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

The study on the second floor of the family compound of the Provincial Party Committee in Handong.

Gao Yuliang, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, was standing in front of an antique-style desk.

On the table was a uniquely shaped bonsai of a welcoming pine tree.

He was holding a small pair of silver scissors and carefully trimming the excess branches and leaves.

This process requires immense patience and focus, just like his conduct and interpersonal skills during his decades-long career in the officialdom of Handong.

A bolt of lightning ripped through the night sky outside the window, followed by a muffled rumble of thunder.

Gao Yuliang's hand moved slightly.

The blade of the scissors grazed a side branch that shouldn't have been pruned at all, leaving a faint white mark.

He stopped what he was doing, put the scissors on the table, and his brows furrowed unconsciously.

An inexplicable sense of unease was slowly rising from the bottom of my heart.

He walked to the window and pushed it open a crack.

The damp, cold air, carrying the earthy smell, rushed in, instantly invigorating him.

"Knock knock knock".

There was a gentle knock on the study door.

"Come in."

Gao Yuliang did not turn back.

His secretary pushed open the door and entered, her footsteps light, but her tone carried an undisguised urgency.

"Secretary Gao, this is a message I just received."

"The Provincial Special Police Corps and the Anti-Terrorism Assault Team, a total of three detachments, with more than 300 people, were urgently assembled 15 minutes ago and have already been deployed."

Gao Yuliang picked up the teacup on the table and blew on the floating tea leaves.

"Have you found out where they went?"

"Found it."

The secretary lowered her voice even further.

"All the vehicles are heading in one direction: Jingzhou, Guangming District."

Gao Yuliang stopped drinking his tea.

He slowly turned around, and a sharp glint appeared in his eyes behind his glasses.

"Where is Qi Tongwei? Where is he now?"

The secretary's Adam's apple bobbed.

"Deputy Director Qi is personally leading the team."

Gao Yuliang slammed the teacup down on the table, spilling tea and wetting a small section of the document.

"What is he trying to do by bringing so many people to the Guangming branch! Is he openly confronting Shen Zhong?!"

Gao Yuliang's expression changed completely.

Qi Tongwei.

They are driven by short-sighted ambitions and willing to pay any price to climb the ladder.

What made him so reckless, even acting without consulting his teacher?

There must be a promise behind it that he couldn't refuse.

A promise he was willing to risk his life for.

In Handong, there's no one who can offer such a price and still command Qi Tongwei.

Who else could it be but that person?

Zhao Lichun.

What a clever tactic of using someone else to do the dirty work.

What a clever tactic of using one tiger to devour another.

He won, and Zhao Lichun reaped the benefits.

Even if they lose, it will be Qi Tongwei who dies, and it will have nothing to do with the Zhao family.

The more Gao Yuliang thought about it, the colder he felt inside.

He immediately took out his phone from his pocket and dialed the number.

……

On the main road leading from Jingzhou to Guangming District.

A convoy of more than a dozen black special police troop carriers and command vehicles was speeding along, cutting through the floodwaters in the pouring rain.

Inside the command vehicle in the very middle.

Qi Tongwei, dressed in a crisp police superintendent uniform, sat upright at the command post.

On the screen in front of him, a real-time satellite map of the vicinity of the Guangming Branch was displayed.

My phone suddenly started vibrating violently in my pocket.

Qi Tongwei took it out and glanced at it.

The word "teacher" flashing on the screen made his heart skip a beat.

He hesitated.

This was the first time he had ever felt like not wanting to answer the phone when he received this call.

The SWAT captain next to him noticed something was wrong with his expression and stopped reporting.

For a moment, the only sounds in the carriage were the buzzing of electricity and the patter of raindrops hitting the roof.

In the end, Qi Tongwei swiped to answer the call.

He put the phone to his ear, his voice filled with the same respect as always.

"Teacher Gao."

On the other end of the phone, there was none of the usual gentleness, only a barrage of harsh questions.

"Qi Tongwei! What exactly are you trying to do?!"

Gao Yuliang's voice was loud, filled with barely suppressed anger.

"Do you know where you're taking these people? Do you know who you're going to be facing?"

Qi Tongwei held his phone and remained silent for a few seconds.

"Teacher, I was on official business."

His voice was calm, revealing no emotion.

"The Guangming District Public Security Bureau was attacked by unidentified armed forces, resulting in injuries and deaths among police officers, and the bureau chief was illegally detained."

"As the deputy director of the provincial public security department, I have the responsibility and the obligation to maintain local security and restore social order."

He delivered his prepared set of official verses in a grand and dignified manner.

"Nonsense!"

Gao Yuliang whispered something over there.

Don't give me those polite words!

"I'm asking you, don't you know who stormed the branch office? It was Shen Zhong! A member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee, and a military member of the Provincial Military Region Standing Committee!"

"You brought SWAT teams to confront him? Did you have that authorization? This is a serious conflict between the military and police; have you considered the consequences?"

Qi Tongwei's lips tightened.

"Teacher, precisely because he is a soldier, we must not let him act recklessly."

"The military's reach should not extend too far, much less interfere in our local government affairs."

"This is a matter of principle."

"in principle?"

Gao Yuliang laughed with amusement.

"You want to talk to me about principles? Don't think I don't know what you're thinking!"

"Did Zhao Lichun promise you some benefits? Was he the head of the Public Security Bureau? Or the vice governor?"

Gao Yuliang's words were like a sharp knife, piercing directly into Qi Tongwei's heart.

"Qi Tongwei, let me tell you, you're playing with fire!"

"This is a battle of gods, why are you going to join in?"

"Zhao Lichun is using you as a pawn, as cannon fodder! You bring your troops back right now, immediately!"

Gao Yuliang's voice already carried a hint of pleading.

He didn't want to see his most promising student's future ruined so inexplicably.

Inside the command vehicle, Qi Tongwei's breathing was somewhat heavy.

The teacher is still too conservative.

Fortune favors the bold.

Qi Tongwei understood this principle better than anyone else.

He's waited all these years, isn't this the kind of opportunity he's been waiting for?

An opportunity that could allow him to rise to the top and trample everyone else under his feet.

Now that the opportunity is right in front of him, how could he possibly back down?

"teacher."

Qi Tongwei spoke, his tone carrying a hint of detachment.

"I'm already near the scene."

"The arrow is on the string, and it must be released."

After saying that, he didn't give Gao Yuliang another chance to speak.

He pressed the hang-up button immediately.

This was the first time in his life that he had ever hung up on his teacher on his own initiative.