Villain? No, I'll catch up with the protagonist after passing the civil service exam.

Lu Jingyan raised his hand. His large palm landed directly on Zhao Tiezhu's rough hand.

He pressed down hard, forcefully pushing the large hand that was about to pry open the holster clip back into place.

The air pressure in the corridor instantly dropped to freezing. The incandescent light bulbs overhead emitted a faint humming sound.

Zhao Tiezhu was panting heavily. His chest heaved violently, and hot air was billowing from his nostrils.

"Chief!" he gritted his teeth, lowering his voice, "These thugs in suits are riding roughshod over us!"

Lu Jingyan didn't speak. He released his grip.

Half a meter away, Director Chen carried a crocodile-skin briefcase in one hand. The toes of his leather shoes pointed outwards, and his posture exuded an air of expensive superiority.

The pungent, high-end woody perfume made Lu Jingyan frown.

"Without a search warrant, you can't even get through the gate," Lu Jingyan repeated.

Director Chen adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses. The lenses reflected a white light.

"Commander Lu is a shrewd man," he replied in a measured tone. "The capital market operates on rules. You also have to follow the rules when handling cases, right?"

Dozens of elite lawyers followed behind him, their backs ramrod straight.

Holding a thick stack of legal texts in his hand, like an impenetrable shield.

Lu Jingyan nodded.

He turned away, no longer looking at the group of smartly dressed professionals. His gaze fell on Su Xiaoxiao, who was standing against the wall.

"Xiaoxiao." His voice wasn't loud, but it could be heard clearly in the deathly silent corridor.

Su Xiaoxiao was biting on the plastic stick of a lollipop. Hearing her called, she quickly straightened the tactical tablet she was holding.

"I'm here, boss."

"Criminal search warrants are indeed difficult to obtain. The legal departments of multinational conglomerates keep their financial records very clean."

Lu Jingyan slipped one hand into the pocket of his faded police trousers.

He looked coldly at the general counsel: "Since you won't cooperate with the criminal investigation, then we'll find another way to investigate."

He looked at the autumn sunlight streaming into the corridor, the light carrying fine dust particles.

He turned and asked Su Xiaoxiao to connect directly with the tax bureau, the industry and commerce bureau, and the fire brigade.

"Check their headquarters building for tax evasion records, and also check their fire safety hazards and environmental pollution discharge permits."

These words were spoken.

A few muffled coughs suddenly came from the wall of people opposite.

Director Chen's facial muscles twitched twice.

The composed and sophisticated demeanor he had just displayed deflated instantly, like a ball punctured by a needle.

"Commander Lu, what do you mean by this?" He even forgot to use honorifics, his voice trembling.

"Literal meaning."

Lu Jingyan turned his head, his deep black eyes fixed on him.

"A NASDAQ-listed multinational conglomerate has built a 48-story headquarters building in Jinghai City. Does it really think it's an impenetrable fortress?"

He took half a step forward. His leather shoes thudded on the tiles.

"You hid the smuggled contraband in a sterile laboratory, and the criminal police couldn't get in without a search warrant."

"But if a building has 48 floors and more than 2,000 fire sprinkler heads, and 100 of them are substandard, the fire brigade can directly seal off the building and suspend operations for rectification."

Director Chen swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing violently.

A young lawyer wearing glasses behind him began to tremble as he held his briefcase.

The metal buckle on the bottom of the bag clicked against the zipper.

"You're using shell companies overseas to transfer funds to buy alien equipment. No matter how well the accounts are made, can the daily electricity bills and equipment depreciation, amounting to millions, perfectly match the tax returns?"

With each sentence Lu Jingyan spoke, the group of people in suits opposite him would shrink back an inch.

"The Environmental Protection Bureau will investigate the wastewater discharge indicators of your underground laboratory. They only need to find one milligram of heavy metal contamination in the wastewater."

He paused for a moment. His hard jawline revealed a sharp, razor-sharp edge.

"No search warrant is needed. This afternoon, the government could have your doors completely sealed off."

The corridor was deathly silent.

The superior perfume scent from before was completely washed away by the cold sweat that broke out in her body.

This is what a state apparatus should be.

There's no need to resort to guns to deal with groups that attempt to manipulate the law using the rules of capital.

Once all the gears of this massive machine are put into operation, a comprehensive administrative crackdown could strip these capitalists bare.

Su Xiaoxiao's fingers flew across the screen.

"Boss. Old Liu from the tax bureau's inspection department is online. The fire department said they've dispatched three ladder trucks, and they'll be at the Dingfeng Technology building in five minutes."

Her clear voice echoed in the empty corridor.

Director Chen panicked completely.

His well-maintained face was now deathly pale, as if it were covered in flour. Fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, reflecting the overhead incandescent light.

He knew that once the tax authorities and fire department joined forces to seize the property...

Top Peak Technology's Nasdaq stock price will definitely hit the daily limit down tonight. That's a loss of tens of billions of dollars in market value.

"Director Lu... Director Lu! Let's talk this out!"

He didn't care about maintaining any airs of sophistication. He stepped forward and reached out to grab Lu Jingyan's arm.

Zhao Tiezhu interfered.

A solid chest slammed into Director Chen's shoulder, sending him staggering backward and tumbling into the group of lawyers behind him.

"What are you doing! Assaulting a police officer?"

Zhao Tiezhu grinned widely, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth. All his earlier frustration vanished, and he felt so happy he wanted to sing.

"Weren't you being pretty aggressive just now? Didn't you want to see the search warrant? Go ask the fire department for it later!"

The lawyers huddled together. No one dared to utter a sound.

The legal provisions in our hands are now worthless. Under the crushing force of absolute administrative power, the arrogance of capital has been shattered into nothingness.

Lu Jingyan ignored their disheveled state.

He walked to the windowsill next to the corridor and picked up the old stainless steel thermos that was on the windowsill.

The metal cup wall feels warm to the touch.

He unscrewed the lid. The spiral grooves rubbed together, making a hissing sound.

A wisp of steam rose from the rim of the cup. Two plump goji berries swirled on the surface of the water.

He lowered his head and took a sip of water.

The warm liquid slid down his throat, suppressing the fatigue from days of investigation.

Lu Jingyan picked up his thermos and took a sip of water, his tone as stern as iron: "Within China, if I want to investigate you, I have plenty of legal tools."