Chapter 350: Punishable by Death
The Shentu family’s private hospital.
The atmosphere in the conference room was more oppressive than ever before!
Led by Shentu Shan, the core family members all wore grim expressions.
No one dared to speak, and even their breaths were stifled.
The Anti-aging Gel incident had occurred just a day ago. In that short time, the Shentu family, once at the zenith of their power in Central State, had suffered an unprecedented blow.
Negative press!
The incident had utterly destroyed the Shentu family’s reputation.
For now, only Youmei Company had been shut down, but the other major corporations under the Shentu family’s control had all suffered an incalculable impact.
Naturally, the most furious among them was Shentu Shan, Patriarch of the Shentu family.
At first, they had spared no expense to put the matter to rest, spending over a hundred million to purchase the antidote from Jishan Hall in Jizhou.
But no one could have imagined that they would end up paying another two hundred million as compensation to the two hundred victims.
They had to swallow the loss of over three hundred million in total.
But what he had never expected was that the two culprits behind this disaster were his own blood brothers!
His second brother, Shentu Jie, had foolishly stolen the formula—that was the root cause.
And his fourth brother, Shentu Lin, had betrayed the family to save his own skin, bringing everything to a head.
Shentu Lin, the scapegoat, was now dead, but the cause of his death remained a mystery.
That left only Shentu Jie, who was still trembling from head to toe.
He knew the time for reckoning had come.
There was no escape.
"Second Brother, go outside and face the media. Cripple one of your own arms. Then come back, and we’ll have it reattached. That will be your punishment." Shentu Shan had to punish Shentu Jie. This wasn’t merely his own decision; it was the outcome every member of the family demanded.
"Thank you, Eldest Brother. Thank you, everyone, for your forgiveness." Shentu Jie felt a surge of relief and walked out the door without a moment’s hesitation.
At the hospital entrance, Shentu Jie gestured to the few reporters still lingering. "I, Shentu Jie, am also at fault for this crisis," he announced.
Before the words were even out of his mouth, he raised his right hand and brought it down hard on his left arm.
CRACK!
With that, Shentu Jie’s left arm snapped, and a cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
He then turned and went back into the hospital.
As his arm was being reattached, Shentu Shan was still speaking back in the conference room.
"Fourth Brother’s death was clearly the work of an intruder. We haven’t identified them yet, but I have a strong feeling that Divine Doctor Jiang is our primary suspect. What do you all think?" It was impossible for Shentu Shan to ever learn the truth.
"Eldest Brother, I share your suspicion."
Shentu Di’s expression was grim as he said, "The security camera in the room where Fourth Brother died was smashed, but the cameras elsewhere are untouched. I checked the footage. Fourth Brother took Jiang Xinghai to the administration building. Later, Fourth Brother came out, but Jiang Xinghai never did."
"But why would Fourth Brother go back to the administration building? And why did he end up dead there...?" Shentu Shan couldn’t make sense of it.
No one else could understand it either.
"Send men to scour every corner of the hospital. Find Jiang Xinghai!" Shentu Shan’s order was absolute.
"Eldest Brother, have you considered that the Little Chef could be behind this?"
Just then, Shentu Jie hurried in, his left arm already in a cast.
"The Little Chef?" Shentu Shan was taken aback.
"That’s right," Shentu Di said, recalling the incident. "A while ago, our great Martial Arts families sent men to Central State. According to Qiu Shirong and Yan Qingshan, the Little Chef ambushed and killed them on the way. That meddling bastard even had the gall to threaten a personal visit to Central State soon. He’s unbelievably arrogant!"
"If it really is the Little Chef, then he and Jiang Xinghai must have a tangled relationship. That would make our target much clearer."
Shentu Shan rose slowly, his hands clasped behind his back. "Let’s go home. We’ll continue this discussion on the way. I want everyone to collect their thoughts. Tomorrow morning, we’ll inform the other families. It’s time we joined forces to deal with that reckless Little Chef."
The others rose and filed out of the room.
「Twenty minutes later.」
「The Shentu Family Estate.」
As a convoy of cars pulled up, the core members of the Shentu family arrived.
The family members waiting at the estate stood by in silence, not daring to utter a word.
Everyone was keenly aware of the major disaster that had befallen the Shentu family in Central State that night.
Council Hall.
After everyone had taken their seats.
Shentu Shan made his final decision. "If we haven’t found Jiang Xinghai by dawn, then he and the Little Chef become our primary targets. First thing tomorrow morning, notify the other families. If necessary, we’ll lock down the entire city. We won’t rest until both of them are caught. Does anyone have any objections? Speak now."
The others were silent for a moment. No one objected, but their faces showed signs of exhaustion.
Shentu Shan scanned the room. "Why the long faces? Pull yourselves together! A minor setback like this is hardly enough to shake the foundations of our Shentu family!"
SLAM!
Just then, however, the wide-open doors to the hall were suddenly slammed shut by a gust of wind.
"For stealing the formula and covering up the truth, for poisoning and harming the innocent... you sinners of the Shentu family, by right, should be executed."
Standing in the center of the hall was a man with a powerful, imposing stature. It was none other than Jiang Xinghai, disguised as the Little Chef.