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

Qi Tongwei's voice sounded like a piece of metal scraping across the ground.

"Put your hand out."

The man with the tool bag reacted quickly, turning and running down the stairs. Qi Tongwei didn't chase after him, but instead slammed the first man to the ground, pressing his knee down on his shoulder blade.

The second man ran to the corner of the platform, suddenly pulled a short knife from his sleeve, and turned around to pounce back.

Lu Yike's camera shook for a moment, then stabilized.

Qi Tongwei raised his arm to deflect the blade, then drew his baton from behind his waist and, with almost no fancy movements, struck the other man's wrist directly.

The sound of bones breaking was chillingly crisp in the narrow stairwell.

The dagger fell onto the steps and rolled two steps.

The man had barely uttered a scream when Qi Tongwei kicked him in the back of the knee, slamming him against the stair railing. Field officers rushed up from below, snapping the handcuffs into place with a click.

Team Leader Ma's wife finally opened the door a crack.

The woman's face was deathly pale, and she was still clutching her phone. When she saw the knife on the ground, she took a half step back.

Lu Yike showed her the prosecutor's certificate, her voice softer than before.

"Don't be afraid. We're here to protect you."

The woman's lips trembled.

"They said my son..."

"Someone has already gone to the school."

Qi Tongwei pulled the man who was being held down from the ground and searched him.

There were several bills in the wallet, a temporary parking card, and a photo.

The photo shows a little boy with a backpack standing at the school gate, his face circled in red pen.

The field staff found two high-speed rail tickets on another person.

"Towards Haizhou."

Lu Yike squatted down, put on gloves, and examined the other person's phone. There were deletion traces on the screen; recent call logs had been cleared, but a message that hadn't been completely erased remained in the text message trash can.

She held the phone up to Qi Tongwei.

"Just deleted it."

There is only one line of text on the screen.

If you can't take her with you, then let her go cry. There are reporters outside the provincial government building.

The hallway was silent for a few seconds.

As Qi Tongwei looked at the words, the murderous intent in his eyes slowly subsided, becoming even colder than when he had attacked.

"They don't want people."

Lu Yike stood up.

"It's a confession."

Qi Tongwei put the child's photo into the evidence bag, and when he sealed it, his fingers squeezed hard, and the plastic bag made a slight creaking sound.

"They don't necessarily want to kill family members. As long as she stands in front of the provincial government building crying, all the evidence tomorrow can be used to accuse her of coercing witnesses."

The sound of police sirens came from downstairs, deliberately kept far away, as if they had just turned in from the street corner.

The officers escorted the two suspects downstairs. The man with the broken wrist remained silent, gritting his teeth, his forehead covered in sweat. The other man continued to protest his innocence as he was pinned against the wall.

"We're a debt collection company! We do things for money, we don't know anything about the Political and Legal Affairs Commission!"

Qi Tongwei stopped in front of him.

"They've gotten photos of children and even high-speed rail tickets to Haizhou from debt collection?"

The man's eyes flickered, and he immediately lowered his head.

Lu Yike also captured this moment in the shot.

When Team Leader Ma's wife was helped downstairs by two policewomen, her legs were still weak. As she passed Qi Tongwei, she suddenly stopped.

"Will my husband die?"

Qi Tongwei did not answer immediately.

He glanced at her clenched, white fingers, then at the child's photo in the evidence bag.

"As long as he is still willing to tell the truth, we will let him live to finish telling it."

The woman's tears fell instantly, but she didn't cry out loud.

……

Half an hour later, the office of the provincial government's press office was brightly lit.

The staff member on duty stood in front of the desk with a freshly printed interview request in hand, looking somewhat uneasy.

The head of the news department frowned immediately after reading the headline.

"Who handed it to you?"

"A financial media outlet from outside the province also copied two online platforms. The interviewee listed was a family member of Team Leader Ma."

The person in charge stared at the headline, his finger pressing on the edge of the paper, without speaking immediately.

The title has been drafted.

Family members of the audit team leader accuse Handong Political and Legal Affairs Bureau of overstepping its authority and forcing confessions.

The letter from the General Office of the Provincial Government was delivered to the Political and Legal Affairs Commission at 8:40 a.m.

The moment the envelope was opened, the duty officer's expression changed. He didn't dare delay and ran into Gao Yuliang's office with the letter in his hand.

Gao Yuliang was watching the video of the arrest in the stairwell last night. In the footage, Lu Yike's image shook a few times before stabilizing again, and the short knife landed on the steps with a crisp sound.

He pressed pause.

There was a knock on the door.

"Enter."

The officer on duty placed the letter on the table.

"Secretary Gao, the General Office of the Provincial Government has asked us to explain the basis for the protection action taken last night against Team Leader Ma's family."

Gao Yuliang picked up the letter, and when he saw the second page, his gaze behind his glasses darkened slightly.

Qi Tongwei and Lu Yike entered the room at almost the same time.

"There's one more thing," the duty officer said in a low voice, "They proposed that a joint investigation team take over the management of Team Leader Ma."

Qi Tongwei pressed his hand on the back of the chair, his knuckles turning white instantly.

"They came fast enough."

Gao Yuliang put the letter down.

"What time will the call be?"

"9:30."

"Pass down the notice, and the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, the Procuratorate, and the Public Security Bureau will all participate."

Lu Yike handed over the list of evidence from last night.

"The family protection application, the on-site video footage, the knife, the children's photos, and the high-speed rail tickets have been sealed."

Gao Yuliang nodded.

"Where's Team Leader Ma?"

"I just found out that the family members were almost taken away."

Qi Tongwei looked unwell.

"His emotions became even more intense. He kept demanding to see his wife and children."

Gao Yuliang took off his glasses and wiped them with a cloth.

"Don't let him see you yet. Show him the protection papers."

Qi Tongwei frowned.

"He doesn't trust procedures now."

"Then let him know that, apart from the paperwork, no one can protect him until the end."

The conference call started promptly at 9:30.

Chu Pingshan's voice came through the speakerphone, steady yet sharp.

"Secretary Gao, the Political and Legal Affairs Commission arbitrarily placed the families of outsourced personnel of the Provincial Government's Re-survey Office under control last night, which has had a very negative social impact. Especially now that the media is paying attention, we must give the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial Government a clear explanation."

Gao Yuliang sat at the table with three documents in front of him.

He didn't rush to refute, but first opened the first document.

"Last night's action was based on an extension of the witness protection request submitted in writing by Team Leader Ma himself. The procuratorate witnessed the proceedings, and the public security organs dealt with the real threat in accordance with the law."

There was a moment of silence on the speakerphone.

When Chu Pingshan spoke, his tone turned colder.

"The Political and Legal Affairs Commission cannot be both a player and a referee."

"Therefore, I agree to the joint review team's involvement."

Qi Tongwei looked up at Gao Yuliang.

Lu Yike stopped writing.

On the other end of the phone, Chu Pingshan seemed to pause for a moment.

Gao Yuliang pushed the second document in front of Lu Yike, signaling her to prepare to take notes.

"But there are conditions for intervention."

He kept his voice very steady.

"All questioning was recorded simultaneously. The procuratorate witnessed the proceedings, and the discipline inspection authorities were present. No party may contact Team Leader Ma alone, nor may they extract or use his testimony out of context."

Chu Pingshan did not speak immediately.

Sha Ruijin's voice came through the phone, still sounding calm.

"Comrade Yuliang, we're all trying to get to the bottom of this, so let's not make it too complicated."

Gao Yuliang looked at the photocopies of the children's photos on the table.

"Secretary Ruijin, someone came to our door last night with a photo of Team Leader Ma's son. The media headlines are already out this morning."

He paused for a moment.

"If this is considered simple, then it will be even simpler later. Once a witness recants, all the questions will turn into forced confessions by the political and legal system."