204: Chapter 204 Chain Reaction, Ding Yizhen's Escape

In the Third Division of the Shanghai Procuratorate, Zhao Yang had just finished reviewing a case closure report when his phone suddenly rang—it was Meng Dehai.

Zhao Yang stood up, walked into the inner office, closed the door, and pressed the answer button: "Hello, Uncle Meng."

"Let's skip the pleasantries between us," Meng Dehai said, getting straight to the point. "If we replicate this Linjiang model in a populous province, are there any side effects?"

Zhao Yang's heart skipped a beat, and he blurted out, "Handong Province?"

"Hmm..." Meng Dehai's voice dropped noticeably on the other end. "I thought the next step would be the Southwest, or those places in the central and western regions that have a similar foundation to Linjiang. I didn't expect it to be Handong Province."

Zhao Yang couldn't help but laugh. "Uncle Meng, if you were still the deputy leader of Linjiang Province, you might go to those places. But you are already the top leader of Linjiang Province; you'll either go to the Imperial Capital, a municipality directly under the central government, or a place like Handong Province. Besides, several of our Linjiang cadres have already gone to the central and western regions. An Xin is doing quite well over there, right? There's no need for you to step in personally."

Meng Dehai gave a bitter laugh. "That may be true, but the difference between Handong Province and Linjiang is too great."

"Uncle Meng, if I may ask an inappropriate question, will you be the top leader or the second-in-command when you go?"

"In six months, Elder Liu retires." Meng Dehai paused. "At that time, I will transfer you to my side, as Vice Provincial Governor, to help me steer the ship."

Zhao Yang felt secretly depressed.

Six months later?

By then, those who belong in prison will be in prison, those who deserve a bullet will have faced the firing squad, and everything will have settled!

The situation Meng Dehai will face will be relatively simple, but for Zhao Yang, this means the mission "No Regrets in Moving" will have almost certainly failed.

Hearing that Zhao Yang hadn't spoken for a while, Meng Dehai coughed lightly. "What? Are you surprised? With your ability, staying in the Procuratorate System is a waste of talent. Only in the government sector can you do more for the people."

Zhao Yang temporarily buried his frustration and smiled. "Uncle Meng, I am indeed a bit surprised. Chief Prosecutor Qin of the Shanghai Procuratorate just spoke with me two days ago, saying my current responsibilities are too light. I didn't expect you to want me to go to Handong Province as well."

Meng Dehai couldn't help but laugh. "Then we'll have to see if Elder Song can snatch you away from the Supreme Peoples Procuratorate. Alright, let's talk business. Handong Province has such a large population base and developed traditional industries; will our Linjiang model suffer from incompatibility?"

Zhao Yang thought for a moment and said seriously, "It won't. Although Handong Province has a large population base, it also has many high-quality laborers and high-tech talents, which is more conducive to developing high-tech industries. Developed traditional industries are not a stumbling block for emerging industries, but a high starting point. All that is missing is the funding for technological transformation. As long as the money is in place and technology is upgraded, Handong Province's potential is much deeper than Linjiang Province's. Think about it carefully, what has been the biggest obstacle restricting the further increase of Linjiang's total economic volume in the past two years?"

"Population base," Meng Dehai said without hesitation. "There aren't enough people in Linjiang, so the total volume cannot be raised to another level. It is destined to be a small and refined region."

"But Handong Province's population is several times that of Linjiang Province, and its potential is several times that of Linjiang. Moreover, human resources aren't as simple as one plus one equals two. If organized effectively, Handong Province's potential could even be a dozen times that of Linjiang," Zhao Yang said. "Our foundation in Linjiang started almost from scratch, but Handong Province already has a solid foundation; it just needs industrial upgrading. A few years ago, our Jinghai produced only one high-temperature incineration technology, and it almost completely transformed Lvzhou in Handong Province. But without Lvzhou's original industrial and population base, its development wouldn't have been so fast."

Meng Dehai was silent for a moment, then let out a hearty laugh. "You're right, that puts my mind at ease. I'll call Elder Song immediately and tell him to snatch you for me no matter what; you absolutely cannot continue to waste your time in the Procuratorate System."

After chatting about a few more personal matters, Meng Dehai hung up the phone.

Zhao Yang sat in his office chair, brow furrowed.

Old Meng was satisfied, but what about his mission? Although he was now equivalent to the Great Perfection of the department level and his promotion to Vice Provincial level was set in stone, crossing departments and provinces to go to Handong Province would not be easy.

But Zhao Yang did not know that the countdown to his departure for Handong Province had already begun.

...

One day later, 7:30 PM, Jingzhou City, Handong Province.

Ding Yizhen had just left his office, intending to meet a developer. Suddenly, his phone rang—it was a text message from a number in the Imperial Capital. Ding Yizhen picked it up and looked, his pupils constricting—the message contained only a few words: "The wind has risen, retreat immediately."

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and then said to his driver, "Go home, I need to pick up some things."

"Alright." The driver made a U-turn and drove toward Ding Yizhen's home.

As they approached the residential compound, Ding Yizhen suddenly shouted, "Stop the car."

The driver was stunned for a moment but parked the car on the side of the road. Ding Yizhen looked at the two inconspicuous vans parked at the entrance of the compound and frowned. These two cars seemed to have been parked there for several days without moving. But thinking back, cars had never been parked in this spot for long periods.

He tapped his forehead and smiled. "I'm going to the supermarket over there to buy some things. You go ahead and drive the car into my garage and wait there."

"Vice Mayor Ding, what do you need to buy? Let me go for you."

Ding Yizhen waved his hand. "Just some personal items. You just drive the car in."

After saying this, he got out of the car and walked toward the supermarket.

After entering the supermarket, he wandered around, exited through the back door, walked through several streets, and finally hailed a taxi. "Go to Jianye Residential Compound next to Jinfeng Bridge."

Upon arriving at his destination, Ding Yizhen turned his phone to silent, stuffed it into the gap between the taxi seat and the backrest, and then walked quickly into the old residential compound. He entered a room, quickly opened the cabinet, changed his clothes, changed his shoes, grabbed a suitcase, and left.

Exiting through the back gate of the compound, he hailed another taxi. "Go to Handong Province International Airport."

Just as Ding Yizhen was in the taxi heading to the airport, Chen Hai received a call from his subordinate, Zhou Zheng. "Director Chen, something is wrong. Ding Yizhen has been back for half an hour, but the lights in his house haven't been turned on."

Upon hearing this, Chen Hai stood up abruptly. "Go to his house and check if anyone is there."

Not long after, Zhou Zheng called again. "Director Chen, there is no one at Vice Mayor Ding's house. I asked the neighbors, and they said his wife has returned to her parents' home for the past few days, and Vice Mayor Ding hasn't returned since he went to work this morning."

A foreboding feeling welled up in Chen Hai's heart. "Go, ask Vice Mayor Ding's driver what is going on."

Soon, Zhou Zheng reported back the situation. Chen Hai flopped back into his chair, his forehead covered in cold sweat. Ding Yizhen's behavior could be summed up in one word—escape.

But why was he fleeing?

One possibility is that he discovered he was being targeted by the Anti-Corruption Bureau;

Another possibility is that someone from the Imperial Capital tipped him off.

But no matter which case it was, Ding Yizhen could not be allowed to get away. He had to be tracked down. Otherwise, if a Vice Mayor of a provincial capital city escaped while under secret surveillance by the Anti-Corruption Bureau, he, the Director, could just go ahead and submit his resignation.

But to track him down, even if he deployed everyone from the Procuratorate, it would be useless—this was not something one department could handle alone.

Chen Hai hit the table in frustration, picked up his phone, and dialed Ji Changming's number: "Chief Prosecutor Ji, this is Chen Hai, something has happened..."