"The bridge is under repair; how come there was no prior notice this time?"
At the head of the North-South Bridge, Li Tian looked at the warning sign and grumbled with dissatisfaction.
"Like a mouse hiding at home all day, it's no wonder you don't get any news," Mu Zi said with a laugh, then asked, "What about the other routes?"
"There are two," Li Tian replied succinctly. He pointed to a nearby small bridge and said, "That's the first one. It's a bit difficult to navigate, but it's closer than the main bridge."
Mu Zi squinted at the small bridge, crowded with a long line of vehicles, and frowned. "What about the other option?"
Li Tian gestured towards the east: "There's another North-South Bridge at the far eastern end of Binbei City, but it's quite a distance from here."
After a moment's thought, Mu Zi started his motorcycle: "Let's take the small bridge!"...
The small bridge, actually a pontoon bridge, was narrow and only allowed small vehicles to pass. Sturdy iron railings flanked both sides of the metal bridge.
Due to the traffic jam, it took Mu Zi about an hour to reach the exit of the pontoon bridge.
Mu Zi breathed a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat agitated by the heavy car exhaust in the air: "Finally done with this damned road..." he cursed, suddenly noticing that several railings near the exit were missing. Frowning, he asked, "Isn't it dangerous not to repair such a place?"
Li Tian chuckled from the back seat, "This pontoon bridge is notorious for accidents. Even if the management wants to fix it, they need time and resources."
Mu Zi nodded, carefully observing the terrain around the gap and memorizing the layout in his mind...
Finally arriving in Binnan City, under Li Tian's guidance, they quickly located the branch office of Chu Xiao Group. Mu Zi was surprised to find that the office was on the same street as the provincial hospital where Yezi had been treated. He thought of Yezi and wondered how she was doing now...
The Chu Xiao Group's Binnan branch office was located in an ordinary commercial building, with shops as neighbors. In front of the building was a small open space filled with various vehicles. Chu Xuelin's BB888 parked in front of the door was quite conspicuous.
Mu Zi parked the motorcycle at a distance and carefully surveyed the terrain of the branch office.
It was impossible to make a move inside the office. The internal structure was too simple, and there were too many employees coming and going. The surrounding commercial stores complicated the situation further; there was no chance to set up an accident scene inside. And tampering with a car was out of the question, with so many people around, more effective than security cameras.
So, the opportunity had to be seized when Chu Xuelin left the office.
That is, it had to be on the road! Whether he was walking or driving, there would be a chance to act.
So, they had to wait for him to come out...
Li Tian sat on the back seat of the motorcycle, curiously looking at Mu Zi, who was resting with his eyes closed, and exclaimed in surprise, "You're not planning to just sit here and curse Chu Xuelin to death, are you?"
Mu Zi smiled without saying a word.
"Are you going to say something? Can we really just sit here and wait for him to die?" Li Tian was getting anxious.
Mu Zi stood up reluctantly, looking lazily at Li Tian and said, "Since you can't wait, why don't you help me analyze a few questions?"
Li Tian was puzzled: "What questions?"
"First, how likely is it that Chu Xuelin will return to Binbei City today?"
Li Tian quickly replied, "One hundred percent. He must have received the news of the total computer network failure at the main office by now, so he will definitely return tonight, no matter how late!"
"Good. Second, what time will he likely return tonight?"
After a moment of thought, Li Tian answered, "Dealing with off-the-books accounts is tricky. And since it concerns the interests of his main company, he will surely see it through to the end. After that, he'll need to schmooze and dine... Hmm, hard to say exactly when, but one thing is for sure, he'll return very late!"
"How late?" Mu Zi blinked and continued to ask.
Li Tian spread his hands: "I don't have the power of prophecy."
Mu Zi twirled a lock of hair on his forehead, "Then let me ask another way, which route do you think Chu Xuelin will take to return? The main bridge or the pontoon bridge?"
This time, Li Tian took longer to think, answering after ten seconds: "The pontoon bridge. Two reasons: first, after 10 PM,
there are fewer vehicles on the pontoon bridge, so why take the longer route? Second, if Chu Xuelin socializes in the evening, he's bound to drink, and I know that drunk driving checks on the North-South Bridge are quite strict."
Mu Zi gave a thumbs up: "Impressive!"
After saying this, he lazily sat back down on the motorcycle seat and closed his eyes. "The pontoon bridge, that's where Chu Xuelin's grave will be."
Li Tian's face lit up with excitement: "You have a plan?"
Mu Zi nodded lazily: "Yeah."...
Meanwhile, in the accounting office of the branch, over a dozen employees were frantically busy, with the sound of keyboards clacking and printers constantly churning out paper.
Chu Xuelin sat in his executive chair, making calls non-stop. He had a cup of water in front of him, sipping occasionally to moisten his dry throat.
After about an hour of phone calls, his deeply furrowed brow finally relaxed.
Putting the phone down, he stood up, rubbed his forehead, glanced at the busy staff around him with a smile, and said: "Alright, everyone, let's speed up and get the accounts in order. The auditors and tax officials will be here any minute."...
A few minutes later, the office returned to its usual tidy and quiet state, with the employees efficiently working at their respective positions.
Chu Xuelin stood by the second-floor window, looking at several cars slowly approaching the building, a confident smile on his face.
"Director Chu, they've arrived," a slim female secretary with golden curly hair came up behind him and said softly.
"Got it," Chu Xuelin stretched and gave the secretary a smile, then turned and walked towards the door. "Let's go welcome our old friends."
They walked down the stairs side by side, heading to the lobby on the first floor.
As they descended the stairs, Chu Xuelin quietly squeezed the hand of his female secretary and whispered, "Mina, it's all on you tonight."
The secretary discreetly squeezed his hand back and whispered in response, "Don't worry..."