Chapter 310: Counter-Revolutionaries

"Secretary Gao, this is bad! There are lots of soldiers outside, and they're surrounding us!" 

A young man who looked like a secretary ran in a panic to Gao Jianhui, delivering this news that shocked everyone in the room, except for Zhou Ming and Du Peng. Even Gao Jianhui, who had been about to reprimand his secretary for being so flustered, was left stunned. Everyone could only stare in disbelief at the secretary who had just rushed in, too shocked to speak.

Despite the frequent criticisms of many aspects of the system, there is no denying that the military remains the most disciplined organization. Under normal circumstances, they would never take action without orders.

So now the question arose: What were these troops here for?

Gao Jianhui believed that his secretary wouldn't dare to joke about such a thing, so the answer became obvious.

Gao Jianhui turned to Zhou Ming with a stern expression and asked, "Zhou Ming, did you call the military? What do you think you're doing? Do you want to incite a military-civil conflict? What you're doing is far more serious than illegal detention and grievous bodily harm!"

Faced with Gao Jianhui's barrage of questions, Zhou Ming calmly shook his head and said, "Secretary Gao, I must say that your accusation is really off the mark. Military-civil conflict? Do you really think anyone would believe you if you called it that? Let me tell you, the military is here under orders from higher authorities to arrest counter-revolutionaries."

"Counter... counter-revolutionaries?" Gao Jianhui was stunned again...

As Gao Jianhui stood there dumbfounded by Zhou Ming's mention of counter-revolutionaries, the rumbling sound of truck engines came from outside. Over a dozen military trucks drove into the courtyard of the building.

What happened next was like a scene from a war movie. A series of orders were shouted, and more than 300 fully armed soldiers jumped off the trucks, quickly occupying key positions and encircling the building like an ironclad fortress. They even set up machine guns at several points near the main gate.

Oh my God! What's going on here? Is there going to be a war?

This was the question on everyone's minds.

But whatever the reason, this immediately brought the situation under complete control. Whether it was the police or the thugs from Jinning Company, even the previously arrogant Gao Feng, no one dared to move a muscle. After all, they had all heard the sound of the soldiers cocking their rifles, and no one wanted to test if these soldiers were really willing to fire.

With the situation under control, a squad of dozens of soldiers, led by a young officer, moved towards the building like a sharp blade cutting through.

"Officer, sir, I'm the director of the local police station. What are you doing—"

Seeing the squad heading straight for him, the police officer guarding the entrance of the building nervously stepped forward to try and get some information. But before he could finish his sentence, the leading soldier smashed him in the face with the butt of his rifle, knocking him to the ground.

As the officer screamed in pain like a slaughtered pig, the soldier coldly said, "Shut up! The military is on a mission. If you leak any information, I'll shoot you!"

Immediately, the cold, dark muzzle of a gun was pressed against the officer's head, making him desperately cover his mouth, his face full of fear as he looked at the soldier, terrified of making any sound. Though he couldn't understand how his cries of pain constituted a breach of military secrecy, the blood seeping through his fingers made it clear that his nose and mouth were bleeding.

The officer didn't even spare him a glance as he walked directly into the building. Gao Jianhui then witnessed a scene he would never forget.

As the Secretary of the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Jinning City, Gao Jianhui had come out today to rescue his son, so he had brought along the elite officers of the entire city police department. While he had been negotiating with Zhou Ming, two teams of officers had been crouching in the hallway, ready to break in and rescue Gao Ming at any moment.

But now, with the arrival of the soldiers, that was nothing more than a pipe dream for Gao Jianhui.

Gao Jianhui glanced back at the hallway and nearly spat out a mouthful of blood in anger. The so-called "elite officers" he had brought were now crouching on the ground like guilty thugs, their heads in their hands, being held at gunpoint by the soldiers.

Damn it, he hadn't expected them to stop the soldiers, but did they have to be so cowardly?

"Secretary Gao, still don't get it? As the saying goes, 'A bear commander leads a bear army.' With you and your son both being so corrupt, how could you expect your police force to be upright? Any officer with a shred of decency was probably purged from the force long ago," Zhou Ming helpfully explained to Gao Jianhui.

As he spoke, the officer, leading a few soldiers, reached the room. Without even glancing at Gao Jianhui, who stood at the door, he approached Zhou Ming and Du Peng, saluted, and said, "Sir, all the soldiers of the battalion have assembled and are reporting to you, sir. Please give the next instructions!"

Hearing the officer's report to Zhou Ming, Gao Jianhui's heart sank to the bottom. He knew he was done for today.

Gao Jianhui had been a soldier himself, so he knew that an officer capable of commanding so many troops must be at least a Major. And now, this Major was reporting to Zhou Ming, calling him "sir"? What was their true identity? He knew this title wasn't used lightly, and no soldier would joke about such a thing.

Realizing this, Gao Jianhui felt a chill down his spine. He suddenly found that he couldn't understand Zhou Ming at all, but he never expected that the next thing to happen would plunge him even deeper into despair.

Zhou Ming and Du Peng returned Major Lin's salute, and Zhou Ming pointed to Gao Jianhui and Gao Ming, saying, "Major Lin, these people have organized a counter-revolutionary group and intend to undermine the revolutionary cause of our country's reform and opening up. I've captured the leaders of this counter-revolutionary group, and now I'm handing them over to the military and the state for processing!"

Counter-revolutionary is a term from a bygone era. Perhaps the newer generation doesn't fully grasp its significance because, with the country's gradual stabilization post-reform, the term has largely fallen out of use. But for the older generation, those who lived through turbulent times, this word is deadly serious.

So Gao Jianhui immediately screamed, "No, we're not counter-revolutionaries! Zhou Ming, you're slandering us!"

Before Gao Jianhui could say more, Du Peng kicked him hard, "Shut up, you counter-revolutionary!"

Gao Jianhui tried to get up, but as soon as the cold muzzle of a gun was pressed against his head, he didn't dare move again. As for Gao Jianhui's secretary, he stood there trembling, and when Du Peng glared at him, he collapsed onto the ground.

"Enough."

Zhou Ming patted Du Peng's shoulder, and only then did Du Peng retract his murderous glare. Zhou Ming and Du Peng then walked over to the nearly petrified Luo Wei and Liya Weina and asked, "This counter-revolutionary group will be detained on-site, and this place will be designated as a military zone. Do you have anything to add regarding the crimes of this counter-revolutionary group?"

"Add? Add what?" Luo Wei asked blankly.

"Of course, it's about kicking them while they're down, taking revenge if you've got any grudges. For these heinous counter-revolutionaries, you can deal with them however you like—it's all in support of the revolutionary cause," Du Peng said.

Zhou Ming teased Du Peng, "No wonder you come from a revolutionary family. You're full of revolutionary rhetoric."

Luo Wei and Liya Weina heard the banter in their ears, saw Zhou Ming's smile, but still couldn't believe it: "Is it really over?"

"Of course, it's over. From now on, this Jinning Company is a counter-revolutionary group, with Gao Ming as its leader. They intended to harm our country's revolutionary cause and are guilty beyond redemption. No one can save them now!" Zhou Ming assured them.

"Wonderful, this is absolutely wonderful!"

Luo Wei and Liya Weina embraced, tears of joy streaming down their faces. To them, everything had happened so fast and so suddenly that they couldn't fully believe what they were seeing.

Luo Wei had come with Zhou Ming and the others, but he hadn't noticed any of Zhou Ming's preparations. Earlier, when he knew that the Jinning City Police had surrounded the building, he was ready to sacrifice himself to save Zhou Ming, Du Peng, and his wife.

At that moment, he truly believed they were doomed. With so many armed police outside, there seemed to be no way out.

But now, in just a few minutes, everything had been turned on its head. With the arrival of the soldiers, the situation had completely reversed. Not only had they gained control, but they had also labeled Gao Ming and Gao Jianhui as counter-revolutionaries.

Luo Wei's mind was spinning; he couldn't comprehend how Zhou Ming had pulled off such a feat.

Compared to Luo Wei, Liya Weina felt as though she had climbed from hell to heaven. In the past, her heart had died, and she lived

 like a walking corpse—that was hell. Seeing Luo Wei come to her rescue brought her back to life. She was momentarily nervous when Luo Wei wanted to take all the blame, but that quickly passed. Then Zhou Ming pulled off this miraculous turn of events, not only rescuing them but also capturing their enemies and pinning a more severe crime on them.

"Boss Zhou, thank you!"

Luo Wei suddenly knelt before Zhou Ming, banging his head on the floor three times. Zhou Ming quickly went over to help him up, "Engineer Luo, what are you doing? A man's knees are worth their weight in gold; please get up!"

But Luo Wei insisted on staying down, looking at Zhou Ming and saying, "Boss Zhou, they say great kindness goes beyond words, but I still want to say thank you! You said a man's knees are precious, and I agree. I used to believe a man should only kneel to heaven, earth, and his parents. But today, after the help you've given me, I must kneel to you!"