"It's like this. An older boy from my neighborhood, who I was close with when I was little, runs a construction business. But now, someone has maliciously withheld his payment. That person even colluded with the police station and the hospital to produce a fake injury report, and they've used it to arrest him and lock him up. So I wanted to ask if you can think of a way to get him out first!" Chen Fei said immediately.

"Mr. Chen, what are you saying? This is outrageous! How can such a degenerate who scorns organizational discipline exist! Is this under Northern Mountain City's jurisdiction?" Mayor Huang Tao's eyes bulged as he roared with anger.

"My hometown is Chengyang County, that small county town under Northern Mountain City's jurisdiction," Chen Fei confirmed with a nod.

"This is preposterous! Rest assured, Mr. Chen, I will immediately call Comrade Zhu Qianye, the head of our city's public security system—the Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau! I'd like to see if that so-called county police station chief still dares to hold him!" Huang Tao shouted into the phone.

After all, given his status, even Zhu Qianye, the esteemed Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau and a member of the Municipal Committee, was half a step below him. And what was a mere police station? It was a lower-level public security organ under the Chengyang County Public Security Bureau, which was in turn under Northern Mountain City's jurisdiction. The distance between them was vast; they weren't even in the same league.

For him to say he was going to call Comrade Zhu Qianye, the Director of the Municipal Public security Bureau, to personally handle an incident in a small county police station... it was obvious he was truly furious and ready to get serious!

But what choice did he have? After all, this matter involved the great personage Chen Fei. Even with his current status, Huang Tao didn't dare treat it lightly.

"That's not necessary. I mean, there's no need to alert someone at that level just yet. Why not have someone you trust in Chengyang County step in first?" Chen Fei shook his head, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"You mean... you want to draw out the dirty forces behind them?" Huang Tao was, after all, a cunning veteran who had navigated the political world for many years. With just that one sentence, he completely understood Chen Fei's intention. He knew Chen Fei wanted to blow this up and lure the snake out of its hole.

"That's right. I heard the person who maliciously withheld the project funds is the brother-in-law of Liu Guangrong, the County Party Secretary of Chengyang County. I don't know if he's aware of this, but for an official to condone a relative who relies on his name to do evil and bully others... that's probably not very proper, is it?" Chen Fei said coolly, not denying it.

In fact, he was bottling up a great deal of anger over this matter. When he was a child, his favorite thing to do was follow Aunt Deng's son, Yi Shu, around everywhere. Yi Shu had always been very good to him. He never expected his old friend to encounter such an injustice. Having his project funds maliciously withheld was bad enough, but to be framed and thrown into a police station? How could that not make someone furious?

"Liu Guangrong, the County Party Secretary of Chengyang County? Mr. Chen, rest assured. I know what to do now." Although Mayor Huang Tao was surprised that the matter involved a county party secretary like Liu Guangrong, with his current status as the Mayor of Northern Mountain City, why would he have any reservations? He immediately nodded.

Northern Mountain City had five districts and six counties under its jurisdiction. The number of district chiefs, county chiefs, deputy chiefs, district party secretaries, and county party secretaries alone numbered in the dozens. A county party secretary from Chengyang County, which ranked relatively low among them—how could someone like that possibly be taken seriously by Mayor Huang Tao? It was a joke.

Moreover, he seemed to recall that this Liu Guangrong from Chengyang County used to be the secretary for the former Municipal Party Secretary, Mo Cheng. It was only because of Mo Cheng's strong support that he was able to secure his current position as the County Party Secretary of Chengyang. But Mo Cheng was long gone now.

"In that case, Mr. Chen, how about this? I'll still give Comrade Zhu Qianye at the municipal bureau a call and have him notify the director of the Chengyang County Public Security Bureau to handle this matter. If I remember correctly, the director of the Chengyang County Public Security Bureau is a trusted subordinate that Old Zhu personally promoted. He should be reliable."

Huang Tao considered for a moment before continuing, "As for me, I'll wait here for your call. If this matter really does involve that Liu Guangrong, I will immediately notify the comrades from the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection to come to Chengyang in person!"

"Alright, let's do that," Chen Fei said, nodding in agreement.

Seeing Chen Fei agree, the previously joyful expression on Mayor Huang Tao's face was replaced by a cold solemnity. He hung up and immediately dialed the number for Comrade Zhu Qianye, the Director of the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

"Hello, Old Huang! What wind blew you here today? You're not calling to congratulate me on your promotion to mayor, are you? Hahaha, why don't you come over for a couple of drinks tonight? It's been too long..." The moment the call connected, Zhu Qianye's hearty voice came through. It was clear he had already heard the great news of Huang Tao's promotion.

He and Huang Tao were close, so with the latter's promotion, it was naturally a joyous occasion for him as well. Many people would now hold Zhu Qianye in even higher esteem because of this connection.

"Alright, Old Zhu, cut the pleasantries. I have something very important that I need your help with." Huang Tao, however, was in no mood for congratulations and cut him off, his tone extremely serious.

A very serious matter? For the newly appointed Mayor of Northern Mountain City to use a word like 'serious'… this must be something major!

At this thought, Zhu Qianye's tone immediately turned grave. "Old Huang—no, Mayor Huang, what is it? Just tell me."

"I need you to immediately notify the director of the Chengyang County Public Security Bureau to intervene in a case. The situation is..." Huang Tao then relayed everything Chen Fei had told him verbatim.

"What? How outrageous! This is utterly improper!" Director Zhu Qianye on the other end of the line was also incensed, but he couldn't help but ask doubtfully, his voice trailing off, "Old Huang, you're saying this 'very important matter' is... this?"

While no affair concerning the public was too small, and an incident of such a malicious nature was indeed enough to enrage them both, the problem was Huang Tao's current status. He was no longer who he used to be; he had been promoted to the dignified position of Mayor of Northern Mountain City. For him to use a phrase like "very serious" for this? In the world of officialdom, you couldn't just throw around adjectives like that.

"Heh, Old Zhu, you don't think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, do you?" Huang Tao said faintly. "Do you have any idea who this matter involves? It's a very special young man. So, if some people are truly relying on their connections to flout the law and bully others, then forget some county party secretary—even this official's hat on my head would be at risk! Do you understand what I mean now?"

Although his words may have been an exaggeration, the underlying principle was sound. It proved just how frighteningly high Chen Fei's position was in his mind—so high that even the position of Mayor of an Earth Level city paled in comparison!

Upon hearing this, Zhu Qianye on the other end of the line sucked in a sharp breath, his face turning pale.

"It can't be that serious, can it? Even the provincial authorities can't just remove your hat on a whim," he couldn't help but blurt out.

"Wait..." A special person? He suddenly seemed to remember something. "Old Huang, are you talking about that young man from that night at the branch bureau's police station?"

He vividly recalled that night at the Public Security Bureau of High Tech Startup Zone. Huang Tao, who was then the Executive Vice Mayor, had rushed over in his pajamas in the middle of the night to rescue a young man. The memory alone sent a shiver down his spine and made his expression turn exceptionally grave.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't ask. But this matter does involve him. So, do you still think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill?" Huang Tao said calmly.

"Of course not…" A bitter smile touched Zhu Qianye's lips. This is no joke. That incident made the then-Executive Vice Mayor rush over in his pajamas without even changing. And now Huang Tao, who has been promoted to Mayor, seems to hold the young man in even greater awe. I'm not an idiot. I understand that the young man must have a terrifying background, one powerful enough to snatch the hat from the Mayor of an Earth Level city.

With that, he dismissed the unnecessary thoughts from his mind, took a deep breath, and said seriously, "Old Huang, tell me. How should I handle this?"

"His intention is... so you must explain this clearly to that director of the Chengyang County Public Security Bureau. Don't let our good intentions lead us to make a mistake!" Huang Tao relayed Chen Fei's meaning verbatim, seriously stressing the point one more time.

"Don't worry, I will explain his intentions to Wang Ye in great detail," Zhu Qianye immediately nodded.

"Good. That's all for now." Huang Tao hung up. On the other end, Zhu Qianye immediately dialed the number of his trusted subordinate, Wang Ye, the director of the Chengyang County Public Security Bureau.

Upon receiving a call from his direct superior and great boss, Director Wang Ye of the Chengyang County Public Security Bureau was naturally flattered and amazed. But as he listened, his face grew paler and his heart began to pound wildly. The call lasted only a few minutes. Afterward, Du Yuanbing, the chief of the West City Police Station in Chengyang County, received a call from Director Wang Ye.

"Director Wang?"

Du Yuanbing was stunned. He was in his office at the Xicheng Police Station, leisurely smoking a cigarette and half-heartedly looking over some public security documents on his desk.

Director Wang Ye of the county bureau was his direct superior. Not only that, but he was also a member of the county party committee's standing committee, a true deputy division-level cadre. He was multiple ranks higher than Du Yuanbing's own deputy section-level position. Of course, he was terrified by the sudden call!

This was a classic case of a guilty conscience being afraid of a knock at the door.

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