Nominal: My senior brothers are all big shots

He Bing stood by the window, gazing at the gray sky outside.

He clutched the arrest list in his hand, each name marked with a checkmark. Twelve checkmarks, not one missing. He picked up the phone and dialed Lin Feng's number.

"Secretary Lin, everyone has arrived."

Lin Feng paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, then said, "Okay. Next step: dig deeper."

He Bing said, "Mm."

Outside the window, the sky was gradually brightening. The morning fog in Pingjiang was thick, but the sunlight was struggling to penetrate it.

He Bing stood there, gazing at the municipal party committee building in the distance. He knew that what was hidden in the darkness could no longer remain concealed.

When Zhou Tianming received the message, he was in his office on the top floor of Tiansheng Group.

Before dawn, he sat alone in the darkness, the ashtray in front of him overflowing with cigarette butts. His phone rang; it was Zhong Zhihao calling. The voice on the other end was low, carrying an barely suppressed tension.

"President Zhou, something's happened. Huang Zhiqiang has been arrested, Han Ligang has been arrested, and Wei Guoan was intercepted at the highway exit. All twelve of them, not one escaped."

Zhou Tianming's hand holding the phone trembled slightly. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but his throat felt like it was blocked by something, and he couldn't utter a single word.

"Mr. Zhou, did you hear that?" Zhong Zhihao's voice became even more urgent.

"I heard you." Zhou Tianming's voice was so hoarse it was almost inaudible. "Come here."

He hung up the phone, stood up, and walked to the window.

Outside the window, the sky over Pingjiang was still dark, with a few lights flashing in the distance at the mines.

Those mines were where he made his fortune, and also where he died. He remembered the first time he set foot on this land twenty years ago, the years he spent mining day and night with his brothers, and the first time he met his uncle, his uncle patted him on the shoulder and said, "Work hard."

He thought he would make a name for himself here, that he would become the most successful entrepreneur in Pingjiang, that he could hold his head high in front of his uncle. But he was wrong. He plunged himself into an abyss.

Zhong Zhihao arrived quickly. He pushed open the door, his face pale and his forehead covered in sweat.

"Mr. Zhou, we have to go. It will be too late if we don't leave now."

Zhou Tianming turned around and looked at him. "How do I get there?"

Chung Chih-hao said, "We'll go through a neighboring province. I've arranged a boat there, and we'll set off tonight and reach international waters by dawn tomorrow. Once we're in international waters, a boat will pick us up. We'll go to Southeast Asia first, and once things calm down, we'll figure out a way to go to Europe."

Zhou Tianming was silent for a moment. "Is the ship reliable?"

Chung Chih-hao said, "Reliable. It's an old relationship; we've been doing this for years."

Zhou Tianming nodded. "Let's go."

He walked to his desk, took out his passport, which he had used for many years, from the drawer, and then took out a bulging envelope from a hidden compartment and stuffed it into his handbag.

He didn't bring much: a few changes of clothes, a wad of cash, several passports, and an old envelope.

Inside the envelope was a letter his uncle had written to him when he was young. The paper was yellowed and the handwriting was a little blurry, but he had kept it all this time. It was a letter his uncle had written when he sent him off to join the army—"Mingyuan, do a good job, don't bring shame to the family."

He stuffed the envelope into his inner pocket, zipped up his briefcase, and took one last look at the office he had spent over a decade in. The calligraphy on the wall, "Great virtue carries all things," was written by his uncle on his eightieth birthday.

My uncle's calligraphy was vigorous and powerful; each stroke seemed to have been etched into his heart. He lowered his head, turned, and left.

As the car drove out of the underground parking lot of Tiansheng Group's headquarters, it was just getting light.

Zhong Zhihao drove, and Zhou Tianming sat in the back seat, wearing a hat and mask, his head down. The sky outside the car window changed from gray to light blue, then from light blue to golden yellow. The sun rose, its rays shining on the fields beside the road, creating a beautiful, golden glow. But Zhou Tianming didn't look. He closed his eyes, leaned back in his seat, and his mind kept replaying the words in that old envelope.

The car got on the highway and headed east. They were going to cross two provinces to reach the coast of a neighboring province, where a boat was waiting.

According to Zhong Zhihao's plan, they would arrive in the afternoon, board the ship in the evening, and be out in international waters before dawn. Once they were out in international waters, they would be safe.

But what they didn't know was that Lei Ming's men had already set their sights on them.

The technical investigation team installed a GPS tracker on Zhou Tianming's car three days ago, not yesterday. He Bing had it done the very night Liu Zhi spoke up. Zhou Tianming's every move was under the special task force's surveillance.

When Chung Chih-hao made a phone call to contact the ship, the technical investigation team intercepted the conversation.

Not all, but enough to determine their destination and route.

Upon receiving the news, He Bing immediately dialed Lei Ming's number. "Zhou Tianming is trying to escape. He's heading east, towards the coast of a neighboring province. Have someone intercept him on the way."

Lei Ming said, "Understood."

He mobilized the city's most elite police force, which was deployed in six vehicles to create a massive maneuver along the highway.

It wasn't just one checkpoint, but several. Every fifty kilometers, there was a group of people, each with Zhou Tianming's photo and vehicle information. They wore plain clothes, drove civilian-licensed vehicles, inconspicuous and unassuming, but each checkpoint was an insurmountable wall.

At 3 p.m., Zhou Tianming's car entered a section of highway bordering Jiangnan Province and a neighboring province.

The road was flanked by hills, densely wooded, and with light traffic. Zhong Zhihao drove, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, at a high speed. He had a bad feeling, he couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he felt uneasy.

He glanced at the rearview mirror and saw several cars following behind him, including a gray SUV that had been following him for a long time.

He changed lanes, and the gray SUV changed lanes too. He slowed down, and the gray SUV slowed down too. He accelerated, and the gray SUV accelerated too. His expression changed. "Mr. Zhou, we might be being watched."

Zhou Tianming opened his eyes, glanced at the rearview mirror, and said nothing. His expression was calm, as calm as a stagnant pool.

Zhong Zhihao slammed on the gas pedal, and the car shot off like an arrow.

The gray SUV accelerated, keeping close behind. Ahead was a highway exit; Zhong Zhihao swerved, the car almost floating as it entered the ramp. The tires screeched, the car shook violently, and Zhou Tianming gripped the handrail, his body swaying wildly. But the gray SUV followed, with two more cars behind it.

At the end of the ramp was a tollbooth, and several cars were blocking the exit, completely obstructing the road. Zhong Zhihao slammed on the brakes, and the car stopped a dozen meters away from the tollbooth.

He glanced at the rearview mirror; the car behind him had also stopped, blocking his escape route. Cars were everywhere—in front, behind, to the left, and to the right.

"Don't move! Police! Get out of the car!"

A dozen men got out of the car, guns in hand, their dark muzzles pointed at them. Zhong Zhihao didn't move. He sat in the driver's seat, his hands gripping the steering wheel, his knuckles white. His face was as white as paper, his lips trembled, and his eyes were fixed on the road ahead.

"Get out of the car! We'll shoot if you don't get out!"