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

Jingzhou Government Hospital.

dong dong!

The knocking on the ward door jolted Hou Liangping awake, who had been tossing and turning and suffering from insomnia all night.

Enter!

Hou Liangping scratched his hair in frustration and shouted in despair.

"Executive Director Lin!"

Hou Liangping forced a smile, a smile he tried very hard to make, but it looked worse than crying.

"Comrade Liangping, are you not surprised by my arrival?"

Lin Zhiyuan carried a fruit basket and pulled over a small stool to sit down in front of the hospital bed.

"Executive Director Lin comes to see me often, I'm used to it."

Hou Liangping pulled the blanket up, trying to find more warmth and a sense of security.

He knew it! He knew it!

When he saw the "Clean Handong" program airing during prime time tonight, he knew someone would definitely come looking for him.

These morally bankrupt devils from Handong will absolutely not let him go.

as predicted…

The moral low point in Handong has arrived as expected.

Back in the day, he would scramble to get involved in any major cases at the Anti-Corruption Bureau, and he was flamboyant and domineering in handling cases. But now he just wants to hide.

The waters in Handong are too deep.

You can find any random person and pull out a radish along with some mud, which will eventually stick together in some inexplicable way, burying you to death or suffocating you.

He is afraid!

When I heard a string of related names from Ouyang Jing, I became scared.

Therefore, the follow-up was carefully planned.

But unexpectedly, Lin Zhiyuan lacked martial ethics and dragged Zhong Xiaoai into it again, and she became more and more deeply involved.

"Comrade Liangping, have you heard about what's happening in Jiangdong?"

Lin Zhiyuan asked.

Just as Hou Liangping was about to shake his head and say "no," a devilish whisper came to his ear again, "It doesn't matter if you don't know, I'll tell you."

Got it!

He's definitely going to the guillotine.

"Managing Director Kobayashi..."

Hou Liangping put down his cup, revealing his hospital gown, indicating that he was still a patient.

But Lin Zhiyuan seemed not to see it, took out a stack of photocopies from his briefcase and stuffed them into his hand, "Comrade Liangping, this is a summary of information obtained by the program team through undercover investigation. Take a look at it."

Ha ha!

Under what circumstances can one be considered "familiar" or "acquainted"? It means they've stopped pretending altogether.

Hou Liangping closed his eyes in anguish, resigning himself to his fate.

"This…"

Hou Liangping forcibly suppressed the distracting thoughts in his mind, flipped through the documents, and kept exclaiming in surprise.

How arrogant!

They are even more arrogant than Chuzhou was back then.

What does it mean when a death row inmate who has committed crimes transforms himself into the owner of the largest private club in Jiangdong after three years, remaining unchanged in his crimes and even more arrogant?

Only this one.

Hou Liangping realized the seriousness of the situation. To bring someone back from the dead and give them a new identity, it was not enough to simply reduce their sentence and get them released from prison. It required getting in touch with the public security, procuratorate, court, and judicial authorities, and even the involvement of other people.

"And what about the leads you've found?"

Hou Liangping asked directly, since they were going to the execution ground anyway, he might as well get to the bottom of it.

As for not...

He doesn't believe it!

Just like in Chuzhou, Xie An and the Municipal Bureau had significantly more information than he and the Discipline Inspection Commission group, clearly indicating that Lin Zhiyuan, or rather the Provincial Public Security Department, had long been eyeing the target.

Hey!

My own senior from school was also a bad person.

He didn't even bother to remind himself of his mistake. Last time, he even came to the hospital to lie to Tiger Girl, which resulted in him getting a gray label on his record.

"This is what your senior, Qi, found out."

Lin Zhiyuan then handed over a thin sheet of A4 paper, which seemed more like a supplement to the information from the undercover investigation.

But Hou Liangping's pupils trembled violently, and his mouth opened wide enough to swallow an egg. "Executive Director Lin, this..."

"That's why I came to find you."

Lin Zhiyuan nodded, confirming the authenticity of the information, "It's not convenient for your senior to investigate; it requires the intervention of an independent procuratorate system."

"I will handle the pressure, or rather, the resistance."

Lin Zhiyuan tapped the name of the club owner, Si Tianyu, with his finger. "All the illegal activities in Jiangdong are inextricably linked to him. He is the chief culprit on the surface and the core of all the clues. I want to entrust you with the task of investigating his financial lines and digging out all the guys who are still hiding."

"Not one less!"

"Including the real people behind the scenes."

Lin Zhiyuan's gaze was intense, and sparks seemed to fly when he met Hou Liangping's eyes.

"Executive Director Lin, I am still in the recovery period."

Hou Liangping shuddered, wanting to make one last struggle, otherwise he would not be at peace even in death. "The doctor advised that I cannot engage in any strenuous activities."

"Hi!"

Lin Zhiyuan patted him on the shoulder. "Of course, you should follow the doctor's orders. So this time, Comrade Liangping doesn't need to go to the front line in person. The Provincial Anti-Corruption Bureau will assign you a special task force. You can stay in the command center to coordinate and direct the operation."

"I will also contact the hospital and arrange for a doctor to come and provide full support. If you feel unwell or the doctor deems it necessary, I will immediately arrange for Comrade Lü Liang and his team to take over."

So why not let Lü Liang and his team go from the start?

Those bastards are really putting a lot of effort into investigating me and Chen Hai.

"Comrade Liangping!"

Lin Zhiyuan stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Comrade Lü Liang's health has always been poor, and he is getting old. He can't withstand the high intensity of front-line case handling. The cadres below have been rotated and are temporarily unable to support the overall situation. The only person in the Provincial Anti-Corruption Bureau and even the Provincial Procuratorate who has the ability, prestige, and bottom-line principles to handle this case well is you, Comrade Liangping."

"This is not an administrative transfer order; it is my personal request."

Ha ha!

Hou Liangping rolled his eyes. "Thank you for your high regard."

"But what really made me decide to come to you was that Comrade Liangping secretly demonstrated his vision for the overall social and economic situation in Chuzhou, which is exactly what the Jiangdong incident needed most."

"The Jiangdu incident is intertwined with money, power, and crime, and the economic thread is the core lifeline connecting all people and events."

Lin Zhiyuan smiled and said, "So, Comrade Liangping, can you agree to my request?"

Hou Liangping's unfocused gaze suddenly sharpened, flashing with disbelief. He looked up at the man in front of him, then looked down and then up again. Lin Zhiyuan was still looking at him with the same smile as before, and even nodded.

Hou Liangping was momentarily dazed, as if he remembered the other party's joke, realizing that this guy was actually serious.

"Combating illegal and criminal activities is an inescapable duty for us anti-corruption cadres."

Hou Liangping threw off the covers, got out of bed briskly, and stood in front of Lin Zhiyuan, saying loudly, "Secretary Lin, Hou Liangping from the Provincial Anti-Corruption Bureau has applied to return to the team ahead of schedule."

"good!"

"Liangping, what a good comrade!"

Lin Zhiyuan smiled even more broadly and warmly shook hands with him.

Click!

The ward door opened again, and Lü Liang, whose health had always been poor according to Lin Zhiyuan, walked in with steady steps.

"Welcome back to the team, Comrade Liangping!"

Lü Liang smiled brightly, as if the two had never had any conflict. He then turned to Lin Zhiyuan and reported, "Secretary Lin, Comrade Liangping's discharge procedures have been completed."

Hou Liangping's face stiffened.

Damn!

I've been hooked again.