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

Qian Bo.

Chen Ping removed his hand from the screen and took a step back.

The warehouse lights cast a harsh glare on the ID photo. It showed a square face, deep-set eyes, graying temples, and extremely thin lips, cut into a single line.

Zhang Jingru.

This name remained buried in the provincial political and legal system for thirty years, rising from deputy chief prosecutor to secretary of the provincial political and legal committee, a position equivalent to a vice-provincial level official, before retiring in 2017. He handled over two thousand cases and approved no fewer than forty death penalty execution orders. People in the circle didn't call him by his name, but rather "the living Yama."

After retirement, these three words almost vanished from all public occasions. He never attended hometown association meetings, never participated in symposiums for retired cadres, and he couldn't even be found on the list of retired cadres that the province would visit during holidays—because he voluntarily asked to be removed from the list.

A giant in the political and legal system who had been in power for thirty years suddenly vanished without a trace after retirement.

It's not about being indifferent.

It is dormancy.

Chen Ping closed his laptop, while Lin Yuanzhou stood beside him, not daring to ask a single question.

"Pack this signal generator, along with the memory card, into a box and seal it away. Don't go through the lab's registration system. Keep it personally in a place that only you can open."

Lin Yuanzhou nodded.

"clear."

Chen Ping picked up the car keys, walked out of the warehouse, the sea breeze was gone, and the air at four in the morning was bitterly cold. He got into the driver's seat but didn't start the engine.

The puzzle pieces in my mind are being put back into place one by one.

Yan Qinghua was Zhang Jingru's front man, responsible for industrial layout and overseas profit transfer, and the actual operator of the Veridian acquisition.

He Hongru was assigned to the vanguard of the Industry and Information Technology Department by Zhang Jingru, where he served as the department head for six years, and he helped him to open up the industrial sector.

Qian Bo, the son-in-law, is the executive vice director of the Department of Industry and Information Technology. Even after He Hongru leaves, he can still maintain control.

Dingsheng Venture Capital – Zhang Jingru's capital channel, using state-owned industrial funds to inject capital into his own pawns.

NexvanceBV – a Dutch-registered offshore shell company, the final destination for profit outflow.

All the clues, from the corruption scandal in Guangling to the intelligence leak at the Xinhuo Phase II project, to the financial fraud at the Jinshan Chemical Industrial Park, to Fang Zhiyuan being silenced in the detention center—all point to the same coordinate.

A retired man of fifteen years has built an invisible empire spanning politics, law, industry, and finance. The pieces on the chessboard have changed time and again, but the hand that holds the pieces has never changed.

Chen Ping turned on the engine and backed the car out of the parking space.

The phone screen lit up, showing a straight line from Governor Liu Mingyuan's office. It was past four in the morning, and Liu Mingyuan was still awake.

"Director Chen, is it urgent?"

"I need to report in person. Can I meet with you this morning?"

There was a two-second pause.

"Six o'clock. Enter through the west gate of the Provincial Party Committee compound. I'll be waiting for you in Building No. 2."

At 5:58 a.m., Chen Ping's car was parked under the sycamore trees outside the west gate of the provincial party committee compound. Security personnel checked his credentials twice and then let him pass.

On the third floor of Building 2, in Liu Mingyuan's office, the lights were on and the curtains were drawn. Liu Mingyuan sat on the sofa, not behind his desk. Two glasses of plain water sat on the coffee table, without even tea leaves.

Chen Ping handed over the USB drive and the voiceprint comparison report.

Liu Mingyuan didn't open it immediately; he flipped through the report first. On the last page, Zhang Jingru's ID photo and a 98.7% match rate were printed side by side on an A4 sheet of paper.

The office was so quiet you could hear the ticking of the second hand on the wall clock.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Liu Mingyuan closed the report, placed it on the coffee table, and put his hands on his knees.

For a full five minutes, he didn't say a single word.

Chen Ping waited. The steam from the glass of boiled water dissipated, leaving a layer of condensation on the glass.

"Do you know what Zhang Jingru did in his last year before retirement?" Liu Mingyuan finally asked.

Chen Ping did not answer.

"He spearheaded a major reshuffle of the province's political and legal system, transferring 73 cadres at the division level or above within a year. The public security, procuratorate, court, and judicial administration departments were all affected. On the surface, it was a reform to rejuvenate cadres, but in reality, he was stuffing his own people into every key position."

Liu Mingyuan picked up the water glass, but didn't drink it, and put it down again.

"He retired, but his people didn't. The deputy head of the Criminal Investigation Corps of the Provincial Public Security Department, the two deputy directors of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Provincial Procuratorate, and the presiding judge of the First Criminal Division of the Provincial High Court... all of them were transferred up in that round. Moving against Zhang Jingru is equivalent to moving half of the province's political and legal system."

Chen Ping's back was pressed against the sofa cushion, one finger resting on his knee, but he didn't knock.

"Therefore, we must not alert the enemy."

"It's not that it can't be done, it's that it's not allowed." Liu Mingyuan emphasized the words "not allowed." "The evidence you have now, the voiceprint recording and the equity penetration test, is only enough to prove that he had private contact with Yan Qinghua, and at most, add another charge of suspected transfer of benefits. But Zhang Jingru has been operating in the political and legal system for thirty years. If you submit this little bit of information, his old subordinates can dismantle the chain of evidence within three days."

Chen Pingfang did not refute. Every word Liu Mingyuan said was true.

There's only one way to bring him down.

Liu Mingyuan looked up, and their eyes met briefly above the coffee table.

"Find his general ledger."

Chen Ping's fingers stopped on his knee.

"A person like Zhang Jingru doesn't trust banks, safes, or any electronic systems. His money, his network of connections, and the distribution of profits between him and every pawn must be recorded on a physical medium—paper ledgers, handwritten records, or some kind of code that only he can understand."

Liu Mingyuan stood up and walked to the window. A sliver of sunlight shone through the curtains, illuminating half of his shoulder.

"This ledger must be hidden in a place he trusts most. Not at home, not in a bank, not in any area that can be covered by a search warrant."

Chen Ping picked up the report again, turned to the page on kinship, and placed his finger next to the words "Qian Bo".

"Does Qian Bo know where the ledger is?"

"Qian Bo is my son-in-law, not my biological son. Zhang Jingru uses him, but he may not trust him." Liu Mingyuan turned around. "You revealed the materials about Hongye Chemical at the Party Committee meeting today, and you've pushed Qian Bo to the brink. Now he either has to show weakness and beg for peace with you, or he has to ask his father-in-law for help. No matter which path he takes, more things will be exposed."

Chen Ping put the report into his briefcase and stood up.

"I'll go back to the hall first. As for Qian Bo, give him three days. If he doesn't make a move within three days, I'll give him a push."

Liu Mingyuan nodded without saying anything. Chen Ping walked to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob.

"There's one more thing," Liu Mingyuan added from behind. "Be careful of the people around you. Zhang Jingru's network isn't just spread across the political and legal system; nobody can say for sure if he has any informants in the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology."

Chen Ping opened the door and went out.

At 3 p.m. that day, in the interrogation room of the Provincial State Security Department.

After the fourth round of interrogation, Wu Shaoming was taken back to the temporary detention room.

Qin Yu intercepted the two plainclothes officers escorting them in the corridor.

"What else did he say today?"

The plainclothes officer opened the notebook.

"He mentioned something else, which I'll add. He said Zhang Jingru has a private garden in the suburbs called 'Jingxin Garden.' It's not open to the public and isn't registered under anyone's name. Zhang Jingru only allows one person to manage it each year—a gardener, a distant relative he brought from his hometown."

Qin Yu frowned.

"What's the gardener's name?"

The plainclothes officer turned another page.

Wu Shaoming said he didn't know his full name, only that his surname was Tao, and Zhang Jingru called him "Old Tao." He had lived in that garden for at least twenty years and had never been seen leaving the house.

Qin Yu took the transcript, photographed this page, and sent it to Chen Pingfang.

The message has been read four seconds after it was sent.

No reply.

Ten seconds later, Chen Ping's encrypted message popped up, containing only five words:

"Check Jingxinyuan."