Chapter 42: Moving Together

Huang Guohua hesitated for a moment, but considering Political Commissar Zhou’s attitude upon hearing the matter, he roughly deduced that this teenager named Li Qi must have an extraordinary relationship with the commissar.

Therefore, he nodded.

"Follow me, you two."

The three entered an office with a telephone. Tian Miao picked up the receiver and glanced at Li Qi, who immediately pulled Huang Guohua out of the room, speaking naturally,

"Secretary Huang, you don't mind if I call you Brother Huang, do you? Neither of us has eaten all day, and now our stomachs feel like they're burning. Could you please find us something to eat?"

Huang Guohua was thus pulled out of the room by Li Qi, watching helplessly as Li Qi neatly closed the door behind them, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

This kid is quite smooth and seasoned, leaving no handle for anyone to grasp.

He told Li Qi to wait in place, then turned and went downstairs to arrange for some food.

Five minutes later, Tian Miao pushed the door open and walked out.

"I contacted my father, and he told me that the most trustworthy person in Taihe City is Elder Brother Zhou Guodong. He has already been in touch with Elder Brother Zhou, so we just need to wait. I never expected that the person you knew happened to be someone my father could trust. We really do have some kind of inexplicable destiny."

At this moment, Tian Miao finally emerged from her immense terror. Back in a familiar environment, her innate self-confidence gradually returned.

Li Qi's mindset remained detached.

He had never expected to become a savior; Li Shi's plight was beyond his reach, and saving Tian Miao was already fulfilling his original intention. As for how subsequent events would develop, it was simply not something within his control.

十几分钟之后，周国栋出现，他直接将李奇和田淼带进自己办公室。(Note: Translated seamlessly in the flow)

A dozen minutes later, Zhou Guodong appeared and led Li Qi and Tian Miao directly into his office.

Tian Miao handed over the camera she had tightly clutched all the way.

"There is crucial evidence inside. This evidence proves that at the illegal coal mine in Niuxin Town, more than a hundred people have been enslaved as illicit miners. My colleague Li Shi is still trapped in one of the pits, and his life is in danger at any moment."

Zhou Guodong took the camera and handed it to Huang Guohua.

"Get these developed immediately."

Instead of looking back at Tian Miao, Zhou Guodong’s gaze remained fixed on Li Qi.

Suddenly, he straightened his waist abruptly, raised his right hand, and saluted Li Qi.

Li Qi was completely dumbfounded.

"Brother Guodong, what is this..."

Zhou Guodong lowered his hand, opened his arms wide, pulled Li Qi into his embrace, and patted his shoulder affectionately.

He was still just an eighteen-year-old kid! What kind of strength had sustained him to accomplish such a magnificent feat?

Originally, he had thought his mother's account of Li Qi's mother saving her back then was somewhat exaggerated, likely amplified by his mother's sense of gratitude. After all, she was merely a rural woman from a small mountain valley without any professional training; it would be very difficult for someone like that to pull off such deeds.

Yet, Li Qi's actions today completely dispelled his doubts.

It truly proved the old saying: a tiger mother breeds no dogs.

So his voice trembled slightly with emotion.

"Thank you for everything you have done. If you hadn't rescued Tian Miao tonight and protected this vital evidence, the consequences would have been immeasurable. Who knows when this frantic, inhuman case would ever have seen the light of day."

Zhou Guodong had just spoken on the phone with Tian Miao's father, Tian Dajiang, learning the full story from him.

It had been a narrow escape.

If Li Qi hadn't knocked out the four brutal thugs and brought Tian Miao back, goodness knows how much longer the illicit mining case would have remained hidden. This malignant tumor buried in Niuxin Town would have devoured even more innocent lives, and surely among them would be Li Shi and Tian Miao.

Compared to such a merit, the mystery of why Li Qi happened to appear near the coal mine at that exact moment became an utterly insignificant doubt.

Tian Miao, standing nearby and witnessing this scene, also felt her eyes turn red. Having experienced everything alongside Li Qi, she naturally understood the extreme danger of the situation all too well.

A thought suddenly struck her, and she said anxiously,

"Inside the Niuxin Town police station, someone is colluding with the illegal coal mine owner. If we take action tonight, we must not give them any advance notice."

Zhou Guodong, whose expression had remained calm throughout, raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Li Qi also said with a bitter smile,

"I know who that person is. Furthermore, I heard something else: that journalist named Li Shi actually found an opportunity to escape a few days ago, but before he could even get out of the mountains, he was intercepted by another local resident and sent right back—all for a hundred yuan..."

This was the thorn in Li Qi's heart that could never be pulled out.

Wang Fuliang had no reason to lie, so that man named Du Ming was likely connected to Sister-in-law Du Li's younger brother. For a mere hundred yuan, he had sabotaged a human life.

Such an act was utterly baffling.

While the likes of Four Dragons were certainly evil, Du Ming's evil was essentially no different from theirs.

Zhou Guodong nodded.

"I have already considered this problem. Time is pressing; I have already contacted the Nanfen District, and all police operations tonight will utilize their forces. Moreover, under the guise of preventing alpine avalanches and managing natural disasters, I have requested the mobilization of the garrison troops in Qiaobei District. Troops will soon assemble and set out. Tonight, the tumor in Niuxin Town will definitely be eradicated, and no matter whose protective umbrella is behind it, none shall escape the sanction of the law."

Hearing this, Li Qi felt a slight sense of unreality.

Mobilizing the military?

Even in an era when bureaucratic procedures were less cumbersome, using public security to mobilize military forces for an operation was an unimaginable feat.

Yet, thinking of Qiu Shuyun's background, everything suddenly seemed reasonable...

Tian Miao's eyes lit up.

"Political Commissar Zhou, I request to accompany the team. I am a provincial newspaper reporter, and I have both the right and the obligation to fight alongside you, reporting on our people's police thunderous operation. Before the people's police, criminals will undoubtedly be swept away like autumn leaves!"

Zhou Guodong did not refuse; he only asked with concern,

"Is your body going to be all right?"

"I'm fine, just a bad bruise on my foot, but it's no longer a hindrance."

Tian Miao cast a reproachful sideways glance at Li Qi, who could only respond with a silly smile.

Zhou Guodong looked at Li Qi and suddenly asked,

"Would you like to join our operation?"

"Of course I want to, but am I allowed?"

Li Qi was pleasantly surprised. Zhou Guodong smiled faintly.

"Conditions in the mountains are complex; we need a guide who is familiar with the terrain. This doesn't violate discipline, but you two must stay by my side and not act on your own initiative."

"Understood!"

"Understood!"

Li Qi and Tian Miao straightened their backs simultaneously and saluted Zhou Guodong in unison.

Watching their identical movements, an ambiguous smile appeared on Zhou Guodong's face.

"Why are you copying me?"

"Clearly, you're the one copying me!"

"I haven't settled accounts with you yet for stepping on my foot."

"I advise you not to play the victim; you stuck your foot right in the way."

Listening to the two of them bickering, Zhou Guodong chuckled silently.

They were truly just kids, completely unaware of how severe the situation actually was.

If this case truly involved illegal detention and the enslavement of over a hundred people, as Tian Miao claimed, it would inevitably become a shocking, monumental case since the founding of the nation.

Forget about tiny Niuxin Town; even the public security department of Taihe City was about to face a massive earthquake.

After tonight, many people would likely find themselves unable to sleep.