Yu Zheng’s study.
He was still awake, staring at the anonymous email and the attached video file on his computer screen, his face livid.
He had already finished watching the video.
It showed everything—from the argument during the day, to the torment late at night, to the entire process of his daughter-in-law changing the old man’s medication and cutting his IV line.
It also showed Manager Ma’s schemes.
So that was it. Manager Ma had bribed the residents with two bags of rice each, persuading them to conceal the truth. No wonder the residents had refused to cooperate no matter how many times Yu Zheng sent his own people to investigate.
But who had sent him the email?
The sender had clearly meant to help him. Otherwise, he would have fallen right into the trap.
But why help him? Who was this person?
“Could it be Grandpa?” Yu Zheng murmured to himself. “He’s putting on a tough front but is actually softhearted. He doesn’t want to eliminate me, but he’s afraid my brothers and sisters will think it’s unfair, so he’s secretly giving me guidance…”
Whoever it was, Yu Zheng had to deal with these problems first.
“Damn it. They actually tried to scheme against me.”
Yu Zheng grabbed his coat and strode out.
The streets at five in the morning were empty and bleak. His car sped toward Kangle Garden.
On the way, he made several phone calls.
The first was to his medical team. “Prepare a set of emergency equipment commonly used for the elderly and deliver it to Kangle Garden.”
The second was to one of his own people in the property management office. “Cancel the power outage. Notify everyone in the engineering department to bring a full set of inspection equipment and get here within half an hour. Check the wiring in every apartment!”
“Oh, right. Find a chance to lock Old Ma in the property management office. Cut off his internet and electricity, and throw away his phone too. Don’t let him contact anyone or send any messages.”
The third was to a hacker he trusted. “Help me find out who sent an anonymous email.”
—
It was midnight.
More than twenty bleary-eyed residents had gathered beneath the buildings of Kangle Garden.
Four technicians from the property management office’s engineering department were carrying inspection equipment into the building entrance, making quite a racket.
Many residents stood together, grumbling unhappily.
“What the hell are they doing in the middle of the night? Are they trying to keep us from sleeping?”
“Exactly! Why inspect everything now? Why not earlier or later?”
“That new Boss Yu is such a pain! No wonder Manager Ma said he was some kind of gangster. We have to drive him out!”
Among the crowd, two young people listened to the discussion and exchanged a glance.
They were both people Yu Zheng had supported through school by living frugally himself.
One was a frail-looking young man who resembled an overworked office drone. His name was Cheng Li.
The other was a pretty young woman with delicate features who looked like a college student. Her name was Chen Jiaxin.
Chen Jiaxin let out a mocking laugh and joined the conversation.
“We’ve all been used. The truth isn’t what you think.”
Quite a few people turned to look at her.
“What do you mean, used?”
Chen Jiaxin said, “This emergency inspection is happening because the new Boss Yu discovered a major problem.”
“What problem?” an elderly man asked.
“Didn’t Manager Ma give each household here ten bags of rice and ask us to oppose the new Boss Yu, refuse to cooperate with his investigation and census, and refuse to pay our property fees?”
An elderly woman cried out, “What? Ten bags? He only gave my family two!”
Cheng Li fanned the flames. “Oh my God, Manager Ma treated you like a dog! He gave us ten bags.”
Many of the residents began to resent Manager Ma.
People could tolerate scarcity, but they couldn’t tolerate unequal treatment.
That laid the groundwork. From that point on, whatever anyone said, the residents would instinctively side with Manager Ma’s opponent—in other words, Yu Zheng.
Chen Jiaxin continued, “The power outage was also Manager Ma’s idea. He tampered with your electric meters too! Apparently, Boss Yu only discovered it in the middle of the night, which is why he sent an engineering team here to inspect everything.”
The crowd began to grow agitated under Cheng Li’s influence.
“I knew it! My electric meter has been running ridiculously fast. So he was behind it!”
“What if the wiring short-circuits and starts a fire one day? The whole building could burn down!”
“Manager Ma is despicable! This Boss Yu actually seems pretty responsible.”
Chen Jiaxin nodded. “Exactly. I heard Boss Yu was sent here by the Yu family, the richest family in Pucheng, to gain experience. A young master like him isn’t short of money—he just wants to build a career. Apparently, he even bought the rice with his own money and planned to distribute it to every household for free.”
“But Manager Ma took it and used it to fight for power.”
That wasn’t actually true. Manager Ma had bought the rice himself.
But now that he had been locked up and had no way to contact the outside world, Yu Zheng was certainly happy to accept the credit.
“Manager Ma thinks that as long as he drives Boss Yu out, he can continue embezzling money from the property management office. The entire inner circle there is made up of his own relatives.”
“All the property fees we paid before were turned into salaries for his family members!”
The crowd exploded again.
“No wonder he suddenly became so generous!”
“That bastard! He used us as his weapons!”
The residents’ emotions shifted instantly from dissatisfaction to fury.
Just then, someone shouted, “Hey, isn’t that the family from 501? Something doesn’t look right.”
Inside the building entrance, a son and daughter-in-law were supporting an elderly man as they made their way outside.
The old man’s face was frighteningly blue, his lips cyanotic, and his eyes half-closed. His chest heaved violently, and he was practically being dragged along.
His daughter-in-law kept her head lowered, looking somewhat guilty.
His son, meanwhile, wore an impatient expression.
A concerned neighbor asked, “Why does Old Zhao look so terrible?”
The daughter-in-law stiffened and said softly, “N-no, it’s nothing. He was just feeling stuffy, so we brought him down for some fresh air.”
Another neighbor came over to take a look. “This looks like he can’t breathe. Hurry and use the oxygen machine!”
The daughter-in-law cursed inwardly at these meddlesome people.
She had originally planned to blame the power outage and wait for the old man to die before extorting a large sum from the property management office.
Who could have expected the power not only to remain on, but for the inspection to be carried out with such fanfare?
All she could do was say, “The machine broke.”
The neighbor said, “It broke? Then call 911!”
The son was worried about spending money. “There’s no need. It’s an old problem. He’ll be fine after getting some fresh air.”
As he spoke, he helped support his father and tried to lead him toward the garden.
But the moment he turned around, Old Zhao’s body suddenly jerked violently. Then he toppled backward, stiff as a log!
“Dad!” His son instinctively let go.
Thud!
The old man hit the concrete ground heavily, the back of his head striking first with a dull sound.
He stopped moving.
The air seemed to freeze.
Everyone watching stood stunned, staring at the motionless man with the blue-purple face.
When the daughter-in-law saw what had happened, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He was dead. Thank goodness.
She might not be able to extort money from the property management office anymore, but at least she could save a great deal on his monthly medication and secretly send the money to her own parents.
She had never supported her family before, yet she had been falsely accused of doing so.
Now her rebellious streak had been roused. From then on, she really did intend to help her own parents financially.
Some neighbors wanted to help, but they were afraid of being blamed if something went wrong and didn’t dare step forward.
At that moment, Yu Zheng strode out of the shadows.
He wasn’t wearing a suit today, but casual clothes. Without the same intimidating edge, he looked like an ordinary handsome young man.
Before anyone could react, he had already crouched beside Old Zhao and reached out to check his carotid artery.
“He still has a pulse. It’s very weak.” Without looking up, he calmly instructed, “Young Gao, bring the medical kit!”
A young man in a property management uniform came running over, carrying a medical kit.
When he opened it, it contained a portable oxygen tank, an oxygen mask, a stethoscope, emergency medication, and more—everything needed to handle a wide range of emergencies.
Yu Zheng quickly fitted the elderly man with the mask, turned on the oxygen, and began performing CPR.
His movements were precise and powerful. One look was enough to tell that he had received professional training.
Chen Jiaxin cried out in surprise, “It’s Boss Yu! He’s the new property management supervisor that the Yu Group assigned to our Kangle Residential Community!”
