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

That step was finally taken.

Hou Liangping felt as if he had stepped into an invisible swamp.

Each time I lifted it, it took a tremendous amount of effort.

The ground was no longer hard cement, but a viscous abyss that tugged at his soul.

The subordinates behind him turned pale as they watched their leader's humiliated figure.

They looked at each other and saw the fear and despair deep in each other's eyes.

no choice.

They had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow along, dejected and like a group of prisoners about to be executed.

Zhou Weiguo and the special forces soldiers behind him stood like cold statues, silently watching this scene.

The gun barrel was not lowered.

The crimson laser beams remained firmly locked onto them.

This is a silent escort.

He walked from behind the armed police to stand in front of Shen Zhong.

It's a distance of less than ten meters.

Hou Liangping felt as if he were walking barefoot on a road covered with broken glass.

Every step was accompanied by the sound of dignity being pierced and crushed.

He's done.

It felt like I had walked the longest and darkest stretch of my life.

He stopped in front of Shen Zhong, about three steps away.

A distance that is both humble and not too close.

He raised his head, wanting to speak.

On that swollen face, blue and purple hues intertwined, forming a comical yet pathetic pattern.

His lips moved, opening and closing several times.

"I……"

A syllable was squeezed out of his throat, dry and hoarse.

Then, it could no longer make any sound.

Pride, like a fishbone, was stuck in his throat, preventing him from breathing properly and from uttering the words of begging for mercy.

He is Hou Liangping!

How could he...

Just as he was torn between his inner thoughts and his body was frozen in place.

Standing to the side, Zhou Weiguo made a soft, deliberate clearing sound.

"cough."

The sound wasn't loud.

But it was like a heavy hammer blow, shattering the last bit of pitiful persistence in Hou Liangping's heart.

That's urging them on.

It's also a warning.

If this continues, the consequences will be unbearable for him.

Hou Liangping finally gave up all resistance.

He abruptly closed his eyes, not daring to look at Shen Zhong's calm back or at the expressions of anyone around him.

It was as if this way, they could retain the last shred of dignity.

He bent down.

His movements were stiff and slow, yet carried a resolute air of desperation.

The upper body and legs form a standard, almost 90-degree right angle.

This is an extremely humble posture.

It was a gesture he had never made to anyone in his entire life.

"Major General Shen... "

A hoarse, distorted voice struggled to escape from his bent body, carrying an overwhelming sense of frustration and trembling.

"sorry!"

"We were wrong!"

That apology drained all his strength.

His subordinates behind him, seeing their leader in such a state, dared not stand still.

They were like dominoes that had been toppled, rushing to bow and bend over in unison.

"sorry!"

"We were wrong! We didn't recognize a great person!"

"Please forgive me, Major General!"

Disorganized apologies echoed throughout the hallway, filled with barely concealed fear and panic.

These voices, mixed together, sounded so pale and so powerless.

The apology ended.

The hallway fell into that suffocating silence once again.

Shen Zhong, who had been facing away from everyone, finally reacted.

He turned his head.

His movements were neither too fast nor too slow, conveying a sense of complete control and composure.

He lowered his eyes and looked at the man in front of him, who was bowing at a ninety-degree angle and whose body was still trembling slightly.

His expression remained unchanged.

There was no anger, no mockery, and no forgiveness.

Just watching quietly.

It's like admiring a work of art that has nothing to do with you.

He did not say "forgive".

They didn't say "get up."

Not a single word.

Hou Liangping remained stiffly bent over, awaiting the verdict that would free him.

one second.

two seconds.

ten seconds...

Time seemed to stretch on endlessly at that moment.

Every passing second felt like another heavy brick being added to his bent spine.

The soreness started from the deepest part of my lower back and quickly spread throughout my entire back.

He could feel the cold sweat on his forehead forming a stream, dripping down his nose and landing on the cold cement floor.

"Clatter".

"Clatter".

The sound was soft, yet it resonated clearly in his world.

That was his dignity, shattering with a sound.

The surrounding air seemed to turn into countless tiny needles, piercing his skin from all directions.

The humiliation, like a rising tide, overwhelmed him, making it hard for him to breathe.

He got it.

The other party had no intention of letting him off easily.

This silent gaze, this wordless punishment, is more cruel than any vicious curse.

This is deliberately torturing him.

We must trample his ridiculous pride, bit by bit, completely, into the mud, and then crush it underfoot a few more times.

He Xia stood right behind Shen Zhong.

She coldly watched this incredibly ironic scene unfold before her.

There was not a shred of pity in her heart.

She could only clearly recall the arrogant and domineering face of the man in front of her not long ago.

"Do you think you're qualified to hold that district head position in Jingzhou?"

"Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror to see where you come from!"

"If you know what's good for you, back out voluntarily, and you'll at least save face!"

Those words, each one piercing to the heart, still echo in my ears.

Let's look at it now.

What a huge irony.

Hou Liangping felt like his back was about to break.

The muscles began to twitch violently due to prolonged tension.

His body began to sway uncontrollably.

Everything in my field of vision was black.

Just when he felt he was about to collapse in public, losing all face completely, he was about to collapse.

Shen Zhong's cold, emotionless voice finally rang out in the hallway.