Wu Jun felt conflicted after his call with Zhou Xing.
So, the one who wanted him and Xu Fei dead really was Xu Penghui.
He remembered Xu Penghui was the same age as Xu Fei, just twenty-four. To Wu Jun, he was still just a reckless punk, so how could he do something so depraved?
The last time they had drinks, Xu Penghui had drunkenly bragged about killing him. He’d been detained for drunk driving, and even when Wu Jun and Xu Fei went to give him money, the guy had still been spouting threats.
Wu Jun had thought it was just a young kid making empty threats, but he never expected the boy to be true to his word and actually act on it. And he had almost succeeded.
’Without [Resource Tycoon], there was a nine-in-ten chance that he and Xu Fei would have perished in that sea of flames. Even if they hadn’t burned to death, they would have suffocated from the smoke.’
’Strictly speaking, Xu Penghui had already killed him and Xu Fei once.’
Wu Jun didn’t plan to just let this go.
’He failed once, but who could guarantee he wouldn’t try again?’
’Fate was on my side this time, but who knows what will happen next. A dangerous weed like this had to be uprooted completely, stomped on a few times, and then buried deep in the ground.’
’When it’s a matter of life and death, you can never be too cautious.’
Wu Jun scrapped his plan to go to work and headed back to the villa.
Until the matter with Xu Penghui was completely resolved, it was like a fishbone stuck in his throat.
Sinking into the large living room sofa, Wu Jun pulled out a pack of cigarettes and chain-smoked while waiting for news from Zhou Xing.
Zhou Xing had said that at 7:10 in the morning, several officers had left the station for Pingshan. He had called Wu Jun after finishing his morning meeting.
Shimen City was only a little over 40 kilometers from Pingshan. With the highway and local roads, it was less than an hour’s drive.
’It was already 8:30, nearly an hour and a half later. By now, there should have been some word on whether they had caught him.’
RING RING~~
At 8:50, Wu Jun’s phone, which was on the coffee table, rang. He glanced at it and saw it was a call from Xu Fei.
"What’s up, Feifei?" Wu Jun picked up the phone and answered.
Xu Fei’s voice came from the other end: "Jun, didn’t you say you were coming to work today? I already drove the souvenirs over to the company. What time will you get here?"
For the past week or so, Wu Jun had told Dong Lizhu he was away on a trip. To make it more convincing, he even had Xu Fei order souvenirs from a tourist spot online, ready to hand out to the company’s employees.
"I’m not coming in today," Wu Jun said. "Just tell your aunt that I’m tired from the trip and taking another day off. I’ve got another call coming in, so I have to go."
After hanging up on Xu Fei, Wu Jun answered the other call. Zhou Xing’s voice came through.
Zhou Xing said: "Mr. Wu, with the cooperation of our colleagues in Pingshan, we’ve caught him. They’re on their way back now. You can rest assured this time. The evidence is conclusive, so barring any surprises, he should be sentenced today."
"Okay, thank you, Officer Zhou. You all are truly the Guardian Gods of the people." After the polite remark, Wu Jun asked, "Officer Zhou, would it be possible for me to see Xu Penghui? There are some things I want to ask him in person."
Zhou Xing said: "That... shouldn’t be a big problem. Once the case is closed and he’s being sent over to Gao City, I’ll give you a call beforehand."
"Thanks, Officer Zhou." Wu Jun said, then hung up.
Shimen’s prison was located in Gao City. For a crime as heinous as Xu Penghui’s, Wu Jun had looked it up online: the sentence ranged from a lighter three to four years to a maximum of seven.
Last time it was detention for drunk driving. This time, for arson, what awaited him was imprisonment.
Wu Jun waited at the villa until after four in the afternoon, when he received a call from Zhou Xing.
Faced with irrefutable evidence, Xu Penghui confessed to everything. The case was now closed.
The court had also delivered its verdict, sentencing Xu Penghui to four years and eight months in prison. He would be sent to Gao City tomorrow to officially begin his sentence.
Zhou Xing arranged for Wu Jun to meet Xu Penghui in a visitation room at the police station.
At five in the afternoon, led by an on-duty guard at the detention center, Wu Jun saw a disheveled Xu Penghui with messy hair and a scruffy beard in the visitation room.
Wu Jun wore a simple white dress shirt and a pair of simple, comfortable black trousers. The shirt was tucked in, outlining his well-toned pectoral muscles and a trim waistline.
All of Wu Jun’s clothes had been destroyed in the fire. The outfit he was wearing now looked simple, but it was a high-end set that Xu Fei had spent over ten thousand yuan on.
When Xu Fei bought clothes for herself, she wouldn’t even consider anything with a price tag over three digits, but when buying things for Wu Jun, it was as if money was no object.
The clean-cut and tall Wu Jun, with his distinguished air, was the polar opposite of Xu Penghui in his baggy tank top.
Seeing that the visitor was Wu Jun, Xu Penghui narrowed his eyes, tilted his head back slightly, and put on a cocky, ’what-can-you-do-to-me’ expression.
"Can I speak with him alone for a few minutes?" Wu Jun turned and asked the guard who had led him in.
"Sorry, no. That’s against regulations," the guard said. "Captain Zhou letting you see him at all is already a huge favor..."
Before the guard could finish, Wu Jun reached into his pants, pulled out a thick wad of cash, and held it out to him.
The guard saw the bundle of bills in Wu Jun’s hand, still wrapped in a bank strap, and froze. The rest of his words were swallowed right back down.
"This..." He was a little hesitant to take it. In over ten years of working at the detention center, he had never accepted such a large bribe.
"Heaven knows, earth knows, you know, and I know," Wu Jun said, stuffing the money into the guard’s half-open hand and patting him on the shoulder.
"Then make it quick. I’m going out for a smoke." The guard stuffed the money into his pocket and walked away.
"Tsk tsk, money sure is nice," Xu Penghui said, clicking his tongue and shaking his head. "You can’t take it with you when you die. Better spend it all while you’re still alive."
Wu Jun turned to face Xu Penghui, just watching him quietly, not saying a word, not asking any questions.
Wu Jun’s stare made Xu Penghui uncomfortable. With a SLAM, he pressed both hands against the partition glass, his voice a mix of bravado and fear. "You bastard Wu, you got lucky this time! Too bad you didn’t burn to death, you son of a bitch! In five years, I’ll be out and walking tall again, and this score between us won’t be settled!"
Xu Penghui laughed neurotically. "In five years, you and that bitch Xu Fei will probably have a kid, right? By then, I’ll trade my one life for three of yours. That’s one more than I was going for this time."
"Good. This is exactly the attitude I was waiting for." After hearing Xu Penghui’s words, Wu Jun nodded with a smile, his earlier resolve hardening even further.
’A psychotic time bomb like Xu Penghui couldn’t be left ticking. If I have the ability to defuse him, I can’t just let him be. Who knows, one day I might let my guard down and be blown to smithereens.’
Xu Penghui laughed maniacally. "I have nothing now, and I don’t plan on doing anything else with my life. I’m fixing my sights on you. If it doesn’t work this time, I’ll try again. If that doesn’t work, I’ll try again and again. There’s no death penalty anyway. I’m still young. I’ve got decades to play this game with you."
Wu Jun didn’t say a word. He took out his phone and, with a CLICK, took a picture of Xu Penghui.
"You, what are you doing?" Xu Penghui was completely baffled by Wu Jun’s action.
"Seeing as I’m such a good person, I thought I’d help you take a portrait for your funeral," Wu Jun said. He waved his phone at Xu Penghui, then turned and walked toward the door.
"I’m not easily scared!" Xu Penghui sneered, his face full of contempt.