Me! A high-ranking official!

The people at the front all retreated simultaneously, and the forty-odd people scattered like a tide, instantly clearing a large open space around Zhao Jianguo. Everyone's eyes were staring in horror at Zhao Jianguo's hand.

The skinny guy who had been laughing the loudest just moments before had lost all color in his face, his lips were trembling, and the baseball bat in his hand clattered to the ground without him even noticing.

Zhao Jianguo chuckled, raised his bloodied hand, and walked towards the bald man.

The bald man sprang out from behind the concrete pillar, took two steps back, and bumped into his henchman behind him. He stretched out his hand, fingers spread, facing Zhao Jianguo, palm outward, as if he wanted to push him away from a distance.

"Stop! Stop! Don't move!"

His voice had completely changed, becoming high-pitched and thin, as if someone had choked him.

"Let's talk this out! Don't come any closer!"

Zhao Jianguo stopped and stood in the center of the factory. More than forty people surrounded him, but the closest ones were at least five meters away. He stood alone in the middle of that open space.

"What I hate most is being threatened, especially after I got this disease."

He raised his bloodied hand and flung it around violently. The people surrounding him were so frightened that they turned and ran back. Several of them accidentally bumped into their brothers and fell to the ground. They covered their heads with their hands and looked at Zhao Jianguo through their elbows with terrified eyes.

But then Zhao Jianguo raised his arm high and swung it down sharply, splattering blood onto the ground. Seeing that the blood didn't fly over, the men breathed a sigh of relief, then scrambled to their feet and ran to a distance, watching Zhao Jianguo in a panic, fearing that he might do something rash and come at them!

Zhao Jianguo watched their actions and sneered, "Anyway, I won't live much longer. If anyone dares to threaten me, I don't mind taking a few with me before I die."

The bald man's Adam's apple bobbed, and sweat streamed down his forehead and cheeks. "Brother Jianguo, it was all Qi Honghai who told me to do it!"

His voice was rapid and urgent, as if afraid that if he hesitated even for a single word, Zhao Jianguo would stab him again: "I didn't really want to come! He forced me! He paid for it, and my dozens of men need to eat. I had no choice!"

He clasped his hands together and bowed to Zhao Jianguo: "We were wrong! We really know we were wrong! Consider it a favor I owe you! I, Kui Zi, have been in this business for twenty years, and I keep my word! From now on, I will absolutely not get involved in your affairs again! If you ever need my help, I will definitely assist you within my capabilities! We have no grudges against each other, and there's really no need to make things like this because of an outsider!"

Zhao Jianguo chuckled, his face turning sinister: "Then thank you, Brother Kui. If I need anything and need to find Brother Kui, it's fine if he doesn't agree."

He turned his bloodied hand over, palm down, letting the drop of blood drip from his palm, leaving a dark dot the size of a fingernail on the cement floor: "Anyway, I have plenty of blood, and Brother Kui and I get along well. It'll be lonely down there all alone. Brother Kui will keep me company, so I won't be lonely!"

The bald man nodded his head vigorously, like a chicken pecking at rice: "Definitely! Definitely! Brother Jianguo, just say the word, and I'll go through fire and water!"

"Then thank you, Brother Kui! Please take good care of my little sister. Today, Brother Kui used my little sister to threaten me. In the future, no matter what happens to my little sister, I will hold Brother Kui responsible. I will definitely have a good talk with Brother Kui then!" With that, Zhao Jianguo turned around and walked towards the factory gate without looking at Brother Kui again.

More than forty people automatically made way for him, and no one dared to come within three meters of him. They all looked at him with fear on their faces, afraid that he might do something rash and drag them down with him!

Zhao Jianguo emerged from the abandoned factory, mounted his worn-out electric scooter, and left the overgrown factory area.

What happened to Brother Kui served as a wake-up call for him.

These people are despicable, especially when it comes to their own interests. They have absolutely no bottom line. He used to think that his younger sister was in the county's No. 1 Middle School, which was under closed management, and that society had paid great attention to student safety in the past two years. Student safety was a red line among red lines, so even if Qi Honghai was capable, he wouldn't dare to reach in. Now that he thinks about it, he was really a bit naive.

The other party is the boss of a construction group that has been operating in Linshui County for decades, employing hundreds of workers and having a wide-ranging network of connections. There are too many ways to deal with a mere suspended clerk like him. Today they can use a synthesized voice to deceive him, but tomorrow they can use other underhanded tricks. You can defend against it today, but what about tomorrow? What about the day after tomorrow?

He can defend against it once, but not ten times.

Since that's the case, let's just resolve this once and for all.

He twisted the throttle of his electric scooter to the floor and drove along the provincial highway toward the east of the city. The Construction Engineering Group was located in the east of the city, next to the newly planned development zone. That area was originally farmland, but in recent years several companies have been built there, and the Construction Engineering Group was one of the first to move in.

The electric scooter turned onto a two-way four-lane asphalt road, with neatly trimmed green belts on both sides. The lampposts were marked with "Linshui Construction" signs, one every ten meters or so, stretching all the way to the end of the road. A five-story office building stood alone in the night, with four large characters on the roof, each more than a person tall, surrounded by a ring of red neon lights, which were particularly eye-catching in the night.

Construction Group.

He parked his electric scooter at the main gate, removed the key, and looked up at the building.

The five-story office building has a dark gray marble facade. The entire first floor is made of floor-to-ceiling glass windows, which are lit up inside and show the reception area and lobby. Two thick Roman columns stand at the entrance, with intricate patterns carved on the capitals and a layer of gold powder that shines with a golden light under the lights. The steps are paved with non-slip granite, and there are rows of potted plants on both sides, which are neatly trimmed. A dozen cars are parked in the courtyard.

Qi Honghai started from scratch, working his way up from a small contractor to where he is today. The majority of the major projects in the county in recent years, such as the new county government office building, the finance bureau building, and the hardening of the main roads in the new urban area, were undertaken by the Construction Group.

Zhao Jianguo parked his electric scooter by the door and stepped inside.

Inside the security booth at the entrance, a security guard in a gray-blue uniform was looking down at his phone. When he caught someone passing by, he suddenly looked up, grabbed a hat from the table, put it on his head, and rushed out of the booth.

"Hey! Hey! I'm talking to you!" the security guard shouted, chasing after them. "Register! Outsiders need to register! Who are you looking for?"

Zhao Jianguo didn't even turn his head, striding towards the office building.

The security guard chased after him for a few steps, but seeing that he showed no sign of stopping, he hurriedly shouted a few words into his walkie-talkie and then quickened his pace to catch up.

The office building's main entrance was a sensor-activated glass door. He walked to the door, and it slid open automatically, letting in a blast of cold air. The lobby was paved with beige marble tiles, polished so smooth they reflected your image. Behind the reception desk sat a young woman in business attire, head down, organizing documents. Hearing the door open, she looked up, saw Zhao Jianguo, and wore a professional smile.

He was about to walk towards the elevator when he heard hurried footsteps behind him, followed by a loud voice coming from the other end of the corridor.

"Zhao Jianguo!"

He stopped and turned to look. He saw Sun Jianjun coming out of the first-floor corridor with a folder tucked under his arm. He looked like he had just finished a meeting. He was wearing a dark blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and a watch that looked expensive on his left wrist. He looked very presentable, except that there were scabbed blood marks on his face, neck, and arms, which were from when he pricked himself in the evergreen bushes yesterday.

Sun Jianjun's face changed instantly when he saw him. He pointed at him, his voice trembling, "What are you doing here?"

His gaze then swept around in a panic, landing on the security guard who had chased him in at the lobby entrance. His voice suddenly rose several octaves: "Someone come quick! Don't let him get any closer!"

The security guard was startled by Sun Jianjun's shout and grabbed his walkie-talkie, yelling, "Lobby! The lobby needs backup! Come quick!"

Upon hearing the call on the walkie-talkie, the glass door of the security booth was pushed open from the inside, and four or five security guards in gray-blue uniforms rushed out and ran quickly toward the lobby.

The security guard in the lead grabbed his arm and shouted, "Stop right there! Don't go any further! Or you'll regret it!"

He glanced down at the hand gripping his arm, then looked up at Sun Jianjun: "Vice President Sun, didn't you say yesterday you were going to discuss this with your boss when you got back? What, the result of your discussion is to have Brother Kui ambush me?"

Sun Jianjun's expression changed. They had asked Brother Kui to deal with Zhao Jianguo, but had Brother Kui failed? How did Zhao Jianguo end up here instead? He was surprised, but seeing five or six security guards surrounding him, he regained his courage, took a step forward, puffed out his chest, pointed towards the entrance, and shouted sternly, "Zhao Jianguo, I don't understand what you're saying! What are you doing here today? You're not welcome here! Get out of here right now!"

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