75: Chapter 75 Chen Hu's Misfortunes Never Come Alone

At this moment, Chen Hu was dressed in hospital scrubs, his severed arm encased in a heavy plaster cast and his other hand connected to an IV drip. His face was mottled with abrasions and bruises, and his lips were an unhealthy, pale shade—a clear sign of excessive blood loss.

He lay half-reclined on the hospital bed, his eyes a mix of resentment and rage. Several of his lackeys stood nearby, also bruised and swollen, including the yellow-haired youth whose finger Qin Yi had snapped.

The yellow-haired youth's finger was wrapped in thick bandages and stuck up high, looking particularly conspicuous.

He cautiously held a mobile phone to Chen Hu's ear, looking both comical and pathetic. Chen Hu, meanwhile, was roaring into the phone in an uncontrollable rage: "Brother Dao, damn it, that kid is too ruthless! Your intel was wrong! I don't give a damn; the injuries my brothers took can't just be forgotten!"

On the other end of the line, Brother Dao's lips curled into a playful arc, seemingly indifferent to Chen Hu's fury.

He leisurely picked his ear with a finger and sneered, "Brother Hu, I told you before that the kid took out six of my brothers by himself. If you didn't bring enough people and suffered for it, there's nothing I can do. Besides, I've seen the video. Trouble shouldn't involve the family. If you hadn't gone after the kid's parents, you wouldn't have lost a hand."

Hearing this, Chen Hu's anger flared. He jerked upright, ignoring the pain in his plastered arm, and threatened viciously, "Fine! If that's how you're going to play it! Good! If this isn't resolved, don't let your people set foot in Jingnan! Otherwise, I'll take them out every time I see them!"

As he spoke, Chen Hu's eyes were fierce, as if he wanted to swallow Brother Dao through the phone alive.

Brother Dao gave two dismissive, cold laughs and continued, "Alright, don't be angry, Brother Hu. Harmony brings wealth. I never said I wouldn't Han Le this. Rest assured, I will definitely deal with that kid, but not right now. You saw his skills; ordinary people can't touch him. If I'm going to take him down, I need to make preparations."

However, before Chen Hu could respond, the ward door was pushed open from the outside.

Four uniformed police officers walked in. Their steps were steady and their eyes sharp. Upon entering, they headed straight for Chen Hu.

Seeing this, a flash of panic and unease crossed Chen Hu's eyes. He immediately lowered his voice and replied, "The police are here. I'll stop for now and contact you later!"

With that, he signaled the yellow-haired youth to hang up and lay back in bed, trying his best to look as if nothing was wrong.

The lead officer walked to the bedside, looked at Chen Hu with his arm in a cast, gave a salute, and produced his identification.

Afterward, he asked bluntly, "Are you Chen Hu? This morning, did you take a group of people to Qinjiawan Village and get into a conflict at the home of a man surnamed Qin?"

Chen Hu dealt in shady business. Although he had backing, he didn't want to get involved with the police.

Thus, he began to act like a rogue, his eyes darting as he tried to avoid the officer's direct gaze. "Officer, you need evidence for what you say. You can't just talk nonsense without proof!"

"Chen Hu! Stop playing dumb with me! Would we come looking for you if we didn't have evidence? I'm warning you, you'd better come clean!" the lead officer's expression suddenly turned stern as he shouted in a low voice. He immediately pulled out his phone, opened the video, and showed it to Chen Hu. "See for yourself! Look closely!"

Chen Hu's brow furrowed and a flash of panic appeared in his eyes, but it lasted only a moment before he calmly resumed his lies. "Officer, look how badly we're hurt, while that kid doesn't have a scratch on him. You should go find him. We just went to collect a debt, and we didn't expect the kid to start a fight. Look what he did to my employee's finger..." As he spoke, he jerked his chin toward the yellow-haired youth.

Taking the hint, the yellow-haired youth immediately put on a look of unbearable pain, groaning to the police, "Officer, look, my finger has a comminuted fracture. The doctor said even after it heals, it won't be as flexible as a normal finger... that kid has to be held responsible!" He even intentionally wiggled the injured finger as he spoke.

"Stop!" the lead officer interrupted the yellow-haired youth impatiently. He glared at Chen Hu and continued, "Chen Hu, come clean about your issues! Why did you take people to find Qin Jianye today?"

"Qin Jianye owes me money... I went to ask for it. It's only natural to pay back what you owe, isn't it?" Chen Hu tried to respond in a relaxed tone, but the panic in his eyes betrayed him.

"Owes you money? How much? Was it necessary to bring so many people to find him? And every one of them was carrying a steel pipe. Were you there for money, or for his life?" The officer's questions came like rapid-fire, leaving Chen Hu no room to dodge.

"Not much, just two hundred million!" Chen Hu turned his head dismissively and replied.

At this, the officers looked at each other. The lead officer adjusted his earpiece, paused for a moment, and then said, "Two hundred million? I heard that Qin Jianye only owed you fifty million, and it was secured with shares of the Huajian Steel Plant as collateral. How did it become two hundred million in your mouth?"

Chen Hu laughed disdainfully. "Officer, my money doesn't just blow in with the wind. Don't I need to charge interest on loans? Besides, Huajian Steel has gone bankrupt; what shares are left? This fifty million has been owed for so long, is two hundred million too much?" As he spoke, he intentionally gestured with his good hand—the one with the IV—acting innocent.

"Chen Hu, I heard you also run an Underground Bank? Dealing in usury?" the lead officer continued to press.

"Officer, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! I run a legitimate business with a business license. It's true that Qin Jianye borrowed fifty million from me, but that was over half a year ago. Isn't it reasonable to add interest and late fees? Bank credit cards have late fees for being overdue; is there a problem with us charging late fees for private lending?" Chen Hu continued to quibble, though his eyes remained shifty.

The lead officer adjusted his earpiece again. After a moment, he said solemnly, "Fine, since you won't cooperate and come clean, come back to the bureau with us!"

"Oh, ouch, officer, I just finished surgery and the anesthesia hasn't worn off yet. I can't move at all..." Chen Hu said as his body slid down, slumping onto the hospital bed.

Seeing the police look at him, the yellow-haired youth immediately began to wail in pain as well. The other lackeys followed suit, all groaning and crying out...

The lead officer frowned at their clumsy acting and immediately ordered his subordinates, "Go ask the bureau for reinforcements. Take every single one of them away!"

After giving the orders, the lead officer walked out of the ward and reported the situation to the bureau.

...

A short while later, four police cars carrying Chen Hu and his men left the hospital, heading toward the Lanhong Town Police Station.

Meanwhile, in Fu Changlin's office at the Jingnan Municipal Bureau, Fu Changlin listened to the report from the head of the Internet Public Opinion Center. He paced as he spoke, "Well now, I didn't expect this to be a gang-related economic case! Underground Banks! Usury! Violent debt collection! Look at this, this is the state of security in our Jingnan City! How did the special campaign against organized crime miss a fish like Chen Hu?!"

The head of the Internet Public Opinion Center gave an embarrassed cough. "Ahem, perhaps they were hidden quite deep... You know, private lending and usury have always been cropping up incessantly... But what do we do now? I think we should hand this case over to the Economic Investigation Department."

Fu Changlin thought for a moment and nodded. "Yes, this should have been the Economic Investigation Department's job anyway! Go and brief them first, then post an announcement on our official account to briefly outline the situation. Let's wrap this up and try to cool down the heat on this matter."

The head of the Internet Public Opinion Center responded with a 'yes' and withdrew from Fu Changlin's office.

...

Inside the Lanhong Town Police Station, Chen Hu was in the interrogation room, still hooked to an IV, shouting loudly, "I protest! I want to file a complaint! I'm a patient! I'm injured! I demand medical attention!"

After a short while, the interrogation room door opened. A police officer led in a refined-looking man wearing gold-rimmed glasses and carrying a black briefcase.

The newcomer was none other than Wang Ming, the lawyer who had gone with Chen Hu to pressure Qin Jianye into selling the plant.

As soon as Chen Hu saw him, his mouth split into a wide, happy grin. "Lawyer Wang... Hey, you're finally here... You have to help me. These police are truly inhumane. I'm in this state and they still forcibly brought me here from the hospital!"

Wang Ming didn't respond to Chen Hu's complaints. Instead, he gave a slight nod to the officer, placed his briefcase on the interrogation table, and sat opposite Chen Hu.

Seeing Chen Hu's miserable state, Wang Ming couldn't help but feel some disdain. Once the door was closed, he spoke slowly and expressionlessly, "Three things. First, the Boss is very dissatisfied with your actions today. The land for Huajian Steel was already secured, so what were you trying to do? You're creating unnecessary complications!"

"It's not..." Chen Hu looked distressed. He glanced at the camera that had stopped working and lowered his voice to defend himself. "That Qin Jianye still owes me money, I had to go get it back!"

"If you want a debt, you want a debt. What was the point of taking steel pipes?" Wang Ming glanced at Chen Hu with disdain. Before Chen Hu could explain further, he raised a hand to cut him off and continued, "Enough! You can explain this to the Boss yourself later!"

Hearing this, Chen Hu could only shut his mouth sullenly. Wang Ming leaned forward and continued in a serious, low voice, "Second thing. The police have already handed today's case over to the Economic Investigation Department. They will soon be looking for clues regarding the Underground Bank. The Boss wants you to hurry up and clean up the loose ends; don't leave any tracks! If the police find anything, arrange for some of your men to take the fall!"

"Damn it, that bastard Qin Jianye, I'm going to kill him!" Chen Hu was instantly enraged upon hearing this, speaking through gritted teeth.

"I'm warning you, don't do anything reckless! The Boss doesn't want any more complications!" Wang Ming said, leaning back and crossing his legs. "Third thing. The Boss is going to Magic City soon. Get ready, you're going with him!"

"Me? What for? I'm a stranger in a strange land in Magic City." Chen Hu felt a bit guilty. The Boss didn't know he had helped Brother Dao cause trouble for Qin Yi. If the Boss found out he was doing things behind his back, the consequences would be terrifying to imagine...

Wang Ming shrugged. "You'll have to ask the Boss that yourself."

After finishing the three things, Wang Ming stood up. Chen Hu said nervously, "Hey... aren't you going to get me out?"

Wang Ming picked up his briefcase, adjusted his glasses, and said unhurriedly, "Don't worry, someone will be arranged to get you out on medical parole shortly. Find an opportunity to clean up the loose ends yourself!"

...

At this time, in the VIP room of the Jingnan Branch of Huaxia Merchants Bank, Qin Yi watched the video recording sent back by the Miniature Bionic Tracker. His eyes narrowed as he speculated to himself: 'The Boss? The boss of Chen Hu and Wang Ming must be the mastermind who plotted to seize my family's assets. Wang Ming told Chen Hu to clean up the loose ends; it seems they want to destroy the evidence of the Jingnan Underground Bank. Luckily, I arranged for the Miniature Bionic Tracker to follow Chen Hu in advance, otherwise this important lead would have been lost.'

By 11:00 AM, four Huolala delivery vans pulled up to the curb of the Jingnan Branch of Huaxia Merchants Bank.

Accompanied by President Xu and the lobby manager Han Le, Qin Yi walked out of the bank. The two watched as the rolls-royce cullinan slowly drove out of the bank's parking lot. Behind it, a bank armored truck and the four Huolala delivery vans followed in a grand procession toward Qinjiawan Village in Lanhong Town.