117: Chapter 117 Only Xiao Bei was seen

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's complexion turned instantly ashen, like death.

The recording continued to play: "...In case something goes wrong, the old Party Secretary will arrange for her to 'retire due to illness'... But that Factory Director must be dealt with; he knows too much..."

"This is impossible... This is impossible..."

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu muttered to herself, "That idiot Chairman Qian Weiguo actually made a recording..."

"It wasn't Chairman Qian Weiguo who recorded it."

Team Leader Zhang Yining said coldly, "It was your driver. He isn't stupid; he left himself a way out. He has evidence of every place you've been and everything you've done."

Director Zhao Ming stood up and looked down at County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu: "Now, tell us who the 'old Party Secretary' is. Is it the former Municipal Party Secretary Wang Chunlin, or someone even higher up?"

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's lips trembled, and her eyes began to glaze over. She suddenly grabbed Director Zhao Ming's arm, her nails digging almost into his flesh: "I can confess... but you must guarantee my safety! They... they won't let me enter prison alive..."

Just then, the door to the interrogation room was pushed open, and a staff member rushed in, whispering a few words into Director Zhao Ming's ear. Director Zhao Ming's expression turned grave, and he signaled for Team Leader Zhang Yining to follow him out.

In the hallway, the staff member handed over a mobile phone: "An urgent notice from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection: Secretary Wang Chunlin suffered a sudden heart attack half an hour ago and is currently being resuscitated in the hospital."

Team Leader Zhang Yining gasped: "This is too much of a coincidence..."

Director Zhao Ming's eyes were gloomy: "Immediately send more personnel to guard County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu, and also... send people to the hospital at the same time!"

Returning to the interrogation room, County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu seemed to read something from their expressions and suddenly laughed eerily:

"Hahaha... has someone come to save me?"

Director Zhao Ming looked at her coldly: "County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu, your only way out now is to confess completely. Secretary Wang Chunlin can barely protect himself and is already in the hospital; no one is coming to save you."

Upon hearing this name, County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's smile froze. She slowly leaned back against the chair, her eyes beginning to turn vacant:

"I want to see Xiao Bei... only him alone... otherwise, I won't say anything."

The detention room's lights were pale and blinding. County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu curled up in the corner, her meticulously styled curly hair sticking messily to her sweat-dampened forehead, looking disheveled. Traces of the red nail polish she had applied for yesterday's awards ceremony still remained in her nail beds, but it had now peeled off for the most part, looking like dried blood...

That high-and-mighty female leader now looked like a senile old woman.

"Ah—!"

She suddenly let out a scream, her forehead slamming heavily against the wall, making a dull "thud" sound.

The duty police officer in the monitoring room immediately picked up the walkie-talkie: "Director Zhao, there's a situation in the detention room!"

When Director Zhao Ming and Team Leader Zhang Yining arrived, County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu was kneeling on the floor, repeatedly banging her head against the wall, muttering something unintelligibly.

Even though the detention room had padded walls, her forehead was still bruised and purple, and her dark blue suit was covered in dust and sweat stains; there was no trace left of the elegant and composed County Magistrate image from the past.

"Hold her down!"

Director Zhao Ming ordered.

Two female police officers quickly stepped forward, pinning County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's arms from left and right. She struggled violently as if electrocuted; her pearl earring was torn off, bouncing a few times on the concrete floor before rolling to the doorway.

"Let me go! Do you know who I am?"

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu screamed hysterically, her voice raspy and unlike her own. "I am a leader! I am a high-ranking official! No one can bully me!"

Team Leader Zhang Yining frowned as she watched this scene and whispered to Director Zhao Ming: "She's having a mental breakdown. Should we send her to the hospital first?"

Director Zhao Ming shook his head, his gaze sharp: "She's faking it. The surveillance showed she was very quiet earlier, and she only suddenly had an outburst after hearing that Secretary Wang Chunlin was hospitalized."

He walked closer to County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu, his voice terrifyingly calm: "County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu, Secretary Wang Chunlin has suffered a sudden heart attack and is being resuscitated. Even if you break your head, you won't be able to see him."

This sentence was like a basin of ice water poured over County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's head. She suddenly stopped struggling, lifted her head, and stared straight at Director Zhao Ming with bloodshot eyes:

"Is he... is he really sick? Not... not by..."

"By what?"

Director Zhao Ming keenly caught the hesitation in her words. "Who do you think would harm him?"

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's lips trembled, and she suddenly laughed neurotically: "Retribution... it's all retribution..."

Her gaze crossed over Director Zhao Ming and landed on Xiao Bei, who had appeared at the doorway at some unknown time, and her laughter came to an abrupt halt.

"You've finally come."

Her voice suddenly calmed down, carrying an eerie tenderness. "I knew you would come."

Xiao Bei stood at the doorway; the three-day stubble on his face made him look haggard yet sharp. He signaled for the female police officers to release County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu, walked slowly to her, crouched down, and leveled his gaze with hers: "You want to see me?"

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu suddenly reached out and grabbed Xiao Bei's tie, with astonishing strength. Team Leader Zhang Yining instinctively wanted to step forward but was stopped by Director Zhao Ming.

"Do you think you've won?"

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's voice was extremely low, audible only to Xiao Bei; her nails dug into the collar of Xiao Bei's shirt. "They will crush you like an ant."

Xiao Bei didn't move an inch, his eyes as calm as a deep pool, looking coldly at County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu.

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's pupils contracted sharply, angered by Xiao Bei's unaffected and unmoved demeanor, and her hand gripping Xiao Bei's tie dropped powerlessly.

"You... speak..."

Her voice began to tremble. "Speak..."

Xiao Bei took a mobile phone out of his pocket and played a video. In the footage, Factory Director Li Lei, face full of tears, said tremblingly: "Please, let me go. I still have to wait for my son to be released from prison; I still have to wait for him..."

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu let out a scream that didn't sound human, clutching her head in both hands and curling into a ball.

"This video was recovered from your driver's phone."

Xiao Bei put away the phone, his voice as cold as ice. "He not only recorded the entire process of Factory Director Li Lei being threatened with the injection of poison, but he also recorded the audio of you giving him the orders."

The detention room fell into a deathly silence, with only County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu's heavy panting audible. Her makeup was long ruined, her eyeliner smeared into a black stain that ran down her chin with her tears.

"I... I was only..."

Her voice was fragmented. "They forced me... Party Secretary Wang said if I didn't deal with Factory Director Li Lei properly, then..."

"Then what?"

Xiao Bei pressed.

County Magistrate Xuan Lingyu suddenly looked up, a flash of madness in her eyes: "Then they would abuse me just like they abused Chen Zhihao! And they would release all of my photos to the public! I had no choice but to keep... with people... keep... I prayed that after they woke up, they could protect me and be used by me. Heh, men, they are only endlessly greedy and never satisfied!"

Team Leader Zhang Yining gasped; it was even more depraved than she had imagined.

Xiao Bei's gaze became sharp: "Explain clearly."