Chapter 176 Rules of the Game: Better to Kill the Wrong One than to Let Him Go
Du Ziteng hung up the phone.
Turning around, he looked at the middle-aged man in the study. Although the man was awakened from his sleep by an unexpected incident late at night and did not look very good, he was still neatly dressed, and even his hair was meticulously painted with hair wax. He looked intimidating without even being angry.
Du Ziteng leaned forward slightly and said respectfully, "Councilor Wang, I have already informed everyone about this. The people below will definitely do their best to search for and rescue Secretary Hou."
Councillor Wang sat on a chair, gently wiping his lenses with a glasses cloth. His movements were slow but solemn, as if he was using this method to clear his thoughts.
He paused for a moment and asked, "Have you confirmed the identity of the kidnapper?"
Du Ziteng said in a deep voice: "According to the person who reported the case, the person who attacked Secretary Hou was wearing a mask and his face could not be seen clearly, so it cannot be confirmed for the time being."
Councillor Wang: “How many attackers were there?”
Du Ziteng responded quickly: "There was only one attacker at the scene. Based on the report, the police station has preliminarily determined that the attacker should be an adult male."
Councillor Wang said "Oh" softly, a complex expression flashed across his face, and he said in a deep voice: "Could it be those people who did it?"
Du Ziteng's heart trembled, and he said in a more respectful manner: "It is impossible to determine at the moment, but I have deployed personnel to closely monitor their movements, and I have not found any unusual movements from them for the time being."
Councillor Wang sighed and said, "Secretary Hou has been following me since I was not elected as a councillor. It has been seven or eight years. He has been kidnapped. I am very worried about his safety now."
Councillor Wang paused for a moment, then said meaningfully, "I remember Secretary Hou was also a poor man. His wife died of illness a few years ago. Now he is alone, with no relatives or friends?"
Du Ziteng looked down at the floor and answered seriously: "Indeed, Secretary Hou's parents died early, and he lives alone now. However, it is said that the owner of the ramen restaurant at the scene of the crime had a close relationship with Secretary Hou."
Councillor Wang looked puzzled.
Du Ziteng immediately added an explanation: "The owner of the ramen restaurant is Li Xiuwan, a divorced woman. Coincidentally, she looks very similar to Secretary Hou's late wife. After get off work today, Secretary Hou went to her restaurant to celebrate Li Xiuwan's birthday."
Councillor Wang gently put down the glasses cloth in his hand and asked, "Where is Li Xiuwan now?"
Du Ziteng replied: "Li Xiuwan is currently being detained by the police station and is under investigation."
Councillor Wang frowned and said in a heavy tone, "Investigation? Do we have to let her endure the extra fear at this time? Secretary Hou's life or death is uncertain now, how can we let his sweetheart suffer rude treatment from the police station at this time!"
Du Ziteng felt a chill in his heart and responded immediately:
"It was my fault. I will immediately send someone to the police station to take Li Xiuwan out safely and ensure that she is placed in an absolutely safe place. In this way, once Secretary Hou is successfully rescued, he can reunite with Li Xiuwan as soon as possible."
Councillor Wang's expression eased a little, but he still asked, "I remember the chief of the police station is Wang Yilin, right?"
Du Ziteng quietly corrected him, "Director Wang died in the line of duty some time ago. Since then, the position of Chief of the Patrol House has been vacant. Currently, the special commissioner sent from Shangcheng is temporarily in charge of the work."
Councillor Wang seemed to recall something and said solemnly:
"How can this be possible? The position of the chief of the police station is extremely important. How can it be left vacant for a long time? Moreover, the special commissioner sent from the city is supposed to inspect and guide the work. How can we add extra burdens to the special commissioner and make him overworked?"
Du Ziteng nodded slightly, his expression solemn and serious, but in his heart, he couldn't help but complain:
"Remember, you and other councillors didn't say that before."
"At that time, you clearly advocated that since the special commissioner can effectively use the resources of the patrol station, and Director Wang happened to be killed in the line of duty, why not let the special commissioner guide the work of the patrol station? Then, report it to the higher-ups, saying that the special commissioner took the initiative to take on the important task of helping to build District 9, and that those who are capable should do more work."
Councillor Wang pondered for a moment, then spoke slowly, with a tone that took the overall situation into consideration and considered all aspects: "Under the current circumstances, it is indeed not appropriate to hold a meeting to vote on the parachuting in of a director. How about this, you go directly to the patrol room to guide the work, and select a suitable candidate from within to be promoted to the leader. This may be able to more effectively advance the work of searching for and rescuing Secretary Hou."
Du Ziteng understood what Councillor Wang meant, which was to promote one of Councillor Wang's own people, or "his own dog", from the police station.
A name already came to his mind.
He replied, "I understand. After I go there, I will promote the most suitable person from the police station as soon as possible."
Du Ziteng paused for a moment, a hint of hesitation flashed across his brows, and there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice: "It's just that I'm a little worried that the other members of the parliament will..."
Councillor Wang waved his hand disapprovingly, saying firmly: "Secretary Hou is my confidant. Now his life or death is uncertain, and the nature of the incident is still unclear. At this moment, if anyone dares to jump out and play against me, it is undoubtedly throwing shit on themselves."
There was a sharp look in his eyes as he continued:
"Before the situation becomes completely clear, the smartest option is to keep a distance and wait and see. I have been dealing with them for so many years and know them well. None of them would choose to be the first to speak out at this critical moment."
"And if Secretary Hou was really kidnapped by one of them, then this behavior has already broken our rules of the game, and he would not take the initiative to jump out in the open at this time and arouse suspicion."
Councillor Wang chuckled twice, with a hint of coldness and sarcasm in his voice: "If something like that really happened, haha - we wouldn't even need to use any strength, everyone would join forces to kill him."
Du Ziteng suddenly realized, and he had a deeper insight into the complicated rules of the game among the members of the Ninth District Executive Government.
He understood that some treacherous tactics could only be used under the table, while on the surface, everyone had to abide by the rules of the game.
The higher the position one holds, the more carefully one needs to maintain these rules and not cross the line, otherwise one will be feared and attacked by everyone.
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Councillor Wang glanced at Du Ziteng. Among the secretaries under him, Hou Wendong had followed him the longest and was the one he admired the most. The other secretaries were slightly inferior in comparison.
If Hou Wendong and Du Ziteng's positions were swapped, there would be no need for me to waste so much time giving advice in the face of the current situation.
At the moment the incident broke out, Hou Wendong must have acted quickly, went to the police station to deploy, and promoted his own confidants. At the same time, he must have taken the toughest attitude to safely transfer Du Ziteng's relatives, and tried his best to control the situation from further deterioration before reporting to himself.
Councillor Wang sighed deeply, and said in a firm and heavy tone: "We must order the police station to go all out, at any cost, to find the whereabouts of Secretary Hou."
Du Ziteng remained silent, as if he was listening quietly, and waiting for Councillor Wang's next words.
"Do everything possible to rescue Secretary Hou, but if the kidnappers make excessive demands, send Secretary Hou away in a dignified manner. After all, as a member of the Ninth District Executive Government, I will never bow down to any evil forces."
Du Ziteng raised his head and looked at the cold light reflected by Councillor Wang's glasses. He could only respond indifferently, "Yes."
Councillor Wang put away the coldness on his face and said gently, "You handle it at the first scene. I give you the power to handle it at your discretion. Don't worry and do it boldly. If Secretary Hou is gone, you will be the one I rely on the most in the future. Don't let me down."
Du Ziteng felt a chill rising up his spine, his scalp tingling slightly, and his heart was filled with a mixture of fear and surprise.
He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, bowed ninety degrees, took the order and left quickly.
After Du Ziteng left, Councillor Wang slowly opened the drawer of his desk, took out an old cell phone, and then inserted a brand new phone card.
His movements were skillful and quick, as if he had repeated this operation countless times.
Then, he calmly entered a number and dialed it. The call was quickly connected, but no one answered.
"Activate emergency plan number four and clean up the loose threads on the two wires that Hou Wendong was responsible for touching."
"Although the nature of the incident is unclear at the moment, we must do the necessary self-cleaning before the situation deteriorates further."
The cold voice echoed faintly in the study...
(End of this chapter)
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