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

Li Dakang glanced at him.

"Don't rush, give the companies a reply slip before the meeting ends."

Some people in the room couldn't help but laugh.

The laughter wasn't loud, but it released a lot of pent-up emotions.

Li Dakang closed the manuscript.

"For years, Handong has been shrouded in an invisible net. Now that the net has been broken and the lines have been cut, all that's left is to get things back on track and get the projects going."

He paused.

"Jingzhou won't play dirty tricks with them; Jingzhou will do the real thing."

Applause erupted again.

This time, it was even louder than before.

Handong Provincial Department.

Qi Tongwei stood by the office window, his left arm still in a sling, a dark coat draped over his hospital gown.

Several newly delivered summaries were on the table.

All 23 agents of Handong were apprehended.

The privilege certificate is sealed.

Account freeze complete.

Sha Ruijin was handed over to the judiciary.

Qi Tongwei turned two pages with his right hand and tapped his knuckles on the paper.

笃.

Footsteps came from outside the door.

Lu Yike pushed the door open and came in. Her police uniform still carried the dust of the night, and her hair was tied up tightly.

"Director Qi, the remaining account books from Haizhou have been handed over. Zhao Qinian has begun to supplement his explanation."

Qi Tongwei looked up.

"sit."

"I can just stand."

"Don't try to fight me while I'm still injured."

Lu Yike glanced at him, then sat down.

Lin Huahua, holding a laptop, leaned half her body in from behind.

"Director Qi, the airport line has been cleared; no one has flown out. Also, Secretary Li's account unfreezing receipts have been sent over in batches; the process was quite fast."

Qi Tongwei closed the file.

"He's the kind of person who's most eager to do this kind of thing."

Lin Huahua grinned.

"It's good that they're in a hurry; business owners are practically bombarding the banks with calls."

Just as Qi Tongwei was about to speak, a very short ringtone suddenly sounded from the drawer.

It's not an office landline.

It's not an inside line within the provincial department.

The voice sounded very old, as if it had been suppressed for many years and had never seen the light of day.

Lu Yike immediately stood up.

Lin Huahua stopped laughing and hugged the computer tightly.

Qi Tongwei stared at the drawer, and after two seconds, reached out and pulled open the bottom drawer.

Inside was an old black cell phone.

There is no sign.

No contacts.

There was only a string of numbers on the screen.

Qi Tongwei looked at it, and his expression changed.

Lu Yike lowered her voice.

"Hall Qi?"

Qi Tongwei raised his hand.

No one moved in the office.

He pressed the answer button and held the phone to his ear.

A hissing sound came from the other end of the phone.

Then, an old yet familiar voice rang out.

"Tongwei, Old Qin is down. My feigned death move wasn't in vain."

Qi Tongwei gripped his phone, his throat feeling like it was being choked.

Lu Yike looked at him, her gaze fixed.

Lin Huahua opened her mouth, but didn't dare to make a sound.

Qi Tongwei turned around, his back to the office, his voice still hard.

"teacher."

There was a soft cough on the other end of the phone.

Judging from your tone, you're still not fully healed.

Qi Tongwei closed his eyes.

"It's better than a few days ago."

"Stop showing off. You used to get scolded in my office when you were a kid, and you said the same thing."

Qi Tongwei's fingers pressed against the edge of the phone.

"Teacher, the sealing wax back then saved Handong."

……

Xishan Interrogation Room.

Qin Kewen sat in a chair, his wrists handcuffed to the table ring, a thin blanket draped over his knees.

His hair was a bit messy, and his face was ashen, but he was still stubborn.

Shen Zhong stood in front of the table, his military uniform buttoned up to the top, a cigarette between his fingers, but he didn't light it.

"Base password".

Qin Kewen raised his eyelids slightly. "I don't know."

Zhou Weiguo stood to the side, holding the evidence box, and after holding back for a long time, he couldn't hold back anymore.

"Mr. Qin, how can you say that without a clear conscience? Thirty billion yuan of strategic reserve funds left under your name; the money channels, shell companies, and bank connections were all in your black wallet. And now you're saying you didn't know?"

Qin Kewen leaned back in his chair. "Once the money is overseas, it's subject to overseas rules."

Shen Zhong looked at him.

Qin Kewen's voice was hoarse, but he still retained that old-fashioned air.

"You can take me, fine. But if you want your money back, you'll have to follow their rules."

Zhou Weiguo sneered, "So you steal the country's money and expect foreign banks to guard it for you?"

Qin Kewen closed his eyes.

"No password."

Shen Zhong pressed the cigarette down on the table, bending the cigarette body under the weight.

"Take him back to his private room."

Two bodyguards stepped forward and lifted Qin Kewen up.

Qin Kewen paused suddenly as he reached the door.

"Shen Zhong, you can cut off phone calls and arrest people, but the money is out there. They respect the rules, the contracts, and the privacy clauses."

He turned his head and looked over.

"Even if you point a gun at me, you can't point it at their counter."

Shen Zhong did not reply.

Zhou Weiguo watched his retreating figure, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

"Sir, this old man is quite good at finding places to hide his money."

Shen Zhong picked up the terminal. "Go to the northern command center."

……

Northern Command Center.

On the large screen, the flow of funds looked like a jumbled diagram.

The 3 billion yuan in strategic reserves was divided into nine layers: first, it passed through forward security, then through offshore funds, and finally settled into a custodial fund pool of a major overseas bank.

Zhou Weiguo sat in front of the host computer, his forehead covered in sweat.

His military jacket was draped over the back of the chair, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, and his ten fingers tapped together.

"The third layer of shell has broken."

"The fifth layer of shell has broken."

"The eighth layer of shell has also broken."

He suddenly stopped, stared at the screen, and cursed.

"Hey, put an iron gate on the last floor."

Shen Zhong stood behind him. "Explain yourself."

"The funds are held in custody at the head office of an overseas bank. They have blocked the channels for judicial investigation, and the system only provides receipts, not account pages."

Zhou Weiguo opened an English letter, his face turning dark.

"They replied."

Old Xu sat in the side seat, a thermos cup beside him, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"read."

Zhou Weiguo cleared his throat and imitated that accent.

"In accordance with international financial privacy rules, customer confidentiality obligations and local regulatory procedures, our bank is temporarily unable to respond to your inquiries and requests for asset freezing."

He slammed the mouse onto the table.

In layman's terms, it means they're not cooperating.

Shen Zhong took the letter and glanced at it.

"What about the judicial assistance in Handong?"

"They rejected it."

"What about the military's letter requesting the return of classified funds?"

"They've already withdrawn from the program."

Zhou Weiguo opened another email. "It was quite polite, saying that our procedures were incomplete and suggesting that we go through a three- to six-month cross-border civil assistance process."

Old Xu's hand stopped on the cup lid.

"Three to six months?"

Zhou Weiguo gritted his teeth, "Three days is enough for them to turn the money into ashes."

Shen Zhong tossed the letter back onto the table.

"What's the point of talking about rules with robbers!"

No one inside the room responded.

Once those words were spoken, everyone understood.

Qin Kewen dared to stick to the password because of this overseas fund pool.

The money is there; if the process is a step slower, he has one more chance to turn the tables.

Shen Zhong turned around and looked at Old Xu.

"Request to utilize national-level military electronic warfare deterrence measures."

Old Xu looked up. "Scale."

"No firing, no intrusion into core defense networks, and no contact with civilian infrastructure."

The deep voice was calm, "Just provide the evidence and pressure them to cooperate."