Anti-gang campaign: Female bureau chief

"I know, but I have more to tell you than just this. Zhou Wenxuan confessed that Gu Changhe holds 30% of Fengmao's shares, and his son Gu Mingzhe holds 19% of the shares."

I need the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection to take immediate action against Gu Changhe; we can't wait any longer. He learned about Xu Guangfa's murder from Shen Wangshan's phone call, and he helped with the aftermath. He owns nearly half of Fengmao's shares.

This person is still the executive vice mayor of Yi'an City, and can access our case files and interfere with our investigation at any time. As long as he remains in office, all our actions are at risk of being leaked.

Zhou Pei paused for three seconds, then said:

"I'll report this to the department leaders immediately. Wait for my news."

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Ruolan turned around and looked at the busy police officers on the dock, at the increasingly bright morning light in the east, and at the turbid ancient river that flowed through Yi'an City.

The city has slept in darkness for too long; today, the sun is finally rising.

In another corner of the city, deep within the ruins of an unfinished shantytown in the east, Shen Wangshan sat on the creaking wooden bed in his old house, holding a cell phone that was already switched off.

On the old wooden table in front of him sat a half-empty bottle of baijiu, a rusty old knife, and a yellowed old photograph—a photograph of a fifteen-year-old boy standing in front of a cluster of low-rise houses in the shantytown of eastern city, his eyes fierce and stubborn.

That was himself more than 30 years ago.

Shen Wangshan picked up the wine bottle, held it up to the photo, and then tilted his head back and took a big gulp.

The strong liquor burned his throat, stinging his eyes and bringing tears to his eyes. He knew a massive dragnet had been laid outside, that Zhou Wenxuan, Qian Shouyi, and Ren Pengfei were already in custody, and that the ledger containing all his secrets was being examined by the police. He knew he had nowhere to run.

But he didn't run.

He put down the wine bottle, picked up the rusty old knife on the table, and examined it over and over.

The rust on the blade gleamed with a dark reddish luster under the dim light, like dried blood.

"Thirty years," he muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and low, as he looked at the empty old house.

"Back here, I took this knife and stabbed the first person."

Back then, I thought I'd either die by the sword or die in bed. Now it seems God chose a third path for me.

He placed the knife on the table, stood up, walked to the only window of the old house, and pushed open the wooden window that was riddled with holes from insects.

The morning light streamed in through the window, illuminating every wrinkle on his face. He squinted at the growing golden light on the horizon, and a smile slowly spread across his lips.

That smile contained bitterness and resentment, but more than anything, it was a sense of relief after meeting a worthy opponent.

"Jiang Ruolan." He uttered the name in the morning light, his tone as if addressing a worthy opponent.

"You've been in Yi'an for five days and overturned everything I've built up over thirty years. I, Shen Wangshan, have never submitted to anyone in my life, but you, I submit to."

He turned around, walked back to the table, picked up his phone, and pressed the power button.

The moment the screen lit up and the signal was restored, the phone started vibrating wildly—hundreds of missed call notifications flooded in, most of them from the same number.

He dialed back.

The phone was answered after three rings. Gu Changhe's voice came from the other end, his usually calm and composed tone now tinged with an undisguised panic for the first time:

"Are you crazy? Why are you calling me at this hour?"

"What's the panic?" Shen Wangshan's voice was surprisingly calm.

"Old Gu, it's been thirty years. From the day you approved my first demolition project, we've been in the same boat. Now that the boat's sinking, do you think you can escape?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone. Then Gu Changhe's voice turned icy:

"Shen Wangshan, what do you mean?"

"I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to say goodbye." Shen Wangshan picked up the old knife on the table and ran his thumb along the rust on the blade.

"Old Gu, you know perfectly well how much you've taken from me over the past thirty years. Thirty percent of Fengmao's shares are enough for your son to live on for several lifetimes."

But it seems you won't have the chance to enjoy it now. Jiang Ruolan's men have already captured Zhou Wenxuan, and Zhou Wenxuan has a hard drive with all our accounts recorded on it.

The shares held by you, your son, and that distant relative on your behalf—it's all clear, not a single one can escape responsibility.

The breathing on the other end of the phone became heavy. When Gu Changhe spoke again, the panic in his voice was almost breaking his composed tone:

"Why didn't you tell me sooner that Zhou Wenxuan had something like this? Didn't you say he was reliable?"

"People change. Especially when you send someone to kill another person to save your own life—do you think Zhou Wenxuan wouldn't have second thoughts about Zhao Biao's matter?"

"If I can harm Zhao Biao, why can't I harm him?" Shen Wangshan said, then suddenly laughed, a desolate and hoarse laugh.

"Old Gu, just admit it. Thirty years is enough."

He hung up the phone, put it on the table, then picked up the old knife and examined it one last time in the morning light.

The sky outside the window was already fully bright.

At 8:00 a.m., the provincial discipline inspection commission's working group officially entered Yi'an.

At the same time, news came from the provincial department's technical center that the data on Zhou Wenxuan's hard drive had been successfully recovered, and all of Fengmao Group's internal and external accounts, bribery records, and shareholding details for the past fifteen years had been completely extracted.

The records regarding Gu Changhe and his son Gu Mingzhe's shareholding in Fengmao Group are clear and complete, and completely match Zhou Wenxuan's confession.

At 9:40 a.m., Jiang Ruolan received an official notification from the provincial department—with the approval of the provincial party committee upon the request of the provincial discipline inspection commission, it was decided to place Gu Changhe, the executive vice mayor of Yi'an City, under detention.

Execution time: 10:00 AM today. Execution location: Yi'an Municipal Government Office Building.

Jiang Ruolan, accompanied by Lu Zheng and two staff members from the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection, drove to the Municipal Government.

As the car drove along the main road of Ngam, she noticed that Ngam was different from yesterday—there seemed to be more people on the streets, some shops had rolled up their shutters, and some breakfast stalls had even set up stoves by the roadside, with white steam rising from the steamers in the morning light.

The city seemed to awaken overnight, and those who hid at home and dared not go out seemed to smell a different scent in the air.

In front of the city government building, the security guard saw a police car drive in and instinctively tried to stop it, but after seeing who was in the car, he wisely withdrew his hand.

Jiang Ruolan and her group went straight up to the eighth floor.

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