Chapter 23: I will never give up on this case!

  On July 27th in the morning, Zhang Sen took a half-day leave and went to the "Oriental Grand Hotel".

  In room 3513, Zhang Sen lit a cigarette and sat silently on the sofa, lost in thought.

  It's been a year since he came to this room, and he himself can't remember how many times. Every time he comes to this room, the first thing is to sit on the sofa and think about his troubles.

  After finishing a cigarette, Zhang Sen let out a sigh and stood up to head towards the bathroom. Before his eyes, the scene of Zhang Ziliang's suicide seemed to appear once again: large patches of blood-colored lotus flowers blooming wildly, dizzyingly, and bewilderingly, Zhang Ziliang lying naked in the bathtub, with an expression on his face that was full of meaning: seemingly satisfied, seemingly regretful, seemingly remorseful, seemingly helpless. It was as if he wanted to say something to the person he missed, or perhaps to the person he believed in, but Zhang Sen had looked at this photo for a whole year, and still couldn't figure out what he wanted to say.

  He sighed again, and Zhang Sen muttered to himself: "Dad, what do you want to tell me? What did that coffee girl say to you? Or what did she do to you? What kind of leverage did you leave in her hands? What kind of leverage made you abuse your power? You always valued your reputation like gold, how could you do something that would shame yourself and harm the country? Even if it meant sacrificing your own life? Why is all this happening? Dad, can't you tell me?"

  That's right, Zhang Ziliang is indeed Zhang Sen's father!

  Last year, when Zhang Ziliang came to G City, Zhang Sen went out of town on a mission and the father-son duo didn't get to see each other. The day after Zhang Ziliang's death, Zhang Sen called his father, but it was a colleague from the homicide unit who answered the phone. Seeing the deceased's phone display the captain's number, that colleague was startled and quickly connected the call, only to learn that the deceased was the captain's biological father!

  Zhang Sen handled the matter on that side and rushed back to G City with anxiety, Zhang Ziliang's body had been sent to the hospital morgue for freezing, and his mother also came from their hometown X City.

  The ancestral hall at home has been set up, and when Zhang Sen saw it, his mother hugged him and burst into tears: "Ah Sen, what's wrong with your father? Why did he do this?"

  With a heavy heart, Zhang Sen tried his best to comfort his mother. Seeing the director standing behind his mother with an expression of wanting to speak but hesitating, Zhang Sen patted his easily calmed-down mother and gave Ma Pei, who had picked him up from the airport, a signal to keep her company, then invited the director into the study room.

  He poured a cup of water for Director Liang and Zhang Sen said: "Director Liang, you seem to have something to say to me?"

  Director Liang sighed: "Tomorrow, the provincial hall's organization department wants to talk to you, so be mentally prepared."

  Zhang Sen was taken aback: "The organization department wants to talk to me? Why? What did I do?"

  Director Liang looked at Zhang Sen for a moment, unsure of how to start speaking.

  Zhang Sen furrowed his brow and stared straight at Director Liang, "Director Liang, if you have something to say, just say it directly. With such a big thing happening at home, I don't have the mood to beat around the bush with you."

  Director Liang sighed again and said helplessly, "Alright Ah Sen, I'll be straightforward then. The content of our conversation is related to your family's affairs, to be precise, it's related to your father's passing."

  Zhang Sen was startled and looked at Director Liang with inquiry.

  "Your father's death was not natural, it has been confirmed that he committed suicide. However, before his death, he violated national regulations and signed a contract beyond his authority, causing the country to lose over 60 million at an unacceptable high price. According to testimony from colleagues who negotiated with him, they could have signed the contract at a much lower price. In other words, your father's contract directly caused the country to lose over 80 million! Although there is currently no evidence of corruption or bribery, relevant departments are investigating. As his immediate family member, you must also suspend work and accept investigation."

  Zhang Sen's head suddenly exploded, he stumbled back a few steps, and fell weakly onto the sofa, as if his backbone had been pulled out, instantly looking much more haggard.

  Liang Honglin looked at his loved one with pity, wanting to comfort him, but realized that language, the medium of human emotional exchange, was so pale at this moment. He couldn't think of what words to use to soothe his loved one, and Liang Honglin's heart ached with pain.

  As for Zhang Ziliang, Liang Honglin had met him a few times and the impression he got was that Zhang was so cautious that even if a needle fell to the ground, he wouldn't dare step on it. If not for the contract, Liang would never have believed that Zhang would be capable of doing such a thing, even if he were beaten to death.

  After some thought, Liang Honglin walked over and sat down beside Zhang Sen, patted his back, and let out a long sigh: "Ah Sen, I've met your father a few times, and I don't believe he would do something that violates the policy of returning home. But since it's already happened, you have to face it objectively. The organization is investigating you because they care about you, and I personally believe you have nothing to do with this matter. You must face this situation correctly. Tomorrow, after the organization finishes talking to you, temporarily hand over your work to Deputy Captain Wang, and just consider it a few days off for you, okay?"

  Zhang Sen raised his head, his eyes already red: "Director Liang, I can accept the organization's investigation, and I also believe that the organization will investigate my father's case and find that it has nothing to do with me. But I cannot hand over this job. You also know that this drug trafficking group's case, I have been tracking for almost two years now, and just found a breakthrough, if I give up now, wouldn't my two years of hard work be in vain? You should know, that is a drug trafficking group with hundreds of people, not to mention they control more than 70% of the source of drugs in G city. Director Liang, I will absolutely not give up on this case!"