Lin Ning confronted Jiang Chacha directly, asking, “Did you tell someone about my Ruyi bracelet?”

Panic flashed across Jiang Chacha’s eyes. “What are you talking about? I have no idea!”

“Jiang Chacha, stop pretending. I only told you about my Ruyi bracelet. You told someone else, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t say anything. Go question someone else!”

After finishing, she turned to leave, but Lin Ning grabbed her wrist. A glint of white light caught her eye-Jiang Chacha was wearing a brand-new wristwatch.

“Where did you get this watch?”

“I bought it myself!”

“But didn’t you always say that your paycheck gets taken by your mom? How could you afford such an expensive watch?”

“That’s none of your business! Let go of me!”

Lin Ning snatched the watch off her wrist and pinched the soft flesh at Jiang Chacha’s waist. “Tell me the truth!”

The pain made Jiang Chacha tear up, but losing the watch hurt her even more -it was brand new, and she hadn’t had enough time to enjoy it.

“Several days ago, a peddler was going around collecting Ruyi-shaped jewelry. I remembered your bracelet and told him about it,” she admitted tearfully.

“What did he look like?”

Jiang Chacha described the man in detail. Lin Ning thought for a moment- it wasn’t Huang Yuan. Could it be Xu Guangyin? Regardless, he was likely one of Morita’s people.

“Lin Ning, I’ve told you everything. Now give me back my watch!”

“You sold me out and still want your watch back? Dream on!”

Lin Ning picked up a brick from the ground and smashed the watch to pieces with two hard blows. “I’d rather destroy it than let you have it!”

“My watch!” Jiang Chacha screamed, throwing herself at the remains of her watch. She gathered the fragments in her hands and began wailing uncontrollably. She had worked so hard to get that watch, and Lin Ning destroyed it in an instant!

“I’ll get even with you!” Jiang Chacha charged at Lin Ning, but Lin Ning caught her and delivered several harsh slaps to her face, leaving her dazed and bleeding from the nose.

“I’m warning you-try to harm me again, and I’ll beat you every time I see you!”

Jiang Chacha couldn’t win against Lin Ning and could only watch her leave. Her eyes burned with hatred and madness. “Lin Ning, you stole my Ruyi bracelet, and now you’ve smashed my watch. This isn’t over!”

After a long while, she took out a handkerchief, wrapped the broken watch fragments, and left.

Meanwhile, Xu Wang’s team had taken Ma Wenbiao and two others to the Public Security Bureau. After throwing them into the interrogation room, they began questioning them one by one.

Starting with Ma Wenbiao, he adamantly insisted, “I was drunk! We were just joking around and didn’t do anything improper.”

Xu Wang sneered. “Ma Wenbiao, I heard Miao Jia and Huang Yuan were asking you for the bath scrubber production process and money. Is that true?”

“Officer, it’s all a misunderstanding! We were joking, not serious!”

Xu Wang produced a stack of documents. “These were found in your desk-the production process for bath scrubbers. I also heard you were planning to visit the textile factory to observe their nylon-twisting techniques. Explain yourself-what are you up to?”

Xu Wang’s voice suddenly grew louder, startling Ma Wenbiao. He stammered, unable to come up with a response.

“Ma Wenbiao,” Xu Wang continued, “Miao Jia and Huang Yuan’s crimes are far more severe than you think. If you’ve been colluding with them, you’re looking at serious consequences! You’d better think carefully!”

Terrified, Ma Wenbiao finally caved, revealing everything about Miao Jia’s repeated requests and actions. The officer beside Xu Wang rapidly took notes.

Xu Wang pressed further, “What about Morita and Xu Guangyin? What’s their connection?”

Caught off guard, Ma Wenbiao stammered, “Morita is a businessman. We’ve just done some regular trading. Nothing serious.”

“Ma Wenbiao!” Xu Wang’s voice boomed like thunder, echoing in the interrogation room and startling Ma Wenbiao once more.

“W-what?”

“According to our investigation, Morita is Japanese. Under the guise of conducting business in Yongzhou City, he’s actually engaged in espionage activities. Do you want to be a traitor, aiding an enemy spy and becoming a national disgrace?”

“Wh-what?” Ma Wenbiao was stunned. “Isn’t he a businessman? How could he be a spy?”

“You’ve been deceived. Spill everything you know-only then can you mitigate your sentence. Otherwise, your family will be implicated as well!”

Frightened, Ma Wenbiao recounted everything.

It turned out that when Ma Wenbiao was the director of Yongzhou’s clothing factory, Morita had purchased several batches of clothing from him, paying generously and earning Ma Wenbiao a tidy profit.

They became acquainted, and Morita eventually asked Ma Wenbiao to help him locate Ruyi-shaped jewelry within Yongzhou. Morita paid handsomely, so Ma Wenbiao agreed.

Morita’s real goal, however, wasn’t the jewelry but to exploit Ma Wenbiao’s connections. As the mayor’s brother-in-law, Ma Wenbiao had influence Morita wanted to leverage.

Later, Morita narrowed his focus to Dong’an County. Encouraged by Morita, Ma Wenbiao transferred to Dong’an, coincidentally eyeing the lucrative bath scrubbers business at the county’s textile factory.

“Officer, I really didn’t know he was a spy! I thought he was just a businessman who liked antiques!” Ma Wenbiao wailed.

“Morita used your name to scout locations across Yongzhou, seeking critical data. This is your doing!” Xu Wang accused.

“Ah? Officer, I truly didn’t know!”

“Tell it to the court!”

Ma Wenbiao howled in despair. Worse news followed the next day when his sister visited him in custody. She slapped him hard across the face.

“You despicable fool! You’ve ruined us all!”

Through her, Ma Wenbiao learned that his involvement in espionage had implicated his entire family. His brother-in-law had been removed from his mayoral position, destroying their family’s future.

Holding his head in his hands, Ma Wenbiao slumped in defeat. “I didn’t know! I just wanted to make some money. How could I have known he was a spy?”

As for Miao Jia and Huang Yuan, they stubbornly denied everything, claiming any accusations were misunderstandings.

Xu Wang placed several photos on the table. “Stop pretending, Suzuki Kyoka!”

Hearing this name, Miao Jia visibly trembled. Her eyes flickered with panic. “What are you talking about? I don’t know anything!”

“Suzuki Kyoka, 35 years old. Your mother, Yang Yumei, was assaulted by Japanese soldiers before the founding of the People’s Republic. She secretly gave birth to you. Later, she married a Chinese man, Miao Zhenghe, and you took his surname, becoming Miao Jia.

Three years ago, Japanese agents contacted you, claiming you were of Japanese descent and giving you the name Suzuki Kyoka. You went along with it and began working for them as a traitor. Isn’t that right?”

Sweat dripped from Miao Jia’s forehead. “What nonsense are you talking about? This is slander!”

“Whether it’s slander or not isn’t for you to decide. We have evidence!”

As it turned out, Miao Jia was one of the orphaned offspring of Japanese aggressors. After China and Japan resumed diplomatic relations, Japan secretly sought out these individuals, nurturing them as spies.

The interrogation room door closed, muffling Miao Jia’s protests.

In the conference room, the police chief addressed the team sternly. “Comrades, we searched their guesthouse and found that Morita and Xu Guangyin have already fled. As of now, we must expand our search around Dong’an County to apprehend them!”

“Yes, sir!”