Forced Out of a Job

The massive murder case at Qingshu Villa could not be kept under wraps forever. By the next day, many local media outlets had reported it in the newspapers.

Although the reports were vague about the details, they at least revealed that twelve people had died and that firearms had been involved.

Then, on the third day, the Fuzhou Municipal Bureau simply made the case public and held a press conference for the media, giving a detailed account of the case.

What shocked people most was the identities of the dead. Eight of them were poachers who had once carried out rampant poaching in Lingnan and were a veteran team within the Poaching Gang. They not only hunted rare animals, but often captured certain rare species alive for clients to keep as pets. Compared to hunting, the latter was even more profitable.

What was more, these poachers had also been implicated in five murder cases in Lingnan. They were wanted fugitives, and Huang Sheng alone had three lives on his hands—all police officers!

The case files transferred from Lingnan showed that every one of them was a heinous criminal. Lingnan police had pursued and intercepted them for years without success. Recently, the group had drifted into Fuzhou to commit crimes. Four had been arrested by the police, while eight had been murdered in the villa district of Qingshu Villa.

As for the other four, the police did not provide much information to the media, merely mentioning that they were involved with organized crime.

But even that was enough for the media and the public to fill in the blanks about this massive murder case with twelve dead. Was it revenge? Or a gang conflict?

When they learned from the police that there was a strong possibility the perpetrator had acted alone, and that it was suspected to be the work of a professional killer—

That information set Fuzhou ablaze. Three of the victims had been found scattered one hundred to three hundred meters outside the villa. From the scene, it appeared that all twelve had been hunted down and killed. If one person had done it all, just how formidable was that person?

Twelve burly men with guns had been chased for their lives by one man, only to be killed one by one with a single fatal strike.

Was this a movie? Léon: The Professional? Or Wanted?

Four or five days after the Qingshu Villa incident, the case continued to ferment. Since all the victims had been criminals and wanted fugitives, the public did not panic over the massive murder case. Instead, everyone was talking about the killer.

After all, the profession of an assassin was too far removed from ordinary people, especially someone so capable. Most people believed it would not affect their lives.

Thus, public discussion quickly shifted away from the murder case itself and onto the mysterious killer.

Some discussed whether movie-style killers like that truly existed in the world—one against ten, killing with a single blow.

Others discussed the killer's motives. Could he have been dispensing justice, killing one man every ten steps?

Some college students even wondered whether the killer was male or female, what they looked like, and whether they had that contradictory personality of being both cold and gentle.

Eventually, people online even began worshipping the killer. The discussion had long since cast the murder case itself beyond the clouds.

Soon, in order to steer public opinion back, many media outlets began promoting proper legal principles. Whatever reasons the killer had, he was still a criminal himself.

Killing was a crime. Regardless of whether the people he killed deserved to die, he had broken the law and was absolutely not someone to be encouraged or admired.

No matter how much turmoil the case caused in Fuzhou, when Lan Mu looked at the public discourse with mixed laughter and helplessness, he had already returned to Shanghai.

"This has stirred up the whole city. Fuzhou authorities tried so hard to cover it up, but there hasn't been any trouble at all!"

"These days, nobody's focus is on whether it was a massive murder case or not."

Lan Mu smiled and closed the news on his phone, turning his thoughts back to his own affairs in Shanghai.

"I don't know what happened at the newspaper agency. Editor-in-Chief Liang blocked me. I should find Cheng Ming first and get the lay of the land."

The moment Lan Mu arrived in Shanghai, he did not go to the newspaper agency. Instead, he went home first. It was a rented apartment with one bedroom and one living room. He lived alone, carefree and comfortable.

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

"Brother Mu, what's up? I just got back to Shanghai, and you already knew?" Cheng Ming had a booming voice. He was usually loud and carefree, as if he was afraid no one would hear him.

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

"Of course. Two days after you left, I went to Changzhou with Boss Yang. I heard they'd unearthed a Han dynasty tomb there. Our newspaper agency sent sixteen people! I went too. And damn, it was incredible. I heard it's the Han dynasty tomb with the greatest archaeological value discovered so far."

Lan Mu asked, "How could excavating an ancient tomb possibly be finished in a week?"

Cheng Ming coughed twice, and his booming voice finally dropped.

"Well... uh... they didn't need that many people, right? I heard the excavation will take three or four years. Our newspaper agency only left two people there permanently, so I came back."

Lan Mu gave a soft acknowledgment, then said, "So you don't know what has been going on at the newspaper agency these past few days either?"

"What? What situation?"

Lan Mu was close with Cheng Ming, so he directly told him how he had been driven down Fanli Mountain, lived like a Wild Man for seven days, fought poachers, narrowly escaped death, and then assisted the police in solving the case.

He told Cheng Ming everything he could. Even just that much was bizarre enough. How often did ordinary people encounter such things? His own experiences alone were enough to make major news.

"...You have no idea. That bullet hit my left arm. Good thing I was lying on the ground at the time. Otherwise, if my leg had been injured, you would never have seen me again!"

"...That's basically what happened. You can check Fuzhou's news from the past few days and you'll know I wasn't lying. It was a huge case! I identified the bodies up close!"

"...Editor-in-Chief Liang definitely blocked me. Whenever I call him, it always says he's on another call. Even if he wants to fire me, there should be a formal termination process, right? Is he just going to act like I don't exist? What kind of nonsense is that?"

After listening, Cheng Ming took a long while to process it before saying, "Brother Mu, you went on one business trip and ran into all that? Damn. Why don't I ever get that kind of thing on my business trips?"

"Cut it out. Looks like you don't know what's going on either. I wanted to get the lay of the land from you, but forget it. I'd better hurry over to the newspaper agency myself!" Lan Mu said, shaking his head.

Cheng Ming hurriedly said, "Fine, come over now. I'm almost at the newspaper agency. I'll check things out for you first, all right? Brother Mu, why are you always so suspicious? Honestly, you disappeared for so many days without even asking for leave. No one could reach you. No wonder Editor-in-Chief Liang blocked you!"

"Tch!" Lan Mu could not be bothered to argue with him. He hung up, tidied himself up a little, found another bank card at home, and headed out.

He first withdrew a thousand yuan to replenish his pocket, which had been empty for days, then took a taxi straight to the Morning Light Newspaper Agency.

Just as he got out of the taxi at the agency entrance, Cheng Ming called him.

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

Cheng Ming said, "Brother Mu, something's not right! Editor-in-Chief Liang unilaterally announced that you'd left your job. Someone has already taken over your office..."

Lan Mu frowned when he heard that. "What's going on? What about the things in my office?"

"They threw everything into the warehouse. Want me to get it for you?" Cheng Ming asked.

"Get your head! Hmm... Is the chief editor here?"

Lan Mu had worked there for several years. Setting aside the matter of force majeure, even if they wanted to terminate his contract because he had been absent for days, fine. But who fired someone unilaterally when they were not even there? Without even saying a word? Was a text message too much to ask? He had simply been blocked?

Maybe an editor-in-chief really could fire him with a word, but there still had to be a procedure, right? He was not even given a chance to explain? Just blocked outright?

Cheng Ming also found it strange. "The chief editor went to the capital. He left Shanghai on the same day you did. Editor-in-Chief Liang can handle a lot of the agency's affairs on his behalf now. He even settled everything with Human Resources 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 came out. He had a close-cropped haircut, casual clothes, and stood a full one meter eighty tall. His looks, however, were hard to praise. At best, one could say he was patriotic.

When Cheng Ming reached Lan Mu, he handed him a cigarette. The two stood outside the newspaper agency and smoked before they began talking.

"Brother Mu, I ran into Editor-in-Chief Liang just now and asked him directly. He said the contract allowed the newspaper agency to terminate your employment unilaterally, so everything was aboveboard and proper. He also told me to notify you to collect your belongings and get the termination form from Human Resources."

"The contract? The contract also mentions force majeure! I nearly died getting back, and he's treating it like routine business?" Lan Mu was irritated at losing his job for no apparent reason.

It was not that he was especially reluctant to give up the job. With his abilities, there were so many newspaper agencies in Shanghai that he could work at any of the others just as easily.

It was simply that this Editor-in-Chief Liang seemed to be deliberately targeting him, and that annoyed him.

If they wanted to end the contract, they could have parted ways amicably. Why did Liang have to make it so disgusting?

Lan Mu and Cheng Ming entered the newspaper agency. The people there knew them both.

"Oh! You're back? I heard you resigned. Found yourself a better job?" A colleague was hurrying out of the agency. Upon seeing Lan Mu, he grinned and spoke.

Lan Mu gave a bitter smile. "What better job? I was forced out. All right, get on with your work."

When they reached the warehouse at General Affairs, the warehouse supervisor immediately understood what was going on upon seeing him.

"Here to collect your things? Sign here."

Lan Mu did not reach for the form. "No rush. Let me first see whether anything is missing."

The supervisor nodded, led Lan Mu into the warehouse, and pointed at a box. "This is all yours. The people from your office packed it up for you."

Lan Mu checked everything over. Nothing was missing. Everything he had kept in the office was there.

"I'll come collect it later. It seems I still need to go to Human Resources?"

"Don't. Just take it now."

Lan Mu shook his head and went straight to Human Resources with Cheng Ming.

The moment he reached the doorway, he spotted a junior employee inside and immediately called out, "Zhang Qun!"

Then he gave him a meaningful look. Zhang Qun saw Lan Mu, immediately understood, and ran out of the office.

"Brother Mu, you're finally back! Where on earth did you go?"

Lan Mu explained once more why he had disappeared. Zhang Qun grinned. "You're incredible! So you were the one who exposed that poaching case! I thought that new guy was really that impressive!"

But then he frowned. "Brother Mu, you came back too late. Old Liang already handled everything. Unless the chief editor says otherwise, you're already officially out of a job."

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

"The Fuzhou poaching case? Who doesn't know about it? That giant wild boar as tall as a person was news days ago. Our newspaper agency got the exclusive first report here in Shanghai." Zhang Qun continued, "A new hire joined a while back, and on his first day, he brought in a news story. There were pictures and proof—a giant wild boar as tall as a person, with tusks thicker than my arm."

Lan Mu glanced at Cheng Ming and said, "The Fuzhou poaching case was reported in Shanghai days ago?"

"I don't know. I just got back too," Cheng Ming said.

Lan Mu suddenly smiled and nodded. "I understand now."

"Old Liang, you're really arrogant."

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

Lan Mu showed them the MMS messages in his phone's drafts. Cheng Ming and Zhang Qun saw the detailed content and the original photos that had appeared in the newspaper, and they immediately understood.

"Damn it, is he sick? How much is that story even worth? Couldn't he have just told you before publishing it?"

Lan Mu shook his head. "It's not about how much it's worth. That new hire is his relative, isn't he?"

"Old Liang was already angry that I disappeared for several days. He even said in a text that he was going to fire me."

"I think he originally only planned to fire me normally. After all, I was absent without reason, and he had no personal connection with me. It was perfectly normal for him to handle it as business."

"But the new hire changed things. Before I called him, I happened to send him that MMS. After that, whenever I called, I was blocked."

"I figure he changed his mind after seeing the MMS. He got ideas, then used my news story to pave the way for his relative."

Cheng Ming and Zhang Qun angrily said, "Let's call the chief editor and show him the MMS on your phone."

Lan Mu shook his head again. "No. Though I could resolve this by going to the chief editor, I don't want to do that."

"To be honest, I would rather make an independent program. This works out perfectly. I have no objection to Old Liang firing me. I had planned it long ago. I just didn't expect him to make the firing look so ugly."

"I plan to cover news on my own. I won't have a contract with any media outlet anymore. When the time comes, I'll provide material to whichever outlet I want."

After hearing that, Cheng Ming suddenly said, "Good! I'm with you! Brother Mu, I'll quit too."

Lan Mu laughed. "Quit my ass! I got fired!"

"Brother Mu, Boss Yang has kept me down with no chance of ever getting ahead. I stopped wanting to do this job ages ago!" Cheng Ming said disdainfully.

Lan Mu put an arm around Cheng Ming's shoulder, and the two looked toward Zhang Qun.

Zhang Qun gave a bitter smile. "You two are impressive, but my family went through so much trouble to get me this job... I..."

Lan Mu burst out laughing. "I wasn't asking you to quit! Work hard. From now on, I'll be making a living at the mercy of heaven, so you'd better keep your stable job at the newspaper agency."

Watching the two of them leave the newspaper agency carrying their boxes, Zhang Qun pursed his lips and muttered, "You want freedom? Where is there such freedom?"