Who would still start a business seriously after being reborn?

Chapter 697 Zheng, you're good to take the blame.

"Puff puff puff puff..."

The sound of bullets piercing flesh rang out frequently.

Ona's powerful Thomas Flair, even after being hit by bullets, still maintained its spinning backswing.

One leg was frozen in mid-air, the body was twisted, and the arms were supporting the ground, but all kinetic energy and life force were completely extinguished at this moment.

In a second, he collapsed like a sand sculpture full of violent aesthetics.

He crashed face down into the sand, kicking up a small cloud of dust.

He maintained that attacking stance, attempting a Thomas full twist, until his death, upholding the dignity of a professional assassin until his last breath. One could even say he died with a sense of ritual.

The scene was completely silent, with only the sound of the sea breeze.

Several seconds later, one of the younger team members muttered, "This guy is too fierce. He actually tried to fight back in this situation? No wonder he's Thailand's number one assassin."

The squad leader next to him twitched his lips and sternly reprimanded, "Say less and hurry up and see if there's any hope for him."

An officer immediately stepped forward to check and shook his head, saying, "It's hopeless. He was spinning around, and we couldn't control the angle of the shot. Several bullets that were meant as warnings were caught by his spinning face."

The squad leader snorted coldly and said, "Hmph, this kind of ruthless killer deserves to be judged by the people."

All of this, including Ona's accusation filled with grief and indignation, "Chen Yongzheng! You tricked me!", and his signature dying Thomas full twist, were clearly and accurately recorded by the body camera carried on the shoulder of the accompanying police officer.

On the other side, Lin Sipeng, who was next to the Santana, had already covered his head with his hands the moment the gunshot rang out. When he saw that the leader was a police captain he knew, he was overjoyed and shouted, "Captain Zhao, it's me, don't shoot!"

When the squad leader saw Lin Sipeng, he was overjoyed. He immediately ran over and asked with concern, "Mr. Lin, are you alright?"

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Lin Sipeng said, but he was still extremely nervous inside.

Although he had watched many police and gangster movies, this was the first time he had ever seen a real police and gangster movie.

So exciting.

The stimulation made him feel nauseous.

He suppressed the urge to vomit and stole a glance at Ona's stiff, statue-like pose. He shuddered in fright, quickly lowered his head again, and silently prayed, "Brother Ona, may you rest in peace. Don't be an assassin in your next life; try to get a government job..."

The capture on the sea was equally successful. Faced with the encircling speedboats and the dark muzzles of guns, Hai Ma and the others wisely chose to surrender.

Their long-established and unique logistics network was completely dismantled tonight in Heishiwan, Yantai City, Handong Province.

Seeing that everything was going so smoothly, Zhang Gang did not go over. Instead, he stood on the control tower and dialed Cheng Yi's number, saying, "President Cheng, everything is going well. Chairman Gao has caught a big fish this time."

"Okay, you should bring your men back quietly and not get involved in police matters."

"it is good."

The next day, in the interrogation room of the Jingzhou Detention Center.

“Officer, I really don’t know anything. I just couldn’t sleep at night, so I went out for a drive. I saw lights on the shore and thought someone needed help, so I went to check. I didn’t understand any of that ‘Ona’ or ‘rendezvous’ signal.” Facing interrogation, Seahorse continued to deny everything, trying to buy more time for Sea Wolf’s cargo ship to escape.

He knew that once the cargo ship successfully left port and entered international waters, Sea Wolf Hull would have a way to erase most of the traces. At that time, lacking key chain evidence, it would be difficult for the police to convict him of a serious crime.

However, his denials appeared weak and powerless in the face of the evidence presented by the police.

The text message in Ona's old cell phone, which clearly indicated the time, location, and rendezvous signal, perfectly matched the frequency of the signal light found on the Seahorse speedboat and the time when the speedboat appeared under the Black Rock Bay No. 3 lighthouse.

"Seahorse, a conviction without a confession, do you know what that means?" The senior police officer in charge of the interrogation said calmly, but with an undeniable authority, "We recorded the entire meeting. With all the charges against you for organizing human smuggling, according to Chinese law, you probably won't see the sun again for the rest of your life."

"What? Convicted without a confession? I demand a lawyer!" Seahorse roared.

"Leave a contact's phone number so we can pass on your message. But according to Chinese law, your lawyer is only useful to the procuratorate. They have no right to interfere in the case during our interrogation," the officer said in a deep voice.

The officer's words completely panicked the seahorse.

He had originally hoped that the forces behind him could get him out of trouble.

But now, the police have a complete chain of direct evidence, and his resistance seems to have lost its meaning.

The thought of possibly spending the rest of his life in a Chinese prison completely threw him into a panic.

These Americans were already quite afraid of China.

In their own country, the rumors spread about China are increasingly frightening.

Soon, his survival instinct overwhelmed his loyalty to the sea wolf.

Under immense psychological pressure and the police's skillful interrogation techniques, Haima's psychological defenses collapsed.

“I’ll talk!” He raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, and said, “It was…it was Waters, the president of Microsoft Asia Group. He approached our boss, Hull, and offered five million US dollars to have Ona and another man named Lin Sipeng taken from Yantai City and shipped to Vietnam by sea! We were only responsible for the transportation; we knew nothing else. We really didn’t know what Ona had done before or why he was wanted!”

He grasped at a straw and desperately threw Waters into the mix, trying to reduce his own charges to being hired to transport goods and shift all the blame for planning and directing the operation onto Waters.

These events also quickly reached Waters' ears, who was closely monitoring the case, through Microsoft's intermediaries.

After escaping to international waters, Hull immediately informed Waters of the operation's failure and the capture of Seahorse and the others. He strongly urged Waters to use all available resources to rescue Seahorse and the others as soon as possible, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable if the logistics chain were to be thoroughly investigated.

Waters originally wanted to use his connections to rescue Seahorse, but his broker soon informed him that Seahorse had already confessed, and that this was extremely disadvantageous to Waters. Not only that, but before dying, Ona shouted, "Chen Yongzheng, you tricked me!"

Upon receiving this news, Waters was somewhat at a loss.

He sat in the large chair, feeling a chill run down his spine to the top of his head. The office air conditioning was on full blast, but fine beads of cold sweat appeared on his forehead.

Ona, who was known as Thailand's number one assassin, not only failed his mission, but also uttered the words "Chen Yongzheng! You tricked me!" before he died. Moreover, the captured Haima also implicated him.

Fortunately, Haima only knew that he had called Hull, but he had no evidence. Unless Hull was also arrested, the police had no evidence and could only ask him to cooperate with the investigation frequently. It would be very difficult to convict him.

Although there is no direct evidence yet, Haima's accusations and Ona's last words, which were directed at Chen Yongzheng, the president of Microsoft China, have put him and Microsoft, which he represents, in the spotlight.

If this gets out, Microsoft's market image in China will plummet, and it may even face severe sanctions from the government.

Self-rescue! You must rescue yourself immediately!
Waters's eyes turned cold.

He quickly considered all the possibilities in his mind.

Should all the blame be placed on Ona, who is already dead and unable to testify?

No, the accusations against the hippocampus cannot be bypassed.

Denying knowing Hel and Haima? That's too far-fetched. If he angers the Jingzhou police, he won't be able to escape the repeated interrogations.

If he continues to cooperate with the investigations, his problems will eventually be discovered.

The only solution now is to find a scapegoat and get things off the hook as soon as possible.

This scapegoat must be large and lucrative, satisfying both the Jingzhou police and Momo Group.

His gaze finally fell on Chen Yongzheng, the president of Microsoft China, whom he had urgently summoned and who was now standing blankly in front of his desk.

"Mr. Waters, why did you call me here so urgently? Is something wrong?" Chen Yongzheng was uneasy. He vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but he had no idea what had happened.

Waters did not answer immediately; he simply stared intently at Chen Yongzheng with his deep blue eyes, as if trying to see through him inside and out.

The atmosphere in the office was oppressive, so oppressive that it made people feel uneasy.

“Chen,” Waters finally spoke, his voice low and deep, “Before Ona died, he shouted in front of the police that you had framed him. Did you contact Ona privately?”

"What?" Chen Yongzheng said blankly, "Ona? That assassin? He, he called my name? How is that possible? I don't know him at all! I don't even know what he looks like, Mr. Waters, someone must be impersonating me."

Seeing Chen Yongzheng's panicked state, Waters' last bit of hesitation vanished.

He knew that Chen Yongzheng was innocent, but at this moment, he needed a scapegoat of sufficient weight.

“Chen, I believe you are innocent.” Waters stood up, walked around the desk, and stood in front of Chen Yongzheng. His tone became unusually sincere as he said, “However, the current situation is very unfavorable for us. Ona’s accusations before his death and Haima’s confession both point the finger at Microsoft. The police, the media, and our rival Momo Group will all seize on this point.”

He patted Chen Yongzheng on the shoulder and continued, "You are the president of Microsoft China, the company's highest representative in China. Some things require someone to step up and take responsibility. For the overall interests of the company, and to preserve our huge market in China, Chen, I need your help."

Chen Yongzheng wasn't a fool; he immediately understood Waters's intention. Still unwilling to give up, he tentatively asked, "What can I do?"

“The group needs you to take on all of this,” Waters said bluntly.

“Mr. Waters, you can’t do this.” Chen Yongzheng took a step back excitedly and said in a trembling voice, “I have worked diligently for Microsoft for so many years. Even if I have not made any great contributions, I have still put in a lot of hard work. You want me to take the blame for this? This is hiring a hitman, which is a serious criminal crime. If I admit to it, my life will be over.”

“Calm down, Chen,” Waters said calmly. “I assure you, this is just a temporary measure. The company will not abandon you. We will use the best legal team to defend you and minimize the impact. Moreover, this does not mean you have to admit to everything. You only need to admit that because the business competition with Momo Group was too intense, you were confused for a moment and contacted Ona through some irregular channels to try to warn Lin Sipeng.”

“You did not instruct him to kidnap or even kill. After all, Ona is dead, and many things cannot be verified by the dead. Ona’s death has nothing to do with you, and you know nothing about the seahorse’s transportation chain.”

He paused, his tone a mix of temptation and threat, and said, "Think of your family, Chen. Your son studying in the US, your parents enjoying their retirement in Washington. If you're willing to step forward and take this responsibility, the company will ensure your family's future livelihood, and I will give you a satisfactory compensation package, enough for you to live comfortably even after leaving Microsoft. But if you refuse..."

Waters didn't finish his sentence, but his cold gaze said it all.

If Chen Yongzheng refuses, he will face not only legal charges, but also comprehensive suppression from the Microsoft behemoth, and his family may also be implicated.

Chen Yongzheng felt a chill run through his body. Looking at Waters' cold and ruthless face, he knew he had no way out.

He is like a chess piece on a chessboard, who can be sacrificed without hesitation when needed.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately lowered his head dejectedly and sighed, "I...I need to think about it."

“You don’t have much time to think, Chen,” Waters said slowly. “The police will be taking further action soon, and I want to hear your answer by tomorrow morning at the latest, for the sake of the company and for your own sake.”

Waters watched Chen Yongzheng's dejected figure leave the office, his eyes devoid of any pity.

He knew that Chen Yongzheng would eventually give in.

This is the cold-blooded logic of capital: in the face of enormous profits and risks, an individual's fate is as insignificant as a feather.

However, as his most capable assistant in China, Chen Yongzheng's imprisonment as a scapegoat was a huge loss for him.

He walked to the window and looked down at the bustling night view of Yanjing City.

The crisis is not over yet; it has only temporarily found an outlet.

Next, he needs to immediately activate his public relations crisis plan to try to extricate Microsoft from the scandal as much as possible, while also dealing with any follow-up moves from Momo Group.

The roles of offense and defense have truly reversed now.

We need to find a better solution.

The Momo system has already posed a threat to them, making it unrealistic to deal with them in China.

Waters sat on the sofa, his eyes slowly turning cold, and muttered to himself, "I need to find a way to lure the executives of Momo's system to the United States."

(End of this chapter)