Rebirth 04: Starting from Taking an Unconventional Approach

Some people claim that when fear triggers the release of large amounts of adrenaline into the bloodstream, a person will not feel pain, but this view is completely incorrect.

The elephant clenched its tusks, forcing its cry to be trapped deep in its throat. The lean, large dog's sharp teeth dug into the muscles of the elephant's right leg, biting deeper and deeper until the teeth pressed against the sensitive tissue surrounding the bone. The wire fence gate shook violently, and gravity pulled the elephant and the dog downwards; in its moment of crisis, the elephant clung tightly to the fence.

Normally, the elephant should be safe by now, as other dogs of similar weight to the black Rottweiler would release their grip. But black Rottweilers have teeth and jaws strong enough to crush bones; they are said to be related to spotted hyenas, which can even swallow bones. The Rottweiler, relying on its two upper and two lower canines, clung securely to the elephant's leg. The elephant managed to hook its left elbow at the top of the fence, trying to pull itself and the dog up together, but one of the dog's hind paws got stuck in the wire mesh.

The elephant reached into his pants pocket with his right hand, found and grasped the phone. He looked down and saw the dog clearly for the first time; its black face had two black eyes that were gleaming faintly.

The elephant knew he couldn't shout or struggle violently. Shouting would alert his companions, who might live in nearby houses, and struggling would make the dog bite deeper. But the dog remained dangling from his leg. Soon, he would lose his grip on the fence. He dared not think about what would happen if he fell, but his mind raced with the images. He took out his phone, dialed Ah-Qiang's number, and held the phone to his mouth.

"Help!"

The cell phone signal carried the elephant's faint cries for help. But the phone slipped from the elephant's hand and fell to the ground. Ah-Qiang rushed over quickly, his eyes wide with panic. He covered his head with his hands, pacing in circles as if drunk. Then he pulled a bunch of keys from his pocket and unlocked the folding knife on the keychain.

"No," the elephant mumbled. "If you poke it, it will bite even harder and leave a mark. Do you have any sausage?"

Ah Qiang threw down his keys, rummaged through every pocket, and tossed the contents he pulled out onto the ground: a wallet, a lighter, cigarettes, a small metal bottle, tissues...

The elephant shifted its grip on the fence, suddenly wanting to burst into laughter. Was its life going to end here? To complete its mission, only to have its throat bitten out by a dog, to die a glorious death, and then be carried away in a car? It took a deep breath. The sharp edge of the wire fence pierced its armpit, and the strength in its fingers was rapidly fading. In a few more seconds, its fingers would release.

Then he suddenly noticed the metal pot that was reflecting the moonlight.

"Hey, what's in that pot?"

"whisky."

"Give it to me!"

Ah-Qiang looked confused, but still picked up the wine jug, twisted open the metal cap, and handed it to the elephant.

With his last ounce of strength, the elephant took the flask. Good heavens. He pressed his face against the fence, forcing himself to close his eyes. What would it feel like to touch alcohol to a wound? He lowered the flask with his right hand, moving it above the dog's black jaw, poured the liquor down, and whispered "Cheers," emptying some of the flask's contents.

The dog, its black eyes wide, glared at the elephant for two seconds, completely unaware of the brown liquid flowing down the elephant's leg into its mouth. Then, it released the elephant's leg. The elephant heard the sound of flesh falling to the bare ground. The dog let out a mournful whine and a low whimper, followed by the scraping of its paws, before disappearing into the darkness where it had appeared.

The elephant swung its legs over the fence, signaling Ah-Qiang to call someone over and tell them to carry the dog back to the empty house after it fell asleep, and to clean up the bloodstains on the ground, leaving no trace.

He rolled up his trouser legs. Even without a flashlight, he knew he'd be spending the night in the emergency room.

......

The next morning, when Han Fei arrived at the large conference room on the third floor of the publishing house, the room was filled with low voices of conversation and laughter. Early that morning, Ma Yongxing had someone deliver the evidence he had collected the previous night. The evidence was substantial, far exceeding his expectations. Initially, he had only hoped to photograph the delivery vehicles and trace them to find a warehouse or contact person to confirm that the other party was engaging in systematic illegal activities. He hadn't expected to uncover a production site directly.

He knew perfectly well that the evidence obtained through Ma Yongxing's surveillance was "illegal evidence" and could not be directly submitted to law enforcement. Therefore, he had planned from the beginning to legitimize this illegal evidence. That was to have Qian Youde include the approximate location of the hideout, the characteristics of the delivery vehicles, and the delivery times in his statement as "all the facts I know." Qian Youde was the party involved, so his testimony was undoubtedly legal. Since the people from Dongfang Culture had all the details about Qian Youde, and Qian Youde was the one who most wanted to send them to jail, especially with Ma Yongxing involved, there was no need to worry about Qian Youde turning against them.

But doing this is far from enough.

Han Fei knew that in the context of 2004, local authorities were often very slow to respond to cases involving "illegal publications," and sometimes reports would simply go unanswered. Therefore, they had to leverage public opinion: after submitting their reports, they would hold a small-scale media briefing at an opportune moment, posing as the victims. Through media exposure, they could elevate the case from a "corporate dispute" to a "public event."

In this era, the media plays a very powerful role in monitoring incidents such as "illegal publications" and "violent forced smuggling." Once an influential mainstream media outlet like the Shanghai Morning Post publishes an investigative report, the resulting public pressure will greatly reduce the space for local protectionism, forcing relevant departments to handle the matter quickly and transparently.

For Qingniao, the media serves as a catalyst for compressing law enforcement channels, a solidifying agent to prevent cases from sinking into oblivion, and a signal flare to deter potential imitators of Oriental Culture Media Co., Ltd., sending them a clear message: Qingniao has both the ability to retaliate quickly and the determination to pursue accountability to the end through formal channels.

As Han Fei stepped into the conference room, he heard that the elephant had been bitten three times by an overly excited guard dog the night before. Fortunately, it had received a tetanus shot in time, and the doctor said it was no longer a serious problem.

He checked his watch; it was 9:35, and everyone in the conference room was present. Zhang Ruiyi stood at the far end of the room waiting for him; they needed to co-chair this meeting.