After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

The next morning, a lot of people were standing in front of the city government office.

Chen Ping walked out carrying a backpack, where Liu Tiemian and Zhang Zheng were already waiting by the bread cart.

Liu Tiemian was carrying an instrument bag, and Zhang Zheng was holding a stack of files; both of them had serious expressions.

Guo Xiaojun sat in the passenger seat, nervously gripping the camera strap, his palms sweaty.

"Secretary Chen, everyone's here." Liu Tiemian glanced at his watch. "As planned, we'll go to the Jinshuiwan project first today."

Chen Ping nodded, opened the car door, and got in.

Outside the car window, Sun Zhigang stood on the steps, watching their car drive away, a cold smile on his lips.

The van drove out of the city government compound and headed towards the suburbs.

The car was quiet, with only the sound of the engine.

Forty minutes later, the car arrived at the suburbs where the Jinshuiwan project is located.

What should have been a bustling construction site is now eerily silent. A three-meter-high blue corrugated iron wall surrounds the site completely, with rusty wire mesh strung on top.

Zhang Zheng flipped through the files and compared them with the blueprints, saying, "According to the plan, this is a phase one commercial complex, but there isn't even a tower crane in sight."

Liu Tiemian adjusted his glasses: "It's been idle for three years and seven months, which is the focus of this investigation."

As soon as the bread truck came to a stop at the gate, five or six burly men in security guard uniforms rushed out of the guard post.

The head of security, a bald man with a cigarette dangling from his mouth, tapped on the car window with his baton and asked, "What are you doing here? This is private property, don't come near."

Chen Ping rolled down the car window and took out his work ID and investigation letter: "The municipal government investigation team is here to investigate idle land."

The bald man glanced at the document, threw it back, and sneered, "What investigation team? Our boss Zhao didn't notify us. We're not allowed in today."

The bald security guard waved his hand, and someone led out two black dogs, which barked wildly at the bread truck.

Guo Xiaojun's face turned pale instantly, and he shrank back.

Liu Tiemian frowned: "They are obstructing official business. You can call the police."

The bald security captain used his baton to brace against the car door, his attitude becoming even more arrogant: "Go ahead and call the police! The police are here, and our boss Zhao's lawyer is here too. You few lowly clerks can't afford to waste your time with us."

A few bursts of laughter came from inside the wall.

The driver, Xiao Li, asked in a trembling voice, "Secretary Chen, perhaps... we should go back and consult with our superiors first?"

The air inside the car froze instantly.

Chen Ping didn't argue with the security guard; he simply said, "Fine, then we won't go in."

After saying that, Chen Ping got out of the car and took a silver-gray briefcase from the trunk.

The bald security captain was stunned for a moment. Before he could react, Chen Pingfang had already opened the box and taken out a folding drone.

"If you won't let us in, we'll survey from outside." Chen Pingfang said while assembling the drone and connecting it to a tablet. "According to regulations, the investigation team has the right to conduct aerial surveys without needing to enter the site."

Liu Tiemian's eyes lit up, and he immediately took out a rangefinder and a notebook from his bag.

The bald security captain's expression changed, and he reached out to grab the drone: "No way, this is an invasion of privacy."

Chen Ping stepped aside, staring at him and saying, word by word, "We are carrying out official duties. If you dare to obstruct or damage the equipment, it constitutes obstruction of official business, and we can arrest you directly."

As Chen Ping spoke, he took out his body camera, clipped it to his chest, and pressed the record button. The red light immediately lit up.

Zhang Zheng also raised his camera and took photos of the security guards as evidence.

The bald security captain dared not move again, and turned back to look into the walled area, as if waiting for instructions.

Guo Xiaojun breathed a sigh of relief and said softly,

"Brother Chen was already prepared."

Liu Tiemian nodded: "Looks like this trip wasn't in vain."

The drone quickly took off.

The scene inside the walled area was clearly visible on the tablet screen.

The so-called commercial complex site has not been developed at all. The ground is piled with black woven bags and rusty iron barrels, and there are several modified trucks parked in the corner.

Zhang Zheng stared at the screen, his expression instantly changing. "These bags and buckets... look like industrial waste!"

Liu Tiemian zoomed in on the image and pointed to a patch of soil with an unusual color, saying, "The soil here has turned black; it's clearly been polluted."

Chen Ping controlled the drone to descend, and the camera clearly captured several iron barrels with red markings indicating hazardous chemicals.

A loud shout suddenly came from inside the wall: "Shoot that thing down!"

Several security guards immediately picked up long poles and tried to poke the drone, but Chen Ping had already pulled the drone up, and the camera continued to film.

The tablet screen then switched to the other side of the wall, where a dozen shirtless men were frantically loading woven bags onto a truck.

Guo Xiaojun gasped, "This is clearly an illegal warehouse!"

Liu Tiemian quickly wrote in his notebook: "Preliminary assessment: This is an illegal dumping of industrial waste, which has caused land pollution."

Zhang Zheng snapped several photos in quick succession, his voice trembling slightly: "If this is confirmed, Zhao Defu's problem won't just be about idle land; he'll also be charged with environmental crimes!"

The bald security captain's face turned ashen, and he quickly pulled out his phone to make a call.

Chen Ping recalled the drone, removed the memory card and handed it to Liu Tiemian: "Go back to the city immediately and send the video to Mayor Xiao's office. Also, send a backup copy to the Municipal Environmental Protection Bureau and the Public Security Bureau."

Liu Tiemian took the memory card, gripped it tightly in his hand, and looked at Chen Pingfang, saying, "Secretary Chen, we owe you a lot this time."

Just then, three black sedans sped up from a distance and screeched to a halt at the entrance.

Seven or eight men in suits got out of the car. The one in the lead was a middle-aged man wearing a gold watch, who was Zhao Defu's assistant, Ma Qiang.

When Ma Qiang saw the investigation team, his face turned ashen: "You've trespassed on private property! I'm going to file a complaint against you!"

Chen Ping held up the tablet, which displayed images of the iron barrels and black soil: "Assistant Ma, please tell President Zhao that the municipal government will soon send someone to talk to him about the origin of these things."

When Ma Qiang saw the image on the screen, his expression changed instantly.

The bread truck restarted, but no one inside spoke.

Guo Xiaojun looked back at the receding wall and swallowed hard. "Brother Chen, have we gotten ourselves into big trouble this time?"

Chen Pingfang looked out the window at the rapidly receding wasteland: "The trouble has always been there, but no one dared to touch it before."

Holding the memory card containing the evidence, Liu Tiemian said in a deep voice, "If this case is investigated further, it will definitely involve a lot of people."

Zhang was flipping through the photos in his camera when he suddenly pointed to one of them: "Look at this person."

In the photo, a man with a scar on his face is directing workers to move things; his waist is bulging, as if he is hiding something.

Chen Ping narrowed his eyes.

Chen Pingfang had seen this face in the news in his previous life; it belonged to Scarface Li, the number two figure in the Black Dog Gang, an underground force in Yunzhou.