Nominal: My senior brothers are all big shots

Feng Chengzhi opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the door was pushed open. Hu Dabiao rushed in, his face deathly pale, his voice trembling: "Chairman, a lot of police have arrived outside and surrounded the building!"

The USB drive in Qiao Wuzhou's hand fell to the ground, bounced twice, and rolled to the corner of the wall.

He slumped back into his chair and closed his eyes. The door was pushed open, and SWAT officers walked in, showing an arrest warrant.

Qiao Wuzhou opened his eyes, glanced at the paper, then slowly stood up, extending his hand as the handcuffs were placed on his wrists. He didn't struggle, didn't beg for mercy, but simply turned his head, glanced at the USB drive in the corner, and muttered in a low voice, almost to himself: "That USB drive contains what you want."

The SWAT team leader crouched down, picked up the USB drive, and carefully put it into the evidence bag.

The lights in the interrogation room were blindingly bright.

Guo Yonglin sat in the chair, his handcuffs gleaming coldly under the light. He hadn't slept for two days; his eyes were sunken, his lips chapped, but his gaze remained sharp. Qi Tongwei sat opposite him, files exported from a USB drive spread out in front of him. He didn't speak, simply watching Guo Yonglin silently.

The silence lasted a long time. Guo Yonglin suddenly laughed, a laugh more painful than a grimace: "Secretary Qi, what do you want to know?"

Qi Tongwei pushed a document in front of him: "Tan Ruping, full-time deputy secretary of the provincial party committee. Over the years, how much money have you given him through his secretary, Wang Dahai? How many favors have you done for him?"

Guo Yonglin lowered his head, stared at the document, remained silent for a long time, then raised his head: "Secretary Qi, I asked, can my sentence be reduced?"

Qi Tongwei looked at him: "That depends on what you confessed."

Guo Yonglin closed his eyes, his voice hoarse as if squeezed from his chest: "Tan Ruping, from the time I met him until now, fifteen years. During holidays, his share has never been less. Cash, calligraphy and paintings, real estate, and even his son's expenses abroad, all of it was paid for by me. Wang Dahai was his front man; all the money and things passed through his hands."

He paused, his voice lowering further: "And then there's Cheng Fumin, the director of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission. He helped approve Huaqiang's project. Without him, Huaqiang wouldn't have been able to start construction. Ouyang Qing, the director of the Provincial Urban Construction Department, he was a great help with the East District urban renewal project."

Guo Yonglin spoke for a full three hours. By the time Qi Tongwei walked out of the interrogation room, it was already dawn.

Meanwhile, in another interrogation room, Qiao Wuzhou was also giving his confession.

He was even more decisive than Guo Yonglin, without haggling or hesitating, he spilled everything.

"Xie Tianlin, the mayor of Jiangwan City. He's helped me a lot over the years. Many projects were secured thanks to his intervention. The business at the docks was also under his protection." He lowered his head, his voice low. "And several bureau chiefs from the provincial capital, and several district heads from the city, too."

Peng Jinyao sat opposite him, taking notes meticulously. After finishing the last line, he looked up at Qiao Wuzhou: "Do you have evidence for anything you're saying?"

Qiao Wuzhou nodded: "Yes. They're all on that USB drive. Transfer records, call recordings, and a few videos."

Peng Jinyao closed his notebook, stood up, and walked out of the interrogation room.

That afternoon, in the provincial party secretary's office, Chen Haitao sat behind his desk, with the interrogation records of Guo Yonglin and Qiao Wuzhou spread out in front of him, along with all the files exported from the two USB drives. Qi Tongwei, Lin Feng, Peng Jinyao, and Li Guodong sat opposite him; no one spoke, the air heavy and oppressive.

After reading the last document, Chen Haitao closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time. When he opened his eyes, there was something indescribable in his gaze—anger, heartache, and shame.

"Tan Ruping, full-time deputy secretary of the provincial party committee. Wang Dahai, deputy secretary-general of the provincial party committee. Cheng Fumin, director of the provincial development and reform commission. Ouyang Qing, director of the provincial urban construction department. Xie Tianlin, mayor of Jiangwan City." He read out the names one by one, his voice low and somber, as if reading a verdict. "These people are cadres of our Party, public servants. What have they done? What do they think they are?"

No one answered. Chen Haitao stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to everyone. Outside, the skyline of Jiangwan City shimmered in the sunlight. He stood there in silence for a long time, then turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone: "These materials must be reported to the ZJ Commission immediately."

Peng Jinyao stood up: "Secretary Chen, I will go to Beijing personally."

Chen Haitao nodded and said, "No one is allowed to leave the provincial capital before the ZJ Commission approves the order. All communication devices must be handed over. Not a single piece of information can be leaked."

Peng Jinyao said, "It's already being done."

That evening, Peng Jinyao boarded a plane to Beijing with the two USB drives and all the interrogation transcripts.

The next morning, in the ZJ Commission's conference room, several leaders sat in a circle, reviewing the documents one by one. The person at the head of the table finished the last document, slammed it on the table—the sound wasn't loud, but every word was chilling: "Tan Ruping, Xie Tianlin, are these people still Party cadres? Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Mayor of Jiangwan City, Director of the Development and Reform Commission, Director of the Urban Construction Department—they take the people's money, eat the state's food, what kind of shady dealings are they doing behind the scenes?"

No one spoke. Xiang Shaotian stood up and said to the person in charge, "I will personally lead the team to Ningwan."

"good!"

That afternoon, Xiang Shaotian led the ZJ Commission investigation team to Jiangwan City. He did not notify the provincial party committee, nor did he alert anyone.

The convoy drove directly into the provincial discipline inspection commission compound, where Chen Haitao, Peng Jinyao, and Qi Tongwei were already waiting. Xiang Shaotian skipped the pleasantries and went straight to the point: "Tan Ruping, Wang Dahai, Cheng Fumin, Ouyang Qing, Xie Tianlin—where are they now?"

Chen Haitao said, "They're all in the provincial capital. We've already arranged for people to keep an eye on them."

Xiang Shaotian nodded: "Let's do it. Tonight."

That night, a province-wide coordinated operation was launched. Tan Ruping was being taken away from his home while reading documents in his study. The door was pushed open, and he saw people standing there, his documents scattered on the floor. He didn't struggle, didn't beg for mercy; he simply closed his eyes and allowed the handcuffs to be fastened to his wrists.

Wang Dahai was taken away from the provincial party committee's duty room, Cheng Fumin was taken away from his office, and Ouyang Qing was taken away from her home. Xie Tianlin was presiding over a municipal government executive meeting when the door was pushed open, and people from the discipline inspection commission walked in. The meeting room fell silent. He stood up, straightened his collar, and followed them out.

Meanwhile, at the provincial discipline inspection commission's investigation site, lower-ranking individuals involved in the case were being taken away one by one. Several division chiefs from the provincial development and reform commission, several section chiefs from the provincial urban construction department, several deputy secretaries-general from the Jiangwan municipal government, and business owners who had dealings with Yongsheng and Hengfa—none of them escaped.

As dawn broke, Xiang Shaotian stood by the window of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection building, looking at the hazy sky outside, and said in a low voice, "These parasites need to be cleaned up." Chen Haitao stood behind him, silent for a long time, before saying, "This is just the beginning."

Xiang Shaotian turned around and looked at him: "Yes. This is just the beginning. Those ordinary people they harmed, those families they destroyed, those who died in the explosion—they have waited for this day for far too long."

Chen Haitao didn't speak, he just nodded.