MTLNOVEL Chapter 32:
Chapter 32: I Advise You Not to Meddle in Other People’s Business:
Although Lin Shengnan had only been working at the branch for a day, she was already immersed in criminal investigation work. She could clearly sense that this incident would turn into a battlefield for various factions, with everyone scrambling to protect their interests.
She quickly realized that the ultimate scapegoat would likely be a dead person. Among the deceased, those who were guests at banquets or wedding parties would be shielded due to their connections. This left the owner of Sihai Restaurant as the perfect candidate to take the fall—a person of moderate wealth but no significant background or powerful allies.
Given the scale of the explosion, it was assumed that the restaurant’s owner had died in the blast. A dead man couldn’t defend himself or appeal for justice, making him an easy target for those seeking to shift blame.
Driven by her sense of fairness, which she regarded as her life’s mission, Lin Shengnan vowed not to let these people succeed. She immediately pulled out her phone, began recording, and documented the damage at the scene. The evidence was clear: the natural gas pipeline had been ripped out of the ground by the excavator bucket.
The pipeline was severely ruptured in multiple places, with cracks as wide as seven or eight centimeters. Gas was still leaking, creating a dangerous situation where a secondary explosion could occur at any moment, potentially reducing the entire building to rubble.
After gathering this critical evidence, Lin Shengnan called the natural gas company. The staff member who answered was dismissive, even threatening her with defamation charges. Frustrated, she revealed her identity as a police officer, forcing the staff member to escalate the issue to a higher authority. However, after a long delay, the response she received was baffling: the company’s leader was attending a wedding at Sihai Restaurant.
The irony of the situation wasn’t lost on her. Despite the blatant danger, it took significant effort to convince the natural gas company to shut off the gas supply in the area.
Meanwhile, Lin Shiyan had recovered from her earlier nausea and switched into her professional mindset. For her, this scene would eventually evolve into a large-scale legal dispute over claims. Her approach was entirely different from Shengnan’s.
As a lawyer, Shiyan prioritized building a case for whoever could pay the most. To her, truth and justice were merely tools in the pursuit of profit. While Shengnan sought evidence to uphold fairness, Shiyan sought evidence that could win her clients’ cases, even if it meant bending the facts.
Shiyan recorded harrowing scenes from the disaster. She captured a little girl whose legs were pinned beneath a concrete pillar, crying as she reached out to touch her deceased mother’s face. Another shot showed a father shielding his infant son with his body, saving the child at the cost of his own life.
In yet another heartbreaking scene, she saw a bridesmaid weeping over the body of her fiancé, who had died protecting her. The girl’s fingers bled as she clawed at the debris in a futile attempt to free him.
These images would be powerful evidence in court, devastating enough to crush any opposition if the victims hired her as their lawyer.
While Shiyan worked, Shengnan continued to document the upstairs damage with equal fervor. The scene was one of unrelenting tragedy, but the urgency increased when a radio signal-shielding vehicle arrived at the scene.
The sight of the vehicle set off alarm bells in Shengnan’s mind. It was clear that someone powerful wanted to control the narrative and silence witnesses. She quickly sent her video evidence to her branch chief, Ma Hao. For added security, she forwarded the files to Zhao Zheng, a trusted ally with deep connections in Kyoto and the provincial capital.
Zhao Zheng, a staunch advocate of justice and a fourth-generation figure of influence, had been a reliable partner in crises before. Shengnan knew he would safeguard the evidence.
As the shielding vehicle activated, cell phones at the scene lost their signals. People who had been taking videos found themselves unable to share them. Following the vehicle, a group of burly men in black suits arrived, each armed not with rescue tools, but with baseball bats.
The leader of the group was a muscular man with a crew cut and a mustache. His presence radiated violence, and his men quickly dispersed the crowd. Upon spotting the damaged pipeline, Mustache dragged the excavator driver from his seat and began beating him viciously.
What followed was even more horrifying. Mustache picked up a rock and struck the driver on the head, killing him in front of the onlookers.
From her vantage point upstairs, Shengnan shouted, “Who are you? I’m a police officer! If you continue to harm that man, I’ll make sure you face justice!”
Mustache glanced up at her, unfazed. Without hesitation, he delivered the fatal blow, ensuring the driver was dead. His cold-blooded violence left Shengnan fuming.
Determined to stop him, Shengnan headed downstairs, ignoring Shiyan’s attempts to hold her back. Shiyan warned, “There are too many of them. If you go down there, you’ll only get hurt. Wait for backup.”
“What are you talking about? I am the police!” Shengnan snapped. “I’m not going to stand by while they kill witnesses.”
By the time she reached the scene, Mustache had already targeted his next victim: the construction team leader, a scar-faced man who seemed tough but was no match for Mustache. A single punch knocked him down, followed by the same brutal treatment with a rock. The leader lay motionless, his blood pooling on the ground.
“You’re under arrest for murder!” Shengnan shouted, pointing at Mustache.
He turned to her with a disdainful smirk. “Girl, I advise you not to meddle in other people’s business. This is an internal matter of Dingcheng Group. It has nothing to do with you.”