Chapter 355: This is Silencing a Witness

At noon the next day, countless domestic and international reporters flocked to the Beijing Hotel because a very important press conference was scheduled to take place there.

Around 11 a.m., the reporters were allowed into the conference room. Once all the journalists had taken their seats, the leaders of the Beijing Municipal Committee who were attending the press conference began to arrive one after another.

Leading the group was Tan Li, the Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee and a vice-ministerial level official on the Politburo. He walked in with an air of confidence, though those who looked closely could see a trace of melancholy behind his expression, a slight, unnatural furrowing of his brow. These subtle signs suggested that Tan Li was not as relaxed and at ease as he appeared to be. After all, someone who had spent 30 years navigating the treacherous waters of the political sea would not let such emotions slip unless deeply troubled.

Following Tan Li were other leaders of the Beijing Municipal Committee. Once they were all seated, the Municipal Committee's Secretary-General officially announced the start of the press conference.

Tan Li was the first to speak. He adjusted the microphone in front of him and began, "Greetings to all our friends from the press, both domestic and international. Originally, I should be happy to meet with you here, but today I cannot feel any joy because I have a very heavy and difficult matter to report."

Tan Li paused before continuing, "Last night, former Beijing Finance Bureau Chief Chen Xu was found dead, having committed suicide in his room."

Although many of the journalists had already heard this news through various channels before coming, hearing it confirmed by the Beijing Municipal Committee Secretary at a press conference still shocked everyone. The room buzzed with questions.

"Secretary Tan, how could Chen Xu have committed suicide? Wasn't he under strict supervision by the Commission for Discipline Inspection, in a secure location with 24-hour monitoring? How was he able to kill himself? Is there a deeper issue here? Does his suicide mean that the investigation will hit a dead end and cannot proceed?"

Tan Li hurriedly gestured for silence as the reporters buzzed like a swarm of flies.

"Please, everyone, calm down. I understand your urgency, but I can only answer one question at a time," Tan Li said.

"First, Chen Xu's suicide was due to negligence on the part of the Commission's supervisory personnel. The relevant individuals have been dealt with severely," Tan Li said. "Second, regarding the allegations against Chen Xu, we remain committed to pursuing the investigation thoroughly, and all other implicated parties will be held legally accountable. No one will be spared!"

"However, despite everything, the incident has already happened, and it shows that our colleagues were not mentally prepared and underestimated the psychological changes in the suspect, leading to this oversight," Tan Li said with a sigh. "As the Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee, I bear a great deal of leadership responsibility. On behalf of the Beijing Municipal Committee and the municipal government, I apologize to everyone."

With that, Tan Li stood up and led a deep bow, prompting a flurry of camera flashes as the reporters scrambled to capture this moment.

In a corner of the room, someone remarked, "It's said that the best actors are officials—this saying really holds true."

The person next to him agreed, saying, "Indeed! I used to think Uncle Tan was an impressive figure to become the Secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee, but now it seems he's just another hypocrite."

The first person shrugged without responding. These two were none other than Zhou Ming and Du Peng. Given the hasty preparation of today's press conference, the large number of domestic and international media invited, and the fact that it was held at the Beijing Hotel where they were staying, it had been all too easy for them to slip in.

"He may be basking in the limelight now, but it won't last long," Zhou Ming said coldly as he recalled the time when Tan Li sent his secretary to threaten him.

Zhou Ming's words seemed to trigger an unseen chain of events. Just as he finished speaking, something stirred in the room.

Tan Li was still confidently addressing the crowd, appearing to gain momentum, when suddenly a journalist from Taiwan raised his hand and asked, "But Secretary Tan, according to the information I have, the circumstances of Chen Xu's death are not as simple as suicide. There seem to be other reasons involved!"

This statement was like a bombshell, causing the room to erupt. For the reporters, nothing could be more compelling than a mysterious death, especially of someone as significant as the Finance Bureau Chief while under the watch of the Discipline Inspection Commission.

As the Taiwanese reporter took the lead, other journalists chimed in, "Yes, Secretary Tan, Chen Xu was the main suspect in this case. How could he die unexpectedly on the first day of his detention by the Commission? Is there something else going on here? Could it be that Chen Xu's death wasn't a suicide but something else?"

Hearing the commotion rising again, Tan Li desperately wanted to order the noisy Taiwanese reporter to be thrown out: Damn those troublemakers from Taiwan!

As these thoughts crossed Tan Li's mind, he had no idea how events were about to unfold. If he had known, he wouldn't have just wanted the reporter expelled; he would have wanted him dead on the spot.

"Such claims are completely unfounded. Chen Xu's death was indeed a suicide—there's no doubt about that!" Tan Li declared firmly. He then warned, "To the Taiwanese reporter, I advise you to adhere to the rules of the press conference. If you continue to spread rumors and create trouble, I will have the security personnel remove you."

As Tan Li spoke, all eyes turned to the Taiwanese reporter. Under the scrutiny of the entire room, the reporter shouted, "I'm not making things up—I have evidence!"

With those words, the reporter dramatically held up a cassette tape, declaring loudly, "This tape records the entire process of Chen Xu's death—this is the evidence!"

Seeing the tape, Tan Li suddenly felt his heart sink, overcome by a wave of foreboding.

This person must be removed, or there will be serious trouble!

Tan Li's instincts screamed at him, but the Taiwanese reporter seemed to anticipate Tan Li's thoughts. Without giving him a chance to react, the reporter quickly pulled out a tape recorder, inserted the tape at lightning speed, and pressed play. As the tape turned, a voice emerged: "Secretary Wang, I, Chen Xu, have done many things for Secretary Tan while I was out there. Now that I've been falsely accused and ended up in this situation, Secretary Tan must not abandon me!"

Although the voice on the tape was distorted, someone immediately recognized it: "That's Chen Xu's voice—I'm very familiar with it!"

Upon hearing that it was indeed Chen Xu's voice, Tan Li was overwhelmed with shock, staring at the tape recorder in disbelief, his eyes filled with fear, as if it were some monstrous beast.

"Hurry, shut it off! Someone, get this Taiwanese spy out of here!" Tan Li abruptly stood up, pounding the table as he pointed at the reporter and shouted.

But it was too late. What came next was the most damning sentence of all, Wang Jian's voice saying to Chen Xu: "Only the dead don't speak. Chen Bureau Chief, don't blame me—it's Secretary Tan who wants you dead."

As these words played out on the tape recorder, the room first fell into a stunned silence, and then, after a brief pause, erupted in chaos. Every journalist was in disbelief, shouting in astonishment at the shocking revelation, as if it were something straight out of a novel.

In fact, when the Taiwanese reporter had begun playing the tape, and Wang Jian's voice was heard, everyone in the room had a vague sense of where this was going. But none of them wanted to believe it. After all, it could have been Wang Jian's own decision. However, when the tape finally confirmed the truth, everyone was still in shock. The idea that a vice-ministerial level Party Secretary could orchestrate such a dirty act of silencing a witness was simply too much to accept.

"So, Secretary Tan, were you behind this? How do you explain the voice on the tape? Did you order your secretary Wang Jian to murder Chen Xu? Please answer directly!"

The reporters, now frenzied, bombarded Tan Li with questions. But how could Tan Li possibly respond at this point? He slumped back into his seat, staring blankly at the ceiling, oblivious to the chaos around him, repeatedly muttering to himself like a madman: "It's over, it's all over!"

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Du Peng clenched his fist in triumph and shouted, "Yes! Everything went perfectly today. After this, the central government can't just sit idly by. The Tan family is finished!"

Unlike Du Peng's excitement, Zhou Ming let out a long breath and said, "Indeed, with something like this, no one can survive."

Du Peng laughed heartily and added, "But Zhou Ming, your luck is amazing! Who would have thought that just after we got the Zhongnanhai guards to record this, a Taiwanese reporter would come along and deliver it right to us? If it weren't for that reporter, we'd be in trouble finding the right journalist for this. This situation is too big, and none of us could have stepped up ourselves."

But Zhou Ming responded with a question: "Do you really think our encounter with that Taiwanese reporter was just a coincidence?"

Faced with Zhou Ming's question, Du Peng was momentarily stunned, his eyes widening as if he had just realized something…