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

The next morning, at the Hantong Provincial Party Committee, in Sha Ruijin's office.

A newly drafted document lay open on the table, titled "Several Opinions on Regulating the Provincial Public Security Department's Authority to Transfer Police Across Cities." Sha Ruijin held a fountain pen, the nib hovering above the signature bar.

Once this document is signed, Qi Tongwei will have to get past the provincial party committee before he can move even a single soldier across cities. He's currently processing the request from Haizhou.

Just as the pen was about to fall, footsteps sounded outside the door, and the secretary hurried in.

"Secretary, people from the military region have arrived. They say they need to provide a notice for assistance in the investigation, and it must be delivered in person."

Sha Ruijin frowned. "What kind of investigation?"

Before the words were even finished, a military officer in civilian clothes had already reached the door. He saluted and handed over a document stamped with a red seal with both hands.

"Secretary Sha, this is a routine report. A significant amount of external funding has been irregularized, and it involves one of your staff members."

Sha Ruijin took it. The document's header was in the format of a military investigation request, and in the body of the document, his confidential secretary's name was prominently displayed, followed by "Overseas accounts suspected of involving terrorist funds are being screened and have been temporarily frozen."

His pen remained suspended in mid-air, not falling.

The office was quiet for a few seconds, the air conditioning blowing the edges of the documents up slightly.

A cold sweat broke out on Sha Ruijin's back. His first reaction wasn't that something had happened to his secretary, but rather that this was all too coincidental. He had just received the call yesterday, and today someone had a knife to the neck of his closest confidant.

"This... must be a misunderstanding." His voice was a little dry.

"The military is only issuing a notification, not drawing any conclusions." The officer withdrew his hand, gave another salute, and said, "A dedicated person will handle the specific verification. Excuse me, Secretary."

The person left. Sha Ruijin placed the document on the table and glanced at the opinion on regulating police dispatch authority one last time.

He put down his pen. At this critical juncture, if he were to sign that document again, it would be tantamount to telling everyone that he was protecting this secretary.

……

Provincial Department, Qi Tongwei's office.

The encrypted terminal beeped; it was a briefing relayed by Zhou Weiguo from the northern front. The secretary's overseas account had been frozen, and the military's request for assistance had been sent to the provincial party committee.

After reading it, Qi Tongwei closed the terminal.

Lu Yike stood in front of the table. "The military has made their move?"

"Hmm." Qi Tongwei leaned back in his chair, resting his left arm on the armrest. "When General Shen makes a move, he never needs to face people directly. If an account is frozen overseas, he can't get the documents he wants to sign at the provincial party committee."

Lu Yike didn't reply; she understood the significance of this move. With just one finger, the Northern Front had Sha Ruijin bound to the spot.

"What about the secretary?"

"He's the most panicked right now." Qi Tongwei picked up the intercom on the table. "His account is frozen, and Sha Ruijin doesn't dare to publicly protect him. He only has one option left."

"I request Haizhou," Lu Yike said.

Qi Tongwei glanced at her and pressed the intercom.

"Initiate 24-hour surveillance on Sha Ruijin's confidential secretary. Record every phone call, every move, every external contact—leaving no stone unturned." He paused, "Especially every single phone call he makes towards Haizhou."

He hung up the intercom and stood up to walk to the window. Below were the plane trees of the provincial party committee compound, their leaves fluttering in the wind.

"The fish has moved to shallow water," he said softly. "Now we'll see where it jumps off to."

……

Late that night, in an old residential building in the west of the city.

The confidential secretary drew the curtains shut and held his phone to his ear. His voice was extremely low, almost squeezed out between his teeth.

"My account has been frozen. The military is investigating. I can't handle this... You guys have to figure something out."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"The goods can't stay in Handong anymore." The person on the other end said coldly. "There's another transit truck in Jingzhou. Take the last plates out tonight. I'll send you the address; keep an eye on it."

The secretary hurriedly agreed and wrote down the address.

He didn't notice that the red light for the surveillance recording in a gray bread truck parked downstairs was flashing.

……

The Provincial Procuratorate's Anti-Corruption Bureau, 10:00 AM the next day.

Lu Yike sat across from the interrogation room, a "Notification of Verification of Foreign Economic Activities" spread out on the table. She unscrewed the cap of her pen, her tone as flat as if she were going through a procedure.

"Please cooperate with me on a few questions."

The confidential secretary sat opposite me. He wore a crisply ironed shirt, sat upright, and had his chin slightly raised.

"Director Lu, I work for the Provincial Party Committee General Office," he began. "Did you follow the procedures set by the Provincial Party Committee when you summoned me?"

Lu Yike didn't look up, she was flipping through the files.

"I have the independent right to access and subpoena documents for foreign-related economic investigations. Would you like me to read the relevant clauses to you?"

The secretary gave a cold laugh. "Does Secretary Sha know I'm here?"

"Do you think he'll come for you?" Lu Yike finally looked at him. "Your overseas account has been frozen for three days. Has he called you even once?"

The secretary's chin froze for a moment, then she picked it up again.

"No comment. I haven't done anything wrong."

Lu Yike didn't press further. She closed the file and leaned back. The interrogation room lights were very bright, making the tabletop feel cold.

The door opened.

Qi Tongwei walked in. He was still wearing his police uniform, the bandage under his left sleeve showing a hint of dark red, unchanged. He didn't sit down, but walked to the table and put down a recording device.

Do you recognize this voice?

He pressed play.

After the electrical noise subsided, a low male voice came from the speaker. It was the secretary himself. In the recording, he was discussing bottom prices with someone, evaluating the core assets of eleven companies in Jingzhou, clearly stating which ones could be discounted to 30% of their original price, and which ones to short-sell first.

The recording was taken from the red line at Shunda Logistics Park.

The secretary's face paled slightly. He opened his mouth.

"This...this is edited—"

"Here's the voiceprint comparison report." Huo Tongwei pushed a sheet of paper over. "It was issued by the technical department of the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau. The error range is written on the last line."

The secretary stared at the paper but didn't touch it.

Lu Yike spoke at this moment, her voice not loud.

"Your money overseas has been frozen by the military. Once the terrorism screening marker is on, it won't be removed for six months." She paused. "Do you think Haizhou would stand up for a pawn that's been targeted by the military? You know better than I do."

The secretary's breathing became erratic. He had lived in Sha Ruijin's shadow for so many years, and this was the first time he realized that behind that shadow lay emptiness. Sha Ruijin dared not protect him, Haizhou would not protect him, and the military's freeze order had sealed off his last escape route.

The interrogation room was silent for a few seconds.

"What...what did you promise to protect me for?" His voice trembled.

"I won't agree." Qi Tongwei looked at him. "You get what the law gives you. But I can tell you, after tonight, you won't have a chance to explain yourself."

The secretary looked up abruptly.

"tonight?"

"They're going to remove the last core asset of Handong, the valuation hard drive, from the province." Qi Tongwei leaned over, his hands resting on the edge of the table. "We also have the address you wrote down last night. I just want to hear it from you again: what kind of vehicle is being used for the escort?"

The secretary's shoulders slumped. He stared at his hands, which were spread out on the table, for a long time.

"A cash transport vehicle," he finally said, his voice hoarse and almost inaudible. "Disguised as a bank's armored truck, the license plate, the uniform, the vehicle documents are all genuine. It will leave from the north of Jingzhou City at 11 p.m. tonight, taking the ring road towards the port. The hard drive is in a hidden compartment in the second cash box."

Lu Yike memorized it quickly.

Qi Tongwei straightened up, his left arm hanging limply, the bloody patch remaining unmoved. He didn't glance at his secretary again, then turned and walked out.

"Keep a close watch on all entrances and exits of the northern section of the ring road," he said, making a phone call at the entrance. "The special police are divided into two groups, one on the road and the other at the port. Once a car gets on the highway, don't let it off."

The person on the other end of the phone responded.

"No one is allowed to touch the cash box before we stop the car," Qi Tongwei added. "The hard drive is solid evidence; not even a single crack is acceptable."

……

The Provincial Party Committee General Office, at the same time.

Sha Ruijin's internal phone rang. It was the person on duty; their voice was tense.

"Secretary, your confidential secretary... was summoned by the Anti-Corruption Bureau this morning and hasn't returned yet."

Sha Ruijin gripped the microphone, the veins on the back of his hand bulging. Yesterday he was waiting for Haizhou to fill the hole, but today, the closest connection to him snapped.

He grabbed his phone, found Qi Tongwei's number, and dialed it.

But the other end did not answer for a long time.