Chapter 1402
A Hot Potato Handed Over to the Inspectorate
Suddenly, Zhong Baoyu seemed to remember something, his eyes lit up slightly, he leaned closer and lowered his voice even further.
"Director Luo, I have an idea. What do you think? Since Fan Chuncheng's problem involves leading cadres, perhaps... it would be more appropriate to hand it over to a more professional department?"
"A more specialized department?"
Luo Fei looked at him.
Zhong Baoyu nodded and whispered.
"Yes. I heard that the inspection team sent down from the province has arrived in our Dongguan City these past two days and is conducting unannounced investigations into some petitions and misconduct issues. Do you think we could transfer Vice Mayor Fan's case to the inspection team? They are much more efficient in handling this matter than our local police, both in terms of authority and procedures."
Inspection team?
Luo Fei was visibly taken aback when he heard this.
The six-story building that served as the inspection team's temporary residence was quite inconspicuous in the suburbs of Dongguan. Its gray exterior and boxy shape made it look rather shabby compared to the surrounding self-built houses with their bright tiles. The only distinguishing feature was perhaps the few official vehicles with provincial license plates parked in the open space in front of the building, and the two uniformed policemen standing ramrod straight at the entrance—this was a security team dispatched by the local municipal bureau at their request, on duty in shifts 24 hours a day.
The interior of the building is also quite simple. The lower four floors have been converted into temporary office space, with rooms opened up and filled with simple tables, chairs, filing cabinets, and computer equipment.
The air was filled with a faint smell of paper, ink, and instant noodles. The top two floors were the dormitory area, with similarly simple conditions, just enough to meet basic living needs.
The entire working group, from the group leader to the ordinary members, lived and ate in this building. They relied on taking turns sending people to buy food nearby or ordering takeout for their three meals a day. There was no dedicated chef.
This almost ascetic working environment also indicates the special nature and confidentiality of their mission.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the largest temporary conference room on the fourth floor was so heavy it was almost palpable.
Zhang Wenzhong, the head of the inspection team, sat at the head of the rectangular conference table. He was around sixty years old, with his hair neatly combed and his temples already showing signs of gray, but his complexion was ruddy, and his eyes were bright and piercing, revealing the sharpness and composure of someone who had been through many battles. However, at this moment, his brows were tightly furrowed, forming a deep frown line.
Several thin investigation reports lay spread out in front of him, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table, making a dull "tap-tap" sound.
The seven or eight team members, both men and women, mostly between forty and fifty years old, sat around the conference table. They all looked serious, their brows furrowed with obvious fatigue and anxiety. On the table were several cups of tea that had long since gone cold, and a few empty instant noodle containers that hadn't been cleaned up after the meal.
Comrades.
Zhang Wenzhong finally stopped typing, his voice deep and clear, echoing in the quiet conference room.
"We've been down here for three days now."
Three days isn't a long time, but it's not short either. And all we have are these.
He picked up the reports in front of him, shook them, and the papers rustled softly.
"What substantial, game-changing things have we gained from these superficial, bland, and almost certainly carefully 'polished' submissions?"
He surveyed the group, his gaze piercing. The group members either lowered their heads in thought or shook their heads slightly; no one answered. The oppressive atmosphere grew even heavier.
"No."
Zhang Wenzhong himself gave the answer, his tone carrying a hint of barely perceptible helplessness and heaviness.
"We are like being blocked by an invisible wall, and what we see is what others want us to see."
All we heard were airtight, bureaucratic statements. The officials we encountered either claimed ignorance, swore absolute certainty, or were extremely polite but immediately reported back on the questions we asked and the people we contacted. Our work had reached a stalemate, and right from the start, we'd hit an impenetrable wall!
A middle-aged team member with a refined demeanor and black-rimmed glasses pushed up his glasses, cleared his throat, and began to speak.
“Minister Zhang, I believe the root of the problem lies in the fact that we are not dealing with isolated, problematic officials, but with a highly organized group with deeply intertwined interests, or rather, a tight-knit network.”
He picked up a hard-boiled egg and an ordinary ballpoint pen, stood the egg upright on the table, and gently touched the eggshell with the tip of the pen.
"In my view, the situation in Dongguan is like an egg. The Xue family, or rather the vested interest group centered around Xue Jingshan, is the yolk, the most crucial part, containing the most 'nutrients' and problems."
And these outside.
He sketched a circle with the pen.
"These officials at all levels who collude with each other, cover for each other, and jointly maintain the status quo, including those we tried to contact today but failed to reach, are like the hard, smooth, and difficult-to-break-through eggshell on the outside."
Together they form a robust defense system, protecting the core within.
He paused, noticing that everyone's attention had been drawn to him, including Zhang Wenzhong, who nodded slightly, signaling him to continue.
"Our current investigative approach is like trying to gently tap an eggshell from all directions in the hopes of finding a crack."
As the group member spoke, he gently tapped the egg with a pen in different directions.
"But what was the result? The eggshell was too hard, our strength was too scattered, or we couldn't exert any strength at all—the materials provided to us by the other party were all screened and rendered harmless; the people we wanted to talk to could always find reasonable excuses to refuse or agree on a unified story in advance."
Therefore, our progress has been slow, or even stagnant.
He spun the egg in his hand, then pointed the pen tip at a seemingly ordinary spot on one end of the egg and applied a little pressure.
With a soft "click," the eggshell cracked, revealing the white egg white inside.
"To get to the core, we must change our strategy. We can't aimlessly tap the whole eggshell; instead, we need to find a relatively weak point, or a key point where we can create a weakness, and concentrate all our strength and resources, like the tip of this pen, to plunge it in hard and pry open a hole!"
His tone became forceful.
"Once the eggshell cracks or even breaks open, the contents inside will be exposed."
And the best target for this weakness is the officials themselves who form the 'eggshell'!
He put down the eggs and pen, his gaze sweeping over his colleagues. "If any of these colluding officials, out of pressure, fear, unequal distribution of benefits, or for any other reason, were willing to speak to us and provide clues—even just directional ones—then our efficiency in breaking through this barrier would be far greater than our current method of circling on the periphery and passively receiving filtered information!"
A low murmur arose in the conference room.
This metaphor is vivid and profound, accurately describing the current predicament faced by the inspection team and the potential direction for breaking the deadlock.
Zhang Wenzhong nodded slowly and said in a deep voice.
"Professor Li's analysis is very insightful, and his analogy is also very apt. The egg theory is very vivid. Finding the weak point on the 'egg shell' and breaking through from the inside is indeed an efficient method."
but."
He changed the subject, his tone becoming serious.
"Getting these officials, who have formed a community of shared interests, where everyone prospers or suffers together, to step forward and report their colleagues, breaking their silence, is no easy task under the current high pressure and mutual vigilance. It requires an opportunity, a sufficiently powerful bargaining chip that can instill fear or give them hope, and, more importantly, it requires us to accurately select our targets. This is a tough battle, destined to be an arduous one."
The most urgent task is to select a suitable 'point' that could potentially become a breakthrough, concentrate our efforts, and attempt to change the situation. Does anyone have any specific goals or suggestions?
The meeting fell into discussion again, with group members bringing up the names of officials they had observed and contacted over the past few days that they believed might have problems or weaknesses in their character, and analyzing the probability that they might become the breakthrough point.
But after much discussion, they still lacked a truly credible target. After all, who among those who can secure a place in the "eggshell" market isn't a shrewd individual? Who doesn't have some kind of backing?
Just then, there was a gentle knock on the conference room door, which was then pushed open a crack.
Zhang Wenzhong's secretary, a young man in his thirties who wore glasses and looked very capable, strode in.
With a mixture of surprise, disbelief, and urgency on his face, he walked a few steps to Zhang Wenzhong's side, bent down, covered his mouth with his hand, and hurriedly reported in a very low but clear voice that anyone nearby could hear.
"Minister Zhang, downstairs... Director Luo Fei is here."
"Who?"
Zhang Wenzhong didn't react for a moment and asked a question subconsciously.
The secretary swallowed hard, raising her voice slightly, but still keeping it down.
"Luo Fei, Director Luo of the National Security Bureau."
He...he brought Vice Mayor Fan Chuncheng here, he's downstairs! Vice Mayor Fan seems to still be unconscious, he had to be carried up!
"what?!"
Zhang Wenzhong suddenly stood up, the chair legs scraping against the ground with a screeching sound.
His composure was instantly replaced by immense surprise, and he even involuntarily raised his voice.
"Luo Fei? He brought Fan Chuncheng here? He was carried in unconscious?"
His sudden action and loud tone instantly interrupted all the discussions in the meeting room.
All the team members turned around in unison, their eyes fixed on Zhang Wenzhong and his secretary, their faces filled with astonishment and confusion. Luo Fei? The young director of the National Security Bureau who had recently risen to prominence within the system? He brought Vice Mayor Fan Chuncheng here? And he's still unconscious? This… this is too much information!
Zhang Wenzhong realized his lapse in composure, but he couldn't care less about that at the moment.
The enormous shock and the accompanying almost instinctive premonition—that the "opportunity" to break the deadlock might arrive in the most unexpected way—made his heart race.
He quickly made a gesture to everyone in the conference room.
"The meeting is adjourned! Everyone, please feel free to discuss the directions and possible goals that Professor Li just mentioned. I have some urgent business to attend to."
After saying that, he didn't linger any longer. Without even straightening his clothes, he hurriedly followed his secretary and strode out of the conference room, his footsteps sounding particularly rapid in the empty corridor.
In the corridor, the secretary almost had to jog to keep up with Zhang Wenzhong's pace, as he spoke at an even faster pace, adding details of what he had seen downstairs.
"Director Luo arrived in a municipal police car and parked right at the building entrance. Vice Mayor Fan was lying on a stretcher, indeed unconscious. He was carried up by two young men who weren't in police uniform but looked quite unusual. He's currently on the landing between the third and fourth floors. Director Luo and a few of his team members are waiting at the stairwell entrance, saying they're waiting for you."
Zhang Wenzhong kept walking, his mind racing. Luo Fei… the old squad leader's grandson!
Why did he suddenly come here? And bring Fan Chuncheng here? And in a coma at that! Although he received a very brief, vague, and even trembling report from Gao Linfeng about the situation in Xuejia Village, knowing that Luo Fei had swiftly suppressed the situation and taken Xue Jingshan and Xue Shihao away, Gao Linfeng seemed hesitant about the part concerning Fan Chuncheng, speaking very vaguely, only mentioning that Vice Mayor Fan was "emotionally agitated and physically unwell." Now it seems that this "unwell" is far too serious! Luo Fei has directly "transported" him to the inspection team!
This kid, he's still so...so unpredictable, so unconventional! But for some reason, besides astonishment, Zhang Wenzhong felt a sudden glimmer of hope. Fan Chuncheng was one of the key figures they had identified on the "eggshell," and they were struggling to find a suitable entry point!
Taking three steps at a time, Zhang Wenzhong quickly arrived at the entrance to the corridor leading from the fourth floor to the third floor.
There stood several people, the leader of whom was tall and upright, with a young face but a calm demeanor that did not match his age. It was Luo Fei.
Several men and women stood beside him, each with a different temperament, but all with sharp eyes, silently and vigilantly observing their surroundings; they were members of the Ghost Team.
On the landing a few steps below, a simple stretcher lay on the ground, upon which lay a fat man in an expensive suit, but whose hair was disheveled, face ashen, and eyes closed. Who else could it be but Fan Chuncheng? On either side of the stretcher stood two young men, one with an icy demeanor and the other silent as a mountain. They were Qinglong and Wuming.
Seeing Zhang Wenzhong rushing over, Luo Fei smiled faintly and stepped forward to greet him.
Zhang Wenzhong's gaze first fell on Luo Fei's face, a face that vaguely resembled the old squad leader's youthful features, which made his heart suddenly warm, and a strong emotion rushed to his throat.
He strode forward, not extending his hand to shake hands first, but instead opening his arms wide and giving Luo Fei a firm hug, patting Luo Fei's back forcefully.
"Good! Good lad!"
Zhang Wenzhong released Luo Fei, but still held his shoulders with both hands, looking him up and down. His eyes were slightly red, and his voice was filled with obvious excitement.
"So alike! So alike! There's a resemblance to our old squad leader in his eyes and brows!"
"A handsome and talented man indeed! The old squad leader has a worthy successor. Seeing you fills me with... both joy and emotion!" (End of Chapter)