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

At four in the morning, in the provincial technical department, the cooling fans of the three mainframes hummed, and a line of decryption progress scrolled across the screen.

Lu Yike printed out the last catalog, the paper still warm from the printer. She rubbed her sore eyes, picked up the cup of tea on the table that had long since gone cold, took a sip, and then put it down.

"The first four are out." She handed the paper to Qi Tongwei. "It includes the short-selling records, fund flows, and valuation base prices of eleven companies in Jingzhou. Not a single detail is missing."

Qi Tongwei took it and examined it. The gauze on his left arm had been soaked with another layer of dark red, and it remained untouched on the edge of the table.

"What about the fifth one?"

"Contacts." Lu Yike's finger pointed to the code name in the last line, "'Director Qin's' entire network of contacts. The core code name is the most frequently used."

Qi Tongwei didn't speak. He stared at the line of text for two seconds, then pulled out the contact list separately and folded it neatly.

"This one was locked in the safe with Secretary Li," he said. "The rest are sealed and secured."

Lu Yike nodded. She glanced at his arm, wanted to say something, but swallowed her words.

The encrypted terminal beeped. It was a reply forwarded from the northern line, containing only seven words.

Stay calm and don't alert them.

Qi Tongwei read it twice and then closed the terminal.

"What does General Shen mean?" Lu Yike asked.

"Hold it down first." He leaned back in his chair. "He told us to handle this part of Handong ourselves. He'll handle the core part."

……

The main training base on the northern front, in front of the combat platform.

His heavy fingers tapped twice on the keyboard, bringing up the strategic intelligence database. The cold light from the screen shone on his face, making his expression unreadable.

Only one record appeared in the database for that code name. It was an internal briefing on high-level anti-corruption efforts; the time, attendees, and agenda were all marked as sealed.

Zhou Weiguo stood beside him, looking at his profile.

"Commander, the situation in Haizhou is progressing faster than we anticipated." Zhou Weiguo placed an intercepted briefing on the table. "They knew about the checkpoints being set up throughout Handong Province six hours in advance."

Shen Zhong's gaze shifted from the screen.

"Six hours earlier," he repeated.

"Given the level of secrecy surrounding the interception operation, this time difference is unusual," Zhou Weiguo said in a low voice. "Someone inside leaked the information."

Shen Zhong didn't respond. He stared at the sealed record in the intelligence database for a long time before reaching out and closing it.

"Send Li Dakang an encrypted briefing." His voice was calm. "First, clear out the eastern part of Han. Don't let anyone touch the core account."

"Yes."

Zhou Weiguo turned to operate the terminal. Shen Zhong sat alone, the horizon outside the window turning slightly gray, the north wind whistling through the canvas.

……

Haizhou, a conference room without a sign.

The ashtray was half-empty with cigarette butts. A man hung up the phone, his face so dark it could drip water.

"The checkpoint in Handong was established six hours earlier than our people found out." He slammed his phone on the table. "What does that mean?"

The people sitting opposite didn't dare to say a word.

"This means Qi Tongwei has been keeping an eye on this line for a long time." He stood up and walked to the highway network map on the wall. "The armored truck was intercepted, the hard drive was stolen, and the guards were all apprehended. If this drags on any longer, they'll dig up the whole network."

"So what do we do now?" someone asked in a low voice.

The man didn't turn around. He tapped the point north of Jingzhou City on the map, then slid his finger down to stop at the location in Handong.

"Clear the line."

After those two words were spoken, the room became even quieter.

"Clear out all survivors, documents, and ledgers within the territory that point to Qin's location by tonight." He turned around, his eyes devoid of warmth. "Leave no one alive. The dead don't speak."

"The accountant at the logistics park..."

"The first one to clear it out," he interrupted. "That ledger in his hand is more dangerous than a hard drive."

……

Provincial Department, Qi Tongwei's office.

As dawn broke, he laid out the statements from the night of the interception on the table and went through them one by one. Lu Yike brought in two cups of hot tea and put one in his cup.

"The funds were channeled through the escort team leader's channels." Qi Tongwei's finger stopped on a line of text: "All of them are concentrated in Shunda Logistics Park."

Lu Yike leaned closer to look. "Wasn't it already locked down when Hong Kong was closed in 2008?"

"The ground is locked." Qi Tongwei pulled out the logistics park's floor plan and spread it out. "The port, storage area, and ground accounts are all sealed off. But what's underneath—"

His finger pointed to an area marked "cold storage" below the drawing.

"Underground transit, not cleared."

Lu Yike frowned. She grabbed the comparison table of the hard drive's fund nodes and flipped through it quickly.

"It matches up." She looked up, her tone changing. "All the cash flows on the four hard drives that pointed to Handong eventually converged at the logistics park. This is 'Director Qin's' laundering hub in Handong."

Qi Tongwei remained silent, staring at the cold storage area.

The terminal rang again. It was Zhou Weiguo relaying the call from the northern line.

"Shen has assigned that to the flank." Qi Tongwei finished reading. "The military has the authority to screen for terrorism-related issues and can freeze overseas accounts associated with the logistics park. But the physical investigation, we'll have to handle that ourselves."

"The account is frozen, and the money can't be withdrawn," Lu Yike said. "But the ledgers and the people are still there."

Qi Tongwei stood up, rolled up the blueprints, and tucked them under his arm. A slight movement of his left arm caused the gauze to tug at him painfully, but he ignored it.

"Haizhou is more anxious than we are now." He walked towards the door. "They want to clear the supply line, and the first person they want to eliminate is the person in charge of the logistics park's accounts."

Lu Yike followed. "Is that person still alive?"

"He's still alive." Qi Tongwei paused at the doorway, turned to look at her, "So we have to dig him out from underneath before Haizhou makes a move."

He pushed open the door and went out, the hem of his police uniform brushing against the doorframe. The emergency light at the end of the corridor was still on, casting a long shadow of him, with his left arm hanging down, the shadow also slanted.

Lu Yike stood there, looking at that figure from behind, and suddenly felt that the night was far from over.

……

Shunda Logistics Park, 5:40 AM.

The iron gate was locked, and the seal on the door was still affixed, wrinkled from the night's rain. Three inspection vehicles and two special police assault vehicles were parked outside, without sirens blaring or lights flashing.

Qi Tongwei got out of the car and tucked the rolled-up blueprints under his arm.

"Investigate suspected terrorist financing, open the warehouse." He said to the SWAT team leader beside him, "I'll get the provincial party committee's approval later. There's no time to wait now."

The team leader hesitated for half a second. "Director, go straight in without reporting to the Provincial Party Committee—"

"I'll take responsibility," Qi Tongwei interrupted. "Pry open the door."

The sound of hydraulic shears cutting open the iron gate echoed jarringly in the empty park. A group of people filed in.

The warehouse floor was piled high with shipping boxes, and the accounts were neatly displayed on the wall. Lu Yike walked over and flipped through a few pages, her brows furrowing deeper and deeper.