Me! A high-ranking official!

In fact, they had already started to have doubts when the test results came out. They had thoroughly examined Zhou Qingyan from head to toe and found that she was definitely not sick. If Zhao Jianguo really was sick, there was no way to explain it.

Even more critically, Zhou Qingyan had just ousted several top officials in the county due to being framed and slandered. If Zhao Jianguo's test results were also tampered with, then this was no longer a simple matter of personal conduct; it was an organized and premeditated political conspiracy! Targeting the newly appointed county party secretary!

The two disciplinary committee members exchanged a glance, and the male disciplinary committee member walked out of the interview room with a cold face to make a phone call to ask for instructions.

Less than five minutes later, he pushed the door open and came back in. He glanced at Zhao Jianguo, his tone softening slightly: "We agree to your request. This afternoon, a joint blood collection vehicle from the Municipal People's Hospital and the Affiliated Hospital of Linjiang Medical University will come here. Zhao Jianguo, if you test positive again this time, you know the consequences of resisting the organization!"

"I have nothing to fear if I am upright!" he retorted defiantly.

At 3 PM, the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection summoned him. He calculated the time, delayed on the way, and arrived at the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection within 24 hours. After having two large tubes of blood drawn, he left the Commission's compound. He wasn't flustered at all. With the Rejuvenating Pill, which Zhou Qingyan had personally verified, as a guarantee, the result of this test was definitely negative. Next, it was up to the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection to follow this clue of fraud and expose the truth.

I met Liu Tao at the long-distance bus station, arranged by the county discipline inspection commission.

Today, Li Gan's sister underwent a bone marrow transplant. He and Liu Tao discussed it and decided to take a car to the city's central hospital to visit her. After all, she was a trusted confidante, and they needed to show their faces at this time to put his mind at ease.

Upon arriving at the hematology ward of the city's central hospital, Zhao Jianguo made a phone call to Li Gan.

The phone rang for a long time before being answered. The voice that came through the phone stunned Zhao Jianguo and Liu Tao. There was no tension or joy about the upcoming surgery, only heavy, hoarse, and even desperate breathing.

"Brother Zhao... don't come anymore..."

"What happened? Where are you?" Zhao Jianguo's heart sank.

"I'm outside the sterile ward on the third floor... The surgery can't be done..." Li Gan's voice was clearly choked with sobs.

He and Liu Tao exchanged a glance, and without saying a word, they took off running up to the third floor.

As soon as they stepped out of the elevator, they saw a towering man huddled in the corner of the corridor outside the sterile cabin like a lump of mud. Li Gan was holding his head tightly with both hands. When he heard footsteps, he raised his bloodshot eyes.

"What exactly happened?" Zhao Jianguo squatted down and asked in a deep voice, "Didn't they say a few days ago that the match was successful and the donor agreed?"

Li Gan wiped his rough face, tears streaming down his face: "I was notified at the last minute this morning that the surgery was canceled. The doctor said... said the donor suddenly changed his mind and refused to donate no matter what!"

"Holy shit!" Liu Tao exploded upon hearing this: "Is this something a human would do?! To back out at the last minute, isn't that suicidal?!"

Li Gan suddenly covered his face like a child, letting out a suppressed sob: "My sister started bone marrow ablation the day before yesterday! Her hematopoietic and immune systems have been completely destroyed by the drugs, and she's just waiting for this life-saving bone marrow! Now the donor won't donate, and the hospital says they can only urgently contact the National Bone Marrow Registry to find a half-match, but... but there's simply not enough time!"

Zhao Jianguo's brows furrowed tightly. The act of purifying the marrow and then donating is medically equivalent to murder, but such matters are extremely ambiguous in law, making it difficult to define and hold anyone accountable.

But he always felt that there was something strange about this matter. It was a matter of life and death. The probability of a successful match was already one in ten thousand. The other party had been cooperating well a few days ago. How could they suddenly back out at this critical moment?

"Let's go find the attending physician and ask him!" Zhao Jianguo pulled Li Gan up.

There were two patients' family members consulting in the attending physician's office. They didn't force their way in, but waited patiently outside the door for a while. As soon as the family members left, he immediately went in.

The attending physician, a middle-aged man wearing glasses, sighed helplessly as they entered: "Li's family, I know you're anxious, but there's really nothing we can do in this situation. Donors have free will; if someone doesn't want to donate, we can't force them at knifepoint, can we?"

"Doctor!" Zhao Jianguo offered the doctor a cigarette, but the doctor waved it off. Zhao Jianguo then tucked the cigarette behind his ear. "I know this situation is difficult for the hospital, but I just want to ask, is Li Gan's sister just going to have to wait to die in the sterile ward?"

"You can't say that. We've already activated the emergency plan..." The doctor glanced nervously to the side, his tone somewhat hurried. "It's just that the daily maintenance cost in the sterile ward is very high, and... and the risk of infection is extremely high. You family members had better be prepared."

Zhao Jianguo didn't respond. The doctor was avoiding his gaze, and while speaking, his hand kept unconsciously fiddling with the ballpoint pen on the table, a typical sign of guilt.

As he came out of the doctor's office, he stopped and said to Liu Tao and Li Gan, "You two wait at the ward door, I'm going out to make a phone call."

He walked to the smoking area outside the hospital, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

He was completely clueless about the city and had no idea where to begin investigating these intricate details. He racked his brains for connections and realized that there was only one person who could speak to him at this level and help him find a solution.

He took out his phone and dialed the number ending in 00001.

The phone rang twice and was immediately hung up.

He wasn't in a hurry. He stood next to the trash can, slowly smoking. A full fifteen minutes passed before Zhou Qingyan called back.

"What is it?" Her voice remained indifferent.

Without wasting words, knowing that Zhou Qingyan must be busy, he briefly recounted how Li Gan's sister had regretted her donation after undergoing bone marrow cleansing, as well as his own suspicions about the attending physician.

"Secretary Zhou, I don't have any connections in the city, but could you please ask around? Even if it's true that they've reneged on their donation, we'd like to hear the truth."

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone. After a moment, Zhou Qingyan's cold voice came through: "What if it's not a repentance? What are you going to do then?"

He was taken aback: "Not a repentance of donation? Then what's going on?"

"You're not in that circle, you don't understand the dirty work." Zhou Qingyan's tone carried a hint of sarcasm, as if he were used to it. "I heard about it when I worked in the provincial capital. Some so-called 'repentance donations' are actually cases where the donor's bone marrow happens to be a partial or full match with another person, and this other person is either rich or powerful, with enough influence to use the hospital and internal channels to take away a surgery slot that originally belonged to an ordinary person."