At the Pinnacle of Power: My Insider Report Alarms Bigwigs in Beijing's Elite Circle

The next day, Lin Yi returned to Yunshan City.

At noon, Lin Yi invited Hou Tianming to a Sichuan restaurant near the Yunshan Municipal Party Committee Guesthouse to eat boiled fish.

"Why did Team Leader Lin suddenly decide to treat me to a better meal?"

Hou Tianming entered the small private room and joked with a smile.

Lin Yi was both amused and exasperated: "Director Hou, come on, the food at the guesthouse is much better than this little restaurant! Besides, I'm not even in the investigation team anymore, why are you still teasing me?"

"Who said you're no longer on the investigation team? Director Fu said you're still a member of our investigation team! To be precise, you're the chief advisor of the investigation team!"

Hou Tianming corrected him and then tossed Lin Yi a Yuxi cigarette.

Hou Tianming was a heavy smoker; when he worked with Lin Yi, he smoked at least two packs a day.

Lin Yi wasn't addicted to cigarettes, but he would occasionally smoke one with Hou Tianming.

"Consultant Lin, you invited me here today, it wasn't just to treat me to a nice meal, was it?"

Hou Tianming lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, exhaled a smoke ring, and then said meaningfully.

"Director Hou, do you know something?"

Lin Yi's heart stirred.

Ever since he met Hou Tianming, Lin Yi had always felt that Hou Tianming was not simple and was also very mysterious.

That day, Hou Tianming saluted Lin Yi, thanking him for helping him regain his confidence and determination, which further convinced Lin Yi of this.

Hou Tianming said with a smile, "Lu Ming, the director of the Qinghe County Public Security Bureau, is my apprentice."

"That was truly a stroke of luck—Qiao'er opening the door for his mother! What a coincidence!"

Lin Yi was taken aback at first, then smiled and made a joke.

Hou Tianming smiled wryly: "Why do you talk so much nonsense, kid?"

"Let's stop smoking for now, let's eat fish and chat."

Seeing that the fish in the pot was almost cooked, Lin Yi stubbed out his cigarette and handed Hou Tianming a pair of chopsticks.

Hou Tianming took the chopsticks, ate a piece of fish, and then said, "You have investigated and dealt with Wu Zhiqiang and Ye Yunfeng one after another. You are going to severely punish Zhang Sheng. No one in Yunshan's officialdom dares to stop you, but you should be careful of Zhang Sheng's brother-in-law, Gao Hu."

"I'm here today for Gao Hu. To be precise, for the Gao brothers!"

Lin Yi didn't hide anything.

"Oh?"

A glint flashed in Hou Tianming's eyes, his chopsticks, which were holding the fish, paused in mid-air for a moment, and then he asked, "What do you mean?"

"Director Hou, you should be well aware that the pollution of the political environment in Yunshan and even Dongjiang is largely related to the Gao brothers."

Lin Yi suggested.

Hou Tianming put down his chopsticks, lit another cigarette, took a deep drag, and said, "Of course I know."

"So you understand that the investigation team needs to clean up the political environment and crack down on corrupt officials, and that the Gao brothers must be taken down. Why didn't you suggest this to the leaders of the investigation team?"

Lin Yi also put down his chopsticks and looked directly at Hou Tianming.

Hou Tianming chuckled self-deprecatingly: "Do you think it would be useful to make suggestions to the leaders of the investigation team?"

"Why didn't it work?"

Lin Yi countered with a question.

Hou Tianming did not answer, but continued to ask: "The Gao brothers have committed evil deeds in Dongjiang and Yunshan for so many years, but have always been safe and sound. Do you know why?"

"They have powerful backers."

"Do you know who their backer is?"

"Chen Guangming, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee and Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, is the young master Zhao from Beijing!"

Lin Yi blurted it out.

"You actually knew that?!"

Hou Tianming's pupils suddenly contracted, his face filled with shock!

Lin Yi didn't say anything, but instead put a piece of fish on Hou Tianming's plate. It was the meat from the belly of the fish, which was fresh and fatty.

Hou Tianming didn't eat. Instead, he stared intently at Lin Yi for a few seconds before suddenly saying, "Lin Yi, haven't you always wanted to know my secret? I can tell you. But in exchange, you have to answer one question for me."

"it is good."

Lin Yi nodded, meeting Hou Tianming's gaze.

Hou Tianming made a startling statement: "Back then, in order to seize the coal mining rights, Jianglong Group shot and killed a businessman from the south. It was Gao Hu who led the men to do it. I arrested Gao Hu because of this incident, but eventually released him."

"Why were they released? Was it due to insufficient evidence?"

Lin Yi was slightly startled.

Although he remembered the report from the Gao brothers, Gao Long and Gao Hu, and knew that Gao Hu had shot and killed a southern merchant years ago, he did not know the details of how Hou Tianming arrested and then released Gao Hu.

This time, Hou Tianming didn't answer immediately. Instead, he lit his third cigarette, smoked half of it, and then continued, "The evidence was very strong, but I was ordered to take charge of other cases. The person who took over the case later ultimately released Gao Hu due to insufficient evidence. Afterwards, I was very angry and slammed my fist on the table with my superiors, insisting on reinvestigating Gao Hu, but my superiors refused. I was unwilling to give up, so I continued to secretly investigate that shooting case."

"Was it because of this that you were transferred to the Publicity Department of the Provincial Public Security Bureau?"

A thought popped into Lin Yi's mind.

"Yes and no."

Hou Tianming gave an ambiguous answer, then put the glowing cigarette butt in his palm and stubbed it out!

In that instant, Lin Yi clearly heard the sound of flesh being burned by a cigarette butt, and saw Hou Tianming's expression become extremely ferocious, exuding a terrifying aura.

That's murderous intent!

"Not long after, my daughter was drugged in a bar and then raped by a group of beasts. After they raped her, they dumped her on the street."

Hou Tianming lowered his head, his tone low and his voice hoarse.

"That day was the 24th of the twelfth lunar month, the Little New Year. A heavy snow fell on Yunshan Mountain, and my daughter was frozen into a snowman and left this world forever."

On New Year's Eve, my wife cooked a big meal for me and drank a bottle of wine with me. She said she felt dizzy and went to sleep, but she never woke up again.

She took a bottle of sleeping pills and left me a letter with only two sentences:

Tianming, I'm sorry, I miss my daughter.

I'm going to be with her now. Take care of yourself.

At this point, Hou Tianming lowered his head completely, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably!

"I'm sorry, Director Hou."

Lin Yi felt his heart clench, and he couldn't help but clench his fists, whispering an apology to Hou Tianming.

Because he knew that Hou Tianming's words were like cutting open a wound with a knife, leaving it bleeding profusely!

"call……"

Hou Tianming took a deep breath, then pulled another cigarette from the pack, but his hands trembled and he couldn't light it.

Seeing this, Lin Yi quickly got up and lit a cigarette for Hou Tianming.

Hou Tianming took deep drags on his cigarette, finishing the entire cigarette before his emotions calmed down.

"Director Hou, was Gao Hu responsible for what happened to your daughter?"

Lin Yi only spoke after seeing that Hou Tianming had calmed down.

"It was Gao Hu who secretly instructed them, but there was no conclusive evidence; they just sentenced those few beasts."

On the seventh day of the first lunar month that year, after my wife's burial, I went to Jianglong Group alone, intending to kill Gao Hu and avenge my wife and children. But Gao Long was prepared and had arranged to have dinner with people from the public security system at Jianglong Group's restaurant, where they stopped me. Because of that incident, I was transferred from Yunshan to the Publicity Department of the Provincial Public Security Bureau.

You asked me before, and I know a lot of things, but I won't tell the investigation team.

Because the Gao brothers wielded too much power, I dared not act rashly and could only patiently wait for an opportunity.

This time, I'm not sure if it's the opportunity I've been waiting for!

Hou Tianming then finished explaining the whole matter.

Then, he looked up and stared straight at Lin Yi again.

His eyes were bloodshot.

That moment.

Lin Yi saw expectation, but also fear, in those blood-red eyes.

Then, the man who was once hailed as the top detective in Yunshan and a legend in the Dongjiang police force asked in a trembling voice, "Lin Yi, you are very clear about the inside story of the investigation team's arrival in Dongjiang and Yunshan, and you also know Mayor Xiao's true background. Tell me the truth, can the investigation team touch the Gao brothers and Chen Guangming?"

"Brother Hou, I swear on my life that the Gao brothers and their protectors will be utterly destroyed!!"

Lin Yi met Hou Tianming's gaze and slowly spoke, his voice not loud, but his tone resolute!