186

Zhao Xingye's face looked extremely unsightly.

He glanced at the smoke-blackened digital hard drive, his palms sweating with nervousness as his legs trembled uncontrollably.

This is bad, very bad!

He hadn't expected their shop to still have surveillance!

Recalling, he indeed remembered seeing a surveillance camera installed at the shop's entrance when they opened.

If they saw the contents of the hard drive, wouldn't his actions be exposed?

Wouldn't that just confirm his guilt in the arson?

The more Zhao Xingye thought about it, the more frightened he became, unable to suppress the fear inside.

Yi Feng stole a glance at him, noting his nervous demeanor, and chuckled to himself.

However, Yi Feng continued to feign excitement, patting Wang Tie on the shoulder before saying, "Well done, Wang Tie. You go take care of other things for now, I'll come find you later."

"Okay, Brother Feng, here's the bag for you. Make sure to keep a close eye on this hard drive, it needs to be handed over to the police later, they'll definitely be able to retrieve last night's footage!"

"We'll definitely bring the arsonist to justice!" Wang Tie said angrily.

"Alright, I got it. You go back first," Yi Feng replied cheerfully.

After Wang Tie left, Yi Feng slung the shoulder bag over his back and then waved the digital hard drive in front of Zhao Xingye, "Zhao Xingyue, you wanted evidence, right? Now, here's the evidence!"

"Get ready to go to jail!"

Saying this, he was about to place the hard drive into his shoulder bag.

Zhao Xingye quickly grabbed him, saying, "Wait, Yi Feng, wait!"

"You didn't immediately hand this thing over to the police, you must have other plans, right?"

Sweat beaded on Zhao Xingye's forehead, but he noticed that Yi Feng didn't immediately give the item to the police, perhaps… hoping for money!

This item must not, at all costs, be handed over to the police!

If it ended up with the police, there would be no escaping for him!

Without much thought, he directly grabbed Yi Feng.

Yi Feng chuckled, "Smart of you, Boss Zhao."

"It was indeed you!"

"But… I do have other plans. If the police took this and locked you up, who would pay me?"

"After all, I'm in business to make money."

Hearing this, Zhao Xingye's mind raced, realizing Yi Feng's intention was likely just to extort money!

"Little Gao, go outside, I need to talk to Yi," Zhao Xingye smoothly sent Gao Hongxing away.

"Uh, okay, okay." Gao Hongxing set down his broom and left the shop, shaking his head.

Once Gao Hongxing was gone, Zhao Xingye closed the shop's glass door and turned to face Yi Feng with a stern expression, "Tell me your price."

Yi Feng sneered, "My shop's loss is 200,000 yuan. Aside from that, you should pay for my mental distress, right?"

"Your little fire sure made you happy, but it was my newly renovated shop, barely opened!"

"Let me tell you, the mental distress costs 500,000 yuan! Plus the damages, that's a total of 700,000 yuan, not a penny less. If you don't agree, I might just hand this over to the police!"

Zhao Xingye's face turned pale, "700,000 yuan?!"

His complexion worsened.

700,000 yuan was no small sum!

Yi, you're ruthless!

But… compared to being sentenced and jailed, spending 700,000 yuan to avoid disaster was worth it!

No matter how painful, he had to endure it!

Zhao Xingye clenched his teeth, "Fine, I'll pay you 700,000 yuan!"

Saying this, he eagerly reached for the digital hard drive, but Yi Feng dodged.

"What's the hurry? Where's my money?" Yi Feng glared at him.

"And tell me honestly, was it you who set fire to my Xifeng Electronics store?"

Facing Yi Feng's piercing gaze, Zhao Xingye, knowing he was caught, reluctantly nodded, "Yes, I set your store on fire!"

"But believe me, I didn't do it on purpose. I was just drunk last night, really drunk, and then… then I set the fire…"

Yi Feng grabbed his collar, "glaring" angrily at him, "Say it louder, was it you who set the fire?"

Completely panicking, Zhao Xingye swallowed and replied, "Yes, yes, it was me who set the fire! Is that good enough now?"

"I'll pay you 700,000 yuan!"

Yi Feng then released him, clapping his hands and sneering, "Good job, Zhao Xingyue, daring to set fire to my store. Tell me, what did you use to start the fire?"

Zhao Xingye glanced guiltily towards the back where the can was, saying, "It was that can, filled with some gasoline…"

Yi Feng turned to look at the white gasoline can hidden in the corner by the door.

"Alright, I've got it all clear."

Zhao Xingye thought Yi Feng was no longer pursuing the matter and sighed in relief, "Yi, give me a few days. I'll gather the 700,000 yuan for you!"

"Don't hand this over to the police, please!"

Yi Feng chuckled lightly, pushing the digital hard drive towards him, "I never had to give this to the police. Since you like it so much, here, take it."

"Huh?!"

Zhao Xingye paused, confused by Yi Feng's actions.

But then he looked down and saw that the other half of the digital hard drive had a large area burned to a crisp, right where Yi Feng had been holding it!

"Bang!"

Suddenly, Zhou Guofeng and a group of police officers rushed in!

Zhou Guofeng approached him, while two other officers grabbed his arms.

"Zhao Xingye, we suspect you're involved in this arson case!"

"Handcuff him and take him away!"

Two officers quickly handcuffed him.

At that moment, Zhao Xingye finally realized the situation.

His eyes widened in anger, glaring at Yi Feng, shouting, "Yi, you tricked me?!"

The digital hard drive was broken, already destroyed by fire!

———-

Support the Translation! 🌐✨

Your donations not only show appreciation but also keep the translator motivated! Every contribution helps continue bringing you more of what you love. Thank you for being a part of this journey! 💖