Chapter 26

This time the project team stationed in Nanzhou City without giving prior notice to the Nanzhou Municipal Party Committee and city government. After arriving in Nanzhou, they temporarily stayed at the Qinghu Guesthouse, and the office was also set up there.

When Lin Dongfan led the team out to arrest someone, He Yanqing, who had been holding back his words all the way, finally spoke them out.

He said to Lin Dongfan, "Comrade Dongfan, you can 100% find Cheng Dao's corruption evidence; this is the military order you pledged in front of everyone."

Military order?

When did I ever pledge a military order?

After this inexplicable tightening spell was laid on him, Lin Dongfan wanted to give He Yanqing's ancestors a piece of his mind.

Suffering from the nine-year compulsory education not yet forgotten, morality, intellect, physique, beauty, and labor remain rooted in his bones; Lin Dongfan can only suppress his temper a bit, pretending to be carefree.

Lin Dongfan smiled and threw out the question: "Section Chief He, if I make a mistake, how do you plan to deal with me?"

"If you cannot fulfill your promise, then I will propose to Bureau Chief Leng that your detective team leader position be revoked and your detective qualifications re-examined."

He Yanqing is decisive and neat, possessing a willpower like a sword that seals the throat with one strike.

Revoking the detective team leader position counts as a punishment.

Re-examining the detective qualifications is, damn it, a bit excessive. This amounts to saying that if Lin Dongfan fails to find Cheng Dao's corruption evidence, he won't even have detective qualifications.

This is tantamount to a complete denial of everything!

The number one figure of the special task force, Leng Chuan, stood by the window holding a cup of jasmine tea, watching the scenery, pretending throughout not to have heard anything, showing no reaction at all.

I don't know whether he tacitly accepted this pressure tactic or simply didn't want to offend He Yanqing.

"Fine, you're the leader; I'll follow your rules."

When one wanders the martial world, how can one avoid getting cut?

Lin Dongfan vaguely sensed that, in the eyes of these people in the anti-corruption bureau, he Lin Dongfan was very likely just a clueless rookie who doesn't know the rules or weigh priorities, needing to be educated.

As a seconded staff member, newly arrived, it's normal to be slapped with a tightening spell.

All I can do right now is to take that hard-to-capture stronghold; only achievements can establish my position in the Jianglan Province Anti-Corruption Bureau.

"Let's go!"

Lin Dongfan's loud shout carried a bit of emotion.

The investigators who followed Lin Dongfan on the departure.

There were three in total.

One is Jian Si'neng, just like Lin Dongfan, lacking status and presence in the anti-corruption bureau, dreaming of achieving greatness; her 1.6-meter petite frame longs to transform into a forty-meter-long great sword, to slash tigers and shred flies.

One is Tang Xia, who every day agonizes over whether to squeeze the pimples on his face.

Another is Zhang Xiaoguang, a level-one chief clerk, solidly a section chief; now being led by Lin Dongfan, whose administrative rank is lower, this is a bit chaotic, and his brow has never relaxed.

The four of them rode in the same vehicle, with Tang Xia as the driver.

While driving, bored out of his mind, Tang Xia casually gossiped: "Fan Ge, today Section Chief He so brutally pressed you against the ground and rubbed you—doesn't that give you a feeling like walking on thin ice?"

"Walking on thin ice" — that phrase is used appropriately.

If we strike tonight to arrest Cheng Dao and win this battle, from now on we can establish our standing in the martial world; but if we unfortunately slip up, we'll be in deep trouble.

Of course there is a feeling like walking on thin ice.

Lin Dongfan lowered the car window glass, lit a cigarette, and said, "I have lightness skills; no matter how thin the ice, I can still walk on flat ground." He then flicked the ash.

In this easy banter, there truly is an aura of overwhelming power, like masts and oars reduced to ashes and smoke.

Zhang Xiaoguang, sitting in the passenger seat, gave a light laugh.

"Although among the thick complaint materials there is one pointing to Cheng Dao, that lead only says he accepted favors from developers; the exact bribe amount is unclear, as are the location and method. Right now there is not a shred of evidence, and I truly don't know where you get your confidence."

"We set out with a search warrant, isn't that just to find evidence? Stay calm."

Lin Dongfan rested his elbow on the car window, took a puff of smoke, and the ash blew straight onto his face; the wind outside truly lacked charm.

When hunting tigers, one does not leave one's senior brothers and sisters behind.

Jian Si'neng, sitting beside him, smirked at Zhang Xiaoguang: "You don't know many things; if you understood where my senior brother's confidence comes from, the detective team leader position would be yours, and there would be no turn for my senior brother to take it."

"Just talking big is useless; watch and see, reality will give you a harsh lesson."

Zhang Xiaoguang assumed an eager-to-see posture.

Jian Si'neng stopped arguing, Lin Dongfan merely smiled, maintaining the posture that silence is golden, so as not to be labeled as all talk and no action.

From Section Chief He down to Zhang Xiaoguang, no one is optimistic about tonight's arrest operation.

So what?

A life of bewilderment like "setting down cup and chopsticks, unable to eat; drawing the sword and looking around, heart lost in confusion" was Lin Dongfan's past life. In this life, he will certainly not fall into such a desolate situation again.

In this life I practice nothing but a sword whose chill freezes fourteen states, and I will never touch the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual!

6:27 p. m.

The action team arrived at a residential complex called Xincheng New City in Changming District.

In this era of skyrocketing housing prices, the price of Xincheng New City has also risen considerably.

But compared to the high-end developments nearby, this place is typical affordable housing; even the security guards at the gate are a bunch of men in their sixties.

Cheng Dao, director of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau of a vice-provincial-level city, also serving as head of the demolition office.

A bona fide vice-ministerial-level leader who holds real power over urban construction, housing security, and shantytown renovation and demolition actually lives in relatively cheap affordable housing—who would believe that if it were told?

But that's just how unpretentious he is.

Lin Dongfan led the team up the stairs.

Everything is unpretentious; to the right of the entrance stands a shoe cabinet holding a pair of leather shoes worn for who knows how many years, the heels already worn askew.

But white socks are stuffed inside the shoes, indicating that this pair is still in service for Comrade Cheng Dao.

"Thump thump!"

Lin Dongfan knocked on the door twice with appropriate force.

"Comrade Dongfan, how did you come here?"

The door opened, and Cheng Dao stood before Lin Dongfan with a look of surprise, wearing a pair of cheap slippers on his feet, with bits of kimchi stuck between his teeth.

He truly had no trace of official authority.

"I came to have a look at your place."

Lin Dongfan shoved Cheng Dao aside and led the team straight into the house.

As expected.

Inside and out, everything was utterly plain and unadorned.

The living room held a set of yellow-leather sofas that had been used for over a decade, the coffee table was also very old—so old that nobody would want it even if thrown onto the second‑hand market.

A 32‑inch LCD TV was playing Law and Order Spacetime.

The chipped oak dining table was cluttered with miscellaneous junk, plus a half‑eaten bucket of instant noodles that gave off a strong scent of aged pickled mustard greens.

A man without a wife—his home is just a mess.

Lin Dongfan chuckled and teased, "Chief Cheng, you're a high‑ranking leader, yet your dinner is just a bucket of instant noodles—what an austere life."

"I usually eat at the office; I got home early today, didn't feel like cooking, so I just had a couple of bites."

Cheng Dao sat down, picked up his chopsticks and kept slurping the noodles, as if he had gained a profound realization from the saying "One who has never known poverty cannot become a person; one who has not been struck cannot understand heaven's truth," and he had no objection to the instant noodles at all.

Lin Dongfan ordered his subordinates, "Don't just stand there—search!"

"Search?"

Cheng Dao blinked up, still with a mouthful of noodles dangling from his lips.

He gave a hard slurp, sucked the noodles in, and his face grew a bit stern: "Comrade Dongfan, I've always treated you with courtesy—don't go too far."

"I'm just carrying out official duties; please understand."

Lin Dongfan flashed a search warrant, expecting Cheng Dao to be nervous, but Cheng Dao instead shook his head in disbelief.

He lowered his head and took another slurp of noodles.

He added with a mocking smile, "I hear you're driving nothing but Audi A6s these days, while I, Cheng, am still stuck with an Alto. One character's difference, worlds apart. When it comes to getting rich, I've got a lot to learn from you."