The two options Liang Qiuchi presented were something any normal person would choose without hesitation, without needing to think twice.

Who wouldn’t want to live well?

Of course, Ernest also wanted to, but he knew Liang Qiuchi would never be so kind.

Now that he had calmed down from the sudden turn of events just now, even though there was a glimmer of hope in front of him, he wouldn’t blindly make a choice.

“What do you want from me?”

Perhaps the price Liang Qiuchi wanted him to pay was even harder to accept than death.

“Don’t be nervous,” Liang Qiuchi smiled faintly, “I don’t want money or your life. I just want the recordings you have locked in the safe.”

Ernest frowned, “What recordings? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

Liang Qiuchi’s dark, bright eyes seemed to have the ability to see through everything, “Mr. Ernest, you are a smart man, why pretend to be foolish with me here and waste time? Do you still expect someone else to come and save you?”

Ernest tightened his lips and remained silent.

“Reinis already has murderous intent towards you, why are you still protecting him?” Liang Qiuchi casually played with the gun in his hand, “I don’t need you to openly accuse anyone, you just need to give me the recordings of the communication before and after Governor Mo’s assassination.”

“How can you be so sure that I have such recordings?” Ernest asked in return.

Liang Qiuchi raised his eyelids and smiled at him, “You’ve been with Reinis for over twenty years, you should know better than I what kind of person he is. Smart people working for such a person know they should leave themselves a way out just in case.”

Otherwise, Will Reinis wouldn’t be so eager today, coming personally to demand Ernest’s life.

“Am I right?” Liang Qiuchi asked.

Ernest silently lowered his head.

Yes, he did have the recordings.

Not only did he have the conversation where President Reinis ordered him to find someone to kill Governor Mo, but also many details of their planning for this assassination were recorded clearly and completely.

But…

Ernest looked at his blood-stained sleeve, sighed after a while, “Although Reinis is unscrupulous, I can’t hand over this evidence to you.”

Liang Qiuchi wasn’t surprised. He wiped the clean gun with his fingertips and finally aimed the muzzle at Ernest’s forehead.

“You are indeed loyal.”

He sneered, his finger resting on the trigger, the leather glove rubbing against the gun butt making a faint sound.

Ernest looked at Liang Qiuchi with red eyes, “If I give you those things, my wife and children will die!”

Liang Qiuchi’s index finger temporarily moved away from the trigger, “Is that your concern?”

“My daughter is only six years old, she doesn’t know anything…” Ernest’s chest heaved violently, his voice choked with sorrow, “Do you think I have a choice?”

Liang Qiuchi slowly stood up, looking down at him, his eyes full of scrutiny.

The man’s face was filled with unwillingness and anger, but when he thought of his daughter, his eyes became red and moist, like a compassionate father who couldn’t bear to say more.

It didn’t seem like an act.

Liang Qiuchi put away the muzzle and took out a photo from his coat pocket, holding it up in front of Ernest, “Take another look at your daughter.”

Ernest was stunned, his eyes suddenly widened, “How… how do you have a photo of my daughter!”

Liang Qiuchi didn’t answer, just asked him again, “What’s your choice now?”

Ernest grasped the photo as if clutching at a lifeline.

The photo showed a little girl wearing a pink fluffy skirt, her smile bright and innocent, with a small crown on her head.

This crown… was the gift he bought her to attend her kindergarten graduation dance.

Barely bought it two days ago.

“Where did you get this photo?!” Ernest’s eyes widened with anger, bloodshot veins crawling in the corners of his eyes, “What are you trying to imply with this!”

“I’ve already told you, I want you to make a choice.”

“But what about my daughter? I…”

“She’s fine. As long as you hand over what I want, I guarantee that she and her mother won’t suffer any harm, physically or mentally.”

Ernest finally showed signs of loosening on his face.

He gritted his teeth and looked at Liang Qiuchi, “How do I know you’re not using this photo to manipulate me?”

Liang Qiuchi smiled, took two steps back to the tea room door, and tapped on the door twice, saying to the outside, “Give me the phone.”

The sliding door opened a crack, and a slender hand reached in, handing a phone that was already connected.

Liang Qiuchi glanced at the screen and then handed the phone to Ernest.

“Daddy!”

A clear and pleasant voice filled with excitement and joy, instantly brought tears to Ernest’s eyes.

“Sweetheart, how are you? Where are you now? Are you hurt? Where is your mom? Those people…”

“Daddy, did you forget? Mom and I are at grandma’s house. When are you coming, daddy? Today, I learned the dance from last time perfectly, not a single move wrong… Why are you crying, daddy?”

“It’s nothing… Daddy’s just a little tired.”

Ernest lowered his eyelids, not wanting his daughter to notice his abnormality. He said a few more words and then hurriedly ended the video call.

Liang Qiuchi took back the phone and asked him, “Do you believe me now?”

Ernest wiped his face, his voice heavy as he asked, “How did you do it?” Being able to get close to his wife and child under Reinis’ nose wasn’t an easy feat.

In fact, shortly after the assassination attempt, Liang Qiuchi had already investigated Ernest thoroughly, and naturally knew everything about him.

Liang Qiuchi didn’t intend to say more, just told him, “Your family won’t have any safety issues.”

After a moment of silence, Ernest walked heavily to the cabinet on the east side of the tea room, bent down, and opened a cabinet door, his fingers trembling as he entered the safe’s password.

He handed a hard drive to Liang Qiuchi.

“There are not only recordings of Reinis planning to murder Mo Zhenghong in there, but also all the other dirty things he’s done over the years, including… the murder of your father and the scene being staged as a suicide. Take it and see for yourself.”

Liang Qiuchi took the hard drive with a solemn expression.

Ernest asked with sorrow and earnestness, “Can you safely transfer my wife and children abroad? Somewhere Reinis can’t reach.”

That was his only wish.

Liang Qiuchi nodded and tilted his head at Ernest, “Call the police now, you know what to say.”

With Liang Qiuchi holding a gun to his head, Ernest dialed the emergency number.

“They’ll be here soon.”

Ernest hung up the phone, remained silent for a few seconds, but couldn’t help asking Liang Qiuchi, “If I don’t cooperate, will you kill my daughter?”

Liang Qiuchi put away the gun and walked towards the door, stopping when he heard this, “No.”

“Why?”

“…Because I’m not Reinis.”

Liang Qiuchi put on his hat and mask, then walked briskly to the living room. Mo Xin, who was waiting outside, obviously ran out of patience, “Why did it take so long?”

Liang Qiuchi put his arm around his shoulder, soothingly touched his forehead against his, “It took a while to find something.”

The police station was very close by, and in just a few words, they could faintly hear the sound of sirens outside.

“Let’s go.” Liang Qiuchi held Mo Xin’s hand, and the two walked side by side outside.

Will Reinis, lying in a pool of blood, looked pale, staring at their backs with resentment, “Liang Qiuchi! You’re still alive! You and that General Mo are really in cahoots!”

Liang Qiuchi didn’t look back, but embraced Mo Xin’s waist and walked away quickly.

Mo Xin suddenly turned sideways, slowly raising his right hand.

Will Reinis was immediately frightened into silence, then he heard a mocking tone coming from him.

The cold sneer of ridicule echoed in the air.

He raised his eyes and saw Mo Xin’s empty right hand, only three fingers gesturing as if holding a gun.

“Next time, you won’t be so lucky,” Mo Xin threw out these words, then disappeared into the darkness outside the door.

Not long after, the sound of police sirens reached the doorstep.

Several heavily armed patrol officers cautiously entered the bloody and chaotic scene. Ernest, with one hand covering his bleeding left shoulder and the other pointing at Will Reinis, who was equally pale due to excessive blood loss, issued a deep and disgusted accusation.

“It’s him! He broke into my house in the middle of the night, trying to kill me!”