The train driver in the courtyard

In July, the capital city was warm and breezy, and a leisurely atmosphere permeated the streets.

The security officers from the machinery factory's security department were chatting and joking around at the factory gate.

Hearing the roar of the engine, a security officer poked his head out to see what was going on.

Zhou Ke had already rushed over, and the security officer instinctively reached for his gun, only to find an official document in front of him.

"We have been ordered to take over the security department of the machinery factory. Please cooperate. Anyone who dares to resist will be severely punished."

Then, the officers from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot Police Station jumped off the truck and surrounded the gate of the machinery factory.

The security officers were stunned; it was clear they were encountering this situation for the first time.

Two men who tried to retrieve weapons were knocked to the ground and handcuffed.

Seeing that the other party was serious, the captain of the gate guard quickly stopped the security officers, checked the official documents, and saluted Zhou Ke with his feet together: "Sir, how do you need our cooperation?"

"Where is Liu Wu?" Li Aiguo also got out of the car at this moment.

"It's working hours now, he should be in the security department."

The captain noticed Staff Officer Zhou behind Li Aiguo at this moment, and recalling the signature on the official document, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and he looked at Li Aiguo with even greater respect.

Li Aiguo felt as if he had enjoyed the privilege of being a "fox borrowing the tiger's power".

“Take us there.”

"Hey, okay."

The captain reached for the phone, but noticing Li Aiguo's gaze, he quickly withdrew.

Li Aiguo didn't mind and waved to the two team members.

"Stand here and strictly forbid anyone from sending messages."

Both team members shouted, "Yes!"

The security officers exchanged glances, all realizing that this was a serious matter.

Li Aiguo ignored them and had the team leader lead the way to the security department of the machinery factory.

The security office was not far from the gatekeeper, and Li Aiguo pushed the door open without knocking.

Huo~
The room was filled with billowing smoke, almost like stepping into Laozi's alchemy furnace.

Li Aiguo couldn't help but take a step back, watching the white smoke billow out of the room.

Seeing that no one was closing the door, the person inside shouted, "Who's at the door? Why didn't you close it when you came in? If your wife sees this, she'll start nagging again."

Seeing that the smoke wasn't too thick, Li Aiguo went inside. It was a large office, similar to a lobby, but with several desks set up for working.

The room was bustling with people standing, sitting, smoking, and playing cards—a truly lively and vibrant scene.

This is supposed to be a security department? Li Aiguo thought it should be called a security regiment.

These people (Li Aiguo really didn't want to call these people security officers) also noticed Li Aiguo and his group at this time. They didn't recognize them either. What did so many people want to do?

Sitting in a chair, a young man with a dozen or so notes stuck to his face tilted his head and asked, "What? Who are you looking for?"

Li Aiguo glanced at Zhou Ke beside him. Zhou Ke stepped forward and took out the paperwork: "We are from the investigation team. From now on, in accordance with orders from our superiors, we will take over your security department."

"??" Everyone was stunned. Take over? What does that mean?
Seeing that they remained unmoved, Li Aiguo clapped his hands and asked, "You have one minute to stand up and clean this place up."

As Li Aiguo spoke, he raised his wrist to check the time.

Those people stood up suspiciously, dropped their playing cards, and some even tugged at the people next to them, indicating that no matter what, they should deal with it first.

Li Aiguo stood at the door, ignoring them.

When the time came, he saw people standing crookedly, looking at him.

The young man who wrote the note was still sitting at the table. He was pulled aside by the person next to him and muttered, "I don't care which damn unit he's from, I only recognize Section Chief Liu."

After saying that, he picked up a deck of cards, pulled out two, and threw them out: "Bomb!"

The atmosphere at the scene instantly became tense.

Li Aiguo walked over step by step, and those around him couldn't help but take a step back and unconsciously straighten their clothes.

Li Aiguo walked up to the table and approached the young man who had written the note.

Everyone inside the room was secretly watching Li Aiguo.

Li Aiguo took out an official document and handed it over. The young man took the note with a blank expression.

Before he could even get a firm grip, Li Aiguo grabbed his collar, lifted him off the chair, grabbed his belt with his other hand, spun him around, and slammed him sprawled on the ground.

"boom"

The fall was very powerful, and the young man saw stars.

After a few seconds, he shook his head, slowly got up, and raised his arm as if to fight back.

Li Aiguo suddenly raised his foot and kicked, sending him flying to the doorway where his head slammed against the doorframe.

Another bang.

Everyone in the room stared wide-eyed and fell silent.

The young man on the ground was a well-known figure in the security department. Thanks to Deputy Section Chief Liu, although he was only a deputy captain, his words carried more weight than those of the captain.

Most importantly, this person was a martial arts expert, known as the undisputed champion of the machine factory, yet he was defeated just like that!
Li Aiguo slowly walked to the young man lying on the threshold with the note, bent down, grabbed his collar, and dragged him back. Everyone in the room held their breath.

Li Aiguo dragged him to the desk, took the handcuffs from Zhou Ke, and cuffed one of his hands to the desk leg.

The young man with the note was in a pitiful state; blood was gushing from his nose, a large bump was on his head, his clothes were covered in dust, his shoes were off, and he was lying on the cement ground wearing only torn socks.

Li Aiguo ignored him and turned to look at the others.

Those who had been peeking straightened up and stood in neat rows, their backs straight, their military posture impeccable.

Seeing that the original security regiment had transformed into a regular army in the blink of an eye, Staff Officer Zhou nodded slightly. Li Aiguo's move of making an example of someone was too clever.

Where is Liu Wu?

The attitude of those people was completely different this time. When they heard Li Aiguo ask the question, several people raised their hands.

Li Aiguo randomly picked someone: "You answer, what's your name?"

The chosen person seemed very happy and stepped forward: "Reporting to the leader, my name is Zhang De. Reporting to the leader, Liu Wu should be reporting to Commander Wang now."

Commander Wang? Recalling the information Liang Ladi had provided a while ago, Li Aiguo lowered his voice: "You invite him over, you know what to do, right?"

"I know," Zhang De nodded quickly.

Even if he were stupid, he would understand that this group of people were after Liu Wu. They were from both the ministry's supervisory group and the military staff. Liu Wu was finished this time.

Li Aiguo patted Zhang De on the shoulder: "You should know what will happen if things go wrong, right?"

"I know," Zhang De nodded like a chick pecking at rice. "Don't worry, I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

After Zhang De left, Li Aiguo found out where Liu Feng was being held, had someone open the door, and went inside.

Liu Feng had been locked up for two days and was now in a sorry state. He was squatting on the ground counting ants when he heard a noise, looked up, and saw that it was Li Aiguo. He was full of doubt.

"Comrade Aiguo, what brings you here?"

Before Li Aiguo could answer, Fang Xian stepped forward from behind and helped Liu Feng up from the ground.

"Comrade Liu Feng, the ministry has formed a new investigation team to investigate your case. Rest assured, we will definitely get to the bottom of this."

Liu Feng has already been interrogated by Fang Xian several times.

However, Fang Xian is a man of principle, and without concrete evidence, he did not resort to any underhanded tactics.

In some ways, Liu Feng was even somewhat grateful to Fang Xian.

Upon hearing this, Liu Feng immediately perked up: "I've been wronged. I didn't do any of the things mentioned in the whistleblower's letter."

Liu Feng had said this countless times, and each time Fang Xian would pretend not to hear and continue to ask him for details. This time, however, it was a little different.

Fang Xian pulled out a piece of paper and handed it over, then took out a pen: "You've already read the letter of complaint. Now, in front of several leaders, write down all your thoughts."

Liu Feng understood that they were about to lend a helping hand. He glanced gratefully at Li Aiguo and quickly followed Fang Xian's instructions, squatting down to begin writing a statement of the situation.

****
the other side.

Inside Commander Wang's office.

Liu Wu reported the progress of the matter to Commander Wang, with Yang Xiaodong standing beside him.

"Sir, Team Leader Liu from the ministry already came to investigate this morning. Rest assured, these whistleblower letters are completely innocent."

Commander Wang looked up, took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes, and handed them to Liu Wu and Yang Xiaodong. Yang Xiaodong went over and lit one for him.

Commander Wang took a puff of his cigarette and said, "This matter is of great importance. Some leaders in the ministry are indeed willing to help, but Fang Xian is not one of our people, so we must not be careless."

Liu Wu smoked a cigarette while grinning maliciously: "Commander Wang, you've forgotten, Liu Feng is in my hands now. I didn't make a move today because Fang Xian was there. Tonight I'll bring a few brothers in and give him a good beating. I'm sure he'll sign it then."

Commander Wang was also taken aback by Liu Wu's methods. Feeling somewhat reluctant, he hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement.

He cautioned, "Don't go too far. If people notice, they'll become suspicious."

"Don't worry, this isn't the first time I've done this. I guarantee no one will be able to tell."

People are talking over here.

There was a knock on the door, followed by Zhang De's voice.

"Section Chief Liu, the section chief needs to speak with you."

"Old sister-in-law? Isn't he recuperating in the hospital? What does he want from me?" Liu Wu's eyebrows twitched slightly when he heard this.

The head of the security department of the machinery factory was named Chen Chen, who changed his name to Chen Jiao after liberation. He was over fifty years old this year. Because he was chronically ill and didn't care about anything, and was also quite soft-hearted, he was jokingly called "Old Sister-in-law".

Commander Wang reminded Liu Wu, "After all, your wife is a section chief. Liu Wu, you need to be mindful of your image. At this crucial moment, don't offend anyone."

Liu Wu quickly nodded in agreement with Commander Wang, pushed open the door and saw that it was indeed Zhang De. He said coldly, "Let's go."

After Liu Wu left with Zhang De, Yang Xiaodong looked at their backs and said, "Commander-in-Chief, Liu Wu hasn't even finished handling things yet, and he's already asking you to leave the deputy factory director position to him. That's going too far."

Commander Wang had never been a commander-in-chief in his life, so he was quite satisfied with the title. He said coldly, "Liu Wu is brave but reckless, but such a person can be useful. Let's agree first. As long as we take over the machinery factory, Liu Wu can't cause any trouble."

Yang Xiaodong echoed, "Yes, yes, from now on this machinery factory will be the commander-in-chief's machinery factory."

Hearing this, Commander Wang was overjoyed. He coughed twice and said, "We need to be mindful of the impact. I'm only thinking about all the workers in the factory; I have no selfish motives."

"Yes, yes, yes, what I admire most about you is your noble character."

Commander Wang, pleased with the compliments, tossed Yang Xiaodong a cigarette and casually asked, "How's it going with Jiao Min? Has she provided any information?"

Yang Xiaodong took the cigarette and replied, "Not yet, Commander-in-Chief. Jiao Min is Liu Feng's wife. Would she betray Liu Feng?"

Commander Wang sneered and said coldly, "You don't understand a woman like Jiao Min. As soon as she knows that Liu Feng is beyond saving, she will definitely sever all ties without hesitation."

Commander Wang may not have many other skills, but he excels at understanding people's hearts. Jiao Min and Liu Feng appear to be a loving and exemplary couple, but in reality, Jiao Min only sees Liu Feng as a provider.

If Liu Feng were to harm her, she would not hesitate to kick him while he was down.

Yang Xiaodong sensed that Commander Wang looked down on Jiao Min, so he quickly nodded and said, "Is that so? Then I'll try to persuade Jiao Min again."

After Yang Xiaodong left, Commander Wang returned to his seat, took out the paper from the drawer, and redraw a few lines on it.

"Things are simpler than expected, Liu Feng. Soon you'll experience the feeling of being abandoned by everyone."

As Liu Feng was drafting a statement, a roar came from outside: "Zhang De, where is your wife? You dare to lie to me, you little brat!"

"Section Chief, our security section has been taken over. I'm just following orders."

"Take over? Which son of a bitch dares to take over? Come out here."

Liu Wu was making a huge scene outside, and none of the security officers dared to utter a sound.

Li Aiguo slowly walked over, saying as he went, "Liu Wu, we have received a notice from higher authorities that the investigation team has taken over the security department of your machinery factory. From now on, you are suspended from your duties to cooperate with the investigation."

Liu Wu turned around and saw Li Aiguo and Zhou Ke walking over. He immediately realized something was wrong and shouted at the top of his lungs, "How come Commander Wang doesn't know about this? No way, I'm going to report this right away. I don't care where you bunch of bastards came from. If you dare to act recklessly in the security department, I'll kill you."

Liu Wu turned to leave, but Zhang De and his men blocked his way. He wanted to get angry, but Zhou Ke didn't give him the chance.

Zhou Ke kicked Liu Wu from behind, knocking him to the ground. He then used his knee to cuff Liu Wu's hands behind his back, completing the body search in the process.

It has to be said that Zhou Ke's body search skills are now at the grandmaster level.

Cigarette packs, keys, a pistol, and matchboxes were scattered all over the floor.

White Rabbit milk candy?? This guy is as greedy as a child; he really needs to be taught a lesson.

Zhou Ke grabbed Liu Wu and kicked him twice, forcing him to kneel down. Liu Wu tried to resist, but Zhou Ke slapped him twice more, rendering him unable to even scream.

Li Aiguo walked up to Liu Wu and pinched his chin with his hand.

Liu Wu had regained consciousness by now. The group of people in front of him had really gone ruthlessly, and his head was still throbbing.

Li Aiguo asked coldly, "Now you know who we are, right? Then let me ask you, who's the bullshit? You only recognize Commander Wang?"

Liu Wu glared at Li Aiguo without saying a word.

Li Aiguo asked, "What's the story behind those whistleblower letters?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Wu's eyes lit up with panic: "What whistleblower letter? I know nothing about it."

Li Aiguo continued, "The investigation team asked you to verify those letters accusing Liu Feng. Did you verify them?"

Liu Wu was about to reply that he had confirmed it, but when he saw Fang Xian come out from the side with a gloomy expression, he quickly swallowed back the words he was about to say.

"I do not know anything!"

Seeing that Liu Wu was about to play dead, Zhou Ke raised his fist, ready to punch him a few more times.

Li Aiguo stopped Zhou Ke: "Lock him in the detention room first."

It was already noon when Zhou Ke dragged Liu Wu into the detention room and handcuffed him to the window at a cleverly chosen height.

Liu Wu could only stand there on tiptoe, tugging at his arms, looking much like the salted fish hanging up by the old man.

Li Aiguo went outside, called Zhang De over, and offered him a cigarette: "Zhang De, what's your position in the security department?"

"Report, I am the political security coordinator."

Political security coordination? Li Aiguo was clearly taken aback. Zhang De quickly explained, "It mainly involves cooperating with public security organs to carry out pilot projects for public security management and participating in the investigation and review of criminal cases."

Li Aiguo offered a cigarette: "Well, this position isn't low-ranking. You'd be considered the third-in-command, right?"

The duties of a typical factory security department are divided into security patrols, gatekeeping, production security, fire protection, and political security coordination.

The focus of political security coordination is not coordination, but political security. Although the power within the security department is not great, the rank is not low.

Zhang De wiped his hands on his clothes, took the cigarette, and said somewhat dejectedly, "What kind of third-in-command is this? In this security department, Zhang De is the only second-in-command. Even my sister-in-law has to step aside."

Li Aiguo had also heard Liang Ladi mention the old woman's matter. After nodding slightly, he asked, "Comrade Zhang De, the organization has now assigned you another important task: immediately take control of the security department to prevent the information from leaking out. Can you do it?"

Li Aiguo's use of Zhang De was originally just a stopgap measure, but now that he has seen that Zhang De's abilities are indeed quite good, he might as well continue to use him.

Zhang De had long been disgusted by what Liu Wu was doing in the security department, but he had to turn a blind eye because he had no one to support him.

Now that this opportunity has presented itself, it's impossible not to miss it.

As for whether he would fail and whether he would be implicated, Zhang De had thought about it, but a flame was burning in his heart, and he was willing to sacrifice everything, even if it meant being burned to ashes.

Zhang De suddenly became excited and quickly threw away his cigarette: "I guarantee I'll complete the mission!"

He immediately convened a meeting with the security officers, many of whom were veterans and shared similar sentiments with Zhang De.

"Comrades, the higher-ups have given us this opportunity, and we must seize it. The machinery factory belongs to all of us employees; it is our home. If we don't stand up for ourselves, who will help us?"

The security officers raised their fists, creating a lively atmosphere.

Li Aiguo stood outside the window and withdrew his gaze. It seemed that Zhang De was not only positive in his thinking, but also quite capable.

"Brother Aiguo, it's almost lunchtime. How about I get you some food?" Liang Ladi had been following behind and witnessed the whole process. At first, she was worried that Li Aiguo wouldn't be able to control the situation, but in the end, he only spent half a day taking control of the security department and also caught Liu Wu.

"Then I'll have to trouble you." Li Aiguo rubbed his stomach; he was indeed a little hungry.

There were a lot of people this time, and Liang Ladi couldn't handle it all by herself, so she asked a few of her friends to help her get the food.

The food at the machinery factory was far worse than that at the Qianmen locomotive depot. The rice was cornmeal and black cornbread, and the vegetables were plain boiled cabbage. It was just enough to fill our stomachs.

During his meal, Zhang De had a chance to chat with Li Aiguo. Upon learning that Li Aiguo was the leader in charge of excavators at the Qianmen Locomotive Depot, Zhang De became even more respectful and chatted with Li Aiguo about the factory's news.

"Actually, we don't agree with Commander Wang's approach either."

"After all, our machinery factory benefits from this. By the end of the month, we might be able to make up for our wages."

"But Commander Wang has been holding large meetings for several days in a row, making a big deal out of nothing, so none of us dare to object."

Li Aiguo did not respond.

Such situations are common in machinery factories. In the tide of the times, people like Zhang De can only drift with the tide.

He can't control this kind of thing, nor does he intend to control it all, but he also won't allow anyone to take advantage of the situation to cause trouble.

After eating and drinking his fill, and having half a enamel mug of tea, Li Aiguo perked up and had all the security officers go into the security section, while the comrades from the Qianmen Locomotive Depot Railway Police Station remained in charge of the outside.

He carried another meal to the detention room where Liu Feng was being held.

Liu Feng hadn't finished writing his explanation when he saw Li Aiguo come in, and he immediately wanted to stand up.

Li Aiguo placed the food on the table and said, "Let's eat first."

Liu Feng was so moved that he almost burst into tears. He stuffed food into his mouth while wiping away his tears.

"Patriotic comrade, thank you so much this time, otherwise I would have cried sob sob."

Liu Feng was clearly very wronged; he was eating with tears streaming down his face.

Li Aiguo lit a cigarette: "Why are you crying? The matter is still under investigation, we'll find out eventually."

Liu Feng nodded, his voice choked with emotion, "Mmm!"

"After you finish eating, quickly write the report, the more detailed the better, and don't hide anything," Li Aiguo instructed before leaving for the next detention cell.

Seeing Liu Wu standing there with his head drooping and on tiptoe, Li Aiguo didn't waste any words with him. He unlocked the handcuffs and pointed to the interrogation room next door.

Fang Xian and Staff Officer Zhou also arrived. Li Aiguo went into the detention room, turned on the light, and said, "Bring him over."

Liu Wu was handcuffed to a chair by Zhou Ke and the other man. He was moving around a lot, with tears and snot streaming down his face, and he kept rubbing his arms.

Liu Wu was already struggling to hold on. Zhou Ke's movements were too brutal; his thighs and neck were cramping, and even breathing was painful.

Li Aiguo sat behind the table with Fang Xian and Staff Officer Zhou, while Zhou Ke stood behind Liu Wu.

Fang Xian opened the interrogation transcript.

Li Aiguo tapped his fingers on the table, making a "bang" sound, and said, "Speak."

Liu Wu reluctantly said, "I don't know anything. I did investigate those whistleblower letters."

Li Aiguo slammed his hand on the table, interrupting with a loud "Bang!": "Still dare to talk back, huh? Take him back!"

As he spoke, he was about to get up, and Fang Xian cooperated by closing his notebook.

Liu Wu panicked and shouted, "Speak, speak, I'll tell you everything, but what should I say?"

Li Aiguo pointed at Liu Wu and said, "I am Li Aiguo, who is in charge of the excavator and loader project. This project has now been designated as a classified military project. I am interrogating you because you attempted to sabotage the military construction. Do you really need to take over your security department for such a trivial matter?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Wu's expression changed drastically. He looked up at Staff Officer Zhou and confirmed that what Li Aiguo said was true.

Liu Wu cursed Commander Wang in his heart. Why did you have to provoke the Qianmen Locomotive Depot for no reason?

Liu Wu said aggrievedly, "I just followed Commander Wang's orders and helped Yang Xiaodong send out the letter of complaint."

At this point, Liu Wu hesitated for a moment, then, after being glanced at by Li Aiguo, quickly replied, "Yang Xiaodong is the canteen's purchasing agent and also a confidant of Commander Wang."

Yang Xiaodong? Isn't that Cui Dake's lackey?
In the original timeline, Yang Xiaodong served Cui Dake diligently, committing numerous evil deeds.

Cui Dake is still stuck in the fenced area, but unexpectedly Yang Xiaodong has made it big and become a purchasing agent.

Sure enough, a mouse will always dig a hole.

Li Aiguo looked coldly at Liu Wu: "The Ministry's Supervision Office asked your Security Section to verify the contents of the whistleblower letter. Did you verify it? Do you know what this involves? How do you know that Commander Wang is not Dieter?"

The more Li Aiguo spoke, the more frightened Liu Wu became. When Li Aiguo uttered the word "Dieter," Liu Wu quickly said, "It really has nothing to do with me. It was Commander Wang who wanted to get Liu Feng and sent Yang Xiaodong to arrange the whistleblower letter."

Later, when the ministry's investigation team came, he asked me to cooperate with Yang Xiaodong to cover it up. I had no idea it involved a classified military project.

Fang Xian's face grew darker and darker; he felt like he had become a clown.

Li Aiguo certainly knew that such a big thing couldn't have been done by Liu Wu. Since he suspected it was related to Commander Wang, he wanted to blow it up. If it worked, great; if not, so be it.

Li Aiguo found a breakthrough and said coldly, "If I tell you it's a secret, is it still a secret? Who else is involved? Can Yang Xiaodong alone cause such a big incident?"

Eager to clear himself of the blame and implicate others, Liu Wu hurriedly said, "I heard that Commander Wang has a good relationship with several leaders. They often eat and drink together in the canteen. Yang Xiaodong knows the most about these things."

It seems like this is still a case of collusion.

Li Aiguo continued to escalate the situation: "You're just a scapegoat for them. When the ministries investigate, you'll be the first one they investigate. What benefits can Commander Wang possibly offer you?"

Liu Wu said with some grievance: "Deputy Factory Director Wang promised me the position of deputy factory director, but I didn't really want to do it. Commander Wang said that if I didn't take the job, he would put me in jail."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo asked in confusion, "How did Commander Wang deal with you? Does he have something on you?"

Liu Wu struggled to his feet. Seeing this, Li Aiguo slapped the table and said, "This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I hope you can seize it."

Liu Wu knew that whether he faced the danger or not, he would be in trouble anyway, so he decided to go all out: "I had an affair with Yang Xiaodong's cousin once, but Yang Xiaodong caught me in the act and I even wrote a guarantee."

Li Aiguo's eyes widened: "A honey trap?"

(End of this chapter)