Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

In the provincial government's executive meeting room, the fluorescent lights illuminated the long conference table, making it appear white.

Chu Pingshan sat in the main seat, a stack of neatly bound red-headed documents in front of him, the cover of which read "Supplementary Implementation Rules for the Reassessment of the Economic Contribution of Major Projects in Handong Province". He unscrewed the cap of his pen, signed his name on the title page, and then looked up to glance around.

"The provincial government fully respects the two bottom lines set by the military region. As for the military industrial projects themselves, we will not touch them."

As soon as those words were spoken, the shoulders of the several department heads below visibly relaxed a little.

Chu Pingshan twisted the pen cap back, his speaking speed unchanged.

"But a project is a project, and supporting facilities are supporting facilities. The roads were built with local government funds, the leveled land was cleared by the county through demolition, the tax rebates came from a provincial special fund, and the financial credit lines were linked to city commercial banks."

"These things have absolutely nothing to do with the military industry; they're all part of the local economy's assets."

"What do you call it if you hide it under the military's name and don't report it? You call it evading economic oversight responsibility."

There was a two-second silence in the conference room. Sha Ruijin, holding a teacup, took over the conversation at the opportune moment.

"Governor Pingshan is right. The provincial party committee's attitude is very clear: military-civilian integration is a national policy, but local finances cannot use the guise of national policy to deceive the province. All localities must show sincerity and actively cooperate with the provincial government's resurvey work."

Sha Ruijin put down his teacup and rubbed his thumb against the inside of the cup.

"Don't wait until the higher-ups come to investigate; then it's no longer a matter of cooperation."

Chu Pingshan did not respond to Sha Ruijin's words. Instead, he opened a page of appendix tucked in the middle of the document and marked three place names with the tip of his pen.

"Luzhou, Jingzhou, Lincheng."

"These three cities have the highest concentration of military-related projects and the largest supporting investments. The provincial government has decided to use these three cities as samples to submit a classified filing list first. It will be submitted to the Provincial Re-survey Office within three days."

Li Dakang, sitting in the side row, silently closed his notebook when he heard the words "Jingzhou".

He Xia was not present. The executive vice mayor she brought with her sat in the seat of Lü Zhou. The man looked at the two words "Lü Zhou" on the appendix three times, and a layer of fine sweat appeared on his forehead.

After the meeting, Chu Pingshan was the last to stand up, leisurely tidying his briefcase. Sha Ruijin leaned over and whispered.

"Will operating on three sites simultaneously cause a rebound effect?"

Chu Pingshan zipped up his briefcase, the sound even softer than the zipper itself.

"It's not three, it's one. Jingzhou and Lüzhou are just collateral damage; the real target for breaking through is Lincheng."

"A group of people were just arrested in Lincheng by the military region, leaving the local area leaderless and most likely to spill the beans. Once we get Lincheng's list first, Jingzhou and Lüzhou will have no reason not to hand it over."

Sha Ruijin narrowed his eyes, didn't ask any more questions, and left with his teacup.

……

In the Luzhou Municipal Party Committee building, fax copies of provincial government documents were already spread out on He Xia's desk.

She leaned back in her chair, read the document twice from beginning to end, and took out her phone to find the encrypted text message Shen Zhong had sent before leaving. The message contained only eight words: "Give the public parts as they are, and staple each page."

He Xia picked up a red pen and neatly wrote a line of small print in the blank space at the bottom right of each page of the list: "The supporting projects involved on this page may affect the safe operation of defense-related facilities. It is recommended that they be transferred to the joint military-civilian office for review."

The executive vice mayor stood at the door, hesitating whether to come in.

He Xia didn't even look up. "Come in."

"Secretary He, the list the provincial government wants..."

"Submit the report according to the version I marked. Include all publicly available data, and make sure every footnote on every page is complete."

The executive vice mayor took the document, flipped through two pages, and a look of difficulty appeared on his face.

"If we report this, won't Governor Chu think we're deliberately trying to cause trouble?"

He Xia screwed on the pen cap, placed the pen on the table, and made a very flat sound.

"If he finds it annoying, that's his business. My only responsibility is to ensure that every page of the list is legally sound."

The executive vice mayor dared not ask any more questions, and quickly left with the documents in his hand.

At the same time, the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.

Li Dakang slammed the office door shut with such force that the calendar on the door frame rattled three times. He stood at the desk for ten seconds before grabbing the landline and dialing.

The phone rang only once before I answered it.

"Dakang, stop swearing." Gao Yuliang's voice came through the receiver, as calm as a cup of aged white tea that had been steeping for an afternoon.

Li Dakang's anger was stuck in his throat, but those words forced him to swallow it back.

How did you know I was going to swear?

"Chu Pingshan just finished a meeting, and your temper is enough to flare up from the conference room onto my desk." Gao Yuliang coughed lightly. "Don't rush to submit the list from Jingzhou."

"Not paying? Three days is the deadline. How am I supposed to delay?"

"It's not a delay," Gao Yuliang said, a beat slower. "It's that I have to get through first."

Li Dakang gripped the microphone, his thumb leaving a white mark on the plastic casing.

"What do you mean?"

"The Political and Legal Affairs Commission will release something tomorrow morning. You'll see."

The phone call ended, leaving a busy tone. Li Dakang stared at the receiver for a few seconds, not uttering a curse, but knocking the pencil case off the table.

The following day, the Provincial Political and Legal Affairs Commission held an office meeting.

The meeting room was small, seating seven people, and the ashtray was already half full of cigarette butts. Gao Yuliang sat in the main seat, with a freshly printed document in front of him, the smell of ink still lingering.

Warning on Security and Social Stability Risks Around Major Projects

Gao Yuliang pushed the document forward so that the title could be seen by the deputy secretaries present.

"Last week, the military region's special operations team arrested more than 400 criminals across the province who were impersonating law enforcement officers. The ledger clearly shows that these people specifically targeted high-value economic projects, preying on businesses, extorting logistics companies, and engaging in violent mergers and acquisitions."

He took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on.

"Against this backdrop, the provincial government's requirement for local governments to submit lists of supporting infrastructure for major projects was well-intentioned. However, if the contents of these lists are leaked to stakeholders during the transmission process, it's tantamount to handing these criminal gangs a precise map of their prey."

The deputy secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, sitting on the left, flipped through the documents and looked up at him.

"Secretary Gao, what do you mean?"

"My meaning is very simple." Gao Yuliang closed his glasses case, his voice not loud, but every word was firm and impactful. "All categorized lists involving major projects must undergo a social stability risk assessment by the political and legal system before being submitted to the provincial government. Those that fail the assessment shall not be submitted."

No one spoke during the office meeting; only the faint hum of the air conditioner vents could be heard.

Gao Yuliang looked around. "Maintaining social stability is the Political and Legal Affairs Commission's job. This risk warning does not negate the provincial government's auditing authority; it simply adds a safety barrier. The three-day deadline is set by the provincial government, while the timeframe for the safety assessment is determined by the Political and Legal Affairs Commission."

"No conflict. Fully compliant."

The document, stamped with the seal of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, was sent to thirteen prefecture-level cities and the provincial government that same afternoon.

Chu Pingshan sat in his office and read the risk warning three times.

He didn't slam his fist on the table, nor did he call his secretary in to yell at him. He simply closed the file, and the wrinkles between his brows deepened more than usual.

Gao Yuliang's knife wasn't heavy, but it was extremely accurate.

He didn't use the military's influence, didn't flaunt his authority, and didn't even directly challenge the provincial government. He simply used his official authority as the secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission to create a legal obstacle between the three-day deadline and the submission of the list.

Chu Pingshan picked up the bottled water on the table, unscrewed the cap, took a sip, and then screwed it back on.

"Gao Yuliang is more troublesome than Shen Zhong."

He said it so softly that the secretary, standing two meters away, couldn't hear it.

……

Night falls on the outskirts of Jingzhou.

Qi Tongwei crouched inside a van without license plates, intermittent static coming through his earpiece. Outside the window was a row of low roadside trees, behind which lay a three-story private club, its neon sign deliberately dimmed.

Lu Yike sat next to him, the laptop screen casting a pale blue reflection on their faces. The surveillance footage showed that Haiheng Consulting's finance director had entered through the back door half an hour earlier and hadn't come out since.

"Team Leader Ma's brother-in-law is also inside." Lu Yike switched the camera to the lobby and tapped on the figure in the lower left corner of the screen. "This person arrived twenty minutes ago and went straight to a private room on the third floor."

Qi Tongwei didn't speak, his eyes fixed on the parking lot on the right side of the screen.

At 11:07, a black Passat drove out of the ramp at the back entrance of the clubhouse, its license plate flashing under the streetlights.

Lu Yike tapped her fingers twice on the keyboard, and the license plate recognition result popped up.

She stared at the line of text on the screen, and stopped moving.

"Provincial government official vehicles."

Qi Tongwei narrowed his eyes. He reached out and pressed his earpiece, his voice extremely low.

"Car number three, follow that Passat. Maintain a distance of at least 200 meters, and do not use high beams."

Lu Yike turned to look at him. "Are you sure? It's a provincial government car, what if it is..."

"It's not Team Leader Ma." Qi Tongwei interrupted her, shifting his gaze from the screen to the receding taillights outside the window. "Team Leader Ma's car is a Buick, it's registered. The Passat is a backup car for the provincial government office, only two people can use it."

Lu Yike's pupils contracted slightly.

Qi Tongwei pressed his earpiece and said coldly, "Don't touch Team Leader Ma, talk to the secretary first. This fish is big tonight."