Special Forces Medic

Chapter 895 - 867: An Unusual Meeting

"Really?" Lin Cheng stopped speaking and concentrated on the task at hand. "You can go back now; before Liang Feng returns, I’ll hand over the results to her."

"Thanks for your trouble." It sounded like he was being ushered out, and Xiao Lin left with a wry smile on his face.

Hua Muyun’s recovery was swift; from leaving the hospital to returning to the office took less than a week. Although he was largely recovered, he was still pushing it a bit, with Secretary Luo buzzing around his ears incessantly like a mosquito. Fortunately, Hua Muyun was good-natured enough not to argue with him.

"Mr. Xiao is expected around nine o’clock, and he won’t be happy to see you here." This was the sentence Secretary Luo had repeated numerous times within half an hour. "Secretary Hua, you should be at home recuperating, not sitting here."

"Secretary Luo, I think you need to buy a tape recorder and place it here." Hua Muyun opened the files on the desk and started reviewing them carefully. "Any news on Hua Qingyi?"

"There’s word that he was seen in the northern district, but no further confirmation has been received yet."

"I’ll attend this afternoon’s meeting on time; please organize it." As soon as he finished speaking, someone walked in from the door.

"Secretary Hua, I heard you were back, so I came by specifically to see you." Wang Zhanting came straight up upon receiving the news, not having returned to his office yet, carrying a briefcase in his hand.

"Minister Wang, I apologize for causing you so much trouble, visiting so early in the morning!" Hua Muyun stood up to shake hands with Wang Zhanting, and then the two sat on a nearby sofa.

"I heard from Secretary Luo that you were on an outside visit. Did you discover anything new? Before, Yanjing was agog with rumors! It frightened me immensely just hearing them, but luckily Mr. Xiao stepped in to stabilize the situation."

"What sort of rumors have made you so anxious?" Hua Muyun placed his hands on his chest, feeling the injured area while smiling at Wang Zhanting.

Returning from an outside province, Hua Muyun made Wang Zhanting feel quite oppressed, although he maintained a friendly smile, there was still a creepy undertone to it. "It’s not that I’m overly frightened, but there were rumors that Secretary Hua was attacked en route and on the brink of death, among other things."

"Oh? Is that so? Secretary Luo, why didn’t you report this to me?" Hua Muyun turned to Secretary Luo beside him.

"It’s just baseless talk, so I didn’t treat it as something worth reporting."

"Zhanting, I must have worried you a lot with these trips, and you believed these rumors?" Hua Muyun glanced at Wang Zhanting’s embarrassed face. "I heard at the City Committee meeting, you were quite convinced of them, which isn’t a very wise thing for a City Committee leader to do; you should have called to confirm first, shouldn’t you?"

"Yes, yes, Secretary Hua, I didn’t consider it thoroughly enough." Wang Zhanting showed a deeply reflective attitude, nodding repeatedly at Hua Muyun’s words.

"If I didn’t know Minister Wang’s character, having worked with you for so long, I might have suspected you were the person behind it."

"Secretary Hua, please don’t say such things. How could I possibly do something like this?" Wang Zhanting’s heart skipped a beat, as he glanced up at Hua Muyun.

"Hehe! Minister Wang, did you receive notice of this afternoon’s meeting?"

"Yes, I did. I’m not sure what the meeting Secretary Hua is convening this time is about?"

"I’m not very clear myself! This meeting was convened on short notice; it should be about something urgent."

"Then I’ll prepare myself first and report back to Secretary Hua later." Using a random excuse, Wang Zhanting left, still displaying a smiling face at Hua Muyun as he reached the door.

"Is there something inappropriate about this meeting Secretary Hua has convened?"

"What inappropriate issues? Didn’t you see his expression just now? I’m very much looking forward to this afternoon’s meeting."

After Wang Zhanting finished tidying up the files on his desk, the secretary came for the second time to remind him of the meeting time. "Understood." He deliberately delayed for five minutes before entering the meeting room, which was sparsely filled with a few people he barely recognized. "Hasn’t Secretary Hua arrived yet? Who are these people?"

"Secretary Hua is in another meeting room; these people were invited here by Mr. Xiao."

"Mr. Xiao?" Wang Zhanting sat down among these people, observing that their mannerisms did not suggest they were government insiders. "Do you know what today’s meeting is about? Are other ministers not involved?"

"Minister Wang, please be patient; there is still one more person to arrive. Or would you like to first accompany me to the other meeting room where Secretary Hua is waiting?"

"Sure, why not." Without any hesitation, Wang Zhanting followed the secretary to the adjacent chamber. "This is..."

"Ah, Minister Wang, you’ve arrived; please take a seat. We’re waiting for just one more person before we can begin." Hua Muyun waved over to Wang Zhanting. Besides Hua Muyun, there were also Xiao Zhenfeng and Wu Mian from the City Police Department.

"Secretary Hua, what is the meaning of this? Wasn’t there supposed to be an important meeting? Who are those people outside? They don’t look like they’re from government agencies."

"Minister Wang, no need to rush; you’ll soon understand what’s going on." Wu Mian kindly patted the chair next to him. "We share your curiosity."

Secretary Luo walked over to Xiao Zhenfeng, whispered a few words in his ear, and then he stood up. "I apologize for keeping you waiting; the meeting is now officially starting."

The curtain gradually descended, immersing the entire meeting room in darkness. Wang Zhanting furrowed his brows unconsciously, while a screen was lowered behind Xiao Zhenfeng. "Before the meeting, let’s watch a video."

A back view, of a foreign man, a very peculiar scene, it seemed like they were having tea or drinks, with no conversation between them, the silent scene continuously revolved. Suddenly, the person with his back to the camera spoke first, picked up the bag placed beside the chair, took out a thick envelope, and tossed it to the foreign man sitting across from him. "Here’s the final payment." The foreigner counted a stack and stuffed it into his pocket, responding in unintelligible words to the man opposite him. "It’s a bit tense outside now; don’t wander around. Once arrangements are made for the ship, you’ll be sent abroad. But this time, the failure still needs to be reported to your Hall Master."

Sitting next to Wu Mian, Wang Zhanting noticed how the people beside him kept shifting their postures, as if the chair was poking them with needles, making this high-standing minister very uneasy. "Minister Wang, are you okay?"

Wu Mian’s question drew attention from the others. "Zhanting, why are you suddenly sweating so much? If you’re feeling unwell, should we visit the medical room?" Hua Muyun also followed with leadership-like concern.

"Ah no, it’s fine; it’s just a bit stifling." Wang Zhanting deliberately coughed twice as the footage continued playing.

"Your nation’s situation is truly laughable; killing a City Secretary causes such a commotion?" The foreign man seemed to have some deficiencies in his Chinese proficiency, speaking in a stiff tone that was met with laughter from the other man.

"Although we didn’t directly kill him this time, we did deal a heavy blow. I wish..."

"MR. WANG, you’d better correct it here; I never miss. You could say I’ve pierced his heart directly. If it wasn’t for that driver suddenly changing direction before dying, I can assure you it would have been fatal on the spot; it seems like the people you arranged weren’t as obedient."

Plop! At this moment, the footage suddenly paused, and a ray of light appeared in the previously silent meeting room. Someone entered, and with the backlight, Wang Zhanting couldn’t see their face, but this was presumably the last participant they had been talking about.

"Sorry, I’m late."

"It’s you!" Sitting furthest out, Wang Zhanting immediately recognized the voice of the newcomer and stood up in surprise. Emerging from the backlight, Xiao Lin walked in cheerily, placing his right hand on Wang Zhanting’s shoulder, making him sit down. "Apologies to all the leaders, I requested this meeting; I appreciate your presence despite your busy schedules. It’s hard to articulate my gratitude, especially regarding the rumored assault on City Secretary Hua Muyun. In fact, Dragon Soul has conducted an investigation, and within a small scope, it has been verified." As the last person to attend the meeting, Xiao Lin, rested his hands on the table without showing much apology for his tardiness. "Minister Wang, you first affirmed the rumors about Secretary Hua’s assassination as real; truthfully, the timing and location all match. Here, I’d like to ask you a question. Can you recognize the back view in the footage?"

Wang Zhanting’s mind was still on the recent confirmation of rumors, and the sudden switch to discussing the back view in the footage left him staring at Xiao Lin with wide eyes, momentarily unable to answer.

"Xiao Lin, you seem a bit hasty; Minister Wang and we don’t quite understand what’s going on here. Why did Mr. Xiao gather us all together, and what does the rumored attempted assassination of Secretary Hua have to do with this meeting?" Wu Mian was the first to ask a question from the side. "Additionally, what relevance does the reported attempted assassination of Secretary Hua have with this meeting?"

"Ah, that was my mistake; I didn’t explain to everyone." Xiao Lin slapped his own forehead, showing an indescribable playful expression. "The rumors outside are true, and Secretary Luo has been diligently keeping it from Secretary Hua."

"Are you saying Secretary Hua was indeed attacked?" Wu Mian stood up in shock but was quickly pulled back down by Xiao Lin.

"Thanks to Minister Wang and Secretary Luo’s delays, I was able to find substantial evidence and locate the culprit behind the attack on Secretary Hua." (To be continued. If you like this work, you’re welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com) - your support is my greatest motivation.)