The Tempting Road to Becoming an Official

Qin Shou confessed.

He didn't just confess to the matter involving Wang Miaofang.

He also listed other issues at Third Middle School, where some teachers and parents were coerced.

What do you call this? This is what happens when you show no mercy—don't blame me for not being righteous.

Wen Mei and two other officers were recording the video and taking the testimony.

The entire process lasted a full hour.

Chen Fang's plan was simple yet complicated in its execution—it was a psychological battle from start to finish.

Initially, he deliberately lingered outside the eighth class to make Qin Shou nervous.

After making Qin Shou anxious, they presented irrefutable evidence, leading him to believe he was framed by Pan Youde and Qi Hui. Surrounded by four people, his emotions remained tense throughout.

Chen Fang and Wen Mei played good cop, bad cop.

Qin Shou, with no experience in dealing with the police, eventually broke down under their methodical inducement.

The collection of the testimony was complete.

Wen Mei pulled Chen Fang aside.

She asked, "What do we do next?"

Chen Fang pondered for a moment,

and said, "Given how things have developed, they must know they can't keep it under wraps anymore. If nothing unexpected happens, Pan Youde has already received the news, and he will certainly make one last struggle."

Wen Mei inquired, "Should I take Qin Shou to the city bureau first?"

Chen Fang waved his hand and said, "You won't be able to leave before the people from the city bureau get here. Once on the road, no one can guarantee there won't be any incidents. It's crucial that nothing happens to Qin Shou; otherwise, both you and I are going to be in trouble."

"Then what should we do? We can't just keep hiding here, can we?"

Wen Mei asked.

Chen Fang thought for a moment, then said, "There's nowhere to hide now. Here's the plan: we'll head back to the Education Bureau together. Since it's an issue within the education system, let's make it the battlefield for the final showdown."

With that said,

Qin Shou, handcuffed, was escorted into the police car.

Wen Mei immediately reported the situation to the city bureau leadership.

Chen Fang ordered two cars from the Education Bureau to escort the police car, front and rear, towards the Education Bureau compound.

Before they had even arrived,

Chen Fang received a call from Niu Yong.

He reported that the County Public Security Bureau had issued a notice, according to reliable information, a suspect wanted online had been spotted in the streets of Jinde County; as a result, a public security lockdown of the entire city would be imposed for 6 hours.

A lockdown?

Just as Chen Fang had guessed.

The person supporting Pan Youde from above had far-reaching influence.

He could actually issue a lockdown order directly.

This meant that to protect Pan Youde, his backer had already made a move.

Once the lockdown was in effect,

the people from the city bureau couldn't come in.

And, no doubt, Wen Mei and the others wouldn't be able to go out.

Since it's a lockdown for six hours,

that also meant Pan Youde would launch a "counter-attack" against them within these six hours.

Indeed,

inside Pan Youde's office,

there were two people at the moment.

One was Pan Youde, and the other a man in his fifties, sitting face to face with him, staring at him with a fierce gaze.

After a moment of silence,

this man picked up the folder from the coffee table and smashed it several times hard against Pan Youde's head.

Pan Youde didn't dare move and could only let the folder continuously strike his head.

"Idiot, idiot, idiot…"

As he struck, the man cursed continuously.

Perhaps growing tired from the beating,

the man stopped and, panting with anger, yelled, "You're still the vice county head; you couldn't even keep a simple bureau chief in check. You're just useless!"

Pan Youde swallowed,

and said, "Leader, I underestimated Chen Fang, but I assure you, no matter the outcome, I will take full responsibility for all the consequences and won't implicate you in any way."

"You assure me? With what do you assure me? Your life?"

the man known as 'leader' bellowed.

Pan Youde wiped the sweat off his forehead and said, "Leader, at your command, I am prepared to die."

Those words of readiness to face death,

somewhat assuaged the man's anger.

He said, "It's not time for you to die yet. I've received a message that Chen Fang has taken the man to the Education Bureau already. I've procured six hours of lockdown time. Within these six hours, no matter what you do, you must eliminate Qin Shou for me. If you don't, then you might as well go die yourself. And don't worry, I'll take care of your family for you."

"Yes, leader,"

Pan Youde nodded and said.

The man let out a long sigh,

stood up,

and walked towards the door before suddenly remembering something.

"Little Pan, you mustn't try any tricks with me either," he said. "You know what I'm capable of. If I find out you've done something you shouldn't have done, your family's bodies will end up in the Binan Reservoir. Have I made myself clear?"

"Crystal clear, crystal clear,"

Pan Youde nodded repeatedly as he spoke.

The man opened the door and left.

Once the sound of footsteps had faded away,

Pan Youde sat on the sofa, lost in thought for a while.

Then he stood up.

He took a bottle of foreign liquor from the cabinet.

After opening it, he guzzled down half of it.

He wiped his lips and pulled out his phone.

The first call was to Qi Hui.

But the phone was switched off.

Given his understanding of Qi Hui, this person must have fled at the first whiff of trouble.

Since Qi Hui was now unreliable, he could only rely on himself.

With that thought,

he opened a drawer.

His hands felt around in a hidden spot within.

Before long,

an object wrapped in yellow tape was pulled out.

Layer by layer, the tape was peeled away,

and what appeared in his hand was a plastic bag containing a homemade steel ball pistol.

The pistol looked roughly made.

Pan Youde sat down and took a steel ball from the plastic bag,

carefully inserting it into the barrel.

Once the bullet was loaded,

Pan Youde surveyed his office,

then his gaze settled on a family portrait directly ahead.

It seemed as if he had made a certain resolve, and he pointed the pistol at his own temple.

Despite a determined heart,

his right hand couldn't help but tremble.

In the face of death, no one is unafraid.

After hesitating for a while, he gritted his teeth, and in the end, he pulled the trigger.

"Bang."

The crisp sound echoed around the county government compound.

The leader who had just walked downstairs also heard the gunshot, looked up toward the building, his gaze darkened, and he took out his phone to dial a number.

Once the call connected,

the leader said, "Call off the martial law, dispatch the criminal police team to the Department of Education, and cooperate with the city bureau's officers in investigating the case of Qin Shou."

After finishing,

he took a long sigh and left.

Over at the Department of Education,

Chen Fang had been on edge the whole time.

In his estimation,

Pan Youde was not the type to let things go easily.

Probably around twenty minutes later,

four or five police cars entered the building of the Department of Education.

A group of police officers got out.

After Wen Mei spoke with them, she came to notify Chen Fang, telling him the martial law had ended and the county public security bureau's criminal police were there to inquire if they needed any assistance.

"Are you sure that's what they said?"

Chen Fang asked.

Wen Mei nodded and said, "The city bureau's call had already come through to the county; they asked them to cooperate, so they came over."

Chen Fang had a shock of realization and said, "This isn't good, something must have happened to Pan Youde."

"What did you say?"

Wen Mei asked, a bit stunned.

No sooner had she spoken,

than Chen Fang's phone started ringing.

Looking at the number, it was a call from Niu Yong.

As soon as he brought the phone to his ear, Niu Yong said, "Just received news from the county committee compound, Pan Youde has committed suicide by shooting himself in the office..."

Chen Fang turned to stone on the spot.

He had anticipated Pan Youde would fight to the end; he had also considered Pan Youde might flee, but he never imagined Pan Youde would commit suicide.

Instantly, his thoughts turned to Tan Yandong.

Taking a deep breath, he murmured, "Pan Youde's boss must be a major figure in the county..."