The Tempting Road to Becoming an Official

No gains without pains.

Since Sun Jinan came to see me, she must be seeking something.

Cui Liansheng asked, "Comrade Xiao Sun, what do you want?"

Sun Jinan quickly waved her hand.

She said, "Leader, you've misunderstood. I'm not using Lou Yu to make a trade with you. I just think Secretary Chen is too popular. If he isn't restrained, it will surely mess up the political landscape of Shangqing City. I'm doing this for both you and Shangqing City."

After saying this.

Sun Jinan directly placed a folded note in front of Cui Liansheng.

Then she stood up and said, "Leader, I know you're busy, so I won't disturb you any longer."

With these words, Sun Jinan left.

As soon as she left.

Cui Liansheng couldn't wait to open the note.

On it was an address and a phone number.

It seemed this was Lou Yu's hideout.

In the current situation, Chen Fang could completely leverage the Lou Youhua case to gain prestige in Shangqing City.

This was not what Cui Liansheng wanted to see.

If used properly, this Lou Yu might just eliminate the threat of Chen Fang entirely.

Why not go for it?

Thinking of this.

Cui Liansheng took out his cellphone and dialed a number.

After a few rings, the call was connected.

Before the other person could speak, Cui Liansheng said, "See you at the usual place at noon…"

...

At the liaison office of the Guangshou County Supervision Team.

Chen Fang was sitting in the office reviewing files.

Wu Xixin walked in.

Chen Fang looked up and asked, "How is it? Is there any news?"

Wu Xixin shook his head and said, "We received a call from the people who went to Xunyang. They visited Lin Duoduo's old home. Her family confirmed that Lin Duoduo hasn't called home for over a month. She used to send ten thousand yuan home every month, but there hasn't been any transfer for over a month now, so we can basically confirm that something has happened to her."

"What about the interrogation results?"

Chen Fang asked.

Wu Xixin looked worried.

He said, "Lou Youhua and Lan Jieshan confessed to all their other crimes without hesitation, but both refused to discuss anything about Lin Duoduo. Lou Youhua just said three words: 'I don't know.' Lan Jieshan kept insisting that Lin Duoduo resigned and went home, and that there was no contact between them."

It's not surprising.

For crimes of embezzlement, bribery, gang rape, and organized crime combined, they wouldn't face the death penalty.

But if Lin Duoduo was indeed harmed.

Then it would be a serious matter.

No one with a modicum of intelligence would talk.

However, the Disciplinary Committee here has very little information on Lin Duoduo.

The dancers from the troupe don't know, and those who do are silent, not to mention Lin Duoduo's body hasn't been found, making it impossible to determine her fate.

So far.

The case seems to have reached a stalemate.

But there is one definite clue.

Lin Duoduo disappeared after hosting a senior leader.

At this stage, it's crucial to identify the identity of this senior leader, and that could provide a breakthrough in Lin Duoduo's case.

Generally.

Reception duties for leaders were handled personally by Lou Youhua.

Apart from Lin Duoduo, there were two other women at that dinner. According to their statements, this senior leader was approximately fifty years old, a little under 1.8 meters tall, had a well-proportioned build, and was very witty in conversation.

Thus.

Chen Fang instructed Wu Xixin to have the women identify photographs of leaders meeting that description from across the county.

They dismissed all of them.

Then.

Chen Fang had Wu Xixin show them photos of the main leaders from the four leading bodies of Shangqing City and the key leaders from each district and county.

Again, they were all dismissed.

In a last resort.

They even brought out photos of provincial leaders.

But the result was the same; both women said it wasn't any of the people in the photos.

This left Chen Fang somewhat confused.

Could it be that the so-called senior leader isn't actually from the political arena, but from the business world?

If that's the case, it would be like searching for a needle in a haystack, much more difficult.

"Leader, do you think it's possible…"

Wu Xixin motioned upward with his finger.

He meant to suggest that the so-called "senior leader" was someone above provincial leaders.

Chen Fang shook his head and said, "If it were someone from a higher level, that person would have already responded, they wouldn't remain so calm. Moreover, someone of Lou Youhua's status wouldn't likely know someone higher up."

"But we've already gone over everyone at the provincial, city, and county levels… Who else is there?"

Wu Xixin said, perplexed.

Chen Fang took a deep breath.

He said, "Since we've gone through the main leaders' photos, let's expand the scope and gather photos of leaders from all departments at the provincial, city, and county levels, and have these two women go over them again. I refuse to believe this so-called senior leader is a ghost!"

"The workload will be quite large if we do that."

Wu Xixin said.

Chen Fang firmly declared, "No matter how big the workload is, it has to be done. We cannot let this person go unpunished!"

"Got it! I'll make the arrangements right away!"

Wu Xixin nodded and left.

As Chen Fang was contemplating the next steps.

Suddenly.

His phone rang.

It was an unknown number.

Chen Fang typically doesn't answer such numbers.

So he ignored it, silenced the phone, and set it aside.

The call rang for about ten seconds and then ended.

Then suddenly, a 'ding' was heard.

A text message came through.

Chen Fang instinctively picked up the phone to check, only to see the same number as before, with a short message: "I know where Lin Duoduo is."

Chen Fang shuddered.

He quickly redialed the number.

After two rings, the call was answered.

A muffled voice said, "Hello, are you Secretary Chen Fang?"

"Who are you?"

"Who I am is not important. What matters is that I know where Lin Duoduo is. If you want to know, come alone to the abandoned market by the east gate of Baizhang Town at nine tonight. If I find out you brought anyone, sorry, I won't show up."

After saying this.

The call was disconnected.

Chen Fang immediately summoned Jiang Feng and Wu Xixin.

After recounting the call to them.

Wu Xixin said, "I think it's a trap."

Chen Fang nodded.

He said, "I think it's a trap too, but what is the purpose of this trap? And who set it up?"

"I think it's Lou Yu, maybe he wants to avenge his father."

Jiang Feng said.

This explanation was undoubtedly plausible.

It was also the most likely given the current situation.

Chen Fang pondered for a moment and asked, "Have you ever thought about the question that we haven't caught Lou Yu yet? If you were him, what would you most want to do?"

"Run! Escape! Get to a place where he can't be caught!"

Wu Xixin replied without hesitation.

Chen Fang nodded and said, "For anyone in such a situation, the top priority would be to run, but now he's coming back to seek revenge on me. Do you think that's reasonable?"