84: Chapter 84 A Cunning Plan: The Final Judgment and Redemption

Three days later, the completion ceremony for the Pangkham First Elementary School was held.

This was a modern elementary school fully funded by the Dragon Country, featuring spacious and bright teaching buildings, a rubber track, and a brand-new library.

For the children of Kokang, who had suffered from the ravages of war and previously could only attend classes in dilapidated temples, this place was nothing short of paradise.

Colorful flags fluttered on the playground, and hundreds of children, dressed in uniform new school uniforms, wore innocent smiles on their faces, waving small red flags in their hands.

Parents gathered all around, and many elderly people wiped away tears of excitement, muttering "May the Bodhisattva bless us" and "Long live Chairman Zhang."

Zhang Cheng had specifically changed into casual clothes today and attended the ceremony accompanied by Li Lanzhi. Watching the laughing children, his usually cold and hard face revealed a rare, gentle smile.

"This is hope," Zhang Cheng sighed. "As long as these children can get an education and understand reason, there will be no more drugs or war in Northern Myanmar. Our efforts will not have been in vain."

Li Lanzhi linked her arm with his, her eyes full of love: "Yes, this is all something you brought to them. Brother Cheng, everyone will be grateful to you."

In the corner of the crowd, Lin Xiao, who was accompanying the group as a staff member of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, looked like an out-of-place ghost at this moment.

Her face was as pale as paper, her forehead covered in cold sweat, and her right hand was clutching the "lipstick" in her bag tightly. Her gaze swept over the smiling faces of the children, and every time she made eye contact, it felt like a knife stabbing into her heart.

"Do it... do it..." the demon in her heart urged. "As long as you press it, just a light press, the poison gas will spread through the air conditioning system... and your sister will be saved. These people have nothing to do with you... they are just mission targets..."

However, watching the little girl who was handing a bouquet of flowers to Zhang Cheng, and looking into her clear, innocent eyes, Lin Xiao could not bring herself to take it out. That hand felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.

"Assistant Lin, what is wrong? Are you not feeling well?" Li Lanzhi noticed her abnormality and walked over with concern, asking, "Your complexion is very bad; did you get heatstroke?"

"It... it is nothing, maybe I did not sleep well last night and have a bit of low blood sugar." Lin Xiao forced a smile that looked worse than crying, but her body was shaking uncontrollably, and her teeth were chattering.

Just as she was about to collapse and was preparing to grit her teeth and take out the poison gas releaser, a broad, powerful hand suddenly pressed down on her shoulder.

The palm was very warm, but it made Lin Xiao feel like a great mountain was pressing down on her, leaving her unable to move, and all the strength in her body was drained away.

"Lin Xiao, come with me for a moment. There are some things regarding the enrollment list that need to be verified."

Zhang Cheng's voice rang in her ear, flat and calm, yet carrying an unquestionable authority.

Lin Xiao stiffened all over and looked up to meet Zhang Cheng's eyes, which were as deep as the sea. In those eyes, she could not see a trace of doubt, only a realization that saw through everything and... a trace of compassion.

Her heart skipped a beat, and she knew it was over.

Like a marionette, she was led by Zhang Cheng to an empty classroom behind the teaching building. Old K stood guard at the door like a door god, casually closing the door and shutting out the laughter and joy from outside.

There were only the three of them in the room.

"Take it out," Zhang Cheng turned around, not approaching her, but simply holding out his hand calmly. "That lipstick. Or should I say, is that an 'Equinox Flower'?"

Lin Xiao was struck by lightning, and her whole body collapsed onto the floor instantly. She looked at Zhang Cheng in horror, as if looking at an omniscient and omnipotent god: "You... how did you know... you knew everything?"

"I knew from the moment your 'mute' contact gave this thing to you. In fact, the corpse of that 'mute' is already cold now." Zhang Cheng pulled over a chair and sat down, looking down at her, "I did not touch you just because I wanted to see, at this final moment, whether you would choose to be a human or a ghost."

Lin Xiao tremblingly took the deadly lipstick out of her bag, holding it with both hands as if holding a red-hot branding iron. Her tears burst forth, and her voice was hoarse: "Commander-in-Chief... I... I had no choice... They kidnapped my sister... It was 'Council of Elders'... If I do not do it, my sister will die..."

"So you intended to drag these hundreds of children, and the entire city of Pangkham, to be buried with your sister?" Zhang Cheng's voice suddenly turned cold, carrying a trace of anger. "You think that if you released the poison, they would let your sister go? Naive! They would only silence both you and your sister, and dump all the blame onto the dead! In their eyes, you are just a consumable!"

"Then what can I do?! I am just a pawn! I cannot resist!" Lin Xiao broke down and cried, banging her head on the floor, "Kill me... I beg you, kill me..."

"Killing you is easy. But that will not save your sister, nor will it redeem your sins."

Zhang Cheng took a tablet out of his pocket, tapped on a video, and threw it in front of Lin Xiao.

"Take a look."

Lin Xiao tremblingly picked up the tablet. In the video, there was a dilapidated warehouse room, with sirens in the background. Several men in black were brutally dragging a little girl into a car, and the little girl was crying and shouting, "Sister, save me."

Suddenly, the scene changed. Several black figures descended from the sky, taking care of those men in black as if they were cutting melons and vegetables. The camera zoomed in, and a special forces soldier in a black combat uniform picked up the little girl and said in broken English: "You are safe, little girl. Your sister sent us to pick you up."

The little girl was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears in the soldier's arms.

The video ended.

Lin Xiao stared fixedly at the now-black screen, her whole body trembling. That was her sister! That was her living, rescued sister!

"Is this... real?" She looked up in disbelief, her face covered in tears, her eyes full of pleading.

"Real-time footage from ten minutes ago. My overseas special forces team did it in Europe." Zhang Cheng said coldly. "Now, she is already on her way to a safe house. The Dragon Country's embassy will take over the subsequent protection work. She is safe."

"Waaah—!" Lin Xiao could no longer hold it in and wailed loudly. In this crying, there was remorse, gratitude, and even more, the catharsis of surviving a disaster.

"But I did not save her for you." Zhang Cheng stood up and walked to the window, looking at the carefree children on the playground. "It is because I do not want an innocent child to become a victim of those scumbags. And I certainly do not want my territory to turn into hell because of your stupidity."

He turned around, his gaze like a knife: "Lin Xiao, the death penalty can be waived, but the living punishment is unavoidable. From today on, there is no person named 'Lin Xiao' in this world, nor is there a killer named 'Huamei'."

"You will go to the most arduous labor camp, to mine, to build roads. Use the rest of your life to repay the sins you committed, even if it was just a thought. As for your sister, I will arrange for her to study in the Dragon Country and live the life of an ordinary person. But you, in this life, do not even think about seeing her again."

"Thank you... thank you Commander-in-Chief! Thank you!" Lin Xiao kowtowed repeatedly, her forehead bruised and bleeding. "I am willing! I am willing to do anything! As long as my sister is alive, let me do anything!"

Old K stepped forward, coldly handcuffed Lin Xiao, and dragged her out.

As she passed by Zhang Cheng, Lin Xiao suddenly stopped and whispered: "Commander-in-Chief, Bao Youxiang... he has a secret tunnel hidden in the basement of Wan Hong that goes straight to Thailand. That is his last resort. Also, he has moved all his main forces to the line along the Salween River; the city of Wan Hong is actually quite empty."

Zhang Cheng nodded slightly: "Understood. Take her away."

Only Zhang Cheng was left in the room. He picked up the "lipstick" and played with it in his hand, his eyes boiling with killing intent.

"Old K." He said to the air.

"Here."

"Send this poison gas to the laboratory and preserve the evidence. Then..." Zhang Cheng looked toward the south, the direction of Wan Hong, "Notify the troops, the exercise is over."

"Since they like using poison so much and like playing dirty, then I will go to Wan Hong myself to settle this account, with interest, with that old bastard Bao Youxiang!"

"Pass the order: The entire army is to attack! Target—South Wa! I want to plant the flag of victory on the city walls of Wan Hong! I want to let Bao Youxiang know what true despair is!"