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

Everyone stood up to try and persuade him to stay, but Ding Yizhen repeatedly bowed and left the private room without looking back.

He didn't take the elevator, but followed the emergency exit back to his suite.

He took off his expensive haute couture suit and threw it on the messy bed, then ripped off his Hermès silk tie.

He took the baggy, rough-looking cleaning uniform the driver handed him and put it on. He grabbed a disposable medical mask and put it on, then ruffled his hair.

Ding Yizhen pushed out a linen cart full of clean sheets and walked out of the room with her head down.

A man and a woman stood at the corner of the corridor. Lin Huahua and Zhou Sheng from the Anti-Corruption Bureau were leaning against the wall, yawning.

Ding Yizhen pulled his baseball cap down even lower. The wheel of the cart made a dull rolling noise on the carpet.

Lin Huahua didn't even lift her eyelids, turning her head to continue complaining to Zhou Sheng.

"This job in the Anti-Corruption Bureau is inhuman. We work day and night without any pay. Once this case is closed, I'm definitely going to make Director Lu treat us to a big meal."

Zhou Sheng leaned against the wall, stretched, and gave a half-hearted reply.

Ding Yizhen quickened her pace, and the linen cart almost crashed into the wall.

He entered the freight elevator and pressed the button for the basement level. The moment the elevator doors closed, he leaned against the cold metal wall, panting heavily.

These idiots! They want to arrest me! Once I fly to Los Angeles, with the resettlement allowance from the Zhao family, I can choose any luxury house and foreign woman I want.

The freight elevator goes directly to the underground parking lot. A black Volkswagen is already parked in the corner.

The driver sped out of the parking lot and merged into the traffic on Jingzhou's main road. Ding Yizhen huddled in the back seat, pulling off her stinking cleaning uniform.

Once you arrive at the private airport, you can completely escape this place of trouble.

Meeting room of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee.

Zhao Lichun pulled out the leather chair at the head of the table and sat down. He picked up his cup of pre-Qingming Longjing tea, which was already warm, and blew on the floating tea leaves.

"Comrade Dakang, no matter what, you are the supervisor, and you cannot shirk the responsibility for the failure to properly select personnel."

Just as things were at a stalemate, with both sides blaming and passing the buck, Liu Changchun's phone screen suddenly lit up.

An unread text message. The sender is Shen Zhong.

【It's time to close the net.】

Just five short words. Liu Changchun's heart pounded wildly, and even his wrists trembled slightly.

Liu Changchun grabbed his phone and stuffed it into his pocket. He then raised his hand and slammed it heavily on the hard mahogany conference table.

boom.

A loud bang echoed through the spacious conference room.

The teacup that Zhao Lichun had just brought to his lips shook violently, and tea splashed onto his dark trousers.

Liu Changchun stood up abruptly, bracing himself on the table with both hands, leaning forward to face the top leader of Handong. His aura was fully unleashed, devoid of his previous restraint and concession.

"Secretary Lichun! Haven't we been discussing these so-called procedural issues for long enough?"

"The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection's notice of assistance is right here in black and white. Ding Yizhen is suspected of massive corruption and illegally transferring state-owned assets. Every minute we linger in this meeting room increases the possibility that the suspect will destroy evidence or even flee! This is absolutely not the attitude we should have towards anti-corruption work!"

Liu Changchun turned to look at the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission and the chief prosecutor sitting to his side.

"I agree to the immediate arrest! Now! Right now! I, Liu Changchun, will take full responsibility for any political consequences that may arise!"

Tian Guofu closed the red leather notebook in front of him.

"I fully agree with the Governor of Changchun's opinion. The Discipline Inspection Commission will follow up and supervise the entire process. Handong will never become a safe haven for corrupt officials."

With the strong endorsement of the second-in-command and the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, Ji Changming breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, someone had taken the blame for this enormous mistake.

"Okay! I'll issue the order for a forced arrest immediately!" Ji Changming took out his phone and walked outside.

Zhao Lichun sat in the main seat, slowly wiping the water stains from his trousers with a tissue. He didn't say anything to stop him.

The area outside the Guangmingfeng Hotel.

Zhao Donglai sat in the bulletproof command vehicle, his eyes fixed on the red dot on the monitor screen. A crisp, efficient communication message came through the communications channel from Lu Yike of the Provincial Anti-Corruption Bureau.

"Director Zhao, the Provincial Procuratorate and the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee have jointly issued the final order: immediately carry out a forced arrest of the target, Ding Yizhen!"

The job I've been waiting for all night has finally come to fruition!

"Action! Push them all in!" Zhao Donglai shouted into the walkie-talkie.

Dozens of fully armed special police officers and plainclothes officers emerged from the shadows from all directions. All the police lights were on, and the piercing sirens shattered the night sky over Jingzhou.

The officers rushed into the hotel's revolving doors.

The female receptionist was so frightened that she dropped the walkie-talkie and crouched down under the counter, too scared to move.

Zhao Donglai personally led the team, treading on heavy tactical boots, straight to the VIP suite on the second floor.

He kicked open the extremely heavy, carved double solid wood door.

Inside the private room, several foreign businessmen were cutting steaks with knives and forks. When a group of heavily armed police officers rushed in, they all froze, not even realizing that their forks had fallen onto their plates.

Zhao Donglai strode in and surveyed the room. There was no sign of his target near the large round table.

He walked straight to the head of the table. A navy blue bespoke suit jacket was casually draped over the high-backed chair. Zhao Donglai reached inside and felt in his pocket. There was only half a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes and a windproof lighter.

That old fox has managed to slip away unscathed!

"Everyone, put your hands behind your heads and squat down!" Zhao Donglai shouted, pointing at the group of merchants.

He then immediately turned to the walkie-talkie to assign tasks.

"One team, seal off all entrances and exits. Two teams, retrieve all surveillance footage. Three teams, immediately search the underground parking lot and all storage rooms! Turn the entire hotel upside down! Don't let a single fly out!"

Lin Huahua's flustered, stuttering report came through the walkie-talkie.

"Director Zhao, Director Zhao. We saw in the corridor's surveillance footage that ten minutes ago, a cleaning worker wearing a mask pushed a linen cart into the freight elevator. The person's build and walking posture strongly resembled Vice Mayor Ding."

Zhao Donglai swung his fist and slammed it hard against the door frame of the private room, causing plaster to fall off the wall in a flurry.

Meeting Room No. 1 of the Provincial Party Committee of Handong.

The red dedicated phone next to Ji Changming rang incessantly. He grabbed the receiver. After listening for a few minutes, Ji Changming's face immediately turned a deep purplish-red, and beads of sweat rolled down his forehead.

He put down the receiver and looked around the room.

"Secretary Lichun, Governor Liu. Director Zhao Donglai reports from the front. Ding Yizhen... has escaped."

The meeting room erupted in excitement.

Li Dakang suddenly sprang up from his chair. The thermos cup beside him was knocked over and rolled onto the carpet.

"Escaped? With so many elite officers from the Municipal Public Security Bureau and the Anti-Corruption Bureau watching over them, do you think a grown person could just grow wings and fly away!"

Li Dakang was trembling all over. With Ding Yizhen gone, all the messy accounts became impossible to prove. Was he going to be pinned on the blame for sabotaging the Guangming Peak project and letting the corrupt official escape?

Zhao Lichun placed his hands on the table, feigning deep sorrow, and let out a long, murky sigh.

"Comrades. This is a serious blunder in our coordination. We actually let this scum of the nation slip away right under our noses."

"Governor Liu, you'd better prepare to explain yourself to the organization."