Chapter 1797
Inside the room.
One statement caused a ripple effect like a stone thrown into a thousand layers of waves.
The information embedded in Chief Chang Linâs single sentence was already significant enough.
Although Hu Hanbin and his colleagues werenât at the highest or lowest levels, they were aware of the situation to some extent. They knew about Li Guiâanâs transfer to the neighboring county as the new Party Secretary. Thatâs the top position in a county. They werenât blind or deaf; it would be hard not to know. Li Guiâan left around the 15th, and the position had remained vacant. In the meantime, the Deputy Party Secretary and County Mayor, Zhang Dongfang, had been temporarily filling in. However, Zhang Dongfang wasnât directly appointed Party Secretary, which sent a clear signal from the higher-ups. They were waiting for a new Party Secretary to take over the leadership in Jiaolin County, rumored to be someone parachuted in from a distant departmentâpossibly even the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI).
Everyone had heard the whispers.
So when Chief Chang Lin addressed him as âSecretaryâ with such deference and mentioned it was his first day on the job, Hu Hanbin and the officers quickly put the pieces together.
This man was their new County Party Secretary.
And they had arrested the County Party Secretary.
Words like âeverything went blackâ couldnât fully describe how Hu Hanbin and the officers felt then. It was more like the sky was collapsing. Only now did Hu Hanbin belatedly realize why Chief Chang had completely changed the moment he saw the manâs ID and had frantically ordered his release. Only now did he understand why so many County Party Committee members and officials had appeared outside. It wasnât because the man had some indirect connection to Chief Chang or just some random background. No, it was much more straightforward than that. He was their direct superior, their leader.
Hu Hanbin now felt utterly foolishâfoolish to the point of absurdity. He was so dumb that he might as well have run straight to his grandmotherâs house out of shame. He felt like bashing his head against the wall. He couldnât believe how stupid he had been. The situation was so simple, yet he hadnât figured it out. He had naively assumed that Dong Xuebing was someone with some background connected to Chief Chang. Only now did he realize how massively wrong he had been. His anger over his officers being sent to the hospital had clouded his judgment, causing him to lose control of his emotions and reasoning.
And now, look what had happened.
Their police station was going to become famous this time.
How could it not? Infamy was inevitable.
Damn, on the new County Party Secretaryâs first day in Jiaolin County, they had arrested him. Even the most infamous police stations couldnât outdo that. Wasnât this like defying the cityâs leadership? Wasnât this like slapping the province in the face? Thinking about the consequences, Hu Hanbin didnât know what to say anymore.
This was a disaster.
It was a complete disaster.
The door to the interrogation room was still open because Chief Chang Lin had rushed in to greet Dong Xuebing as soon as he arrived. One of the officers outside had overheard the conversation and was just as shocked. Unable to hold his tongue, he quickly shared the news with colleagues.
Upon hearing this, every officer had the same reaction.
They were dumbfounded, in disbelief, and utterly terrified.
One officer, who was close to the injured Liu Xing, immediately called the hospital after hearing the news.
Liu Xing answered, âHello, Old Zhou.â
âYou can still answer your phone?â The officer quickly asked.
Liu Xing grunted. âNothing serious, Iâll be discharged in a few days. By the way, I heard they're going to release him. Whatâs that about? Did they let him go?â Chief Chang had said it in the hospital, right before Liu Xing, so he had heard every word. Although he didnât dare say a thing at the time, it was only because he didnât have the rank to speak up. Inside, he was furious. He couldnât believe Chief Chang had decided to handle it this way. What kind of justice was this? How was his injury supposed to be accounted for? This was an assault on an officer! Liu Xing certainly didnât want to see Dong Xuebing getaway. He hadnât even avenged his beating yet. âHow can this be brushed off like that?â ĆáŒđá»BĐđź
On the other end, Old Zhou was at a loss for words. âLiu Xing, seriously, what do you mean by âbrushed offâ? Youâve stepped in it this time. Are you kidding me? Are you talking about holding him accountable? If I were you, Iâd lay low as fast as possible. Do you even know who we arrested?â
Liu Xing was stunned and angrily replied, âWhy should I hide? Iâm the one who got beaten. Who is he?â
Old Zhou replied, âHeâs our newly appointed County Party Secretary. His nameâs Dong Xuebing, transferred from the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.â
âWhat!?â Liu Xing was so shocked he almost fainted. âCounty Party Secretary? Heâs the new Secretary? Oh my god, are you sure?â
With a complicated tone, Old Zhou said, âWould I be calling you if I wasnât sure? Everyone knows now. The county leaders and many Party Committee members are all waiting at our station. Just one look at that scene, and youâll understand. Do you think theyâre joking around? This timeâŠâ
Liu Xingâs face turned pale. He had no more words to say. After hanging up, he sat silently for a long time, as if his soul had left his body.
A similar scene was happening elsewhere.
In a resting room at the police station, the burly man from the black car was sitting down. He had been brought back to the station along with the officers, as he was involved in the incident. Even if this hadnât happened, the burly man often came by the station anyway. He was close to Hu Hanbin, the police station chiefâtheyâd grown up together and were like brothers. The man was also familiar with many people in town, and the station found him helpful at times, so everyone knew him. Nobody treated him as an outsider since they knew he was the chiefâs buddy.
The news naturally reached him.
One of the officers told him, and after relaying the information, the officer looked at him like he was looking at a dead man and then walked off. Clearly, out of respect for Hu Hanbin, the officer had informed him, but it was obvious that the burly man was as good as finished.
The burly man, who had been smiling and smoking then, sat frozen for two minutes after hearing the news. Only when the cigarette burned down and scorched his fingers did he snap out of it, jumping up from his chair and letting out some strange soundâmore like a shout.
âCounty Party Secretary?â
âCounty Party Secretary?â
He had extorted highway tolls from the County Party Secretary.
He had even tried to hit the County Party Secretary in the car.
Itâs over. Heâd slammed into a steel wall this time.
At that moment, the burly manâs heart went cold. He didnât feel anything except that he was an idiotâa complete and utter fool.
If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.