Nominal: My senior brothers are all big shots

Three days later, one afternoon, Lin Feng was looking through a map of the mines in Longnan Town in his office when the phone rang. It was Lei Ming calling. Lin Feng answered, and Lei Ming's voice was very low, as if he was afraid of being overheard. "Secretary Lin, there's a reporter from the provincial TV station named Chen Lili. She wants to see you."

Lin Feng put down his pen and leaned back in his chair. "What reporter?"

"She works for the provincial TV station, covering the financial sector. She's been investigating rare earth smuggling in Pingjiang for two years and has a lot of information. She said she wants to meet with you in person."

Lin Feng paused for a moment. "How did she find you?"

"She has an informant who is on the same line as one of our informants. She contacted me through the informant and said she wanted to meet with you. I've checked her background; she's known at the provincial TV station for being tough to deal with, has investigated many major cases, and her credibility is beyond question."

Lin Feng thought for a moment and said, "You make the arrangements. The location needs to be safe."

Lei Ming chose a location in an old residential area in the east of the city, a six-story red brick building without an elevator, with old bicycles and cardboard boxes piled up in the stairwell.

Chen Lili rented a room on the top floor as a temporary studio. The rent was cheap, it was secluded, and it was not easy to be noticed.

When Lin Feng arrived, it was already dark.

Old Zhou parked his car two blocks away and walked over.

Lei Ming was waiting downstairs. When he saw Lin Feng arrive, he nodded and led the way. The staircase was narrow, and some of the motion-activated lights were broken, leaving several floors dark. Lin Feng shone a flashlight, his footsteps echoing through the stairwell.

The door opened, and Chen Lili stood in the doorway. She was in her early thirties, with short hair, wearing a black hoodie, jeans, and sneakers. She had no makeup on, but her eyes were bright.

Chen Lili extended her hand: "Secretary Lin, I'm Chen Lili, a reporter from the provincial TV station. Sorry to bother you."

Lin Feng shook hands with her and noticed that her hands were strong and her nails were very short, indicating that she was a reporter who covered the front lines year-round.

"Reporter Chen, I've heard so much about you. I've read your reports on rare earth smuggling."

Chen Lili smiled, a bitter smile in her eyes: "Unfortunately, not many were released. Most were suppressed."

Then he stepped aside. "Secretary Lin, please come in."

The house is small, with two bedrooms and a living room, the living room of which has been converted into a studio.

The walls were covered with maps, photos, and tables, connected by red and blue lines. The coffee table was piled with files, notebooks, a voice recorder, and several old cell phones. In the corner sat a cot, its blankets neatly folded.

Chen Lili poured Lin Feng a glass of water, then poured one for herself, and sat down opposite him. Without exchanging pleasantries, she pulled a map from under the coffee table and unfolded it.

It was a satellite map of Pingjiang City, marked with dense red and blue markers.

Lin Feng noticed that some of the markings were blurred, clearly indicating that they had been modified many times.

"Secretary Lin, I've been investigating rare earth smuggling in Pingjiang for two years. This is a smuggling route map I drew myself." Chen Lili pointed to the red dots on the map.

"These are illegal mines, mainly concentrated in several townships including Longnan and Changhui. I've been investigating them for two years, verifying each one individually. Some are illegally mined, some are over-mined, and some are mining under the guise of exploration. Regardless of the type, none of them have legal permits."

Her finger traced the blue line: "The blue line is the transportation route. From the mine to the warehouse, from the warehouse to the dock, from the dock to overseas. I followed it for two years, making more than a dozen trips, taking photos, recording videos, and noting the license plate numbers every time. The ore comes out of the mine, is first transported to several warehouses in Longnan Town, where it is repackaged, transferred to larger trucks, and then transported to Dongshan Wharf to be loaded onto ships. Dongshan Wharf is the main exit point for smuggling. Ships dock at night, load up the goods, and leave before dawn. Customs officials never check."

Lin Feng looked at the map, his brows furrowed deeply.

Chen Lili pulled out another list from under the coffee table and pushed it in front of Lin Feng.

The list is quite thick, at least a dozen pages long. "This is a directory of the companies involved. I checked business registrations, tax records, and customs data, and went through all the shareholders, legal representatives, and related companies of these companies. Guess what? Sixty percent of the companies ultimately point to the same person."

Lin Feng looked up at her. "Zhou Tianming."

Chen Lili nodded, then took out a file folder from under the coffee table, opened it, and poured out the photos inside.

There are many photos, at least dozens.

Lin Feng looked at the photos one by one: there were photos of mines, warehouses, docks, cargo ships, and people.

He recognized several of them—Zhou Tianming, several cadres from Pingjiang, and several others he didn't know.

"Some of these photos were taken by me, and some were provided by informants," Chen Lili said, pointing to one of the photos. "This is Zhou Tianming standing next to that cargo ship at Dongshan Wharf. That ship is the smuggling vessel. I checked its registration; it's registered overseas, but the actual controller is Zhou Tianming."

Lin Feng put down the photos and looked at Chen Lili. "Reporter Chen, you've been investigating for two years. Have you encountered any obstacles?"

Chen Lili gave a bitter smile, a smile tinged with malice. "Secretary Lin, it's not a matter of whether there's resistance or not, it's that the resistance is too great. Every time I go to Pingjiang, someone is watching me. My car has been followed, my room has been ransacked, and my informant has been beaten. Every time I write a report, someone comes to interfere. Some are from the province, some from the city, and some even higher. They say, 'You're just a reporter, you can't handle so many things. They say, even if you publish it, it won't get published.'"

She took a USB drive from the bottom of the file folder and placed it on the table. "This contains all the results of my two-year investigation. There are photos, videos, audio recordings, interview transcripts, and data tables. To be honest, I was going to send these materials out. But every time I tried to send them out, someone would stop me. I'm not afraid. I just want to know if anyone can actually take care of what's going on in Pingjiang."

Lin Feng picked up the USB drive and weighed it in his hand. The USB drive was light, but he knew its weight. "Reporter Chen, have you given these things to anyone else?"

Chen Lili shook her head: "I gave them to them. I gave them to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, the Provincial Public Security Department, and several other departments. Every time, they disappeared without a trace. Once, a leader told me, 'We've seen all these things you've given us, and there's nothing seriously wrong with them.' I said, 'Smuggling isn't a big problem?' He said, 'Pingjiang's situation is special; rare earth is a strategic resource and can't be handled simply.'"

Lin Feng put the USB drive in his pocket and looked at Chen Lili. "Reporter Chen, these things match a lot of the materials I have here."

Chen Lili's eyes lit up. "You have materials too?"

Lin Feng nodded. "Someone gave me a ledger that records every transaction in the rare earth smuggling operation. The dates, quantities, amounts, and license plate numbers on the ledger match the routes on your map and the companies on your list."

Chen Lili paused for a moment, then said, "Secretary Lin, what does this mean?"

Lin Feng said, "This shows that your investigation is on the right track. It also shows that those who wanted to stop you had a reason."

Chen Lili looked at him, her eyes filled with both expectation and worry. "Secretary Lin, what are your plans?"

Lin Feng thought for a moment and said, "Reporter Chen, the materials you have are very important. But I can't let you release them right now. I need time. You can release them after I have the results on my end."

Chen Lili hesitated for a moment. "Secretary Lin, I've waited two years. A few more days won't make a difference. But you have to give me a deadline."

Lin Feng said, "Three months. I'll give you an explanation within three months."

Chen Lili stood up and extended her hand. "Secretary Lin, I await your news."

Lin Feng grasped her hand and shook it forcefully.

Chen Lili's hands were cold, but strong. Lin Feng walked to the door, then turned back. "Reporter Chen, be careful, you're all alone in Pingjiang."

Chen Lili smiled. "Secretary Lin, I'm used to it."

Lin Feng went downstairs, and Lao Zhou was waiting in the car.

He got on the bus, took the USB drive out of his pocket, and held it in his hand. The USB drive was cold, but he knew that what was inside could keep many people awake at night.

"Old Zhou, back to the municipal party committee," he said. The car drove into the night.