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

The Beijing number on the screen flashed three times, and Chen Ping answered.

"Director Chen, the Security Review Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has something to inform you about."

The other party spoke very directly, without any formalities. Export control verification has been integrated with judicial procedures, and the three cross-border settlement channels of those affiliated companies in Hongtuyuan have all been cut off. Banks, foreign exchange, and customs are all acting simultaneously.

"receive."

Chen Ping put his phone back on the table. The office was unusually quiet; even the air conditioner seemed to have quieted down.

But this quietness was a bit off; it was too clean, which seemed abnormal. Yan Qinghua's path to transferring money out was blocked, and given his cunning nature, he wouldn't be this quiet.

This silence is more unsettling than an accident.

~

The next morning, the parking lot in front of the Nanzhou Daily office had just finished its morning rush hour.

Su Qingwan backed the car into the parking space, picked up her backpack, and got out. The moment the glass revolving door opened, her two colleagues at the front desk glanced up at her, then quickly looked down again, their movements unnaturally fast.

She encountered three people in the corridor, but none of them greeted her.

Su Qingwan didn't stop walking; she went straight to her workstation and sat down.

There's something new on my desktop.

An opened envelope, an A4-sized photocopy, with no sender and no postmark.

The document consists of only two pages. The first page accuses Su Qingwan of having a power-for-sex relationship with Chen Pingfang, director of the Nanzhou Chip Spark Industry Promotion Center, and of using her interviews to obtain state semiconductor industry secrets. The second page lists the time, location, and duration of three interviews, accurate to the minute.

Su Qingwan folded the letter back, stuffed it into the drawer, and locked it.

She picked up the thermos on the table, unscrewed the lid, took a sip of water, turned on her computer, and began reading the manuscript.

The movements were no different from usual.

~

That same morning, Jiang Fan rushed into Chen Pingfang's office from the end of the corridor, clutching a piece of paper with the edges crumpled.

"Director, this came from the Municipal Party Committee Office."

The paper was slapped on the table.

The whistleblower letter, in formal format and printed, accused Chen Ping of accepting three million euros in kickbacks from equipment suppliers during the importation of precision equipment from Germany. It included a screenshot of an overseas bank account statement, the account being held in the name of a distant relative of Chen Ping.

The amount, timeframe, and payment schedule of the German equipment contract were perfectly aligned.

Jiang Fan poked his finger at the screenshot of the flowing water, until his fingernail turned white.

"This account..."

"Fake."

Chen Ping didn't even pick up the letter.

Jiang Fan was stunned.

"Turn to the second page, the bottom right corner of the transaction record screenshot shows the last four digits of the account number."

Jiang Fan frantically flipped through the pages, staring at the string of numbers.

"The last four digits are a verification code and have nothing to do with the account number. The person who registered this account cancelled their Chinese citizenship three years ago, and the original root data of this transaction record cannot be found in the system of any licensed bank."

Chen Ping pushed the paper back.

"It's a digital composite. Yan Qinghua was in such a rush that he didn't even hire a professional to edit the photos."

Just as Jiang Fan swallowed his anger, the door was pushed open again.

Zhang Chao ran back from outside, his forehead covered in a thin layer of sweat.

"Director, something's happened. Those photos and the whistleblower letter have already been circulating in several government affairs groups."

"What photo?"

Zhang Chao took out his phone from his pocket, found a screenshot, and handed it over.

On the screen, several blurry photos were spread out.

Late the night before last, on the riverside embankment, on the stone steps. Chen Pingfang and Su Qingwan sat side by side, the moment she handed him water was captured. The shooting angle was tricky; the warm light of the streetlights shone on the two of them, their posture deliberately cropped to be ambiguous. The last shot was even more striking, a close-up of Su Qingwan standing up, the hem of her trench coat brushing against Chen Pingfang's knee, magnified three times.

"The whistleblower letter mentioned leaking state secrets and huge kickbacks, which is a very serious matter." Zhang Chao put his phone away. "People on the construction site are saying that several supplier representatives didn't come to sign in today."

Jiang Fan dropped his pen on the ground and didn't pick it up.

Chen Ping gathered all the papers on the table, stacked them neatly, and pushed them into the drawer.

"Wait."

"What are you waiting for?"

"Wait for them to come to our door."

~

Less than an hour later, a black official car pulled up in front of the Corefire Center building.

The director of the Municipal Party Committee Office got out of the passenger seat, his suit jacket buttoned up neatly, and walked to the door of Chen Ping's office, knocking twice.

"Director Chen, Mayor Li requests your presence."

They spoke politely, but their attitude was non-negotiable.

Jiang Fan stood at the end of the corridor, holding a folder to his chest, his lips pressed into a thin line. Zhang Chao leaned against the wall, his hands in his pockets, his knuckles cracking.

Chen Ping stood up, without a briefcase or folder, only a cell phone in his pocket.

As he pushed open the door and walked down the corridor, five or six heads peeked out from the cracks in the doors of the offices on both sides, watching him head towards the elevator.

The footsteps were steady and rhythmic, just like when he usually patrolled the park.

The group of people who had been whispering in the corridor all fell silent at the same time.

~

The door to the mayor's office closed, shutting out all outside noise.

Li Jianguo sat behind his desk, a button undone on his shirt collar, his eyes sunken, clearly having not slept all night.

He slammed the letter of complaint onto the table with such force that the teacup lid bounced.

"Lie it flat, do you need any protection?"

My voice was hoarse, but I asked the question very directly.

Chen Ping didn't sit down; he stood opposite the desk.

"unnecessary."

Li Jianguo leaned forward half an inch.

"Three million euros in kickbacks, overseas account statements, and photos of you with that female reporter. These three things combined are enough to destroy your entire reputation in Southern State. And you're telling me you don't need protection?"

"Please have the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Audit Bureau station themselves at Xinhuo immediately."

Li Jianguo's movements stopped.

"Investigate everything about me and my immediate family, bank accounts, real estate, securities and insurance—examine everything openly."

Chen Ping took his phone out of his pocket, opened an audio file, and placed it on his desk.

"This is the entire recording of my meeting with Su Qingwan on the river embankment the night before last."

The recording was played.

The recording included the sound of the river lapping against the shore, and Su Qingwan's voice was very clear. She mentioned Hengtong Capital's name, Zhao Shumin's entry and exit records, and the timeline of the cross-border arbitration channel; every sentence matched the later-cut-off funding channels.

Li Jianguo leaned back in his chair and listened to the entire recording without moving.

Seven minutes and twenty-three seconds.

The moment the recording ended, the tension in his shoulders, which had been taut all night, suddenly eased.

This is reverse forensics.

On the night everyone thought he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, Chen Ping went to meet his informant with recording equipment, retrieved key evidence of Yan Qinghua's money laundering, and also left himself with the strongest evidence.

Yan Qinghua thought that the secretly taken photo would put Chen Ping in his place, but little did he know that every second of that night was documented.

Li Jianguo reached out and picked up the letter of complaint from the table, held it for three seconds, and then put it down.

"An investigation team will be on site."

Chen Ping nodded.

"But I'm not investigating you."

Li Jianguo stood up, walked around the desk, and stood in front of Chen Pingfang, with only half a step between them.

"This is to define this as a politically motivated false accusation. I personally endorse it."

~

At six o'clock in the evening, on the steps of the municipal party committee building, the setting sun had already sunk below the city skyline, leaving only a last layer of afterglow on the stone steps.

Chen Ping paused for three seconds on the second step. The autumn wind swept across the ground, lifting a corner of his suit jacket.

He took out his phone and dialed Su Qingwan's number.

I answered it after it rang once.

There was no small talk on the other end; the breathing was steady, and they were waiting for him to speak first.

Chen Ping held the phone close to his ear and lowered his voice.

"Prepare for ignition. Tonight, let the Southern Continent see real fireworks."