120: Chapter 120 The Final Offense and Defense

Zhao Yang stood up, poured a cup of warm water for Guo Mingkai, and handed it to him.

"General Manager Guo," Zhao Yang's tone was much gentler than before, "drink some water and take a moment to compose yourself."

Guo Mingkai was stunned for a moment, then took the cup.

The water was just the right temperature—neither too hot nor too cold.

He took a sip, and his eyes unexpectedly stung.

During the interrogation over the past few days, no one had ever poured him water, nor had anyone spoken to him in such a tone.

"I know what you are thinking," Zhao Yang sat back down, his voice low but every word clear.

"You feel that the matter is too big, and that if you confess, it will be a dead end. You think it's better to hold out, hoping there might still be a chance for a turnaround. Isn't that right?"

Guo Mingkai did not answer, but his silence was the answer itself.

"But think about it," Zhao Yang continued, "who are you holding out for? Lai Xunmei has already confessed; she admitted to taking those 2 million."

"You are holding out for Ji Hongwen, but will he hold out for you? Has he sent you a single word?"

Guo Mingkai's eyes flickered.

"Do you think that as long as you don't speak, someone outside will find a way to get you out?"

Zhao Yang shook his head slightly. "General Manager Guo, you have been grinding in the business world for so many years; you should understand human nature better than I do."

"At this stage, who isn't looking out for themselves first?"

At this moment, Lu Zheng stepped in, his tone regaining its previous authority:

"Guo Mingkai, there is one thing you must understand."

He paused, then said, enunciating each word:

"If you confess today, it is a voluntary admission. If we finish our investigation tomorrow, it will be based on conclusive evidence. You should understand the difference."

Guo Mingkai lowered his head, staring at the cup in his hands.

The surface of the water reflected the pale, stark light of the interrogation room, as well as a haggard face.

The interrogation room fell into a brief silence.

Zhao Yang and Lu Zheng exchanged a look—the timing was right.

Zhao Yang repeated his previous tactic, pulling a photo out of the file bag and gently pushing it toward Guo Mingkai.

"Ji Tianxiang has been arrested and imprisoned, and Ji Hongwen is deeply implicated. Do you think he will come out to protect you now?"

Guo Mingkai's gaze fell on the photo.

His face instantly turned deathly pale, and his eyes dimmed.

He lowered his head and coughed violently, suddenly feeling a sweetness in his throat, almost vomiting a mouthful of blood.

Having been very successful in Tongan these past few years, his biggest backer was Ji Hongwen.

Ji Hongwen liked him because he was loyal and generous with money.

But now, he no longer had any utility to Ji Hongwen.

Judging by the current situation, it was only a matter of time before Ji Hongwen was arrested.

Given Ji Hongwen's character, he would certainly push all the responsibility onto him, Guo Mingkai.

Rather than keeping his mouth shut and ending up as someone else's scapegoat, it would be better to confess voluntarily and strive for credit for meritorious service.

Thinking of this, Guo Mingkai's hands trembled violently, and the water in the paper cup spilled out.

Lu Zheng and Zhao Yang exchanged a look; the breakthrough had arrived.

"Director Lu, Comrade Xiao Zhao, I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!" Guo Mingkai's voice was hoarse.

Lu Zheng waved his hand at Guo Mingkai, gesturing for him to proceed.

Zhao Yang continued pressing the recording pen while turning the record paper to a new page.

"The 10 million in cash I initially gave to Ji Hongwen was received by him personally."

Guo Mingkai's voice was very soft, as if he were recalling events while speaking.

"Later, I felt that cash was too conspicuous and unsafe. So, I opened a stock account for Ji Hongwen and transferred 10 million into it."

"Ji Hongwen likes playing the stock market, so I was just catering to his preferences."

Zhao Yang pressed, "What about the 9 million in consulting fees for Ji Tianxiang?"

"That was also for Ji Hongwen." Guo Mingkai had completely given up resistance. "Ji Hongwen said that giving money directly was too conspicuous, so he told me to route it through his son's account."

Zhao Yang continued to press, "The people in the Municipal Planning Commission, Economic and Trade Commission, State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission, and the Labor Bureau who gave you the green light for the restructuring—what benefits did you give them?"

Guo Mingkai closed his eyes, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke slowly:

"Actually, I didn't give much to each person. With Ji Hongwen greeting them, I didn't need to provide major benefits."

"Some were cash, some were shopping cards, and some were arrangements for their relatives or children to work at Qicheng Group."

"I don't recall the exact amounts. But I have an account book in the safe in my office."

Lu Zheng said in a deep voice, "The safe combination?"

"19820718. It's my daughter's birthday."

There was shame in Guo Mingkai's voice, as if he felt he had let his daughter down.

But at the same time, it carried a sense of relief.

It seemed that once he confessed everything, he would finally be able to sleep well from now on.

Unexpectedly, Zhao Yang suddenly asked, "Why did you hire someone to commit murder, to kill Sun Hongwei's wife?"

"Comrade Xiao Zhao, I didn't intend to kill anyone!"

Guo Mingkai was extremely exhausted and completely relaxed at this moment.

Almost instinctively, he blurted out a defense for himself.

This question from Zhao Yang was a surprise interrogation tactic.

The timing was captured perfectly, making Lu Zheng look at him with admiration.

Zhao Yang twitched the corner of his mouth and sneered:

"Didn't intend to kill anyone? Then what were you trying to do?"

Guo Mingkai was speechless; he had thought that once he confessed about the restructuring, it would be over.

He hadn't expected such a huge pitfall waiting for him here.

And he had jumped into it without realizing it.

He really hadn't intended to kill anyone; he had to clear his name in this matter.

As for Ji Hongwen, there was no need to worry about him anymore.

Sooner or later, he would be a prisoner just like him.

He would absolutely not take on even a fraction more of the blame that should be shared by Ji Hongwen.

After pondering for a while, Guo Mingkai spoke slowly:

"It was Ji Hongwen's instruction to make me frame Sun Hongwei."

"I told my subordinate, Hao Jianping, to find someone. He thought he had extensive public security experience and could erase all traces of the crime, but he ended up finding that bastard Zhou Zhiqiang!"

It would have been better not to mention Zhou Zhiqiang; the more he thought about Zhou Zhiqiang, the angrier Guo Mingkai got.

If Zhou Zhiqiang hadn't messed things up, everyone would probably be fine right now.

When one mistake occurs, it has to be covered up by an even bigger mistake.

Zhao Yang already basically knew everything Guo Mingkai had confessed.

Zhao Yang didn't dwell on these details anymore, but asked directly:

"How did Ji Hongwen instruct you?"

Guo Mingkai simply spilled the beans and told everything all at once:

"Ji Hongwen said his good brother wanted to compete for the position of Governor of Donghai Province, and the competitor was Sun Hongwei's father, Sun Zhendong."

"If Sun Hongwei were to be involved in corruption and bribery at this time, the organization would definitely think that Sun Zhendong was not strict with his family."

"With a flaw in the cadre assessment, the opportunity would inevitably fall to his brother."

Zhao Yang nodded silently in his heart; this made perfect sense.

No matter how rampant and overbearing Ji Hongwen was in Tongan, he couldn't possibly have taken things to the extreme all at once.

Although the subsequent development of the incident deviated severely, Ji Hongwen was always the instigator.

Zhao Yang pressed, "You say this, but do you have any evidence?"

"No," Guo Mingkai looked up, "but he said all these words himself!"

Zhao Yang finished recording the last sentence and stood up, walking in front of Guo Mingkai.

He placed the record in front of him: "Guo Mingkai, please check this, and after confirming it is correct, sign it."

Guo Mingkai looked down at the pages of the record, his hands shaking violently; it took several attempts before he could sign his name.

After signing the last character, he seemed to have his strength drained away, leaning back against the chair.

Like a walking corpse.

Zhao Yang put away the record and walked out of the interrogation room with Lu Zheng.

The door closed behind them, and the corridor was so quiet that they could hear their own heartbeats.

Lu Zheng took out a cigarette, handed one to Zhao Yang, and lit one for himself.

He took a deep drag and exhaled slowly: "We can close the net on this Ji Hongwen line now."