Ye Jinghong did not let me stop Jiang Xiaohui. She said to let him make a scene.
I was somewhat worried. Liu Qi had said that his death squad had high explosives strapped to their bodies, explosives powerful enough to kill even silicon-based lifeforms, let alone ordinary flesh-and-blood people.
Seeing how worried I was, Ye Jinghong said, "Liu Qi is bluffing us. I suspect there are no explosives at all. Even if there are, he would not dare use them recklessly. The Liu Family cannot bear the Karma of something like this, and at the very least, this is not an outcome they want. Unless Liu Qi is prepared to drag the entire Liu Family down with him, he would not dare give such an order lightly."
Ye Jinghong's words calmed me down somewhat.
She was right. If Xu Qiuyan's mother and the rest of us were truly blown to death because of Liu Qi, the Liu Family would never be able to explain it away afterward. The forces on Xu Qiuyan's mother's side naturally would not let such an opportunity slip by. They might even use this matter as grounds to drive the Liu Family completely out of the Administration Bureau. Likewise, Unit Nine—and even the security departments above Unit Nine—would not simply let the matter go. The Liu Family would be in serious trouble, and the entire family might be implicated. Once the Liu Family lost power, the forces they had once suppressed would surely strike together and beat the dog when it was down.
Once I understood that, I finally felt relieved.
Still, I had a lingering concern. "What if this is Liu Qi acting on his own? What if he secretly arranged this backup plan, and we push him too far? What if he stops caring