“Just do your best, okay?” Pan Zhengui said with a grin. “I heard that the parents of the male victim of this case still live in their original residence. The day of the murder, both parents went to their daughter’s house, which allowed them to escape death narrowly. However, after the incident, the parents have lived well until now and were unharmed.”

An Xiaoning responded, “I’ll read this case first, then we’ll go over to the male victim’s parents’ place to understand more.”

Pan Zhenghui acknowledged her with a gesture and turned to leave.

An Xiaoning read the case carefully then passed it to Ma Jianguo, who then passed it to Gong Le and Zu Dong after reading it.

The whole office was so quiet that they could only hear faint rustling.

After understanding the case in-depth, the four drove towards their destination.

“The male victim and his family did not live with his parents. When the police received the call, the victims’ bodies were already highly decomposed. That is to say, they previously used the estimated time of death to speculate that his parents were not around the night of the murder?”

Ma Jianguo nodded. “That’s right. It was the hottest summer at that time of the year. Some villagers said they could smell a stench when they passed by their house, but they did not think too much of it. It was a village, after all, most toilets were in the house itself, and it was common for households to plant vegetables in their houses. Some used manure as a fertilizer for crops too. But, nobody had thought that the family could have been murdered.”

“The son and his wife were not on especially good terms with his parents. The young couple was also not the type that was likable. This was also the main reason why they were dead for so long in their house without anyone realizing. Adding on to this was the fact that their house was located in a slightly deserted spot. On its left is an abandoned old house, and there’s nothing on the right.” An Xiaoning continued as she leaned against the car window, “Although they were not likable, the villagers said that they did not offend anyone either. They were honest people who kept to themselves. Ma Jianguo, who do you think could be the perpetrator of this case?”

Ma Jianguo shook his head. “How would I know?”

“Make a guess?” An Xiaoning looked at him. “According to our case information, and your many years of investigation experience, make a casual guess. It doesn’t matter even if it’s wrong anyway.”

Ma Jianguo replied in a commanding tone as a senior officer, “It must have been a murder for revenge. Otherwise, which nutcase would kill this family of three and decapitate them? Such a brutal method and vicious attack would have been presumably done by a man. It doesn’t seem like it was done by a woman.”

An Xiaoning nodded in agreement. “This murderer must have had a strong physique and powerful physical strength. This is one point, and also, they must have had a feud against the deceased family of three.”

Ma Jianguo continued to chime in. “It was unlikely a crime of passion. The case file had said that the deceased male and female fell in love and got married. After marriage, the male worked while the female stayed at home. The male victim had always worked nearby and went home every day. So I feel that this is a possibility we can rule out. The motive of the crime would more likely be monetary interests or something else.”

“Actually, the fact that they were not likable or had few acquaintances may be a point for us to investigate too. Later when we arrive, I’ll talk to the male victim’s parents, while all of you ask the villagers around.”

“Okay.”

Meanwhile, at M Nation…

The ancient castle that was majestic-looking had a long history behind it, but its unique style still remained.

Jin Qingyan had his leg crossed on the sofa, and opposite him were two elders in their sixties or seventies.

The atmosphere was tense at one point, with Jin Qingyan’s face turning absolutely cold.

Seeing his attitude, one of the elders said, “Young Master, more than half of the market shares here have been snatched by the Gu Corporation. We need to think of a countermove. Otherwise, he’ll win over here.”

Jin Qingyan’s face was unreadable. He simply replied lightly, “He wants to win? It’s not that easy.”

The elder nodded his head. “I heard you flared up very badly last night. When they arrive here later, you need to control yourself, don’t get too angry.”

Jin Qingyan darted a glance at him. “You’re getting better with your words.”

Just as he finished speaking, they heard the sound of many footsteps approaching the door.

Eight to nine people dressed in suits who were from the branch office appeared. All of them had serious looks on their faces because they knew that they were not here to be complimented.

“Welcome, President!” They greeted and nodded in an orderly fashion.

Jin Qingyan stood up with his hands clasped behind him. Looking at the General Manager at the front, he commented slowly, “Why wasn’t I informed at the first moment about Gu Beicheng’s strategy? If I’d been told immediately, the outcome now would have been completely different.”

“President, at that time, I thought that even if he started developing property beside us, it wouldn’t have too much an effect on us. I never expected that after he finished building the property, he would utilize a marketing campaign to defame our reputation and offer attractive prices which are significantly lower than ours.”

He reached out his hand and straightened the General Manager’s tie as he went on, “You thought that it wouldn’t have much effect on us… the enemy already pointed a knife straight at you. You tell me — what would the knife be for, do you think it’s to protect you?”

The General Manager broke out in cold sweat, and his body was extremely stiff as he stood there nervously.

Jin Qingyan released his hands and took slow, regular steps in front of them. “Now, let me ask all of you here — at this point, how do we wind this matter up? Whoever answers gets the General Manager’s position. The person heading the branch office here shouldn’t be someone who has no farsight.”

Hearing his words, everyone else’s eyes were sparkling. It was the highest position in the branch office at stake here. Some might have been working hard for a long time and were still unable to move up the ranks.

“President, please give me a chance.” The current General Manager was flustered. “I’ll definitely find a powerful countermeasure and prove myself to you.”

“Tell me first, how are you going to prove yourself to me?”

“I…” He was yet unable to give a specific counter-strategy at that moment. Jin Qingyan waved his hand. “Alright, I’ll give all of you a chance. I still stand by my words, anyone who thinks of a countermeasure gets the General Manager’s position.”

“Me!” The Vice-General Manager spoke. This rare opportunity was one that he would naturally grab hold of.

“Speak.”

“The Gu Corporation used this strategy which may have appeared cheap. But, the cheaper a method appears to be, the more effective it may be. Then, let’s use an even cheaper method. A marketing strategy may be effective, since this is what I suggested to the General Manager from the start but he did not adopt it. If I’m in charge of expanding the market here, I would adopt an even greater marketing strategy and carry out similar offers.”

Hearing this, Jin Qingyan went into deep thought for a moment and responded, “You shall get the position of General Manager, I hope the situation can be reversed in your hands.”

“Thank you, President. I won’t let the company down.”

“Umm.” Jin Qingyan was very vexed and did not want to see them any further. “All of you may go.”

“President, then now, what should I do…” the original General Manager asked him with a gloomy look.

“You swap positions with him, assist him.”

The large group left the room, and one of the elders sighed. “Being forcefully demoted by you must be a horrible feeling…”

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