Chapter 10 — A Day as a Janitor

Do not touch the twenty-ninth floor. I withdrew my phone and displayed the message for Gu Nan to see.

Investigate this number.

The moment he took the device, it vibrated once more. The exact same number. This time, containing only a single sentence. If you want the real roster, tell Qin Yu Zhen to go to the old factory warehouse alone. He Miao was so terrified she clamped both hands over her mouth. Old Hu spat out a fierce curse.

This is outright kidnapping extortion!

Shen Zhao An reached out, attempting to snatch my phone away. I did not relinquish it. My gaze remained fixed upon those glowing characters. The old factory warehouse. That had been the very first site established by Yuan Tai. It was also where the Special Guarantee Roster of the pioneering era was initially signed. I turned my gaze toward Shen Zhao An.

Chairman Shen, aside from the safe in the Board of Directors office, does a second copy of the genuine red roster exist?

Shen Zhao An remained silent. That heavy silence caused everyone’s heart to sink into the abyss. After several agonizing seconds, he finally spoke. Yes.

Back then, as a precaution against fire, I had a duplicate made.

It was placed inside an iron trunk kept within the old factory warehouse.

Zheng Huai Ren suddenly let out a sharp laugh.

Chairman Shen, you certainly know how to keep things hidden.

Shen Zhao An refused to look at him. However, my eyes locked directly onto Zheng Huai Ren.

You knew about the duplicate all along.

He refused to admit to it. Yet that lingering smile betrayed half the truth. Phan Ming spoke, his voice trembling. Deputy Director Zheng previously asked me if the pioneering guarantee fund maintained two sets of files.

Two sets?

Meaning one original, and one duplicate.

La Qian’s complexion turned thoroughly ashen.

At the time, you claimed you had no idea.

Phan Ming lowered his head.

I truly did not know.

Shen Zhao An closed his eyes.

Old Qiu did not flee of his own accord.

I stated flatly, He could not possibly have obtained the key to the old factory warehouse. Gu Nan immediately chimed in, The old factory warehouse has been decommissioned for ages; the keys are kept exclusively in the Board of Directors office. Shen Zhao An looked at him. Gu Nan’s expression stiffened.

The spare key was borrowed last month by the Administrative Center under the pretext of clearing out old assets.

Every person’s gaze snapped back toward La Qian. Finally, La Qian’s psychological defenses completely collapsed.

It was Zheng Huai Ren who told me to borrow it!

He claimed Chairman Shen would never care about these obsolete items anymore!

He said that as long as the roster vanished, no one would ever be able to dig up the past!

Zheng Huai Ren raised his hand, intending to strike her. Old Hu and a security guard instantly pinned him firmly against the wall. The wail of police sirens drifted from a distance, growing closer by the second. The flashing red and blue lights illuminated the western gate, casting eerie glows across everyone’s faces. The moment the police officers stepped out of their vehicle, Gu Nan’s phone rang yet again. The voice of the gate guard was shaking uncontrollably.

Secretary Gu, we have found Deputy Director Zheng’s car.

Right at the entrance of the road leading to the old factory.

The doors are wide open, and the driver is nowhere to be found.

There is blood on the back seat.

The police rapidly cordoned off the scene with yellow caution tape. The smoke billowing from the western gate had yet to dissipate, and now word of fresh blood came from the mouth of the old factory road. Shen Zhao An’s expression grew unimaginably grim. He stared directly at me.

Qin Yu Zhen, you cannot go.

I unbuttoned the ash-stained gloves from my hands and pulled them off.

The text message specifically named me; if I refuse to go, that person will simply refuse to show their face.

Gu Nan immediately argued, The police can set up an ambush, there is no need for you to risk your life. I looked down at the words glowing on the screen. If you want the real roster, tell Qin Yu Zhen to go to the old factory warehouse alone.

Whatever that person wants, it is not me.

They want everyone to believe that from the very beginning, the roster has been entirely tied to me.

Zheng Huai Ren, held tightly by two guards at the side, suddenly burst into laughter.

Department Head Qin, after all these years, you still love making yourself out to be so terribly important.

I walked straight up to him.

You are panicking.

His triumphant smile instantly froze. I continued speaking, The driver has vanished, there is blood inside the vehicle, yet your first reaction is to mock me.

That proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that you know Old Qiu is not dead yet.

The police officers instantly turned their sharp gazes toward Zheng Huai Ren. His expression darkened considerably.

I have no idea what you are talking about.

Shen Zhao An addressed the lead police officer, I will fully cooperate with every aspect of your investigation. The officer nodded, swiftly dividing the personnel into two separate teams. One group remained behind to seal and secure evidence at the corporate headquarters. The other group headed toward the old factory road. I climbed into a vehicle as well. Shen Zhao An commandeered a separate car, insisting on following closely behind. When Gu Nan’s attempts to dissuade him failed, he had no choice but to tag along. He Miao stood by the main lobby entrance, her eyes red and swollen.

Aunt Qin, you must be careful.

I nodded toward her. By the time our vehicles pulled away from the headquarters building, it was already past two o'clock in the morning. Yuan Tai’s old factory was located in the western district of the city, where streetlights were sparse and the exterior paint of the factory buildings was severely peeling away. Gazing through the car window, it felt as though I were looking back at the flickering night shift lights from thirty-two years ago. Back then, the factory was so impoverished they could not even afford to light a coal heater in the guard room. When Shen Zhao An finally secured that first meager investment loan, everyone crowded around a broken wooden table to sign their names. That very red roster had been born right here in this desolate place. The vehicles finally halted at the entrance of the old factory road. Zheng Huai Ren’s black sedan sat abandoned beneath a towering tree. The doors remained wide open. A dark, coagulated pool of red stained the rear upholstery. The police conducted a preliminary inspection inside the automobile. Old Qiu was nowhere to be found. On the dusty ground outside, heavy drag marks were clearly visible. Those dragging trails led directly toward the side entrance of the old factory warehouse. Gu Nan muttered in a low voice, The lock on the side door has been forced open. I stared intently at the rusted padlock hanging limply from the latch.

That is wrong.

A police officer immediately asked, What is wrong with it?

This padlock was not forced open at all.