DreamersGN Chapter 41 I vouch for it with my badge!
Chapter 41 I vouch for it with my badge!
The sky over Jingzhou was like a black pot that had been turned upside down, pressing heavily overhead and making it hard to breathe. The air was filled with a pungent smell of rust, sweat, and cheap gasoline; a single spark could send this area of several square kilometers flying into the sky.
At the entrance of Dafeng Factory, the atmosphere was so tense it was on the verge of collapse.
On one side was a vast sea of blue overalls. Thousands of workers, their eyes red, looked like a pack of wolves driven to the edge of a cliff. In their hands they held either wrenches or sharpened steel pipes, and even a few hot-blooded young men in the front row held homemade Molotov cocktails, the cloth strips plugging the glass mouths already soaked through.
"Anyone who dares to come near me! I'll set it on fire!"
"At worst, we'll all die together! No one will get away with it!"
Screams mingled with desperate cries echoed through the factory area. Behind them stood the factory buildings billowing black smoke—their livelihood, their last vestige of dignity in this city.
Fifty meters away opposite them was a black steel Great Wall.
Hundreds of SWAT officers, armed with riot shields, formed a chilling defensive line. Beneath their black helmets, pairs of alert and tense eyes peered out. Red and blue flashing lights blared wildly in the gloom, like a warning signal of some kind of danger.
At this moment, this is not a factory, but a battlefield.
Inside a command and communications vehicle behind the SWAT team's defensive line, the air pressure was frighteningly low.
"Bang!"
Li Dakang slammed his hand on the table, making the military walkie-talkie jump. His signature large, European-style double eyelids were now wide open like copper bells, the veins at the corners of his eyes throbbed, and his entire face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
"Playing the piano haphazardly! It's utterly nonsensical!"
He grabbed the binoculars, staring intently through the car window at the figure ahead who hadn't given the order to attack, and roared through gritted teeth, "What is Qi Tongwei doing? What time is it! My orders to him are to clear the area! Clear the area, don't you understand?!"
"Is he standing there like a statue? Or is he waiting for some troublemakers to throw Molotov cocktails at the police?!"
The secretary beside him shrank back in fear, not daring to even breathe, lest "Li the Cannon" vent his anger on her. Who in the entire Hantong officialdom didn't know Li Dakang's personality—daring to go to any lengths for GDP? If the Dafeng Factory bomb exploded, his Guangmingfeng project would be ruined, which would be worse than death for him.
Meanwhile, in the provincial party committee compound, inside an antique-style office.
Gao Yuliang was pruning his beloved clivia with scissors when the on-site report coming through his Bluetooth headset made him pause slightly.
"Surrounding without attacking?"
Gao Yuliang adjusted his glasses, a playful glint flashing behind the lenses. He put down the scissors, picked up the purple clay teapot, took a sip, and a cryptic, cold smile curled at the corner of his lips.
"Interesting. Is this kid trying to be a peacemaker?"
"You want to avoid offending Li Dakang but also maintain a facade of virtue in front of the people? Qi Tongwei, when did you become so naive?"
In his view, those who try to please both sides and remain neutral usually die the fastest. In the game of thrones, you either become the knife or the meat; those who want to be the one wielding the knife while also chanting scriptures often end up cutting their own hands.
……
The wind was howling at the scene.
Qi Tongwei stood in the very center of the confrontation between the two armies.
He wasn't wearing a bulky bulletproof vest or a helmet that covered his face. He was simply wearing his crisp second-class police superintendent's uniform, the black jacket making his figure appear as straight as a javelin.
The strong wind whipped up the dust on the ground and ruffled the hem of his clothes, but it couldn't move his cold, star-like eyes.
He could feel countless gazes filled with hatred, suspicion, and anger, like countless dull knives cutting into his flesh. In the eyes of those workers, he was a lackey of power, a demon sent to rob them of their last hope for survival.
"Director Qi! You can't go! It's too dangerous!"
Chen Hai, standing behind him, was sweating profusely and instinctively wanted to rush forward and pull him back. The workers were already out of control; if someone threw a brick or a Molotov cocktail, the consequences would be unimaginable.
Qi Tongwei didn't turn his head, but simply raised his right hand, palm facing backward, making a firm "stop" gesture.
That gesture was like an iron gate, pinning Chen Hai to the spot.
Qi Tongwei took a deep breath, the pungent smell of gasoline instantly clearing his mind. On his retina, the pale blue system interface flickered, and the [Dignity Value] column was jumping wildly, as if anticipating an upcoming feast.
This is not just a crisis, but also a stage.
He took a step, one step at a time, toward the wall of people formed by anger.
The leather shoes clicked rhythmically on the gravel road.
Fifty meters.
Thirty meters.
ten meters.
He stopped just a step away from the workers. Close enough that he could see the deep wrinkles on the face of the old worker at the front, and his eyes, clouded by years of toil, now brimming with tears.
A commotion broke out in the crowd, and several young men holding steel pipes instinctively gripped their weapons tighter, their knuckles turning white.
Qi Tongwei neither spoke nor drew his gun.
Under everyone's gaze, he slowly raised his hands.
This move made everyone tense, thinking he was about to order an attack.
However, he reached his hand towards the top of his head.
With slender fingers, he grasped the brim of the hat and gently removed it.
He took off the peaked cap with the national emblem that symbolized majesty and power.
The wind ruffled his once meticulously styled hair, revealing his young yet weathered face.
The entire venue was deathly silent.
Even Li Dakang's hand, which was holding the binoculars, froze in mid-air.
The next second, Qi Tongwei did something that made everyone's brains freeze.
He held his hat neatly to his chest, legs together, back straight, and then—
He bowed deeply.
Ninety degrees.
It was so precise, it looked like a tribute to a martyrs' monument.
This bow was extremely slow and profound. It was as if he was carrying not just the apology of one person, but the guilt of the entire system towards these forgotten people.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment.
The workers were stunned, the steel pipes they were holding hanging awkwardly in mid-air.
The special police officers were dumbfounded, exchanging bewildered glances through their masks.
"Has he gone mad?" Li Dakang's cigar fell onto his trousers, burning a hole in it, but he didn't even notice. A dignified city police chief, wielding considerable power, bowing to a group of rioting workers? This is simply... outrageous!
Qi Tongwei remained bowed for a full three seconds before slowly straightening up.
His gaze was no longer cold, but carried a penetrating power as it swept across every face present.
He pressed the switch on the miniature megaphone on his chest.
Nourishes—
After a soft crackling sound of electricity, his steady and powerful voice pierced through the wind and resounded clearly in everyone's ears.
"Dear fellow villagers and brothers and sisters of Dafeng Factory."
"My name is Qi Tongwei. I am the acting director of the Jingzhou Public Security Bureau, and also the son of a farmer."
His opening remarks were simple and unadorned, yet they instantly bridged the gap between them.
"I'm standing here today, without a gun or body armor. Because I know that the weapons you have are for defending your homes, not for shooting your own people!"
These words were like a pebble thrown into a calm lake, and the hostility in the workers' eyes melted away somewhat.
But just then, a middle-aged man with a pointed face and monkey-like features suddenly darted out from the crowd, holding a large megaphone. It was none other than the cunning Cai Chenggong.
"Don't listen to his nonsense!" Cai Chenggong jumped up and down, shouting like a monkey whose tail had been stepped on, "Officials' mouths are all lies! They just want to trick us into leaving so they can come and demolish the factory in the middle of the night! Don't believe him! Unless we make Shanshui Group cough up the money right now!"
He was fanning the flames. He was gambling, gambling that Qi Tongwei wouldn't dare to actually take action, and gambling on the workers' fear.
The crowd stirred again, and the atmosphere that had just eased instantly became tense once more.
"Yes! Pay up!"
"Nobody's moving without paying!"
Faced with this sudden turn of events, Qi Tongwei's expression remained unchanged. He merely glanced indifferently at Cai Chenggong, who was jumping around, as if he were looking at a clown.
Then, he suddenly took a step forward!
This step was so powerful that it forced several workers in the front row to instinctively take a half step back.
Qi Tongwei slowly raised his right hand, his index finger pointing straight to the top of his head—where a hat should have been, but now only his wind-blown hair was visible. But what he was pointing to seemed to be the blue sky hanging above everyone's heads, or the police badge engraved in his bones.
"I'm putting my words right here too!"
His voice suddenly rose, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, instantly drowning out all the noise!
"I, Qi Tongwei, will stand here today as this hostage!"
"I vouch for you with the national emblem above my head, with the skin on my body, with my life that crawled out of piles of corpses!"
Every word was like a heavy hammer blow, striking hard into everyone's hearts.
"As long as I, Qi Tongwei, remain in this position!"
"The Dafeng Factory case must be thoroughly investigated! No matter which big boss or how high-ranking official they are, if they've touched the people's interests, I'll make them return everything they've taken, with interest!"
"Every penny of your hard-earned money that's missing, I, Qi Tongwei, will personally make up for it out of my own pocket!"
"Of the people who bullied you, one got away. I'll handcuff myself and go to jail!"
"I said those words!"
boom--!
These words carried an overbearing and unreasonable domineering air, and even more so, the unique ferocity of a lone wolf.
There was no bureaucratic jargon, no platitudes.
Only naked promises and that ruthless spirit that dares to tear a hole in the sky.
The scene was deathly silent.
A few seconds later.
Clang.
A crisp metallic clang rang out.
An elderly worker dropped the wrench from his hand. His lips trembled as he looked at the young bureau chief before him, tears streaming down his face. "Chief...we believe you this time..."
The sound was like a domino effect.
Clang!
"Clatter!"
Steel pipes, wooden sticks, and Molotov cocktails were thrown to the ground one after another. That seemingly impenetrable wall of people was blasted apart by Qi Tongwei with just a few words.
Cai Chenggong was dumbfounded, standing there with his mouth agape like a chicken with its neck being choked, unable to utter a sound for a long time.
Inside the command vehicle, Li Dakang slumped into a chair, the binoculars slipping from his hand.
He looked at the figure standing in the crowd, slender yet towering like a mountain, his expression extremely complex.
Angry? No.
Shocking? Yes.
But more than anything, it was an indescribable admiration, and even a hint of apprehension.
"This kid..." Li Dakang muttered to himself, picking up his cigar and taking a deep drag. "He's got something. This is... someone who can get things done!"
Gao Yuliang, on the other end of the phone, remained silent for a long time after hearing the metallic sound of metal hitting the ground through his earpiece.
Finally, he let out a long sigh, took off his glasses, and wearily rubbed his temples.
He misjudged again.
This student is no longer the obedient chess piece in his hand. He is now a knife that has been sharpened to an unparalleled edge, one that might even cut the player.
……
on site.
Qi Tongwei looked at the workers who had laid down their weapons, his tense muscles relaxed slightly, and the pleasant system notification sound rang in his mind. The surge in his [Dignity Value] sent a warm current through his body.
He turned around and looked at Chen Hai, who was still in a daze, his eyes instantly regaining their unquestionable coldness.
"Chen Hai, listen to my command."
"Yes!" Chen Hai stood at attention instinctively, his eyes filled with admiration.
Qi Tongwei's voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable air of authority:
"From now on, put up the cordon."
"The special police team is on duty in shifts 24 hours a day."
"Remember, our mission has changed."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the still-stunned police officers around him, and said, enunciating each word clearly:
"It's not clearing the area, it's protecting it."
"Before the court ruling, anyone who dares to forcibly demolish a single brick of Dafeng Factory, regardless of whose side they are, should be arrested on their own!"
"If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility!"