Ever since, I had assumed that being in such a dangerous environment would require combat skills. Although I had been training diligently during most of my free time, I had barely used it. This time, it finally came in handy. As the attacker lunged at me, I sidestepped and delivered a fierce kick to the inside of his knee. He missed his stab and fell. I seized the opportunity, rushed forward, and disarmed him.
I looked at the makeshift knife fashioned from a screwdriver and then at my own abdomen. After a quick assessment, I hesitated to stab myself in the stomach. Finally, gritting my teeth, I struck my own thigh. *Zzzt*, a large gash opened up. I had never sustained an external injury before, and the pain made me wince.
Just then, prison guards, alerted by the commotion, arrived and saw me covered in blood.
Medical parole!
...
In the hospital, the nurses knew I was a fraudster, and they were particularly rough with my injections. I felt she was doing it on purpose. She didn't look like a novice, yet she needed four attempts to find a vein? I was a bit displeased and said to the nurse, "Don't dismiss me because I'm a fraudster now. This city will thank me soon."
"Stubborn. I'll give you four more needle pricks on that hand."
I wisely shut my mouth. Even the police hadn't resorted to torture, and enduring the nurse's "cruel and unusual punishment" was unbearable. On the third day of my recovery in the hospital, two familiar faces visited me: Wang Zeyun and Yu Xiaoluo.
Wang Zeyun was his usual calm and composed self, a faint smile playing on his lips. Yu Xiaoluo, on the other hand, had an angry glint in her eyes and, upon seeing me, yelled, "Tang Nan, you were doing fine as an informant, and instead, you come here to be a fraudster. Did a donkey kick you in the head?"
I sheepishly replied, "It's been a while. Why is your temper still so foul?"
Wang Zeyun pulled up a chair and sat by the bedside, gesturing for Yu Xiaoluo to take notes at the small table. Looking at Wang Zeyun's serious face, I also grew solemn. Wang Zeyun got straight to the point, "I've read the confessions from the Hohhot police. That wasn't you."
"I answered their questions."
"Yes, you answered their questions, and based on facts. But they don't understand you. You wouldn't have been fooled by such a scam."
"If I was fooled, I was fooled."
I continued to lie. Wang Zeyun chuckled instead of getting angry, "I've come all this way, and you still won't tell the truth. Do you really want to spend three years in prison?"
"Team Leader Wang, please don't scare me. I haven't even been convicted of harboring a criminal yet."
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Yu Xiaoluo glared, "Team Leader Wang, stop wasting your breath on him. Just tell the local prosecutor's office to send him straight to prison."
Team Leader Wang smiled faintly, "Tang Nan, see how upset you've made Xiaoluo? Still not telling the truth."
"May I ask you a question first?"
"Ask away, I'll tell you everything I know."
"Has Jin Bengui's identity been confirmed?"
"We're in the process of confirming. We know nothing about his identity..."
Upon hearing this, I laughed. "That's good. It means my efforts weren't in vain. If you had already identified Jin Bengui, then I would have been doing unnecessary work."
With that, I began to tell the story from the beginning.
This was all a scheme, including my time in college. Lin Zhijun had severed ties with "Logical Paradox," and Old Ghost had disappeared after disembarking the train midway. Wang Zeyun and I started from when we resigned as informants.
I had intentionally told my parents about Tie Zhishan's situation. My parents are kind people and acquaintances of Old Tie's parents. With Old Tie in his current state, my parents would undoubtedly comfort Old Tie's parents frequently.
I know Old Tie. He is a filial son, and his parents have only him as their son. As long as he's alive, he will fulfill his filial duties. Indeed, I heard some news that Old Tie seemed to be hiding in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia.
Therefore, when I applied for university, I specifically chose a school in Hohhot.
I believed I could meet Old Tie here, and I also believed that only through Old Tie could we reconnect with "Logical Paradox."
Upon arriving in Hohhot, I explored the city on foot, getting familiar with its streets and alleys, indulging in its cuisine, and visiting its attractions. Ostensibly, I was merely learning about the city, but in reality, I was searching for opportunities to set up my plan.
I made thorough preparations, waiting for Old Tie to appear. I was confident that if I was in this city, he would find me, even if it wasn't openly, but through a staged encounter. Because, I understood Old Tie.
However, the sudden outbreak of the epidemic interrupted my plans, and I was quarantined at the school.
That day, while buying a cake, I coincidentally encountered Old Tie. At that moment, I realized that the epidemic had indeed delayed my meeting with Old Tie. Old Tie was orchestrating the encounter. After his downfall, where else would he live but to become a cleaner near my school? If not for the epidemic, we would likely have met much sooner.
Perhaps this was fate. Old Tie's true appearance made me feel heartbroken. But I understood him. His inherent pride had been his undoing. He wouldn't abandon his pride, and Old Tie surely wanted to make a comeback.
That evening, while drinking with Old Tie, I began to draw him into the scheme.
"Get back up where you fell" was what I had planned long ago. While exploring the city, I had already identified several jade gambling shops. Based on my experience in Ruili, those shops were definitely selling fakes.
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Even so, I still had Old Tie buy stones from them. As the saying goes, "People fear fame, pigs fear getting fat." Becoming famous is difficult for people, but getting a pig fat is very easy. I funded Old Tie with a large sum of money to purchase those fake-skinned rough stones.
During this time, I deliberately and inadvertently revealed the methods for creating fake-skinned rough stones. Ostensibly, I was teaching Old Tie not to be fooled, but in reality, I was telling him that these jade rough stones could be manufactured.
Then, I had my father mail me the scraps from cutting the Dragon Stone jade. This was material I had prepared specifically for Old Tie. During this period, I also told him the difference between real yellow-skinned stones and fake ones. That statement was true; I believed in Old Tie's professional capabilities. I could only say that Old Tie could do it. Under my guidance, he could create realistic fakes.
My luck was good. Perhaps because I often violated social conduct during the epidemic, sneaking out to do this and that, I contracted SARS and was quarantined at the hospital. At this time, I called Old Tie. He didn't pick up. I felt relieved because I knew Old Tie had started his plan. I hoped he would do this, as only he knew the whereabouts of the people from "Logical Paradox."
When I was discharged, Old Tie had already borrowed ten million yuan using the fake-skinned jade rough stones he had created. I didn't ask for details, because with Old Tie's counterfeiting skills, he could completely fool experts and obtain appraisal certificates, which was natural. Moreover, in the jade gambling circle, Old Tie's rapidly accumulating "bad reputation" was also useful. Stones bought for millions, how could they be fake?
Old Tie took me to Nanshan Mining. Old Tie had done a good job. With my experience, I couldn't distinguish between a mine and a quarry, but I noticed something peculiar about the equipment. There were many workers, but only a few people in the factory maintaining the equipment. They seemed extremely idle, and the brand-new equipment showed no signs of ever being used. I didn't expose Old Tie and went along with it.
Sometimes, I would visit the mining site. I would listen to the casual conversations of the workers. I couldn't figure out what Old Tie was up to, but I was convinced that Old Tie would not turn over a new leaf and become a mining CEO. His identity was fake, and no matter what loopholes he exploited, as long as he held a prominent position, he couldn't escape his wanted status. Through chatting with the miners, I learned that Old Tie had spent a large sum of money to recruit several top demolition experts in the city and obtained the best demolition permits. In everyone's mind, Old Tie genuinely intended to use these people to blast away the mountain and then mine the rare earth minerals beneath. I didn't think so, because this was Old Tie's scheme. Everything he was doing wasn't to deceive me; it must have been to deceive others.
...
When Wang Zeyun asked at this point, "Tang Nan, how did you determine that Tie Zhishan's plan wasn't to defraud the bank?"
"Tie Zhishan's identity is fake, and the top-quality jade rough stone mortgaged to the bank is also fake? This is the weakest part of Old Tie's scheme. And Old Tie, unlike me, doesn't like dancing on the edge of a knife or performing on a tightrope. He would definitely choose the most secure method."
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At this point, Yu Xiaoluo also chimed in with a question, "If that's the case, how did Tie Zhishan contact Jin Bengui? Since he belonged to 'Logical Paradox,' why would Jin Bengui spend two hundred million to purchase Nanshan Mining?"
I looked at Yu Xiaoluo and smiled, "Sister Xiaoluo, aren't you supposed to be taking notes?"
"Answer what I ask you?"
"Alright, alright. This is Tie Zhishan's capability. He hired the best demolition experts and had the permits. He didn't expose his former membership in 'Logical Paradox' but obtained that demolition contract through regular channels."
Upon hearing this, Wang Zeyun's face showed a hint of regret. Old Tie was very capable, but rules were rules. The police could not provide shelter for a murderer.
...
When Old Tie began to interact with Hongying Industry, I knew they were Old Tie's target. I paid attention to Jin Bengui and searched for some information online. Jin Bengui was from Hong Kong, with substantial capital and rich experience. He was highly trusted by the local government, and all construction projects were in collaboration with officials. However, I suspected this was a scam. There were loopholes in the city's review process. If they could lend money to Old Tie, a wanted criminal, based on a piece of top-quality jade, then Jin Bengui must have other ways to pass government scrutiny.
The information I gathered from the field yielded no clues.
At this time, the school was preparing to present me with an award. At the award ceremony, Old Tie arrived. He told me the truth and, at the same time, exposed Jin Bengui's true identity, shifting the investigative focus and taking revenge for "Logical Paradox" abandoning him years ago.
Wang Zeyun listened to my account and lightly applauded, "A scholar who has been away for three days should be looked at with new eyes. It hasn't been long since I left you, and you've turned into an old fox."
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I chuckled, "Team Leader Wang, that doesn't sound like much of a compliment."
"Then let me ask you one last question. Since you controlled the rhythm and direction of the entire affair, why did you allow two hundred million funds to flow overseas?"