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

The interrogation room door slammed shut behind Chen Ping, shutting out the noise from outside.

Zhao Defu was leaning back in the interrogation chair with his eyes closed. He didn't even lift his eyelids when he heard the noise, still acting like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water.

Chen Ping didn't say anything, pulled out the chair opposite him and sat down, then placed the black old-fashioned mobile phone that he had taken from Zhou Qiang's pocket on the middle of the iron table with a "thud".

The sound was particularly loud in the quiet interrogation room.

Upon hearing the sound, Zhao Defu impatiently opened his eyes, and his pupils contracted slightly when he saw the black cell phone.

But he quickly returned to his original position, even shifting to a more comfortable one, and smirked with a hint of mockery.

"Secretary Chen, who are you trying to scare with this?" Zhao Defu raised his wrist to check his watch. "My detention period is almost up. If you can't produce any new evidence, my lawyer will take me away immediately."

He paused, then said, "I need to go to the hospital to see a doctor; I can't delay in treating my diabetes."

Chen Ping didn't respond to him, but calmly looked at Zhao Defu, tapping his fingers rhythmically on the table.

Once, twice, three times.

The pace was slow, and Zhao Defu's eyelids twitched.

"Zhou Qiang was taken away by the Discipline Inspection Commission at the door of this room just five minutes ago," Chen Pingfang said calmly. "The charge is that he leaked information and acted as a protector."

Zhao Defu's facial muscles twitched slightly.

He scoffed and waved his hand, "I don't know any Zhou Qiang at all. Who the police arrest has nothing to do with me."

"Really?" Chen Ping turned on the screen of his black phone.

The text message, "Japanese devils are entering the village, burn it down immediately," was clearly displayed on the screen.

Chen Ping read the text message aloud, pointing to the timestamp on the screen: "This text message was sent at 6:10 PM yesterday. At 6:25 PM, the fire broke out in Jinshui Bay."

He leaned forward and lowered his voice: "Mr. Zhao, ordering the fire at this time was to destroy evidence, wasn't it?"

A fine layer of sweat appeared on Zhao Defu's forehead, and his eyes began to dart around, no longer daring to meet Chen Pingfang's gaze.

But he gritted his teeth, his voice trembling slightly: "This phone isn't mine, and the text message can't prove that I instructed it."

He abruptly raised his head, completely absolving himself of any responsibility: "Scarface Li did all this himself! You're fabricating evidence and framing a law-abiding citizen!"

Chen Ping laughed.

He took a photo out of the folder; it was an enlarged version of the tattered gift list found in the fire.

The edges of the paper in the photo are charred, but the words "Environmental Protection Bureau Monitoring Station" and "Environmental Assessment Section" are still clearly visible.

Chen Ping pointed to a few names that were still recognizable: "President Zhao, let's not dwell on who started the fire."

He paused for a moment and said, "The news about the highly toxic pollution in Jinshui Bay is now on the news, and the whole city knows about it."

Zhao Defu's face turned deathly pale instantly.

Chen Ping stood up, walked around to Zhao Defu's side, and looked down at him.

"Now that things have blown up this big, someone from above has to take the blame." Chen Pingfang's voice wasn't loud, but Zhao Defu heard it clearly. "Those officials who took your money, what do you think they'll do to keep their jobs?"

Zhao Defu's breathing became rapid.

"They'll pin all the blame on you, you unscrupulous businessman," Chen Ping said, emphasizing each word. "You forced them to falsify the environmental impact assessment. You bribed them to falsify the data. All the blame rests on you alone."

He stopped behind Zhao Defu, lowering his voice even further: "Mr. Zhao, if you expose the people who are eating the meat, you might have a way out. Otherwise, you'll have to take all the blame and wait to be executed."

Zhao Defu's body began to tremble.

His hands trembled involuntarily as he gripped his trouser legs tightly.

Seeing this detail, Chen Pingfang leaned down and whispered one last sentence in his ear: "Advisor Wang just sent someone to tell us to handle matters strictly according to the law and to never tolerate any bad people."

He paused for a moment, then asked, "Who do you think this 'bad guy' refers to?"

After hearing this, the light in Zhao Defu's eyes completely disappeared.

His face was deathly pale, and he slumped limply in the interrogation chair.

"No...it's impossible..." Zhao Defu muttered to himself, "He promised me...he said he would protect me..."

The next second, he grabbed his hair with both hands and howled.

"I want to do good deeds! I want to report this!"

Zhao Defu cried his eyes out.

He realized he was just a discarded pawn. If he didn't speak up, he would die in their place.

Chen Ping stepped back to sit across the table and nodded at the one-way glass.

The door was pushed open, and two interrogation experts walked in. One turned on a voice recorder, and the other took out a transcript.

"Zhao Defu, we're giving you one chance to confess and receive leniency." The interrogation expert's voice was stern. "Tell us everything you know."

Zhao Defu raised his head, trembling, and glanced at Chen Pingfang.

Chen Pingfang remained expressionless, simply looking at him calmly.

Zhao Defu gritted his teeth and finally spoke.

"The environmental impact assessment report... is fake..." His voice was hoarse. "I spent 500,000 yuan to bribe Li Jianguo, the deputy director of the municipal environmental protection bureau's monitoring station, to tamper with the data."

The interrogation experts took notes rapidly.

"What about the testing agency?"

"I gave Zhang Weidong, the general manager of Huaxin Testing Company, 300,000 yuan to issue a qualified report." Zhao Defu's voice grew louder as he spoke, as if he wanted to vent all the words he had been holding back. "And Liu Ming, the head of the environmental impact assessment department, I give him 100,000 yuan every year, and he helps me approve all the unqualified projects."

He paused, then gritted his teeth and said, "These people took my money, and now they want to kick me to the curb? Dream on!"

Outside the one-way glass, Xiao Yuhan looked at the transcript and let out a long sigh of relief.

She turned to the disciplinary committee staff member beside her: "Li Jianguo, Zhang Weidong, and Liu Ming, immediately investigate these three people and take them into custody."

"yes!"

In the corridor, Liu Tiemian and Zhang Zheng exchanged a glance, both somewhat excited.

"Secretary Chen's move was too ruthless," Zhang Zheng said in a low voice. "He managed to break Zhao Defu down with just a few words."

Liu Tiemian nodded: "This is just the beginning; there are bigger fish to come."

Inside the interrogation room, Zhao Defu continued speaking.

He confessed to every single bribe, detailing the date, location, amount of money given, and even the bank transfer records.

Chen Ping sat opposite him, listening quietly.

He knew that the Jinshuiwan case had now become a case of collusion between officials and businessmen.

The air in the interrogation room was still thick with the despair that Zhao Defu had felt after his breakdown.

Chen Ping stared at the last line of text that had just been written on the record, his pupils suddenly contracting.

"The ledger isn't with me," Zhao Defu said hoarsely, slumped in his chair. "It's with Lin Xiaoyue, my lover. Hidden in the safe in her Emerald Bay apartment complex."

Liu Tiemian suddenly stood up: "Then what are we waiting for? Go get it right now!"