Such a sudden turn of events left everyone stunned.
When Lin Fan saw that face smashed against the car top, already lifeless, he couldn’t help gasping in shock—it was none other than Director Lu from the County Government office. Who would have thought that he would suddenly jump from a building?
The sight of a living person ending his life right before her eyes petrified Chu Shiyuan.
Meanwhile, Deputy Director Wang had already walked over and promptly found a blood-stained letter in Director Lu’s pocket, with the words "For Chu’s Eyes Only" written across the envelope.
"It’s Director Lu from the office... This was found in his pocket!"
Vice County Magistrate Wang handed the envelope to Zhao Chuanchun, who did not take it, "Since it’s addressed to Chu, she should be the one to open it. It’s not my place to interfere, or else it might end up looking like it has something to do with me."
"Chu, you should take a look then!"
Deputy Director Wang handed the letter to Chu Shiyuan, then proceeded to clear the crowd away and set up a police tape. After Chu Shiyuan finished reading the letter, she passed it on to Zhao Chuanchun.
"Director Lu explained that County Magistrate Luan had promised him a promotion to Deputy County Magistrate and accepted a bribe of one million from him. However, in the end, it was Lin Fan who took the position of Deputy County Magistrate. Holding a grudge, he kidnapped Luan’s children to force Luan into suicide. Now regretting his actions and fearing punishment, he chose to end his life.
"It seems, then, that Boss Huo is likely not involved with this incident."
Zhao Chuanchun only glanced at the letter after receiving it, "Then please, Chu, proceed with the handwriting verification soon. If the truth is as it seems, then let’s release Boss Huo as soon as possible. After all, this has seriously affected the county’s production safety, and prolonging this could lead to more dissatisfaction with the investigative team, which wouldn’t be good."
"County Magistrate Zhao is correct. I will handle the handwriting verification as quickly as possible. Since Boss Huo is now temporarily cleared of suspicion, I’ll release him right away. If there’s a need for further investigation later, I’ll contact him."
Chu Shiyuan knew full well what was happening but had no choice but to release the suspect. She could not conceal the humiliation and exclaimed, "I believe in the fairness of the law. It will never wrongfully arrest a good person, nor will it mistakenly release a bad one."
Such a loaded statement viewed by Lin Fan seemed helpless. He had intended to disrupt the status quo but never expected to be outmaneuvered by this sly fox, and now with a life lost, the situation was bound to escalate.
"Chu, since everything is resolved, I’ll take Vice County Magistrate Lin back to rest."
Zhao Chuanchun helped Lin Fan to his feet and said to Chu Shiyuan.
Chu Shiyuan, with a stern face, turned and walked towards the damaged office building behind her. The farce seemed to have simmered down, but the occurrence of these two deaths heralded a more brutal storm of blood and violence yet to come in Red Flag County.
"County Magistrate Lin, shall we go to the hospital now?"
Sitting in the black Mercedes, Zhao Chuanchun smiled at Lin Fan.
"It seems unnecessary now, this one death is more than enough for that guy to choke on, I just have some minor external injuries, a few days of rest will do. The main thing is that I shouldn’t overexert myself, so I’ll have to trouble County Magistrate Zhao with more of the county’s work."
Lin Fan flatly declined, knowing that with the rape and murder charges, Wei Pengcheng had no chance of turning the situation around, and adding a charge of causing injuries at this point was of little consequence.
"No worries, there isn’t much work in the county, just focus on recovering. I’m not so young anymore and with only a few years left. With the position of County Committee Secretary vacant and unlikely to be filled soon, Red Flag County can’t afford to be without you in the future!"
Zhao Chuanchun cheerfully patted Lin Fan’s shoulder.
"County Magistrate Zhao, you can’t be joking about this sort of thing. You are the backbone of Red Flag County even if you retire. I’m just here to fill a role, I wouldn’t dare entertain any grand ambitions. In the future, Red Flag County will still rely on your leadership. Just command me in anything you need."
Lin Fan was well aware of the subtext in Zhao Chuanchun’s words; now was the time to show his commitment.
"Fine, from now on, you’re my brother Lin and I am your brother Zhao. We’re all family here, we can discuss anything that comes up. But having frustrated the provincial investigative team, they won’t let us off easily. You should start preparing now."
Zhao Chuanchun smiled at Lin Fan, knowing the two deaths had irretrievably bound him to his own battleship.
"Brother Zhao, I’m not one to gossip, but I know what’s lightweight and what’s heavy. Some ill-intentioned people trying to make me a scapegoat, I disagree entirely. And I trust that with Brother Zhao here, our Red Flag County will be stable."
Lin Fan was conscious that he had now become a direct adversary to the provincial investigative team as well as creating a deep enmity with the Wei Family. At the moment, he had no better plan other than to bide his time and remain low-key, biding his time to settle the score when the opportunity arose.