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

Four hours.

One by one, the red dots on the map of Handong turned green.

Haizhou, Jingzhou, Lüzhou, Lincheng.

Upscale residential communities, fund branches, warehousing parks, airport access roads, association offices.

Police lights were on everywhere.

Every part was sealed off.

Boxes of privilege certificates were loaded onto the vehicle, Q-series badges were placed into evidence bags, and blank official documents were laid out and photographed.

Bank freeze orders were also issued simultaneously.

Domestic account.

Backup account.

Account held by a relative on behalf of another.

Corporate shell accounts.

Lock everything down.

Inside the command center of the Handong Provincial Department, the phone rang incessantly.

"Haizhou Group 1, target control."

"The third group from Jingzhou has complete evidence."

"The suspect has been apprehended at Luzhou Airport."

"The ledgers at the Lincheng Logistics Port have been seized."

Lin Huahua stared at the summary table, her eyes practically glued to the screen.

"Qi Hall, 23 points, all green."

Qi Tongwei remained silent.

He stood in front of the large screen, looking at the map of Handong.

The red fades, and the green takes over.

The thread that had been coiled for over twenty years was chopped off piece by piece, its roots pulled from the soil, leaving not even a trace of mud behind.

Lu Yike's live footage was then captured.

She stood at the entrance of the Haizhou Coastal Fund, with police officers behind her escorting Zhao Qinian into a car.

"Director Qi, the Haizhou site is complete, 72 privilege certificates have been obtained, 9 domestic accounts have been frozen, and 3 original ledgers have been recovered."

Qi Tongwei looked at her on the screen.

"Hard."

Lu Yike raised her hand in salute.

"Let's move on to the next step."

Qi Tongwei nodded.

He slowly exhaled, his right hand gripping the edge of the table, the sling on his left arm casting a shadow under the light.

Tian Guofu called.

"Director Qi, the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection is also receiving the list. I'll collect the ones involving public officials."

Qi Tongwei picked up the microphone.

"Secretary Tian, ​​the outer perimeter has been cleared."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone.

"What about Sha Ruijin?"

Qi Tongwei looked up at the photo that was still grayed out at the top of the screen.

Office of the Provincial Party Secretary.

Sha Ruijin.

He gripped the microphone tightly, his voice low and even.

"The periphery has been cleared, leaving only the biggest political puppet on the stage."

In the command center, everyone looked at him.

Qi Tongwei stood in front of the provincial hall's large screen, watching all the red dots turn green, and let out a long sigh: "The sky over Handong has brightened."

……

Handong Provincial Hospital.

The curtains in the VIP ward were half-drawn, and the television was on, but the volume was very low.

Sha Ruijin leaned against the hospital bed, his hospital gown buttoned crookedly, and his hair unkempt. The composure he once possessed as a provincial party secretary seemed to have been ripped from his bones.

The door was pushed open.

Tian Guofu walked ahead, his dark briefcase buttoned up to his chest, a file folder clutched in his hand. Ji Changming followed behind, his eyes behind his glasses appearing flat, and the two staff members behind him didn't glance at the hospital bed even once.

Sha Ruijin looked up, and his lips moved slightly.

"Secretary Tian, ​​quarterly inspection."

Tian Guofu placed the file folder on the bedside table with a soft, but distinct, thud.

"Sha Ruijin, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection has made a decision."

Sha Ruijin's hand rested on the blanket; he didn't move.

Tian Guofu opened the file, his voice steady.

"With the approval of the Central Committee, Sha Ruijin has been removed from his posts as Secretary, Standing Committee Member, and Member of the Handong Provincial Committee, and all his party and non-party positions and benefits have been terminated. His serious violations of discipline and law have been transferred to judicial organs for handling in accordance with the law."

No one spoke in the ward.

Ji Changming spread out the handover documents, and the pen cap had already been unscrewed.

"Comrade Sha Ruijin, from now on you need to cooperate with the judicial process."

Sha Ruijin stared at those few pages for a long time.

"Where is Old Qin?"

Tian Guofu looked at him.

"Qin Kewen has been taken away by the Central Military Commission for a special investigation into treason."

Sha Ruijin's Adam's apple bobbed.

He loosened his grip on the corner of the blanket, as if the cloth had suddenly lost its weight.

"He was also taken?"

Ji Changming pushed the pen forward half an inch.

"Your cooperation will be recorded in the statement."

Sha Ruijin smiled briefly.

"I've called him Dad for so many years, and in the end, he didn't even intend to protect me, his mere shell."

Tian Guofu didn't respond to that sentence, but instead handed over another piece of paper.

"signature."

Sha Ruijin lowered his head.

The small table beside the hospital bed was not high. When he bent over, his shoulders slumped. The pen paused on the paper for two seconds before finally writing his name.

Sha Ruijin.

The three characters were written crookedly.

Staff members stepped forward.

Click.

The handcuffs were fastened.

Sha Ruijin looked at his wrist for a long time before finally raising his head.

"Where is Qi Tongwei?"

Tian Guofu carefully put the document away.

"At the provincial government."

"He won."

Ji Changming closed the notebook.

"Handong won."

Sha Ruijin did not speak again.

The hallway lights are very bright.

He was helped out of bed, and his feet wobbled as he stepped into his leather shoes. His once swaying gait, which was always surrounded by people, was now just a loose shadow of his hospital gown.

Two police officers were guarding the elevator entrance.

Before being taken inside, Sha Ruijin glanced back at the television in the ward.

The news footage is showing the progress of the Handong project.

His name wasn't in the picture, but every word felt like it was weighing on him.

downstairs.

The car door opened.

As Sha Ruijin bent down to get into the car, the handcuffs hit the car door with a crisp sound.

Tian Guofu stood on the steps, watching the car drive out of the hospital gate, his face expressionless.

Ji Changming took off his glasses and wiped them.

"This position has finally become available."

Tian Guofu tucked the document bag under his arm.

"It's easy to make room, but difficult to get a seat."

The auditorium of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.

A banner was hung on the stage.

Meeting on the Unfreezing of Accounts of Key Enterprises in Jingzhou City and Summary of Special Work.

Li Dakang stood on the stage, his suit jacket buttoned up tightly, his impetuous temper somewhat subsided, but his eyes still held a hard edge.

The audience was filled with business leaders, bank representatives, and district and county officials.

Some people haven't slept well these past few days, and their eyes are dark. When they hear the words "account unblocked," they straighten their backs.

Li Dakang picked up the microphone.

"There's only one thing we're discussing in this meeting today."

He slammed the documents on the table.

"All enterprise accounts in Jingzhou that were frozen due to involvement in the Frontier System and have been verified to have no illegal issues will be unfrozen immediately."

A buzz of excitement erupted from the audience.

Li Dakang raised his hand and pressed it down.

"Don't rush to applaud, I haven't finished speaking yet."

The room fell silent.

"A few days ago, some people came to Jingzhou with privilege certificates, some with passes, and some with invitations from key officials to pressure businesses, projects, and banks."

He scanned the area.

"I, Li Dakang, am making this clear today: no one can disrupt the market order in Jingzhou with a mere scrap of paper."

Someone in the audience started clapping.

Applause quickly spread.

Li Dakang, however, did not laugh.

"Businesses should continue production, pay wages, and repay loans. Banks shouldn't play dumb either; the lifting of the lockdown order has been issued. Anyone who delays will be held responsible."

A bank manager in the front row nodded quickly.

"Secretary Li, we'll get on it right away."