Chapter 96: Unfinished Explanation

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"Alright, Secretary Guan, I'll report to the municipal party committee shortly!"

Su Tongzhou had just received a call from Guan Mushan. Once the scene was wrapped up, he, as the standing deputy head of the municipal discipline inspection investigation team, would personally report the case's progress to the municipal party committee leaders.

He immediately nodded in agreement, then set down his phone and turned a grave face toward the bundles of red banknotes inside the villa.

Six counting machines worked nonstop, with multiple case investigators from the municipal discipline inspection commission's case review office handling the counting.

There had originally been seven machines, but one had broken down just moments ago—a testament to just how much money Gu Santong had embezzled.

By now, Gu Santong had already been subdued by several municipal discipline inspection personnel. Even though he had lost control of his bowels and could no longer move on his own, he was still kept under strict watch.

Yang Dong, wearing white gloves, was personally helping the investigators count the cash.

During the earlier sorting, they had discovered that a section of the second-floor flooring was hollow. Working together with two discipline inspection investigators, he pried the floorboards open, revealing a hidden compartment from which they retrieved a small box.

The box was filled entirely with gold bars. They counted them—twenty bars in total, each marked at 50 grams.

Calculated at the current gold price, it was yet another considerable fortune.

From arriving at the villa shortly after ten in the evening, Yang Dong had already been hard at work for over two full hours.

This was despite the addition of newly joined municipal discipline inspection personnel, and they still hadn't finished counting all the cash.

But they were close—roughly two-thirds of the way through.

And even just that two-thirds, if announced, would be enough to stun anyone.

The current cash total stood at 12.89 million yuan. Adding the villa, the white tiger skin, and the twenty gold bars, estimated at market value, the overall total came to 17.4 million yuan.

"Chief, I think something's off here!"

Yang Dong took off his white gloves. The remaining cash wasn't much, so his help wasn't needed.

He walked up to Su Tongzhou and Liu Shan, speaking in a low, serious tone.

Su Tongzhou glanced at Yang Dong, his expression complicated.

This young man had been seconded from the municipal government office to the municipal discipline inspection commission, serving as head of the tenth special case team. He had truly stolen the spotlight, cracking one major case after another.

Cases that had stalled at the commission were making major breakthroughs under his leadership.

This kid was simply born for discipline inspection work—yet he was supposedly just a pen-pusher from the municipal government office. Wasn't that infuriating?

The only pity was that, talented as he was at discipline inspection, he was far too ruthless...

"Comrade Yang Dong, what are you thinking?"

Liu Shan looked at Yang Dong and asked.

Yang Dong gazed back at the cash and seized evidence that had already been sorted, boxed, and sealed, and spoke with a solemn expression: "Can a director of a municipal education bureau possibly corrupt this much money?"

"It's within the realm of possibility, but personally, I don't think it's likely."

"The education bureau is indeed a department with considerable power, closely tied to education itself, so serious corruption cases are bound to occur."

"But even a director of a municipal education bureau, no matter how desperately he embezzled, couldn't possibly pocket this much. Once the count is finished, we're probably looking at around twenty million in illicit funds."

"Don't you think it's necessary to interrogate Gu Santong and find out exactly where this money came from?"

"If all this money really was embezzled by him alone, then the minimum sentence would be life imprisonment..."

If someone who embezzled over twenty million didn't at least start with a life sentence, it would be an absolute joke.

Gu Santong might even be sentenced to death—whether with a reprieve or immediate execution would depend on whether anyone was willing to protect him.

But that possibility was extremely slim. He was already a ticking time bomb. Even if he had connections, which leader would be willing to shield him? Wouldn't they fear the flames spreading to themselves?

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"Your instincts have always been sharp. Go interrogate him then."

Su Tongzhou picked up the thread and spoke to Yang Dong, approving his request to question Gu Santong on the spot.

Seeing that Su Tongzhou, as the standing deputy head, had already made the decision, Liu Shan nodded along as well. "Comrade Yang Dong, ask him properly. Make the stakes clear to him."

"Yes, both chiefs."

Yang Dong nodded solemnly, then turned to look at Lu Yike.

"Yike, you handle the recording."

"Shuangquan, you handle the organization."

"Donglai, you handle... making sure Gu Santong doesn't keep soiling himself."

Hou Donglai's face fell, and he nodded while pinching his nose.

Why did the rotten luck always fall on him?

Yang Dong walked up to Gu Santong. There was no condition to have him sit down—the room was packed with large boxes of illicit money.

He simply stood before Gu Santong, exerting an immense pressure of authority over him.

Gu Santong raised his head and looked at Yang Dong, his face ashen and defeated.

This young team leader was like a death-devil sent by the King of Hell himself—here to claim his life.

The man who had once dismissed Yang Dong with contempt now had no idea how to evaluate him at all.

Ruthless? Wise? Clever? None of those words seemed to capture it.

Gu Santong thought Yang Dong was a god.

Otherwise, how could he have known so much about him?

Known the location of the villa he'd bought with embezzled money. Known where the keys to that villa were hidden.

Who exactly had sent this life-taking specter?

Damn him to hell!

Lu Yike turned on the recording pen, and Hou Shuangquan switched on the official DV camera, aimed at Gu Santong's face.

Hou Donglai clutched a pack of adult diapers—he'd already used two of them.

"Gu Santong, how exactly did you embezzle all this money?"

Yang Dong looked at Gu Santong and began the interrogation in a low voice.

Gu Santong glanced at Yang Dong and answered in a hushed tone: "Starting from when I was a deputy section chief, I couldn't control my greed. It began with petty corruption, then my ambition swelled, and with my heart clouded by avarice, I reached for bigger and bigger sums."

"When I served as head of the comprehensive finance section at the municipal finance bureau, I began taking substantial bribes—the smallest was fifty thousand yuan at a time, the larger ones a hundred thousand or several hundred thousand."

"During my time as deputy director of the municipal finance bureau, I took more than six million yuan in total."

"When I was standing deputy director of the municipal education bureau, I abused my power for personal gain—helping people get things done, including entrance exams, high school entrance exams, and the college entrance exam. I interfered with the exam process."

"And when I became director of the municipal education bureau, I conspired with my partner to import a batch of high-tech bone-conduction communication devices from abroad—commonly known as 'gaokao earpieces.' Using that equipment, I was able to pocket three to four million yuan in dividends every year during the gaokao period."

Gu Santong knew he couldn't hide it any longer, so he let it all spill out at once.

At least by saying it out loud, it no longer weighed on his chest. He felt a bit relieved.

"You've confessed to ten million of your more than twenty million in embezzled funds. Where did the other ten million come from?"

Yang Dong continued pressing him, staring hard at Gu Santong's face with a cold sneer.

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If he weren't a reborn man, he might have actually been fooled by Gu Santong.

But he knew the full truth, and from it, he could tell that there was a bigger fish lurking behind Gu Santong—or rather, Gu Santong was merely a minor corrupt official in front, while a far greater corrupt official stood behind him.

"It was all embezzled by me!"

Gu Santong hastily waved his hands and spoke to Yang Dong.

"There are some instances of corruption I don't even remember myself, but they were definitely all mine."

"Think about it—if the money weren't mine, why would I confess to it? My sentence is already heavy enough, isn't it?"

At this point, Gu Santong even shot a counter-question at Yang Dong.

Yang Dong nodded. "According to the relevant laws, your actions warrant at least life imprisonment."

"Life... that's worth it. I've enjoyed myself for over twenty years. Worth it."

Gu Santong suddenly laughed—a strange laugh, a mad laugh, and also a laugh of utter despair.

"Now can you tell me which businessman was the one who bribed you?"

Yang Dong pressed on, once again bringing up the businessman—the one who had gifted Gu Santong the villa.

"Don't you already know?"

Gu Santong raised his head, throwing the question back at Yang Dong.

Then, with a deeply serious expression, he said solemnly: "Young comrade, you'd better stop asking. Stop asking."

"Some things are beyond your control. You can't handle them!"

"Consider that my warning to you."

With that, he looked at the several discipline inspection personnel supervising him and said with his head lowered: "Take me away. I'm willing to accept the judgment of the law!"

"Hold on!"

Yang Dong immediately raised his hand to stop those municipal discipline inspection personnel.

"Gu Santong, think it over. Confess honestly, and leniency may follow. Perhaps you won't deserve death!"

Yang Dong was somewhat frustrated, making one last attempt.

"Young man, you're already very accomplished. You're about the same age as my son, yet you've achieved so much. I admire you."

"Now I, Gu Santong, have become a stepping stone for your political career."

"But I don't want to become a stumbling block for you either!"

"Stop. Asking. No. More."

Gu Santong looked at Yang Dong with a serious gaze and spoke again, offering his final warning.

"Take me away."

Gu Santong looked at the municipal discipline inspection personnel.

This time, they didn't defer to Yang Dong. They took Gu Santong away directly.

"Team leader, what exactly are you trying to get at?"

Lu Yike furrowed her brow, looking at Yang Dong with confusion and a complicated expression.

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