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

Old Qin tensed up the back of his hand.

Audio continues.

"Are you still accepting calls from Xishan?"

After a brief beep, the manually verified characters were read out one by one.

"Six-digit transfer, verification by the first digit."

"Password."

Heng Shichang's breathing was heavy.

"March 3rd".

Shen Zhong raised his hand and turned up the volume.

Heng Shichang lowered his voice during the recording.

"Please turn to Old Master Qin's side."

After those words were spoken, the lights in the conference room seemed to dim.

Old Qin's lips twitched.

"A recording doesn't prove anything."

Shen Zhong turned the terminal toward him.

"Call location: Xishan."

Old Qin leaned back in his chair.

Do you know how many phone calls Xishan receives every day?

Shen Zhong then opened the call connection diagram.

"Secure hotline with six-digit transfer code, manual verification, three-month password, Qingtaiheng identity verification."

He paused for a moment.

"Heng Shichang was arrested on the northern front, so you're initiating the scorched earth plan here."

Old Qin's breathing became heavier.

Shen Zhong pushed out another document.

"The timing is right."

Old Qin stopped looking at the screen.

He stared at Shen Zhong, his voice low.

"Shen Zhong, it's not too late for you to stop now."

"Have you considered how many people in the military will be uneasy if you take my life?"

"Have you ever thought about how many former subordinates, their families, and those involved in foreign affairs are tied to the front lines?"

"If you drag me off this chair today, who's going to clean up this mess tomorrow?"

Shen Zhong looked at him.

"The government will take care of it."

Old Qin chuckled, but his laughter was dry.

"nation?"

He raised his hand and tapped the table.

"I am also part of the country."

Shen Zhong connected the terminal to the projector, and the third photo covered the entire wall.

The photo is somewhat yellowed, with old curl marks on the edges.

The top part shows a densely packed list of financial transactions.

Open account.

Dark curtains.

Port Authority.

Foreign trade shell.

Transfer time.

Handling code.

There is also a place circled in red that reads "in the name of Qin Kewen".

After Qin Lao saw those words clearly, his hands began to tremble.

He knocked one of his prayer beads off.

despair.

The bead rolled to the edge of the table and then fell to the ground.

Shen Zhong looked at the photos on the wall.

"The 1998 Haizhou smuggling case: the underlying financial records."

Old Qin remained silent.

Shen Zhong continued.

"Lu Zhengping's application was suppressed and withdrawn by you back then."

"Lu Yike can dig out the thread again."

"The Lu family father and daughter have preserved this piece of paper for more than 20 years."

Old Qin's lips moved a few times.

"That's impossible."

Shen Zhong looked at him.

"You think that once the case files are removed, the papers are burned, and the people are scared, the case is over."

He raised his hand and tapped the projector.

"But this original copy is still here."

Old Qin pressed his palm against the armrest, his knuckles turning blue from tension.

His previously upright posture slumped, and the thin blanket slipped down from his knees, revealing a pair of terribly thin legs.

"Lu Zhengping..."

He uttered the name, his voice rough.

"He clearly signed the withdrawal form back then."

Shen Zhong took half a step forward.

"He signed a withdrawal notice."

"I did not sign any treasonous agreement."

Old Qin looked up at Shen Zhong, and the dignity on his face finally crumbled.

"What do you know?"

He grabbed the Buddhist prayer beads from the table, causing them to rattle and clatter.

"In those days, if the Haizhou line was lost, the roads to the outside world would be cut off."

"The funds are leaving, the people are leaving, and the relationships are leaving."

"Do you think I'd willingly resort to these methods?"

"You who came later only judge those who came before you based on the results."

Shen Zhong remained expressionless.

"You used military funds to launder money, used war reserve depots to support your own cronies, used local officials as scapegoats, and used assassinations to silence people."

Old Qin was panting, his chest heaving heavily.

Shen Zhong cut out a photo.

The image above is a chip from the same source as the hospital's drug delivery system.

"Qi Tongwei is lying in the hospital room, and your men are going to finish him off."

He then cut out the northern infiltration equipment.

"Your men have gotten their hands inside the northern front war reserve depot."

Then cut out the image of the transport plane interception.

"If A is escorting the goods, your men dare to block the way from the sky."

Old Qin's hands trembled even more violently.

"That was not my order."

Shen Zhong stared at him intently.

"The Q1 card is with you."

"The shadow holds the cards for you."

"Heng Shichang will run the race for you."

"Qin Kewen signed the document on your behalf."

"It's too late to say it wasn't your order now."

Old Qin opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a sound immediately.

Just then.

The red secure overseas phone on the desk rang.

The phone rang urgently.

Ring ring.

Ring ring.

Old Qin felt as if he had been pulled by that voice.

His eyes lit up, and he lunged forward, his hand reaching past the prayer beads and documents to the receiver.

"Give me the phone."

Shen Zhong stood still.

Old Qin gripped the receiver, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

"Shen Zhong, do you dare block this call?"

The phone was still ringing.

Old Qin's voice was strained, but he still retained a shred of his former airs.

Do you know where this line leads?

Do you know who's on the other end of the phone?

"If you let me pick you up today, I might still leave you a way out."

Shen Zhong looked down at the red telephone line.

"road?"

Old Qin gripped the receiver, his eyes fixed on Shen Zhong.

"Young man, don't close the door completely."

"Not everything in this world can be solved with guns and evidence."

The words had barely left his mouth.

Shen Zhong drew his military dagger.

The glint of the knife overshadowed the table lamp.

Click.

The telephone line was cut clean off at the root.

The ringing stopped immediately.

The receiver in Old Qin's hand was still pressed against his palm, with only the hollow echo of electrical current remaining inside.

He remained frozen in his chair, as if something was stuck in his throat.

Shen Zhong tossed the rubber scraps from his bayonet onto the edge of the table and looked down at him.

"Your reinforcements aren't coming."

Old Qin raised his head, still maintaining the semblance of composure on his face, but his jawline was already clenching.

"Shen Zhong, you'll regret this."

Shen Zhong looked at him.

"I'm not the one who will regret it."

The voice just fell.

The conference room door was pushed open again.

Two bodyguards entered first, guns down, their steps perfectly synchronized. Then, Old Xu walked in.

The old man was dressed in a dark Zhongshan suit, his hair was gray, but his back was very straight. He held a document in his hand, the folder was pressed flat, and the red stamp was particularly eye-catching under the light.

Zhou Weiguo followed behind, carrying a box of evidence in his arms, his usual smugness completely gone.

When Old Qin saw Old Xu, he dropped the receiver on the table with a thud.

"Old Xu."

Old Xu did not respond.

He walked to the table, his gaze first sweeping over the Q1 gold medal, then glancing at the broken telephone line, and finally settling on Old Qin's face.

"Qin Kewen".

Old Qin's lips twitched. "We've known each other for decades, does it really have to be like this?"

Mr. Xu opened the file.

The sound of the pages turning was very soft.

But if it lands inside the house, it's like a stone hitting a water tank.

"Following an emergency meeting of the Central Military Commission and approval from the highest level, Qin Kewen is suspected of organizing an illegal system of the Frontline Coordination Group, stealing military secrets, manipulating local power, transferring war reserve funds, ordering the withdrawal of old cases, and condoning overseas funding channels."

Old Qin's hand gripped the edge of the table.

Old Xu continued reading.

"Effective immediately, Qin Kewen is relieved of all his official duties and benefits, and all his special privileges in communication, transportation, and medical care are terminated. He will be placed under the highest level of 'double regulation' measures."