Transmigrated into a female-oriented novel, and put an end to the domineering CEOs all over the city

Xue Hao frowned. As the provincial public security chief, he had to be the first to speak: "Hong Zhan, are you sure?"

"I brought the interrogation records, Director Xue," Hong Zhan immediately took out a brown paper folder from his briefcase and placed it flat on the table. "Nine people in total, and their testimonies are basically consistent."

He paused, then added, "Several overseas numbers were also found in the mastermind's phone records. The technical department has already made a preliminary location; the signal source is in Southeast Asia."

Xue Hao didn't touch the folder. He glanced at Zhang Beishan first, then looked away, waiting for Zhang Beishan's response.

This is not something to be taken lightly.

He knew that once this confession was confirmed, the provincial department would have to immediately activate the inter-departmental coordination mechanism and connect with the national security and foreign affairs departments.

This decision cannot be made by Xue Hao; it must be made according to the instructions from above.

Shi Jun's expression remained unchanged. As the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, if this case really involved foreign forces, then he would be the first person at the provincial party committee level to be asked to report the situation.

The more you speak now, the more you'll have to explain later.

So he didn't speak either, but simply kept his gaze fixed on Zhang Beishan.

Lu Feng's eye twitched slightly. It took him two seconds to accept the news that foreign forces wanted to kidnap his entire family.

To be honest, he was a little confused.

He genuinely had no idea when he had offended this group of people.

My eldest son, Lu Jingxiu, used to be quite unruly, but he's calmed down a lot lately. He stays at the Ba Market obediently every day, and I haven't heard of him causing any major trouble.

By any measure, it doesn't seem like the kind of situation that could provoke Southeast Asian warlords.

This is outrageous. It's like waking up to find that God has suddenly brought out a major enemy for him, and it's from overseas, to make matters worse.

But he didn't panic. He just focused his attention on Zhang Beishan, like everyone else, waiting for Zhang Beishan to make the first move.

Fang Haiming frowned; he was thinking about something else entirely.

Why is Bazhou province so turbulent lately?

First, strange things kept happening in the provincial capital, and now someone even dares to kidnap the entire family of the deputy secretary of the provincial party committee?

After the third-in-command is tied up, will the next step be to arrange for the second-in-command to be taken down as well?

However, seeing that everyone's eyes were on Zhang Beishan, Lao Fang hesitated for only 0.1 seconds before quickly adjusting his expression and turning his gaze to Zhang Beishan, waiting for him to speak first.

Zhang Beishan sat in the main seat, his gaze slowly sweeping around.

Goodness, everyone in the room is watching him.

Even Lao Fang, who should have spoken up to share the burden at this time, was watching him.

He was a little speechless about this old non-stick pan, but he was used to it, and didn't show any expression on his face.

He turned to Hong Zhan, his tone calm: "Hong Zhan, besides those of you here and your interrogation team, who else knows this information?"

Zhang Beishan's first assessment was the scope of the message's spread; this was the first step in handling such matters.

Hong Zhan reported truthfully: "No, after the interrogation last night, I personally collected the confessions and only brought one copy to the meeting."

Zhang Beishan nodded slightly and then asked, "Are you sure your people are positioned in Southeast Asia, or just within the Southeast Asian region?"

Hong Zhan knew that Secretary Zhang was confirming the accuracy of the location. Direction and region are two different things; the former is a vague direction, while the latter is a specific area.

He dared not be ambiguous: "The technical department said that 'the signal source is pointing towards Southeast Asia,' but they could not pinpoint a specific city or location."

Zhang Beishan hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you think they will make another move soon?"

Hong Zhan remained silent for a while; this was a difficult question to answer.

Answering yes would continue to create tension, while answering no would seem like he wasn't taking it seriously enough. He had no choice but to lay out everything that had been said during the interrogation:

"The suspects confessed that their original plan was to take action last night, but after the operation failed, we arrested the entire group."

"They weren't sure if the higher-ups would send more people, but they mentioned that the mastermind behind it all was someone who would never give up until he achieved his goal."

After a moment's thought, Zhang Beishan made a decision: "Continue the investigation and dig out the specific identities of the people in Southeast Asia, their funding channels, and their contacts in China."

"We'll provide you with whatever technical expertise you need from the provincial department. Every lead you uncover will be reported directly to Director Xue, without going through any intermediaries."

"Report to me at any stage of the review process; there's no need to wait for meeting minutes."

These words not only paved the way for Hong Zhan in public, but also put the case directly in his own hands.

After saying that, he looked at Xue Hao and said, "Old Xue, you arrange for someone to contact the Provincial State Security Department. You will take the lead in this matter. Don't report it to higher authorities yet. We'll wait until we have solid evidence before making a report. I'll report it then."

Xue Hao nodded: "Understood, Secretary Zhang."

He knew that Zhang Beishan meant to avoid alarming the higher-ups too early, to first confirm the accuracy of the information, and to report it to higher authorities only after there was solid evidence, so as to avoid making a big fuss but having little effect.

Zhang Beishan is going to take charge of things himself.

Just when everyone thought the meeting was settled, someone suddenly spoke up.

"Secretary Zhang."

Everyone turned to look.

It's Yue Zhi.

The provincial military commander sat quietly to the side from the beginning of the meeting, as if he were invisible.

He suddenly spoke, his voice not loud, but it brought everyone back to their senses.

He looked at Zhang Beishan with piercing eyes: "If Director Hong's testimony is true, then the nature of this case changes."

"A premeditated kidnapping involving foreign armed forces, regardless of who the target is, is no longer an ordinary criminal case."

Yue Zhi paused, then said seriously, "The provincial military district can coordinate relevant reconnaissance forces to cooperate with the public security bureau in providing cross-border intelligence support. However, if it is necessary to enter the source overseas, then it needs to be reported to the theater command."

He spoke very tactfully.

First, they made a promise that they could cooperate and provide support.

The last half of the sentence actually implies to Zhang Beishan: if the local authorities really can't handle it and want to take real action, the military has its own procedures and needs authorization from a higher level.

This is Yue Zhi's way of doing things.

I'll help where I can, but I'll draw a clear line now so no one can be left confused.

Zhang Beishan pondered for a moment and then figured out the key to it.

At this point, the matter is no longer something that the police alone can resolve.

Foreign forces are directly targeting the provincial party committee's top leadership, so they need technical support from the military.

After all, the military's communication technology and command methods are far superior to those of local public security forces.

Professional matters should be handled by professionals.

After receiving Zhang Beishan's tacit approval, Yue Zhi looked at Hong Zhan and said, "Director Hong, from now on, all the statements of your interrogation team must be copied and sent to the Provincial Military Region Intelligence Department, encrypted and delivered by a special person."

Hong Zhan nodded: "Understood."