In the 90s, you could acquire max-level skills every 14 days.

Chapter 118 Embezzling Funds and Running Away: A Cunning Rabbit with Three Burrows

"You should hide for a while."

Chen Guoliang stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray: "The Economic Investigation Department is keeping a close eye on things now. If we touch that kid again, we'll be walking into a trap."

"I am the deputy director of the large factory. As long as they can't find any concrete evidence, I can completely deny that it's a frame-up based solely on the testimonies of a few thugs and Zhang Dewang. Without ledgers or equipment, they can't do anything to me."

Looking at Chen Guoliang's hypocritical face, Ma Degui cursed him inwardly as an old fox.

He outwardly agreed, nodding and saying, "Okay, brother, I'll listen to you. I'll go and shut down the factory right now and pack everything up."

As soon as he stepped out of Building No. 3, the cold wind outside made Ma Degui's face darken.

Cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents.

Yongxing Oil Factory was the culmination of half his life's work, and now it's shut down just like that. He's incredibly resentful.

What angered him even more was that Chen Guoliang was clearly planning to sacrifice a pawn to save the king, and was preparing to push him out as a scapegoat.

"You want me to be your scapegoat? Not so easy." Ma Degui spat.

"How could I not have a backup plan!"

He made a tough decision and hired a large truck overnight, giving the driver and a few of his acquaintances plenty of money for cigarettes, and hauled all the equipment from the oil depot to downtown BD.

They were sent directly to the two-story house in Baoding where Zhang Dewang was secretly keeping a mistress.

After Zhang Dewang was arrested, that young wife disappeared somewhere.

Zhang Dewang is currently being held in a detention center in Beijing. There's practically no one watching him, and the place is quite large. His belongings can easily stay there for ten days to two weeks.

Ma Degui pried open the gate and gathered a few of his men to pile the equipment in the corner of the yard, covering it completely with several thick tarpaulins, making it look like a pile of construction waste from a distance.

Not only that, Ma Degui had long anticipated that if something went wrong, Chen Guoliang would definitely sacrifice the pawn to save the king.

He had already made a complete copy of the account book.

The ledger clearly records the amount of shares and dividends Chen Guoliang received each time, the corresponding sales volume, and the records of gifts and entertainment expenses at the end of each year.

After doing all this, Ma Degui withdrew all the passbooks in his hand and exchanged them for cash.

He decided to flee south first, find a small place where he didn't need to register his ID card, hide there for two years, and then come back when things calmed down.

Meanwhile, in the capital city.

Zhang Yong rode his Jialing 125 back to the alley entrance. The sputtering sound of the engine carried quite far in the night.

He had just parked his car when he saw Officer Li, dressed in plainclothes, holding a bowl of hot soup noodles and waving at him from the convenience noodle shop at the entrance of the courtyard.

Zhang Yong walked over, sat down, and ordered a bowl of noodles.

"I heard you went to box? How's your injury?" Xiao Li asked, patting his shoulder.

"It's nothing, just a superficial injury. It'll heal in a couple of days," Zhang Yong smiled. "Any progress on the case?"

Xiao Li sighed, put down his chopsticks, and looked rather unwell.

"The case is indeed progressing. The testimonies of the five thugs arrested in Beijing, and Zhang Dewang, all match up and point to Ma Degui. But there's no real evidence to prove Chen Guoliang is guilty—"

Xiao Li paused, then lowered his voice: "We've interrogated him several times, and only one thug identified Chen Guoliang as the one who sent people to beat you. Besides that, there's no direct evidence linking him to the fake oil case, and the crucial physical evidence is hard to obtain."

"Physical evidence?"

"Yes. Chen Guoliang is, after all, a cadre of a large state-owned factory, and his social connections are complex."

"When our comrades from the Baoding Economic Investigation Department searched the Yongxing Oil Factory in Gaoyang County, it was already empty. The equipment was gone, and the account books had been destroyed."

Xiao Li rubbed his eyes, looking quite tired. "Based solely on the testimony of assault, Chen Guoliang could easily deny everything, claiming it was an illegal operation by Zhang Dewang and Ma Degui that he knew nothing about. If we can't find that batch of equipment and the core ledgers, we won't be able to find any evidence of his involvement in the fake oil case."

Zhang Yong picked up a mouthful of noodles, the steam splattering half his face.

"In other words, once the equipment and ledgers are found, they'll be completely finished," Zhang Yong said softly, his eyes looking out the window.

"Theoretically, that's how it is, but Baoding is such a big city, and it's a different place. Ma Degui is a seasoned veteran, and now he's missing. Where are we supposed to look for him?" Xiao Li shook his head.

Zhang Yong didn't say anything and just ate his noodles in silence.

After only a few sips of soup, Zhang Yong pushed the bowl aside, took out two cents from his pocket, and placed it on the table to pay for the noodles.

Xiao Li raised his hand and pressed down on the two cents: "You're still a student, keep it, it's my treat."

"That won't do." Zhang Yong slammed the money on the table. "You saved my life last time, what's wrong with treating you to some noodles?"

Xiao Li chuckled and accepted the money without further hesitation.

Zhang Yong didn't leave.

He rested his arms on the edge of the table, his eyes fixed on the dim light bulb on the window of the noodle shop, his mind racing with thoughts.

The equipment was transported from Gaoyang County overnight.

Ma Degui ran away.

Chen Guoliang sat in his family compound in Baoding, completely unharmed.

But Zhang Yong felt something was wrong.

Who is Ma Degui? He's a cunning old fox who's spent half his life in the fake oil business, full of wicked schemes. He's bound to have a backup plan for himself.

This kind of person wouldn't hand over their life and possessions to be manipulated.

He must have hidden that device.

Moreover, he must have hidden it in a place he felt was safe.

"Xiao Li," Zhang Yong said.

"Um?"

"I have a question for you. Has the address of the young woman my uncle Zhang Dewang is keeping in the suburbs of Baoding been registered with?"

Xiao Li was stunned for a moment.

"It's registered in Zhangzhuang on the outskirts of the city, but it's a private residential property and unrelated to the case, so we didn't investigate it further. What's wrong?"

"Zhang Dewang did try to contact the woman using our company's phone, but no one answered. They probably heard something and ran away."

"Xiao Li, I think you should go and take a look at that small building in Zhangzhuang."

Xiao Li looked up at him.

"you mean----"

"Ma Degui is too shrewd. He would never actually destroy the equipment he uses to make a living; he would only move and hide it."

Zhang Yong scooped up the noodles from the bottom of the bowl.

"The oil production equipment is quite large, and he is short on time and doesn't dare to go to unfamiliar places."

"All the venues under his own name will be investigated, and he dares not touch any venues related to Chen Guoliang, for fear of them being sold."

"Only my uncle's small building in Zhangzhuang, which is owned by Zhang Dewang, who is in custody and whose residents have fled, is located in the suburbs. He left his things there for half a year and no one cared."

"There's one more thing," Zhang Yong added.

"Ma Degui must have kept a ledger of his dealings with Chen Guoliang."

"You think the ledger is in that building too?" Xiao Li put down his chopsticks and sat up straight.

"The ledger is small, so it's really hard to say where it is."

"7

Zhang Yong spoke with absolute certainty.

"But once we find the equipment, half the problem is solved."