I Cultivate in a Government Office

Chapter 210: Chapter 123: Bayonets See Red (2)

In the blink of an eye, an entire day passed.

As the sky grew completely dark, Li Yue and Sun Yi returned, travel-worn, bringing with them a large volume of interview materials and new investigative data.

Yang Wenqing finished up his work and took the reports, quickly scanning the key sections.

He then called Director Liao over for a meeting to discuss the information they had brought back during the day, conducting in-depth comparisons and analysis.

The meeting went on for over two hours. As time passed, fatigue showed on everyone’s faces. With more and more information compiled, they gradually began to piece together scattered bits of intelligence.

Li Yue pushed a few pages of compiled testimony to the center of the table, tapping a finger on them. "Day laborers from three different sources all mentioned that about three or four months ago, the Hongyuan Trading Company briefly recruited a group of people under the pretense of a ’high-paying, urgent call for a logging team.’ This group of people went missing, one by one, in less than half a month."

Sun Yi added, "My investigation found that the transport records of a shipping company under the Hongyuan Trading Company show that they also recruited some workers, who similarly disappeared without a trace shortly after leaving."

Liao Tianming’s brow was tightly furrowed as he flipped through another stack of files. "The period with the high frequency of disappearances is indeed connected to the Hongyuan Trading Company in one way or another. Furthermore, our two colleagues, Liu Rong and Wu Yan, were investigating the disappearances in the first place. The attack on them proves they were on the right track."

He picked up his cold teacup, took a sip of the cool tea, and continued, "These people aren’t very smart. Or rather, perhaps they were forced to act this way to buy some time. That means we need to speed up our investigation."

Yang Wenqing had been listening in silence, his gaze slowly moving between the various materials on the table. Finally, he looked at Wu Qianjun and said:

"According to the previous investigation report on the landslide, the mountain stronghold we eliminated was the very place they used for blood sacrifices. Can we boldly theorize that the disappearances, the landslide, and even the subsequent attack were all committed by the same person or organization?"

Liao Tianming looked at Yang Wenqing. "We don’t have much time to waste. Although the city has given us a month, the attack on our people shows that they’re just stalling. By the time our month is up, we might not be able to find anything. So, we can’t afford to go in the wrong direction."

Yang Wenqing adopted a thoughtful expression. All eyes in the room fell on him. Then, he spoke. "Li Yue, Sun Yi, you two will focus on investigating the background of the Hongyuan Trading Company. Find out who its real owner is. Director Liao, the Civil Affairs Bureau needs to audit this company’s financial transactions as soon as possible. I want to see the results by tomorrow evening. Any problems?"

"Sir!"

Li Yue and Sun Yi answered quickly.

Liao Tianming considered it for more than ten seconds before replying, "No problem."

Yang Wenqing then looked at Wu Qianjun and said, "The landslide case you were investigating before is clearly not closed. It might also be a key part of the attack case. You can continue to dig deeper. Re-examine any points that you previously found suspicious."

Wu Qianjun nodded. "That’s exactly what I was thinking."

Then, Yang Wenqing fell into thought again. The others waited for him in silence.

After about two minutes, he looked at Liao Tianming and said, "I think we should directly use the Soul-Searching Technique on the foremen and finance staff of the Hongyuan Trading Company. This might involve secrets on the Civil Affairs Bureau’s side, so I think it would be most appropriate for you to submit the application."

Liao Tianming’s brow furrowed slightly, but he quickly nodded in agreement. "Alright. I’ll give you an answer in two days at the latest."

Yang Wenqing nodded, then glanced at the people on either side of him. "Everyone, go back and get some rest. No need for all of us to stay up. A good rest will give us more energy to investigate the case."

Everyone nodded and said, "Yes, sir," then left one after another.

The conference room returned to silence, with only Yang Wenqing remaining.

He leaned back in his chair, his fingers unconsciously tracing the cool porcelain of his teacup. ’Just as Teacher Qin predicted, this case isn’t complicated in itself. The complicated part is the people behind it.’

Just as he was lost in thought, a rhythmic knock came from the door.

"Come in."

Yang Wenqing collected his thoughts.

The door was pushed open. It wasn’t Qian Lu who entered, but Zhang Li, who should have been leading a patrol. His expression was serious. He closed the door firmly behind him and said in a low voice, "Yang Group Leader, Vice Director Yan is here. He says he wants to see you."

Surprise filled Yang Wenqing’s face. This time, he was genuinely surprised.

"Please show him to the small reception room next door. I’ll be right there."

"Yes, sir."

Yang Wenqing straightened his slightly wrinkled uniform, stood up, and after thinking for a minute or two, walked to the specially prepared small reception room next door. Yan Song was already seated inside.

He had changed into a dark gray casual outfit. The imposing aura of his daytime uniform was gone, but his posture was still ramrod straight. The gentle smile on his face had also vanished, replaced by a reserved stillness.

"Dean Yan, still up so late?" Yang Wenqing greeted him politely and sat down across from him.

"Aren’t you also still up, Yang Group Leader? My apologies for the intrusion." After the greeting, Yan Song got straight to the point. "There were too many eyes and ears during the day, so it wasn’t convenient to talk in depth. Now that it’s just the two of us, we can be more candid."

Yang Wenqing looked at him without replying, simply assuming a listening posture.

Yan Song stopped beating around the bush. "The Inspectorate is not completely unaware of the issues in Lingshan Town, or rather, on certain levels in Qianjiao County. In fact, we’ve long had an independent line of investigation internally, but we’ve faced significant resistance."

"We know that in order for a project led by the Zhang family to launch smoothly in Lingshan Town and reap the maximum benefits, Zhang Qiming used a very secret channel to provide long-term and shockingly large kickbacks to two key vice directors in the county, and even to County Magistrate Wang’s secretary."

Yang Wenqing’s eyes narrowed slightly. ’This matches the records in Liu Min’s ledger. And for this old fox to just tell me this so directly, he obviously wants me to do something crucial.’

"Initially, we also thought this secret channel was one of the Zhang family’s usual fronts or an affiliated Commerce Association."

Yan Song’s tone shifted, taking on a hint of gravity and confusion. "But as we dug deeper, we discovered it wasn’t that simple. The way funds flowed through this channel, the operational style of the middlemen—none of it had much to do with the Zhang family. It seems to serve Zhang Qiming personally. We’ve been tracking it for a long time but have never been able to grasp the full picture, let alone obtain the definitive evidence needed to make a case."

"Until now. The attack on two of our officers, Liu Rong and Wu Yan; the exposure of the Hongyuan Trading Company; Jin Lai taking the fall; Vice Director Li being taken down... this series of events seems like a chain reaction triggered by your City Defense Bureau’s investigation into the attack. But from our perspective, it looks like someone was backed into a corner and forced to initiate an emergency protocol."

Then, Dean Yan added, "The reason I’m contacting you at this time is at Deputy Director Zhou’s suggestion. We’ve collaborated before, on the reconnaissance work prior to the last cleanup operation."

This final addition was to let Yang Wenqing know that Yan Song didn’t trust him, nor did he care if Yang Wenqing trusted him in return. Deputy Director Zhou’s guarantee was all that mattered.

Hearing this, everything suddenly clicked into place for Yang Wenqing. ’Deputy Director Zhou really was investigating Zhang Qiming from the very beginning. So, the night Hu the Fourth was arrested, Zhang Qiming’s appearance was deliberately arranged by the Deputy Director. And before, when Deputy Director Zhou was just watching from the sidelines, he was clearly observing Zhang Qiming, waiting for him to make a mistake.’

"Alright, I accept the collaboration. Let’s see what’s really hiding behind this veil of darkness!"

Yang Wenqing stood up and extended his hand. ’Using the Inspectorate to investigate the contents of Liu Min’s notebook would be far more effective than the City Defense Bureau doing it. But I won’t hand it over. This thing is tied to too many people. If I just gave it to them, the Inspectorate might sell me out.’

’It’s as I’ve always thought: investigate from the outside in, from the bottom up. By the time the core figures are implicated, the Inspectorate will most likely be in the same boat, and it will be too late for them to back out.’