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

There was a two-second pause on the other end of the phone.

Li Dakang answered smoothly: "It's all prepared. The judicial audit report is in three file boxes, and the original hazardous waste approval document is locked in the Economic Crime Investigation Division's safe. I'll have someone deliver it to them first thing tomorrow morning, or will you come to pick it up?"

"Send someone to deliver it. Use the military access route, don't go through the provincial party committee's motorcade."

"Understood." Li Dakang didn't ask any further questions. "Anything else?"

"Don't put a title on the report cover," Shen Zhong added. "Just write 'Attachment 1' and 'Attachment 2.' The content is more useful than the title."

"clear."

The phone hangs up.

The second call was to Tian Guofu.

This time the call was answered even faster; I could hear the sound of a pen scratching on paper in the receiver.

Tian Guofu's voice was a little hoarse: "Secretary Shen, why are you calling at this hour? Has something happened?"

"At the provincial party committee meeting the day after tomorrow, the discipline inspection system needs to issue a document." Shen Zhong leaned back in his chair. "The decision to file a case against Liu Ming, the deputy director of the Provincial Environmental Protection Department. A paper copy, stamped, to go through the formal procedures."

Tian Guofu paused for three seconds.

"When will you hand it over?"

"After Li Dakang speaks," Shen Zhong tapped his fingers on the table, "he'll lay out the materials first, then you'll proceed with the disciplinary inspection documents. Don't delay, within five minutes."

Tian Guofu sighed: "Understood. The pilot program for streamlining administration and delegating power proposed by Secretary Sha should be reviewed." He paused for a moment, "Secretary Shen, there's something I need to make clear."

"speak."

"Once the decision to file a case is submitted to the meeting, it can't be taken back." Tian Guofu's tone was very steady. "Liu Ming was promoted by Secretary Sha. Taking action against him is like slapping Secretary Sha's office in the face. Once this document is sent out, the relationship between the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Provincial Party Secretary's Office will be completely exposed."

Shen Zhong: "It's already set up."

Tian Guofu didn't reply. After two seconds, he said, "Okay, then I'll follow the procedure."

The phone hangs up.

Shen Zhong put the phone back on the table, and the screen went dark.

He got up, put on his coat, and picked up his briefcase.

Before leaving, he glanced back at the whiteboard. The arrows and circles were still there, casting several shadows under the light.

The door locks were opened one by one, and then locked one by one.

……

Military hospital, single room.

Qi Tongwei leaned against the headboard, his left arm in a sling, the bandages wrapped thickly. He was still clutching a fountain pen in his right hand, the cap undone.

The ward door was pushed open, and he looked up.

Shen walked in heavily, carrying a briefcase in his hand, his coat shoulders damp with night dew.

"Secretary Shen."

Qi Tongwei tried to sit up straight, but his left arm was pulled by the restraint strap, causing him to pause.

Shen Zhong waved his hand and pulled over a chair to sit down.

"The provincial committee meeting is the day after tomorrow," he said bluntly. "I'll arrange for you to hear it over, so listen carefully."

Qi Tongwei placed the pen on the bedside table, nib facing inward.

Shen Zhong placed the briefcase on his lap without opening it.

"Li Dakang spoke first, presenting the judicial audit report for the 30% acquisition case, eleven copies, each bearing the seal of the Jingzhou Intermediate People's Court. Tian Guofu then handed over the case filing decision from Liu Ming, the deputy director of the Provincial Environmental Protection Department, an official document from the disciplinary inspection system."

He paused for a moment.

"You don't need to be there."

Qi Tongwei tapped the bed sheet twice with his right hand: "I'll participate."

"You can't participate." Shen Zhong didn't back down. "You stay in the hospital and have Lu Yike send over the supplementary pages for Qin No. 2's case file. Sign it within six hours after the surgery, using your right hand."

Qi Tongwei looked down at his left arm, which was in a sling, and then looked up again.

He smiled and said, "Secretary Shen, I'm already in the hospital, and you're still assigning me tasks."

Shen Zhong didn't respond.

"You're the one who drafted the evidence, and you also need to complete the procedures." He took a document out of his briefcase and handed it over. "You weren't present at the provincial party committee meeting, but your evidence is still required. The supplementary pages of the case file need your signature and the official seal of the provincial department; you can't be missing either."

Qi Tongwei took the document and opened it with his right hand.

This is the report on the closure of the evidence chain in the Qin No. 2 case.

The signature field on the last page was empty, with a red stamp next to it that read "To be signed later".

He didn't look through anything further and simply picked up the pen from the bedside table.

"Sign now?"

"Sign now." Shen nodded. "After you sign, I'll have Zhou Weiguo take it away, and tomorrow it will be sent to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection for filing through the confidential channel."

Qi Tongwei placed the documents on his knees and held a pen in his right hand. The anesthesia from the surgery hadn't completely worn off, and his wrist was trembling, but he still managed to write steadily.

He wrote his name, the date, and pressed his fingerprint across the seam.

After completing this process, he handed the documents back.

Shen Zhong took the document and checked it, making sure the signature was clear and the seal was intact before putting it into his briefcase.

Qi Tongwei put the pen back on the cabinet: "There's one more thing. This afternoon, Lu Yike found an old file in the archives, a 1998 Haizhou Port smuggling case. The person in charge listed her father's name."

Shen Zhong's fingers hovered over the briefcase's clasp.

"The case file was thin, and the judgment was simple," Qi Tongwei said in a low voice. "There was a handwritten note in the appendix saying that the port's throughput was abnormal that year, and there was no response after it was reported. She didn't tell me the details, locked the case file in her drawer, and hung the key around her neck."

Shen Zhong remained silent for a few seconds.

"Let's put this aside for now," he said. "We'll deal with the Haizhou line after the provincial committee meeting. If we're distracted now, things could easily go wrong on both fronts."

Qi Tongwei nodded: "Understood."

Shen Zhong stood up and picked up his briefcase.

When he reached the door of the ward, he paused for a moment without turning around.

"Professor Gao said he wants you to finish this case standing up." His voice was steady. "I'll add one more thing: don't relax after you're done."

Qi Tongwei leaned against the headboard.

"I can't loosen it." His voice was soft, but his words were clear. "My left arm just won't obey me for the time being."

"Then use your right hand."

Shen Zhong opened the door and went out.

The footsteps faded into the distance in the corridor.

Qi Tongwei sat on the bed without moving, his right hand outstretched. There was a shallow mark on his palm, from holding a pen for too long.

He flexed his fingers and picked up the thermos from the bedside table. The rice porridge had cooled, and a thin film had formed on the surface. He didn't drink it; he just held the cup in his hand, unscrewed the lid, and then screwed it back on.

I went back and forth several times.

……

It was 11:40 p.m.

Provincial Military Region Office.

Shen Zhong sat at the table, with six documents spread out in front of him.

Black Book Decoder.

Summary of the interrogation of the middleman surnamed Qin.

A desensitized copy of the relationship diagram on page two of the sealing wax diagram. Names that have been crossed out are replaced with black borders; only the lines and labels are retained.

Luzhou Hazardous Waste Approval Chain.

A copy of the 30% acquisition agreement.

Letter of freezing of overseas assets.

He flipped through the documents one by one, checking the page numbers, stamps, and signatures.

After confirming that everything was correct, pack the materials into the military briefcase in order.

The briefcase was heavy, and the leather edges were worn white.

He closed the bag flap heavily and pressed the latch. The metal clicked.

Zhou Weiguo pushed open the door and came in, carrying two cups of tea. He placed one cup next to Shen Zhong and held the other himself.

"Is everything prepared?"

Shen nodded.

Zhou Weiguo glanced at his briefcase, then at the whiteboard. The arrows and circles on the whiteboard hadn't been erased yet.

Shen Zhong picked up his teacup. "Tomorrow morning at 10:00, in Conference Room No. 2 of the Provincial Party Committee."