Chapter 126: Multiple Counts of Charges!

After an indeterminate amount of time, the car jolted as it passed over a slope, waking Luo Shui from her sleep.

“W-where are we?” she murmured groggily, still half-dazed.

“We’ve been out for hours. Time to head home,” Qin Mu replied, driving steadily.

“How did I fall asleep…” Luo Shui began, then suddenly remembered. She had been kissed by Qin Mu—so tenderly that it lulled her to sleep.

Her face flushed a deep crimson as she covered it with both hands, utterly mortified.

Yet, even blushing, she couldn’t help but peek through a small gap between her fingers, watching Qin Mu’s expression.

He seemed utterly unfazed, as if it were perfectly natural.

Of course it was. It should be perfectly natural!

Isn’t it normal for couples to share such intimate moments?

Reassured by this thought, Luo Shui relaxed, though a rosy tint still lingered on her cheeks.

When they finally reached home, night had fallen deep and quiet. Luo Shui tiptoed inside, fearful of disturbing Mr. and Mrs. Jiang’s sleep.

She yawned deeply, then leaned on the balcony, lazily letting the cool breeze wash over her.

“It’s midnight,” Qin Mu glanced at the clock and suddenly spoke.

“What’s wrong?” Luo Shui assumed he was remarking on how late it had gotten during their outing.

But then she noticed something amiss.

“Miss Jiang hasn’t returned yet.”

…

In the dead of night, Baidi City still glowed with countless lights, standing out brightly against the darkness.

Yet tonight, an oppressive heaviness hung over the city, unlike any other evening.

A group of uninvited guests had arrived.

Inside the Baidi City office—

“Everyone, stand still! No funny business!” barked a man clad in a distinctive uniform. He lounged on the sofa, legs arrogantly propped up on the desk, his shoe soles pressing down on several work documents.

This man was named Li Gong.

A closer look revealed the embroidered character “Jiang” on his uniform’s chest.

“Sir, what exactly do you want? It’s the middle of the night. At least let us call our families to let them know we’re safe,” someone suggested cautiously.

“Call? Until the investigation is complete, you have no right to any communication!” Li Gong snapped, waving his hand as his men locked eyes on every employee.

“Investigate all you want, but no calls? What kind of rule is that?” another grumbled in defiance.

“Don’t believe me? Try it yourself,” Li Gong sneered.

Several burly men stepped forward, their muscular frames exuding menace.

Jiang Zheng, witnessing this, urged her staff to remain calm.

Having learned from the previous Crane family incident, everyone knew self-preservation was paramount.

The intruders weren’t limited to those few burly men—over a dozen vehicles and dozens of people had descended upon them.

Once inside, the doors were locked tight.

They claimed to be provincial drug investigators and began rifling through everything, interrogating the staff.

“Where are your credentials?” Jiang Zheng demanded of Li Gong.

Li Gong nonchalantly pulled a small notebook from his pocket, flashing it briefly before retracting it hastily—none could make out the details.

“This…” someone began.

“Do you really think you have the right to question our identity?” Li Gong slammed his hand on the desk, shouting in anger.

With a few enforcers looming, no one dared argue further.

Li Gong stood up, perhaps out of boredom, and his gaze fell on several safety and hygiene certificates hanging on the wall.

“These certificates are obviously fake! How dare you forge national documents!” he accused, pointing fingers with a triumphant look.

Without hesitation, he tore the framed certificates into pieces right before everyone’s eyes.

Many employees clenched their teeth in anger, some shouting curses.

“You scoundrel!”

“These aren’t yours to destroy. If you want to inspect, fine, but tearing them up—damn it!”

“If the chairman were here, would he dare act so arrogantly?”

Though furious, they were helpless under constant surveillance; no phone calls could be made, not even to summon Qin Mu.

“You can contact the Director of the Health Bureau. All these certificates passed through his hands. There is no forgery,” Jiang Zheng said calmly.

Lin Qingxue had left early due to personal matters, leaving Jiang Zheng as the sole senior executive to lead the defense.

“The Director of the Health Bureau? You mean Wei Jianxun?” Li Gong laughed uproariously upon hearing the name.

“He’s already suspended and under investigation for forging documents! You still want to rely on him? Dream on!”

The room fell silent, stunned.

Who exactly were these people?

Jiang Zheng pondered; they couldn’t be from the Jiang Alliance.

The Alliance wouldn’t dare topple Wei Jianxun so casually.

“Team Leader Li, we found some records documenting the drug production process,” a companion stepped forward, laying a stack of papers before Li Gong.

The sight of those documents tightened the chests of Hua Lao and the others.

“Put those down! Investigate all you want, but don’t touch those materials!” Hua Lao shouted anxiously.

Li Gong, initially flipping through the papers, sneered grimly at Hua Lao’s outburst.

“These are obviously tainted materials. Burn them all! We can’t let them harm the public!”

With that command, someone lit a lighter and set a corner of the paper ablaze.

The flames spread rapidly, quickly engulfing the pile.

Li Gong threw the burning papers into a larger stack on the floor, the fire soaring half a meter high.

“No! You can’t burn these! Stop!” Hua Lao’s eyes reddened as he screamed.

The refining of the pills was a painstakingly difficult process with a low success rate. Only through Qin Mu’s help had production reached its current scale.

These notes were Qin Mu’s personal records—priceless treasures.

For Hua Lao, a man devoted to the study of medicine, they were worth more than life itself.

Without hesitation, Hua Lao charged forward, ignoring the burly men’s attempts to restrain him, stripped off his coat, and desperately tried to smother the flames.

“Old man, if you want to die, I’ll help you on your way!” Li Gong snarled cruelly and suddenly delivered a vicious kick to Hua Lao’s back.

“Ah!” Hua Lao cried out as he fell into the fire.

The roaring flames quickly engulfed the elderly man, swallowing him whole.