Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After the explosion, the three men did not leave immediately, but buried the van at the foot of the mountain. Although they had lost the money that Mr. Tao had given them, they were not upset since they had more cash on hand. Also, they believed that the money had also been destroyed by the explosion, so they did not consider going back to dig it up.
After a few years, Han Wenjun returned to the tunnel. He built a fence to block off the part of the tunnel that had collapsed, as he was afraid that someone would enter the area.
Hao Gang’s decision was correct. It was because of the fact that they did not run away that the police were never able to connect them to the case. The more crucial point was that the three of them had not targeted the five kids initially. Just as Zhao Yu had guessed, this Mianling Kidnapping Case had started as an accident. Hence, the police investigation became complicated and difficult.
Although Hao Gang sold his house, he bought it back in the end. He dug an underground basement and hid Liang Sisi inside.
Hao Gang was a very careful person. Until this very day, he had been successful in hiding her. He had never let anybody see Liang Sisi. Even his son, Hao Jiajun, had never seen her.
After the kidnapping, Hao Gang and the other two were extremely careful. They went low profile for a couple of years and did not use any of the ransom money. They only started their business plan when the news died down.
Hao Gang resigned and used the money to open up a warehouse and start a trading company. As a risk taker, he slowly became a successful businessman. His trading business and his power grew tremendously. He gained status in Qinshan very quickly. He then had the capital to fight Cheng Sanli, so he began to think of his mad revenge plan. He used all kinds of methods to torture Cheng Sanli, regardless of the cost, until he ended up with a pitiful life.
Cheng Guangming had not been wrong when he said that Hao Gang was a cruel man. Hao Gang really had instructed someone to rape Cheng Sanli’s daughter. And if Cheng Sanli had not hid Cheng Guangming, his son would have been hunted down too, either killed or disabled!
Later on, Cheng Guangming tried to kill Hao Gang. Hao Gang did not die and plotted his revenge again. He spent a big sum of money to have Cheng Guangming sentenced for a heavier punishment, and hired someone to beat him until he lost sight in one eye.
Hao Gang was mentally distorted. Because of Liang Sisi, he had never had any relationship with other women although he was a successful businessman. He always treated Liang Sisi as if she were his dead wife Ah Jun. Everyone thought that Hao Gang was a faithful man. No one knew that the truth was such a scandal.
Only Han Wenjun and Gao Yang knew about the secret of Hao Gang and Liang Sisi. Han Wenjun had always been Hao Gang’s right hand man since Hao Gang established Rongtian Corporation. He helped Hao Gang solve a lot of problems. To reward him, Hao Gang made him in charge of the colored metal company under his name.
But as for Gao Yang, it was an entirely different story. Gao Yang had been severely affected by the kidnapping, and his mental health went downhill. Hao Gang and Han Wenjun tried to help him, especially financially, but with the guilt that he was carrying, Gao Yang had been living dreadfully. In the end, he was sent to a mental hospital. After he was admitted to the mental hospital, he always talked incoherently and jabbered on about the Mianling case.
Hao Gang and Han Wenjun felt uneasy about this, and thought that they could not let it go on. If there was someone who took what he said seriously, they would be in big trouble. So they decided to send the bodyguard with a scar on his face into the mental hospital to inject a medicine into Gao Yang that would cause sudden cardiac arrest. As Gao Yang had no relatives, the hospital did not dig too deep. Hao Gang then secretly arranged for Gao Yang to be buried.
With Gao Yang’s death and the many years that had gone by, Hao Gang had been feeling better and thought that his secret would be safe for the rest of his life. But God opened his eyes. When the kids’ and Niu Weiguang’s dead bodies were dug out from the mine and appeared on the front page of the newspaper, Hao Gang was set into a frenzy. He immediately got in touch with Han Wenjun to discuss what they would do. They had even planned their escape route.
The two of them had spent a lot of effort to erase any connection to Cheng Sanli, and to keep close tabs on the police investigation. The two of them waited for a few days anxiously, but they did not see any progress being made on the police’s end. They asked their police connections and realized that the police could not connect them with the case due to the lack of evidence even though they had found the dead bodies.
Thus, Hao Gang and Han Wenjun were once again at ease. Hao Gang believed that if he did not leave, no one would ever suspect him. More importantly, he was not ready to let go of his career that he had been working on his whole life. However, Hao Gang’s luck was brought to an end when Zhao Yu appeared.
When Zhao Yu had brought up things related to the Mianling Case at Yao Jia’s engagement party, his words had terrified Hao Gang, and he felt as though he had been struck by lighting. He never would have expected that an ordinary police officer would link him to the Mianling Case.
Hao Gang did not even care about Yao Jia’s party by that point, only about Zhao Yu. He immediately sent his underlinings to look into Zhao Yu. Even though he did not show his emotions at the party, he was flooded with anxiety and insecurity.
After the party, he immediately headed back to Rongtian building to find more information. This time, Zhao Yu had got it right again! The last person that called Hao Gang was Han Wenjun. Han Wenjun told Hao Gang that the police were checking on him and told Hao Gang to be prepared.
Han Wenjun also brought up Liang Sisi and pointed out that she was the only evidence left. If Liang Sisi disappeared, even if the police really came after them, they would not be able to do anything! Thus Hao Gang was prompted to kill Liang Sisi, but their relationship of twenty-six years had led Hao Gang to treat Liang Sisi as his wife Ah Jun. He could not bear to do it. Even if Zhao Yu had not made it on time that day, Hao Gan probably would not have been able to pull the trigger!
But all of this seemed meaningless now! After Hao Gang explained the story from the beginning, there was only silence. Zhao Yu and Miao Ying were quiet. Not only the two of them, but Bureau Chief Zhou, Bureau Chief Luan, and the other detectives outside of the interrogation room were silent too.
Who knew that the truth behind the Qinshan Mianling Case would be like this! An accidental robbery, an unprofessional kidnapping, the brutal killing of hostages, the ransom that was dropped, and the missing girl…all of these elements were linked by a simple story. That made people feel odd yet satisfied.
This Mianling case was not as complicated as they thought it would be. Cheng Sanli did play an important role, but he was not related to the case. But he was not unrelated either, since what he had done led to the Mianling case.
Case closed! Finally, the truth was revealed for such a prominent case! But Zhao Yu felt different after he closed the case. He was not excited, but rather depressed.
Only if Cheng Sanli did not tear up the contract;
Only if the vehicle that entered the tunnel had not been the van driven by Niu Weiguang;
Only if Liu Hongxiang had not called out “Uncle!”;
Only if the three of them ran away when Liu Hongxiang recognized Gao Yang;
Only if Hao Gang and Han Wenjun had had some sense after they collected ransom… Then the Mianling case might not have happened. But behind every “if” seemed to be another inevitable outcome that made people feel hopeless. Human hearts are unpredictable, their guiltiness reaching towards the heavens.
Dealing with four kids still in school, Hao Gang and the other two were so cold-hearted that they killed them with dynamite! This cruelty would receive no mercy and was hated by both man and God! For that they had to face justice and go to trial!!!