The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 889 The Truth Revealed, Hiring a Killer

Li Ming walked into the interrogation room and looked at Zhang Huanzhi with gentle eyes: "Zhang Huanzhi, we know that you and Li Sanleng committed a serious crime under the instructions of Zhang Baofeng. But as long as you confess and tell all the facts, we will consider giving you a lighter sentence."

Zhang Huanzhi hesitated for a moment, then said in a trembling voice, "Officer, I... I was forced into this by Zhang Baofeng. She gave me and Li Sanleng 100 million yuan each and told us to kill Wang Qiang and dispose of Chen Xiaoyu's body. She said that as long as we did as she said, nothing would happen."

Li Ming pressed, "Tell me in detail how you committed the crime?" Zhang Huanzhi took a deep breath and began to confess: "That night, following Zhang Baofeng's instructions, we found Wang Qiang and Chen Xiaoyu in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. When Wang Qiang saw us, he tried to resist, but Li Sanleng, in a fit of rage, strangled him to death with a rope he had prepared beforehand. Afterwards, as arranged by Zhang Baofeng, we took Chen Xiaoyu's body to the pork processing plant and disposed of it by mixing it with the pork."

Li Ming frowned and continued to press, "Why did Zhang Baofeng do this? Was it just to teach Chen Xiaoyu a lesson?" Zhang Huanzhi shook his head: "More than that. Zhang Baofeng said that Chen Xiaoyu had obtained her company's trade secrets, and if they were leaked, the company would be finished. Moreover, Chen Xiaoyu's relationship with her husband was something she couldn't tolerate."

After compiling Zhang Huanzhi's confession, Li Ming returned to Li Sanleng's interrogation room. He placed Zhang Huanzhi's confession in front of Li Sanleng: "Li Sanleng, Zhang Huanzhi has confessed everything. Do you have anything else to say?"

Li San stared at the confession, his face turning deathly pale, his hands clenching into fists. After a long silence, he finally spoke: "I... I did it for the money. Zhang Baofeng promised us a large sum of money, that's why we agreed."

Li Ming said sternly, "You think you can disregard human life for money? Your actions have violated the law and you will be severely punished. Now, tell me all the details you know."

Li Sanleng lowered his head and began to confess to the crime. His confession was basically consistent with Zhang Huanzhi's. After obtaining the confessions of the two men, Li Ming interrogated Zhang Baofeng again.

Zhang Baofeng sat in the interrogation room, looking dejected. Li Ming placed Li Sanleng and Zhang Huanzhi's testimonies in front of her: "Zhang Baofeng, the evidence is irrefutable. What else do you have to say?"

Zhang Baofeng raised her head, her eyes filled with remorse: "I...I was confused for a moment and committed an unforgivable crime. I shouldn't have hurt so many people for my own selfish desires."

Li Ming stared at Zhang Baofeng: "It's too late to regret it now. Tell me in detail, why did you instruct them to kill Wang Qiang and Chen Xiaoyu?"

Zhang Baofeng sighed and began to recount: "Chen Xiaoyu not only stole my husband, but also obtained evidence of my company's tax evasion. She used this to threaten me, demanding a large sum of money from me. I was unwilling to be manipulated by her, and I was also afraid that things would be exposed and the company would collapse. It just so happened that Wang Qiang owed Li Sanleng and Zhang Huanzhi gambling debts, so I thought of using them to get rid of Chen Xiaoyu and Wang Qiang."

Li Ming sat in the interrogation room, his eyes fixed on Zhang Baofeng. As Zhang Baofeng confessed, the intricate case gradually unfolded clearly before his eyes. After Zhang Baofeng finished speaking, Li Ming's expression turned serious, his gaze sharp: "Zhang Baofeng, every word you say will be used as evidence in court. Now, you must tell me in detail every step from when you met Wang Qiang to when you instigated him to commit the crime. There can be no omissions."

Zhang Baofeng lowered her head, her face filled with remorse, and said in a trembling voice, "My company has a long-term business relationship with the pork factory. I met Wang Qiang during one of our collaborations. By chance, I learned that he owed a huge gambling debt and was being chased by creditors every day. So I planned to take advantage of this. Chen Xiaoyu works as a planner at an advertising company. She accidentally came into contact with my company's financial statements and discovered evidence of tax evasion. She then used this to blackmail me and demand a large sum of hush money."

Li Ming frowned slightly and pressed, "So, you thought of having Wang Qiang kidnap Chen Xiaoyu, obtain evidence, and then kill her to cover it up?" Zhang Baofeng nodded and said, "I found Wang Qiang and promised to help him pay off his gambling debts and give him another 100 million yuan as a reward. I asked him to kidnap Chen Xiaoyu, obtain evidence, and then kill her. Wang Qiang hesitated at first, but under the lure of money, he finally agreed."

Li Ming pressed further, "How was the kidnapping arranged?" Zhang Baofeng swallowed hard and said, "I provided Wang Qiang with information about Chen Xiaoyu's whereabouts, and told him to make his move on Chen Xiaoyu's way home from get off work. Wang Qiang imprisoned Chen Xiaoyu in an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city, obtained evidence as planned, and then killed her."

Li Ming's gaze grew increasingly cold: "And then? Why was Wang Qiang murdered?" Zhang Baofeng's body trembled slightly, her voice tinged with anger: "After Wang Qiang succeeded, his appetite grew even bigger. He turned around and blackmailed me, demanding 500 million yuan or he would expose everything. I was both angry and scared. After thinking it over, I decided to find Li Sanleng and Zhang Huanzhi to deal with him. I promised them each 100 million yuan to get rid of Wang Qiang."

Li Ming crossed his arms and questioned, "Li Sanleng and Zhang Huanzhi are Wang Qiang's creditors. They agreed so easily?" Zhang Baofeng smiled bitterly and said, "I gave them much more money than Wang Qiang owed them, and I promised not to implicate them afterwards. After weighing the options, they agreed. That night, they found Wang Qiang in the abandoned warehouse, killed him when he wasn't looking, and then, following my instructions, threw Wang Qiang and Chen Xiaoyu's bodies into the pork factory's production line in an attempt to destroy the evidence."

After the interrogation, Li Ming left the interrogation room and immediately organized a case analysis meeting with the officers. "Although Zhang Baofeng confessed to the crime, we cannot let our guard down. We must collect sufficient evidence to form a complete chain of evidence," Li Ming said gravely to the officers. "Xiao Liu, you lead the team to Zhang Baofeng's company, seize all financial documents, and focus on verifying her tax evasion; Xiao Zhao, you are responsible for investigating the financial records between Zhang Baofeng and Li Sanleng and Zhang Huanzhi; the rest of you continue to review the case details and look for any overlooked clues."

Xiao Liu led his team to Zhang Baofeng's company and seized a large number of documents and accounts in the finance office. After careful verification by professional auditors, it was discovered that Zhang Baofeng's company did indeed have serious tax evasion activities. At the same time, Xiao Zhao obtained the bank transfer records between Zhang Baofeng and Li Sanleng and Zhang Huanzhi through bank investigations. These records became important evidence of the crime.

To further confirm the crime scene, Li Ming led his officers to an abandoned warehouse on the outskirts of the city. The warehouse reeked of decay, and there were signs of a struggle on the ground. The officers carefully examined the area and found bloodstains and hair in a corner. DNA testing confirmed they belonged to Wang Qiang and Chen Xiaoyu, respectively.