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

Meeting room number two of the Provincial Party Committee, 10:00 a.m.

Eight people sat on either side of the long mahogany table, the air heavy and oppressive. Sha Ruijin sat at the head of the table, the seventh draft of the self-inspection report spread out before him, the pages pressed tightly together. He was wearing a dark gray suit today, his tie neatly tied, but his left index finger tapped unconsciously on the table.

When the door was pushed open, everyone's eyes turned to the entrance.

Shen Zhong walked in. His military uniform was impeccably pressed, and the major general's star on his shoulder insignia gleamed under the overhead light. He went straight to the last seat and sat down, leaving his military briefcase on the table, the clasp still locked.

Sha Ruijin raised his wrist: "Comrades, the main topic of today's meeting is the review of the provincial party committee's self-inspection report. This report has been revised seven times, and the core issue is the internal management and supervision responsibility of the leadership team—"

"Secretary Sha," Li Dakang said.

He sat in the third seat on the left, three dark blue file boxes piled in front of him. His voice wasn't loud, but everyone in the conference room could hear him clearly: "Before the self-inspection report, I have an urgent matter to report."

Sha Ruijin was interrupted. He stopped pointing and looked at Li Dakang.

Li Dakang stood up before he could respond.

He opened the first file box, took out a stack of documents, and distributed them to each Standing Committee member in order. The papers rustled as they slid across the mahogany table. When they reached Tian Guofu, he took them without looking at them and simply placed them beside him.

After handing out the last copy, Li Dakang returned to his original position.

"Eleven companies in Jingzhou," he began, emphasizing each word, "were forcibly acquired at 30% of their appraised value by Haiheng Consulting and the Coastal Fund. The funds involved were transferred through Haizhou Port and ultimately flowed to three offshore accounts overseas."

He paused for two seconds, his gaze sweeping over the people present.

"The approval process for hazardous waste disposal in Lüzhou was illegally approved through the provincial environmental protection department's emergency channel. The approval chain, verbally relayed by the deputy director of the general office, pointed to the provincial government."

No one responded in the meeting room. Sha Ruijin lifted his finger from the table and pressed it on the self-inspection report.

"Secretary Li," he began, speaking more slowly than before, "aren't these cases already in the judicial process? The Standing Committee doesn't discuss individual cases."

"This is not an isolated case," Tian Guofu added.

He opened the document in front of him, revealing the page stamped with the red seal of the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. "Liu Ming, Deputy Director of the Provincial Environmental Protection Department, was formally placed under investigation at 9:00 AM this morning. Based on the evidence already gathered, the disciplinary inspection system has initiated detention procedures."

He looked up at Sha Ruijin.

"Secretary Sha, the source of this approval chain is the 'streamlining administration and delegating power' pilot program you promoted after taking office. The emergency approval channel was one of the pilot programs. Now that this channel has run into problems, it's not an isolated case, but a systemic loophole."

Sha Ruijin pressed a white mark into the report with his finger.

"Secretary Tian," he raised his voice slightly, "are you saying I'm engaging in systemic corruption? I'm reminding you to watch your words."

The moment the two words were uttered, Ji Changming made a move.

The chief prosecutor took a document from his briefcase; it had a red heading and was stamped with the official seal of the provincial procuratorate. "Based on the joint case files from both military and civilian sources, the procuratorate has initiated a special review of the compliance of Haiheng Consulting's outsourced auditing." He turned to the last page of the document. "Preliminary conclusion: Haiheng Consulting's auditing qualifications have significant flaws. Its introduction of approval—"

He paused for a moment.

"Approved by the General Office of the Provincial Government. The signatory of the approval document is Wang Jianguo, Deputy Secretary-General of the Provincial Government."

Ji Changming closed the document and placed it back on the desktop. His movements were slow, and he aligned the edges of the pages.

Sha Ruijin looked at Wu Chunlin.

The organization minister pulled a form from the pile of documents; the title was "Record of Cadre Appointment." He pointed to one line with the tip of his pen.

"Secretary Sha, Liu Ming, the deputy director of the Provincial Environmental Protection Department, was promoted exceptionally after you took office. The organization department had reservations at the time, but you insisted." Wu Chunlin closed his notebook. "Now that this person has run into problems, the organization department needs to explain the procedural responsibility."

The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.

The ticking of the second hand on the wall clock became clearer. One tick, then two.

Sha Ruijin suddenly stood up.

The chair leg scraped against the floor with a short, sharp screech. "Enough!" He slammed his hand on the table. "These are all problems with the lower-level cadres! As the provincial party secretary, I bear responsibility for oversight, but that doesn't mean—"

He stopped talking.

Because Shen Zhong moved.

The military region's political commissar, seated at the end, remained silent. Now he reached for his briefcase, unlocking it. The metallic sound was crisp in the quiet meeting room.

He didn't stand up.

He pulled two documents from his bag and pushed them to the center of the table. The movement was slow; the papers slid across the grain of the mahogany wood and stopped beside Sha Ruijin.

"Secretary Sha," Shen Zhong began, his voice steady, "the provincial environmental protection department opened its emergency approval channel at 2 PM the day before Chu Pingshan was suspended. The approval record is in the materials Secretary Li just sent."

Sha Ruijin looked down and saw the copy of the signature chain.

Shen Zhong continued, "On the afternoon of the day Chu Pingshan was suspended, between 3 and 4 p.m., your office received an unregistered visitor. The visitor arrived in a black van with a Haizhou license plate and entered through the west gate of the Provincial Party Committee."

The second document contained a screenshot from a surveillance camera. Next to the text was a blurry photo of the rear of a car, with the license plate partially obscured by the shadows of trees.

"At 5 p.m. on the same day, the middleman surnamed Qin received instructions via encrypted email. The instructions ended with the suffix 'gov'."

His heavy fingers tapped on the third document. It was a copy of the interrogation summary, with key sentences underlined in red.

He withdrew his hand and leaned back in his chair.

"These three time points completely overlap."

The meeting room fell completely silent. Even the ticking of the clock seemed to have been stopped.

Sha Ruijin's face gradually lost its color. From his forehead to his cheekbones, and finally to his lips. His lips moved twice, but no sound came out.

Shen Zhong looked at him.

"I'm not saying you're the mastermind behind this." The heavy voice echoed in the empty conference room, "but your office, your approval channels, and your staff have been used as mere conduits by others."

He paused for three seconds.

"Secretary Sha, you are being used."

Sha Ruijin gripped the edge of the table. His knuckles were white, and his bones protruded. He stood there, his shoulders tense, his chest heaving several times.

Finally, he managed to utter a hoarse voice: "Shen Zhong... what exactly do you want?"

He closed his briefcase heavily. The clasp clicked shut.

"I don't want anything." He met Sha Ruijin's gaze. "I just want Handong to be clean."

The words fell.

The red secure phone in the corner of the conference room rang.

The sharp ringtone pierced the still air. All eyes were fixed on the phone. Sha Ruijin stood motionless. The ringtone rang twice more before he turned and picked up the receiver.

"I am Sha Ruijin."

As he listened, his face turned from white to ashen, then faded to an almost transparent pallor. His fingers gripped the microphone, his knuckles turning blue from the pressure.

Ten seconds later, he put down the microphone. The plastic base hit the table with a dull thud.

He turned around and looked at Shen Zhong.

"Notification from the General Office of the Central Military Commission." Sha Ruijin's voice was hollow. "Combat readiness on the northern front has been upgraded. You are to return to your unit within twenty-four hours."