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

The chief secretary closed his eyes, his chest heaving more heavily.

A heavy hand stopped below his shirt collar.

There is a very thin gold chain there.

He pinched it between two fingers and pulled it outwards.

Splash!

The chain broke.

A pure gold nameplate slipped out of the shirt and landed in Shen Zhong's palm.

The smoke in the basement hadn't completely dissipated.

The nameplate, however, was dazzlingly bright.

The edges are micro-carved, the inner circle is empty, and a letter and a number are engraved in the very center.

Q1.

Zhou Weiguo stopped using the pliers.

"Sir, this thing is worth much more than a gold chain."

Shen Zhong held the nameplate up to the chief secretary.

"explain."

The head secretary looked at the plaque, his face growing even paler.

He tried to turn his head away, but Shen Zhong pressed the muzzle of a gun against his chin.

"I'll give you three seconds."

"three."

The chief secretary's Adam's apple bobbed.

"two."

"I said."

Shen Zhong did not put down his gun.

The head secretary took a breath, his voice hoarse.

"The sign belongs to Old Qin."

Zhou Weiguo immediately pushed the recording equipment closer.

"Make it clear, don't squeeze out the toothpaste."

The head secretary raised his injured right hand, but then pulled it back in pain.

"Old Qin cannot hold the license plate directly, nor can he leave any inscription, so I will hold it on his behalf."

Shen Zhong stared at him intently.

"Who are you?"

The head secretary kept his head down.

"shadow."

"Whose shadow?"

"The shadow of Elder Qin."

No one spoke in the basement.

Zhou Weiguo's terminal was still automatically backing up, and the progress bar was moving forward little by little.

The head secretary's voice grew softer and softer.

"All phone calls, external contacts, financial statements, and statements regarding old cases that are inconvenient to handle in person are handled by me, who is licensed. Outsiders only recognize the Q1 license, not the person."

Shen Zhong carefully put the nameplate into the evidence bag.

Where is Qin Kewen?

The chief secretary looked up at the building.

"Second-floor conference room."

"What are you waiting for?"

The chief secretary paused for a few moments.

The heavy soles of the boots pressed down a little further.

He felt a tightness in his chest, and the words were forced out.

"Overseas calls".

Zhou Weiguo's face darkened.

"Waiting for calls from overseas? This old man is quite busy."

Shen Zhong stood up and sealed the evidence bag tightly.

"Who called?"

"have no idea."

The head secretary hurriedly added, "I really don't know. I only know that it's the last line. Once it's connected, the money and people outside will move together."

Zhou Weiguo looked at the terminal.

"Sir, there is an independent shielding layer on the second floor, so ordinary eavesdropping equipment cannot get in. They just cut off the external connection, so the connection on the second floor is probably going through a separate satellite terminal."

Shen Zhong tucked the gun back into his leg.

"You stay here and copy the data clean."

"And what about you?"

Shen Zhong did not answer. When he reached the basement door, he held up the Q1 evidence bag.

Zhou Weiguo quickly followed with two steps.

"Sir, take two people up with you."

Shen Zhong's steps did not stop.

"The chief secretary has fallen, the guard company has been withdrawn, and all he can rely on in the end is that phone call."

Zhou Weiguo pursed his lips.

"You're going to the meeting alone."

Shen Zhong walked up the stairs, dust clinging to his boots, the shoulder line of his black vest pressed flat.

The lights in the lobby on the first floor were still on.

Light shone through the crack in the door to the second-floor conference room at the end of the stairs.

Shen Zhong carried the gold medal engraved with Q1 and walked step by step to the second floor.

Shen Zhong walked to the door but did not knock.

boom.

The military boots slammed into the center of the door.

The lock snapped shut, and the entire door, along with the latch, slammed into the wall, sending mahogany shards scattering all over the floor.

The meeting room was brightly lit.

Old Qin sat upright behind his large desk, a thin blanket draped over his lap. His gray hair was neatly combed, and a Buddhist rosary and a red secure telephone were beside him.

He did not get up.

He only lifted his eyelids slightly.

"Heavy."

The way he uttered those two words sounded like he was calling out the name of a junior.

Shen Zhong stepped over the threshold, his black tactical vest still covered in the dust from the basement, his holster on his leg fastened tightly, and he was carrying the evidence bag in his hand.

Old Qin looked at him; the light masked the sickly look on his face, but his voice remained steady.

"A mere major general dares to trespass into the forbidden area of ​​Xishan?"

Shen Zhong did not respond.

He walked to the desk and raised his hand.

Snapped.

The blood-stained Q1 emblem was slammed onto the table, the metal edge scraping against the wood grain. The sound wasn't loud, but it stopped the prayer beads in Old Qin's hand.

Old Qin's eye twitched.

Shen Zhong looked down at him.

"Your cards."

Old Qin stared at the emblem for two breaths before looking away.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

Shen Zhong placed the terminal on the table, and the screen lit up.

"Heng Shichang shorted Handong, using funds that were initially secured by front-line guarantees and eventually circulated into your overseas shell company."

Old Qin pressed his palm against the armrest.

"The same chips were used in the infiltrated military reserve warehouses, equipment on the northern front, and in the hospital's drug delivery system."

Shen Zhong continued speaking, his tone flat and without any inflection.

"Give Sha Ruijin a shell and let the local authorities endorse you."

"Using Du Wenbin to control the provincial department, using fake letters to control Hengtong Warehousing, and using the old case of Qin Chuan from the forefront."

"In 1998, Haizhou withdrew its papers. Heng Shichang was the one who made the decision, and you were the one who nodded in agreement."

Old Qin's face tightened slightly.

That's enough.

Shen Zhong didn't stop.

"Administering medication in the ward is a way to silence witnesses."

"The transport plane interception was a plot to steal the top-secret package."

"The sealing of Xishan Gate is an act of force to obstruct the Central Military Commission's procedures."

He reached out and tapped the Q1 badge.

"Qin Kewen, your card is no longer able to hold the table."

Old Qin finally raised his head.

His eyes were deep-set, and he still maintained a semblance of composure on his face, but his words were more somber than before.

"Shen Zhong, do you know how many battles I've fought in my life?"

Shen Zhong looked at him.

Old Qin put the prayer beads back on the table; the beads, placed next to the red telephone, looked particularly jarring.

"When I was young, I crawled out of a hail of bullets, and people around me fell one after another. Where were you then?"

"I have shed blood for this country, taken the hits, and been blamed for wrongdoing."

"You think you can convict me just because you brought a few sheets of paper and a few pieces of broken chips?"

Shen Zhong picked up the terminal and opened a directory.

"Paper is more reliable than a telephone."

He then retrieved the document personally signed by Qin Kewen.

"Original documents are more reliable than credit."

Old Qin's face darkened.

"Young man, don't oversimplify things."

"The Frontline Coordination Group is not what you think."

"Some things have to be done by someone."

"Some money has to be diverted."

"Some people must be sacrificed."

He pressed his palm on the table and leaned forward half an inch.

"For the sake of the overall situation, the local area can be a little chaotic, the accounts can be a little dirty, and a few cadres can be thrown out."

"You've served in the military, you should understand this principle."

Shen Zhong looked at him for a while.

"For the greater good?"

Old Qin stared at him.

"Yes, for the greater good."

Shen opened the second folder.

The projector on the conference room wall lit up.

An audio clip begins to play.

First came the background noise.

Then, Heng Shichang's hoarse voice came from the speaker.

"I am Qing Taiheng."