Chapter 85: A Sensational Case!

“Are you really determined to go this far?” Wei Chonghu did not immediately pick up the law enforcement recorder. Instead, he looked at Yang Dong with a grave expression.

He believed Yang Dong would understand his meaning. Within the system, there was always a limit to how far one should go; there was no need to push things to the edge, leaving no way out for others.

But if Yang Dong insisted on this course, it could make certain higher-ups resent and dislike him even more, which would be detrimental to his career prospects.

“Secretary Wei, to be honest, from the moment I was transferred into the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection, I was already part of the game,” Yang Dong replied heavily. “Some things, you leaders can compromise on, you can take a step back. But for someone like me—a lowly clerk—there is no retreat. A step back is not a vast ocean, it’s a sheer cliff.”

“So I have no choice but to push things to the extreme, if I want even a sliver of hope.”

He spoke these words with a heavy heart, because they were the truth. If he didn’t completely destroy the Tian family, he would forever be subject to Tian Yuan’s merciless revenge.

Even if Tian Guanghan were convicted of corruption and imprisoned, how many years would he really serve? And if Tian Yuan wasn’t implicated, he could still roam free in Lingyun City and would almost certainly seek retribution.

Yang Dong had no choice—he could only fight to the death.

He chose this ruthless, root-and-branch approach.

Wei Chonghu listened and shook his head, saying nothing more. Since Yang Dong had made his decision, he would respect it.

He picked up the recorder and pressed play.

He was curious—what else had Tian Guanghan confessed to that was so significant? What had made Yang Dong dig so deeply?

He had no idea that a storm of unimaginable scale was about to assault his senses.

The initial interrogation was fairly ordinary. Hou Donglai persistently raised the incident at Caiyun KTV, gradually breaking down Tian Guanghan’s psychological defenses.

But once Tian Guanghan’s defense finally collapsed, what he confessed made Wei Chonghu break out in a cold sweat.

“The death of the hostess was absolutely not my son’s doing!” Tian Guanghan’s agitated voice burst from the recorder. “After getting drunk, my son was involved in the rape, yes, but he didn’t kill that hostess, little Nana. It was his so-called friends—it was them who killed her. It was them!”

“But the only way to settle this was for me to take the blame!” Tian Guanghan continued. “Because it wasn’t just my son at Caiyun KTV that night. There was also the son of Vice Governor Jia from the province, the son of Deputy Director Ma from the Provincial Department of Justice, and several other sons of local Lingyun City officials.”

“My son Tian Yuan did participate in the rape, but he did not kill anyone. The one who killed was the drunken Jia…”

With a snap, Wei Chonghu immediately shut off the recorder. At that moment, he no longer dared to listen.

This was huge—far beyond the capacity of the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection to handle. The recorder had become a hot potato no one wanted to hold.

“You’re a real troublemaker, you know that!” Wei Chonghu glared fiercely at Yang Dong, his voice low and tense.

It was the first time he’d lost his composure in front of a subordinate. If this ever got out, it would rock the entire province of Jijiang. Just thinking of the public outrage made his scalp tingle.

Yang Dong wasn’t at all surprised by Wei Chonghu’s reaction. Given the scale of this, it was nothing short of a tempest.

The people Tian Guanghan had implicated were far beyond the reach of the Lingyun City disciplinary commission. With the case at this stage, there was no need for internal transfer, no need for any debate between the Ninth and Tenth Investigation Teams.

The case had to be handed straight to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. Only they had the authority to handle it.

“You should go now,” Wei Chonghu ordered. “And not a word of this to anyone. Even if you don’t care about the Commission’s interests, you should care about your own future!”

His gaze was cold, his tone severe. If Yang Dong dared to reveal anything, he would be utterly destroyed.

“Yes, sir,” Yang Dong replied. He wasn’t a fool; he’d thought everything through before taking action.

He wanted justice for the dead and the truth to see the light, but sometimes, justice alone wasn’t enough to solve things.

His sole reason for doing all this was to ensure the Tian family would never do harm again.

As for the son of Vice Governor Jia or the son of Deputy Director Ma from Provincial Justice—those matters were far beyond his reach.

He wasn’t even a deputy section chief yet, just a clerk. Even if he were, it would change nothing. Unless he reached the level of a deputy provincial official, he would never be able to seek justice for the dead hostess at that KTV.

But he didn’t have that kind of power, so silence was the only option.

Bringing down Tian Guanghan and his son was the most he could do.

He believed that Wei Chonghu understood his intentions.

Yang Dong turned and left Wei Chonghu’s office, then exited the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection building.

With the Tian Guanghan case gone, the Tenth Investigation Team still had the cases of Gu Santong, the Director of the Education Bureau, and a new case involving a deputy section-level official accused of embezzlement.

These had nothing to do with Yang Dong’s personal interests, but he was still willing to pursue corrupt officials—at least it vented some of the public’s anger.

Investigating these two cases would also give him a chance to keep a low profile for a while. He had attracted too much attention lately and who knew how many people bore him a grudge.

Just as Yang Dong left Wei Chonghu’s office, he saw Luo Jin, leader of the Ninth Investigation Team, knocking on the door and entering.

“Secretary Wei, shouldn’t the law enforcement recorder be handed over to our Ninth Team?” Luo Jin asked.

He’d seen Yang Dong enter the office, and since Yang Dong came out empty-handed, he knew the recorder was still inside.

He’d timed his entrance just right—half a minute after Yang Dong left.

But he had no idea what kind of explosive content was hidden within that recorder.

Not only he, but likely even his superiors had no inkling.

Wei Chonghu’s mind turned, and he almost wanted to laugh.

These people still wouldn’t give up—they still wanted the law enforcement recorder? Clearly, they had no idea what was on it. This was a scorching hot potato.

Handing it to them might not be a bad idea; at least it would spread the risk.

After all, anyone who listened to that recording could not claim innocence.

But it couldn’t be given away just like that—a backup was essential. No matter what, a copy had to be sent to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection.

For the city commission, this was an earth-shattering scandal. But for his old leader, Su Yuliang, it might just be an opportunity, perhaps even a trump card.

“You can take the recorder, but only the backup,” Wei Chonghu said coolly. “Come back in ten minutes.”

His tone with Luo Jin was far less cordial than with Yang Dong—almost brusque.

Luo Jin didn’t care. They weren’t from the same faction, so a cold attitude was to be expected.

“Secretary Wei, is that really appropriate?” Luo Jin ventured to question him.

“Out!” Wei Chonghu snapped, gesturing to the door.

Whether it was appropriate or not was not up to a mere deputy section chief from the municipal office to decide.

“Yes, sir.” Luo Jin realized he’d overstepped, but he was anxious—if he couldn’t get the recorder, how could he report to his superiors?

But as Executive Deputy Secretary of the city disciplinary commission, Wei Chonghu had the final say. Whatever he decided, Luo Jin had no choice but to obey.

So Luo Jin left quietly, closing the door behind him.

Wei Chonghu immediately took out a new law enforcement recorder from his drawer and began duplicating the recording.

Listening again to Tian Guanghan’s confession made his heart race with fear all over again.

Once the backup was finished, he put the recorder down, telling himself he never wanted to hear those words a third time in his life.

If it weren’t for the need to make a copy, he wouldn’t have listened a second time.

He took a deep breath, picked up his personal phone, and dialed the private number of Su Muyun, the daughter of his old superior.

“Muyun, it’s Wei Chonghu. Are you busy these days? If not, come to Lingyun City. There’s something that I need you to deliver to the old leader personally—no one else can be trusted with it.”