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

Two o'clock in the morning.

The top floor of the headquarters building of Handong Oil and Gas Group was brightly lit.

The executive lounge on the 42nd floor was temporarily transformed into a private banquet hall. The long mahogany banquet table was filled with top-quality ingredients flown in from France, including caviar, black truffles, and Wagyu beef sashimi. The cost of each dish was enough for an average working-class family to eat for half a year.

Jazz music was playing from a speaker in the corner.

Liu Xinjian stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, his left hand in the pocket of his custom-made trousers, and his right hand holding a Bordeaux glass. The glass contained a deep red bottle of Romanée-Conti, which was more than half empty.

"What are you afraid of?"

He raised his glass towards the restless executives behind him, his tongue already slurring.

"So what if Ding Yizhen was arrested? That good-for-nothing is from Jingzhou, what does he have to do with our oil and gas group?"

The CFO, Lao Ma, sat on the sofa, only half of his buttocks touching the sofa, rubbing his hands together.

"Mr. Liu, there are rumors circulating that the military is conducting a city-wide crackdown... Is it really appropriate for us to hold a victory celebration banquet at this time?"

"Perfectly suited."

Liu Xinjian strode back to the dining table, grabbed the unopened bottle of Romanée-Conti, and poured himself a full glass. He didn't care that the wine spilled onto the tablecloth.

"Old Ma, let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart."

He pointed with his wine glass at the six or seven people present.

"In this Handong region, there's someone who can't touch me. Do you know who it is?"

No one dared to respond.

Liu Xinjian threw out the answer himself, raising his voice high.

"Secretary Zhao."

He patted his chest.

"I served as the old Party Secretary's personal secretary for eight years, eight years! He promoted me to this position in the oil and gas group, not so I could just coast along. The group's annual tax revenue supports almost half of Handong's finances. Trying to touch me? First, ask the provincial Party Committee's financial statements if they'll allow it."

The female assistant in charge of reception quickly came over and handed him a wet towel.

Liu Xinjian took the towel and wiped his face casually.

"Even if they do investigate us, all the paperwork for our rare earth line is compliant. We have the permits, the customs stamps, and the export licenses—everything is in order. What can they possibly find out?"

Old Ma opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something.

Before he could finish speaking, Liu Xinjian cut him off.

"Let's drink! Nobody's leaving today! Our oil and gas group's net profit hit a record high in the third quarter. Who wouldn't we celebrate?"

He tilted his head back and downed the wine in his glass in one gulp.

He wiped his mouth and gestured with his chin towards his female assistant.

"Go and bring up that case of '82 Lafite as well."

The female assistant jogged out in her high heels.

Old Ma sat there, holding his wine glass, lost in thought. He had a feeling that something was off about the atmosphere tonight.

Looking down from this height, the streetlights were on on the eight-lane road in front of the oil and gas group building, and there weren't many cars.

It's too quiet.

At 2 a.m., even if there are few cars on the main road in Jingzhou, there shouldn't be a single one.

Old Ma was just about to share this discovery.

A loud bang came from the direction of the lobby on the first floor.

boom!

The entire building floor shook. The row of crystal chandeliers in the lounge swayed back and forth, tinkling and clanging. Two wine glasses on the table spilled, the liquid staining the white tablecloth with a dark red hue.

The wine glass in Old Ma's hand slipped from his grasp and shattered on the ground.

"What's that sound!" Liu Xinjian sobered up halfway through his drunkenness.

The voice of the person on duty in the monitoring room burst out from the walkie-talkie, sounding like they were crying.

"Mr. Liu! The main entrance on the first floor has been rammed open by an armored vehicle! Lots of soldiers have rushed in! They're all armed! The elevator is under control!"

The other end of the walkie-talkie came the sound of heavy military boots pounding the ground and the clanging of metal.

The signal was then interrupted.

Liu Xinjian stood there, stunned. All the executives in the lounge stood up, knocking over several chairs.

"Armored vehicle?"

He hadn't quite grasped the situation. What was going on? The oil and gas group was a key state-owned enterprise under the provincial government; the lobby on the first floor used bank-grade bulletproof glass, and the revolving door alone cost 800,000 yuan.

Who the hell has the guts to use an armored vehicle to ram the door?

Hurried footsteps echoed in the hallway. It wasn't one person, but a group of people.

Their steps were perfectly synchronized, each one carrying a chilling rhythm.

The steel fire door of the dedicated fire escape staircase was kicked open from the outside. The door slammed against the wall with a loud bang.

Six fully armed special forces soldiers filed into the lounge. Night vision goggles on their tactical helmets were flipped up above their foreheads, and the sights of their short-barreled assault rifles swept across every corner.

The red laser dot danced on the ceiling and walls before finally landing steadily on Liu Xinjian's chest.

Three red dots.

One is above the heart, one is on the Adam's apple, and one is between the eyebrows.

"Don't move! Hands behind your heads! Everyone, squat down!"

The commanding officer gave crisp and decisive orders.

The executives in the lounge didn't need a second reminder. Old Ma was the first to kneel down, hands raised high above his head. The others followed suit, kneeling in a row.

Liu Xinjian was the only one still standing there.

His legs were shaking, and his trousers were trembling like a leaf, but he was still holding on with the last bit of alcohol in his body.

"You... which unit are you from? I am the chairman of Handong Oil and Gas Group! A provincial-level cadre! Do you have a search warrant? Do you have approval from higher authorities? I need to call Secretary Zhao—"

Before he could finish uttering the syllables following the character "Zhao"...

Two special forces soldiers flanked him from both sides, each grabbing one of his arms and slamming him onto the floor covered in shards of glass.

His knees slammed heavily against the marble, and a warm, damp sensation came from his trouser legs.

Liu Xinjian looked down.

The crotch area of ​​those Italian-made trousers, worth 28,000 yuan, was a much darker shade.

I peed.

When three gun barrels are pointed at your head at the same time, no amount of old Party Secretary, provincial-level cadre, or 800,000 yuan bulletproof glass door will work.

This is how people behave when faced with death.

"Sir, spare me! I'll confess! I'll tell you everything!"

Liu Xinjian knelt amidst the shards of glass, oblivious to the sharp edges piercing his knees. He raised his hand and began slapping himself in the face.

Snapped!Snapped!Snapped!

Each blow was harder than the last, leaving his cheeks red and swollen. Snot and tears mingled together, streaming down his chin to the ground.

"Zhao Lichun implied that I did it! He personally opened up the channels for rare earth exports! I was just carrying out his orders! Please, give me a way out!"

The officer in charge grabbed him by the back of the neck and lifted him up, while his other hand pulled his arm behind his back. The handcuffs clicked shut.

The high-definition recorder clipped to his tactical vest captured every frame of Liu Xinjian's desperate, tearful state.