Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

Late at night, the High-tech Zone Management Committee building was still brightly lit.

In this tireless city, working overtime is the norm, but tonight the lights in Liu Ming's office seem particularly glaring.

He wasn't handling official business; instead, he was staring at strings of rapidly scrolling code and data on the computer screen. The blue light from the screen reflected on his cold, expressionless face, making him look like a lifeless sculpture.

In the headphones, Ghost Hand's voice carried a hint of excitement, mixed with an undeniable sense of gravity.

"Boss, the chain is closed."

"Although I haven't gotten my hands on that encrypted hard drive yet, I discovered a very interesting phenomenon by tracking the underlying data flow of the 'anonymous donation' account of the Municipal Charity Federation."

"Speak," Liu Ming said succinctly.

"This sum of 300 million yuan sat in the charity's account for less than 24 hours before being transferred in batches and frequently to dozens of seemingly unrelated shell company accounts. Then, like mercury, the money was laundered countless times before finally being transferred to an offshore trust fund located in the Cayman Islands."

"And the actual beneficiaries of this fund..."

Ghost Hand paused, seemingly to ascertain the weight of that name.

"...He is Li Tianyi, the illegitimate son of Executive Vice Mayor Li Jianguo who was studying in the UK."

Liu Ming's pupils contracted slightly.

Although I had long suspected that Li Jianguo was corrupt, the shocking greed he displayed when presented with irrefutable evidence was still suffocating.

Three hundred million.

That was the resettlement allowance for hundreds of households affected by demolition, the hard-earned money of countless families, and even the life savings of some elderly people for their coffins.

They swallowed it down like a cake, turning it into champagne and sports cars in a mansion across the ocean.

"Boss, this is a huge mess."

Ghost Hand's voice tightened slightly. "This is no longer something our High-tech Zone can handle. It involves a powerful deputy-department-level official, and according to regulations, it should be transferred to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. Moreover, Li Jianguo has been operating in Ningzhou for many years; he's deeply entrenched. If we take direct action against him, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?"

Liu Ming lit a cigarette and watched the smoke rise in front of him.

"So what if he's the deputy mayor? Does that give him the right to profit from human suffering?"

"If he even reaches out, I'll chop him off. If he breaks the law, I'll investigate him no matter who it is, even if it's the Emperor himself."

His tone was as calm as if he were discussing tomorrow's weather, but the ruthlessness in his words sent a chill down the spine of Ghost Hand, who was thousands of miles away.

"Keep a close eye on the flow of funds. I want to pin every penny of their ill-gotten gains on the chain of evidence."

"clear!"

……

Meanwhile, in Ningzhou city, at a secluded private teahouse.

This place is not open to the public and doesn't even have a sign. It's hidden in a deep alley, and the gate is usually closed. Only a very few "VIPs" with special access cards can enter.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the deepest "Listening to the Waves Pavilion" private room was so oppressive that it was suffocating.

Executive Vice Mayor Li Jianguo sat in a grand chair with a gloomy face, the small sandalwood bracelet in his hand, which he had polished to a shine, was now creaking as he squeezed it.

Across from him, Wang Dawei looked like a schoolboy who had made a mistake, half of his bottom touching the edge of the chair, cold sweat streaming down his face, not even daring to wipe it away.

"Snapped!"

Li Jianguo slammed the bracelet on the table, the dull thud startling Wang Dawei.

"Are you a pig?"

Li Jianguo lowered his voice, but could not hide the rage and fear within it.

"I told you to dump that unfinished project on him so he'd be stuck in a quagmire! I wanted him to be harassed to death by those troublemakers! Who told you to leave the hard drive in that godforsaken place?"

"Mayor...I...I didn't expect this either..."

Wang Dawei had a bitter face, and his voice was trembling.

"That basement was extremely well-hidden; no one knew about it except for me and Zhao Dezhu! And that Liu Ming… he's too strange! It's like he has clairvoyance; he knows everything! Not only was he not bothered by the residents being evicted, but he was actually going to hold some kind of 'on-site office' there!"

"Just now, at the joint investigation team's briefing, he declared that he would conduct a thorough search of 'Jinxiu Tiandi,' leaving no stone unturned, not even a mouse hole!"

Upon hearing this, Li Jianguo's eyes twitched violently a few times.

A thorough, comprehensive search.

He knew all too well what this meant.

That hard drive contained not only accounts of how they divided the land proceeds, but also all the records of how he and Wang Dawei had used their power to accept bribes and buy and sell official positions over the years!

If that hard drive falls into Liu Ming's hands, not only will they lose their official positions, but they'll also lose their heads!

"We can't let him continue investigating."

Li Jianguo took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. A cold, sinister glint, like that of a venomous snake, flashed in his cloudy eyes.

"This person cannot be allowed to live."

Wang Dawei's heart skipped a beat, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

"Mayor...you mean...?"

He reached out and made a "tear" gesture across his neck, his eyes filled with fear.

Although he was greedy and wicked, when it came to the point of killing a deputy division-level cadre within the system, he still instinctively felt fear. If he were exposed, it would be utterly disastrous!

"What are you thinking? This is a society governed by the rule of law!"

Li Jianguo glared at him coldly, but the murderous intent in his tone remained undiminished.

"Killing him is the worst possible option. What we need to do is make him disappear 'naturally,' or... ruin his reputation and get him out of here completely."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip of the already cold tea, and the bitter taste spread in his mouth, making his thoughts clearer and more ruthless.

"Doesn't he like to 'work on the spot'? Doesn't he like to be on the front lines?"

"Construction sites are inherently dangerous. Falling objects from heights, scaffolding collapses, fires caused by aging electrical wiring...aren't accidents a bit normal?"

Li Jianguo put down his teacup and stared intently at Wang Dawei.

"David, we're in this together. If the hard drive crashes, I'll be finished, but you... you'll suffer even more. All your relatives and friends, all your overseas assets, will be buried with you."

"Therefore, you have to handle this matter personally."

"Make it clean."

Upon hearing these words, Wang Dawei felt a chill run from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

He knew he had no way out.

Either Liu Ming dies, or he dies.

In this life-or-death struggle for power, mercy is the greatest cruelty to oneself.

"I see."

Wang Dawei gritted his teeth, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

"The basement structure of that unfinished building is very unstable; there's a history of collapses. What if... what if a secondary collapse occurs during the investigation..."

"That was a natural disaster, an accident."

Li Jianguo interrupted him, a cruel smile playing on his lips.

"Not only will we not hold him accountable, but we'll also hold a memorial service for him and award him the title of martyr. After all, he died in the line of duty."

……

When I came out of the teahouse, it was already late at night.

Wang Dawei sat in his car, his palms sweating profusely.

He took out an anonymous black phone, hesitated for a long time, and finally dialed a number.

"Hello, is this the third brother? It's me."

A deep, cautious voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Brother, it's so late, is something wrong?"

"Are those guys under you who do demolition work still around?"

Wang Dawei looked at the street scene rushing past the window, his voice low as if afraid of being blown away by the wind.

"exist."

"Tell them to prepare something. A generous amount, and something powerful."

"Tomorrow, I'm going to inspect the 'Jinxiu Tiandi' construction site."

"You take some men with you, and we'll... clean up that unsightly basement."

"Remember, act like it's an accident."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Dawei pried out the SIM card and threw it out the car window.

The tiny chip traced an arc in the night before disappearing into the vast darkness.

He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, but his heart was pounding wildly in his chest.

It's a big gamble.

Even if he wins the bet, he will still be the local tyrant of the High-tech Zone, continuing to enjoy wealth and luxury.

I lost the bet...

"No, I can't lose."

He screamed wildly in his heart.

"Liu Ming, don't blame me for being ruthless."

"You chose to walk into the gates of hell yourself."

"That place was already a mass grave, burying one more person wouldn't make it crowded."

On the other side of the city.

Liu Ming was standing by the office window, looking at the unfinished building in the distance that resembled a giant skeleton in the night, her brows slightly furrowed.

His right eyelid twitched a few times for no reason.

That was an instinct for danger developed over many years of special forces service.

"The wind is rising."

He muttered to himself.

But he did not back down. Instead, he took out the "Dragon Fang" military dagger that had been with him for many years from the drawer and gently wiped it.

"Since you want to play dirty tricks..."

"Then I'll show you what it means to... turn the tables on someone else."