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

Li Dakang and Qi Tongwei walked side by side into the gate of the Guangming District Branch.

City police chief Zhao Donglai and several other special police officers followed closely behind them, their hands already on the holsters at their waists.

However, the moment they saw the scene inside the hall, everyone froze in place as if nailed to the spot.

A chill ran from the soles of Zhao Donglai's feet straight up to the top of his head.

This is hardly the reception hall of a public security bureau.

This is clearly an execution ground where a one-sided massacre has just ended.

Dozens of police officers in uniform squatted in rows in the corner, their hands behind their heads.

Their faces showed no anger, no resentment, only a numbness and fear of utter devastation.

Like a group of prisoners of war awaiting their fate after a defeat.

On the opposite wall, a dark red stain was half-dried.

The shapes of the spray silently tell the story of the horrific scene that had occurred here not long ago.

That was the last trace that Old Ma, the criminal investigation team leader, left in this world.

In the very center of the hall, Cheng Du slumped into a chair.

His police uniform was torn to shreds, and his face was bruised and swollen like a pig's head.

When Qi Tongwei walked in, his eyes, which had been dull and lifeless, suddenly burst with a kind of wild joy at surviving a disaster.

He opened his mouth, making a "hoarse" sound in his throat, and struggled to stand up, as if he had seen his own father.

All eyes eventually turned to the man sitting in the commander's chair.

Heavy.

He did not get up.

He didn't even look up at the group of uninvited guests.

He was fiddling with a brass-colored windproof lighter in his hand.

"Click".

The crisp sound of metal opening and closing echoed in the hall.

one more time.

The sound wasn't loud, but it struck like a drumbeat, hitting the heart of every intruder.

Li Dakang's blood pressure spiked to its peak in that instant.

He felt his temples throbbing and a rush of heat to his head.

He pointed at Shen Zhong's hand, which trembled violently with extreme anger.

"Heavy!"

A roar shattered the eerie silence in the hall.

"Do you even have any respect for Party discipline and national laws?!"

"You led troops to storm a state building, openly shot and killed police officers, and kidnapped the police chief!"

"What do you want to do? Are you trying to rebel?!"

Li Dakang's voice was so loud that dust fell from the ceiling.

The people behind him, including Zhao Donglai, were all pale-faced and their palms were covered in cold sweat.

Qi Tongwei did not lose his composure like Li Dakang.

His face was grim, and his sharp gaze quickly swept across every corner of the hall.

He saw the soldiers scattered in various key positions, and the dark muzzles of their rifles.

He even noticed the reflection from the sniper's scope, which was faintly visible at the corner of the stairs on the second floor.

His heart sank little by little.

The firepower configuration here is not intended for a standoff.

This is a preparation to annihilate any force that dares to resist at any time.

Shen Zhong finally stopped fiddling with the lighter.

He raised his head, his calm gaze passing over the enraged Li Dakang and landing on Qi Tongwei.

"Secretary Dakang, please calm down."

His voice was soft, yet it reached everyone's ears clearly.

This light-hearted remark was like pouring a ladle of oil onto a red-hot iron plate.

Li Dakang could no longer contain himself.

"I'm agitated? I'm agitated!"

He pointed to the bloodstains on the wall, then to the policeman squatting in the corner.

"My men died on my own soil! My men were forced to kneel on the ground with guns pointed at their heads by your soldiers!"

"How can I not be agitated?!"

"I order you! Immediately! Right now! Disarm everyone! Hand over the murderer who opened fire!"

Qi Tongwei also took the opportunity to step forward. His crisp police superintendent uniform made him look more official and dignified than Li Dakang.

"Comrade Shen Zhong."

His address was formal, but his tone carried an undeniable pressure.

"I am Qi Tongwei, Deputy Director of the Provincial Public Security Department. I am now officially informing you that this area is now under the control of our police."

"Please order your men to lay down their weapons and cooperate with our investigation."

Just then, Cheng Du, who had been slumped in the chair, seemed to have used up his last bit of strength.

He rolled off the chair and crawled towards Qi Tongwei on all fours, leaving a wet trail behind him.

"Director...Director, save me!"

He cried out, his voice hoarse, filled with the desolation of surviving a catastrophe.

"They're devils! They're trying to kill us to cover their tracks!"

Qi Tongwei frowned slightly and quickly gave Cheng Du a wink.

The warning in his eyes was self-evident.

To shut up.

Don't fucking talk nonsense!

Unfortunately, they were so terrified that they couldn't grasp the meaning at all.

Shen Zhong stood up.

He ignored the extent to which the person was lying on the ground.

The military boots made a "clack, clack" sound as they stepped on the marble floor.

The voice was steady and powerful, actually drowning out Li Dakang's heavy breathing and Chengdu's wailing.

He walked step by step to Li Dakang.

He was half a head taller than Li Dakang.

This height advantage naturally gave him a downward-looking posture.

"Secretary Dakang."

His deep voice remained calm.

"Did you ask him before you got angry?"

His finger gently pointed to the person lying on the ground.

Do you know what he did?

He then pointed to the dark red stain on the wall.

"And do you even know why that policeman named Old Ma died?"

Li Dakang was taken aback by these two questions.

But he quickly realized that the other party was trying to shift the focus.

The veins on his neck were bulging.

"I don't care what he did! I don't care why that policeman died!"

"All I know is that this is Jingzhou! Not your heavy military camp!"

"No matter the reason, your military has no right to enforce the law in local areas, much less the right to kill people!"

Shen Zhong looked at him and gently shook his head.

There was no mockery in his eyes, but rather an emotion that was almost pity.

"They've been used as pawns, and they're still here counting money for the other person."

"Li Dakang, you really are..."

He didn't finish his sentence.

He simply turned around and casually waved to Zhou Weiguo, who was not far away.

His face was expressionless.

His voice, however, carried a chill that seemed to drop the temperature of the entire hall several degrees.

"Defend the country."

"For our Secretary Dakang and Director Qi."

"Let them see for themselves what exactly they're desperately trying to protect today."