Resigned

The Qingshu Villa murder case, a major one, couldn't be contained. By the next day, many local media outlets were reporting on it.

Although the details of the case were unclear, at least the fact that twelve people were dead and that firearms were involved was reported.

Then, on the third day, the Fuzhou City Bureau went public with the case, holding a press conference to detail the situation.

What was most surprising were the identities of the deceased. Eight of them were poachers who had been rampant in Lingnan, a veteran team within a poaching syndicate. They didn't just hunt rare animals; they often captured certain rare creatures alive to sell as pets, which was far more lucrative.

Not only that, but this group of poachers was also implicated in five murder cases in Lingnan. They were wanted fugitives, with Huang Sheng alone responsible for three lives, all of them police officers!

According to the case files transferred from Lingnan, these individuals were all heinous criminals. The Lingnan police had pursued them for years without success. Recently, the group had drifted to Fuzhou to commit crimes. Four of them were arrested by the police, while eight were murdered at the Qingshu Villa residential area.

As for the other four, the police didn't provide much information to the media, only casually mentioning they were involved in organized crime.

But even this was enough for the media and the public to speculate about the major murder case involving twelve deaths. Was it a revenge killing? Or a case of criminals turning on each other?

When they learned from the police that there was a high probability that only one person was responsible, suspected to be a professional assassin.

This piece of information set Fuzhou ablaze. After all, three of the deceased were found scattered between one hundred and three hundred meters outside the villa. Judging by the scene, these twelve people were hunted down and killed. If it was the work of one person, how formidable must that person be?

Twelve armed, strong men, chased and fleeing for their lives, only to be killed with a single blow each.

Was this a movie? The Killer? Or Wanted?

Four to five days after the Qingshu Villa incident, the case gradually gained traction. Since the deceased were all criminals and fugitives, the public wasn't panicked by the major murder case. Instead, they were all discussing the assassin.

After all, the profession of an assassin was too far removed from ordinary people, especially someone so skilled. Most people believed this wouldn't affect their lives.

Thus, the public's heated discussions quickly shifted from the murder case itself to the mysterious assassin.

Some debated whether such movie-like assassins, capable of fighting ten men at once and killing with a single blow, truly existed.

Some discussed the assassin's motives, wondering if they were acting as a divine arbiter, killing ten men in ten steps.

Some university students even wondered if the assassin was male or female, what they looked like, and if they had a contradictory personality, both cold and gentle.

Eventually, some people online even began to idolize the assassin, and the topic had long since moved past the murder case itself.

Soon, in an effort to steer public opinion, many media outlets began promoting correct legal concepts, stating that no matter the assassin's reasons, they were criminals themselves.

Killing is a crime, regardless of whether the victim deserved to die. It violates the law and is in no way worthy of advocacy or worship.

Regardless of the storm this case stirred up in Fuzhou, Lan Mu, with a wry smile at the public's reaction, had already returned to Modu.

"This whole affair has caused such a stir. It's a shame the Fuzhou authorities tried to cover it up, but it seems there weren't any major issues!"

"Nowadays, people's focus isn't on whether it's a major murder case."

Lan Mu smiled and closed the news on his phone, his thoughts returning to his own affairs in Modu.

"Something's wrong at the newspaper agency. Editor-in-Chief Liang has blocked me. I need to find Cheng Ming first to get the inside scoop."

Lan Mu didn't go to the newspaper agency immediately upon arriving in Modu. He went home first. It was a rented one-bedroom apartment where he lived alone, living the bachelor life.

As soon as he got home, he called Cheng Ming again. This time, it connected quickly.

"Brother Mu, what's up? I just got back to Modu, and you already know?" Cheng Ming's voice was loud, and he usually spoke as if he didn't want anyone to miss a word.

Hearing this, Lan Mu understood immediately and asked, "You were on a business trip too?"

"Of course! Two days after you left, I went to Changzhou with Boss Yang. They said they discovered an ancient Han Dynasty tomb there, and our newspaper agency sent sixteen people! I went too. It was truly amazing. They say it's the most significant archaeological contribution from a Han Dynasty tomb discovered so far."

Lan Mu asked, "How could excavating a tomb be finished in just a week?"

Cheng Ming coughed twice, his voice finally lowering.

"Well, that's... uh... they don't need that many people, do they? They say the excavation will take three to four years. Our newspaper agency just left two people stationed there, and I came back."

Lan Mu hummed and said, "So you don't know what's been happening at the newspaper agency these past few days either?"

"What's happening? What situation?"

Lan Mu and Cheng Ming had a good relationship, so he directly told him about being forced down Fanli Mountain, living like a wild man for seven days, then fighting poachers and barely escaping with his life, and finally assisting the police in solving the case.

He told Cheng Ming everything he could. Even so, it was bizarre enough. What ordinary person would encounter such things? His own experience was enough for a major news story.

"...You have no idea, that shot hit my left arm. Luckily, I was lying on the ground at the time. If my leg had been injured, you would never have seen me again!"

"...That's the basic situation. You can check the Fuzhou news from the past few days, and you'll know I'm not lying. It was a big case! I even identified the bodies up close!"

"...Editor-in-Chief Liang definitely blocked me. His phone is always busy when I call. Even if they were going to fire me, shouldn't there be a formal termination process? Just acting like I don't exist? What kind of situation is this?"

Cheng Ming listened, took a while to process it, and then said, "Brother Mu, you encountered so many things on one business trip? Tsk, tsk, why don't I encounter anything when I go on trips?"

"Stop it. It seems you don't know what's going on either. I wanted to find you to get the inside scoop, but forget it. I'll head to the newspaper agency right away!" Lan Mu shook his head.

Cheng Ming hurriedly said, "Okay, hurry over. I'm heading to the newspaper agency now. I'll get the inside scoop for you first, alright? Brother Mu, why are you always so suspicious? Honestly, you've been missing for so many days without taking any leave, and we couldn't reach you. It's no wonder Editor-in-Chief Liang blocked you!"

"Hmph!" Lan Mu couldn't be bothered to argue with him further. He hung up, tidied his appearance slightly, found another bank card at home, and then left.

He first withdrew a thousand yuan to fill his empty pockets after days of scarcity, then took a taxi directly to the Morning Light Newspaper Agency.

As he got out of the taxi at the entrance of the newspaper agency, he received a call from Cheng Ming.

"How is it? Is Editor-in-Chief Liang there?"

Cheng Ming said, "Brother Mu, something's not right! Editor-in-Chief Liang unilaterally announced your resignation. Your office has already been taken over..."

Lan Mu frowned upon hearing this and said, "What's the situation? Where's the stuff from my office?"

"It's all in the warehouse. Do you want me to get it for you?" Cheng Ming replied.

"Get your head! Hmm... is the Editor-in-Chief here?"

Lan Mu had been working there for several years. Setting aside the force majeure incident, even if he had taken many days off and they wanted to terminate his contract, shouldn't someone be there? Did they just fire him unilaterally? Without a word? Was a text message enough? Just block him?

Perhaps, the Editor-in-Chief's word could indeed get him fired, but shouldn't there be a process? Not even giving him a chance to explain? Just block him?

Cheng Ming also found it a bit strange and said, "The Editor-in-Chief went to the capital, the same day you left Modu. Editor-in-Chief Liang can handle many matters at the newspaper agency now. He's already sorted everything out with HR for you."

Lan Mu pondered for a moment and said, "I'm outside the newspaper agency. Come out first."

After waiting for a while, Cheng Ming walked out. He had short hair, dressed casually, and was about 1.8 meters tall. His appearance couldn't be described as handsome; one could only say he was patriotic.

Cheng Ming walked up to Lan Mu, offered him a cigarette first, and they started talking while smoking outside the newspaper agency's entrance.

"Brother Mu, I just ran into Editor-in-Chief Liang when I came out. I asked him directly, and he said the agency can unilaterally terminate your contract according to the agreement, and there's no problem with handling it officially. He also asked me to notify you to pick up your belongings and go to HR to collect your termination letter."

"According to the contract? The contract also mentions force majeure! I almost lost my life coming back, and he wants to handle it officially?" Lan Mu was annoyed by losing his job so inexplicably.

It wasn't that he was particularly attached to this job. With his abilities, he could easily find work at many other newspaper agencies in Modu.

It was just that this Editor-in-Chief Liang seemed to be targeting him deliberately, which made him upset.

Normally, when people part ways, they do so amicably. Why did he have to make it so unpleasant?

Lan Mu and Cheng Ming walked into the newspaper agency. Everyone there knew them both.

"Hey! You're back? I heard you resigned? Found something good?" a colleague, rushing out of the newspaper agency, said with a smile upon seeing Lan Mu.

Lan Mu gave a wry smile and said, "What good is there? I was fired. Alright, you're busy, so go ahead."

Upon reaching the warehouse of the general affairs department, the warehouse supervisor understood the situation immediately upon seeing him.

"Here to collect your things? Just sign here."

Lan Mu didn't move to sign first. He said, "No rush to sign. Let me check if anything is missing first."

The warehouse supervisor nodded and led Lan Mu into the warehouse, pointing to a box. "This is all yours. Your colleagues from the office packed it for you."

Lan Mu checked and found that nothing was missing. Everything he had left in his office was there, without exception.

"I'll come back to collect it later. I think I still need to go to the HR department, right?"

"Don't, just take it now."

Lan Mu shook his head and went directly to the HR department with Cheng Ming.

As they reached the entrance, he immediately spotted a young clerk inside and called out, "Zhang Qun!"

He then gave a meaningful look. Zhang Qun understood immediately upon seeing Lan Mu and ran out of the office.

"Brother Mu, you're finally back! Where have you been?"

Lan Mu explained again why he had gone missing. Zhang Qun grinned and said, "You're amazing! So you were the one who exposed that poaching case! I thought that newcomer was really that capable!"

But then he frowned and said, "Brother Mu, you're too late. Old Liang has handled everything. Unless the Editor-in-Chief says otherwise, you're already considered resigned."

"Wait, wait... newcomer? What's going on? How do you know about the poaching case in Fuzhou? Did you see it online?" Lan Mu asked.

"The Fuzhou poaching case? Who doesn't know about it? A giant wild boar as tall as a person. That was news from a few days ago. Our newspaper agency got the exclusive scoop in Modu," Zhang Qun continued. "A while ago, a newcomer joined. On their first day, they brought news with them. Pictures and evidence, a giant wild boar as tall as a person, with tusks thicker than my arm."

Lan Mu glanced at Cheng Ming and said, "Modu reported on the Fuzhou poaching case a few days ago?"

Cheng Ming replied, "I'm not sure. I just got back too."

Lan Mu suddenly smiled and nodded, "I see."

"Old Liang, you're really arrogant!"

Cheng Ming understood immediately and said, "Brother Mu, did Old Liang take your news and then dump you?"

Lan Mu showed him the MMS in his phone's draft folder. Cheng Ming and Zhang Qun saw the detailed content and the original newspaper image, and they immediately understood.

"Damn it, is he crazy? How much is this news worth? Couldn't he have just said hello before publishing it?"

Lan Mu shook his head. "It's not about the worth. Isn't that newcomer his relative?"

"Old Liang was very angry when I was missing for a few days. He already said in a text message that he was going to fire me."

"I think he originally just planned to fire me normally. After all, I was absent without leave. We don't have much of a relationship, so handling it officially is normal."

"But with that newcomer, it's different. Just my luck, before I called him, I sent him this MMS. After that, when I called him, he blocked me."

"I guess he changed his mind after seeing the MMS and got an idea, then paved the way for his relative with the news."

Cheng Ming and Zhang Qun angrily said, "Let's call the Editor-in-Chief and show him the MMS on your phone."

Lan Mu shook his head again. "No, although I could resolve this by going to the Editor-in-Chief, I don't want to do it that way."

"To be honest, I'd rather be a freelance reporter. This is perfect timing. I have no objections to Old Liang firing me. I had already thought about it, I just didn't expect him to fire me so disgracefully."

"I plan to do news reporting on my own, without being contracted to any media outlet. Then, I can provide material to whichever outlet I want."

After hearing this, Cheng Ming suddenly said, "Great! I support you! Brother Mu, I quit too."

Lan Mu laughed. "Quit what! I was fired!"

"Brother Mu, I've been suppressed by Boss Yang to the point where I'll never get ahead. I haven't wanted to do this for a long time!" Cheng Ming said disdainfully.

Lan Mu slung an arm around Cheng Ming's shoulders, and the two then looked at Zhang Qun.

Zhang Qun said with a wry smile, "You two big shots, my family finally let me work here... I..."

Lan Mu laughed heartily, "I didn't tell you to quit! Keep up the good work. I'll be making a living from the heavens from now on, so you should stay stable at the newspaper agency."

Watching the two of them leave the newspaper agency holding boxes, Zhang Qun pouted and whispered, "You still want freedom? Where is there so much freedom to be found?"