Director Guo Qing'an's words served as a reassuring pill for Ling Zhenfei, who now had to consider how to find evidence. Relying solely on the scant evidence Zhuo Yue possessed would not be enough to convict Tianhe Group.

Director Guo pondered Ling Zhenfei's words and nodded affirmatively, "That's no problem, as long as there is evidence. But how do you plan to find it? Tianhe Group has done a lot of wrongdoings, yet it's difficult for the involved parties to obtain direct evidence. Many people, even if they possess some evidence, are too fearful of Tianhe Group's power to come forward. This is why they've been able to evade the law for so long."

Actually, Ling Zhenfei hadn't had any plan to gather evidence before, but a bold idea suddenly struck him while talking to Director Guo—an idea that, although risky, seemed worth it.

"Tianhe Group went to great lengths to have me spend a night at the police station, certainly because they have subsequent plans they fear I might disrupt. Why not beat them at their own game? Pretend that I've been caught and declare publicly that I'm to be detained for twenty-four hours, and see what they're up to."

Director Guo, worthy of his title, quickly grasped Ling Zhenfei's strategy.

"Playing them at their own game involves significant risk, doesn't it?"

"That's right, I am in danger every moment already, what's a bit more risk?"

Director Guo Qing'an pondered deeply for a while, seemingly weighing the feasibility of the plan. He glanced at Han Lian, who had been silent beside him.

"You go interrogate those two guys. Make sure to get the briber's name and how they make contact, then pass the message to the person who offered the bribe. Tell them that Ling Zhenfei is confirmed to be detained for twenty-four hours. But be careful, make absolutely sure the informants don't let any information slip."

"Rest assured, Director Guo."

Han Lian glanced at Ling Zhenfei, gave him a reassuring look, then left the room and headed to another room to interrogate the two corrupt policemen.

"Are you certain that Tianhe Group is behind this?"

After Han Lian left, Director Guo Qing'an suddenly asked Ling Zhenfei such a question.

"Of course, I'm sure. If not them, who else could it be?"

Although Ling Zhenfei said this, he also harbored some doubts internally—like he had thought before, for the profit from his Xishan Manor, Tianhe Group's investment seemed to be excessively large. Not to mention the gifts to the TV stations, newspapers, and police stations; there were also the robbers he encountered in the provincial city and a Brother Liu he had never seen—all had to be paid off. This did seem like they were making a mountain out of a molehill.

"If they want to lock you up for twenty-four hours, then this group definitely has a purpose. What could their ultimate goal be?"

Director Guo seemed to be speaking to Ling Zhenfei but also as if he were murmuring to himself. Naturally, being able to occupy the position of a city's police chief, he had many remarkable qualities and a wealth of experience.

"Regardless of their conspiracy, they will definitely act tomorrow, and their actions might even bring everything to light."

As Ling Zhenfei spoke, his mood suddenly relaxed considerably. Success or failure would be decided tomorrow—victory or defeat, the perennial rule of survival had never changed.

Perhaps it was the relaxation of his mind that led Ling Zhenfei to feel overwhelmingly sleepy. He found a bed reserved for on-duty rest and fell asleep without realizing it. It had been quite a long while since he last had proper sleep, and even though his Divine Skill protected him, he needed rest—sleep was a human instinct.

Not knowing how long he had slept, Ling Zhenfei was woken by Han Lian shaking him. He sat up straight at once.

"What's happened?"

"Nothing much, everything's out in the open now!"

Han Lian's words startled Ling Zhenfei. He hadn't expected that a short nap would turn into such a long sleep. He hurriedly got up to leave but Han Lian grabbed him.

"You fool, I fooled you—Director Guo wants to see you."

Ling Zhenfei glanced at his watch and, seeing that it was four o'clock in the morning, he finally let out a sigh of relief.

"Have you not rested again? Your eyes are bloodshot," Zhenfei said.

Seeing that Han Lian was still full of energy, Ling Zhenfei felt a twinge of tenderness. This is all for her sake.

"I'm used to it. Hurry up, Director Guo is waiting for you."

Han Lian was not the kind of person to be overly sentimental. She seemed not to understand the concern in Ling Zhenfei's words.

Guo Qing'an was holding a long file, and when he saw Ling Zhenfei, he passed it to him.

"Take a look for yourself. We found out from last night's interrogation that the person who wanted to lock you up for a day was not from Tianhe Group."

Ling Zhenfei was stunned upon hearing this. If not Tianhe Group, then who was it? Could it be that his judgment was wrong?

"This man is called Zhou Zheng and he's not a local. He has been working for someone named Wu Tong."

"Who is this Wu Tong?"

Ling Zhenfei was utterly confused. He had never heard of Wu Tong or Zhou Zheng, let alone offended them. But if he hadn't offended them, why would they target him? Ling Zhenfei couldn't figure it out.

"We've investigated clearly. This Wu Tong is a renowned Jianghu sorcerer who calls himself Master Nangong. He's best at scheming, and whether in the Provincial City or Longcheng he's quite influential. Once, he helped Longcheng real estate to defeat national developers within half a month and acquired Longcheng's iconic building, Long Zun. It's said that just this deal brought in no less than twenty billion in profit, with countless schemes involved, enough to fill a book."

"So you're saying, all this scheming was Master Nangong's masterpiece?"

Thinking about this, Ling Zhenfei couldn't help but feel a chill down his spine. Reflecting on the past few days, it felt like a dream. Starting with Yang Zixuan's trip to the Provincial City, step by step he was led into a trap, and now Xishan Manor faced the crisis of closure—all thanks to this person.

"A week ago, this person suddenly came to Binyang from Longcheng, and then these incidents occurred not long after. We have also confirmed that the person who bribed Qinghe Police Station to detain you for twenty-four hours is Wu Tong's man, so this case is definitely highly related to Wu Tong."

Guo Qing'an's method of looking at things was extraordinary; in just a short period of time, it felt to Ling Zhenfei as though the clouds had parted to reveal a clear sky.

Thinking about it, Wu Tong hadn't actually done much, just used Yang Zixuan to lure him to the Provincial City, then tampered with things there to delay him for over a day. In that day's time, Xishan Manor was smeared, shut down within two days, and now the police were holding him for twenty-four hours—there must be some plot afoot.

What exactly was the plot?

"It's Lin's Group. They're planning to make a move against Lin's Group!"

The words almost leapt from Ling Zhenfei's mouth. Yes, he hadn't thought of it before. This Master Nangong was not hired by Tianhe Group; his goal wasn't just Xishan Manor--the ultimate target was Lin's Group.

Yang Zixuan went to the Provincial City because Lin Yuluo had listened to Du Kongting's incitement, and that was exactly the first step in Master Nangong's plan.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.