Title: Reborn Qi Tongwei, who defies fate by half a move and refuses to kneel

Chapter 38: One phone call, and brothers break up?

The night was as dark as ink, and the hustle and bustle above the Mountain and Water Manor was completely torn apart and swallowed up by the sharp sound of police sirens.

Qi Tongwei walked out of the private room filled with an atmosphere of madness and despair, as if he were surrounded by a Siberian cold current, and the air around him seemed to freeze.

Chen Hai caught up quickly, his face still flushed, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement:

"Tongwei, that was a brilliant victory!"

He excitedly waved his fist, his eyes filled with undisguised admiration and fanaticism.

"Caught red-handed! We've even wiped out 'Scorpion' and his gang of thugs! Even a god couldn't save Zhao Ruilong this time; he's got no chance to escape!"

In Chen Hai's eyes, this had transcended the scope of case handling; it was simply an art of hunting! A perfect hunt that manipulated the enemy, lured them into a trap, and ultimately killed them with a single blow.

However, the figure walking ahead did not respond at all.

Qi Tongwei walked straight to his Audi, opened the door without pausing for a moment. Only before getting in did he utter a cold, emotionless remark.

"Zhao Ruilong, don't move yet."

"What?"

Chen Hai's smile froze instantly, as if a chilling wind of minus thirty degrees Celsius had swept over him, chilling him to the bone. He almost thought he had misheard, his voice trembling: "Why? The evidence is conclusive, if we don't arrest him... are we just going to let him go back?"

"Let him go." Qi Tongwei's voice was as calm as a bottomless, icy pool, without the slightest ripple.

"Why, Tongwei!" Chen Hai was completely panicked. He rushed to the car door, lowering his voice but each word sounding like a shout, "You're letting a tiger return to the mountains! He'll go crazy! He'll definitely take revenge on you no matter the cost!"

Qi Tongwei got into the driver's seat, looked up at him, and Chen Hai couldn't understand what was in his eyes.

"Bang!"

The car door slammed shut, cutting off all of Chen Hai's questions. Only one sentence drifted away into the cold night wind as the engine started.

"I'm going to drive him crazy."

Chen Hai stood there, frozen, watching the pair of red taillights resolutely disappear at the end of the manor, his mind a complete mess.

He simply couldn't understand it.

Why? Why, when the enemy commander was already dead, did he take back the most lethal blade at the last moment?

……

Municipal Public Security Bureau, Director's Office.

Qi Tongwei did not rest; he locked himself inside alone.

He didn't turn on the lights, but stood before the huge floor-to-ceiling window, gazing down at the brightly lit city below like a sculpture. Neon lights flickered, and cars flowed like dragons, weaving a vast and bustling network.

He knew how many unseen venomous snakes lurked in the shadow of this net.

Catching Zhao Ruilong is too easy.

But that's at most cutting off one of the snake's fangs; a new one will soon grow back. It's more like severing an arm of Zhao Lichun, the "local tyrant" of Handong.

What he wants is to uproot it completely!

He wanted Zhao Lichun, who once held immense power in Handong and now held a high position, to witness firsthand how his power kingdom, built up over many years, collapsed brick by brick in the flames ignited by his son!

And Zhao Ruilong was the perfect fuse.

Only by letting him escape back, letting him feel the fear of death, driving him mad, and making him lose his mind, will he recklessly use all the hidden cards left by his father and reveal all the cards hidden under the table.

That will be the real time to close the net.

Qi Tongwei picked up the internal phone on the table and dialed Chen Hai's number.

The call was answered almost instantly, and Chen Hai's voice, filled with suppressed anger and confusion, came through immediately.

"Tongwei, what exactly are you trying to do?"

"Chen Hai." Qi Tongwei's voice was devoid of any personal emotion, as cold as a piece of steel just retrieved from the Arctic. "Now, in the name of the Director of the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau, I am giving you this order."

He paused, each word like a nail hammered into the other end of the phone.

"First, immediately cease all investigations into the Shanshui Group."

"Second, all the files we have already obtained regarding the equity dispute of Dafeng Factory, the account books and recordings provided by Cai Chenggong, and all the physical evidence seized at Shanshui Manor tonight will be sealed up."

"Third, bring these things to me. I will keep them myself."

There was a deathly silence on the other end of the phone.

The air seemed to freeze.

A dozen seconds later, a roar filled with disbelief and extreme anger suddenly exploded from the receiver, almost piercing Qi Tongwei's eardrums!

"Qi Tongwei! You've gone mad!"

"Do you know what you're saying?! Those are irrefutable pieces of evidence! Ironclad evidence that can firmly pin Zhao Ruilong and Gao Xiaoqin down!"

"You're telling me to stop the investigation now? And you want to put all the evidence in your possession?!"

"What exactly do you want?! Have you been bribed by them?! Or are you afraid of Zhao Lichun?!"

Chen Hai's voice cracked from the intense emotional turmoil, trembling uncontrollably. He couldn't believe it, he couldn't believe that these words would come from the mouth of the brother he once admired and trusted most.

What's the difference between this and surrendering?

"This is an order." Qi Tongwei didn't explain, he just mechanically repeated those four words.

"To hell with your orders! I'm not your soldier! I'm a police officer!" Chen Hai completely lost control on the other end of the phone, roaring like an enraged lion. "My duty is to find out the truth and bring the criminals to justice! Not to be your groveling servant, helping you cover up your crimes!"

He was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently, and every word he uttered was tinged with blood and tears.

"Qi Tongwei, I really misjudged you before!"

"You are no different from those people, from the Liang family, from the Zhao family!"

"Let me tell you, I'm determined to investigate this case! Even if you give me orders to stop, I will report it directly to the provincial procuratorate and the Supreme People's Procuratorate in my own name, bypassing you!"

Listening to his best friend's scathing accusations over the phone, Qi Tongwei felt as if a scalding steel needle had pierced his heart.

But the expression on his face remained like that unyielding glacier.

He couldn't explain.

Some roads are destined to be walked alone. Some darkness is destined to be borne alone.

He needed Chen Hai, the most upright and inflexible blade, to temporarily stay away from the center of this deadly vortex.

Because he knew better than anyone else that in his past life, it was because of his relentless pursuit of this case that Chen Hai was framed by the ruthless Zhao Ruilong, who orchestrated a car accident that turned him into a living dead.

In this life, he will never allow the same thing to happen again!

"Chen Hai".

Qi Tongwei's voice suddenly turned incredibly cold, a chill that could penetrate the airwaves and freeze the other person's soul. His fingertips traced across the smooth desk before finally pressing down heavily.

I'll say it one last time.

"Bring the things over to me."

His voice paused, and a fleeting, almost imperceptible pain flashed in his eyes, which were peering out the window through the darkness.

"If you want to die, then keep investigating."

After saying that, he hung up the phone immediately, not giving the other party any chance to speak again.

Hearing the busy tone from the receiver, Chen Hai felt as if all his strength had been drained, and he slumped into a chair in despair.

The phone slipped from his limp hand, fell to the ground, and shattered.

His eyes were bloodshot, filled with shock, anger, and a deeper, endless disappointment and sorrow.

He felt that the monument he had personally built in his heart, named "Qi Tongwei," the towering, fearless hero he had always strived to emulate, had vanished at this moment...

Collapsed suddenly.

Why?

He doesn't understand, he really doesn't understand.

Why did it turn out like this?

Finally, after an agonizing internal struggle, he slowly stood up. He personally placed all the files and physical evidence, piece by piece, into an encrypted evidence box.

"Click".

The sound of the box being locked seemed to shatter his last illusions.

He did not submit to Qi Tongwei's orders.

Rather, he couldn't bear to watch his brother slide into that abyss of no return.

He wanted to hand these things to him personally.

He wanted to ask him face to face, to get a clear and unambiguous answer!

……

This fierce argument, which took place late at night and was enough to cause a rift between brothers, did not escape the ears of some people.

The office of Gao Yuliang, secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Handong Province.

He slowly put down the encrypted phone, a mysterious smile slowly spreading across his face.

"Qi Tongwei, order Chen Hai to stop the investigation and surrender all evidence?"

He picked up the purple clay teacup on the table, gently blew away the floating tea leaves, and took a slow, deliberate sip.

"interesting."

He took off his glasses, pulled a clean white silk handkerchief from his pocket, breathed on the lenses, and slowly began to wipe them.

"It seems that this unruly lone wolf has finally smelled real blood and knows fear."

"He's trying to show weakness and beg for peace with the Zhao family."

In his view, Qi Tongwei's series of actions tonight were crystal clear. It was the most instinctive and intelligent self-preservation reaction that a newcomer to officialdom could make after encountering immense and irresistible pressure.

First, he used swift and decisive methods to crush Zhao Ruilong's henchmen, demonstrating his strength and value, and telling everyone, "I am not someone to be trifled with."

Then, they would proactively retreat, handing over crucial evidence as leverage in negotiations, attempting to gain the Zhao family's understanding or even acceptance.

They played the game quite skillfully, one hitting and one pulling.

"Unfortunately, they were still too young."

Gao Yuliang put his spotless glasses back on, and the world instantly became clear. In his eyes, a hint of undisguised contempt for those in a superior position flashed.

"Do you think the Zhao family is so easy to deal with?"

"You think you can sit down and eat just because you handed over the knife?"

"No, you will only be eaten until not even bones are left."

He picked up another phone and skillfully dialed Hou Liangping's number.

"Ryohei, you're still up so late? How's the situation on your end?"

On the other end of the phone came Hou Liangping's exhausted and dejected voice: "Teacher, I just came from the provincial inspection. The resistance was too great. I feel like there's an invisible net covering the entire Handong area, completely impenetrable."

"Don't rush. It's precisely at times like these that you need to stay calm and take it slow." Gao Yuliang's voice instantly switched to one filled with the encouragement and affection of a teacher. "By the way, I just received some news that might be helpful for your upcoming work."

He paused deliberately, savoring the feeling of being in control.

"Your old classmate, Qi Tongwei, seems to be... in some trouble."

"He forcefully suppressed Chen Hai and ordered him to stop all investigations into the Shanshui Group."

Hou Liangping fell into a long silence on the other end of the phone.

Gao Yuliang's smile deepened.

He knew that his carefully placed chess piece had landed precisely where he wanted it to.

Qi Tongwei, you're like an eagle whose wings have barely grown strong, yet you're already trying to break free of control.

Now, your teacher is going to personally clip your wings.

Let you know clearly who the true master of this sky over Handong is.