Reborn in 2005, starting with repairing mobile phones

"Your brother-in-law, Deputy Director Wang,"

Lin Dong began speaking slowly, as if reading a prepared document: "Last June, I received 300,000 yuan in cash from you to cover up the case of intentional injury causing serious bodily harm on West Street."

Chen Xiong's expression changed.

"The money went through the corporate account of 'Yonggu Building Materials Co., Ltd.,' but you used false invoices to balance the account."

The legal representative of Yonggu Building Materials is your brother-in-law, Li Guofu.

Lin Dong continued, "Li Guofu lost 2.37 million at the Lisboa Casino in Macau last month and was detained for three days."

To survive, he sold copies of the company's complete set of account books for the past three years.

Chen Xiong's hands began to tremble.

The teacup rattled in his hand, spilling tea that scalded the back of his hand, but he felt nothing.

"besides,"

Lin Dong didn't stop. "The signature on the house transfer agreement that you forced Zhao Dashan to sign is forged."

The person who forged the handwriting is your nephew; he's handled more than just this one fake document.

Lin Dong stared into Chen Xiong's eyes. "The handwriting on the signature is the same as the handwriting on Zhao Dashan's letter of intent."

Chen Xiong's breathing became heavy.

"As for those 'missing' people you just mentioned..." Lin Dong leaned back in his chair and lit another cigarette.

The unidentified corpse that was pulled from the Miancheng Wharf a few years ago had three stab wounds on its back, with the fatal wound in its left lung.

The deceased's nickname was A-Biao. He was your rival because you were competing with him for the sand and gravel business.

With each word he spoke, Chen Xiong's face paled a little more.

"The 'male corpse' that floated up in the western suburbs reservoir a few years ago had marks on its wrists from being tied up, and its stomach contained a large amount of alcohol."

The deceased, surnamed Li, was a contractor who owed you 200,000 yuan in construction fees and was trying to abscond.

Lin Dong exhaled a puff of smoke. "When the body was found, half of a broken hemp rope was still tied around its waist, and the other end of the rope was tied to a hollow building brick."

Chen Xiong slid halfway off the chair, barely managing to stay upright by grabbing the edge of the tea table.

"And last year too..."

His voice was hoarse, as if it were being squeezed out of his throat.

"Those human bones that were dug up from the hill behind the old cannery last year..."

Lin Dong finished speaking for him, "The skull has a depressed fracture caused by a blunt force trauma."

The deceased's identity has not yet been confirmed, but the burial site is the land you bought five years ago. At the time, you said you were going to build a warehouse, but it has been abandoned ever since.

The cigarette burned slowly between their fingers, and the bluish-gray smoke rose gently between them.

Lin Dong looked at Chen Xiong, the man who had been arrogant and domineering just moments before, now his face was ashen, and fine beads of cold sweat were seeping from his forehead.

"Do you need me to tell you the exact coordinates where the body is buried?"

Chen Xiong opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"or,"

Lin Dong continued, "Do I need to tell you what your brother-in-law Li Guofu, who lost money in Macau, confessed to in order to save his life?"

For example, the villa in Zhuhai that you bought in his name, the HSBC account in Hong Kong that you opened in his daughter's name, and the money you launder through his company every year—”

"Stop talking!"

Chen Xiong suddenly roared.

The sound echoed in the private room, making the windowpanes vibrate and rattle.

He was panting heavily, his eyes bloodshot, staring intently at Lin Dong: "You... how could you possibly know all this... Who are you? Who exactly are you?!"

Lin Dong did not answer.

How did he know?

Just as Chen Xiong threatened his parents, memories of his past life suddenly surged up like an old wound being torn open.

In the summer of 07, during the anti-gang campaign in Miancheng, Chen Xiong's gang was completely eradicated and featured in a special report on the provincial television's legal channel.

The shocking details of the case and the appalling facts of the crime circulated throughout the streets and alleys of Cotton City for an entire summer.

He remembers it perfectly clearly.

I remember the photos with blurred images in the news reports, the victims' families crying in front of the camera, the prosecutor's cold voice when reading the indictment, and Chen Xiong's ashen face when the court finally pronounced the verdict.

Now, these crimes that will only be exposed in the "future," and the evidence that will take several years to surface, have become the nails that nail Chen Xiong to the coffin.

One by one, they were nailed tightly together.

Even earlier, on the day he decided to take action against Chen Xiong, Lin Dong had already prepared for the worst.

During those seven days, he contacted not only Zhao Dashan and the others.

He also had Zheng Hao find a reliable person in Shenzhen, who spent 10,000 yuan to follow Chen Xiong's family for three days.

I took photos, checked the itinerary, and got the specific information.

If Chen Xiong becomes desperate and resorts to desperate measures, this will be the last bargaining chip at the negotiating table.

Now, this card has been played.

The results were even better than he had expected.

Chen Xiong slumped in the chair, feeling completely drained.

He looked at Lin Dong, this eighteen-year-old young man, and for the first time, real fear appeared in his eyes.

People like Chen Xiong were mentally prepared to "go in" from the day they embarked on this path.

Making a living in the underworld isn't easy; you might be basking in glory today, but ending up in jail tomorrow. If it really comes to that, he accepts it.

But family members are different.

His wife and children are his bottom line; they are the only reason he still feels like a human being after climbing this dark path for more than a decade.

People in the underworld are not afraid of death or going in, but they are afraid of bringing trouble to their families. This is their last and only weakness.

Outside the window, the festive atmosphere of the Lantern Festival reached its peak. The drums and gongs of the lion dance were deafening, firecrackers were popping up one after another, and the laughter of children surged in like a tide.

The only sounds in the private room were Chen Xiong's heavy, rapid breathing and the bubbling of tea boiling at the bottom of the pot.

Lin Dong glanced at his watch.

3:29 PM.

He reached out and pushed the bundles of 100,000 yuan in cash on the tea table towards Chen Xiong.

The brand-new 100-yuan bills gleamed enticingly under the light. The smell of ink mixed with the unique odor of banknotes filled the air.

"Money," Lin Dong said, "100,000. Count it carefully."

Chen Xiong stared blankly at the pile of money, without moving.

"IOU," Lin Dong picked up the yellowed paper, "I'll burn it now."

He took a lighter out of his pocket.

"Smack."

Flames shot up.

He lit a corner of the IOU.

The flames spread rapidly along the edges of the paper, devouring every carefully written word his father had written years ago.

The flickering firelight illuminated Lin Dong's calm face, as well as Chen Xiong's pale and dazed face.

Just then...

A screeching sound of brakes came from downstairs, followed by the slamming of car doors opening and closing, and the sound of hurried footsteps.

Then came a powerful roar:

"Police! Everyone, freeze!"

Chen Xiong trembled.

Lin Dong stared intently at the burning IOU in his hand, watching the flames slowly devour the last piece of paper.

As the last scrap of paper turned to black ash and drifted from between his fingers, the door to the private room was suddenly pushed open.