Given Yang Jian's relationship with the Lu family, Li Jin ultimately followed Wang Youren's advice. The casino was shut down precisely at six in the evening, with Li Jin personally notifying Biao Biao and his own brothers as soon as it opened for business that afternoon.
Following that, he returned to the company to hold a meeting. After the casino's closure, adjustments were needed for the company's personnel and capital flow.
The meeting had barely begun when Li Jin's phone rang. It was Wang Youren.
Li Jin had to take this call. He excused himself from the company management attending the meeting and went to his office.
"Director Wang, I've already notified the railway primary school to shut down as you requested. Do you have any further instructions?"
Li Jin was extremely cautious when speaking with these important figures. He avoided sensitive keywords, especially those related to casinos and money. Important matters were always discussed in person.
There was silence on the other end of the line. "Oh, good that it's stopped. Xiao Li, come out for a bit. I have something very important to discuss with you."
"Alright, where shall we meet?"
"The usual place."
Wang Youren's usual place was the Fuqiao Foot Bath. Li Jin understood this well. He went back to the conference room, conveyed a few more instructions, and then left with two bodyguards.
"Welcome, Mr. Li. The full package today?" a beautiful female attendant greeted him as soon as he entered the foot bath establishment. Li Jin was a regular customer, and the attendants and technicians here all recognized him.
"I have business in room 308. I'll let you know if I need a technician."
Li Jin grinned and playfully patted her head. This young woman had only been here for a few days and looked very pure. He thought he should find an opportunity to win her over.
The female attendant didn't dodge. She smiled and gestured for him to follow: "Mr. Li, this way please."
Leading Li Jin to the third floor via elevator, the attendant asked with a smile, "Mr. Li, shall we arrange technicians for these two gentlemen as well?"
"No, they'll wait outside."
Li Jin maintained a high level of vigilance, always bringing bodyguards wherever he went, especially to places of entertainment which could be very complex. Xiao Wu had been critically injured, reduced to a vegetative state, in a foot bath establishment.
"Then please, sir."
The attendant opened the door to room 308, walked in first, and then stood at the doorway, inviting Li Jin inside.
From the doorway, Li Jin could see Wang Youren lying face down on the massage bed, with a female technician massaging his back.
There seemed to be nothing unusual. Li Jin turned back and instructed his two bodyguards, "You two go and have some tea over there. Be sharp, and don't let anyone approach without my notification."
"Understood, Mr. Li."
The two bodyguards acknowledged and sat on a sofa not far from the door. Normally, they would stand by the door, but meeting with Wang Youren was an exception because their conversation was not meant to be overheard.
"Director Wang, I was in a meeting at the company. What's so urgent?"
Li Jin walked into the room as he spoke, but suddenly felt a great sense of danger.
Before he could react, the beautiful and pure female attendant had already closed the door. Simultaneously, she kicked him behind the knee, and as he leaned back, she locked his neck with her right arm. With a side throw, she pinned him to the ground.
At the same time, four other individuals, including the female technician massaging Wang Youren, lunged at Li Jin, pinning him down so tightly that he had no chance to resist.
Outside the room, the two bodyguards were also being controlled by military police in uniform.
When Li Jin was cuffed and pulled up, he discovered that Wang Youren was also handcuffed. It was then that he realized the police had been watching them for a long time.
The two men were quickly escorted downstairs, where police cars were already waiting.
Wang Youren was put into the front car. Two police officers pushed Li Jin towards a car behind, with one of them getting in first to sit beside Li Jin.
At this moment, the other police officer, before opening the car door, suddenly whispered into Li Jin's ear, "Take responsibility for the casino yourself, and someone will ensure you don't die."
Before Li Jin could react, he was pushed into the police car.
As the police car drove away from the foot bath establishment, Li Jin gradually calmed down. He knew that the police officers beside him were likely arranged by the Lu family. Their warning was meant to protect Yang Jian.
Li Jin understood clearly that the police's arrest of him was not just for operating a casino, but also involved organizing a criminal syndicate for forced buying and selling, monopolizing construction materials, and loan sharking that resulted in death or dismemberment. It was also possible that he was suspected of Brother Xiong's death.
With multiple charges, he was likely facing the death penalty.
The warning from the Lu family was intended to help Yang Jian completely clear his name. As long as he took full responsibility for operating the casino, the Lu family truly had the ability to save his life.
Once in custody, he would likely be interrogated immediately. A decision had to be made, and Li Jin's mind was racing.
Bringing Yang Jian down with him seemed to offer no benefit. The charge of operating a casino would not be lessened by adding another partner.
Furthermore, Yang Jian was a very loyal person. If he remained unharmed, he would look after Li Jin's family outside and even cooperate with the Lu family to help reduce his punishment.
If he took the fall, he would owe Yang Jian a favor. As long as he survived this ordeal, Yang Jian would not let him live in poverty after coming out in more than ten years.
Before the police car entered the precinct, Li Jin made his decision. His testimony was the most crucial in the entire case and could directly determine Yang Jian's fate.
At the same time Li Jin was arrested, the police sealed his trading company, froze all his assets, and detained his key management personnel.
All of his core members were apprehended, not a single one escaped.
This incident immediately caused a stir throughout the Xunsi River sub-district, including the construction sites. Everyone knew the casino had been destroyed by the police and Li Jin had been arrested.
This news quickly spread to Xinhe District, as many of the construction workers were from Xinhe. They were more concerned about whether Yang Jian, one of the casino bosses, had been arrested.
Due to the massive scale of this casino crackdown, which involved a large number of police officers and at least one brigade of military police, and covered the entire southern bank area of Xunsi River, Song Jianhao's casino was also swept up in the operation.
Song Jianhao had just gotten married and was away on his honeymoon with his wife, thus narrowly escaping.
Song Jianmin, Sixi, and others were all arrested.
The only fortunate one was Old Wu. On the way to the detention center, he suddenly suffered a heart attack. Whether it was genuine or feigned was unclear, but the police had to send him to the hospital and notify his family to care for him, effectively releasing him.
After all, he was old and not a key figure in the casino. During the period of undercover surveillance, the police had not paid much attention to him, considering him an old man just trying to make a living at the casino. They did not want any accidents to occur during his detention that could lead to major trouble.
The news quickly reached Xinqiao, and the most shocked was Wu Wangchun. He had learned the day before that Yang Jian was planning to withdraw from the casino, only for the police to make their move on the last day.
He tried calling Yang Jian several times, but all calls went unanswered. He then used his connections in the police department to inquire, only to find out that the Xinhe police were unaware of the operation.
It was then that Wu Wangchun realized that Yang Jian's case was being supervised by units at the municipal bureau level or higher.