In name only: The land of Handong, I shall rule its fate.

We left the bathhouse.

Hou Liangping took a key out of his denim jacket pocket and got into a car parked on the side of the road.

The car started quietly.

"Hey, asking my senior for help was definitely the right decision."

Hou Liangping turned on his phone, and the GPS was constantly tracking the target's location. However, instead of following him, he drove towards a high-end residential area next to the district committee and government.

The car was completely turned off.

Hou Liangping was like a ghost, lying back in his seat at just the right height, allowing him to see the situation at the entrance of the residential area without being easily spotted.

"It seems that the public security system is still under control since Captain Xie and his team are able to operate so well in Chuzhou."

"On the contrary, it's the prosecutor's office and the court..."

Hou Liangping pondered his next plan, his brows furrowed. It was already clear that Chen Guohua and the Chen family had problems.

However, the former was able to achieve a comprehensive monopoly on Chuzhou's commerce through Mayor Zhang Xueyang and a bunch of black and white gloves, so it's impossible that there were no opponents.

However, the provincial party committee and government of Handong Province have not heard any news about this, which means that there is no problem at the judicial level.

The Chen family is not the problem; the only ones with problems are the procuratorate and the municipal court.

"This Chu Prefecture is really strange."

Hou Liangping murmured, "Logically speaking, the public security bureau, as frontline law enforcement officers, has always been the sector most severely eroded by the political and legal system. But in Chuzhou, it's the opposite?"

It was almost 11 o'clock.

The car driven by An, the deputy head of Chuzhou District, finally entered the residential area.

Hou Liangping compared the route map and recorded all the locations An had visited.

The compound where municipal government offices raise funds is the residence of Mayor Zhang Xueyang;

If the information provided by the Economic Investigation Division is correct, then the Jiangshan villa area is Chen's territory.

The district government, that goes without saying.

"It seems that my arrest of Gu Beilou has put the Chen family on edge and made them see danger everywhere."

Hou Liangping smiled smugly.

The car started again, traversing the entire Chuzhou District and turning into an old residential community in the government-affiliated housing reform area.

The license plate number has already been entered into the gate system.

Automatic gate opening.

The security guard at the entrance glanced at the car, but didn't even come out of the guard booth, letting the car enter the community.

The roof lining has peeled off.

The hallway reeked of a damp, rotten smell, which was unpleasant.

A weary middle-aged man's figure emerged from the shadows, his back hunched, his eyes lifeless and dark circles under his eyes, like a walking corpse living numbly. His hand trembled as he pulled a bunch of keys from his pocket and reached for the keyhole.

Snapped!

A powerful hand suddenly emerged from the shadows, grabbed the right wrist of the person opening the door, and pulled them back violently, causing their back to slam heavily against the wall.

The withered middle-aged man, caught off guard by the sudden attack, finally showed a fierce struggle and will to survive in his lifeless eyes, but he was pushed back down with even greater force as soon as he moved.

The arm gripped the middle-aged man's throat like an iron clamp, rendering him immobile.

"Don't move around. You don't want to disturb your wife and children who are already resting, do you?"

Hou Liangping warned.

Ok?

Something feels off!

Forget it, controlling this man in front of me is more important right now.

These extremely damaging words almost instantly shattered the middle-aged man's will to resist.

Hou Liangping pulled the person up the stairs and straight to the rooftop.

"Comrade Wang Jian, the director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Chuzhou City, right?"

Hou Liangping looked down at the man who had been thrown to the ground. The sentence was in question form but the tone was affirmative.

"Who...who are you?"

Wang Jian retreated in alarm.

This title sounds too much like something from within the system.

"Hou Liangping, the director of the provincial anti-corruption bureau, is also your superior."

Hou Liangping took out his ID from his inner pocket and held it up in front of Wang Jian in the bright moonlight.

Make sure the other party sees it clearly and carefully.

"Director Hou... the Director Hou who arrested Gu Beilou?"

Wang Jian's expression had just relaxed when he immediately tensed up again, even becoming more fearful.

"What are you afraid of?"

Hou Liangping squatted down. "As long as you're still a cadre in the organization, what do you have to be afraid of me for?"

"I...I..."

Wang Jian tried to speak several times, but no words came out.

"Does it hurt a lot?"

Hou Liangping suddenly asked, his gaze falling on the other man's pale arms, which were usually covered by long sleeves. There were many marks, and judging from the shape of the scabbed wounds, it was as if he had done it himself.

Upon hearing this, Wang Jian quickly pulled down his sleeve.

"You have moderate depression? And you didn't want anyone to find out, so you chose your arm instead of your wrist?"

Hou Liangping asked again.

"I don't."

Like a wounded lone wolf, Wang Jian howled from the depths of his throat, "I am a qualified organizational cadre, the director of the anti-corruption bureau, and an anti-corruption warrior charging on the front line."

"It's absolutely impossible for him to be mentally ill."

Hou Liangping remained silent for a moment, then sat down next to Wang Jian, leaning against the mottled rooftop wall.

"Are you afraid that if you lose your value, they will kill you to silence you?"

"But you also feel guilty for betraying the organization's trust and for not living up to the clothes you're wearing. Torn between these conflicting feelings, you've ended up looking like this."

Hou Liangping spoke with certainty, but his certainty carried a certain reassurance, not from professional empathy, but from a sense of confidence.

The confidence to break through the dark clouds hanging over one's head with one's own strength.

"I've seen your information. You're only 38 years old, three years younger than me, but looking like this, people would believe you if you told them you were my dad."

"No need to rush to deny it."

"When I came back from the Supreme People's Procuratorate's assistance to local areas in handling cases, I met many anti-corruption cadres like you. Their kind hearts collided with the filth of the world, leaving them battered and bruised."

"I remember the youngest was only 25 years old, and had only been out of school for a few years."

"I've entered a den of demons."

"He became thin and frail within just two or three years. After we solved the case, he committed suicide."

"It's probably too far for me to talk to you about this."

"You know Jingzhou Zhongfu, right?"

"Disciplinary Committee Secretary Tian Yuan also disapproved of the corrupt practices of Chairman Lin Manjiang and Shi Hongxing, suffered from severe depression, and ultimately jumped from a hospital window."

"But what I'm telling you isn't to die or torture yourself."

"After we arrived, the 25-year-old man actively cooperated with the investigation and provided clues. He left with a smile after the night cleared up."

"Tian Yuan wasn't courting death. His initial goal was probably to use his own death to trigger an investigation within the system and bring the bad guys to justice."

"Do you know why I contacted you?"

"Before I came to Chuzhou, I reviewed all the personnel files in the anti-corruption system, and you were the one I was most satisfied with."

"Choose to be a coward?"

"Or are you ready to take this gamble and uncover the dark secrets of Chuzhou together? I'm very confident because I'm Hou Liangping from the Supreme People's Procuratorate, sent to the Anti-Corruption Bureau of Handong Province!"

Hou Liangping raised a hand to the other person and invited, "Would you like to become my comrade-in-arms?"

"you…"

Wang Jian took a deep breath and asked, almost stammering, "Aren't you afraid... I... will betray you..."

"Let's gamble!"

Hou Liangping smiled freely and took the initiative to shake hands with him, saying, "Those who can have a good relationship with their wives and children are generally not bad people."

"rest assured!"

"It's not that dark yet. I promise I'll protect your family, but you also need to pull yourself together and protect yourself and your family."

"We are ordinary yet great anti-corruption warriors. Never let bad elements harm us."