Chapter 621: with translation of chapter title

The sky over Haishan Shi felt especially empty after the flight carrying Zheng Qingxuan took off.

Lin Dongfan stood before the floor-to-ceiling window of Hai'an Guoji Dajiudian, ash on his fingertip grown long; Zhou Xiaowen's order was like a thorn, piercing his heart—take photos! Preserve evidence!

Behind the scenes there was an 'operator,' and it turned out to be his own close friend from school.

Lin Dongfan stood by the window, pondering for over two hours without figuring it out—why would his always righteous brother Xu Jijun try to get leverage over him?

Could it be because Lv Yizhi was nabbed, fearing the anti-corruption bureau would follow the trail and drag out the military bigwig Xu Chuping?

That's not right either.

Although Xu Chuping was Xu Jijun's biological father, their father-son relationship had always been strained, having turned hostile long ago over the matter of Han Jinling.

Just as Lin Dongfan racked his brains without answer.

Chen Shaokang knocked and entered, saying, 'Brother Fan, the man posing as a hotel cleaner is Huang Duoduo, a lackey of Xu Jijun. Huang Duoduo's build matches closely that of the van driver who previously picked up Wu Changsheng. We can now basically confirm that Xu Jijun is helping Wu Changsheng escape.'

'Xu Zhoujun!'

Lin Dongfan slowly exhaled a puff of smoke; the smoke blurred the view outside the window, and at the same time cast a gloomy shade over his face.

Damn it, the anti-corruption drive has come back to bite his own brother!

Lin Dongfan asked gloomily, 'Wu Changsheng, where is he hiding now?'

Chen Shaokang shook his head: 'We've combed through all the city's hotels, rental units, and transport hubs several times, yet we still have no leads—unless……'

He paused for a moment.

Chen Shaokang added solemnly, 'Unless he's hiding somewhere we would never think to look, or somewhere we lack the authority to search.'

'You mean the Haishan garrison area?'

Lin Dongfan's guess matched Chen Shaokang's exactly.

The two arrived at this idea mainly because the Haishan garrison area is under military jurisdiction, and Xu Jijun's father Xu Chuping, as a military bigwig, has that authority.

Chen Shaokang said gravely, 'The Haishan garrison area is a blind spot before us. It's a military management zone where local public security has no search authority. If Xu Jijun uses his father's influence to hide Wu Changsheng there, it's like dropping a drop of water into the ocean.'

Lin Dongfan, standing at the window, took a deep drag of his cigarette.

When he turned around, the gloom on his face had vanished completely, replaced by a cold hardness felt after being stabbed in the back by a close school friend.

Brothers are brothers, the case is the case; Brother Fan knows exactly where his line lies.

He calmly ordered Chen Shaokang, 'Although we can't storm the military zone, we can't just stand by and let Xu Jijun shelter a criminal.'

Chen Shaokang nodded in deep agreement.

Lin Dongfan added, 'Go do a few things right away: first, strictly monitor Xu Jijun's communications and travel logs, missing no trace; second, check all surveillance around the Haishan garrison area for any sign of the van entering; third……'

Having said that, Lin Dongfan hesitated to speak further.

He had originally wanted to say, send someone to negotiate with the Haishan garrison leadership, but upon reflection he thought it would be like taking off pants to fart—pointless.

If the other side were willing to serve the Xu family, going to negotiate would merely expose our investigative progress.

After a moment of contemplation.

Lin Dongfan solemnly instructed Chen Shaokang, 'Third, don't alert the garrison personnel, nor Xu Jijun. Everything, wait until we have irrefutable evidence before deciding, to avoid missteps. Xu Jijun never acts without certainty; don't underestimate him.'

'Understood, I'll arrange it right away.' Chen Shaokang hesitated a moment, then added, 'Brother Fan, what if… what if it really is Xu Jijun helping Wu Changsheng escape……'

'Speak with evidence!'

Lin Dongfan cut off Chen Shaokang's words, his expression unchanging: 'As long as the evidence chain is solid, we proceed regardless of who it is.'

He said that with decisive firmness.

Yet Chen Shaokang could still see a hint of helplessness in Lin Dongfan's stern gaze. The taste of having anti-corruption turn on one's own brother is utterly unpleasant.

Chen Shaokang departed with the order, and the room fell quiet again.

Lin Dongfan also sat down on the sofa, closed his eyes and gently rubbed his slightly swollen temples. Scenes from college—racing, drinking, bragging with Xu Jijun—flashed through his mind like movie clips, as did the image of Xu Jijun's deep affection for his older sister Han Jinling.

No matter how he tried, he couldn't fathom why his once hot-blooded, loyal brother had become someone he didn't recognize.

He even didn't hesitate to use Zheng Qingxuan's beauty to set up his brother!

'For money? He's never short of it… for power? He has no interest in that… to uphold the Xu family's military prestige? Not wanting the anti-corruption bureau to dig deeper? Trying to manipulate me?'

Lin Dongfan muttered to himself, analyzing the internal causes.

No matter how he thought, he never imagined that Xu Jijun was the mysterious Mr. G. Not only him—no one in the anti-corruption bureau could have guessed it.

Meanwhile, Building 17 of the Haishan Shi Municipal Party Committee staff compound.

Wu Changsheng has been hiding here for a week now. These days he's been relatively calm, but his anxiety hasn't fully subsided.

Although the room lacks nothing, being unable to go out makes these days hard to bear.

Dinner was brought by Huang Duoduo.

It had both meat and vegetables.

Wu Changsheng had no appetite at all; he stared at Huang Duoduo smoking on the sofa and said, 'Give me a straight answer—how much longer do we have to stay in this hole?'

'Everything depends on Mr. G's arrangements; when the conditions are ripe, he'll naturally take you away—rushing helps nothing.' Huang Duoduo smoked a Soft China, fiddling with his lighter, relaxed and composed.

Wu Changsheng pressed anxiously, 'Mr. G took so much money from me and then dumped me in this godforsaken place—he owes me an explanation. I can't just sit here like an idiot waiting forever.'

Huang Duoduo glanced sideways at Wu Changsheng.

He said sternly, scornfully, 'You paid to save your own life, to stay alive. You're not dead, are you? You can eat, sleep, and think about women—was that money wasted? How dare you complain?'

……!!!

Wu Changsheng felt a black line across his forehead, suddenly feeling as disgusted as if he'd eaten a fly—yet he couldn't prove that the situation was truly disgusting.

Helpless, Wu Changsheng simply shut up, sat down, and began to eat.

Huang Duoduo laughed, 'That's right—I'm treating you well with good food and drink; what else could you be dissatisfied with? The most important thing in life is to be content and happy, then to forget Shu, ultimately realizing the true meaning of the Hard Road to Shu, that it's hard to reach the heavens.'

'Is that also what Mr. G taught you?'

Wu Changsheng glared upward, thinking, 'You idiot illiterate, you probably don't even know who wrote the Hard Road to Shu, yet you're pretending to be cultured here.'

Seeing Huang Duoduo smile while smoking, he gave no reply.

Wu Changsheng again complained bitterly, spitting out a whole trough: "True cultured people play idiom chain like this: Contentment brings happiness! Forget Shu in bliss! Shu dogs bark at the sun! Sun, you damn grandpa!"

Huang Duoduo took another puff of smoke, indifferently replying: "Mind your manners, don't bully me for being poorly educated. Sun, you damn grandpa! These four characters are absolutely not an idiom."