Chapter 588: Release at ten? I'll send you on your way!

The meeting ended, and everyone went their separate ways.

The immigration office replied that there have been no entry‑exit records for Wu Changsheng in the past six months, meaning he may be in hiding and looking for a way to flee the country.

Jian Sining took charge of the task to track Wu Changsheng.

Lin Dongfan, meanwhile, went with Peng Tianhua and two prosecutors straight to the detention point controlling Lu Yizhi. The atmosphere in the car was heavy; no one spoke, only the low rumble of the engine foreshadowed the coming storm.

The detention point was a secluded suite in a guesthouse.

Lu Yizhi had been "invited for a talk" here for over twenty‑four hours. Although his movements were restricted, he had not been subjected to formal coercive measures, and he still had basic freedom in the room.

At this moment.

Comrade Lu Yizhi wore a neatly ironed shirt, his back to the door, standing by the window gazing at the overcast sky outside, a cigarette about to burn out held between his fingers.

His silhouette looked weary, but his mindset was steady as an old dog.

As the clock hands approached ten in the morning, Lu Yizhi's face even showed a faint smile of confidence.

What level of pressure were Li Mingtang and the others in the Anti‑Corruption Bureau facing? Lu Yizhi knew it full well! Military bigwig Xu Chuping had already sent him a word through secret channels, telling him not to lose his composure.

The sound of the door being pushed open.

Then came Lin Dongfan's voice: "Vice Governor Lu, have you thought it through? Are you now willing to cooperate with our investigation?"

Lu Yizhi did not turn around immediately.

He raised his wrist to check the time—exactly ten o'clock sharp, not a minute more or less, perfectly on time! He thought these people had dragged things out until the last second before showing up, as if they hadn't found anything.

Lu Yizhi took another calm puff of his cigarette, then turned around unhurriedly.

Peng Tianhua and the two prosecutors meant nothing to Lu Yizhi; his gaze locked directly onto Lin Dongfan.

He at once adopted a stern, solemn posture and opened with a shot across Lin Dongfan's bow: "Director Lin, you've used the pretense of an 'invited talk' to forcibly place me under soft detention! The damage to my personal reputation and the interference with provincial Party Committee work must be answered for—by you or Peng Tianhua?"

"It's detention, not soft confinement—watch your wording," Lin Dongfan replied, also adopting a solemn posture.

Lu Yizhi gave a cold smile, an inexplicable confidence radiating from him: "I, Lu, am worthy of the phrase 'the innocent need fear no investigation'—I'm not afraid of your inquiry!"

"Is that so?" Lin Dongfan asked with a smile.

Lu Yizhi returned a proud, self‑satisfied smile: "Whether or not, the outcome isn't clear yet? Let me advise you: don't act so rashly in the future. Some costs you might not be able to bear! Even if your surname is Lin, even if your grandfather is Lin Muyuan, the result would be the same! Understand? This is no era for your Lin family to do as it pleases!"

Those words rang out like thunder, thick with menace in every line.

It seemed as if everything were under Lu Yizhi's control, leaving Peng Tianhua bewildered—he simply couldn't fathom where this old coot got such arrogance, still swaggering even at death's door.

Peng Tianhua shot Lin Dongfan an anxious glance.

In silence it seemed to urge: "Sir Fan, what are you waiting for? This old coot dares to scorn even your own father—why not slap the arrest warrant in his face now, instead of clutching it for later, you?"

Unfortunately, Sir Fan never received Peng Tianhua's eye signal.

At this moment, Sir Fan's eyes held only Lu Yizhi.

Sir Fan raised a gentleman's smile, meeting Lu Yizhi's aggressive gaze as if appreciating a clueless old man's clumsy performance.

"Lu Yizhi."

Note, the form of address changed—this time Sir Fan called him by name directly.

In an instant, Lu Yizhi's face darkened: "What are you calling me?!"

"Lu Yizhi, I regret to tell you that your official career has reached its end." Lin Dongfan's voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly to everyone's ears, tinged with an all‑seeing coldness.

Lu Yizhi's heart gave a sudden jolt, but he forced a calm façade: "What do you mean?!"

"Congratulations, you've been served an arrest warrant."

Lin Dongfan saw no need for further words, pulled a neatly folded document from his briefcase, snapped it open, and thrust it straight into Lu Yizhi's face, almost touching his nose.

Black ink on white paper!

At the top, the bold red characters "Arrest Warrant" and the conspicuous seal of the Supreme People's Procuratorate below struck like lightning, turning Lu Yizhi's face ashen.

Lin Dongfan's voice was ice‑cold: "Someone, put handcuffs on him!"

"!!!"

The color drained from Lu Yizhi's face in an instant, leaving him bewildered and panicked.

What the hell is this?! Weren't we supposed to release him at ten? Why has it turned into an arrest? Which link went wrong?!

Could it be that even Military bigwig Xu Chuping…?

Before Lu Yizhi could make sense of the hundred‑thousand whys, the prosecutors slapped the cold silver handcuffs onto his wrists.

Click!

Once the cuffs were on, he was completely finished!

"No… this can't be… you… you didn't make a mistake? Please give me a reason for the arrest…"

Just a second ago he was strutting arrogantly; now he's incoherent, his voice trembling.

Lin Dongfan said: "With your rank, if there weren't solid evidence, could I obtain this arrest warrant? Don't act like a naïve country bumpkin—this doesn't match your experience."

"!!!"

One remark of "country bumpkin" left Lu Yizhi choking, unable to retort.

Lin Dongfan then flicked his gaze at the two prosecutors beside him: "Take him away." The two prosecutors moved at once, one gripping Lu Yizhi's left arm, the other his right.

Lu Yizhi panicked, at a loss: "What are you doing… where are you taking me?"

"I heard you built a Suzhou‑style garden in your hometown Taoyuan County costing up to five hundred million, and we'd like to have a look." Lin Dongfan especially emphasized the five‑hundred‑million figure; for a corrupt official, that number is a deathblow. Lu Yizhi's legs went weak, he nearly collapsed, but the men holding him kept him upright.

This former vice‑provincial bigwig, who once held sway over a region, now felt as if his bones had been pulled out, his head buzzing, nothing left but a deathly pale face.

From Yue Prefecture to Taoyuan County, the journey is nearly eight hundred kilometers.

After loading Lu Yizhi onto the minibus, Lin Dongfan asked with interest: "Lu Yizhi, where did the five hundred million for your Suzhou‑style garden come from?"

"That… that was built by my daughter, it has nothing to do with me."

Lu Yizhi lowered his head, trembling with fear.

Lin Dongfan heard it and gave a faint smile, having expected this old coot to say that. The mansion in Taoyuan County is indeed registered under Lu Shuting's name, but the source of the funds may not be hers.

Lin Dongfan said: "It seems your memory isn't very good, but that's fine; I'll give you time to recall. If you really don't want to confess, that's also fine—at most you'll receive a heavier sentence later."