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

The teacup was knocked over by the arm, and the water spilled down the table.

Lu Yike immediately pulled out a tissue to cover herself, "Dad."

Lu Zhengping ignored the tea, his hand resting on the printing paper, his eyes fixed on the line of text.

"On the third day of the third month, the Qingdao-Taiwanese dialect remains unchanged, and Qin Kewen's name will continue to be used..."

His voice was a little hoarse.

Lu Yike squatted down and stuffed a tissue to the bottom of the cup. "You recognize this caliber?"

Lu Zhengping looked up at her.

That face usually carried the composure of an old judge, but at this moment the corners of his mouth were very tight.

"That's fine too. I heard that phrase more than twenty years ago."

Lu Yike stopped moving.

"Which year?"

"1998."

Lu Zhengping gripped the edge of the table, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

"Before the Haizhou case was to be withdrawn, someone gave me a verbal notification."

Lu Yike stood up. "What were the exact words of the notification?"

Lu Zhengping closed his eyes briefly, then quickly opened them again.

"The Qingdao-Taiwanese version of events remains unchanged, and Qin Kewen's name will continue to be used. A further statement was added: the relevant case files are temporarily being technically returned."

Lu Yike didn't respond.

The only sound in the room was the rustling of tissues absorbing water.

Lu Zhengping picked up the printed document; his hand was still trembling, but he pronounced each word steadily.

"I felt something was strange back then. There were clearly suspicious points in the case file about Qin Kewen. The signatures, entry and exit records, and warehouse receipt dates didn't match up at all. But the higher-ups were in a real hurry."

"Who pressed it?"

There is no official document.

Lu Zhengping gave a wry smile. "They know that paper will leave traces, so they just give verbal notices. The court has layers of intermediaries, and in the end, only procedural opinions are left, making it look clean."

Lu Yike righted the overturned teacup.

Why didn't you continue the investigation back then?

Lu Zhengping remained silent for a few seconds.

"You're still young."

After those three words were spoken, Lu Yike didn't pursue the matter any further.

She already knew some of the answers.

Lu Zhengping took off his glasses, wiped the lenses, and put them back on.

"Where did this text message come from?"

"Sha Ruijin's old cell phone."

Lu Zhengping's finger paused. "The provincial party secretary?"

"right."

"When was the text message sent?"

Three years ago.

Lu Zhengping looked out the window and his throat moved.

"The same line was used to short the Handong line three years ago and the Haizhou line twenty years ago."

Lu Yike put the printouts back into the bag.

"Dad, I need you to write down the details of the verbal notification in 1998. Write down as much as you can remember, including the time, place, and who was present."

Lu Zhengping looked up. "Write it now."

"You just finished physical therapy."

"Physical therapy doesn't interfere with writing."

Lu Zhengping pushed the newspaper aside and took out a pen from the drawer.

My hand was still trembling a little when I pulled off the pen cap.

Lu Yike sat down opposite her without urging her.

Lu Zhengping wrote the first line of text.

On the eve of the withdrawal of the Haizhou case in 1998.

The pen glides across the paper with a very soft sound.

But Lu Yike knew that this stroke of the pen had reopened the old well that had been covered up twenty years ago.

Lu Zhengping wrote half a page, then suddenly stopped.

"That's fine too."

"Um."

Where are you on the investigation so far?

Lu Yike placed the document bag on her lap. "I found the Retired Cadres Service Center, I found Q5, I found Q2, the core transit point."

Lu Zhengping looked at her and said, "That means the people who are trying to stop you will become increasingly difficult."

"I know."

"Don't shoulder this alone."

Lu Yike looked up, the fatigue on her face barely visible under the light.

"I have someone behind me."

Lu Zhengping looked at his daughter and nodded after a long while.

"Qi Tongwei?"

"There are still many people."

"That's good." ……

The northern route was shrouded in wind and snow.

At the edge of the training base, as the sentries changed shifts, three beams of vehicle headlights emerged from the snow.

The vehicle in front did not slow down as instructed, and its tires chugged over the first barrier, crunching through the icy mud. The front of the vehicle displayed a special vehicle license plate, black with white lettering, which was very conspicuous under the searchlights.

"Stop the car, turn off the engine, and submit to inspection."

The sentry slung his gun securely over his shoulder, his hand already on the walkie-talkie.

The car window was rolled down halfway, and an ID card was held up.

"Who dares to stop the military discipline inspection commission from handling cases?"

The sentry didn't give way, but simply held the walkie-talkie to his mouth.

"Three special vehicles with Beijing license plates have attempted to force their way onto Line 1 outside the command center. Request instructions on how to proceed."

Inside the duty building, Zhou Weiguo had just received the reply from Handong when this sentence came through his earpiece.

He closed the folder, turned around, and went into the command tent.

Shen Zhong sat behind the command table, his military uniform buttoned up to the top, his epaulets covering the light, and the cigarette in his hand still unlit.

On the table were a copy of the northern route contract, a Q5 metal sheet report, and a reflection restoration diagram of the core transfer cabinet.

Zhou Weiguo said in a low voice, "Sir, three special vehicles with military disciplinary committee credentials are insisting on entering the command post."

Shen Zhong didn't look up.

"Place it on the outer second line. Put the safety on the gun, and make sure the person is standing still."

"Yes."

"Don't make the first move."

Zhou Weiguo paused, "Understood, wait for them to cross the line first."

Two minutes later, the snow outside the tent was made to shine by the car headlights.

Three SUVs were parked outside the command post, their doors all open.

The seven people who came down were all wearing military discipline inspection coats with the collars pulled up tightly, and their boots crunched as they stepped on the snow.

The group leader, who was in his forties, had a long face and high brow bones. He held his ID card between his palms and showed it directly to the sentry post.

"The military discipline investigation team has been ordered to investigate the leak of secrets on the northern front."

The sentry glanced at the identification but did not move aside.

"Please hand over your weapon and register your personal terminal."

The team leader's face darkened.

"Do you know who you're stopping?"

The sentry stood ramrod straight.

"All I know is that this is the northern command post."

The team leader stared at him for two seconds, then raised his hand and pressed him back.

The accompanying personnel immediately dispersed, surrounding the entrance to the tent on both sides.

This move looks very familiar.

I had acted before coming here.

Zhou Weiguo stood at the tent entrance, wearing a military overcoat covered in rain and snow, his right hand on his side, his face expressionless.

"Identification documents".

The team leader handed the documents to him, but didn't let go.

"Where is Shen Zhong?"

"The commander is inside."

"Let him come out and be investigated."

Zhou Weiguo looked at him.

"Come in and follow the rules for the northern route."

The team leader gave a cold laugh and stepped inside.

Zhou Weiguo stepped aside, making half a step.

He made it very narrow.

It was so narrow that the other person had to squeeze in by pressing against his shoulder.

The team leader saw Shen Zhong the moment he entered the tent.

Shen Zhong was still sitting there, a cigarette between his fingers, not having put away a single page of the documents in front of him.

The light shone on his epaulets. The room wasn't very warm, but the oppressive feeling was harder than the snow outside the tent.

The team leader slammed the documents on the table.

"Comrade Shen Zhong, according to a report filed under your real name through an old channel of the Frontline Coordination Group, you are suspected of withholding original military procurement contracts and arbitrarily retaining combat readiness data, posing a serious risk of leaking combat readiness secrets."

Shen Zhong glanced at the documents.

"That's all."

The team leader frowned.

"From this moment forward, you are suspended from duty and placed under quarantine for investigation. All original documents, electronic data, and on-site records seized are to be immediately handed over to the investigation team."