Part 2
“My uncle was in so much pain when he was sick; he lost so much weight. And he was a great director. If he lived, he could have filmed so many works of art. What does it matter if a few commoners die?”
Click.
The distinct sound of a phone taking a picture rang out.
Leon pushed through the crowd and walked to the center of the battlefield. He saw Wen Rong surprisingly calm, even holding up his phone to film Shi Jing.
“I recorded everything you just said. Want me to post it on Blue Book?”
Shi Jing froze abruptly, tears fixed on his face. “Brother Wen Rong.”
“Why the guilty conscience? Because you also know buying and selling organs is wrong, don’t you?”
“Wen Rong Bro—”
“Don’t fucking call me.”
Leon was surprised. Wen Rong showed a rare expression of anger, using swear words he didn’t know where he learned.
Perhaps he hadn’t just learned them; it was just the first time he had lost his composure like this.
Wen Rong probably didn’t want to tell Shi Jing how painful it was for people having organs harvested without anesthesia in the Outer District. Nor did he want to talk about those girls who sold their bodies in confusion, or how the adults at the welfare institute were persecuted.
Shi Jing wouldn’t understand. Many people at Floriman Academy wouldn’t understand either. Those things were far away from them. Even if they heard it, they would think it incredible: No anesthesia? Is this a movie?
Wen Rong was breathing rapidly.
He took a deep breath to barely stabilize his emotions.
“Shi Jing, that river you and your mother fell into was full of victims’ corpses.”
“Didn’t you and your mother have no money back then? You almost ended up soaking in there with them.”
“What does it matter if a few commoners die… You actually said such a thing. Does your mother successfully destroying someone else’s family to climb the ranks make you superior to others?”
“Don’t treat other people’s lives as nothing.”
“There will always be someone with higher status than you who wants a rich person’s heart.”
“Wh…” Shi Jing completely froze.
Leon walked to Wen Rong’s side, patting his back to soothe him, and said to Shi Jing, “It seems you lack even a bit of medical knowledge. Regarding organ transplants, the success rate for matching direct relatives is far higher than others. You probably don’t know that you are in Shi Changyuan’s private organ bank. If Wen Rong hadn’t found that evidence, one day in the future, you would have ended up on the operating table to extend Shi Changyuan’s life. Understand?”
This argument was earth-shattering; every word ended up on the Black Pigeon forum.
Realizing they were likely members of the organ bank too, the students’ resentment toward Wen Rong diminished significantly. Evelyn sent good news: because these people in the school were scared, they went home to persuade their parents and relatives to cut ties, causing the case’s progress to advance by leaps and bounds.
After a few days of peace, Wen Rong thought of what reward he wanted.
He wanted to see Xiao Chun.
This wasn’t difficult for Leon. Arranging for Wen Rong to secretly meet Xiao Chun was just a matter of saying the word.
But before the meeting, Wen Rong asked for the case files of all the women in the town.
Leon accompanied him into the interrogation room. Mainly because the police said those people held a huge grudge against Wen Rong. Even though their hands were cuffed, Leon was still afraid Wen Rong would get hurt again.
His nerves had been as fragile as glass noodles ever since seeing Wen Rong covered in blood.
The rattling sound of handcuffs at the door proved Leon’s worry wasn’t unfounded.
Wen Rong was relatively calm. He took the files, entered, sat down, and listened to Xiao Chun curse him.
Seeing no reaction from him, Xiao Chun started cursing his parents. After cursing his parents, she cursed his ancestors, and finally his descendants. When she got tired of cursing, she panted heavily.
“Are the addresses filled in the files correct? Are you sure you all live in houses with these numbers?”
Xiao Chun prepared to curse again.
Wen Rong beat her to it. “You have an opportunity to get rich right now.”
Sure enough, Xiao Chun went quiet, her eyes straightening.
Half a second later, she pretended not to care. “You’re lying to me. My sisters all said the houses and money would be confiscated.”
At the mention of money, her eyes immediately turned red. “Why should you snatch my money? I earned it all myself.”
Wen Rong said, “Not everyone will have their property confiscated and be fined. I just asked the police. If you don’t cooperate with the investigation, there’s a high probability you’ll be sentenced to the maximum of ten years, fined 500,000, and have all property confiscated. But if the circumstances are lighter, such as being coerced, you might only be fined and sentenced to five years. If you show a good attitude, admit your mistakes, and actively cooperate, maybe just two or three years.”
Xiao Chun didn’t seem to understand. “After saying so much, isn’t it still going to jail?”
“The town is expected to undergo demolition soon,” Wen Rong patiently told her. “Those houses are self-built and have no property deeds. However, the government stipulates that if you can prove the self-built house indeed belongs to you, the demolition compensation will be transferred to your bank account.”
Xiao Chun didn’t understand the law, nor did she understand long-term planning, but she understood demolition compensation! That was a chance for poor people to suddenly become rich.
“Really?” she asked, hesitant yet excited.
“Really. But you must get out before the town is demolished, otherwise, others might claim it falsely—”
Xiao Chun interrupted him excitedly, “Which busybody would dare?”
“You only need to do three things now. One, cooperate with the investigation to fight for a reduced sentence. Two, maintain good relationships with your sisters; when allocating demolition funds in the future, you need them to help prove you were indeed living in that self-built house. Three, do everything possible to make the group of men around the mayor stay in jail longer, because they built the houses, so they also have a chance to fight for the demolition funds.”
It seemed only now did Xiao Chun finally understand that Wen Rong was indeed here to offer her a chance to get rich.
Leon was surprised that Wen Rong had learned the Federation’s rules regarding demolition in such a short time. Watching Xiao Chun’s expression of secret delight, he knew the case would proceed more smoothly from here on out. These girls, who truly didn’t understand the law, now had some hope to look forward to after getting out of prison.
The more Leon savored it, the more he liked Wen Rong. He couldn’t help reaching out to ruffle his hair. “Do you want Senior to help arrange that town’s demolition?”
Wen Rong shook his head. “No need to trouble yourself, Senior. The reward was letting me meet Xiao Chun. I’ll figure out the demolition matter myself.”
“But with the demolition money, what if they go back to prostitution?”
“This case will confiscate the assets of most government officials involved. There will be enough money to develop the Outer District.”
“I’m already working on the proposal. Once it’s done, I’ll hand it to Councilor Zhang Qi to pass through the National Congress next year. When Xiao Chun and the others come out, even waiting tables will pay better than selling their bodies. She probably won’t think selling her body is a good job anymore.”
Wen Rong entered work mode as he spoke, lowering his head in thought. His brows furrowed slightly with worry, squeezing the thin scar between his eyebrows into a visible ridge.
Leon reached out to smooth it. “Do you want to see Dr. Li?”
Wen Rong shook his head. “Better not. Need to avoid suspicion. Besides, I don’t know how to solve her problem.”
“Afraid to see her?”
“…Mn.”
“So there are things you’re afraid of.”
“After Senior asked me to ask how she felt last time, I went back and thought about it for a long time. I realized that standing from the victim’s perspective, I shouldn’t have compassion for Dr. Li.”
“So let’s wait for the final verdict. At least the law is fair to all parties most of the time.”
“Then when the verdict comes out, Senior will take you to see her.”
Wen Rong turned to look at him. “Can we?”
“But there is a condition.”
“Is it difficult?”
“Not difficult. Senior just wants a little payment.”
Wen Rong looked at him, hesitating for a moment before asking, “What… does Senior want?”
From those flickering eyes, Leon accurately captured what Wen Rong was afraid of. He smiled to reassure him. “We have half a day left. Accompany Senior to the zoo. I was always studying when I was little; I haven’t been there even though I’m this old.”
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