Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

The No. 3 compound of the Provincial Party Committee.

The living room lights were half-on, casting a warm yellow glow on the dark sofa, and a pot of Tieguanyin tea was still steaming on the coffee table.

Teacher Wu took a gray cashmere coat out of the bedroom and gently draped it over Gao Yuliang's shoulders.

"You came back without even saying a word. Have you eaten?"

Gao Yuliang leaned back on the sofa, his legs crossed, his right hand resting on the armrest, his index finger tracing lines on the leather surface.

"I ate, and drank three rounds of tea at Secretary Zhao's place."

Teacher Wu sat down next to him and reached out to straighten his coat collar.

"Since Secretary Zhao invited you over, it means he hasn't given up on you yet. Yuliang, you should know when to back down. There's no need to argue with him."

Gao Yuliang didn't reply, but picked up his teacup and blew on it.

"You don't understand the situation."

Teacher Wu turned her head to look at him, and stopped what she was doing.

"Zhao Lichun said he met with Secretary Su in Kyoto and that the higher-ups were very dissatisfied with Shen Zhong and wanted to deal with him."

"Isn't this a good thing?"

"What's so good about it?"

Gao Yuliang placed the teacup on the coffee table with a crisp sound.

"If Su Zhenhai had really made a commitment, would Zhao Lichun have needed to call Qi Tongwei and me to his house in the middle of the night to make empty promises?"

Teacher Wu was stunned for a moment.

"You mean... Secretary Zhao hasn't moved anything in Beijing?"

"It's not that it wasn't moved, it was moved, but what it moved fell on its own foot."

Gao Yuliang picked up the teacup and put it down again, repeating this process twice.

"Su Zhenhai has been operating in Kyoto for so many years. He's seen all kinds of people and handled all kinds of situations. If Zhao Lichun really got Su Zhenhai's promise, he wouldn't have been in such a hurry to get people to take sides at tonight's tea party. Instead, he would have launched a major purge of the Hantong officialdom. That's not like the methods of our Secretary Lichun."

Teacher Wu placed her hand on Gao Yuliang's arm and gently tucked her fingertips in.

"Then...should we tell Tongwei so he can prepare in advance?"

Gao Yuliang snorted coldly, picked up his teacup, and downed it in one gulp.

"Qi Tongwei?"

"When he kept advising me, and even brought people from the Provincial Public Security Bureau to the Guangming Branch to back up Cheng Du, I just pretended I didn't have this student anymore!"

Teacher Wu remained silent.

Gao Yuliang put the empty cup back, and the bottom of the cup tapped on the coffee table.

"Qi Tongwei has already crossed over to the Zhao family. Let him do whatever he wants. Whether he lives or dies is none of my business."

Teacher Wu opened her mouth, but ultimately didn't try to persuade her further.

……

At the same time.

Special command room in the compound of the Handong Provincial Military Region.

Shen Zhong sat on the sofa, flipping through the latest report that the technical department had just submitted.

Zhou Weiguo strode over from the monitoring station, holding a printed monitoring log in his hand, and placed it in front of Shen Zhong.

"Sir, this happened this afternoon."

Shen Zhong glanced at the number on the cover and turned to the first page.

"Zhao Lichun arrived at the provincial party committee compound at 2:17 p.m., accompanied by two police cars, a standard entourage, with no reduction in protocol throughout."

Zhou Weiguo stepped forward half a step and continued speaking.

"When we got to the square, I chatted with a few division-level cadres for five minutes, asking about the investment promotion plan and the progress of the work."

"At 8 p.m., I summoned Gao Yuliang and Qi Tongwei to their residence in the family compound and stayed for about an hour and a half."

Shen closed the report, casually picked up the brass lighter from the table, and rubbed his thumb back and forth on the wheel.

"Click. Click click."

One long and two short, with a steady rhythm.

Zhou Weiguo rubbed his hands together, looking puzzled.

"Boss, Zhao Lichun clearly got a rude awakening in Kyoto, so how come he can still act like he has the world in his grasp when he comes back?"

"Who are they putting on this for?"

Shen Zhong put the lighter back on the table and leaned back in his chair.

"It's an act for his men."

"Zhao Lichun stumbled at the Standing Committee meeting, and his backing in Beijing has been severed. Now the entire Zhao family is in turmoil, and someone may jump ship at any time."

"If he comes back looking disheveled at a time like this, the whole ship will fall apart within three days."

Zhou Weiguo pondered for two seconds and then nodded.

"Should we spread the word that Su Zhenhai gave up on him?"

"No rush."

Shen Zhong stood up from his chair and walked to the front of the large screen.

"What people who bluff fear most is not being exposed, but that their foundation collapses when they need it most."

He raised his right hand and tapped the report with his fingertips.

Shanshui Group.

On the fund flow chart, a thick red data line starts from Dafeng Factory's financial account, passes through three transit nodes, and finally flows into an offshore holding company under the name of Shanshui Group.

"Technical team, retrieve the detailed report for this link."

"yes!"

The technician quickly typed a series of commands, and a timeline of transaction records popped up on the screen.

Zhou Weiguo took two steps closer and looked down at the data.

"After the bridge loan for Dafeng Factory matured, Ouyang Jing of Jingzhou Commercial Bank cut off the loan directly. Cai Chenggong was unable to repay the money, and the court awarded all of Dafeng Factory's shares to Shanshui Group in less than 48 hours."

"Forty-eight hours?"

He swiped his heavy finger across the screen.

What is the typical litigation cycle for equity disputes?

"At least three months, even if you walk fast, it will still take six to eight weeks."

"The judgment was issued in 48 hours, before even the service of process could be completed."

A heavy thumb flicked the lighter cap, making a crisp "snap" sound.

"Ding Yizhen and Gao Xiaoqin are already processing the transfer of ownership of the Dafeng Factory land. Someone from the Land Bureau is cooperating with them, and they should be able to get the new land use certificate by next week at the latest."

Zhou Weiguo lowered his voice by half a notch.

"This piece of land was a real gem, worth over a billion yuan, but Cai Chenggong sold it for just over 5000 million yuan. After Shanshui Group acquired it, the second phase of Guangming Peak was launched. The developer's deposit came in, and the profits were transferred through overseas accounts—"

"The Zhao family's money in the country has been completely laundered."

Shen Zhong finished speaking for him.

The data on the console is still refreshing, and behind every fluctuating number lies a meticulously designed money laundering channel.

"Commander, should we act now and arrest Ding Yizhen and Gao Xiaoqin?"

"What happens after they arrest you?"

Shen Zhong turned around, walked back to the command chair, picked up the teacup that had been sitting there for a while, and took a sip of cold tea.

"There is no conclusive evidence yet to prove that Ouyang Jing's loan cut-off was aimed at Cai Chenggong. Moreover, Ding Yizhen and Gao Xiaoqin are just front men pushed forward by the Zhao family. If they arrest these two, Zhao Lichun will just replace them with two more. It's just a change in name only."

"Moreover, the chain of evidence is not yet closed. Just knowing the flow of funds is not enough; we are still missing a crucial survivor."

Zhou Weiguo realized what was happening.

"Cai Chenggong".

"right."

Shen Zhong put down his teacup and tapped his two fingers twice on the table.

"Cai Chenggong is the only person in this chain who is both a victim and knows all the inside information. He knows everything about how the bridge loan scheme was set up, how Ouyang Jing cut off the loan, and how the court issued a verdict in 48 hours."

"But this person has now disappeared. Ding Yizhen is definitely looking for him, and it cannot be ruled out that he has already considered silencing him."

"Concentrate all reconnaissance forces at Dafeng Factory."

Shen Zhong's fingers flicked the lighter again.

"Monitor all movements of the Shanshui Group, especially the preparations for the forced demolition. If the demolition team makes any unusual moves, stop them immediately."

"At the same time, finding Cai Chenggong will be of great use to me."