Nominal: The Handong Game, the Energy System's Counterattack

Cheng Du, who had been left alone by Zhou Chuyi, was trembling with nervousness and didn't dare to look up at him.

"Please sit down."

While anxiously awaiting trial, Du Cheng heard Zhou Chuyi's not-so-stern voice.

He moved his feet and sat down on the sofa, but only dared to put half of his buttocks on the sofa.

Zhou Chuyi poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and glanced at the somewhat nervous atmosphere around him.

"You've got some nerve. You dared to eavesdrop on the Party Secretary of a sub-provincial city just because Zhao Ruilong said one thing."

Zhou Chuyi's voice was calm, but it startled Cheng Du.

"Alright, what's past is past. From now on, you must follow the rules and abide by the law."

"You must remember that you are a law enforcer, a guardian of the law, and that obeying the law should be ingrained in your very being."

"Yes, I will never violate the rules or laws again in the future," Cheng Du stood up and promised.

"Alright, I'm not here to criticize you or anything." Zhou Chuyi waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit down.

"Just now, I asked you to handle the matter at Dafeng Factory." He put down the teacup in his hand.

"However, there are some things that are not suitable for Director Luo to do."

Cheng Du raised his head, listening with some anticipation to hear Zhou Chuyi continue.

If Zhou Chuyi ignored him, he would probably feel even more uneasy.

However, if the leader asks me to do things separately now, that means he's giving me an important position.

"Your next task, besides cooperating with Director Luo's work, is..."

"A secret investigation is being launched targeting Director Zhao Donglai and veteran comrade Chen Yanshi of the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau."

Zhou Chuyi stared sharply at Cheng Du.

"The fact that Zhao Donglai, the director of the municipal public security bureau, neglected his duties in the occurrence of such a serious incident endangering public safety in Jingzhou City cannot be ignored."

"Chengdu, from today onwards, I want you to secretly investigate his illegal and disciplinary violations, and investigate them thoroughly."

"Investigate thoroughly the facts of how you knowingly dealt with illegal situations that seriously affect social stability, repeatedly shirked responsibility, and put aside all stability maintenance work."

"I don't care who this Zhao Donglai is working for or who his backer is."

"All relevant evidence is systematically and properly preserved throughout the entire process."

"Recording, archiving, and preserving—such a crucial position in the Jingzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau cannot have people sitting there who knowingly ignore major hidden dangers."

Upon hearing Zhou Chuyi's request, Cheng Du's body trembled, and he couldn't hide the excitement in his eyes.

He knew that Governor Zhou wanted to take action against Zhao Donglai, but to explicitly order him to investigate was a complete blatant attempt to conceal his intentions.

Getting Zhao Donglai to move off his head was something he had always wanted to do.

He has to do this!

"As I just said, we must abide by laws and regulations and follow procedures when doing things. I will have the provincial department open a case against Dafeng Factory."

"But some people say that Zhao Donglai put in a good word for Dafeng Factory so they could buy those twenty-odd tons of gasoline."

"You're investigating the source of this gasoline. As for what else you find..."

"Sir, I understand. We are only investigating a major case involving Dafeng Factory that endangers public safety."

Zhou Chuyi nodded, indicating that Cheng Du was very intelligent.

"And then there's Comrade Chen Yanshi. Let me tell you, it's not just his son who's the director of the Anti-Corruption Bureau."

"Gao Yuliang isn't the only one behind him. Do you dare to investigate?"

"I dare. As long as it's illegal or criminal, I dare to investigate."

Cheng Du immediately stated that he would investigate as long as Governor Zhou asked him to.

"Very well, then let's investigate whether this old comrade who spoke up for the people is truly as noble and virtuous as he claims."

"He restructured Dafeng Factory, and you said he hired Zhao Donglai to handle the 25 tons of gasoline later."

"The case of Dafeng Factory endangering public safety also involves him."

"Governor Zhou, I understand. Our police station would never conduct any illegal investigations of retired cadres or comrades."

"Hmm, you could also check out the case about the son of the union chairman of Dafeng Factory who spread rumors online."

"In this case, did Comrade Chen Yanshi interfere with police enforcement due to personal relationships, thus obstructing judicial fairness?"

"Our country is a country ruled by law, even though Comrade Chen Yanshi is an old revolutionary, old comrade, and old cadre."

"But that doesn't mean you can interfere with the performance of public duties or undermine the fairness of law enforcement. Our superiors have always emphasized that our Party cadres must restrain themselves."

"No one is allowed to be above Party discipline and state law."

Du Cheng understood immediately, stood up, stood at attention, saluted, and pledged to complete the task assigned by the leader.

"Don't salute all the time, you don't need to do that in front of me."

Zhou Chuyi looked at Cheng Du and smiled, urging him to sit down again. "With me, you don't need to constantly express your opinion. I'll just observe how you act in the future."

"Yes." Cheng Du was still a little nervous when he sat down.

"You must have it tough too. You're the director of a branch office in a sub-provincial city with the top economy, yet your rank is only deputy division chief and your police rank is only second-level police inspector?"

"In your system, a second-level police inspector is a common standard rank for a section chief, and some deputy section chiefs can also hold this rank."

"Don't your system's leaders care about the fact that having a police inspector with an earpiece hanging on your shoulder is hindering your work?"

"This Zhao Donglai..." Zhou Chuyi shook his head, not going on to elaborate on Zhao Donglai.

"Okay, you just hold on for a while, and we'll match your rank with it later."

Zhou Chuyi's words almost brought tears to the eyes of Cheng Du, the branch director who felt somewhat stifled within the system.

Finally, someone saw how hard it was for them. A second-level police inspector. Their branch has several first-level police inspectors. You can imagine how powerless they are in carrying out their work.

Seeing that Cheng Du was about to stand up and pledge his loyalty again, Zhou Chuyi stopped him directly.

"Your problem is easy to solve. As long as you behave properly and don't give others any leverage, you will be promoted if you deserve it."

"Speaking of Comrade Chen Yanshi's issue, I just asked you to look into him as well."

"We need to get things done, but we can't make a big fuss about it. You know how much influence he has in Handong."

"Without solid evidence, you can't let people know you're investigating him. If the old comrade finds out, it could cause a scene and be bad for you."

"Boss, I know what to do." Cheng Du naturally knew that he could only investigate Chen Yanshi secretly.

If this really causes a huge uproar, wouldn't people tear this lowly police chief to shreds?

"Of course, Comrade Chen Yanshi has made contributions to Handong and is an old revolutionary and comrade. We should also consider his feelings."

Knowing that Du Cheng had taken it to heart, he said, "If you really find something out..."

"There's no need to expose it immediately, nor to hold anyone accountable right away."

"First, organize everything properly and make sure it's solid. After all, it involves former high-ranking officials, so it needs to be discussed at the Standing Committee meeting."

Cheng Du nodded repeatedly; he naturally knew about this.

Even if he discovers something wrong with Chen Yanshi, it's not up to him, a deputy director-level bureau chief, to decide how to handle it.