Zhang Fulai immediately stepped in front of Shen Shujiao, wearing a submissive, forced smile. “Captain Li, the Shen family really only has the property you see here. Jiaojiao has already handed everything over. I beg you…”
Before Zhang Fulai could finish, Li Changzhu kicked him hard between the legs.
“Ah…” Zhang Fulai let out a miserable scream, collapsing to the ground in pain, wishing he could just pass out.
As Zhang Fulai fell, Zhou Hong immediately stepped up to shield Shen Shujiao.
“Captain Li, don’t go too far. We are unarmed civilians. Who gave you the right to break into our home and hurt us? Do you have a search warrant?” Zhou Hong asked coldly.
Though he had been interrogated for a week and looked exhausted, his presence still radiated strength.
“We received a tip from a witness. To capture criminals for the state as quickly as possible, special circumstances don’t require a warrant.”
Li Changzhu pressed the muzzle of his gun against Zhou Hong’s forehead. “Zhou Hong, you’re a lawyer and Shen Shujiao’s neighbor. A lone girl like her couldn’t have moved so much property without your help, right? For your family’s sake, hand over the property. Otherwise, one pull of this trigger, and your brains will be all over the place.”
Hearing this, Aunt Zhou’s body went weak. She had to be supported by Zhou Jianan or she would have collapsed.
“Mom, don’t worry. It’ll be okay,” Zhou Jianan said, her eyes sharp as she glared at Li Changzhu. Despite her youthful face, her aura was far beyond her age.
“Captain Li, we just left the public security bureau. We haven’t been involved in anything. Don’t slander us. Without a search warrant, forcing your way into our home is illegal. We have the right to report your abuse of power,” Zhou Hong said righteously.
Shen Shujiao watched Zhang Fulai and Zhou Hong, one after the other, fearlessly stand in front of her. Tears glimmered in her eyes from being so moved.
In life-or-death moments, even one’s own parents might not always have the courage to protect their daughter.
Her uncle’s family, for example, would have pushed Shen Xueman forward to take the blow.
Yet Zhang Fulai and Zhou Hong had no blood relation to her, and even facing a gun aimed to kill them instantly, they still stood in her way.
How could Shen Shujiao not be touched?
“Looks like you won’t cry until you see a coffin!” Li Changzhu sneered, lifting his foot to kick Zhou Hong in the stomach.
Seeing this, Shen Shujiao tried to push Zhou Hong away to protect him, but Aunt Zhou pulled her behind her.
“Jiaojiao, you’re pregnant. Don’t take risks.”
Li Changzhu’s kick landed heavily on Zhou Hong’s stomach. With all his life lessons, Zhou Hong was no match for Li Changzhu, who came from a thug background. He was sent flying two meters.
“Hit him hard, make him tell the truth!”
As soon as Li Changzhu finished speaking, several men behind him swarmed Zhou Hong like wolves, punching and kicking him.
“Stop! Someone stop them!”
Shen Shujiao pushed Aunt Zhou’s hand away and tried to pull people away, but a man with a red armband grabbed her and dragged her aside. No matter how she struggled, she couldn’t break free.
“Let go of my father! What right do you have to beat him? This is illegal!”
Zhou Jianan rushed forward to help, but Zhou Hong stopped her firmly.
“Nannan, don’t come here. Wife, stop Nannan.”
Zhou Hong knew that if his daughter rushed over, all she could do was get beaten too. He would rather endure death himself than let his wife and daughter get hurt.
Enduring the pain, Zhou Hong refused to make a sound to spare his family from worry.
Seeing this, Zhang Dazhuang, a man, rushed to help but was shot in the leg by Li Changzhu. He screamed in pain and collapsed to the ground.
“Dazhuang!”
“Dad!”
Zhang Dazhuang’s wife and two children immediately surrounded him.
“Dad, don’t die!”
“I’m fine, Niuniu, don’t cry,” Zhang Dazhuang whispered through the pain.
Seeing her husband shot, Zhang Tieniu’s wife grabbed him tightly, afraid he would rush in and get killed. She was six months pregnant—how could she raise the child alone without her husband?
“Li Changzhu, this is the new society. You are just a squad leader of the public security team. How dare you shoot at civilians at will? Do you think you’re some lawless emperor?”
Seeing Li Changzhu assaulting people recklessly, Shen Shujiao was furious. Her eyes were red as she glared at him.
In the previous life, seeing Shen Xueman suffer because Li Changzhu hadn’t been held accountable for the property handover, this time, she had intentionally sought him out to handle it to prevent revenge.
But she had forgotten: people with evil natures always have a hundred reasons to do harm, no matter how she avoided them.
Shen Shujiao was stunningly beautiful. Even when angry, her graceful features carried a hint of charm.
Li Changzhu looked at her, his eyes flashing with reckless arrogance.
“That’s right. For traitorous elements disloyal to the country like you, we have the right to execute you on the spot.”
Li Changzhu aimed his gun at Zhang Tieniu’s wife beside him. “Your belly’s so big. I wonder if it’s twins? Want to see?”
Terrified, she hid behind her husband, trembling uncontrollably.
Shen Shujiao fully trusted that Li Changzhu could do such perverse things and quickly stood in front of Zhang Tieniu.
“Li Changzhu, how are you different from those hateful, perverted little devils? Everything requires evidence. You claim we are traitors—where is your proof?”
Shen Xueman said coldly, “I am the proof. Before you handed over the property, I saw ten boxes of gold, ten boxes of antiques and paintings, and over ten boxes of fine fabrics in your secret room under the bed… but you only handed over a third of it. A lone girl with no parents could never transfer such a large amount without someone covering for her.”
She looked at Zhou Hong, barely conscious from the beating. “Last month, I even saw Zhou Hong hosting a foreign guest at home. You must have given the property to that foreigner and transferred it abroad. If you’re not traitors, then who else is?”
“Shen Xueman, you’re talking nonsense. The situation is unstable. How could we possibly act recklessly or interact with foreigners? Even if we did, we would never invite them into our home. You’re framing us!” Zhou’s mother protested angrily.
“Captain Li, you heard her. She says interacting with foreigners doesn’t mean inviting them in. That proves the Zhou family privately deals with foreigners, and Shen Shujiao’s property was transferred away by them,” Shen Xueman told Li Changzhu, implying credit for the investigation.
“Since these people are stubborn, let’s give them a show. After watching, they won’t be so defiant.”
Li Changzhu signaled, and several red armband men rushed forward, smashing Zhang Tieniu’s resisting hand and kicking him to the ground, stomping on his injured hand.
Watching his wife dragged in front of Li Changzhu, Zhang Tieniu was furious.
“Let go of my wife, you murderous scum! If you harm her, even as a ghost, I won’t forgive you!”
Zhang Tieniu’s wife, terrified, collapsed to her knees in front of Li Changzhu.
“Sir, please, let me go. I’m only carrying one child, not twins.”