Handong: Sha Li wants political achievements? I'll shut down the entire province.

The police car sped along, its tires screeching as they rubbed against the asphalt.

The car suddenly veered off course and plunged into a hidden underground detention center.

"Clang!"

The heavy iron gate slammed shut behind him, making Hou Liangping's eardrums ache.

Two discipline inspection officers, one on each side, dragged him out of the carriage like a dead dog.

They were dragged down a dark, damp corridor to the interrogation room at the very end.

"Go in!"

Hou Liangping was shoved hard onto that cold, metal interrogation chair.

The panel on his chest snapped shut with a "click".

My wrists and ankles were tightly locked in steel shackles, and even the slightest movement caused them to rub painfully.

"Snapped!"

A bright incandescent light bulb, several hundred watts in total, suddenly shone brightly on his face.

The stark, blinding light instantly brought forth two streams of tears from his eyes.

Hou Liangping instinctively tried to turn his head away, but was made dizzy by the blinding halo.

He's an expert at this tactic.

Back when he was in the anti-corruption bureau, this was his favorite trick to wear down corrupt officials.

He always felt a sense of superiority watching others break down and beg for mercy under the bright light.

Unexpectedly, today, this light shone on his own face.

In the shadows opposite, someone pulled out a chair and sat down.

The lighter's flint sparked a flame, and the smell of tobacco quickly filled the small room.

"Director Hou, is this seat comfortable?"

The man exhaled a smoke ring, his voice filled with undisguised mockery.

Hou Liangping froze, then suddenly opened his bloodshot eyes wide.

"Old Chen? How could it be you!"

Sitting behind the table was his former deputy, Chen Haiping.

That old clerk who was ostracized by him for being too inflexible and lacking connections, and spent two years repairing broken files!

"What goes around comes around."

Old Chen, with a cigarette between his fingers, slammed a thick stack of files onto the stainless steel tabletop with a thud.

"When you used to rely on the Zhong family's power to trample on us peasants, you never imagined this day would come, did you?"

Hou Liangping's facial muscles twitched twice, and he stubbornly stuck out his neck.

"Chen Haiping! You're using this to settle personal scores!"

He struggled violently, and the handcuffs clanged against the iron pipe.

"I went to Handong to investigate a case with the imperial edict! I offended that capitalist Yan Qingfeng, so you all ganged up on me!"

Hou Liangping spat as he spoke, his face filled with grief and indignation.

"I'm doing this for the greater good of the nation! I represent justice!"

"Pfft."

Old Chen couldn't hold back any longer and burst out laughing.

He stepped forward and threw copies of overseas properties at Hou Liangping's face.

"A 20 million Australian dollar Sydney penthouse, and a bank statement showing 30 million US dollars in transactions with a Swiss bank."

Old Chen tapped his fingers on the barrier, each word piercing the heart.

"Director Hou, your sense of justice is really valuable."

"That's all the Chung family's money! I didn't touch a single penny!"

Hou Liangping's eyes were bloodshot, like a mad dog whose tail had been stepped on.

"I ride my bicycle to work every day and eat clear soup noodles in the cafeteria! I'm so honest I can withstand any investigation!"

He loudly defended his idealism, attempting to salvage the last shred of dignity.

Old Chen flicked off his cigarette ash, his eyes filled with disdain as if he were looking at a pile of garbage.

"Stop spouting grand pronouncements; it's embarrassing to listen to."

He pulled over a chair and leaned closer to Hou Liangping across the table.

"Your so-called aloofness is just because you don't have to worry about daily necessities, isn't it?"

Every word Old Chen uttered was like peeling an onion, revealing the skin of his hypocrisy.

"Your wife, Zhong Jia, is embezzling and extorting money outside the system, using her privileges to amass wealth, while supporting you to pretend to be a virtuous official within the system."

"You're sucking the blood of the Zhong family while standing on your moral high ground judging others. Do you really think you're Bao Zheng (a legendary upright judge)?"

Hou Liangping felt like his lungs had been punctured, and his face instantly turned a deep liver color.

"You're talking nonsense! Every case I've handled is airtight!"

He was breathing heavily, his chest heaving violently.

"Whether this is an ironclad case or not, let's talk about changing the charge."

Old Chen opened another file, his tone icy and chilling.

"During his time in Handong, without the approval of the provincial department, he privately mobilized the special police detachment to suppress the workers at Dafeng Factory."

"He condoned his wife's use of her connections to block coastal ports and intercept legitimate logistics from local businesses."

Old Chen flipped to the bottom of the file and stared at him coldly.

"Hou Liangping, you've worn that charge of abuse of power far too well."

"That's Yan Qingfeng pulling the strings behind the scenes! He's all-powerful in Handong!"

Hou Liangping was still making a dying struggle.

Old Chen was too lazy to waste any more words with him and directly threw out the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"What happens to Yan Qingfeng is none of your business. But the Zhong family is completely finished."

Hou Liangping was stunned, his pupils suddenly contracting.

"The Zhong family's seven core A-share stocks all collapsed, with a market value loss of nearly 100 billion yuan."

Old Chen looked at him as if he were pronouncing a death sentence.

"They are now bad accounts being chased by major banks for debt and are suspected of financial fraud."

"You're a cancerous growth that's sucking their blood, and you still have the nerve to talk big to me?"

Hou Liangping slumped in the iron chair, as if all his strength had been drained away in an instant.

The incandescent light overhead made him dizzy and lightheaded.

His throat was so dry it felt like it was about to crack; he hadn't even had a sip of water during the entire 24-hour high-pressure interrogation.

"Save your energy."

Old Chen stubbed out his cigarette, his tone eerily calm.

"You've been in here for a day and a night. Guess what it's like outside?"

Old Chen tapped the table with his knuckles.

"Your arrogant wife, and those powerful uncles and aunts in your Zhong family."

"Did someone make a phone call and hand you a note to bail you out?"

These words were like a heavy hammer blow, completely shattering Hou Liangping's last psychological defenses.

No one is protecting him.

He became a worthless pawn.

The sense of superiority that had always existed, that gilded shell called "justice," shattered into dust at this moment.

Hou Liangping lowered his head, and his shoulders began to tremble violently and uncontrollably.

Old Chen slammed a confession onto the barrier.

The words "abuse of power" and "unexplained wealth" were printed in black and white on the paper.

A black pen was tossed beside his handcuffed hands.

"Just sign it, don't make things harder for yourself."

Hou Liangping's hands trembled as he grasped the pen.

The pen tip landed on the paper, making a harsh scratching sound.

Two murky tears fell onto the signature column of the confession, blurring the blue-black ink.

His greatest pride in his life, along with his dignity, came to an end with this document.

Old Chen snatched the confession from him, didn't even glance at him, and turned to walk out of the interrogation room.

The heavy iron door closed behind him, locking Hou Liangping's desperate cries inside the room.

In the corridor, Old Chen took out his phone and dialed a number.

"Sir, we've obtained the confession. The evidence is irrefutable. Hou Liangping has confessed."

A deep voice came from the other end of the phone, tinged with urgency.

"Follow the proper procedures for the arrest. Also, there's a crazy woman outside who's been wearing down the doorstep of this place."

Old Chen paused for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly.

"Who?"

The voice on the other end snorted coldly, filled with undisguised contempt.

"Who else could it be? Zhong Xiaoai, of course! I heard she just pawned a watch at a pawn shop and bought an economy class ticket to Zhang Fei's Handong Airport."