Chapter 148: I Feel Liancheng Is Not Dead
The friend’s breathing disappeared, and after a long few seconds, his voice finally came out with a delay.
“Sorry. Those blue hats were late. By the time they went upstairs, that group had forced the doctor to complete the surgery at gunpoint. By the time the police arrived, the fetus had already been removed, and the woman had died from hemorrhaging.”
Old Ghost’s eyes went dark instantly, as if the wound at the corner of his eye was bleeding too much, causing him to feel dizzy and nearly lose his seat.
Fortunately, the seatbelt tightened, and he leaned back against the seat, “How could they be late? If the police were late, wouldn’t you think of a way to stop them first? President Shen gave you so much money, wasn’t it enough for you to use your brains?”
On the phone, the friend was breathing heavily, and after a long time, he only said one sentence, “The woman’s body was left at the hospital. You should come and take a look now.”
The phone was hung up.
Amidst the beeping sounds, Old Ghost was furious. The burning in his chest made him want to swing his arm and smash the phone.
The middle-aged couple in the front seat looked at him in fear. Amidst his anger and hatred, Old Ghost regained a sliver of reason and returned the phone.
He rummaged through his pockets and found the remaining four hundred euros, which he gave to the middle-aged couple for their fare, asking them to drive him to that small hospital at the fastest speed.
Two hours later, Old Ghost arrived late.
It was five o’clock in the afternoon. The sun in Iceland rose late and set early, and had already gone down.
The hospital doors were shut, and the doctors and nurses had already finished work. Only a dim lamp was lit at the reception desk on the first floor.
Old Ghost’s friend stood up and waved to him from the dim light, “The body is in the underground cold storage. This hospital only does abortions, nothing else. The cold storage is very small; it’s just for show since it was built. This is the first time the air conditioning has been turned up so high. Be careful not to touch anything with your hands later, or it will freeze and stick together.”
Old Ghost’s chest expanded violently twice. He wanted to curse loudly, but in the end, he said nothing.
Following his friend, he went down the stairs to the basement.
The cold storage, called cold storage, was essentially no more than a large refrigerator.
It was about twice the size of the large freezer cabinets for meat back home, and that was about it.
The friend opened the lid. The cold air was indeed potent.
Frost could be seen visibly forming white mist in the air. Old Ghost leaned closer; a body bag shaped like a human had white frost on it, and the head was covered by a transparent film.
Beneath the film was Lian Cheng’s face.
Her eyes were closed, and her skin was as pale as paper, as were her lips.
He still didn’t believe it. He raised his hand to pull the bag out.
The friend quickly stopped him, “Are you crazy? Didn’t you forget what I told you?”
Old Ghost brushed his friend aside, determined to check for himself.
The friend hugged his hand, “I know it’s hard for you to accept right away, but that woman wasn’t wearing any clothes when she was put in the bag. Don’t you Chinese people believe in not desecrating a corpse? If you, a grown man, touch it with your hands and peel off a layer of skin, that’s also desecration.”
Old Ghost, who had been suppressing his emotions all the way, finally erupted. He shoved his friend back with a swing of his arm and kicked him in the chest, sending the friend stumbling backward and falling headfirst at the stairwell.
With a thud, his back hit the edge of the steps, and he let out a whimper, curling into a ball.
“We agreed beforehand, if faking death didn’t work, you would take her away. What? They had guns, and you didn’t?”
He was enraged, “Your boss took 30 million euros from President Shen, 300 million! Damn it, how could you not protect a pregnant woman? You could protect a truckload of guns from the police on the road, but now you can’t handle just a few people?”
He wasn’t done yet. He strode to the stairwell, grabbed his friend’s collar, and dragged him to the cold storage.
“I don’t believe this. If you’re stopping me from looking in that bag, there must be something fishy going on.”
………………
Domestic.
Due to the five-hour time difference with Iceland.
Liang’s father received the report at ten in the morning and before his heart could settle.
At two in the afternoon, Shen Lichuan’s reaction caused him to feel suspicious again.
At that time, the original plan was to convene the Liang family’s board of directors.
Liang Chaosu had successfully delayed the meeting.
However, those who supported Liang’s father had briefly gathered for a small meeting.
Liang’s father was seated at the head of the table, while Shen Lichuan and Gu Zhoushan were arguing intensely over the share of Shen’s further investment.
His secretary, who was waiting outside, rudely interrupted them.
Shen Lichuan apologized immediately and excused himself temporarily.
The directors present exchanged glances, and discussions began to rise.
Shen Lichuan’s ambition in recent years was evident. Rumors were circulating that he was about to get married and was unwilling to be forever overshadowed by Liang Chaosu whenever they were mentioned together.
As of this morning, the rumors had suddenly twisted.
It first spread among Liang’s executives: the female relatives of six major directors were collectively involved in a love triangle. Director Zhang’s nieces were even fighting over the same husband.
This news was abrupt, seemingly fabricated out of thin air. Director Zhang’s two nieces were one a gentle socialite who was already married, and the other a well-known lesbian who disliked men and had a fierce temperament.
Over the years, whenever that brother-in-law showed the slightest disrespect, he had received slaps in public.
There was absolutely no way he would be entangled to the point of complaining to his parents.
Yet, by morning, rumors were flying everywhere. Whether it was the gentle sister or the fiery sister, or the lecherous brother-in-law.
Let alone refuting the rumors, they didn’t even show their faces.
Everyone present was experienced in the social circle and, due to their vested interests, were very close to the Liang family.
Back then, when the real and fake young ladies of the Liang family switched husbands after getting drunk, everyone usually turned a blind eye, but that didn’t mean they were truly blind.
In an instant, Shen Lichuan’s unusually fervent endeavors in recent times, juxtaposed with his multiple loud arguments with Liang Wenfei at the company, took on a new interpretation.
Directors kept stealing glances at Liang’s father, whose smile, initially three parts, gradually diminished to two, then one…
Outside the door, Shen Lichuan didn’t have time to think about what kind of storm his abrupt departure would cause.
He hurried out of the conference room, but then felt that Liang’s premises were full of informants, making it unsafe.
Fortunately, the place where they were holding their small meeting was on the top floor. Shen Lichuan took three stairs at a time, ran up to the rooftop, locked the door, and then spoke, “It’s me. What’s the urgent matter?”
Old Ghost’s voice was very hoarse, and amidst the howling wind, there was an indescribable tremor.
“Miss Lian Cheng is dead. Her body is in that hospital’s cold storage. I also saw the aborted fetus—”
Shen Lichuan cut him off decisively, “Impossible.”
“I also think it’s impossible,” Old Ghost’s thoughts were a bit jumbled. “President Shen, too many things have happened here, and I can’t explain it in a few words. Let me tell you from the beginning.”
“Initially, we were fine with the gang. At the Whale Museum, they arranged for someone to stall Liang Chaosu while I took Lian Cheng away. The old man’s people back home were guided by us to clash with Liang Chaosu’s hidden personnel at the right time, and then I took Lian Cheng to Reykjavik. We made arrangements at the hospital, and then exposed ourselves to the old man’s people.”
“But something went wrong on the way to Reykjavik. The old man suddenly increased his manpower, catching us off guard, and Miss Lian Cheng was taken away. They met up with the old man’s original people halfway and took Lian Cheng to the hospital in advance. The gang couldn’t cause trouble in time and could only make a phone call to report. But the police also arrived late, and that group forced the doctor to perform surgery at gunpoint, resulting in Lian Cheng’s death and the fetus’s death.”
Shen Lichuan’s breathing quickened, and he paced anxiously on the rooftop.
“Where do you think it’s impossible?”
“My friend, and the entire gang,” Old Ghost’s words became more coherent. “First of all, my friend’s attitude was wrong. His excuse for stopping me from confirming Lian Cheng’s body was based on Chinese customs. I’ve known him for so long, and I know he’s just a ruffian who can’t even speak English properly. How would he understand our Chinese taboos and customs?”
