It was ten o'clock in the evening.
Several hours had passed since the new perfume from Polly Cosmetics was seized.
The case involved high-risk chemicals and was being jointly investigated by multiple departments, including the Market Supervision Bureau, the Municipal Police Department, and the Municipal Bureau of Quality and Technical Supervision.
The investigation was being conducted at the Criminal Investigation Detachment of the Municipal Police Department.
Since Team One was responsible for the warehouse arson case, Team Two was now handling the chemical case.
It was ten thirty.
Feng Kunlin, with his salt-and-pepper hair and slightly hunched back, left through a side entrance.
He walked out of the dark back door and quickly approached a black luxury car, glancing at the person inside with a complicated expression.
"Boss!"
"Get in!"
Kong Liwei, inside the car, replied with a cold tone, devoid of any expression.
After the other person got in, the driver slowly started the car and headed towards the western outskirts of the capital.
All the way, Kong Liwei kept his head down, reading documents, and did not say a word to Feng Kunlin.
The oppressive atmosphere made Feng Kunlin feel like he was sitting on pins and needles, extremely uneasy.
Looking at the streets gradually receding outside the window, and then the wild lake in the western suburbs slowly appearing before his eyes, his heart felt heavy, and an unspeakable fear surged through his entire body.
Locals in the capital all knew that people often went missing at the wild lake in the western suburbs, and that there were many cement-filled oil drums at the bottom of the lake.
Feng Kunlin shivered slightly, and seizing the opportunity when his boss and the driver were not paying attention, he quietly took out his phone from his pocket.
But before he could do anything, Kong Liwei, while still reading, said coldly, "I'm just taking you to the wild lake to get some fresh air and clear your head.
I'm a legitimate businessman, and I don't do things that disregard human life."
Although Feng Kunlin was still uneasy and didn't take his words at face value, he put away his phone and leaned back obediently.
Ten minutes later, on a diesel boat.
Kong Liwei stood at the bow of the boat with his hands behind his back, the cool breeze from the lake ruffling his hair and clothes.
Beside him were four bodyguards in black suits, each with a stern expression and sharp eyes.
About a meter behind them, Feng Kunlin knelt on the ground in despair, repeatedly slapping himself in the face.
*Slap! Slap! Slap!*
The crisp sound of slaps echoed on the boat.
Feng Kunlin's face was covered in bloody scratches, and his old face was swollen and red, indicating the force with which he was hitting himself.
"Stop it!"
Kong Liwei spoke, and the slaps quickly ceased.
He turned to look at Feng Kunlin, who had blood on his lips and was gasping for breath, and asked, "Are your brother-in-law and the others safe now?"
"Very safe, hidden very well, the police can't find them!"
As soon as he spoke, the pain on his face made Feng Kunlin gasp, but he endured it and replied.
"It's good that they're safe. If you ever dare to pull off another major case like arson again and involve the police, no one will be able to protect you, understand?"
"I understand, I understand!"
Feng Kunlin nodded quickly.
But in his heart, he was cursing, "Didn't you implicitly approve of setting fire to the old factory?"
"Get up, sit down and let's talk!"
Kong Liwei gave a look to a bodyguard, who immediately brought a stool for Feng Kunlin.
After cleaning the injuries on his face, they sat facing each other, and the conversation officially began.
"Do you understand why this batch of products became high-risk chemicals?"
"I do! It was all the scheme of that brat Gao Fei that caused us such heavy losses."
Feng Kunlin cursed, then continued, "The chemical formulas in the stolen R&D data were altered. If the perfume isn't opened within three days of production, it will degenerate into a high-risk chemical.
I wondered how the inside source could so easily steal the R&D data. It turns out Gao Fei had already dug a pit for me to jump into!"
Kong Liwei smiled calmly, took a cigar offered by a bodyguard, and puffed on it, saying, "I've told you before that Gao Fei is not as simple as you think, but you didn't listen.
Getting caught is a small matter; you can get out with some connections. Be grateful that you didn't lose your life, it means he didn't go for the kill."
"I could have lost my life? Boss, don't scare me!"
"Do you think this is a joke?"
Seeing Feng Kunlin's disbelieving expression, Kong Liwei sneered and said, "Gao Fei's current status in the capital's underworld is second only to Boss Yu of Heaven on Earth.
If he wanted to step forward and take the lead, he would only need to say the word, and countless people from the underworld would flock to him.
And to join Gao Fei, you'd need a token of allegiance.
Now everyone knows that you're at odds with him, so you'd be the prime target for any underworld person seeking a token of allegiance."
Upon hearing this, cold sweat broke out on Feng Kunlin's forehead, and a chill ran down his spine.
Leaning on Kong Liwei's powerful backing, he had almost forgotten about the incident with the Express Group负责人.
Just because of a fire that burned down the express warehouse and killed two people, Gao Fei directly retaliated with six lives.
The more Feng Kunlin thought about it, the more frightened he became. He was no longer as dismissive as before.
He even regretted allowing his brother-in-law to set fire to the factory warehouse.
Seeing the fear on his face, Kong Liwei smiled and comforted him, "Don't worry, given Gao Fei's current status, he won't get involved in the underworld. He won't use people from the underworld against you; he's quite principled about that."
Feng Kunlin secretly breathed a sigh of relief and was about to speak when he was interrupted.
"Old Feng, I used a lot of connections to get Liao Mingxu and the others to take the blame for you. Do you know why?"
"Please enlighten me, Boss!"
"The losses this time were caused by your carelessness. Liao Mingxu and the others don't have your wealth or assets.
So, you understand what I mean, right!"
The meaning was simple: you, Old Feng, caused this, and you must bear the losses.
If you tried to shirk responsibility, you'd be sent back in immediately.
How could Feng Kunlin not understand the implication of his words? In the end, he could only agree with a helpless bitter smile.
The thought of the losses instantly made him feel choked.
Including the huge fines, the breach of contract penalties with distributors, and the seized perfume, the losses this time amounted to tens of millions.
If calculated carefully, it was at least close to twenty million.
"Alright, don't look like you're about to die!
I've found a R&D team for you from abroad. You'll meet them tomorrow.
These people are very capable in cosmetic research. Try to start working immediately and continue to tie down Gao Fei."
"Starting work is no problem, but Boss, if I have to bear the fines and penalties, I won't have money left to buy raw materials and the like!"
"Do you think I don't know how much savings you have? Should I list them out for you?
Besides, I invested so much in you initially, and you lost it all in one round. Do you still have the nerve to ask me for funds to buy raw materials?"
Feng Kunlin opened his mouth, speechless.
However, Kong Liwei was also willing to offer a sweetener: "I definitely can't help you with the fines, but I can have someone help you negotiate the breach of contract with the distributors.
Now, all you need to do is to speed up production and keep Gao Fei occupied."
Having received his boss's promise, Feng Kunlin couldn't help but secretly sigh in relief.
But he was still a bit curious and asked, "Boss, are you keeping Gao Fei in the southern part of the city because he has other business competition with you?"
"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask; just do your job!"
Kong Liwei's expression turned cold, and Old Feng immediately shut his mouth.
However, despite his cold expression, he was extremely happy in his heart.
With Gao Fei no longer disrupting the entrepreneurship competition at Kyoto University, Kong Liwei was already in the final stages of his plan.