Chapter 144 How Much Is Your Life Worth!
Facing several leaders, Fan Jianming wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling, "This money belongs to my uncle's company; he asked me to transfer it for him. Boss Lin, if you don't believe me, you can... you can ask my uncle about it."
Fan Jianming's uncle is also a well-known businessman in Shenchuan City and had some interactions with Lin Zhen Nan. By bringing up his uncle, not only was Fan Jianming showing vulnerability, but he also hoped that Lin Zhen Nan would consider his uncle's relationship and not be utterly merciless.
"Hmph." Lin Zhen Nan snorted coldly but didn't delve further into the issue. He simply looked toward the guards with a frosty gaze, "Director Fan, I don't wish to meddle in your family's affairs. However, Ye Qing was my daughter's lifesaver. I need a reasonable explanation for his death!"
Fan Jianming's forehead was slick with cold sweat, and he no longer dared to shirk responsibility. He hurriedly turned around, "Rest assured, I will thoroughly investigate this matter and hold the responsible parties accountable. You will have a satisfactory answer."
"How soon can I expect an answer?" Lin Zhen Nan looked at Fan Jianming, "I'm not very patient."
"Three... how about three days?" Fan Jianming asked cautiously.
"One day!" Lin Zhen Nan replied coldly, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
"One... one day it is..." Fan Jianming didn't dare to haggle, especially after the scare Lin Zhen Nan had given him with his remark.
"Fine, by this time tomorrow, I expect an answer from Director Fan!" Lin Zhen Nan turned away, pulling Lin Huayu as they left the detention center.
Lin Huayu's eyes brimmed with tears. Although she had only met Ye Qing once, he was, after all, her lifesaver. Having finally found her savior, only to receive news of his death, how could she not be heartbroken?
Mu Qingrong had just woken up, her complexion ashen, uttering not a word and walking out of the detention center in a daze. Lin Huayu called her to get into the car, but she ignored her, wandering aimlessly on the streets, as if she had lost her soul.
Meanwhile, at the city hospital, Zhao Chengshuang had just received the news of Ye Qing's death. He was completely stunned, and Huo Pingping, who shared his hospital room, lost her usual cheerfulness and couldn't help but burst into tears.
"Damn soldier, how could you just die like that? Although I didn't like you much, you were still a decent person. Why do good people always die young?" Huo Pingping murmured through her sobs.
Black Bear sat in silence beside them, utterly unwilling to believe the news – even when Zhao Chengshuang told him that Ye Qing's body had already been cremated, he refused to accept it. In his heart, Captain Ye Qing was invincible; it was impossible for him to die so easily!
"Ah!" Zhao Cheng sighed, with a nurse's help, he gathered his things and sat in a wheelchair, "Regardless, I'm going to the crematory to see for myself. I can't believe that someone as good as the Ye brothers could just die like that. You two wait here for my news!"
Zhao Chengshuang left the hospital, while Black Bear and Huo Pingping sat in the room, their moods very somber.
It was unclear how much time had passed when suddenly three men entered through the ward door. Upon entering the room, they locked the door from the inside, and one of them even drew the curtains closed.
"What are you doing?" Huo Pingping sensed something wrong and shouted loudly.
"Shh." The leader, a White-faced Young Man, put his finger to his lips, making a silence gesture, a sinister smile flickering at the corners of his mouth. His complexion was pale, his lips blood red, and dressed all in black, he looked especially eerie.
The White-faced Young Man slowly approached them, laughing eerily, "I'm called the Life Claiming Ghost; I specialize in claiming souls. Sorry, but it's time for you two to set off on your journey!"
After finishing his words, the White-faced Young Man had already reached their beds and pulled out two green syringes from his pocket. Judging by the liquid inside, they definitely weren't anything benign.
Huo Pingping screamed in terror and buried her head in the blankets. Black Bear, however, didn't even glance at the three men, his mind still preoccupied with Ye Qing's matter.
The White-faced Young Man pulled the blankets off Huo Pingping's bed, as she screamed again, struggling to escape but was quickly caught by the other two men, one on each side.
The White-faced Young Man waved the syringe in front of Huo Pingping, and sneered, "Beautiful girl, you should feel honored to die by my hand. Your life is worth three hundred thousand!"
While speaking, he slowly moved the syringe towards Huo Pingping's neck, enjoying the sight of that terrified expression before death.
"Ah, help!" Huo Pingping was terrified, so her screams were very loud.
Unfortunately, the outside of the ward was noisy, and no one heard her. Fortunately, there was another person present; the dazed Black Bear was jolted awake by Huo Pingping's scream, turned his head, and asked in bewilderment, "What's going on?"
The White-faced Young Man glanced at him and chuckled, "Don't worry, big guy, it'll be your turn soon!"
As he spoke, the White-faced Young Man grabbed Huo Pingping's neck and was about to thrust the needle in. However, just as he was halfway through, a large hand suddenly grabbed his neck and lifted him off the ground.
The White-faced Young Man was startled; dealing with two patients was supposed to be easy. He didn't expect such an unforeseen complication.
The White-faced Young Man was no weakling, and the moment he was lifted up, he flipped and kicked heavily into Black Bear's chest with both feet.
But Black Bear was still too severely injured and when kicked in his old wound by the White-faced Young Man, couldn't help but spit out two mouthfuls of fresh blood. The strength in his hands diminished greatly, and the White-faced Young Man broke free. Ultimately, Black Bear was unable to stand and squatted on the ground, gasping heavily. The internal injury made even breathing difficult for him.
"Big guy, it seems I still underestimated you!" The White-faced Young Man casually looked at Black Bear and said, "You are quite strong, what a pity that you're heavily wounded. Otherwise, I would really have liked to have a good time with you. But I'm afraid there won't be a chance. I take people's money to dispel their disasters; sorry, but your life is worth one hundred and fifty thousand!"
No sooner had these words come out than Huo Pingping immediately became unhappy and said, "Why is his life worth one hundred and fifty thousand while mine is only worth thirty thousand?"
The White-faced Young Man glanced at Huo Pingping with a faint smile and said, "Miss, the price I charge for a contract is based on the target's strength. The base price is thirty thousand, and to be honest, you're not even worth that. But that person insisted that I kill you, so you got the base price!"
Huo Pingping, without having been hit, almost spat blood and, nearly in a frenzy, kicked at the White-faced Young Man and angrily said, "You sick ghost, in what way is this uncouth man better than me, why are you so demeaning to me? Let go of me, let go, I'm going to fight him!"
"Ah, this is how people are. They're about to die and still worry about their own value. Even if you're worth one hundred and fifty thousand, what about it? Can being worth one hundred and fifty thousand save you from death? Ridiculous!"
The White-faced Young Man shook his head and sighed, walked over, and stepped on Black Bear's shoulder. Black Bear made an effort to support himself, and the White-faced Young Man simply couldn't stomp him down.
"Huh?" The White-faced Young Man became angry, and with all his might, he continued to stomp down, trying to force Black Bear to the ground.
Black Bear supported himself with his hands on the ground, and despite vomiting blood continuously from his mouth, he kept on holding strong. This chapter first appeared on M|V|L^EMPYR.
A gleam flashed in the White-faced Young Man's eyes, and he said, "You do have some skills, it seems. One hundred and fifty thousand might have been an underestimate; you should be worth two hundred thousand!"
"Have you ever calculated how much you're worth?" A cold voice suddenly came from the doorway.
The White-faced Young Man was startled and looked up to see that the door had been opened by someone at some point, and a young man of average height stood at the entrance, coldly observing him.
Seeing the newcomer startled Huo Pingping and Black Bear, but their reactions were quite different afterward.
"A ghost!" Huo Pingping let out a sharp scream, hurriedly hiding behind the two men from before as though she'd really seen a ghost.
Black Bear, on the other hand, showed a simple and honest smile and said, "Captain, I knew you weren't dead!"
"I'm not going to die that easily!" Ye Qing walked into the ward, casually closing the door behind him, and coldly looked at the White-faced Young Man, "How much do you think you are worth?"
The White-faced Young Man glanced at Ye Qing with arrogance and said, "This young master's life cannot be bought with money, you want my life, you have to exchange it with yours!"
Ye Qing coldly said, "Coincidentally, it's the same with my friends. If you want their lives, you'll also have to exchange with yours!"
"Then there's nothing more to say!" The White-faced Young Man hooked a chair with his right foot, flung it with force, and threw it towards Ye Qing. He himself followed closely, closing the distance to only two or three meters at a great speed, and flew up with a kick aimed at Ye Qing's chest.
Ye Qing didn't dodge or evade, and when the chair was about to hit him, he raised his right fist and smashed it directly.
Ye Qing's strike was now even more powerful, and with one punch, he reduced the chair to splinters; the force of this punch remained undiminished as it headed straight for the White-faced Young Man.
The White-faced Young Man was quick to react, dropping his weight and narrowly avoiding Ye Qing's punch. However, his foot also hit the ground and missed Ye Qing.
Ye Qing moved forward a step and charged at the White-faced Young Man with his body.
The White-faced Young Man had just stabilized himself and was too late to dodge, crossed his arms in defense and managed to block Ye Qing's charging body, preventing the blow from reaching his chest.
Although he avoided injury to his chest, the strength of Ye Qing's blow was formidable. He was propelled backwards involuntarily by the impact and retreated several steps until he hit the bed, where he finally stood firm.
But Ye Qing didn't give him a chance to catch his breath and had already reached in front of him. He raised his hand and delivered another punch, striking heavily towards him.
The White-faced Young Man's color changed, just now he had been somewhat contemptuous, but now, he didn't dare to be so anymore. The force of Ye Qing's punches and Ye Qing's speed were both beyond anything he had ever seen before. And he was well aware that he was no match for Ye Qing.
The White-faced Young Man barely dodged two of Ye Qing's punches, then turned his head and yelled at the two men he had brought, "Help!"
The two men immediately let go of Huo Pingping and charged straight at Ye Qing. Huo Pingping stared blankly at Ye Qing and, without the two men holding her, sat directly on the ground, her legs having gone weak with fear.