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

Once the line was connected, he immediately gave the order.

"Recall all of Zhao Donglai's communications, vehicles, intranet access, and external contacts over the past 72 hours. Do not alert the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau."

The person on the other end of the phone responded immediately.

"clear."

Shen Zhong hung up the phone and turned to Zhou Weiguo.

Where is Gao Yuliang now?

Zhou Weiguo quickly made a search.

"The Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee compound is located in a high-ranking cadre villa area. There are no public appointments tonight. Secretary Xiao He is on duty at the outer compound, and Teacher Wu is also there."

Shen Zhong picked up another encrypted phone.

"Activate internal security-level surveillance, monitoring Gao Yuliang himself, his residence, his secretary, driver, family members, and all visiting vehicles. Record any abnormalities first, then take action."

Zhou Weiguo paused briefly.

"Sir, Gao Yuliang is the Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee. He'll be directly placed under internal security surveillance. As for the procedures..."

Shen Zhong turned around.

"We are protecting him."

Zhou Weiguo stands at attention.

"yes!"

Orders were issued one after another.

The provincial military district communications office began taking over the encrypted links, the technical team retrieved city road checkpoints, and the intelligence department extracted nighttime visit logs from the Mountain and Water Project team's server.

Everyone was so busy they barely had time to breathe, but no one dared to cause any trouble.

Shen Zhong stood in front of the tactical screen, his gaze fixed on the coordinates of Gao Yuliang's residence.

He marched into Handong, overthrowing Zhao Lichun, capturing Zhao Ruilong, and then defeating Sha Ruijin; all the pieces were in his grasp.

This time, the safe houses on Hong Kong Island were exposed.

The other party did not attack him, nor did they attack He Xia.

They took a roundabout approach and placed the knife against Gao Yuliang's most vulnerable spot.

People like Gao Yuliang are not afraid of audits, being ignored, or being marginalized.

But Gao Xiaofeng and the child would make him lose his composure.

If Sha Ruijin were to deliver the information to Gao Yuliang first, and then point the finger at the military's inadequate protection, or even at Shen Zhong's "detaining people for personal use," Gao Yuliang would not immediately turn against him, but would lock himself in a prison built of suspicion.

Shen Zhong picked up his military cap and pressed his fingertip against the brim.

"Sha Ruijin and Zhong Xiaoai have already thrown away the rules."

Zhou Weiguo stood to the side and spoke in a low voice.

"Sir, should we take direct control of Sha Ruijin?"

Shen Zhong glanced at him.

There was neither reprimand nor approval.

"He's the provincial party secretary. Without solid evidence, taking action against him would be handing a knife to the capital."

Zhou Weiguo shut his mouth.

Shen Zhong turned around and walked to the encrypted radio station.

"Receiving He Xia from Lüzhou, the highest level."

The on-duty communications officer immediately took action.

The connection was established quickly.

He Xia on the other end had clearly just been woken up, but her voice was very steady.

"Heavy?"

Hearing her address, Shen Zhong felt a slight relief from the heaviness that had been pressing on his chest.

"From now on, your security will be at its highest level. Your itinerary will not be disclosed, your accommodation will not be fixed, and all visitors will be screened by the military region first."

He Xia didn't ask too many questions.

"Something happened?"

"There's a loophole on Hong Kong Island. The other side is resorting to any means necessary."

There was a two-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"I understand. What about the Luzhou project?"

"Proceed as usual. Just hold onto your core business, don't answer any calls from strangers, and don't meet with any unannounced visitors."

He Xia's response was soft, yet firm.

"Don't worry, I won't cause any trouble."

The veins on the back of Shen Zhong's hand, which was gripping the microphone, bulged, then he quickly relaxed his grip.

"If anything happens, contact Zhou Weiguo immediately. Don't try to handle it all on your own."

"it is good."

The call has ended.

Shen Zhong put the microphone back on the landline.

On the large screen in the operations room, the broken shipping track off the coast of Hong Kong Island remained there.

Zhou Weiguo walked over quickly.

"Sir, the internal security team has set off and is expected to arrive at the outskirts of the high-ranking officials' villa area in fifteen minutes."

Shen nodded.

"Faster."

Just as Zhou Weiguo was about to turn around, the technical advisor suddenly looked up.

"Sir, we just connected to the checkpoints around the Provincial Party Committee. Ten minutes ago, a black Hongqi entered the direction of the Standing Committee compound. It didn't have a Provincial Party Committee license plate; it was using a temporary license plate from the Provincial Reception Office."

His heavy jawline was taut, forming a hard line.

Zhou Weiguo immediately pressed for more information.

"The car owner?"

The staff officer switched the screen to the main screen.

On a rainy night, a black Hongqi car drove into the high-ranking official villa area through a side gate. The windows were covered with dark film, and the taillights left two red streaks on the water.

"The vehicle registration information was altered, but the driver's identity was verified."

The staff officer paused for a moment.

"Sha Ruijin's personal driver."

Shen Zhong put down his military cap.

At the same second.

Deep inside the high-ranking officials' villa area, a black Hongqi sedan without provincial party committee license plates was parked outside Gao Yuliang's house.

At this moment, only a desk lamp was lit in Gao Yuliang's study. The brass pendulum of the European-style grandfather clock swung back and forth, emitting a regular mechanical ticking sound.

He sat behind a large mahogany desk, holding an old Nokia phone with no contacts in it. The paint on the buttons was worn and faded.

This phone is only used to contact one person.

Gao Yuliang pressed the redial button and held the receiver to his ear.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is currently switched off."

This was the fourteenth time the call had been made. The mechanical female voice sounded extremely jarring in the quiet study.

Gao Yuliang took his phone down and glanced at the signal bars on the screen. Full bars.

He picked up the cup of tea on the table, which had long since gone cold, and took a sip. The cold tea slid down his throat, sending a chill through his stomach.

Gao Xiaofeng's daily routine is extremely regular. At this time, the child would already be fast asleep. She usually keeps her phone charging on the bedside table and keeps it switched on, just in case there's an emergency and she needs to contact the child.

In recent years, no matter how late it is, he will always answer the phone within three rings.

Gao Yuliang put down his teacup and quickly typed a string of numbers he knew by heart on the keyboard. This was the phone number of the nanny on Hong Kong Island who was in charge of purchasing and chores.

The phone is on.

The dial tone rang for a long time until it automatically disconnected, and no one answered.

Gao Yuliang was not giving up and dialed again.

Still no one answered.

His hand holding the phone began to tremble uncontrollably. The ticking of the brass clock seemed amplified a thousandfold at that moment, striking his taut nerves.

Gao Yuliang pulled open the bottom drawer of the desk, reached inside, felt a hidden wooden latch, and pressed it hard.

The hidden compartment popped out.

There were no documents or passbooks inside, only a few laminated photos.

He took out the top photo. In the photo, Gao Xiaofeng was standing on the balcony of her Mid-Levels apartment, holding a chubby baby in her arms. The background was the dazzling night view of Victoria Harbour.

This was the only weakness he had left after years of struggling in the officialdom of Handong.

To protect the mother and son, he pretended to be deaf and dumb at the Standing Committee meeting, wavering between Shen Zhong and Sha Ruijin in their struggle, remaining neutral. He always thought he had hidden this move very well, so well that even Teacher Wu was kept in the dark.

Now, the phone is unreachable. The nanny has also disappeared.

His intuition, honed through years of immersion in officialdom, told him that something was wrong.

The defenses of Hong Kong Island have been breached.

Gao Yuliang placed the photo face down on the table, picked up his Nokia phone, and prepared to call the trusted confidants who had arranged this line back then. Even at the risk of exposure, he had to find out what had actually happened in Hong Kong.

"Ding-dong—"

The doorbell downstairs rang without warning.