Old Liu's Gift

Qin Ning nodded slightly, and then spoke to the person on the other end of the phone, "Elder Zeng, it's like this. There's a problem with a man named Shen Zhengtao in Shishan County. He can be taken down directly."

"Alright, since you're the one saying it, it must be right."

Elder Zeng knew that an existence like Qin Ning exceeded common sense and ordinary understanding. Since he said so, it proved that this Shen Zhengtao was definitely not right.

He nodded and spoke again, "I'll immediately make a call and have someone go handle it. Are you in Shishan County right now?"

"Yeah, just visiting for a couple of days."

After chatting casually for a few more sentences, Qin Ning finally hung up the phone and looked at Shen Zhengtao. "Get lost, disappear from my sight. Oh, and here's a piece of advice: you can call your family to say your goodbyes."

"What a big tone for a youngster."

Shen Zhengtao snorted coldly, feeling somewhat disdainful.

He didn't believe that a young man like Qin Ning truly had that much power.

He was, after all, the second-in-command of the county. How could he be brought down by a mere phone call from the other party?

"I'd like to see exactly what you can do to me."

Leaving behind this sentence, Shen Zhengtao turned around and left, returning to his own private room.

"Brother, is there really a problem with this Shen Zhengtao?" Qin Fei asked curiously.

Qin Ning nodded. "He's a parasite, just like Du Yu and Ren Bin."

"Then he really deserves to be arrested. The reason Shishan County hasn't been able to develop for so many years is precisely because of the existence of parasites like them," Cheng Weiyang said angrily.

She was born and raised in Shishan County, so she naturally kept the development of her hometown in her heart.

"He is indeed somewhat unclean..."

Zhuo Zhikuan nodded slightly. After all, he was part of the upper class in Bin City, and Shen Zhengtao had interacted with him many times to attract investment. Therefore, Zhuo Zhikuan understood how much this guy had secretly pocketed over the years under the guise of attracting investments.

"Let's eat. There's no need to let such a trivial matter ruin everyone's mood," Xia Fei said.

Soon, the group began to eat and chat.

"Rumble..."

About ten minutes later, a rumbling sound suddenly echoed from the sky outside the restaurant.

Everyone was startled. Zhuo Zhikuan walked to the window, pulled back the curtain to look outside, and was immediately given a fright.

Several armed helicopters were hovering in the sky above, shining dazzling spotlights down onto the restaurant.

While surprised, he quickly connected the dots and looked at Qin Ning with wide eyes.

Could it be that he really called in these armed helicopters with just one phone call?

Was it to arrest Shen Zhengtao?

"Come on, let's go out and take a look." Zhou Ping'an and the others couldn't suppress their desire to watch the drama unfold, and they all got up and walked out of the private room.

As soon as they stepped out, they saw a large group of heavily armed soldiers swarming into the restaurant and charging into the private room next to theirs.

At this moment, inside that room, the music from the speakers was blaring loudly, and the people inside were still drinking, completely oblivious to what was happening.

Suddenly seeing so many heavily armed people rush in, with pitch-black gun muzzles aimed straight at their foreheads, they were terrified to the point of nearly passing out.

"Who is Shen Zhengtao?"

The leading squad captain swept his cold gaze over the crowd in the room.

Shen Zhengtao had long since wet himself in fear, completely clueless as to what was going on.

"Comrades, I... I am Shen Zhengtao. What are you..."

It took him a good while to recover before he swallowed hard and asked.

The squad captain walked up to him and flashed an ID booklet. "You are suspected of treason and collaborating with the enemy. My unit is now acting under top orders to lawfully arrest you!"

"Me? Treason?"

Shen Zhengtao was completely dumbfounded and almost fainted.

He had indeed embezzled quite a bit over the years, but he couldn't possibly bear such a massive charge.

"Take him away!"

The squad captain didn't care what he was thinking and simply waved his hand, ordering his men to grab Shen Zhengtao.

A despondent Shen Zhengtao had gone weak in the knees and was practically dragged out of the room.

Out of the corner of his eye, he suddenly caught sight of the door to a nearby private room, where Qin Ning and his group were watching the show with great interest.

Shen Zhengtao suddenly realized what had happened.

The reason these people came to arrest him tonight definitely had a massive connection to the phone call Qin Ning made earlier.

How is this possible?

A young man, actually possessing such power!

These were the border defense troops of the Western Province. Other than those few figures in the capital, no one could arbitrarily mobilize them.

Who exactly is he?

Various thoughts flashed through Shen Zhengtao's mind in an instant.

Suddenly, he remembered that when Qin Ning was on the phone, he seemed to have addressed the person on the other end as Elder Zeng...

Elder Zeng?!

That prominent figure in the capital?

This is impossible!

"Hello, are you Comrade Qin Ning?"

Right at that moment, the squad captain ran up to Qin Ning and the others.

Before coming, he had received a photo on his phone, so he recognized Qin Ning now.

"That's me. Sorry for making you all come out so late at night," Qin Ning smiled and nodded.

"You're too polite, Comrade Qin Ning. This is what we ought to do."

The squad captain saluted him, then took out a small parcel from his person and handed it over. "Comrade Qin Ning, this is what my superiors asked me to bring to you."

"What is it?" Qin Ning was taken aback.

"I don't know either," the squad captain shook his head.

He truly didn't know. He only knew that before boarding the helicopter, an old commander at the base had suddenly hurried over with the item and repeatedly instructed him to personally hand it to Qin Ning, saying it was a directive issued from the capital.

Qin Ning didn't press the issue and opened the small parcel right in front of him.

Inside lay a red ID booklet and some epaulettes.

Upon seeing the rank on those epaulettes, the squad captain's heart skipped a beat, and he was completely stunned. Those were at least general-rank epaulettes.

Qin Ning naturally recognized these things too and didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He knew this was definitely the intention of those in the capital, trying to gild him with an official status.

Just as he was thinking this, his phone rang.

Qin Ning glanced at the caller ID and answered, "Elder Liu, you were the one who had these things sent over, right?"

"Haha, from the sound of it, you must have received the items. Qin Ning, don't misunderstand. I'm not trying to use these things to tie you down. I just figured that with these credentials, it would be much more convenient for you to resolve many issues when you travel in the future, right?"

"But isn't this a bit too exaggerated? How old am I?" Qin Ning said helplessly.

"Not exaggerated, not exaggerated at all. For an existence like yours, if you were willing, I'd even give up my own position to you," Elder Liu said with a serious face.

"Alright then, I'll accept them for now. Next time I have time to go to the capital, I'll find you and Elder Zeng for a drink."

"Great, great, Elder Zeng and I will be eagerly awaiting your arrival."

...