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

Uncovering a bloody case that had been deliberately covered up for ten years was an incredibly difficult task.

Time can erase too many traces.

Liu Ming used all the resources at his disposal.

Lei Tie was responsible for retrieving all files related to the mining accident from within the public security system, even the smallest details.

Fan Laogui, the newly appointed deputy director of the county party committee office, was responsible for searching for clues from the mountain of old papers in the county party committee archives.

Meanwhile, the veterans of "Dragon Shield Security" were dispersed to various towns and villages in Qingyun County. Ostensibly, they were conducting "security patrols," but in reality, they were secretly visiting and searching for the families of the victims who had received "hush money" from that year.

However, three days passed.

Progress has been minimal.

The files from back then were either "accidentally" lost long ago, or they were as clean as a blank sheet of paper.

After receiving the "blood-stained" money, the families of the victims moved away as if they had vanished into thin air, leaving no trace.

All leads have gone cold.

The whole thing seemed to have fallen into an unsolvable deadlock.

……

"Director Liu, let's give up."

Even Lei Tie, who was usually fearless, showed a hint of dejection on his face in the command post.

"This happened too long ago. That old fox Li Yuankui cleaned up all his tracks back then. We... we can't find any evidence that could deliver a fatal blow to him."

"Yes, Director Liu," Old Man Fan sighed as well. "Unless we can find... a survivor of that mining disaster, a blood-written letter of dubious authenticity won't be enough to take down a powerful official like Li Yuankui."

Survivors?

Everyone gave a wry smile.

All 118 men were wiped out.

Where would there be any survivors?

Just when everyone was in despair.

Liu Ming slowly stood up.

He walked up to the huge map and his gaze fell on an extremely remote and inconspicuous corner of it.

——**Coffin Village**

A place whose very name sends chills down your spine.

That was the poorest and most isolated mountain village in Qingyun County. It got its name from its shape, which resembled a coffin.

There are no roads, no water or electricity, and not even cell phone signal there.

It is truly isolated from the world.

"You tell me..." Liu Ming's voice was calm yet carried a convincing power, "If there really is a survivor, where would he hide to escape Li Yuankui's pursuit?"

"A place that is both the most dangerous and the safest."

"A place that no one would expect or find."

Lei Tie and Fan Laogui's eyes lit up instantly!

……

Early the next morning.

Liu Ming did not bring anyone with her.

He drove alone in that dilapidated jeep, struggling towards the "coffin village" that even navigation apps couldn't find, guided by a map and a compass.

The mountain road was rugged and difficult to travel.

It's less of a road and more of a dirt mound that's been trampled out by people.

The jeep roared wildly up the almost 90-degree slope, nearly tumbling off the cliff several times.

After nearly five hours of extreme off-road driving.

A village, as desolate as a ghost village, finally appeared before his eyes.

The village was very quiet.

It was eerily quiet.

Most of the mud-brick houses have long since collapsed and are overgrown with weeds.

Only at the very back of the village was there a dilapidated thatched hut, with a wisp of smoke rising faintly from its chimney.

Liu Ming's heart jumped.

He stopped the car and slowly walked towards the thatched hut.

Before he could even get close...

"Woof! Woof woof woof!"

A sudden burst of frantic barking came from behind the house!

Immediately afterwards, a skinny, almost hairless mongrel rushed out from behind the house, baring its teeth and blocking his way, growling threateningly.

Liu Ming ignored the dog.

His gaze passed through the dilapidated door, haphazardly pieced together from planks and straw, and looked into the house.

The room was dark.

By the light filtering through the doorway, he could vaguely see a figure, as emaciated as a dried corpse, huddled in a corner, trembling, in the deepest part of the room.

It was an old man.

An elderly person whose gender and age are no longer discernible.

His hair was gray and greasy, like a tangled clump of straw.

His face was covered with crisscrossing, knife-carved wrinkles and a thick layer of black coal ash.

His eyes were cloudy and dull, filled with fear of the world and... numbness.

He was like a ghost living in his own world.

Liu Ming's heart sank.

He slowly crouched down, trying to make his voice sound gentler.

"Don't be afraid, fellow villager."

"I'm a cadre from the county, my name is Liu Ming."

"I came here with no ill intentions, I just wanted to... ask you about something."

However, the old man did not respond to his words.

He simply shrank even deeper into the shadows of the corner, emitting meaningless "hoarse" sounds like a wild beast.

He's crazy.

Liu Ming's heart sank.

Could it be that all the effort I put in was to find a living dead person who has completely gone mad?

Just when he was about to give up.

His gaze was suddenly drawn to something the old man was clutching tightly to his chest.

It was a square, hard-covered notebook wrapped in layers of oilcloth.

The edges of the notebook have become curled and blackened from years of handling.

But the old man still held it tightly in his arms as if it were the most precious treasure in the world, refusing to let go even when he slept.

--**journal!**

A thought struck Liu Ming's mind like lightning!

He knew that it must contain all the truths he was looking for!

Liu Ming took a deep breath and tried to communicate with the elderly man again.

"Fellow villager, could I...could I take a look at that notebook you're holding?"

However, his words seemed to have touched some kind of taboo!

The old man, who had been numb and fearful, suddenly bristled like a wildcat whose tail had been stepped on after hearing the word "notebook."

"ah--!"

He let out a piercing scream that sounded inhuman!

He gripped the notebook in his arms even tighter with his hands, which were as dry as chicken claws, and for the first time, a look of "awakening" appeared in his cloudy eyes.

It was a kind of lucidity mixed with endless pain, endless hatred, and endless fear.

"No! Not to anyone!"

"This...this is Gou Dan's...this is Gou Dan's life..."

He roared as he scrambled back into the corner, as if Liu Ming were a demon trying to take his life.

Liu Ming's heart skipped a beat.

Dog Egg...

He recognized the name!

This name was on the list of only seventeen victims from that year.

In other words...

Is this elderly man... a relative of one of the victims?

Liu Ming wanted to say something more.

suddenly!

His hound-like hearing caught a faint, extremely subtle sound that didn't belong to this desolate village.

— It was the roar of a car engine.

And it wasn't just one!

They were rapidly approaching from the same mountain road he had come from.

Liu Ming's face instantly darkened.

He knew he had been exposed.

That old fox Li Yuankui must have planted a tracking device on him or in his car.

He sent men to hunt him down.

Liu Ming didn't hesitate any longer!

He glanced at the old man, who had once again descended into madness from fear, and then at the diary in his arms that recorded the deep-seated hatred.

He knew that today, whether it was this old man or this diary, it was all the same.

He must be taken out alive!

He suddenly stood up and rushed out of the thatched hut, his eyes fixed on the direction of the mountain path like two unsheathed sharp blades.

There, three black SUVs kicked up clouds of dust, like three ferocious beasts from hell roaring with death!

—The assassin is here!

—They've come to silence us!