Flip the table and divide the family property! Take his wife and daughter into the mountains and eat

Li Yuanchao did not respond immediately.

He stood there, looking down at the man on the hospital bed who was wrapped in gauze and plaster like a mummy.

The look of disbelief and astonishment in his eyes lasted for less than two seconds before quickly solidifying into a sharp, razor-sharp expression.

Without any unnecessary words, Li Yuanchao strode over, pulled up a chair, and sat down imposingly on the edge of Old Scar's bed.

He pulled a worn-out black notebook from his shirt pocket, then took out a fountain pen before raising his eyelids, his gaze fixed on Old Scar's pale, sweaty face.

"Who was that person speaking in the outer room just now? Since you're not deaf, you should have heard them clearly."

Li Yuanchao's voice was low, yet carried an undeniable sense of oppression: "Chen Jianguo has turned the entire municipal bureau upside down looking for you. If you fall into his hands, you're definitely doomed."

Old Scar, lying on the hospital bed, suddenly stopped trembling.

His bloodshot, cloudy eyes stared intently at Li Yuanchao, and a sudden, chilling sound, like a broken bellows, escaped his throat.

"Director Li, you don't need to use Chen Jianguo to scare me."

"I know perfectly well what I've done. I have a life on my hands. If I fell into his hands, I would die. Do you think I'd live if I fell into your hands? You'd have mercy and let me go? Absolutely not."

"To me, you officials are all the same, just using me as a pawn. Either way, we're going to die. If you won't even give me a way out, why should I ask you to get something for nothing? You want to bring down Chen Jianguo, you can't do without me, right?"

Li Yuanchao looked at him, but instead of getting angry, he calmly closed the notebook in his hand.

"You're right, we really can't do without you to bring down Chen Jianguo."

Upon hearing this, the muscles on Old Scar's face visibly relaxed. He licked his chapped lips, letting out a strained, dry laugh, as if he had finally grasped a lifeline: "Since that's the case, then we can talk this over. Director Li, I'll give you whatever evidence you want, but you have to spare my life. I've heard... you have policies like reduced sentences for surrendering and exemption from the death penalty for meritorious service, right? I don't ask for anything else, just keep my life, even if it means spending my whole life in prison in the Northwest, I'll accept it."

Looking at his self-satisfied expression, Li Yuanchao leaned forward slightly, his gaze piercing into Old Scar's pupils like an awl.

"There is a policy of reducing sentences for meritorious service."

Li Yuanchao's voice was very low and calm, "But based on the lives you've taken and the heinous things you've done, even if you achieve great merit, you'll still die in the end."

The dry smile on Old Scar's face suddenly froze.

Then, a desperate, ruthless glint appeared on his face, his eyes filled with the madness of someone driven to the brink: "Then why should I even speak up? Falling into his hands means death, falling into your hands means death too! Like I said, there's no way out for us either way, so why should I help you gather evidence to bring him down?"

"Because you helped me, your family is safe."

Li Yuanchao stood up, looking down at him condescendingly: "The government has its bottom line. If you fall into my hands, you will eventually face a fair trial and be shot by the state. Perhaps before you leave, you'll even have a chance to see your family and say a few words. But Chen Jianguo has no bottom line. To ensure he can sleep peacefully at night, he won't spare your family, your sister, or your elderly mother in the countryside. Because I'm arresting you just to try you. But he won't let anyone go. For their sake, perhaps you should think carefully."

The ward was deathly silent, with only the heavy breathing of the old scarred man audible.

Cold sweat streamed down Old Scar's forehead and cheeks. He abruptly turned his head, veins bulging on his neck, and let out a hoarse growl: "Stop spouting nonsense! When you're dead, you're nothing. From the day I started this life, I never thought about a peaceful end! What happens to my mother and sister is their fate, I don't care!"

Li Yuanchao stared at him coldly, his expression unwavering: "Are you done? If you're done, shut up."

Li Yuanchao ignored Old Scar and turned to Song Qingshan, who was leaning against the headboard. His tone was steady: "Old Song, it's almost time. Let the guards in. Tell them we've caught the mastermind behind the murder of Chen Jianguo's son and the attempt to destroy evidence at Warehouse No. 1 of the Red Star Factory."

Song Qingshan gave Li Yuanchao a deep look, a cryptic smile playing on his lips, and nodded slightly.

Upon hearing the summons, two guards who had been standing watch outside the ward strode in.

"Sir, what are your instructions?" the guard saluted in a loud voice.

Seeing someone enter, a flash of extreme terror crossed Old Scar's eyes. Ignoring the excruciating pain from his wounds, he looked at Li Yuanchao as if grasping at a last straw, his voice trembling violently: "Li Yuanchao, are you really going to be this ruthless? Think it through. If I'm arrested, I'll definitely deny everything! How will you explain yourself if you can't get any evidence? I don't ask for anything else, just use your power to get me a life sentence, or a suspended death sentence, spare my life!"

Li Yuanchao looked at him expressionlessly.

"I do not accept any of your threats."

The voice wasn't loud, but it left no room for negotiation.

"I would never use the country's laws to do business with someone like you."

Old Scar's expression suddenly froze.

Li Yuanchao opened his notebook again, placed his pen on the paper, but did not rush to write anything.

"I am neither a police officer nor a judge."

"I have no right to grant you a life sentence, much less a suspended death sentence."

"Whether you live or die in the end, and how you are sentenced, depends on what crimes you have committed, and it also depends on the organization's investigation and the court's trial."

"so,"

Li Yuanchao raised his eyelids, his gaze sharp as a knife, piercing Old Scar's heart. "If you think you can save your life by confessing, then you'd better give up that idea now. The only thing you can do now is to confess clearly, and try to write down every crime you should admit to and every person you should implicate before you are put on trial. At least you can drag down all the people who harmed you and abandoned you before you die."

Old Scar stared intently at Li Yuanchao.

In those bloodshot eyes, the last trace of probing, calculation, and wishful thinking finally dissipated little by little.

At that moment, Old Scar finally understood.

There's nothing to discuss.

Life imprisonment or a suspended death sentence are not things he can obtain with a few words.

The secrets he thought he possessed, which he believed could turn the world upside down, were, in the eyes of these people, only enough to bring a few more people to justice, but not enough to buy back his own worthless life.

The fierce glint in Old Scar's eyes slowly faded.

It felt like the last bone in my body had been removed, and I collapsed heavily back onto the pillow.

After a long while, he closed his eyes and squeezed out a sentence from his throat.

"it is good."

Li Yuanchao did not urge him.

Old Scar's chest heaved violently a few times, and a very ugly self-deprecating smile suddenly appeared on his lips.

"I said."

I'll tell you everything.

Li Yuanchao uncapped the pen and placed the nib on the paper.

"Before I explain, there's one more thing."

Old Scar licked his chapped lips, his voice hoarse.

"Behind the old granary in the south of the city, there is a dilapidated courtyard with a sign for a car repair shop."

"I rented the yard using a fake name."

"Under the stove in the east room, there is a tin box buried."

There's probably 300,000 yuan inside.

Li Yuanchao paused, then looked up at him.

"Three hundred thousand?"

"Um."

Old Scar let out a dry laugh.

"Chen Bin gave it to me."

"Part of it was a deposit given before the operation was carried out, and the rest was hush money that Wang Biao delivered later."

The atmosphere in the ward instantly turned somber.

Li Yuanchao did not interrupt, but wrote down the address and amount he mentioned in his notebook without missing a single word.

Old Scar stared at the ceiling, remained silent for a long while, and then continued:

"If my mother is still alive, leave her some."

"The rest... for my sister."

When he said the word "sister," Old Scar's Adam's apple visibly bobbed.

"Just say..."

He paused for a long time.

"Just say... just say that this is what I owe them, a little bit of debt I'm paying back for them in this lifetime. The rest... I can't pay it back in this lifetime, I'll make it up to them in my next life."