Out in the wilderness outside Dragon City, Gu Baisun's mindset was bordering on explosive. He had misjudged; his mother was not in Zhang Ming's hands!

But if not with Zhang Ming, then who had her? Who would do such a thing?!

Gu Baisun's brain raced, and he immediately thought of two other possibilities.

Li Mingsheng and Jing Yan both wanted to control Gu Baisun, so they might have taken the initiative to grab his weakness.

"Damn it!"

Gu Baisun cursed through gritted teeth, turning back toward the van.

Niu Feng, having finished treating his wounds, came down and asked, "What do we do with You Pengpeng and this guy?"

"Bury them."

Gu Baisun, preoccupied with his mother's safety, gave the order with great emotional turmoil.

Niu Feng took an automatic rifle from the car and was about to go deal with Zhang Ming's follower and You Pengpeng.

Inside the car, Gu Baisun picked up a pack of cigarettes, then suddenly changed his mind and called out, "Don't touch them. Take them away."

Niu Feng turned back. "Okay."

A few minutes later, three cars slowly left the desolate wilderness.

Inside the car, Niu Feng swallowed two antibiotic pills, his face pale as he glanced at Gu Baisun. "Actually… there's something I want to say to you."

Gu Baisun turned to look at him.

"The decision to deal with Zhang Ming was a bit hasty. You're shaken up," Niu Feng said bluntly.

Gu Baisun frowned but didn't respond.

"But it's understandable. Anyone would be less than perfect if their mother was in trouble." Niu Feng paused. "The reason I'm following you with the brothers is twofold: first, I owe your father a lot. He's gone, so I'm repaying it to you. Second, I think you've got what it takes to do great things, and the brothers won't go wrong following you."

Gu Baisun lit a cigarette and looked out the window.

"No matter who kidnapped your mother, they have one goal: to control you, right?" Niu Feng's voice was hoarse. "You don't have any other weaknesses, just this one, so they did this."

"Uncle Niu…!"

"The more anxious you are, the more you play into their hands." Niu Feng interrupted. "Maybe someone wants you right now, because of your mother, to recklessly attack this and that, what do you say?"

Hearing this, Gu Baisun stared intently at Niu Feng's pale face.

"I don't mean anything else by saying this." Niu Feng patted Gu Baisun's shoulder. "Like I said, whatever you decide to do, me and my brothers will listen to you. I believe that's what Lao Guo and the others think too."

These words made Gu Baisun somewhat lose his composure. Niu Feng's loyalty and integrity, as well as the bloodstains on his shoulder that had not yet dried, brought him back to his senses.

Gu Baisun took a deep drag on his cigarette. "Thank you, Uncle Niu!"

"If anyone should be thanking someone, it's me thanking you. Without you throwing money around and finding connections, I might have been locked up until I was eighty." Niu Feng grinned. "I'm tired, I'll take a nap."

Gu Baisun turned to look out the window, considered it for a long time, and then called out, "Bring that guy from earlier into my car."

A few minutes later, Zhang Ming's henchman got into the car. Gu Baisun stared at him with gloomy eyes and asked, "You said earlier, where has Kang Dinghuang been focusing his energy recently?"

...

The next day, a little after ten in the morning.

The standoff between He Yuzheng's two regiments at the garrison camp was still ongoing. Although the leaders of the police departments from more than a dozen districts had withdrawn, their subordinates were still gathered around the garrison base.

He Yuzheng had tried twice to force his way into the scene, but was blocked by the police, who insisted that the brothers would not back down until the garrison headquarters gave an explanation.

What was the reason?

The reason was that Wang Daolin, the chief of the Zha Nan District police department, had accidentally crashed his car into the guard post of the training base during an investigation and had been brutally beaten while negotiating with the other party.

This reason was far-fetched, but it was effective. Once a conflict occurs, it's hard to reason.

Even if you say the other side struck first, they can say you insulted them first, or raised your gun first!

Meanwhile, the suppression of the Qing Yi Bureau by various departments was far from over. The Dragon City Information Security Administration had already arrested a man who was selling important information from the autonomous region, claiming that he was cooperating with the Qing Yi Bureau. The police department's investigation also revealed that a large amount of weapons and equipment stored by the Qing Yi Bureau had not been registered, and that the use of consumed bullets and other items had not been documented, which was completely inconsistent with Dragon City's firearms management regulations.

In addition, many people from the Code Worker's Association were arrested yesterday for fighting and shooting at a meeting. Some of them implicated the Qing Yi Bureau, claiming that the bureau's personnel had accepted bribes and acted as a protective umbrella for the Code Worker's Association.

With a large number of peripheral personnel arrested and firmly in Lao Li's grasp, the direction of the investigation would depend entirely on the Dragon City local faction.

...

Inside the morgue.

Kang Dinghuang had just finished looking at Zhang Qi's body and sat on the hallway bench with a gloomy face, his eyes vacant.

"Tap, tap!"

A series of footsteps sounded, and Tan Hengqiang, the commander-in-chief of the Dragon City garrison, walked over with a group of people.

"My condolences, Minister Kang!" Tan Hengqiang stood beside the bench and said expressionlessly.

Kang Dinghuang snapped out of his stupor, looked up at the other party, and immediately stood up politely, "I've troubled you, Commander Tan!"

"Let's not mention the trouble. Your unit is also working for the greater region," Tan Hengqiang waved his hand. "The urgent matter now is how to deal with the current predicament."

Kang Dinghuang was silent for a few seconds. "Do you have any ideas?"

"He Yuzheng's two regiments definitely can't be allowed to be stuck in the training camp." Tan Hengqiang said with a frown, "Since Wang Daolin is saying that our people aren't enough, I'll transfer four more regiments in. I want to see if they're trying to rebel!"

These words sounded superficially relieving and domineering, as if supporting Kang Dinghuang, but the latter was very clear that Lao Tan's deeper meaning was actually complaining. He was forcing the Qing Yi Bureau to quickly solve the problem.

Why do I say that?

Because the garrison headquarters couldn't possibly be stupid enough to jump out and play the villain. Would Lao Tan really dare to open fire on the police departments of more than a dozen districts? Would he really dare to provoke a conflict between the local Dragon City government and the army?

The control of the entire incident was in the hands of the Qing Yi Bureau. The garrison could only provide help and assistance at most. In short, if this matter was successful, it would be Kang Dinghuang's credit, and if it failed, it would have nothing to do with Tan Hengqiang. So why should he block bullets for Lao Kang?

Kang Dinghuang understood the other party's meaning, so he immediately replied, "We can't let the incident escalate any further, because the situation can't be reversed. How about this, Commander Tan, give me a day and I'll solve this problem."

"Do you need any help?"

"No, I can handle it." Kang Dinghuang shook his head.

...

That afternoon, a little after one o'clock.

Kang Dinghuang arrived at the Municipal Building alone, requesting to see Li Mingsheng.