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

"puff--!"

Beijing, office of the Director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Zhang Xiangyang sprayed a mouthful of scalding hot tea directly onto the freshly ironed trousers, and the burning sensation on his thigh made him jump up from the boss's chair.

But he didn't bother wiping himself; he gripped the phone tightly with both hands, his well-maintained face contorted into a bloated mess of terror.

"What did you say? Say it again! Who are you reporting?!"

On the other end of the phone, Hou Liangping's voice was as excited as a fighting rooster that had just been injected with chicken blood, exuding a fanatical urge to tear a hole in the sky.

"Shen Zhong! Shen Zhong, member of the Standing Committee of the Hantong Provincial Party Committee and Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Military Region!"

"Chief, I'm not crazy, and I haven't been drinking! I'm more sober than ever!"

Sitting in the speeding Cheetah SUV, Hou Liangping watched the scenery rushing past the window and felt like a lone hero heading to the battlefield.

His knuckles were white as he gripped the phone, and he spoke at a machine-gun-like pace.

"Just now, I obtained the testimony of a key witness! The actual controller of the Baima River sand quarry is in my hands!"

"He confessed that Shen Zhong instructed his subordinates to extort 50 million yuan from the company! When the extortion failed, he secretly mobilized the military and used heavy machinery to raze the legitimate company, worth hundreds of millions, to the ground!"

"What kind of behavior is this? This is blatant warlordism! It's banditry! It's robbery!"

As Zhang Xiangyang listened, he felt his head buzzing, as if a hundred flies were having a meeting inside.

Just a few days ago, he led a group to clean up Hou Liangping's mess and apologize to him.

But what's going on is that Hou Liangping was only released a few days ago?

They're about to touch the tiger's butt!

"Who gave you permission to investigate Shen Zhong? Huh? Did the organization approve it? Do you have the necessary paperwork? This is disobedient and undisciplined!"

"It's not your place to investigate. You're just a lowly section chief! Who gave you the audacity to investigate a provincial standing committee member?"

Ignoring the tea stains on his thighs, Zhang Xiangyang roared into the microphone, spitting saliva all over the table.

"Unauthorized troop deployment? Extortion of businesses? Can you just throw these kinds of accusations around like that?"

"You're opening a case and taking coercive measures based solely on the testimony of some fat guy?"

"You're going to force your way into the Handong Military Region and arrest their deputy secretary!"

"I think you've gone mad from being locked up in the detention center! Your brain's filled with water!"

Hou Liangping was stunned for a moment by the scolding, and then a nameless anger suddenly surged to his head.

He never expected that, as the head of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, his first reaction to such shocking corruption leads would be to shirk responsibility and to be afraid!

Is this still the same leader who always talks about "anti-corruption and promoting integrity"?

This is clearly bureaucracy! It's spineless cowardice, fearing power like a tiger!

"Director Zhang!"

Hou Liangping's voice turned cold, carrying an undisguised disappointment and disdain.

"I didn't expect you to say that."

"The evidence is irrefutable! The witnesses are in my custody! The ledgers for the massive extortion are hidden in the militia training base warehouse!"

"Once we get those ledgers, the evidence will be irrefutable! I refuse to believe that Shen Zhong can still cover up everything!"

"You want me to calm down now? Want me to go back to Beijing to report? By then, it'll be too late! Shen Zhong will have already gotten wind of it and destroyed the evidence!"

Zhang Xiangyang was so anxious on the other end that he stomped his feet so hard that he stomped holes in the carpet.

Why is this little monkey so stubborn!

This is a trap!

How could someone like Shen Zhong leave such obvious evidence? How could you, a recently released suspended official, find it so easily? And you even left the evidence on your own turf for me to retrieve?

Even a fool could tell there's something fishy going on here!

"Hou Liangping, listen to me, this matter is too complicated; you can't handle it!"

Zhang Xiangyang lowered his voice, trying to persuade this stubborn mule with the earnestness of someone who had been through it all.

"Come back first, bring the materials back, we'll discuss it at the Party group meeting, and then report to our superiors..."

"That's enough!"

Hou Liangping rudely interrupted his superior.

His mind is now filled with the glorious moment when he was wearing the armor of justice, holding the sword of law, and bringing down the arrogant Shen Zhong.

The thrill of about to trample powerful figures underfoot sent his adrenaline soaring, making him completely deaf to any dissenting opinions.

"Director Zhang, since you're afraid of taking responsibility, I won't force you."

"But let me tell you, justice will not be delayed because of complicated procedures, nor will it be absent because of the intimidation of power!"

"I'm going to that warehouse right now! I want to personally preserve the evidence!"

After saying that, Hou Liangping didn't give Zhang Xiangyang a chance to speak again and hung up the phone directly.

"Beep...beep...beep..."

Hearing the busy tone coming from the receiver, Zhang Xiangyang froze on the spot.

He's trying to drag everyone down with him!

He disregarded his image and rushed to the Supreme People's Procuratorate to report the incident and avoid being implicated.

"Prosecutor Hou...are we really going?"

As the driver, Xiao Liu, listened to this thrilling conversation, his hands trembled as he gripped the steering wheel.

This is an investigation into a member of the provincial standing committee! And he's even bringing troops with him!

"What's there to be afraid of!"

Hou Liangping glared at him. "I'll hold the sky up if it falls! Drive! Go back to the city and pick up Chen Hai!"

……

Forty minutes later.

In a secluded alleyway next to the side gate of the Handong Provincial Procuratorate.

Chen Hai, dressed in casual clothes, hurriedly climbed into the back seat of the Cheetah vehicle.

"Monkey, what's going on? Why the rush?"

As soon as Chen Hai got into the car, he saw Hou Liangping's tense and somewhat frightening face.

"Hai Zi, you have to help me this time."

Hou Liangping turned around and stared intently at his old classmate.

"I caught a big fish, a real deep-sea shark. But he's going to destroy the evidence, and I have to get my hands on it before he does."

"Who?" Chen Hai asked.

"Heavy."

Upon hearing those two words, Chen Hai's expression changed.

As someone involved in the officialdom of Handong, he understood the weight of this name better than Hou Liangping.

Upon arriving in Handong, he immediately unleashed a reign of terror, employing extremely ruthless methods.

"Monkey, are you sure about this?" Chen Hai hesitated. "Shen Zhong is not someone to be trifled with. If we don't have solid evidence, what we're doing is against the rules."

"I have!"

Hou Liangping took out the voice recorder from his pocket and waved it in front of Chen Hai.

"I've already apprehended the witnesses, and their statements are crystal clear. Now all that's missing are those account books! They're irrefutable evidence of Shen Zhong's extortion! Once we have them, even if he's a Standing Committee member, or even the Emperor himself, he'll be brought down!"

He grabbed Chen Hai's shoulder and shook him hard.

"Hai Zi, what did we say when we took the oath at school? For the rule of law, for justice! Now someone is acting lawlessly right under your nose, can you pretend to be blind?"

"Zhang Xiangyang, that old fox, is afraid of trouble, but I know you, Chen Hai, aren't!"