Chapter 82

"Director Jiang, please, please let me go! I don't want to be involved in this anymore. I don't want the money, and I don't want the job. I just beg you to let me go, to give me a way out!"

Security guard Old Zhang's words left He Ping a bit at a loss. What did this mean? It seemed that Old Zhang wasn't asking for benefits from Jiang Deming, but rather the opposite. Jiang Deming seemed to have already given Old Zhang all the benefits promised by Jiang Dezhi, but Old Zhang didn't want them and wanted to return them. However, Jiang Deming firmly refused, so Old Zhang came to Jiang Deming's house to ask him to take back the benefits and to get out of this mess.

"Old Zhang! You..." Jiang Deming looked at him with a face of frustration: "What can I say to you? Now that things have come to this, we're both in it. Don't think you can run away on your own. You can't escape. Now, we should be thinking about what to do, not how to avoid it. I've told you many times, why don't you understand? And it doesn't seem like many people know about that incident. What are you afraid of?"

Jiang Deming tried to reason with him, but it seemed to have little effect. Old Zhang still looked anxious and fearful, saying to himself: "Director Jiang, don't hide it from me. I may not know much about what happened to President Jiang, but the news of his whole family being hospitalized has spread throughout the city. How could a whole family be hospitalized for no reason? Director Jiang, tell me the truth, is it... is it really... is there really a ghost?"

"Old Zhang!" Jiang Deming shouted, seeing that Old Zhang was indeed intimidated. He then said slowly: "Don't overthink it. You're not a young man anymore. Why do you still believe in those feudal superstitions? What ghosts? The Jiang family just had a mild case of food poisoning. Don't listen to the rumors. Just take the money and report to the Qingshan Machinery Factory. Focus on your work, and everything will be fine."

"But, Director Jiang." Old Zhang, though momentarily intimidated, was clearly stubborn and wouldn't listen to reason. Once he set his mind on something, he had to see it through. Previously, he thought He Xiangdong was petty, and having him guard the gate was an insult, so he helped Jiang Dezhi without hesitation, even stealing a key to the third workshop. Now, feeling that things were going wrong, he was determined to sever ties with the Jiang brothers: "This is all too unclear. I saw those boxes with my own eyes, so how could they just disappear?"

"There's nothing unclear about it!" Jiang Deming's patience was at its limit. His brother's family had already given him enough trouble, and the last surprise inspection on the weekend had yielded no results, leading to some questioning of his motives. Some even dug up the competition between Jiang Dezhi and He Xiangdong, suspecting that he was using his position to take revenge. All these things were making Jiang Deming very angry: "Old Zhang, I'm telling you, go back to work. Otherwise, don't blame me for being harsh!"

Old Zhang was stunned, clearly taken aback by Jiang Deming's harsh words. He felt he was already being very respectful and humble, but Jiang Deming not only refused his request but didn't even give him a kind word or explain the truth. This, combined with the fear and lack of sleep he had endured for several days, caused Old Zhang to break down.

"Jiang Deming!" Old Zhang even started calling him by his name: "I'm telling you, this has nothing to do with me. I'm saying it again, I don't want to be involved with you two scoundrels. Don't include me in this. I've had enough! If you push me too far, I... I... I..."

"You, you, you! What are you going to do?" Jiang Deming's temper flared. As a cadre, even his superiors called him "Comrade Deming." Now, a mere security guard was calling him by his name and calling him a scoundrel. Jiang Deming couldn't hold back: "What do you want? I'm telling you, if you dare to do anything, I'll have you arrested, and your whole family too!"

Old Zhang's eyes immediately turned red. He reached behind him and grabbed a large wrench, then charged at Jiang Deming without a word. Jiang Deming, seeing that Old Zhang was actually going to attack, was initially stunned, then started dodging in the not-so-large living room, shouting for help. Old Zhang, hearing Jiang Deming's cries for help, panicked and swung the wrench wildly, smashing everything around him.

The living room was small, and the frenzied Old Zhang paid no attention to obstacles, smashing everything in his path. He quickly caught up with Jiang Deming, who couldn't dodge in the confined space. Jiang Deming tried to fight back, but years of a pampered life had left him weak and out of shape. He was no match for the seasoned worker Old Zhang. After a few blows, Jiang Deming fell to the ground, motionless. Old Zhang continued to strike a few more times before his eyes gradually cleared.

Realizing he had killed someone, Old Zhang collapsed to the ground. For years, he had been a law-abiding citizen, never even running a red light. Now, he had conspired with Jiang Dezhi to frame his boss and had just killed a government official. What should he do? What should he do? What should he do? Old Zhang shakily stood up, looked at Jiang Deming's body, grabbed his wrench, and fled the scene.

The living room gradually returned to its previous darkness. He Ping was a bit surprised by the outcome. It seemed he had underestimated the power of ghost stories in this era. With few horror movies or ghost stories, most people had no chance to debunk such superstitions, and some things naturally became more exaggerated. He hadn't expected that Old Zhang would be so frightened and want to get out of the situation, while Jiang Deming, wanting an accomplice, refused to let Old Zhang go, only to enrage him and bring about his own death.

They deserved their fate, and He Ping had no sympathy for Jiang Deming. However, with Old Zhang now a murderer and his previous actions, if he retained his sanity, he would either turn himself in or flee. If he turned himself in, He Ping would let it go, but if he fled, it would be much harder to find him in this less technologically advanced era. Therefore, He Ping wouldn't allow him to flee.

What should he do? At that moment, a person came to mind. If he remembered correctly, Zhao Yuke's father was the captain of the Qingshan Public Security Bureau's Criminal Investigation Team...

[PS: First update of the day!]

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