radiothebook Chapter 55 The Gaze at the Standing Committee Meeting, Li Dakang's Fury
Chapter 55 The Gaze at the Standing Committee Meeting, Li Dakang's Fury
Meeting Room No. 1, Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.
The air felt so still it seemed like it could drip water. The central air conditioning was set to a comfortable 24 degrees Celsius, but the dozen or so standing committee members present felt a chill run down their spines.
"Snapped!"
A delicate purple clay teacup slammed heavily onto the mahogany conference table, its lid bouncing twice with a crisp, startling sound.
Li Dakang sat in the main seat, his signature large, European-style double eyelids now wide open in anger. His gaze swept across the conference room like a knife, finally fixing on Qi Tongwei, who was sitting at the end of the meeting.
"Playing the piano haphazardly! It's utterly nonsensical!"
Li Dakang's voice echoed in the enclosed space, carrying an barely suppressed urge to retaliate: "Comrades, Jingzhou's GDP has just begun to pick up, and the Guangming Peak project is at a critical juncture. And what happened? Our district head was taken away simply for looking at the stars at home! What kind of behavior is this? This is self-destruction!"
He suddenly stood up, his knuckles slamming against the table with a loud "thump, thump, thump".
"Some comrades, having only been in office for a few days, haven't seemed to be doing any serious work, but they're quite adept at infighting and fabricating incriminating evidence! Are they trying to create panic among the cadres in Jingzhou?! Huh?!"
Although no names were mentioned, everyone knew who this anger was directed at.
The meeting room was completely silent. Zhang Shuli, the secretary of the Discipline Inspection Commission, lowered his head and drank tea, while Lin Jianguo, the head of the Organization Department, pretended to look at his notes. No one dared to offend Li Dakang at this critical juncture.
Only Qi Tongwei remained calm.
He leaned back in his chair, his hands clasped in front of him, even having the leisure to admire the tea leaves bobbing in his cup. Today he wore a crisp, ink-black police uniform, the two bars and three stars on his shoulders gleaming under the lights.
[System notification: High-intensity political pressure detected.]
[Current Dignity Value Assessment: If the host chooses to remain silent/apologize, 500 dignity points will be deducted, and the host will gain the title "Li Dakang's Subordinate"; if the host chooses to retaliate and seize the legal high ground, 800 dignity points will be awarded, and the achievement "Heart of a Loyal Minister" will be unlocked.]
Qi Tongwei's lips curled into a barely perceptible, cold smile.
If it were the Qi Tongwei from his past life who only thought about "progress," he would probably be sitting on pins and needles right now, thinking about how to put on a smiling face and how to explain.
But now?
"Secretary Dakang."
Qi Tongwei spoke slowly, his voice not loud, but with a strange penetrating power that instantly cut off Li Dakang's roar.
He stood up, his posture as upright as a pine tree, and calmly met Li Dakang's aggressive gaze.
"Are you referring to me when you say 'certain comrades'?"
Li Dakang was taken aback, clearly not expecting Qi Tongwei to dare to accept the challenge in public. He sneered, "You know perfectly well! Sun Liancheng is the district head of Guangming District. Arresting someone without solid evidence, based solely on a summons from the Supreme People's Procuratorate—how did you, the police chief, cooperate? Do you have any principles?"
"in principle?"
Qi Tongwei smiled, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. He took a photo from the file folder in front of him and gently pushed it to the center of the table.
"Secretary Dakang, if I remember correctly, the night Ding Yizhen fled, it was also in this conference room, and it was a meeting you chaired. And what happened? Before the meeting was even over, he was already on a flight to the United States."
Qi Tongwei's voice suddenly turned cold, carrying a chilling aura: "Ding Yizhen ran away, leaving behind a huge hole of 28 billion yuan and a mess at Dafeng Factory. Now the Supreme People's Procuratorate has followed the clues and found Sun Liancheng, and discovered the illegal land approvals. What, in your eyes, this is called internal strife?"
"You..." Li Dakang's face froze.
"If we don't even dare to investigate, if we don't even dare to ask questions, are we being responsible to the millions of people in Jingzhou? Are we being responsible to Party discipline and the law?"
Qi Tongwei stepped forward, placed his hands on the table, leaned forward, creating a very imposing posture, and stared directly into Li Dakang's eyes.
"Scraping the bone to remove poison is painful, but it can save lives. Ignoring the disease and avoiding treatment will only allow the entire body of Handong to rot. Secretary Dakang, you are a reform leader, you should understand this principle better than I do."
Dead silence.
Absolute silence.
The Standing Committee members present held their breath, their hearts pounding. This was too audacious! It was practically a head-on confrontation with Li Dakang, armed with bayonets!
Li Dakang's chest heaved violently, and the muscles in his face twitched slightly. He wanted to get angry, but he realized that Qi Tongwei's words were on the high ground of the rule of law and morality, leaving him with no way to refute them.
At this critical moment, when tensions were high and it seemed like an explosion was imminent—
"Ring ring ring..."
The red secure phone on the table suddenly rang.
The sound was particularly jarring in the quiet conference room.
Li Dakang took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and picked up the microphone: "Hello, this is Li Dakang."
On the other end of the phone came a steady, deep, and somewhat authoritative voice.
"Is this Secretary Dakang? This is Sha Ruijin."
Li Dakang's expression changed instantly; his anger vanished in a flash, and his back unconsciously bent slightly: "Secretary Sha! Hello, hello! We are currently holding a Standing Committee meeting..."
"Yes, I know." Sha Ruijin's voice was unhurried. "I heard that Comrade Hou from the Supreme People's Procuratorate has been making quite a stir in Jingzhou? He's even investigated Sun Liancheng?"
"Yes...that's true." Li Dakang glanced at Qi Tongwei, a fine layer of sweat beading on his forehead. "I'm currently criticizing my subordinates. They need to pay attention to their work methods and avoid presuming guilt..."
"Hey, Comrade Dakang, you can't say that," Sha Ruijin interrupted him. "Whether it's the deputy mayor or the district head, as long as they break the law, they must be investigated thoroughly. Comrade Qi Tongwei from the Public Security Bureau did a good job, cooperating with the central investigation and maintaining a firm stance. That's what you call having a sense of the big picture."
Li Dakang's hand holding the microphone froze.
It was a resounding slap, delivered across the telephone line, landing hard on his face.
"Yes... Secretary Sha's instructions are correct. We were a bit too conservative in our thinking..." Li Dakang managed to squeeze out these words.
"Alright, you can continue your meeting. Remember, stability is important, but anti-corruption is the bottom line."
The phone hangs up.
Li Dakang held the receiver, stunned for a few seconds, before slowly putting it down. When he looked at Qi Tongwei again, his gaze had changed. It was no longer the condescending look one would give a subordinate, but rather a hint of apprehension, even a hint of...fear.
When did Qi Tongwei get in touch with Sha Ruijin?
"Meeting adjourned!"
Li Dakang grabbed his teacup, strode out of the conference room without looking back, his back view appearing somewhat disheveled.
[Ding!] [Host has completed a memorable scene: Debating with a group of scholars and impressing Li Dakang.] [Reward: 800 Dignity Points.] [Current Evaluation: You are no longer a pawn in the officialdom of Handong, but the one wielding the chess pieces.]
Qi Tongwei straightened his collar and walked out of the conference room with a calm expression.
At the end of the corridor, a window was open, and a storm was brewing.
……
Back at the Municipal Bureau, I had just entered the lobby.
"Director Qi!"
A clear, urgent female voice rang out.
Qi Tongwei stopped in his tracks. He saw Lu Yike walking briskly towards him. She was Hou Liangping's subordinate and also the head of a division in the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Handong Provincial Procuratorate.
Today, Lu Yike wore a fitted prosecutor's uniform, the navy blue fabric tightly hugging her mature and voluptuous figure. Because she had run so fast, her full, high breasts heaved violently beneath her white shirt, as if the few buttons might burst open at any moment. A few strands of hair clung to her slender neck with sweat, and her skin glowed white, radiating a healthy yet wild rosy hue.
What's most striking are her long, straight, and toned legs encased in suit trousers. Every step she takes carries a rhythm unique to capable women, yet it also inadvertently reveals a breathtaking sexiness.
"Director Qi, Chen Hai has made a major discovery!" Lu Yike gasped for breath, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the man who had just dominated the municipal party committee with a hint of admiration.
"Let's talk in the office." Qi Tongwei's gaze darkened slightly.
Inside the office, Chen Hai had been waiting for quite some time. He had dark circles under his eyes, clearly having not slept all night, but he was extremely excited.
"Tongwei! We found it!"
Chen Hai slapped a printed vehicle information sheet on the table, pointing to a blurry photo of a Steyr truck: "Although this vehicle is using a fake license plate, I had the technical department compare the ETC data and highway checkpoint surveillance data across the province. This vehicle belongs to 'Jingzhou Longteng Logistics Company'."
"Longteng Logistics?" Qi Tongwei squinted.
"That's right! Although the legal representative of this company is a puppet, the actual controlling shareholder behind it..." Chen Hai took a deep breath, his voice trembling slightly, "is the Shanshui Group!"
Shanshui Group.
It's the Shanshui Group again.
Qi Tongwei walked to the window and looked at the gloomy sky outside. All the clues had come to a dead end. Although Zhao Ruilong was in jail, his cronies and those who had benefited from the situation were still struggling frantically.
This car was the "accident" they had prepared.
In the original novel, Chen Hai was hit by this car on his way to report after discovering this clue, and became a vegetable, which lasted until the very end.
"Hai Zi".
Qi Tongwei turned around, his voice low and menacing.
"Huh?" Chen Hai was still excited. "I'm going to report this to the provincial party committee right now! This is irrefutable evidence! As long as we arrest that driver..."
You are not allowed to go anywhere.
Qi Tongwei walked over and pressed his hands down heavily on Chen Hai's shoulders like iron clamps. The immense force made Chen Hai grimace.
"Tongwei, what are you doing?" Chen Hai asked, puzzled.
"Listen, this is not a suggestion, it's an order."
Qi Tongwei's eyes shimmered with a deep blue light, his [Insight into People's Hearts] skill fully activated. He seemed to see Death standing behind Chen Hai, wielding his scythe.
"From this moment forward, your phone is confiscated, and you are cut off from all external communication. You will stay here at the Municipal Public Security Bureau, where you will live and eat. Without my written order, if you dare to step out of the bureau's gates, I will break your legs!"
Chen Hai was stunned, and Lu Yike next to him was so frightened that she covered her rosy lips.
"Is...it that serious?"
"It's more serious than you think." Qi Tongwei released his grip, took a key from the drawer, and tossed it to Lu Yike. "Yike, you're in charge of keeping an eye on him. If he gets away, I'll hold you responsible."
After saying that, Qi Tongwei grabbed the tactical jacket hanging on the hanger and strode out.
"Tongwei, where are you going?" Chen Hai shouted behind him.
Qi Tongwei didn't turn around; he simply waved his hand with his back to them. In the dimly lit corridor, his back looked exceptionally aloof and resolute, like a wolf king about to step into the wilderness.
"I'm going to meet the owner of this car."
"Some accounts need to be settled."