After they finished cleaning up the battlefield, a man in black came over to Zhao Tianyi and reported, “Lawyer Zhao, Qi Licheng escaped through the back door.”
Zhao Tianyi flicked the ash from his cigarette, completely unbothered. “Let him go. There’s no need to chase a cornered enemy.”
With that, he raised a hand and pointed at Wumao and Jia Dan, who were still tied to chairs. “Untie them.”
The man in black acknowledged the order, then gave a signal to the two men behind him, indicating that they should step forward and release the captives.
The two men immediately went over and undid their restraints.
Wumao rubbed his wrists, which had gone numb from the tight bindings, and said to Zhao Tianyi, “Thank you!”
Zhao Tianyi waved a hand. “Don’t thank me. If you hadn’t made that call, we couldn’t have arrived so quickly.”
As it turned out, the number Wumao had dialed when A Jiu and his men kicked down the door belonged to one of the men in black from the Wanlong Society.
The man had certainly reacted quickly.
Zhao Tianyi then turned his attention to Jia Dan, who was trembling beside them.
“As for you, choose how you want to die.”
The moment those words left his mouth, Jia Dan was scared out of his wits. With a thud, he dropped to his knees.
“Please spare me! Big brother, please spare me! I have elderly parents to support and children to raise…”
He shouted while frantically banging his head against the floor.
Zhao Tianyi looked at him coldly. “I’m not an unreasonable man. But who gave you the guts to stop the Wanlong Society’s convoy? And then smear our name? Didn’t you bother asking around? Plenty of so-called big shots in the underworld who offended the Wanlong Society have already ended up dead. You’re just a nobody. Where did you get the nerve?”
Jia Dan stammered, “I… I really didn’t know that was the Wanlong Society’s convoy! If I had known, I wouldn’t have dared to touch it even if you gave me a hundred lives, big brother… Please, I beg you, show mercy and let me go!”
Just then, Wumao suddenly stepped forward and said to Zhao Tianyi, “Lawyer Zhao, Brother Jia didn’t know this was the Wanlong Society’s convoy. If he had known, he never would have dared to do anything. Could you give him a chance?”
“He’s not exactly a good man, but he isn’t completely useless either.”
When Jia Dan heard that, he hurriedly nodded. “That’s right, that’s right! Wumao is telling the truth! I, Jia Dan, may not be a good person, but I’m useful! I really am useful!”
Zhao Tianyi pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and looked Jia Dan over again before asking Wumao, “Is he really useful?”
“He is.”
Wumao nodded, then turned back to Jia Dan, who was kneeling on the floor.
“Brother Jia, I’m going to give you a way to stay alive.”
“I can plead with Lawyer Zhao to spare your life. I can even have you sent somewhere safe. But in return, you have to answer one question.”
Jia Dan said, “What question? Ask me anything! I… I’ll tell you everything I know!”
Wumao asked, “Where did you send those young people with intellectual disabilities?”
Jia Dan’s expression changed instantly.
The desperation to survive gradually vanished from his face, replaced by panic and guilt.
“Why… why are you asking about that?”
“Brother Jia, you were born to parents too. The young people with intellectual disabilities under your control are living, breathing human beings. You tricked them into leaving their homes, used them as tools to make money and as scapegoats, then discarded them when you were finished. Do you really think that’s acceptable?”
Jia Dan’s lips moved, but his voice came out hoarse. “I had no choice. If I didn’t do that, how was I supposed to support all my brothers?”
“Stop using your ‘brothers’ as an excuse.”
“Your life is in the hands of the Wanlong Society’s boss now. If you want to live, then tell us everything honestly!”
“If you confess, I’ll guarantee your life. If you refuse, then I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do for you. You’ve already seen what the Wanlong Society’s boss is capable of.”
“Think it over carefully.”
Sweat began to bead on Jia Dan’s forehead.
He knew better than anyone how serious the crimes he had committed were.
Some of those intellectually disabled young people had been lured from the countryside. Some had been bought from human traffickers. Others had been handed over by their own families. Those impoverished families couldn’t afford to raise a mentally disabled son, and when they heard that someone could arrange work and provide food and lodging, they were practically eager to send him away.
Regardless of how they had ended up in his hands, they all became nothing more than tools for making money.
Those who were obedient were trained and taken to the highways to stop cars and collect tolls. Whenever the authorities came to arrest them, Jia Dan would push the young people forward to take the blame.
Those who refused to cooperate were sent to coal mines to work as slaves.
Even a normal person would come out of a coal mine half-dead, let alone someone with an intellectual disability.
Going hungry and lacking proper clothing were everyday occurrences. They had to work at least ten hours a day, and the moment they slacked off, they were beaten with a whip. If they fell ill or were injured, no one cared. They were simply dumped in the mountains and left to fend for themselves.
After working for several years, it was considered a miracle if half of them were still alive.
When their families came looking, Jia Dan would tell them that the person had run away and that he had no idea where they had gone.
After all, they were idiots. Wasn’t it perfectly normal for an idiot to get lost?
Who would risk crossing Jia the Big Thug over someone like that?
He had done this more than once.
He also knew that for crimes like these alone, ten lives wouldn’t be enough to save him from execution.
That was why he had still refused to speak when Wumao brought it up. Saying it aloud would very likely get him killed.
Otherwise, given what a coward he was, he would have confessed everything long ago.
“I… If I tell you, can you really keep me safe?”
Wumao turned to Zhao Tianyi.
Zhao Tianyi nodded. “I keep my word. As long as you confess everything you know and cooperate with us in gathering evidence, we won’t touch you. We’ll even send you somewhere completely safe. The Wanlong Society has been around for a long time, and we’ve never broken our word over something like this.”
Wumao said, “I can vouch for that. Brother Jia, we’ve known each other for so long. You know what I’ve done, yet I’m still alive and well, aren’t I? The boss of the Wanlong Society made me the same promise. What are you still hesitating over?”
Jia Dan gritted his teeth, seemingly engaged in one last internal struggle.
But when he saw Zhao Tianyi’s eyes, which seemed capable of seeing straight through him, and the men in black surrounding him—men even more intimidating than ordinary gangsters—his final psychological defenses collapsed completely.
“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
“Most of those idiots are actually in the coal mines around Qingyan Mountain.”
“The Qi family owns several coal mines in the Jinchuan area. Besides the few that operate legally on the surface, they also have several illegal mines. Those mines have no permits and no safety inspections. They rely entirely on slave labor to keep them running.”
“Intellectually disabled young people are perfect for the job. They don’t know how to file complaints, they don’t run away, and they’ll work as long as you give them a little food. If they can’t keep working, or if they fall ill and can’t be cured, they’re thrown into abandoned mine shafts in the rear mountains and left to die…”
As Jia Dan finished confessing everything, even the usually gentle smile on Zhao Tianyi’s face vanished, replaced by a chilling gloom. He had already guessed some of it, but hearing Jia Dan say it aloud still sent a cold shiver down his spine.
“Give me the exact location.”
“Northwest of Qingyan Mountain is a place called Eagle’s Beak. There’s an abandoned mine there. From the outside, it looks like nothing more than a patch of wasteland, and the entrance is covered with branches and rocks. Most people would never notice it.”
After saying this last sentence, Jia Dan completely lost all strength and slumped to the ground.
Zhao Tianyi asked another question. “Let me ask you this, then. Have you ever seen a man named Wang Dashu? He’s in his twenties, mentally disabled, short, and very dark-skinned.”
Jia Dan thought for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t remember. I’ve handled too many idiots. How could I remember every one of their names?”
“Um… You said earlier that you’d guarantee my safety and send me somewhere safe. Does that… still count?”
Wumao also looked at Zhao Tianyi. “Lawyer Zhao, Brother Jia has probably told you everything he knows. What do you think…?”
Zhao Tianyi stubbed out his cigarette and nodded. “Fine. I keep my word.”
He waved his hand, and two men in black immediately stepped forward.
“Take him somewhere safe.”
The two men answered in unison, “Yes!”
But there was now a chilling, meaningful look on their faces, as though they were looking at a dead man.
Wumao noticed their expressions too, and his heart gave a jolt. A vague sense of unease crept over him.
“Um… May I ask whether Jia Dan is really going to be safe? I mean, will he still be able to live a normal life from now on?”
He was actually asking on his own behalf as well. After all, they had promised to send him somewhere safe too.
Zhao Tianyi glanced at him, then suddenly broke into laughter.
“If he’s lucky, he’ll have a chance to start over.”
Wumao had just begun to relax when Zhao Tianyi added:
“Just in his next life.”
Wumao was struck as if by lightning, every hair on his body standing on end.
The Wanlong Society really was a criminal organization!
Oh no!
