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

Beijing, the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Zhang Xiangyang was pacing anxiously in his office, waiting for news from Hou Liangping. Suddenly, the phone rang loudly, startling him.

"Feed? I'm Zhang Xiangyang."

A stern and cold voice came from the other end of the phone: "This is the Discipline Inspection Commission of the Central Military Commission. I'm informing you that Hou Liangping from your Anti-Corruption Bureau has been detained by our side on suspicion of an armed attack on the Handong Military Ammunition Depot. Please come here immediately to cooperate with the investigation."

"Clatter".

The microphone in Zhang Xiangyang's hand fell onto the table. His vision blurred, his legs went weak, and he slumped into the boss's chair.

It’s over.

This time, they've really stirred up a hornet's nest.

That idiot! That self-righteous idiot! We asked him to investigate corruption, and he went and broke into someone's armory?!

Is he trying to drag the entire Anti-Corruption Bureau down with him because he thinks he's not dying fast enough?

Beijing.

Zhong Xiaoai was elegantly flipping through a fashion magazine, a glass of red wine in her hand. When the phone call came in, the wine glass in her hand shattered instantly.

The red wine dripped down her fair fingers, a shocking sight.

"What did you say? Armed assault...ammunition depot? Wasn't he on vacation?"

Zhong Xiaoai's voice became shrill and distorted, her usual poise and arrogance completely gone.

She knew all too well what this meant. If it were a simple financial issue, or even a matter of conduct, the Zhong family's influence could have protected her.

This is a military restricted area! It's a war reserve depot! This has crossed the nation's bottom line!

In a rather inconspicuous courtyard house.

After listening to the report, the gray-haired leader, Shen Zhong, put down his calligraphy brush.

Looking at the four powerful characters "Unparalleled Hero of the Nation" on the Xuan paper, the old man's face showed a gratified smile.

"This kid is still so ruthless, leaving no room for mercy."

"That Hou Liangping, he wasn't even out for a week, right? And he's already back in?"

The old man shook his head, laughed, and muttered, "Serves you right."

Handong Province, the wilderness north of the city.

Hou Liangping was roughly thrown into the fully enclosed troop carrier. In the pitch black, he heard Chen Hai's desperate sigh.

Fear, regret, anger—a mix of emotions nearly drove him to the brink of collapse.

He didn't understand why things had turned out this way.

Just then, the iron door of the carriage was opened again.

Zhou Weiguo stood at the car door, his back to the searchlight outside, his whole body shrouded in shadow.

"Director Hou, before I leave, I have one more piece of good news for you."

Zhou Weiguo waved his phone in his hand; the screen emitted a faint blue light in the darkness.

"Just three minutes ago, your 'key witness,' Fatty Wang, walked into the gate of the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau."

"He surrendered himself to the public security authorities under his real name and filed a complaint against you—Hou Liangping, director of the Investigation Division of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Supreme People's Procuratorate."

"I accuse you of illegally detaining him, torturing him to extract a confession, and threatening the lives of his family members to force him to fabricate false statements about a company that was extorting money from him."

The lobby of the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau was brightly lit.

Dozens of media outlets had already set up their cameras and microphones, and the sound of shutters clicking filled the air, like dense raindrops hitting glass.

Just half an hour ago, the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau received a report from a person who claimed to have been illegally detained and tortured by a section chief of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Given the special identities of those involved and the fact that the case was linked to the recent "military restricted area breach," the municipal bureau, after consulting with the provincial political and legal committee, unusually granted permission for some media outlets to enter the interview area.

Fatty Wang sat on that uncomfortable hard wooden chair, wearing a coat and holding a cup of hot water, shivering as if he were being shaken.

That once chubby, oily face was now deathly pale, with a noticeable bruise on his left cheek and a broken, dark red scab on his lip.

Anyone who saw him would think he was a pitiful person who had just escaped from hell.

"Dear journalists... I am Wang Defa, the manager of Baimahe Sand Quarry."

Fatty Wang took a sip of hot water, his teeth clanging against the rim of the cup, his voice trembling with tears.

"I want to file a lawsuit... a lawsuit against Hou Liangping of the Supreme People's Procuratorate!"

This statement caused an uproar in the room.

The reporters, like sharks smelling blood, frantically shoved their microphones toward Fatty Wang's mouth.

"What exactly happened?"

Where did you get these injuries?

Faced with a barrage of questions, Fatty Wang wiped away a tear, a gesture so practiced it was heartbreaking.

"Just this afternoon, Hou Liangping and his men stormed into my agritainment business and tied me up without saying a word. They locked me in a small, dark room. That Hou Liangping... he forced me... forced me to falsely accuse Secretary Shen Zhong of extorting money from our business!"

As Wang Pangzi spoke, he became agitated and suddenly ripped open his collar.

Several shocking marks were clearly visible on her collarbone and neck.

Those were "external injuries" created by Zhou Weiguo's men using professional techniques. They looked frightening, but they would actually disappear in a couple of days, though they had a very strong visual impact.

"I refuse! Secretary Shen is a good official. He only requisitioned our land for national defense and gave us compensation! How can I go against my conscience and slander my superior?"

Fatty Wang burst into tears, his face covered in snot and tears.

"But Hou Liangping said that if I didn't agree, he would arrest my whole family! He also said that he represented the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the law, and that killing me would be like killing an ant!"

A collective gasp filled the air.

If this is true, then this is not just a simple violation of the law in handling the case; it is knowingly breaking the law and using public power as a tool for private punishment!

"Do you have any evidence?" a bespectacled reporter asked sharply. "Words alone are not enough; the other party is a section chief from the Anti-Corruption Bureau."

"I have!"

Fatty Wang grasped at a straw, and shakily pulled the black recording pen from his pocket.

This pen is the one that Hou Liangping treasures and keeps close to his body.

When they were arrested at Base 031, this thing was confiscated as a "tool for committing crimes" and then returned to Fatty Wang's hands.

"He forced me to give a statement, and I was careful. When he wasn't looking, I slipped this pen into my pocket... and recorded everything inside!"

Fatty Wang pressed the play button.

The hall fell silent, with only the hissing sound from the recorder and Hou Liangping's highly recognizable voice.

"...You'll spend the rest of your life hiding in this wretched place like a rat!"

"...As long as you hand over the evidence, I can vouch for it with my party loyalty..."

"...Although Shen Zhong is a Standing Committee member, he is not above the law! I will make him spit out what he has taken!"

The recording has been professionally edited.

Those were originally Hou Liangping's words persuading Wang Pangzi to testify against Shen Zhong, but the beginning and end were cut off and reassembled.

The context has completely changed.

It sounds like an arrogant and cruel official is using a condescending attitude to coerce and entice an innocent citizen to frame a provincial or ministerial-level official.

The phrase "like a rat" in particular is full of insult and intimidation.

"Listen to this! Listen to this!" Fatty Wang pounded his chest and stamped his feet. "Is this the people's prosecutor? This is clearly a gangster!"