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

An hour later.

A slightly worn Cheetah SUV, carrying Hou Liangping and two burly young men he had borrowed from Chen Hai, sped towards the outskirts of the city.

The scenery outside the car window rushed past, with tall buildings gradually being replaced by low-rise houses and farmland. The road became bumpy, and the wheels kicked up clouds of yellow dust.

Hou Liangping sat in the passenger seat, his hand gripping the handle tightly, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. His heart pounded powerfully, each beat like a drumbeat heralding an impending victory.

He had even already envisioned the scene of interrogating Fatty Wang in his mind.

Once he gets the confession and the account books, he'll head straight to Beijing that very night! He'll slam the evidence onto the desk of the Supreme People's Procuratorate leadership! Then, Zhong Xiaoai won't need to beg anyone anymore, and Shen Zhong, who made a fool of him, will be utterly disgraced in front of the entire army and the entire Party!

"Inspector Hou, the farmhouse we've located is just ahead," the driver, Xiao Liu, reminded him.

Hou Liangping snapped out of his daze and squinted at the sight.

It was a solitary courtyard located halfway up a mountain, with a tattered sign that read "Mountain Dwelling". The courtyard was surrounded by weeds, and it looked like business wasn't good; in fact, it could be described as desolate.

This kind of filthy place is indeed a good place to hide filth and evade investigation.

"Park the car a little further away, don't alert him," Hou Liangping instructed in a low voice. "You two come down with me, and be quiet. Remember, once you spot the target, take control immediately. Don't let him escape, and don't let him destroy anything!"

"Yes!" Although the two young men did not know the specific task, they became nervous and put their hands on their waists when they saw Hou Liangping's serious demeanor.

Using the trees along the roadside as cover, the three of them quietly made their way to the outside of the farmhouse's courtyard wall.

The courtyard was quiet, with only a few free-range chickens scratching for food. Among the row of bungalows, only the room furthest to the side had its curtains drawn, letting out a faint, dim light.

Hou Liangping pressed himself against the wall, slowly moved to the window, and listened intently.

The sound of clinking glasses came from inside the room, along with a man's indistinct muttering, as if he were drunk and talking to himself.

"It's over...it's all over...when will this ever end..."

"You surnamed Shen...you'll die a horrible death..."

Upon hearing these two sentences, Hou Liangping's eyes lit up.

There's no doubt about it!

right here!

Moreover, judging from his tone, this Fatty Wang is full of resentment towards Shen Zhong. This is simply a godsend! A witness filled with hatred will spill everything as soon as there is even a sliver of hope!

Hou Liangping no longer hesitated and made a hand gesture to the two young men behind him.

"Three, two, one!"

"Bang!"

The wooden door, which wasn't very sturdy to begin with, was kicked open.

Hou Liangping took the lead and rushed in, shouting, "Don't move! Behave yourself!"

The view inside the house was completely visible.

This was a simple guest room, with peanut shells and empty wine bottles scattered on the floor, and a pungent smell of alcohol and foot odor permeating the air.

A middle-aged fat man with a bloated figure and an oily face was sitting on the edge of the bed wearing a pair of shorts, holding half a bottle of Erguotou liquor in his hand.

Startled by this sudden turn of events, the fat man shuddered, and the bottle in his hand fell to the ground with a "crash," shattering into pieces. Wine splashed all over the floor.

"Who...who are you? If you're after money...the money's on the table...don't kill me...don't kill me!"

Wang Pangzi turned pale with fright and shrank to the corner of the bed, his fat trembling all over.

Looking at the terrified fat man in front of him, Hou Liangping's last trace of doubt vanished.

This is a homeless dog.

He sneered, took out his ID from his pocket, opened it, and showed it to Fatty Wang.

"Boss Wang, how have you been?"

Hou Liangping looked down at him, his tone carrying an air of superiority that suggested he controlled everything. "I am Hou Liangping, the director of the Investigation Division of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Supreme People's Procuratorate. I've come all the way from Beijing just to have a chat with you."

Upon hearing the name "Hou Liangping," Fatty Wang was stunned.

He stared at the document for two seconds, and his previously terrified eyes suddenly erupted with a wild joy of escaping death.

It's like a drowning person grasping at a last straw.

"Waiting for inspection?! You're Waiting for inspection?!"

Wang Pangzi let out a shrill howl, ignoring the broken glass on the ground, and scrambled over, landing with a thud at Hou Liangping's feet.

He clung tightly to Hou Liangping's leg, his face instantly streaked with tears and snot, crying his heart out.

"Prosecutor Hou! You've finally arrived! You must stand up for me!"

"I am guilty! I want to report this! I want to expose this!"

Looking at the fat man crying his eyes out at his feet, Hou Liangping felt a surge of righteousness.

Isn't this the truth he's been searching for?

A pitiful businessman, driven to desperation by tyranny, saw his own righteous light in his despair.

"Get up! Stand up and speak!"

Hou Liangping bent down and reached out to help Wang Pangzi up, his face full of sternness and concern.

"I am a people's prosecutor. No matter how powerful a corrupt official is, I will never tolerate anyone who breaks the law! Tell me everything you know!"

Fatty Wang stood up, his legs still trembling, and slumped back down on the edge of the bed, wiping away the tears on his face.

"Prosecutor Hou...you don't know...that guy surnamed Shen is so corrupt! He's really corrupt!"

Hou Liangping took out a voice recorder from his bag, pressed the switch, and the red light came on.

He placed the recorder on the wine-stained table, pulled up a chair, and sat opposite Fatty Wang.

"Tell me slowly, start from the beginning. How did he extort you? Was there a middleman? What was the exact amount?"

Fatty Wang sniffled, his beady green eyes filled with terror and the pain of past memories.

"Just a month ago... a man who claimed to be Shen Zhong's secretary came to me. He looked to be in his thirties, wore gold-rimmed glasses, and spoke with such arrogance, looking down on everyone."

"He demanded 10% of the profits from our sand quarry every month, or he would shut down our quarry."

"We have no choice but to transfer money to them on time every month as they demand."

As Wang Pangzi spoke, he gestured vividly to indicate the name.

"But after only one month, they suddenly went back on their word! He threw a contract in my face, saying that Secretary Shen had taken a liking to the auspicious land of Baima River and wanted to take a stake. He didn't ask for much, just fifty percent!"

Hou Liangping frowned, tapping his fingers on his knee.

Fifty percent?

This is blatant robbery!

"I got angry at the time and said that this sand quarry was built with the hard work of our General Manager Liu, so why should we give him half for free? The man sneered and said that in Handong, no one dares to refuse Secretary Shen's kindness."

As Fatty Wang finished speaking, his body began to tremble violently again.

"He said if we didn't give it to him, he'd show us what 'martial law' meant! I thought he was just bluffing, so I didn't agree. Who knew... who knew what happened the next night..."

Fatty Wang covered his face and burst into tears.

"That wasn't law enforcement! It was bandits invading the village! Several bulldozers drove in and started bulldozing without any regard for anything! My equipment, my factory... everything was gone! Those soldiers with guns just drove our people onto the riverbank, and they shot anyone who dared to move!"