Chapter 671: Discussion
Zhou Tieshan’s frown deepened. He looked at Li Mingyuan, his gaze holding a mix of scrutiny, disappointment, and a touch of resignation.
"I know a bit about what you’ve been up to," Zhou Tieshan said. "I didn’t bring it up before because, even though you’re from a collateral branch, you’re ultimately a member of the Li Family. It wasn’t my place to interfere. But since you came to me today, I’m going to ask you one question. Are your hands clean in all this?"
Li Mingyuan gritted his teeth. "Clean or not, it all comes down to evidence."
Zhou Tieshan stared at him for a long time before letting out a sigh.
"Fine, you can stay here. There are a few empty rooms on the second floor; pick one yourself. But Mingyuan, let me be perfectly clear: if the Inspection Department really comes knocking, I won’t stick my neck out for you. Whatever is going on between you and them, you resolve it yourself."
Li Mingyuan nodded. "I understand. Thank you, Mr. Zhou."
Zhou Tieshan waved him off and picked up the document again, no longer looking at him.
Li Mingyuan turned and went upstairs, settling into an empty room on the second floor. Lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling, he repeatedly mulled over his next move. The Inspection Department definitely wouldn’t let this go. However, no one dared to blow things out of proportion when it came to internal Federation matters. As long as they didn’t have the guts to barge into the Celestial Swallow Battle Group’s base to arrest him, he was safe for now. As for the future, he would cross that bridge when he came to it.
The next morning, in the grand conference room on the seventh underground floor of the Inspection Department headquarters.
𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
This was the Inspection Department’s highest-level meeting room, rarely used under normal circumstances. Today, however, it was packed.
At the head of the long conference table sat a man in his sixties with greying hair and a gaunt face, wearing an old, faded military uniform. His gaze was tranquil, but that calmness carried an intimidating authority that deterred anyone from looking him directly in the eye. This was the Minister of the Inspection Department, Luo Jing.
To Luo Jing’s left sat a man in his early fifties dressed in a sharp suit and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, looking very much like a refined scholar. Yet his eyes were sharp, scrutinizing everyone in the room as they swept across the table. This was Vice Minister Qin Hongzhang, who oversaw the field operations unit.
To Luo Jing’s right was a powerfully built man in his forties with a square face, thick eyebrows, and a steady gaze. His burly physique made him look like a tower of iron even while seated. This was the Head of Field Operations, Team Leader Song Ya.
Seated along both sides of the table were the various field squad captains. At the very far end sat Xu Wuyi, wearing his black-and-white mask, completely motionless.
Luo Jing picked up the teacup in front of him, took a sip, and set it back down. His gaze swept over everyone in the room before finally landing on Xu Wuyi.
"Captain Meng, tell us about your case."
Xu Wuyi nodded, stood up, and walked over to the wall to turn on the projector. The holographic screen flickered to life, displaying Wang Haidong’s file, followed by a photo of the ledger, and finally the densely packed numbers recorded within it.
"In the Tianhai Group smuggling case, the primary culprit, Wang Haidong, has already confessed," Xu Wuyi said, his voice flat and devoid of emotion. "According to Wang Haidong’s statement, his smuggled goods came from the Celestial Swallow Battle Group, supplied by Vice Commander Li Mingyuan. That ledger details the amount of every single transaction and the exact percentage given to Li Mingyuan.
"The total amount involved in the case exceeds two billion, with Li Mingyuan’s personal cut conservatively estimated at over one billion."
Low murmurs broke out across the conference room.
One billion.
For a Quasi-Grandmaster, a billion wasn’t exactly an astronomical figure. However, the fact that this money came from smuggling military supplies completely changed the nature of the crime. Furthermore, it was highly probable that Wang Haidong wasn’t Li Mingyuan’s only pipeline.
Luo Jing remained silent, simply listening quietly.
Song Ya spoke up, his rough voice carrying a soldier’s crisp efficiency. "Is the evidence conclusive?"
"The records in the ledger corroborate Wang Haidong’s confession," Xu Wuyi replied. "As long as we can obtain Li Mingyuan’s secret account information and verify the financial transactions, we will have a complete chain of evidence."
Song Ya nodded and looked at Luo Jing. "Minister, this is an opportunity. Li Mingyuan is a Quasi-Grandmaster, the Vice Commander of the Celestial Swallow Battle Group, and a member of the Li Family’s collateral branch. If we can take him down, it will serve as a massive deterrent to the corrupt factions within the Federation."
Qin Hongzhang pushed his glasses up his nose and spoke slowly. "Team Leader Song, you’re right. This is indeed an opportunity, but the question is how we actually take him down." He looked at Song Ya, his tone unhurried. "Li Mingyuan is currently hiding out in the Celestial Swallow Battle Group’s base. There are two other Quasi-Grandmasters in there—Zhou Tieshan and Li Jingsong. All three of them are Level 48 or 49, with combat prowess no lesser than Li Mingyuan’s.
"Our Inspection Department doesn’t have a Grandmaster holding the fort. The highest combat power the field operations unit can mobilize is you, Team Leader Song, at Level 49, along with a few captains ranging between Level 46 and 47. Even if we could win by forcing our way into the Battle Group’s base to make the arrest, it would blow the situation entirely out of proportion."
Song Ya furrowed his brow. "So we just let it go? We know for a fact he’s a criminal, but just because he’s hiding in the Battle Group, there’s nothing we can do about it?"
"It’s not that there’s nothing we can do, but rather that we can’t act rashly," Qin Hongzhang said. "We can start by going through official channels and sending a formal notice to the Celestial Swallow Battle Group, requesting their cooperation with the investigation. The Battle Group has to give us some sort of explanation. If they choose to harbor Li Mingyuan, then the nature of the situation changes entirely, and we can figure out another approach then."
Song Ya scoffed. "Send a formal notice? If sending notices actually worked, what would be the point of our field operations unit? Vice Minister Qin, you’ve been sitting in the office for so long that you probably don’t understand how those people operate on the ground. You could send ten notices, and they’d stall for a year. By the time they scrub Li Mingyuan’s connections clean, even if we get the encryption keys to his accounts, it won’t be of any use."
Qin Hongzhang’s expression soured slightly, but he didn’t lose his temper. He simply said in a calm voice, "Team Leader Song, I know you’re eager to crack this case. But we have to be methodical; we can’t just brute-force this. Do you know what forcing our way into the Battle Group’s base would actually mean?"
"What would it mean?"
"It would mean that our Inspection Department is declaring war on the entire Celestial Swallow Battle Group," Qin Hongzhang said, his voice remaining calm but growing much heavier. "The Battle Groups are the official armed forces of the Federation. They aren’t corporate conglomerates, nor are they local family clans. They have their own structure, their own system, and their own pride.
"If we barge in to make an arrest, it would be a slap in the face to the entire Battle Group. Forget about arresting Li Mingyuan—whether our people could even make it out safely would be a question."
Song Ya fell silent for a few seconds before asking, "So, what Vice Minister Qin means is that we just sit back and watch Li Mingyuan get away scot-free?"
Qin Hongzhang didn’t answer, turning instead to look at Luo Jing.