The streets of Ninghai were brightly lit at nine o'clock in the evening.
After leaving the hotel, Chen Jinzhao came to Gouchen Group to discuss some matters with Yu Mengzhi. As he was leaving, he encountered Shen Liangping, who had just alighted from his car, downstairs from the company building.
The two met again.
Chen Jinzhao stopped and gazed at Shen Liangping across the distance.
Shen Liangping walked over with a smile, jesting, "Haven't seen you in a few days, and you seem even more down on your luck. I truly regret that you weren't killed in the shooting incident at Ninghai University yesterday."
"Even if I died, I wouldn't perish," Chen Jinzhao was not angered by these words.
Instead, Shen Liangping's lips twitched.
However, he quickly regained his composure and continued to smile, "Are you that confident? I admit your combat prowess is high, perhaps even that of a B-level expert, but in this society, strength doesn't represent everything. Power transcends all things. For the sake of both of us having served in the military, I'll offer you a piece of advice: never cross the Yu family. The consequences will be dire."
Chen Jinzhao sneered, "Should I thank you for that?"
Shen Liangping naturally detected the sarcasm in Chen Jinzhao's tone. Still smiling, he took out a cigarette and offered it to Chen Jinzhao, who accepted it without ceremony and placed it in his mouth.
*Click!*
The flame danced in the darkness, igniting the cigarette in Chen Jinzhao's mouth.
Shen Liangping also lit one for himself.
He couldn't help but sigh, "To be honest, I truly admire you. You remind me of my younger self. That's why I don't wish to oppose you, and even hope you can stick to your original intentions."
"But—"
"This world is too murky, with no absolute black and white, only a refined shade of gray."
There was one more thing he didn't say—
To grow stronger, one must abandon their so-called original intentions and embrace the darkness!
Chen Jinzhao did not respond to these words, but smiled as he looked at Shen Liangping, "You must have lived a very tiring life all these years, haven't you?"
Shen Liangping was speechless. After a long pause, a bitter smile appeared on his face. "Yes, I've done too many things to count. I've become numb, living each day like a puppet on strings. How could it not be tiring?"
"It's not too late to turn back now," Chen Jinzhao flicked the ash from his cigarette.
Shen Liangping shook his head.
Turn back?
That was impossible for him now. He could only continue down this path to the bitter end.
Chen Jinzhao's eyes flashed with a sharp glint. "If you can turn back and reveal what the Yu family instructed you to do, I can guarantee your life."
Shen Liangping abruptly turned to Chen Jinzhao and asked word by word, "Chen Jinzhao, what exactly is your identity? Do you truly believe that by possessing some so-called evidence, you can bring down the Yu family? You're too naive, just like I was when I was young. When you take this evidence to the relevant authorities, only to be imprisoned on fabricated charges, you'll finally understand why the Yu family can remain unassailable."
These were powerful clans, the veritable emperors of Ninghai City!
"Only after you've battered yourself bloody will you realize how foolish your current thoughts are," Shen Liangping shook his head.
Chen Jinzhao extinguished the cigarette butt with his finger, making Shen Liangping's eyelids twitch. He heard Chen Jinzhao say, "So, you are determined to see this through to the end?"
Shen Liangping remained silent.
No answer was the best answer.
Chen Jinzhao nodded. "I understand. I hope you don't fall into my hands, otherwise, you know what will happen."
A sense of foreboding arose in Shen Liangping's heart, but he quickly suppressed it, believing his plan was flawless, especially since he had reviewed it with the elder multiple times without finding any flaws.
Chen Jinzhao couldn't possibly see through their plan.
This was a scheme within a scheme.
"I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. That day will never come," Shen Liangping said with a smile.
"Let's hope so."
Chen Jinzhao uttered three words, then precisely tossed the cigarette butt into a trash can five meters away, and turned to disappear into the night.
Only after his figure had vanished did Shen Liangping retract his gaze and murmur to himself, "Strange, why do I feel a sense of crisis every time I encounter this guy?"
"I hope it's just an illusion!"
He took out his phone and opened the weather app.
'Ninghai City, temperature 28°C.'
'Tonight, there will be heavy to torrential rain. Please ensure your doors and windows are securely closed.'
"The storm is coming," Shen Liangping muttered to himself.
Zero thirty in the morning.
The downpour arrived on time, accompanied by rumbling thunder.
The No. 2 City Hospital, due to aging wiring, experienced a power outage, plunging the entire hospital into darkness. A figure in a white coat walked briskly down the corridor, heading straight for Mo Chengkun's ward.
This person was Wang Qin, Shen Liangping's wife.
She clutched a small bottle in her arms. According to Shen Liangping, this bottle contained a newly developed drug that would cause severe damage to multiple organs, ultimately leading to death from multiple organ failure.
As the drug was brand new, forensic doctors would have a high probability of not detecting anything.
This power outage was also orchestrated by Shen Liangping.
Wang Qin knew she only had five minutes to act. After five minutes, the hospital's generator would start supplying power.
By then, it would be too difficult to carry out her task.
She pushed open the ward door and walked to the bedside.
A man lay on the bed, the target of Wang Qin's assassination – Mo Chengkun. Wang Qin took a deep breath and murmured sadly in her heart, "I can't believe I, a doctor, would do such a cruel thing."
"But for my son, I have no choice."
Wang Qin took another breath, calming her flustered mind. She then opened the small brown bottle and poured some pills into her palm. After pouring several times, a small stone lay in Wang Qin's palm, causing her expression to change slightly.
This wasn't a pill at all.
It was clearly broken stones!
Wang Qin's heart skipped a beat. In an instant, she realized she had been tricked.
Over the years, she had helped Shen Liangping kill quite a few people, all rivals of the Yu family. Some of them had only sustained minor injuries but never left the hospital alive.
This meant—
She knew too much about Shen Liangping, and he was planning to use her as a scapegoat!
Wang Qin's face contorted into a savage grimace. Gritting her teeth, she said, "You foolish fool! If I fall into the hands of the police, will you be able to escape? I will tell the police everything you've done!"
Her gaze fell on the man on the bed, and her brow furrowed.
Given the commotion she had just created, Mo Chengkun should have woken up by now. How could he be sleeping so soundly? Wang Qin hesitantly reached out and touched Mo Chengkun's face.
It was a shock.
This was a dummy!
The real Mo Chengkun had long been transferred away.
Wang Qin's pupils contracted. Realizing this was a trap set by the police, she turned without a second thought and tried to flee the ward. She wanted to go back and confront Shen Liangping about why he had done this!
As soon as she turned, Wang Qin stumbled, almost falling.
A wave of exhaustion swept over her entire body, causing her consciousness to fade. Her eyelids felt as heavy as stones.
In an instant.
Wang Qin understood everything.
The small brown bottle did contain a drug, but it wasn't the stones; it was the gas inside the bottle. She had already inhaled the poison gas and was about to die.