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

"You'd better think about how to explain this to the provincial party committee. Close the door!"

Upon hearing this, Qi Tongwei felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly closed the car door.

I've been tricked.

From beginning to end, from Dihaoyuan to the highway toll station, Qi Tongwei led eight cars and more than thirty people, but all they got was nothing.

"Walk."

As Li Dakang gave the order, the engine of vehicle number 9 started up again, the tollbooth barrier was raised, and the black Audi slowly drove out from between the three riot control vehicles, its taillights growing smaller and smaller in the night.

"Director Qi, what do we do now?"

"Back to Emperor Garden! Everyone back to Emperor Garden!"

The sirens of eight cars blared again. This time, they weren't chasing each other, but rushing back. One after another, they turned around, their exhaust pipes spewing heat waves, and their tires screeching on the ground.

Twenty-eight minutes later, Qi Tongwei rushed into Building 22 of Dihaoyuan.

The security door was wide open, the living room light was still on, and the bottle of Lafite on the coffee table was overturned, the red wine stains spreading across the surface.

There's no one on the sofa. There's no one upstairs. There's no one in the bedroom. There's no one in the bathroom.

The person ran away.

The real Ouyang Jing had already been completely taken care of during the time he was rushing to the airport with eight cars.

Qi Tongwei stood holding onto the living room door frame for more than ten seconds, then his legs bent downwards, and he slid down the door frame to the ground.

Li Dakang wasn't the only one who saw what happened at the tollbooth.

All the private car owners who pulled over on the six-lane highway because they were startled by the sirens saw it.

Three riot police vehicles and five plainclothes cars, with their blue and red lights flashing wildly, lined up in an arrow formation on the highway to chase a black Audi—a scene comparable to an American blockbuster.

They were chasing the official car of the Standing Committee member of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.

At five o'clock in the morning, the first message appeared on the Internet.

At 4:10, the internal group chat of the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau exploded.

At 4:45, the phone in the duty room of the provincial party committee compound started ringing, one after another, without stopping.

At 5:00 PM sharp, the same topic was discussed in the WeChat groups, private conversations, and whispers among cadres in various government departments of Handong Province.

"Has Qi Tongwei gone mad? Deploying special police to stop the municipal party secretary's car?"

"What kind of spectacle is this? Is it a drug bust or an anti-terrorism operation?"

In the corridor of the Provincial Public Security Bureau, several section chiefs met but dared not look each other in the eye, for fear that they would burst out laughing if they made eye contact.

The office building of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

On Tian Guofu's desk were three reports from different sources, all with similar content—Qi Tongwei, deputy director of the Provincial Public Security Department, had violated regulations by mobilizing armed police forces to intercept the official car of a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee on the highway.

His glasses were taken off and placed on the table, and he pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers and pressed it twice.

"Meeting."

He stuffed the red book into his briefcase and tucked the pen into his jacket pocket.

"Call all the relevant people from the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Public Security Bureau, and the Procuratorate."

Forty minutes later, in the disciplinary committee meeting room.

A row of people sat on both sides of a long table, with the lights on brightly.

Everyone was waiting for one voice—Gao Yuliang, Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission.

On the other end of the phone, Gao Yuliang's voice was unhurried, with the background noise characteristic of long-distance signals.

"I was conducting research in Lüzhou and did not receive any reports about this operation."

There was a pause.

"The Public Security Bureau's action plan was not approved by the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, nor did it go through the joint consultation process."

One more beat.

"Don't worry about my relationship with Qi Tongwei. Everyone is equal before the law. Everything will be done according to the rules."

This master-disciple relationship was severed even more decisively than the divorce agreement between Li Dakang and Ouyang Jing.

Several members of the Discipline Inspection Commission exchanged glances in the meeting room and then lowered their heads to continue taking notes.

Zhao Lichun's office.

The door was locked from the inside, and Secretary Bai stood outside for twenty minutes without daring to knock.

A muffled thud came from the study.

The purple clay teapot shattered on the floor, its lid rolled far away, and tea leaves were scattered all over the ground.

Zhao Lichun sat behind his desk, his hands resting on the armrests, his ten fingers intertwined, his knuckles white.

He didn't expect Ouyang Jing to escape.

A well-planned trap—complete evidence, proper procedures, surrounded by special police, with over thirty people surrounding a villa.

An impenetrable fortress.

An impenetrable fortress, so tight that not even a mosquito could fly out.

The results of it?

Qi Tongwei led eight cars on the highway for twenty minutes, but not only did he fail to catch Ouyang Jing, he also gave someone leverage over him.

The entire officialdom of Handong was watching the spectacle with amusement.

"Call Qi Tongwei and tell him..."

He swallowed the second half of his sentence; he couldn't continue.

Why bother making a phone call? The disciplinary committee officials are probably already on their way.

Provincial Military Command Center.

Shen Zhong stood in front of the main screen, his hands behind his back, while the data stream on the screen continued to refresh.

Zhou Weiguo entered through the side door.

"Sir, the Discipline Inspection Commission passed a resolution overnight—Qi Tongwei is suspended from his duties for investigation, Lü Liang is suspended from his duties for investigation, and Tian Guofu will personally oversee the process."

The cartridge case was flipped over in the palm of his hand.

"The disciplinary committee members have already arrived at Qi Tongwei's house. I heard that when they arrived, Director Qi was smoking alone on the balcony, with several empty cigarette packs lying next to him."

Shen Zhong did not respond.

Zhou Weiguo took half a step forward.

"There's one more thing—Qi Tongwei's wife, Liang Lu, called Gao Yuliang after Qi Tongwei was taken away."

"What did Gao Yuliang say?"

"Just one sentence—he brought it on himself, he reaped what he sowed. Then he just hung up."

The spent cartridge case was placed back on the control panel with a crisp click.

"What about Li Dakang?"

"The divorce agreement has been finalized, all legal procedures are complete, and the Civil Affairs Bureau has stamped it. From tonight onwards, Ouyang Jing has nothing to do with him."

Shen Zhong picked up the teacup and blew on it to warm it.

Zhao Lichun used Ouyang Jing as a bomb, intending to bomb Li Dakang and divert everyone's attention.

The bomb didn't explode, but the bomber blew himself up first.

The incident of intercepting the provincial party committee member's car on the highway is more than ten times more shocking than Ouyang Jing's bribery.

If the Discipline Inspection Commission wants to investigate Qi Tongwei, it cannot avoid the questions of who gave him the orders, who provided the intelligence, and who signed the procedures.

Every line pulled upwards points in the same direction.

Zhao Lichun's study.

The teacup was placed back on the table, and Shen Zhong sat down heavily in the chair in front of the control panel.

"Have the technical team continue to monitor the flow of funds on Zhao Ruilong's side. With his father in such a hurry, his son will definitely accelerate the transfer of assets."

"Yes."

Zhou Weiguo turned and walked towards the technical team, but stopped after taking two steps.

"Sir, about Li Dakang standing at the door for twenty minutes... you did that on purpose, didn't you?"

Shen Zhong held his teacup without turning around.

"He didn't stand there for twenty minutes. He came in and sat down. He was still the same fearless Li Dakang."

"After standing there for those twenty minutes, he finally understood what it meant to bow one's head."