Chapter 549

When Lin Dongfan threw out those three heavyweight counter‑questions, Chen Gang's attempt to smooth things over was completely shattered, and the office atmosphere grew extremely solemn.

But Chen Gang still felt he was innocent.

In Chen Gang's view, the fundamental reason he ended up in this dead‑end embarrassing situation was that Lv Yizhi is a member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee, while Lin Dongfan is a Jing circle princeling!

Whether it's the Lv family or the Lin family, Chen Gang couldn't afford to provoke either.

Caught in the middle, wavering left and right, this is a tragic fate that ordinary people cannot escape! Yes, Chen Gang defined himself as an ambitious little person unable to get ahead!

As for whether this way of thinking is shameless, Chen Gang never considered that question.

Chen Gang set aside the Prosecutor General's airs, stood up and refilled Lin Dongfan's tea, speaking politely: "Dongfan, those three questions you just raised are truly thunder‑clap, a single word that awakens the dreamer! This case may not be as simple as it appears on the surface; in principle, I support your thorough investigation to the end."

"That's a criminal case; if you let me investigate it thoroughly, what if someone accuses me of overstepping my authority?"

Lin Dongfan wore a worried expression, but his words were like an invisible sword—pfft! —piercing Chen Gang's heart, leaving him torn between laughter and tears.

The matter of overstepping authority, I've only mentioned it to Wang Daochen.

It seems Wang Daochen has already been contacted by Lin Dongfan over the phone; the Wang surname appears neutral on the surface, but his stance behind the scenes is firm—undoubtedly one of Lin Dongfan's supporters!

Based on the attitude of recognizing the times to be a hero.

Chen Gang decisively adopted an attitude of being duty‑bound: "Now I authorize you to investigate thoroughly, merging the corruption case with the criminal case. Whoever has objections, let them come to me! I'll overturn heaven for them."

"With those words from you, I can rest easy."

Lin Dongfan smiled faintly, picked up the tea in front of him and took a light sip; the tea taste was muddy in his mouth.

He furrowed his brows again: "Prosecutor General Chen, when you refilled my cup just now, did you forget to change the tea leaves?"

"Look at my brain, I was only thinking about the case and forgot to change the tea leaves."

Chen Gang turned around and took out his treasured can of "Da Hong Pao," which he usually couldn't bear to drink; today he let go, not seeking anything else, only hoping the Jing circle princeling would calm his anger.

The secretary was sitting in the outer office.

Fetching tea and water actually only requires shouting with a stretched neck for someone to come attend, but Chen Gang didn't summon anyone today.

He personally brewed a cup of Da Hong Pao for Lin Dongfan.

He carefully handed it to Lin Dongfan, saying: "Careful, it's hot."

"Forget it, I'll drink it next time; I still have work to do."

Lin Dongfan raised his wrist to check the time, then stood up and left, leaving Chen Gang standing there with a gloomy face, silently realizing why he had ended up in the embarrassing situation of "brewing loneliness."

After returning to the Anti‑Corruption Bureau, Lin Dongfan immediately summoned Jian Sining and Peng Tianhua for a meeting.

They organized the testimonies and evidence materials already obtained.

Jian Sining reported at the meeting: "He Zhiqiang's statement has been recorded. Regarding the medical accident itself, he admits there was management negligence and improper postoperative handling, and expresses willingness to bear the corresponding responsibility."

Having said that.

Jian Sining then shifted focus: "But when asked about the crucial point—why prevent the family from seeing the corpse and enforce cremation? He Zhiqiang's explanation is far‑fetched."

"How did he explain it?"

Lin Dongfan kept his head down, reviewing the materials while listening to Jian Sining's report.

Jian Sining said: "He Zhiqiang said he was worried that if the family saw the damaged corpse they would lose emotional control; to reduce the family's pain, he therefore handled it as a special case and sped up the cremation process."

Peng Tianhua, sitting beside him,

He snorted with an angry laugh: "Is this to reduce the family's pain? Bullshit! I think he just wants to lessen his own people's pain! That old bald fraud, avoiding the important and emphasizing the trivial, you can tell at once it's a rehearsed statement! It's obvious he's done a shady deed, afraid of not passing the autopsy, wanting to destroy evidence."

For now, this is merely speculation, with no evidence.

But everyone present shares the same consensus:

He Zhiqiang hastily cremated the corpse of Huang Xiuju's son Zhu Siming; his psychological motive certainly was not to alleviate Huang Xiuju's pain!

Lin Dongfan quickly scanned the investigation materials, his eyes sharp: "On the day Zhu Siming died, Qiao Lianzhou's son underwent an organ transplant at the same hospital—that's the key! When He Zhiqiang gave his statement, he never mentioned Qiao Lianzhou, nor anything about organ transplantation?"

"No."

Jian Sining replied firmly: "He insists Zhu Mingsi died from a surgical accident. We've pressed him repeatedly, but he refused to cooperate, even showing a hint of grievance, saying we're overthinking it."

"Overthinking?"

Lin Dongfan snorted coldly, tossed the transcript onto the table: "Looks like this Director He won't shed a tear until he sees the coffin."

"Illegally harvesting another's organs, and the victim is a minor under eighteen, resulting in death—that's a capital offense." Peng Tianhua said: "If we don't lay the ironclad evidence before him, he certainly won't confess."

Lin Dongfan nodded in deep agreement.

Setting aside the documents, he gave a direct order: "Sining, let He Zhiqiang cool off for now; go to the hospital and summon the doctor who performed Qiao Lianzhou's son's organ transplant to clarify the source of the organs. Old Peng, go summon Qiao Lianzhou's wife—she couldn't possibly be unaware of her son's surgery."

After assigning the tasks, Lin Dongfan himself had no idle time.

Leaving the office, he called Chen Shaokang, who had already been transferred to the Provincial Public Security Department, asking him to assist the investigation and bring out Xu Wen Ting from the women's detention center.

Xu Wen Ting was the lead surgeon for Zhu Siming; she knows the truth of his death best.

Around six in the evening.

Chen Shaokang waited at the gate of the Provincial Public Security Department for Lin Dongfan.

As Lin Dongfan stepped onto the stairs, Chen Shaokang hurried forward and offered him a Hua Zi cigarette: "Director Lin, the person has already been brought in; he's in the interrogation room."

"This case involves suspected criminal offenses; from now on you'll investigate with me. Make good use of this opportunity—don't act rashly as you did before in Haishan."

Lin Dongfan held the cigarette between his lips, and Chen Shaokang quickly produced a lighter to light it for him.

Haishan's rash behavior refers to the pursuit of Chen Yongnian, which led to Chen Yongnian being assassinated by a hitman, breaking the investigative trail; to this day, no criminal evidence of the mastermind behind it has been obtained.

This matter is also a hurdle in Chen Shaokang's heart.

Chen Shaokang sincerely expressed his stance to Lin Dongfan: "Director Lin, thank you for giving me chance after chance; rest assured, if I drag you down again this time, I'll take off this police uniform and go home to fish."

"Although your abilities still need improvement, your attitude is still commendable."

In the course of their chat, Lin Dongfan patted the police insignia on Chen Shaokang's shoulder, as if wanting to brush off dust—though there wasn't any dust there.

Chen Shaokang knew clearly in his heart:

This police insignia wasn't earned by his own strength; it came from the help of Fan Ye! Fan Ye can pull him up to a deputy section chief level, or cast him back to his original state.

That's why attitude is so important; you can lack ability, but you cannot lack attitude.

Chen Shaokang further stated: "I know this case involves a wide scope; it might reach Provincial-ministerial level bigwigs. Rest assured, I won't back down. As long as you give the order, I'll go wherever you say."

That flattery was not bad; I like it.

Lin Dongfan slowly took a puff of smoke, then appreciatively patted Chen Shaokang's arm: "Come on, you keep watch; I want to meet Xiang Wenting alone."