Chapter 262

The girl also recognized him, let out a wail, and threw herself on the corpse, crying bitterly. Xie Wendong naturally felt terrible too. Although he and Li Gensheng weren’t close friends, he had saved his life after all, and now he felt responsible for his death. Coupled with the unknown fate of Peng Shulin, Xie Wendong felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe. He staggered back a few steps, raised his hand, and Jiang Sen quickly stepped forward, asking, “Brother Dong, what are your orders?”
Xie Wendong rubbed his nose and narrowed his eyes, saying, “Send all our informants out. No matter how many people or how much time it takes, I want to find Du Tingwei in City H.”
Jiang Sen nodded and said, “Understood.” Needless to say, the girl crying over Li Gensheng’s body was his sister, Li Yingnan. Xie Wendong knelt beside her and said sadly, “I’m sorry.” Li Yingnan didn’t hear his apology at all and continued to cry. After what seemed like a long time, she grew tired, ran out of tears and strength, her vision went dark, and she collapsed on her brother’s body. Her expression was dazed as she murmured, “Why did they kill my brother? What did he do wrong?”
Xie Wendong shook his head. Li Gensheng’s mistake was for saving him in the first place. Looking at the heartbroken Li Yingnan, he felt powerless. Gently lifting her up, he said, “From now on, I’ll be your brother!” Li Yingnan looked at him hesitantly, but soon her gaze wandered, and she fainted. Xie Wendong knew she was fine, just overwhelmed by grief. He put her in the car to sleep with Peng Ling. With two women—one unconscious, one asleep, a father whose fate was unknown, and a brother who had died tragically—this was enough to give Xie Wendong a headache. Of course, it was all thanks to Du Tingwei. He felt he hadn’t hated anyone this much in a long time.
After cleaning up the battlefield, Jiang Sen consulted Xie Wendong’s opinion before organizing people to put all the corpses in the ruined house, then pour gasoline on them and set them on fire, burning both the corpses and the house to ashes. The reason for burning down Li Yingnan’s house was that she was now the only woman left and couldn’t survive alone. Moreover, the place wasn’t safe—Du Tingwei might return at any time. It was also to prevent her from being overwhelmed by memories and increasing her sorrow. Xie Wendong had really gone to great lengths. Looking at the house engulfed in flames, he sighed deeply. At that moment, the villagers who had returned home scared by the gunshots came out curiously to watch the fire. Not wanting trouble, Xie Wendong waved his hand, led everyone back to the car, and drove away in a cloud of dust.

Xie Wendong had Peng Ling and Li Yingnan taken to his villa, then he drove to the hospital. Peng Shulin was seriously injured—three bullets had hit vital areas, and due to his age, his resistance was no match for that of a younger person, making his situation extremely tough. Several attending doctors were performing emergency surgery inside the operating room, with nurses coming in and out, creating a tense and oppressive atmosphere. Xie Wendong paced back and forth in the corridor, facing two issues to resolve: first, no matter the outcome of Peng Shulin’s treatment, he needed to find a way to make Peng Ling accept it; second, he had to locate Du Tingwei before he left City H. There were more considerations as well. Turning to Gao Qiang, he said, “It seems we’ll need to be more low-key from now on.”

Before Gao Qiang could respond, Li Shuang asked in confusion, “Why?” Xie Wendong replied calmly, “If even a director sent by the central government can get into trouble in City H, do you think the central government will turn a blind eye? If nothing goes wrong, this crackdown won’t be easy for us.” Li Shuang shook his head and argued, “But it wasn’t us who shot Peng Shulin, and we were the ones trying to save him.” “Who knows?” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes. “If something happens to him, who will speak on our behalf? We’ll be unable to defend ourselves then.”

Gao Qiang nodded and said, “Brother Dong is right. It’s better to be cautious.” As they were talking, a doctor came out of the emergency room. Li Shuang rushed forward and asked, “How is he? Is there still any hope?” The doctor shook his head tiredly. Seeing this, Li Shuang’s shoulders slumped, and he rubbed his hands anxiously, saying, “This is bad.” Gao Qiang silently grabbed him by the collar, pushed him aside, and asked expressionlessly, “Is there really no hope?”

The doctor sighed and said, “All three bullets hit vital areas. Two have been removed, but the third hit the spine, with bullet fragments pressing on the central nervous system. We don’t dare remove it lightly. With our skills, the success rate is very low.” Hearing this, Li Shuang pushed forward again, staring intently and shouting, “What kind of nonsense is that? What’s the use of doctors then?” Xie Wendong frowned, glared at Li Shuang, and nodded apologetically at the doctor, saying, “So, according to you, he can’t be saved because of insufficient skills?” The doctor’s face turned slightly red. “It’s not just our skills. It’s the same everywhere in China, unless…” “Unless what?” Xie Wendong pressed.

“Unless it’s sent to the United States. As far as I know, the only precedents for such surgeries exist in the U.S., and they were successful. But getting Mr. Peng to go abroad and deal with all the travel complications, I’m afraid by the time he arrives, it might be too late. Moreover, even in the U.S., the success rate of this surgery isn’t 100%…” The doctor spoke honestly, not wanting to give Xie Wendong false hopes of a near-impossible success. Xie Wendong listened carefully. By the time the doctor finished, he had already made up his mind. Smiling, he asked, “How much time do you think you can give me?” The doctor was stunned, not understanding his meaning. Seeing his puzzled expression, Li Shuang snapped, “How much longer can Peng Shulin live?”
“Oh!” the doctor said, “It’s not a problem to keep him alive for a while, but if it exceeds five days, even if he can be saved, there will likely be complications.” Seeing Xie Wendong raise an eyebrow, he hurriedly added, “Mr. Xie, the human central nervous system is extremely fragile. No one can predict what problems might arise from prolonged suppression.”
Xie Wendong nodded and said, “Thank you, doctor. I understand.” Jiang Sen ran up from the stairs and whispered in Xie Wendong’s ear, “Brother Dong, the leaders from the city and province are on their way to the hospital.” As a director assigned by the central government, Peng Shulin wasn’t of high rank, but his connections were so powerful that even the governor had to be polite around him. Being shot in City H was a major incident. Xie Wendong smirked and said, “What fast news!” He thought for a moment and decided it was better not to meet these people to avoid unnecessary trouble. “Since they’re coming, we should leave too,” he said. After pondering for a while, he added, “Qiangzi, take a few people to stay behind and provide secret protection. I don’t trust the local police; don’t let Du Tingwei take advantage of the situation.” Gao Qiang nodded in agreement. Xie Wendong tightened his overcoat and led everyone out of the hospital.
Not far from the hospital, cars from the province and city sped by continuously—Mercedes, Audis, Hongqi, one after another. He smirked coldly. What a group of people with flashy appearances but empty minds. Of course, it couldn’t be said they were completely empty-minded; when it came to seeking benefits and scheming, they were even more cunning than others.

Along the way, Xie Wendong kept receiving calls. Sanyan, who was watching over the villa, called first, saying that Peng Ling had woken up. Xie Wendong was shocked; at that moment, he really wished Peng Ling would wake up later. Soon after, Sanyan called again, saying that Peng Ling was shouting and demanding to see her father, and no one could stop her. Over the phone, Xie Wendong heard chaos on the other end—loud noises and the sound of things breaking. He cursed under his breath and said to Sanyan, “I’ll be back right away. Keep Ling occupied for now.”
Sanyan reluctantly agreed and hung up. Less than five minutes later, the phone rang again. Xie Wendong sighed helplessly, picked up the phone, and said irritably, “What’s the problem this time?” It wasn’t Sanyan but Gao Qiang who called. His tone was urgent as he said, “Brother Dong, I just got news from Du Tingwei.”
Xie Wendong perked up and asked, “Where is he?” “Oh…” Gao Qiang hesitated for a while. Impatient, Xie Wendong asked again, “Where exactly is he?” Gao Qiang replied helplessly, “He’s at the military zone.” “What?” Xie Wendong frowned suspiciously. Gao Qiang sighed, “A few of our brothers saw several cars exactly like the ones Du Tingwei and his group were in heading toward the military zone. This news should be accurate.” Xie Wendong narrowed his eyes—what a cunning guy! If Du Tingwei knew where to go, as long as it wasn’t outside the Three Eastern Provinces, he wouldn’t be safe. Only in the military zone, with the protection of a large regular army, could he not be dealt with. He clenched his fist tightly, slapped the driver’s shoulder, and ordered, “We’re leaving the villa. Head to the military zone.” “Huh?” Inside the car, Jiang Sen and Ren Changfeng were shocked. Though they were usually bold, the mention of the army made their hearts pound. They couldn’t help asking, “Brother Dong, you’re not planning to fight the army, are you?”
Li Shuang, on the other hand, wasn’t worried at all. He wasn’t one to fear trouble. Reaching out with his fat hand, he grabbed Xie Wendong’s sleeve and said excitedly, “Brother Dong, even if we go, wait for me to gather more brothers and bring more guns. With just us, we might not be able to capture Du Tingwei. It would be a shame if he escapes in the chaos, right?!”
That idiot! Jiang Sen and Ren Changfeng silently cursed in unison. With such a small group, they were already worried Du Tingwei might escape—let alone whether they could get out themselves. The two stared at Xie Wendong. Xie Wendong turned his head to look at the sky outside the car window, took a long sigh, and said nothing.

Several cars drove straight to the military region’s gate and were stopped by the soldiers on duty there. Xie Wendong rolled down the window and handed over his identification from the Political Department. He treasured this card greatly; it had often served as his talisman. The soldier took it, glanced only at the cover, immediately stood at attention. After scanning it, he respectfully returned it, saluted, and said solemnly, “Mr. Xie…” He didn’t know how to address Xie Wendong. The ID listed him as a lieutenant, but since it was from the Political Department, calling him simply “company commander” seemed too informal. After hesitating, he chose to address him as Mr. Xie. Xie Wendong had been to this military region before, tied up during a fierce battle at the Fire Red Nightclub against the Soul Group. He thought he was doomed, but then he met Dong Fang Yi, who both scared and intimidated him, and he said, “I’m looking for Commander Huang.” His guess was correct—the middle-aged military officer with the surname Huang was indeed the commander, and the highest-ranking official in the military region. Hearing this, the soldier quickly said, “Please wait a moment.” He ran back to the duty room and made a hasty phone call. Within a few minutes, he rushed out again, smiling, “The commander asks you to come in, but…” The soldier glanced at the convoy behind him and didn’t dare finish his sentence. Xie Wendong frowned and deliberately said sternly, “They’re people I brought here. Do you still need to get involved?” The soldier staggered, barely avoiding falling to the ground, and shook his head repeatedly, “No need, no need!”

Xie Wendong glared at him, said nothing, and closed the car window. In the eyes of the soldiers, he couldn’t explain exactly what kind of organization the Political Department was—only that it held great power. If anyone made a mistake and was caught by the Political Department, not to mention him, even their superiors would find it hard to escape easily; it was like having high-ranking police within both the military and political spheres. He didn’t dare say more, raised the barrier, and let them pass. The car moved smoothly straight toward the office building. Nothing had changed here since he first arrived, except for a layer of snow covering everything. From time to time, passing soldiers cast curious glances, thinking some leader had come down for an inspection. Jiang Sen gently pulled Xie Wendong and pointed toward the window on his right. Xie Wendong looked up and saw several cars of varying sizes parked on a clearing not far away—identical to the ones Du Tingwei had used to escape. “Hmm!” Xie Wendong nodded, touched the gun at his waist, pondered for a long time, then released it and shook his head. Although he had the cover of his status in the Political Department, that didn’t mean he could act recklessly. After all, this was a military district surrounded by soldiers armed with real guns. If he took action, it would undoubtedly mean going to war with the military, which was equivalent to turning against the state. Was it worth it? He had to consider it. The car stopped in front of the office building, and Xie Wendong stepped out. They were now in the suburbs, where the wind was stronger and colder than in the city. He shivered, tightened his coat, and stepped up the stairs. As soon as he entered the lobby, a middle-aged military officer in a yellow woolen uniform, tall and straight-backed, with a dignified appearance that exuded authority even without anger, came forward. Before he even arrived, his laughter could be heard: “Haha, what joy to have friends coming from afar! Mr. Xie, it’s been a year since we last met, right?!” Xie Wendong looked up and saw it was the same man he had stood with Dong Fangyi last time. He reacted quickly, smiling and saying, “Colonel Huang, it has indeed been about a year. But you still look as impressive as ever!”