The night hung like a heavy black cloth, closely wrapping the entire city. Lin Yu sat alone in the dim office, his desk piled high with documents. The yellow, murky light seemed to mourn the state of his mind. His gaze was hollow, fixed directly on the papers, yet he saw nothing; his thoughts had drifted far away.
For months, Lin Yu had been investigating a corruption case involving municipal engineering. The case was intricately complex, and the corrupt forces behind it were deeply entrenched, bound by a network of relationships far larger than anyone could imagine. He had naively thought that, relying on his professional competence and a surge of passion, he could quickly bring the truth to light and give the residents of this city a proper account. Reality, however, delivered a heavy blow. Every time he thought he had found a crucial clue, it would invariably be cut short by various unexpected factors during the deep investigation, snapping the thread of evidence. Worse still, his actions seemed to have alerted certain individuals; recently, he had been subjected to constant threats and obstructions, both overt and covert. Some of those threatening words came as eerie warnings over anonymous phone calls, while others were intimidating letters stuffed into the crack of his door when he came home—each instance making his blood run cold.
Not only that, but his family had also begun to suffer the consequences. One day, as his mother was walking home from grocery shopping, sh…
Chapter 21