Chapter 443

Chapter 443 A Lost Cause Finds Little Support!

However, although the helicopter’s cabin door opened, the reality was quite different from what everyone had expected.

Because the person who stepped out of this helicopter was not that top figure from the Special Forces, nor any ministerial-level bigwig, but rather a young major!

By his appearance, he looked to be no more than around 27 or 28 years old!

Seeing this sharp-eyed young soldier, several of the bigwigs couldn’t help but laugh in unison.

“Looks like we all guessed wrong.” Qin Zhizhang was the first to speak.

“And quite spectacularly wrong at that.” Luo Yunlu followed up.

Bai Qinchuan, seeing this, simply covered his face and slipped away — he really had no part in tonight’s events from start to finish, it was all pretty much one big joke.

Still, the eldest son of the Bai family could count himself lucky. Zhang Feiyu had been kicked several meters away with multiple broken bones, Nangong Shun had been slammed into the ground half-dead, and Jiang Qingyuan had been slapped in the face, rebuked, and refuted one after another. By comparison, Bai Qinchuan had come out the most “intact” of them all.

Jiang Qingyuan’s gaze had already gone rigid. She didn’t have much contact with military personnel to begin with and didn’t recognize this major, but she could tell that anyone capable of drawing this kind of expression from top-tier figures like Luo Yunlu and Qin Zhizhang was absolutely no ordinary person.

The major held a folder in his hand. He jogged over to the bigwigs, quickly saluted them, and then saluted Su Rui as well.

“Major Secretary Wang Zhizhong of the Huaxia Military Commission Secretariat, reporting to all leaders.” the young major said, his voice calm and his gaze sharp.

Although it was a simple self-introduction, the impact it carried was no less than the appearance of the bigwigs from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of State Security.

He was actually from the Huaxia Military Commission!

This was the highest leadership body of the Huaxia military!

Holding military power while governing is a universal truth, and so it was already becoming clear exactly whose will this Military Commission major had come to represent.

With that connection in mind, everyone present fell completely silent, and an indescribable sense of pressure shifted from the surface of their bodies deep into their hearts.

Jiang Qingyuan’s body trembled slightly. Each bigwig who stepped forward felt like yet another mockery directed at her, one after another.

But having come this far, she didn’t want to give up — she wanted to keep pushing.

A flash of resolve crossed Jiang Qingyuan’s eyes, little knowing that pointless persistence only meant straying further and further down the wrong path.

“Please come with me to the Special Forces headquarters, Mr. Su Rui. There’s a meeting that requires your attendance.” Major Wang Zhizhong said.

“Requires my attendance?”

Su Rui seemed somewhat taken aback. He genuinely couldn’t figure out why the Military Commission would be holding a meeting at the Special Forces headquarters, and in the middle of the night no less. Those were a bunch of extraordinary senior leaders — did they not sleep at night?

“I’d also love to know what level of meeting would require Su Rui’s attendance.” Li Zonghan said with a cheerful smile. What had happened tonight truly made his long journey from Haizhou worthwhile — calling it a string of pleasant surprises was no exaggeration at all.

“The special forces of the three major military regions are conducting joint exercises. The commanders are all at the Special Forces command center and would like to invite Su Rui over to share some thoughts on the exercises.”

Joint exercises of the special forces from three major military regions, and they were inviting Su Rui to share his thoughts?

It was only at this moment that those present remembered — before arriving at the classified training facility, Su Rui himself had been the finest special forces soldier in this country.

Just based on what he had done moments ago, seriously injuring Zhang Feiyu and Nangong Shun right under the noses of so many police officers, not a single one of them had been able to stop him.

“Su Rui cannot leave. He must submit to an investigation.”

Jiang Qingyuan stepped between the major and Su Rui and said.

“Are you a police officer?” Major Wang Zhizhong looked at Jiang Qingyuan, his expression sharp.

“I am not.” Jiang Qingyuan said.

“Then what gives you the authority to have Su Rui submit to an investigation?”

Jiang Qingyuan’s eyes avoided the major’s piercing gaze: “I may not be a police officer, but there are many police officers present, and Minister Chen of the Public Security Bureau personally issued an arrest warrant — an official red-headed document at that.”

The major glanced at Jiang Qingyuan, then expressionlessly shoved the folder in his hand into hers and said: “See for yourself. The charges have been dropped.”

The Public Security Bureau’s arrest warrant had actually been dropped?

Su Rui’s eyes narrowed slightly. He could even imagine how much pressure the figure within the Military Commission had applied to the Public Security Bureau to make this happen.

This made it clear that even among the bigwigs, relations were far from harmonious — in certain areas, the struggle had already reached a fever pitch.

Watching Jiang Qingyuan open the folder, the major continued: “The explanation for the dropped arrest warrant is on the first page.”

Jiang Qingyuan read through it carefully, her expression gradually growing heavier.

She could clearly see just how many complex relationships were wrapped up behind what appeared to be a simple piece of paper.

She and Su Rui were locked in a struggle, but weren’t those bigwigs also using this matter to play out some kind of game of their own?

Seeing that Jiang Qingyuan’s eyes remained fixed on the first page, the major continued: “You can keep flipping through. The charges against Jiang Linhao, Bai Jiaming, and the other three are on pages 2 through 174. The five individuals have committed a combined total of 86 offenses of varying severity over the years, 13 of which carry the death penalty and 25 of which are punishable by life imprisonment.”

The major’s words made the atmosphere at the scene even heavier. He glanced around at everyone and continued: “If calculated according to the cumulative sentencing principle and the concurrent punishment rules under the criminal code, these five people combined could be executed 52 times.”

Upon hearing this, everyone present drew a sharp breath.

Just how many heinous things had they done — five people, enough to be executed 52 times over.

Bai Qinchuan, who had been quietly slipping away, heard the major’s words and stumbled, nearly falling over.

His mind was already roaring wildly: “Bai Jiaming, you useless piece of trash! You’ve completely screwed me over!”

The group of police officers all looked at each other. Faced with evidence like this, they no longer had the nerve to raise their weapons.

If they kept insisting on arresting Su Rui, they would be doing the bidding of evildoers.

These officers all grumbled inwardly — the five great families had really gone too far. The crimes committed by these few members were enough to warrant execution that many times over, so why had no one ever gone after them? How had they continued to walk free?

Upon hearing the major’s account, Qin Zhizhang’s expression suddenly turned ice-cold.

He let out a heavy snort and said: “If they’ve committed so many crimes, why were they never investigated or prosecuted? I truly cannot imagine how many people behind the scenes have been turning a blind eye and covering for them. After all these years since I stepped down, I had no idea the grassroots system had rotted to this degree.”

Upon hearing these words, every police officer present felt their face burning. Although the responsibility for this didn’t lie with them, as fellow officers, they felt deeply ashamed.

It was obvious that Qin Zhizhang’s words were not without purpose — they were pointed at something specific.

Jiang Qingyuan pressed her lips together. Under these circumstances, what more could she say?

The old man Qin’s words were practically a relentless slap in the face.

“Executed 52 times.” The corner of Li Zonghan’s mouth curled into a cold smile: “For the great families, this is no longer a matter of lax discipline or poor oversight. Speaking up for this kind of scum, using this kind of scum to make a big scene, framing the loyal and the good — have you no shame?”

For someone of Li Zonghan’s status and position, using crude language was completely at odds with their standing and demeanor, and if it got out, it would certainly cause no small stir. But Li Zonghan simply couldn’t hold back.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Qingyuan’s face instantly flushed crimson.

Have you no shame?

Those words struck like a thunderbolt, rumbling and crashing through Jiang Qingyuan’s mind.

Within the Jiang family, Jiang Qingyuan was undoubtedly the most intelligent and capable person. Had she not been born a woman, she would certainly have been the next head of the family. She saw everything about this family clearly and felt it weighing on her heart.

But when her loved ones were left injured and disabled, regardless of the reason, Jiang Qingyuan had to step forward and seek “justice” for them.

Even if it meant going against her own conscience.

But living in this world, how many things can one truly do as one’s heart desires?

Because of Li Zonghan’s thunderous outrage, the entire scene fell completely silent.

“Qingyuan, can you answer the question I just asked?” Li Zonghan pressed relentlessly.

How was Jiang Qingyuan supposed to answer?

Was she supposed to say “I have no shame”?

“I’m sorry, I have my own position to stand by.” Jiang Qingyuan met Li Zonghan’s eyes directly and said.

“You can’t tell right from wrong or distinguish loyalty from treachery — you were standing in the wrong direction to begin with. What position are you talking about?”

Li Zonghan let out a cold snort and shook his head: “I used to think you were someone who could lead the Jiang family to the top. Now it seems I need to completely reverse that opinion.”

Jiang Qingyuan’s body trembled slightly. She clenched her teeth, hesitated for a moment, then raised her head and swept her gaze across everyone present, saying earnestly: “I know that today, trying to stop you all is nearly impossible. But no matter what, I want to hold on a little longer.”

Li Zonghan’s gaze was like that of a hawk, fixed on this second-generation Jiang family heiress coveted by countless men in the capital, and said: “Fine. I’d like to see just how you intend to hold on.”

“As long as you can answer my final question, I will leave immediately and stop interfering.” Facing the pressure of several top-tier bigwigs, Jiang Qingyuan looked so utterly alone at this moment.

Of course, this also reflected a truth from another angle — a just cause enjoys abundant support, while an unjust cause finds little.

“Go ahead.” Luo Yunlu also spoke up.

“It’s simple. Huaxia is a country governed by the rule of law. If anyone who sees another person commit a crime can just go up and kill them, what kind of chaos would society descend into? Someone who kills without lawful authority, standing above the law — surely they need to be punished?”

In fact, this was the central question Jiang Qingyuan had been wrestling with all night.

Even as the bigwigs stepped forward one after another, they had not been able to provide a strong enough argument to counter this point.

Jiang Qingyuan saw this clearly, and so she wanted to make one last gamble.

Sure enough, as soon as those words were spoken, both Qin Zhizhang and Li Zonghan turned visibly grave.

And the major from the Military Commission Secretariat extended one finger, pointing at the folder, and said: “The answer to your question is on the last page.”

At those words, everyone was momentarily stunned. They simply couldn’t imagine how this major would answer the question.

It was now clear that the Military Commission’s preparations had been thorough to the extreme.

Only Su Rui showed a faint smile, as though he had already sensed what the answer would be.

“Last page. Functions of the Classified Combat Training Unit, Part 2, Article 7: all members are vested with immediate law enforcement authority, with the degree of enforcement to be determined at the discretion of the individual member.”

As the major’s words fell, Jiang Qingyuan’s heart instantly turned to ice.