Chapter 308 Little Li, Let's Speak Face to Face

The extremely abrupt notification sound plunged the office into silence.

The air seemed to stop flowing in that instant.

Li Jiajun's gaze was locked tightly onto Liu Jianguo.

His mind went completely blank.

His thoughts completely seized up at that moment.

He felt the world around him undergoing a severe distortion.

Just now, he had just pressed the send button; that message was sent to the "Seasoned Old Angler" far away in the Imperial Capital, someone who knew the ropes and loved life.

How could a sound come from Liu Jianguo's jacket pocket?

Li Jiajun stared blankly at the dark-faced middle-aged man opposite him, eyes unblinking, mouth half-open, his entire person suddenly frozen like an ice sculpture.

But when faced with an extremely unacceptable situation, the subconscious will always frantically search for a piece of driftwood to save one's life.

He still held onto a final, faint sliver of hope in his heart.

He swallowed hard, forcing his throat to be less dry.

'Maybe... maybe it's just a coincidence?'

'Maybe Uncle Liu just happened to receive a QQ message from someone else too?'

Such a thought surfaced in his mind.

Once this thought appeared, it grew wildly in his heart like weeds.

'Right!'

'It must be a coincidence!'

Li Jiajun screamed at himself in his mind to build up his psychological defense, trying to use cold probability to explain the supernatural phenomenon before him.

'There are over a billion people in the country using this software, and countless people send messages at the same time every day.'

'Just at this critical juncture, one of Uncle Liu's subordinates, or perhaps one of his relatives, sent him a message.'

'Logically, this makes perfect sense!'

'For a leader of Uncle Liu's level who handles so many things every day, isn't it normal for someone to be looking for him?'

Li Jiajun comforted himself frantically, trying to use this self-deception to hold onto his last line of defense.

...

However.

Reality is often unreasonable and extremely cruel.

Just as he was comforting himself.

Just as he was desperately looking for excuses for himself.

Liu Jianguo, standing opposite him, moved.

In this extremely quiet office, even the slightest movement was infinitely magnified.

Under everyone's tense gaze.

Especially Li Jiajun.

His eyes were wide like copper bells, his gaze like superglue, stuck firmly to Liu Jianguo's arm.

Liu Jianguo was expressionless.

He very naturally reached his hand into the inner pocket of his gray jacket.

Then.

He pulled a phone out from the pocket.

It was a very ordinary-looking black phone without any fancy decorations.

The moment he saw the phone being pulled out, Li Jiajun felt his heart suddenly contract.

Liu Jianguo pressed his thumb against the side button.

The screen's faint light lit up.

He unlocked it skillfully.

Next, he lowered his head and cast his gaze onto the phone screen.

He extended his index finger and tapped on the flashing QQ icon.

This set of movements was smooth and fluid.

But in Li Jiajun's eyes, every single movement was slowed down countless times.

Every time Liu Jianguo swiped the screen, it felt like he was siphoning away the oxygen around him bit by bit.

...

In the corner of the office.

The taste of the half-piece of sunflower seed shell that had just fallen out still remained in Wang Dachui's mouth.

He didn't even dare to breathe; he was so excited he could no longer contain himself, feeling like the moment he finally reached... while reading Erotica for the first time.

And on the other side.

Elder Qian had his hands behind his back, frowning slightly.

Although he didn't know what these two were up to, he could keenly sense the extremely tense, even slightly eerie sense of confrontation in the air.

He looked at Li Jiajun holding his phone, then at Liu Jianguo also holding his phone.

Elder Qian felt that this method of communication was truly somewhat bizarre.

...

At this time.

Liu Jianguo had already opened the chat box.

He glanced at the message on the screen.

On it was exactly the "plea for help" that Li Jiajun had just painstakingly edited and sent.

'Old brother, it's an absolute emergency!'

'Quickly, give me some testimony...'

'Someone is actually slandering me now, saying the material of this Fishing Rod is something even the Air Force can use!'

'Reply to me quickly and help me clear my name of this eternal injustice!'

Looking at these words, Liu Jianguo sneered deep in his heart.

He finished scanning these lines filled with grievances and excuses.

Then.

He raised his head.

Liu Jianguo looked at the nearly petrified Li Jiajun with a calm, rippleless gaze.

In that gaze, there was no anger.

No mockery.

Only an extreme calmness.

A condescending calmness that saw through everything.

This calm gaze fell upon Li Jiajun, yet it made his heart go numb with shock.

Li Jiajun felt as if his entire body's blood had solidified at this moment.

Afterward.

Liu Jianguo withdrew his gaze, lowered his head again, and looked at the screen in his hand.

His finger hovered above the virtual keyboard.

Then, he tapped on the screen a few times at a leisurely pace.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

The subtle sound of his finger pads tapping the glass screen was exceptionally clear in this office where a pin drop could be heard.

With every tap, Li Jiajun's heart followed with an uncontrollable, violent thud.

...

Time became incredibly long at this moment.

Finally.

Liu Jianguo's tapping on the screen stopped.

His thumb pressed the send button.

"Vibrate—"

Almost at the same time.

The phone tightly gripped in Li Jiajun's hand also vibrated once.

This short vibration traveled from his palm directly to his central nervous system.

It was like the final verdict handed down by the Grim Reaper.

Li Jiajun's Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

He felt like he didn't even know how to breathe anymore.

His hand trembled.

With immense difficulty, as if engaged in a great psychological struggle, he looked down.

The screen was lit.

In the QQ chat interface for the one named "Seasoned Old Angler."

He saw that the Netizen he had just been seeking outside help from had replied with a new message.

The content of the message was very simple.

No long-winded explanation.

No rebuttal.

Only seven words.

But these seven words were like seven mountains, pressing ruthlessly onto his heart.

【Xiao Li, say what you have to say to my face.】