Chen Che could clearly sense the surging murderous intent radiating from this black man, his pair of fierce, venomous eyes locked onto Chen Che.
[Damn!
What the hell are those people from the Tasting Commerce Association doing? This pretty boy is still alive.
All the evidence this woman presented, I have ways to refute. As long as this pretty boy dies, everything ends.
Fuck, can't even get this small thing done right.
No, if this pretty boy really does have some evidence I don't know about, I'll fall into a passive position. I must strike first.]
Chen Che heard the black man's inner voice.
"Director An! Just because of a few words from this pretty boy, you stripped me of my duty and put me under house arrest here?"
"I've given explanations for every piece of evidence you brought up, and there's nothing shady between me and the Tasting Commerce Association!
I was one of your earliest followers. Everyone knows he's just your plaything in bed. If you treat me like this because of him, your people will lose heart."
The black man was putting pressure on An Nishang.
[Why does my sister like such a waste? Just for this trash, she's even treating Moore like this.] The thought came from Xia Na, who was standing with her arms folded, leaning against the wall.
[Why is the Director doing this? Are we, her trusted aides, really no match for this pretty boy?]
[Director! Moore has followed you for so long!]
[Could it be that Moore really has a problem?]
The psychological whisperings of An Nishang's other confidants also made their way into Chen Che's mind.
Looks like I'm not exactly popular in security here.
An Nishang ignored the black man and instead tossed a file bag across to Chen Che.
"See for yourself."
Chen Che exhaled, took the file bag under everyone's scrutiny, and started going through it one by one.
His heart skipped a beat.
Sure enough, it was exactly as he'd guessed.
This was the information An Nishang had dug up in the last two days.
This black man had indeed had some contact with people from the Tasting Commerce Association.
But the black man had his explanations ready.
All along they'd shared the same district—even the same management structure as the Tasting Commerce Association.
It was normal for him to have contact with them.
Every meeting on the file was over official business with their higher-ups.
And he was never alone with the upper management from the Tasting Commerce Association.
There were always other witnesses!
He'd given reasonable explanations for everything.
There's no way An Nishang could use this alone as cause to take out the black man.
If she did, she'd lose her people's confidence.
The main thing was, for survival, Chen Che had tried to steer suspicion between the black man and the missing batch of arms from An Nishang.
But none of this was direct proof that the black man was connected to An Nishang's stolen weaponry.
The situation was getting a bit complicated.
Still, judging by the black man's inner thoughts, Chen Che was convinced that the suspicions he'd relayed to An Nishang at the start were spot-on.
Even if he didn't know if the black man was directly tied to the arms deal, he was definitely betraying An Nishang.
The black man really did have unspeakable ties with the Tasting Commerce Association.
It's just that things weren't as easy to investigate as he'd thought; both sides were hiding it deep.
After all, betraying An Nishang was no small matter—going up against a ruthless woman like her, neither side could afford to leave obvious loopholes.
Even with three days, An Nishang herself couldn't find definitive evidence.
Damn, [Candy of Listening to the Heart] only lets me listen in on random thoughts.
I can't hear everything from everyone around me.
This left Chen Che a bit passive.
He wasn't sure if An Nishang was leaning towards him or this black man.
Fortunately, that's when [Candy of Listening to the Heart] finally kicked in.
A woman's inner voice flowed into his ear.
Chen Che's brows rose; the corner of his mouth curved into a grin.
He felt he had a shot now.
An Nishang's inner voice told him that today, no matter what, the black man must die here.
Even if the surfaced evidence couldn't nail him down for good.
An Nishang could at least deduce that Moore, the black man, had some murky ties to the Tasting Commerce Association.
The Tasting Commerce Association could play the double-agent game—so could An Nishang.
An Nishang had activated her sleeper agent inside the Tasting Commerce Association, employed some tricks, and gotten her hands on some evidence proving this black man had long been connected to the Tasting Commerce shop.
Even if he hadn't leaked the weapons, he had absolutely betrayed An Nishang.
But that evidence, An Nishang couldn't use.
Because it was ultra-classified within the Tasting Commerce Association, her mole nearly blew their own cover to get it.
If she brought out that evidence, yes, she could sentence and execute the black man.
But she'd also tip off the Tasting Commerce Association that An Nishang had a spy inside.
She'd likely expose her people.
An Nishang wouldn't risk her own for the sake of this black man.
So now, the situation was in a precarious deadlock.
There was evidence, but it couldn't be revealed.
Only by finding other evidence could they truly get rid of this black man.
With anyone else, so what—once she figured it out, An Nishang would just use her methods to make sure he couldn't live or die peacefully, fabricate any evidence she wanted and kill him off.
But the black man's identity was special—he was An Nishang's right-hand man, her first batch of loyalists, her deputy.
So if she executed the black man without proof, how would her subordinates see her?
Based on a pretty boy from her bed, and no solid evidence, she'd torture and execute her own right-hand deputy?
How could her people keep following her?
They'd all start to wonder if An Nishang had let Chen Che's dick scramble her mind.
On top of that, the old Director at the Judicial Bureau was stepping down, and the other Deputy Director, Bode, was eyeing her position eagerly.
If An Nishang was caught executing confidants on a whim right now, it would be perfect ammunition for her rivals, and she'd lose the advantage.
For all these reasons, things had gotten complicated.
This was the black man's real bargaining chip.
As long as An Nishang had no solid proof, the black man was safe.
Bringing in Chen Che for a showdown was, on An Nishang's part, just a desperate gamble to see if the black man would slip up.
Of course, An Nishang didn't put much hope in Chen Che—she was just giving him a chance.
If Chen Che failed, An Nishang had only one option left… secretly execute Moore!
An assassination.
Sure, it would cause controversy and leave her open to attack.
But no way would An Nishang tolerate a traitor at her side.
Letting anyone else sleep soundly under her own roof? No chance!
The boss is still leaning in my direction, which is an opportunity. If I can impress her by taking down this black man, her killing intent towards me will plummet.
Isn't this the perfect chance to complete my mission?
Given the situation, my only cheat is [Candy of Listening to the Heart].
Stall, dance, muddy the waters!
Keep going until I hear a crack in the black man's thoughts.
"Candy of Listening to the Heart, give me some luck—I'm all in on you now."
Chen Che thought to himself… then raised his head, staring hard into the black man's eyes.
[No, something's off—this guy's gaze is different now...
Damn it!
Could he really have dirt on me?
No, Natasha's still waiting for me—I have to survive this.]
Natasha?!
Who's that?
Chen Che frantically racked his brain.
This black man had several wives.
He knew that much, but there was never a Natasha.
If she mattered this much to him, could she be tied to all this?
At that moment, An Nishang finally spoke: "Chen Che, you're the one who said Moore was linked to my missing batch of weapons.
I looked into it, just like you suggested, but all I found was this.
Moore says your accusations are slander, that you're the real traitor."
In an instant, the room felt a few degrees colder.