Chapter Eighty-One: Strike First to Gain the Upper Hand

It was after eleven at night when Li Mu had just finished his shower. Suddenly, he heard an urgent banging at the door. Puzzled, he opened it, only to find Zhao Kang standing there, panting heavily.

Li Mu asked with concern, "What happened?"

"Guo..." Zhao Kang tried to speak but swallowed hard, struggling to catch his breath. "Guo Lin..."

Li Mu frowned, "What about Guo Lin? Can you calm down and speak properly? Come inside first."

Still clutching his chest, Zhao Kang anxiously blurted, "That old bastard Guo Lin is plotting to set your dad up!"

"My dad?" Li Mu’s eyelid twitched violently.

Zhao Kang cursed, "I overheard my dad say that bastard privately approached my Uncle Chen—the head of the Xiling Coal Mine Survey Team, Chen Hailong. He’s trying to coerce him into framing your dad for stealing an imported surveying instrument worth more than ninety thousand!"

A chill shot through Li Mu, veins bulging on his forehead. "Is this true?"

Zhao Kang nodded. "My Uncle Chen and my dad grew up in the same village, sworn brothers, very close. Tonight, after drinking together, Uncle Chen confessed. Guo Lin gave him two options: cooperate, and get two hundred thousand plus a promotion at the end of the year; refuse, and he’s out of a job by year’s end. His wife doesn't work, his son hasn’t graduated from college—they need the money. It’s life or death for him."

Li Mu’s veins throbbed in sync with his racing heart. He hadn’t expected Guo Lin to resort to such ruthless revenge—this was pushing him to the edge! Tales of theft were rampant on the mines, especially in state-owned places like Xiling Coal Mine—coal, iron, cables, equipment, even explosives were stolen. The police had arrested plenty over the years, and once charges were filed, prosecutions and sentences were harsh, no mercy shown.

There had even been cases of false accusations. Li Mu remembered his father mentioning how a production team leader, after being caught stealing cables, framed the whistleblower instead. That case, worth about ten thousand, landed the innocent man three and a half years in prison. If it’s a piece of equipment worth over ninety thousand, wouldn’t that mean seven or eight years?

If Guo Lin was set on this, he wouldn’t do it half-heartedly. He’d make sure the entire chain of evidence—witnesses, physical proof—was watertight, leaving no room for error.

Li Mu’s mind raced, analyzing the evidence needed to frame his father. First, a witness—someone to accuse his father of stealing or selling the instrument. Survey Team Leader Chen Hailong would naturally be the accuser; Guo Lin might even have someone lined up to play the buyer. Second, the physical evidence—the imported instrument itself, ready to be used as proof. If Chen Hailong agreed, that would complete the basic chain of evidence. It might not be perfect, but with a little manipulation and the right connections, Guo Lin could make it stick.

Rage surged through Li Mu, his whole body trembling. Last time, his conflict with Guo Yuhang had ended with Guo Lin forcing his parents into early retirement. Now, because of another feud with Guo Yuhang, Guo Lin wanted to send his father to prison!

So, just because you’re the mine director, you think you can abuse your power for personal vendettas? You think you can act with impunity? Even children know that family should be off-limits, but you, a man in your forties or fifties, don’t understand? Your son’s a scoundrel, but you’re even worse!

Li Mu clenched his fists. If you want to play, I’ll play along. But this time, I’ll strike first. I’m done dealing with that spoiled brat Guo Yuhang—I’ll take on you, Guo Lin, directly!

Noticing Li Mu’s terrifying expression, Zhao Kang hurried to console him, "Li Mu, don’t worry too much. Even if they really frame your dad, you can always ask Song Liang and Zhang Wanjun for help—they’re big shots. I don’t think Guo Lin will succeed."

Li Mu waved him off coldly. "That’s not the point—whether he succeeds or not. The fact that he’s willing to do this already puts my dad in danger. That’s unforgivable!"

"So what are you going to do?"

"I’m going to strike first and take him down!"

With that, Li Mu found his father’s half-empty pack of cigarettes, lit one, and sat thinking deeply. Zhao Kang also lit a cigarette, watching Li Mu in silence. At that moment, Zhao Kang knew he had no solution to offer.

When his cigarette burned out, Li Mu stubbed it out and stood up, slapping his thigh. "Here’s what you do: go back now and mobilize your most trusted people on Douban. Get them moving tonight. I want to disrupt his plans, buy some time, and find his real weakness!"

...

"Has that coward Chen Hailong still not made up his mind?"

The next afternoon, in a private hospital room, Xue Guilan’s face was twisted with irritation.

Guo Lin sighed, agitated. "He’s still hesitating—he’s mainly afraid that if the frame-up against Li Daoping gets exposed, he’ll be in trouble."

Xue Guilan frowned, "How would it get exposed? Didn’t the guy who buys second-hand instruments agree already? As long as Chen Hailong agrees, sneaks the instrument out, and hands it over to that buyer, then calls the police—that’s it, isn’t it?"

Guo Lin replied, "That’s exactly it, but Chen Hailong thinks the logic is shaky. Li Daoping has been laid off for days, and hadn’t been at work for a while before that. If we report the instrument missing now, and blame him, Chen Hailong fears the police won’t buy it."

Xue Guilan grew more anxious. "Didn’t we agree? Chen Hailong just needs to tell the police that Li Daoping borrowed the instrument before his leave, and after he returned, no one opened the case to check. Now, when they finally open it, the instrument’s gone. Of course, the suspicion falls on Li Daoping. The police will check all buyers in the city—when they find the instrument, the buyer insists Li Daoping sold it. Problem solved!"

Guo Lin gritted his teeth. "That’s exactly what I told him, but the bastard is still wavering!"

On the hospital bed, Guo Yuhang, his face battered beyond recognition, choked out in resentment, "Dad, if he won’t agree, offer him another hundred thousand. If he’s still unsure, add another hundred thousand. No matter what, before I’m discharged, Li Daoping has to be arrested!"

Guo Lin nodded. "That’s all we can do. Don’t worry, I’ll talk to him again tonight."

The three fell into a strange, heavy silence, each lost in their own thoughts.

Suddenly, a cellphone rang, shattering the quiet. Guo Lin glanced at the caller ID—it was his former superior, Han Lu.

Han Lu had been the previous director of Xiling Coal Mine before being promoted to deputy party secretary of the Mining Group. Before leaving, he’d appointed Guo Lin as the new director, making him Guo Lin’s patron and Guo Lin his inside man at Xiling Coal Mine.

"Secretary Han," Guo Lin greeted respectfully.

"Xiao Guo, what’s going on? There are rumors everywhere online calling you the Xiling Coal Mine overlord—listing all sorts of crimes and even saying you’ve kept a mistress for years..."

Cold sweat broke out on Guo Lin’s forehead. Everyone at the mine knew about his corruption, but he’d never cared. If you dare steal, you can’t fear idle gossip—he always thought that was the rule. Rumors about corrupt officials could fill volumes, yet their careers remained unshaken. But now, with slander spreading everywhere, even reaching the Mining Group all the way in Pengcheng, something was wrong.

He had committed too many misdeeds—he didn’t know what evidence was out there. But when had he ever had an affair with a teacher from No. 5 City High School? That was a baseless accusation!

He pressed anxiously, "Secretary Han, what’s going on? How did you hear about this?"

Han Lu berated him, "It’s all over the internet! My secretary told me it’s not just on your local forums—here in Pengcheng, everyone’s talking about your scandals! Xiling Coal Mine is on the verge of bankruptcy. After it’s done, I was thinking of bringing you to the Group before I retire. Now what do you expect me to do?"

Guo Lin panicked. He didn’t know exactly what was being said online, but if Han Lu was calling to scold him, it meant things were serious.

He rushed to reassure Han Lu, "Don’t worry, Secretary Han—I’ll deal with this as quickly as possible!"

"You’d better! If the Group’s leaders or the Discipline Commission start paying attention to you, there’s nothing more I can do!"

Han Lu was deeply anxious himself. When it came to corruption, he was no less guilty than Guo Lin. In fact, Guo Lin had paid him handsomely these past few years. With retirement in sight, all he wanted was to carve out one more piece of Xiling Coal Mine’s remains and retire quietly, maybe keep Guo Lin inside the Group as a trusted ally. But if Guo Lin fell now, it would affect not just his future transfer, but Han Lu’s own retirement.

Han Lu knew his future had only two possibilities: a peaceful retirement, or a life behind bars.

Feeling the immense pressure from Han Lu, Guo Lin made repeated assurances before hanging up. He told his wife, "I have an urgent matter—I’m leaving now."

Before Xue Guilan could ask what was wrong, Guo Lin had already rushed out of the hospital room.