Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

Handong, the provincial military compound.

Shen Zhong had just finished performing a set of Bajiquan when the phone rang.

The caller ID showed it was his former boss, who was already in a high position.

"Xiao Shen, you've made quite a stir in Handong this time."

A hearty laugh came from the other end of the phone from my old boss.

"The Zhong family has really gone to great lengths for their grandson-in-law, Hou Liangping."

The former leader briefly explained the conditions offered by the Zhong family.

"A supercomputing center, and you can calm down. That's quite a deal. So, what's your opinion?"

Shen Zhong walked to the window and looked at the tall white poplars outside.

"Boss, he's just a section chief, I don't even consider him a threat."

His voice was relaxed.

"Since the Zhong family is so sincere, I personally have no objection. Let's do as you say."

"Good! I knew you'd consider the bigger picture!"

The former leader was very satisfied with his answer.

"Then it's settled. I'll have my staff handle the formalities."

After hanging up the phone, a smile that others couldn't understand appeared on his solemn face.

It's better to let him out.

I have plenty of ways to make him stick his neck into the noose again.

Moreover, this time, no one will be able to get him out.

The deal was quickly finalized.

Military leaders praised Shen Zhong for his "magnanimity".

Two days later, the decision to suspend Hou Liangping from his duties pending investigation was officially revoked.

When Hou Liangping walked out of the detention center and put on his familiar prosecutor's uniform again, he did not feel the joy of regaining his freedom.

When he returned to the Anti-Corruption Bureau, he was greeted not with the concerned greetings of his colleagues, but with a series of complicated and evasive gazes.

There was sympathy, there was schadenfreude, but more than anything, there was a sense of estrangement and keeping a respectful distance.

He knew that although he had been released this time, his political career had been stained with an indelible mark.

The name Shen Zhong weighed heavily on his heart like a mountain.

He sat in his empty office, suppressing the anger in his chest.

He told himself to be patient.

A gentleman takes his revenge, even after ten years.

He'll keep a low profile and develop his strength stealthily. One day, he'll make Shen Zhong pay the price!

Just as he was trying to calm himself down, there was a knock on the office door.

An office worker walked in and placed a plain courier document bag on his desk.

"Director Hou, your package arrived from Handong."

Hou Liangping frowned.

Handong?

With a sense of doubt, he opened the file folder.

There were no files inside as he had imagined, only a letter and a black USB drive.

He unfolded the letter.

At the beginning of the letter, a line of bold text suddenly caught his eye.

—A formal complaint filed against Shen Zhong, deputy secretary of the Handong Provincial Military Region, for abusing his power for personal gain and arbitrarily mobilizing troops!

Hou Liangping stared intently at the letter on the table.

The first line of boldface text on the letter seemed to strike his eyes with an invisible force.

—A formal complaint against Shen Zhong, deputy secretary of the Handong Provincial Military Region, alleging that he mobilized the military to politically suppress his wife He Xia in order to secure her promotion!

His breath caught in his throat at that moment.

His pupils contracted sharply, and he reached out and picked up the thin sheet of paper.

The letter described in great detail, even with a touch of inflammatory language, how Shen Zhong, in order to avenge his wife He Xia, brazenly mobilized the army to raze a place called "Baimahe Sand Quarry" to the ground.

The letter mentioned bulldozers and fully armed soldiers.

Every word struck Hou Liangping's nerves, which were already stretched to the limit by humiliation.

His hands began to tremble, not from fear, but from an uncontrollable excitement.

He turned his gaze to another item in the file bag: a black USB drive.

He practically lunged at the computer and plugged in the USB drive.

Several photos popped up on the screen.

The photo is blurry and was taken from a great distance, as if it was hastily taken with a telephoto lens.

Even so, he could still clearly see that the background of the photo was a messy riverbank.

Several huge yellow bulldozers are at work.

In the distance, some blurry figures wearing camouflage uniforms could still be seen.

All of this perfectly corroborates the description in the letter.

"Heh...heh heh..."

Hou Liangping let out a suppressed laugh.

After so many days of pent-up frustration, the resentment, anger, and unwillingness that had been building up in my chest finally found a perfect outlet at this moment.

He's doing it again!

This is not a conspiracy, it's a golden opportunity! It's as if even God couldn't bear to watch anymore and personally handed him the decisive sword to avenge his humiliation!

He stood up from his chair and paced back and forth in the empty office, his mind racing.

In Hou Liangping's view, Shen Zhong's behavior was no different from that of warlords who held military power and disregarded the law!

This is a cancer in a society governed by the rule of law!

These are pustules that absolutely must be removed!

He, Hou Liangping, the director of the investigation department of the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Supreme People's Procuratorate, is the sharpest scalpel to carry out this cleansing operation!

This time, it wasn't for personal revenge.

He did it for justice! To uphold the dignity of the law!

This lofty sense of mission made his blood boil.

He picked up the phone on his desk and found the number of Zhang Xiangyang, the director of the General Administration.

He hovered his finger over the dial key for a moment, then lowered it with a cold laugh.

Zhang Xiangyang?

That timid, cowardly old fox who only knows how to smooth things over?

Let him approve the investigation of a provincial standing committee member with a powerful background and control over the military?

Does he dare?

He dares not!

He would only treat this whistleblower letter as a hot potato, reporting it up the chain of command until it was ultimately dropped.

It's better to rely on yourself than on others!

A resolute glint flashed in Hou Liangping's eyes.

He wants to do it himself!

He turned on his computer, skillfully logged into the internal system, and submitted an annual leave application.

Reason: To handle private matters.

After doing all this, he felt as if he had returned to that omnipotent state, wielding the gavel to decide life and death.

In the evening, I returned home.

Hou Liangping deliberately suppressed his inner excitement and pretended to eat as if nothing was wrong.

Zhong Xiaoai placed a piece of fish into his bowl, looking at him calmly.

You seem a bit off today.

Hou Liangping paused for a moment as he ate his rice.

"Really? Maybe you haven't been getting enough rest lately."

Zhong Xiaoai put down her chopsticks.

"Liangping, you should know how much the old man paid to get you out."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a certain pressure.

"That Shen Zhong is not someone you can afford to mess with now."

"The old man will find a way to make him pay the price, so don't have any other ideas now."

Hou Liangping frowned.

He disliked his wife speaking to him in such a lecturing tone.