Chapter 115: The Investigation Results

Hu Wei knew exactly what he was holding in his hands.

It was the investigation report compiled by the PLA and the Public Security Bureau.

This report had already been finalized the day before.

He opened the document and began reading aloud.

The more he read, the more shocked the people below became.

Yet, as they listened, they started to understand the situation.

But was this report truly accurate?

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The incident traced back to four days ago.

During a routine night patrol, a joint team of public security officers and PLA soldiers spotted a suspicious figure lurking near one of the mine shafts.

This person was hunched over, rummaging for something underneath one of the mine’s transport carts.

The mine had a total of five shafts, each with dozens of rail transport carts. Checking every cart would take time.

Not wanting to alert the suspect, the team left a few people to keep watch while one officer rushed off to report to Song Qi and Wei Yun.

At that moment, Song Qi had been on the phone with his wife, assuring her of his safety. As soon as he saw Xu Chen approaching with his men, he quickly ended the call.

“Let him search,” Song Qi ordered. “Watch from a distance and don’t interfere. Let’s see what he’s looking for.”

For two consecutive nights, the suspect continued his search.

Then, finally, on the second night, he found something beneath one of the carts—a small bundle.

Just as he grabbed it and was about to leave, the officers lying in wait emerged and arrested him on the spot.

Upon searching the suspect, they discovered that he was carrying a homemade bomb!

The device was crude yet effective. When interrogated, he admitted that he had built it himself at home.

It turned out he had previously worked in ordnance disposal. Because of this skill, he had been assigned to the mine, where he was responsible for blasting coal seams underground.

Handling explosives was part of his daily work. He was extremely familiar with them.

That night, Song Qi immediately summoned the mine’s leadership for an emergency meeting.

During the meeting, they were shocked to learn that the suspect had been injured in a workplace accident at Shaft 4 long ago!

That particular incident had also involved another injured worker—Kong Yi.

By all rights, these men should have been at home recovering. They had no reason to be back at the mine.

Yet, when the suspect—Li Zhong—was brought before Song Qi and Wei Yun, he showed no fear.

He confessed without hesitation:

“Yes, I did it. Since I’ve been caught, there’s no need for me to stay silent any longer! But I have one condition—I want to see a woman named Xu Jin. Only then will I reveal everything.”

At this, Wei Yun immediately notified the three major families and summoned them to the mine.

When Xu Jin arrived, her face was full of anger. Clearly, she had been woken from her sleep and was in a foul mood.

She yawned repeatedly and stuck close to Quan Zhiwen.

The moment Li Zhong saw her, he exploded with rage, cursing at her furiously.

He even yanked off his shoe and tried to throw it at her.

Xu Jin instinctively hid behind Quan Zhiwen, utterly confused. “What the hell?! What does this have to do with me?!”

Li Zhong, seething, roared, “It’s YOU! It’s all because of YOU! Our workplace injury compensation was supposed to be 1,500 yuan per person, except for Kong Yi, who was entitled to 2,000. But because of YOU, we only received 500 yuan each!”

Struggling against his restraints, he tore off his shirt.

Everyone in the room gasped.

His torso was covered in massive scars—almost his entire abdomen was disfigured.

There were also burns on the back of his neck.

Even his hands were missing three fingers.

Xu Jin’s face paled as realization dawned on her.

Still, she tried to argue. “Stop talking nonsense! Workplace injury compensation was determined by the mine’s management. The standard was 500 yuan per person. Who told you it was supposed to be 1,500?”

Li Zhong spat on the ground. “I saw the documents myself! You left them in your car! You swapped out the signed agreements! At first, the compensation amounts were clearly stated, but then you told the finance manager that giving us that much money was a waste. You said we were all useless now and didn’t deserve that amount! You went back on your word halfway through!”

As he spoke, tears welled up in his eyes.

“I thought working at the mine would allow me to support my family. But Shaft 4’s equipment was old, and the company never bothered to replace it. Then our entire shift had an accident—some were injured, some were permanently disabled. We lost our ability to work, lost our ability to provide for our families. And on top of that, you slashed our compensation! Are you even human?!”

His anguished cries sent ripples of shock through the room.

Xu Jin’s face turned ghostly white.

There was no need for further investigation—everyone present already understood the truth.

Li Zhong and the other injured workers had harbored resentment because Xu Jin had failed to deliver their promised compensation.

Still, formal questioning had to be done properly.

Wei Yun asked, “Li Zhong, you claim Xu Jin swapped the agreements. Do you have any proof?”

Li Zhong nodded firmly.

Xu Jin’s face grew even paler. She clutched Quan Zhiwen’s hand tightly.

“The proof is at my house! They never took my copy of the agreement because I stole back both the original contract I signed and the fake one she replaced it with!”

Without hesitation, Wei Yun dispatched officers to retrieve the documents from Li Zhong’s home.

Meanwhile, Xu Jin refused to back down. “Why should you believe everything he says?! Do you think I’d stoop so low for a few measly bucks? That so-called agreement—who’s to say he didn’t forge it himself just to frame me?!”

Song Qi glanced around at the gathered personnel and spoke calmly.

“Isn’t this simple? If you want to prove your innocence, Miss Xu, just provide evidence to the contrary. Show us that you didn’t forge anything.”

Xu Jin snapped, “How am I supposed to prove something I didn’t do?!”

Even Quan Zhiwen intervened. “Shouldn’t we verify his evidence first? What if he’s slandering my wife?”

Wei Yun stood up and scanned the room. There were over twenty mine supervisors present.

“Gentlemen, if any of you have knowledge of this matter, I urge you to step forward. This is no trivial issue—it concerns the safety and livelihood of all workers.

“If you remain silent, what happens if something like this occurs again?

“I believe none of you want to face such a situation, do you?”

As Wei Yun finished speaking, the entire room fell into silence.

But he noticed some people exchanging glances and whispering among themselves—clearly, someone among them knew the truth.

Wei Yun tried to persuade them earnestly again, while Long Yue Zhi extended an olive branch.

A generous reward for anyone who came forward with information!

When a major shareholder spoke, his words carried weight.

About a minute later, a thin, timid man hesitantly stepped forward.

Xu Jin’s eyes widened—it was the mine’s accountant.

“I—I can confirm that Li Zhong was telling the truth.”

Xu Jin snapped, “You—!”

Song Qi cast a sharp glance at her, warning, “Shut up.”

Faced with his imposing presence, Xu Jin fell silent.

“The original version of the agreement… I didn’t destroy all of it. I kept some backups,” the accountant admitted. He had been worried that if something went wrong, the blame would fall on him.

He hadn’t expected trouble to come so quickly.

Wei Yun immediately ordered his subordinates to search for the documents.

An hour later, both the evidence and the witness were in hand.

Li Zhong slumped to the floor, defeated. “I couldn’t get my money, so I had to do something to vent my anger. I was planning to strap on explosives and end my own life, but why should I be the only one suffering? Since they showed no mercy, I wasn’t going to, either.”

Li Zhong was no good man. He was bitter and wanted to drag his innocent coworkers down with him.

Xu Jin, on the other hand, was purely greedy—despite her wealth, she still withheld the meager compensation owed to injured workers.

A small issue had escalated into a major catastrophe, leading to tragedy.

Li Zhong sobbed, “I had controlled the amount of explosives—it wasn’t supposed to cause any casualties. I just wanted to scare the shareholders. But I didn’t expect…”

He hadn’t expected people to die.

He hadn’t expected the disaster to be this severe.

Not only had the explosion destroyed the lift, but it had also caused a cave-in underground.

If not for Jing Xi…

The consequences would have been unthinkable.

Song Qi narrowed his eyes. Li Zhong was both pitiful and hateful.

And Xu Jin’s selfishness and greed had directly led to this crisis.

After the police took Li Zhong away, Xu Jin remained by Quan Zhiwen’s side, looking utterly lost—like a soul that had left its body.

She had never imagined that this disaster had truly stemmed from her own actions.

She had assumed it was some kind of setup orchestrated by Long Yue Zhi.

Li Zhong would face legal consequences, and Xu Jin… she wouldn’t escape punishment either!

Song Qi told Quan Zhiwen and Long Yue Zhi to give him and Wei Yun a satisfactory response by the next day, then left.

The factory was evacuated, leaving only Long Yue Zhi, Quan Zhiwen, Xu Jin, and a few others in the conference room.

Quan Zhiwen had already conducted a private investigation into Song Qi’s background and realized that trying to negotiate with him was a dead end. So, he turned his attention to Wei Yun.

However, Wei Yun had already been warned by Song Qi and immediately rejected Quan Zhiwen’s subtle hints.

“Mr. Quan, this problem must be solved by the person who created it.”

Then he, too, left.

Long Yue Zhi stood off to the side, looking at Xu Jin. He let out a cold chuckle.

“Miss Xu, you’re so wealthy, yet you still skimp on compensation for injured workers? The saying is true—the richer someone is, the stingier they become.”

Xu Jin didn’t even have the energy to argue. “So what if I’m stingy? Ever since I became a shareholder, the mine’s net profits have increased by fifteen percent. The Long family hasn’t exactly missed out on the money, have they?”

Long Yue Zhi stood up and dusted himself off—though there was nothing on him.

Then, in a calm voice, he said, “I don’t make money off people’s blood and suffering. I haven’t taken a single cent of that profit. I suggest you start thinking about how to deal with this situation—because if you don’t, I’ll report everything to the authorities. And don’t forget, the investigation team from above is staying in Nan Town right now.”

Xu Jin slammed her hand on the table. “Second Brother! Look at him! How could he say something like that? We’re all in this together!”

Quan Zhiwen finally spoke. “Fourth Brother, give your second brother some face. No matter what, we can’t let the Xu family be pushed into the public eye over this. Ah Jin was wrong, and we will compensate the workers—Xu Jin and I will pay for it together. But no matter what, we have to preserve the Xu family’s reputation. Otherwise, the old couple from the Xu family will come knocking on your door as well.”

Long Yue Zhi said nothing. Xu Jin might be despicable, but her grandparents were genuinely good people.

Quan Zhiwen turned to Xu Jin and coaxed her, “Ah Jin, just admit your mistake. Apologize to Fourth Brother—lower your head.”