drug addict himself. What kind of business could he possibly do?
Wen Siqiang parked the car in the compound of the school-run factory, in front of a building.
This building was decorated quite elaborately, likely Principal Sun's office.
I walked to the door. It was closed. I knocked a few times.
Someone inside responded and opened the door a crack. It was Zhou Yingying. Seeing me, she tried to close it, but I pushed my way in. Wen Siqiang followed me.
Zhou Yingying stumbled back a few steps, anxiously asking, "What do you want?!"
I grabbed her and slapped her across the face. "Don't you know what we want? Where is surnamed Sun? Get out here!"
Zhou Yingying covered her mouth, blood trickling between her fingers. She said, "He's not here. He's at the school."
"Then you're in charge here," I said. "Alright, pour tea for these two gentlemen. I want to talk business with you."
"Please don't do this," Zhou Yingying pleaded. "As colleagues, I never intended to harm the boss or any of you. It was all..."
I slapped her again, this time on the other side of her face. She made gurgling sounds in her mouth; I suspected her teeth were broken.
"How many of these successive incidents were not caused by you?" I said indignantly. "How dare you say you never intended to harm the boss or us? Think about it. Lan Ya brought you into this field. Did she ever treat you unfairly? She was strict with you, but it was for your own good. And what did you do? You recognized a traitor as your father, and you've harmed us time and time again. Weren't we close to death each time?"
She said with a choked sob, "I know I've done wrong. I know I've done many bad things for him, but, but..."
I was about to hit her again when Wen Siqiang stopped me. After all, Zhou Yingying had been his superior. He didn't want to see her beaten too badly.
"I'm leaving this slap for you," I said. "You were about to say something, but what?"
Wen Siqiang spoke for her, "Is he controlling you with heroin?"
Zhou Yingying nodded painfully and said softly, "He kept increasing the dosage, making me dependent on him every moment. Without him, I'd suffer withdrawal. So, I had no choice but to be at his mercy. I left the boss this time because he threatened me with drugs, forcing me to break ties with the boss and become your enemy, or he would make my life worse than death."
That beast! I never imagined that a respected figure in education, a paragon of virtue, would be such a disguised brute. He controlled Zhou Yingying with such despicable means to make her his pawn, manipulating everything from the shadows.
I released Zhou Yingying. She collapsed onto the floor, sobbing quietly.
"Do you know how he contacts Wu Guodong?" I asked her.
Zhou Yingying replied, "I don't know. I've never seen him contact anyone outside. His phone is always in a locked bag. He never took it out in front of me. He just instructed me on what to do without explaining the cause or effect, just telling me to execute it."
I hadn't expected surnamed Sun to be so meticulous. He had no evidence in anyone else's hands. All the actions were carried out by Zhou Yingying, with no connection to him.
"Find a way to get evidence of surnamed Sun's drug dealing, and his contact methods with Wu Guodong," I told her. "If you genuinely want to escape this devil, you must help us get this. This is also for your own good. The choice to do it or not is yours. I'll wait for you for one day. If I don't see results by tomorrow morning, you'll have to face the consequences."
After speaking, I stood up and took a few tissues from the desk, handing them to her. "You know how to cover this up. We were never here."
Then, I walked out of the room. Wen Siqiang gave me a look. He hadn't seen surnamed Sun return. We got into the car and quickly drove away.
This has become rather difficult. Surnamed Sun operates flawlessly. If Zhou Yingying remains loyal to him and divulges our intentions, our situation will become even more precarious.