The end of the world is approaching, I'm handing myself over to the country.

Chapter 143 Comrade Zhang, we apologize for being late.

Just as he was lost in thought, Captain Li and his group jogged up to him.

There was no interrogation as I had imagined, no cold handcuffs.

Captain Li, who was in the lead, and the remaining three soldiers stood at attention and gave a standard military salute to Zhang Heng, who was sitting stiffly in the chair.

"Comrade Zhang, we apologize for being late."

That "comrade" was like an electric current, instantly striking Zhang Heng, leaving him frozen and at a loss.

Zhang Heng stood there, stunned.

Until those words were spoken again.

"Comrade Zhang, we apologize for being late."

Every word of that sentence, that "comrade," clearly penetrated Zhang Heng's ears, yet it seemed so unreal.

He froze in his chair, his mind completely blank.

The trembling in my body miraculously stopped, replaced by a more complete numbness.

He slowly, inch by inch, raised his head and met Captain Li's serious yet sincere eyes.

A standard, flawless military salute.

Do it for him.

A strange electric current surged from his tailbone and instantly ran through his entire spine.

The spine, bent by years of inferiority, straightened up for a moment uncontrollably and instinctively.

The movement was so slight that he didn't even realize it himself, but it brought unprecedented stiffness and soreness.

Captain Li lowered his hand, and the soldiers behind him followed suit.

"Comrade Zhang, we need your cooperation in completing some procedures regarding the implementation of preferential policies for the families of martyrs."

Captain Li's wording was very official and formal, but his words carried an undeniable respect.

The office was deathly silent.

Everyone held their breath and stopped what they were doing.

Those previously malicious gazes now turned into shock, fear, and a more complex and incomprehensible emotion.

It's jealousy.

Zhang Heng, that kid, got incredibly lucky.

Once he establishes connections with the authorities, they will have his backing and will be someone he can no longer easily offend.

They looked at the withdrawn young man in the corner as if he were a complete stranger.

The color had completely drained from the face of Wang Pangzi, the office director.

His lips trembled as he desperately tried to recall if he had ever offended Zhang Heng in the past.

I don't think so...

At least not on the surface...

After all, I was the one who gave him this job.

"Director Wang, right?" Captain Li suddenly turned to him.

"Yes! Yes! Sir, that's me!" Fatty Wang jumped, almost losing his balance.

Cold sweat poured down my face instantly, and I couldn't stop it.

"Could I use your meeting room?"

Upon hearing this, Fatty Wang reached out and wiped his face with his sleeve: "Alright, alright! This way, sir, please!"

Fatty Wang felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and he led the way with bowing and scraping, his posture a hundred times more obsequious than before.

Captain Li acted as if he hadn't seen anything, and simply turned to Zhang Heng and made a "please" gesture.

Zhang Heng stood up slowly.

Crunch-!

The sound of chair legs scraping against the floor was shrill and frightening in the office where you could hear a pin drop.

Several people shrank back in surprise at the sound.

It's unclear whether the shrill sound frightened them.

They were still worried that Zhang Heng might say something detrimental to them later.

Zhang Heng strode through the familiar, narrow passageway.

This time, no one blocked the way.

Wherever he went, his colleagues on both sides instinctively shrank back and moved their chairs further away, afraid of touching even a corner of his clothes.

They kept their heads down, as if they wanted to bury their faces in the monitors.

This feeling is very unfamiliar.

It felt more unfamiliar than being watched by everyone.

Until the meeting room door closed, cutting off all outside views.

Only Zhang Heng and Captain Li remained in the room.

Captain Li didn't sit down; he just stood by the window, watching the trucks coming and going in the logistics park outside.

After a long while, he turned around and bowed deeply to Zhang Heng.

Before even speaking, he made his stance clear.

This action startled Zhang Heng.

"We are currently reorganizing and verifying the files of all martyrs, as per the latest instructions from higher authorities."

"We must ensure that every hero and their family receives the honor and treatment they deserve."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, as if stating something perfectly ordinary.

"However, when we checked your father Zhang Yunpeng's file, we found serious oversights in the subsequent preferential treatment work."

"This is our dereliction of duty, and on behalf of the authorities, I apologize to you again."

As he spoke, he turned to Zhang Heng again and bowed slightly.

Zhang Heng instinctively tried to dodge, but his body was too stiff to move.

He just sat there stiffly in the chair.

Father......

Zhang Yunpeng.

He had only heard his mother mention this name occasionally when he was very young, and it was always accompanied by suppressed sobs.

Later, my mother stopped mentioning it, and the name became a taboo in the family.

All he knew was that his father died saving someone.

A fool, an idiot, a moron who saved several families but couldn't even take care of his own...

Now, he has almost forgotten what that person looked like.

But only today did he truly feel the weight of the word "martyr".

"According to the latest preferential treatment policies, as the child of a martyr, you are entitled to a number of rights, including but not limited to supplementary pension payments, priority housing allocation, special education subsidies, and job placement."

Captain Li took a document out of his briefcase.

"Regarding your work, we noticed that you are currently employed here."

"I'd like to ask, is this a job you genuinely want to do?"

Captain Li's words were direct, and his sharp gaze fell on Zhang Heng.

"Based on my investigation, the environment here... doesn't seem ideal."

Zhang Heng's heart skipped a beat.

They found out about the job offer... just as I suspected!

No, that's not right!

Their attitude... didn't seem like they were there to hold someone accountable.

Zhang Heng's mind was a complete mess, and after pursing his lips for a long time, he managed to squeeze out a few dry syllables.

"I...I don't know..."

Thirty thousand yuan.