Liu Tiezhu understood perfectly what Lin Changxing meant. He also knew that Lin Changxing was one of Jiang He's men. Yet he still acted this way to establish his authority. As the person in charge of military personnel transfers, how could he let a mere action squad leader ride roughshod over him? Once he set this precedent, who would respect him or follow his orders in the future?
Lin Changxing's face instantly turned pale. He hadn't expected Liu Tiezhu to be serious. But with so many people watching, he couldn't back down. After hesitating for a moment, he gritted his teeth and stared at Liu Tiezhu.
"I'm a relative of Auditor Jiang. If you dare touch me, Auditor Jiang won't let you off."
"Go ahead, shoot if you've got the guts. I want to see if you really have the nerve."
"Auditor Jiang's relative, no wonder you're so arrogant."
Liu Tiezhu sneered, then clicked off the safety on his pistol.
"Squad Leader Lin died in battle. Everyone saw it."
As he spoke, Lin Changxing suddenly shouted.
"Stop, stop, stop..."
"I was joking. The supplies issue is my fault. I'll take full responsibility."
"Brother Tiezhu, please take me back and hand me over to the Ming family for punishment."
At that moment, Lin Changxing completely caved, unwilling to gamble his life against Liu Tiezhu.
"Your confession attitude is good, but this isn't over."
Liu Tiezhu smirked, then aimed his pistol at Lin Changxing's shoulder.
"You..."
Bang...
Before Lin Changxing could finish, Liu Tiezhu pulled the trigger. The bullet tore through, leaving a trail of blood.
Everyone's eyelids twitched violently. None of them expected Liu Tiezhu to still fire knowing Lin Changxing was Jiang He's man. Their expressions shifted as they looked at Liu Tiezhu. In that moment, they realized Liu Tiezhu was also a ruthless man.
Ah...
Lin Changxing's face contorted in pain as he clutched the hole in his shoulder, trembling. His eyes locked onto Liu Tiezhu, filled with venom.
"One shot not enough?"
Liu Tiezhu sneered, moving the pistol to Lin Changxing's other shoulder.
Lin Changxing's expression shifted wildly, and he dropped to his knees.
"Enough, Brother Tiezhu, I surrender."
He understood now that Liu Tiezhu was using him to assert dominance. If he didn't kneel and beg for mercy, he'd keep taking bullets.
"Since you've surrendered, I won't make it hard on you. Go back and report your issues truthfully to your superiors."
Liu Tiezhu left a cold remark and ignored Lin Changxing. His goal was achieved. Now he'd wait to see Jiang He's reaction. He knew Lin Changxing was Jiang He's man and deliberately did this. Beyond establishing authority, he had deeper motives. He wanted to see if Jiang He would protect Lin Changxing and secretly clash with the Ming family, or try to shift the blame onto him.
The next day, Lin Changxing arrived early at the training camp, found Jiang He, and reported the previous night's events. Losing the supplies was a big deal; he needed Jiang He's help to figure things out. Besides reporting the theft, he embellished the story of Liu Tiezhu shooting him.
He expected Jiang He to stand up for him and confront Liu Tiezhu. Instead, after hearing the report, Jiang He slapped him.
"Idiot! Who gave you the nerve to be so arrogant?"
"You caused such a mess and still dared to threaten Liu Tiezhu? Not killing you was already a huge favor to me."
"And you want me to back you up and cause trouble for Liu Tiezhu? Looks like you're tired of living."
Jiang He wasn't foolish. He knew Lin Changxing's account was exaggerated. Besides, Lin Changxing deserved it for challenging Liu Tiezhu in front of everyone. That was like sticking his head into the line of fire. Even if Liu Tiezhu had killed him on the spot, Jiang He wouldn't have intervened. What infuriated him more was Lin Changxing dragging his name into it without regard for the situation. If word reached Ming Zhenglong, he'd be under scrutiny.
Lin Changxing clutched his face, silent.
Zhang Zhiliang chimed in, "Lin Changxing, you were incredibly stupid this time."
"Losing the supplies was bad enough, but you had to provoke Liu Tiezhu in front of everyone."
"Are you trying to make things worse so Liu Tiezhu reports it and Ming Zhenglong finishes you off?"
"Brother Jiang, Brother Zhang, I panicked, so I..."
Jiang He kicked Lin Changxing away.
"Panicked my ass! If you want to die, do it far away. Don't drag me down with you!"
Lin Changxing scrambled up and grabbed Jiang He's leg.
"Brother Jiang, I swear I didn't mean that. Please save me."
"I've always been loyal to you. You have to help me."
Jiang He's face darkened. "You want to live? Fine. Tell me everything about last night, no lies."
"If you hide anything, I'll have you sent to Ming Zhenglong immediately."
This time, Lin Changxing dared not conceal anything and recounted the events truthfully.
"You son of a bitch! You had the nerve to withhold supplies?"
After hearing the report, Jiang He kicked Lin Changxing again. If not for Lin Changxing's greed, the supplies might not have been stolen.
"Brother Jiang, hold on."
Zhang Zhiliang stopped Jiang He's rampage and turned to Lin Changxing.
"You said Liu Tiezhu assigned you the supply transport mission?"
Lin Changxing nodded quickly. "Yes, he was busy cleaning up the battlefield and handed it to me."
"Did you notice anything unusual during the transport?" Zhang Zhiliang pressed.
Lin Changxing thought hard, then shook his head.
"One last question: how many people ambushed you, and which direction did they come from?"
"At least two hundred. They seemed to know I'd pass through Long Slope and came from the opposite side."
"They opened fire as soon as they appeared. I was outnumbered, so I fled," Lin Changxing said.
Hearing this, Zhang Zhiliang and Jiang He exchanged glances, frowning in unison.
After a moment of silence, Jiang He asked again, "You said Liu Tiezhu arrived in about how long?"
"Maybe ten minutes. He came and had me arrested."
"Then all that happened after," Lin Changxing said.
"Alright, you can get out of here."
"Remember, go back to camp, grab some gifts, and apologize to Liu Tiezhu."
"Whether you live or die depends on him now."
Jiang He waved dismissively, sending Lin Changxing away.
After Lin Changxing left, Jiang He turned to Zhang Zhiliang.
"Old Zhang, do you suspect Liu Tiezhu orchestrated this?"
Zhang Zhiliang said, "At first, I did."
"But judging by the timing, it probably wasn't him."
"If he had arranged it, he wouldn't have rushed to the scene so quickly."
Jiang He nodded. "I was thinking the same."
"I suspect this supply loss was staged by higher-ups."
"But to confirm, we need to visit Liu Tiezhu and get him to play along in a charade."