Official statement: Tongwei is dead! You chose Ruijin, didn't you?

In the side hall of Jingzhou Funeral Home, the air conditioning was set very low, but it couldn't dispel the suffocating heat.

Following the supervisory team's instructions to "not hold ceremonies, not issue obituaries, but maintain basic decorum," Zhao Donglai had this simple farewell room temporarily set up.

There were no black and white banners, no wreaths from the organization; on the table in the center, there was only an old photo of Qi Tongwei.

That wasn't a standard photo of him in high spirits after becoming the Director of Public Security; it was an old photo with yellowed edges.

The person in the photo is wearing an old-fashioned police uniform, and his eyes are as clear as the spring water in Yantai Mountain, revealing a stubbornness that refuses to admit defeat.

Zhao Donglai stood in the corner, watching all of this with a cold eye.

He is here today on behalf of the public security authorities to supervise the legal procedures, and incidentally, to act as the "eyes and ears" of the supervisory team.

Qi Yougen, a cousin of the Qi family, stood by the table with two young nephews.

Looking at the small urn containing ashes, Qi Yougen's turbid tears welled up in his eyes, but he stubbornly refused to let them fall.

"Uncle, should we say a few words to the urn?" the young nephew asked softly, his eyes red.

"I'm not going to talk about it anymore." Qi Yougen shook his head, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded. "In his life, he heard too many boasts and told too many lies in the city. In the end, he didn't even get to sign the body receipt. Let's not talk about empty words."

These words were spoken softly, yet they struck a chord deep within the hearts of everyone present.

Qi Yougen shakily pulled out a pair of old-fashioned black cloth shoes with layered soles from the tattered cloth bag in his hand.

The soles of the shoes were stitched tightly, and although they were old, they were clean.

"His mother made this for him before she died, saying that the city roads were slippery and this would make him feel safe. He thought it was old-fashioned and rarely wore it. Put it down here, so he won't be barefoot on his way to the underworld."

The staff looked at Zhao Donglai with some embarrassment.

According to regulations, the burial items of those involved in a case must be strictly examined.

Zhao Donglai glanced at it only once before uttering a single, curt word: "Release."

Just as the cloth shoes were placed next to the urn, a series of chaotic yet steady footsteps suddenly came from outside the corridor.

"Make way! Everyone make way! Keep the pace steady!"

Dr. Du, the director of the emergency department at the provincial hospital, was sweating profusely as he directed several nurses to push in a specially made medical wheelchair with an exaggerated design.

Sitting in a wheelchair is Gao Yuliang, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Handong Province.

The entire venue fell into a deathly silence.

At this moment, Gao Yuliang, except for his face, was completely wrapped up from the neck down with polymer plaster and titanium alloy support, looking just like a high-tech mummy that had just been unearthed.

An oxygen tube was inserted into his nose, and a portable electrocardiogram monitor was hanging next to him, beeping softly.

Behind Gao Yuliang were two plainclothes supervisors, one of whom was holding a DV camera with a flashing red light, recording Gao Yuliang the whole time.

Zhao Donglai's eyelids twitched violently.

He knew that Qin Yuanzhou agreed to let Gao Yuliang come to pay his respects in order to serve as a "live target" to refute the rumors that "Sha Ruijin forced his colleague to death," but the visual impact was just too damn surreal!

"Secretary Yuliang..." Zhao Donglai quickly went to greet him.

"Donglai, thank you for your hard work." Gao Yuliang weakly raised his eyelids and said softly:

"As a teacher, I failed to teach my student well, leading him to his tragic end. But a teacher for a day is a father for life."

Others think he's dirty and afraid of getting their hands dirty, so they won't even sign a document, but I'm not afraid. Even if I, Gao Yuliang, have only one breath left today, I'll come to see him off!

Upon hearing this, the supervisory team members behind the DV camera subtly shifted their gazes.

This remark immediately brought up Liang Lu's refusal to sign the visa, a slap in the face for the Liang family.

Qi Yougen had no idea about the intricacies of officialdom. Upon hearing that this was a high-ranking official from the province and also Qi Tongwei's teacher, he immediately wanted to kneel down and kowtow.

"useless!"

Gao Yuliang shouted, and because the movement was too big, it triggered an alarm on the monitor, which startled Director Du so much that he almost knelt down on the spot.

Just then, a few more people walked in from outside.

He is neither a bureaucrat within the system nor a bystander watching the spectacle.

They were four tall, short-haired men wearing black masks.

Although they were dressed in civilian clothes, Zhao Donglai recognized them at a glance the coldness, vigilance, and menacing aura that emanated from their very bones.

These are veteran anti-drug police officers who have spent years teetering on the brink of death, as well as military personnel.

Just as the police officers on guard at the entrance were about to stop him, Zhao Donglai suddenly raised his hand:

"Make way."

Four men walked up to the urn and stood still.

He didn't look at Zhao Donglai, nor at Gao Yuliang in his wheelchair.

The leading man pulled a red velvet box from his pocket.

Open it, and inside lies a First-Class Merit Medal.

That was the honor Qi Tongwei earned with three bullets while on the front lines of the anti-drug campaign.

He stepped forward and placed the medal neatly below Qi Tongwei's old police uniform photo.

"We do not acknowledge the corrupt official Qi Tongwei."

The man's voice came through the mask, sounding somewhat muffled.

"But today, we send off Qi Tongwei, the anti-drug hero who was shot three times at Guying Ridge and risked his life to escape from a drug dealer's den."

After speaking, the four men stood at attention in unison, and gave a standard military salute to the portrait.

After the ceremony, he turned and strode away.

Without uttering a single unnecessary word, it was concise and to the point.

The entire side hall became eerily quiet at that moment.

Under the stark white light, the First-Class Merit Medal reflected a blinding gleam, like a resounding slap across the hypocritical land of Handong.

"Well done! What a hero in the fight against drugs!"

Gao Yuliang, in his wheelchair, suddenly spoke. He stared at the medal and said softly:

"The blood shed back then didn't bring a future, but a lifetime of dog leashes! Donglai, look at this medal, it's burning your hand! Whose face is it slapping? It's slapping the face of those hypocrites!"

Gao Yuliang's words were like daggers, and through the DV camera of the supervisory team, he directly pointed the gun at Liang Qunfeng and Chen Yanshi.

Zhao Donglai's back instantly broke out in a layer of white sweat.

"Secretary Gao, you can't get too emotional, your heart rate is too high!" Director Du quickly stepped forward and pressed down on Gao Yuliang's shoulder.

"Push me back." Gao Yuliang closed his eyes, and a single tear actually squeezed out from the corner of his eye.

"Tongwei, in your next life, don't ever venture into this cutthroat world of fame and fortune again."

As Gao Yuliang was taken away, this extremely simple yet turbulent ceremony came to an end.

Qi Yougen held the black wooden box tightly in both hands, as if he were holding a rare treasure.

"Sir," Zhao Donglai stepped forward and lowered his voice, "Don't give any interviews on the way, and don't talk to strangers. After you get back, give him a low-key burial."

Qi Yougen nodded: "Understood. We won't publicize embarrassing things. Thank you, leader."

As the beat-up Wuling Hongguang drove out of the funeral home, Zhao Donglai let out a long sigh of relief.

His encrypted phone vibrated at just the right moment.

It was Zhou Zhengming who called.

"Is the ceremony over?"

"It just ended. The ashes were taken away by relatives from their hometown."

"Has no one from the Liang family shown up?"

"No. However..." Zhao Donglai glanced at the empty side hall, "Comrade Gao Yuliang was just there, and he gave a 'very profound' speech to a first-class merit medal presented by an old anti-drug police officer. The whole thing was recorded."

After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Zhengming on the other end of the phone said, "Alright, Comrade Donglai, bring all the videos and materials and come to the Provincial Party Committee Guesthouse now. Team Leader Qin wants to see you."

Zhao Donglai's heart skipped a beat.

What was bound to happen has finally happened.