In the Name of Divine Abilities, Part 34

A faint smell of smoke hung in the room. Lu Zhao was buried behind his desk, rummaging through one document after another.

Zhang Like walked over and leaned against the edge of the desk. "You always look busy whenever I see you. We're both officers, so how come you're the only one busy all day?"

"I'm not that busy. I'm just not very familiar with administrative work. There are a lot of documents that need handling, but it also seems like they don't."

Lu Zhao put down the document in his hand, beginning to understand why officers with desk jobs liked drinking tea.

Sometimes it wasn't simply that they were lazy on the job. There really wasn't much to do.

Take the training plans drawn up by an operations and training staff officer, for example. Following the previous years' plans was enough; unnecessary changes would only cause problems.

It reminded him of live-fire training in his previous life. Most police departments failed to meet the requirements because organizing it was too much trouble.

Not every department had a shooting range, and those without one had to transfer personnel across district lines. The paperwork was a nightmare.

These days, society was in turmoil, and gun control was less stringent.

But there were still difficulties, mainly with Life Development. The border station's Life Development assessments didn't comply with regulations, and many people had failed them.

Could Lu Zhao let those people fail?

Obviously not.

When Lu Zhao was on the front lines, he had plenty to do. Now he could only sit around and take Liang Fei's work off his hands while he was at it.

"That's how administrative posts are. A lot of the time, there's hardly anything to do."

Zhang Like lit a cigarette and took a drag. "Aren't you being a little too blatant? The flood season is almost here, so Lü Jinshan wouldn't dare do anything to you now, but he's bound to settle accounts afterward."

If the flood control work went well, Lü Jinshan would benefit the most.

And Lu Zhao's act of exceeding his authority to issue orders was a serious matter. One misstep, and he could face disciplinary action.

Zhang Like realized that Lu Zhao really had changed. People used to call him Lu the Tiger as a joke, but now he truly was like a tiger coming down the mountain, brimming with aggression.

Lu Zhao shook his head. "I can't let Liang Fei give reckless orders. Flood season is almost here, and we can't afford to let him make a mess of things."

Zhang Like frowned. "We could wait for him to make a mistake, then step in and get rid of him."

Lu Zhao said quietly, "If something goes wrong, people will die."

Six years ago, a failure in flood control had caused a flash flood to engulf his hometown, and many people had died in the jaws of water beasts.

His family had moved to Cangwu City long before that because of his mother's heart condition, so they had been spared. But the women of the Lu family's older generation who were over fifty and had not remarried had all died.

Now that it was his turn to serve at the border station, Lu Zhao would not allow anything to go wrong.

"Wouldn't that be perfect-"

"Nothing can be done at the expense of the people's property and safety!"

Lu Zhao cut him off forcefully, his voice rising slightly, an unmistakable hint of anger in it.

The two stared at each other for several seconds, and the atmosphere grew tense.

Zhang Like was fairly traditional in his dealings with others, usually hoping to "fight without breaking ties." Lu Zhao, on the other hand, was more radical and would not give an inch when his bottom line was at stake.

They had not come together because of shared ideals. As Lu Zhao gradually gained power, Lü Jinshan was not the only one being challenged; Zhang Like himself was too.

Lu Zhao had taken the hardest stance, but he was also the first to give ground. "Old Zhang, this is my bottom line, and this is my hometown too. I'm willing to listen to you on a lot of things, but this is the one thing I can't compromise on."

"Sorry, I was being a fucking idiot."

Given a way out, Zhang Like softened too. "This could be a big deal or a small one, but they won't touch you until flood control is over. Even Lü Jinshan wouldn't dare let anything go wrong with it."

Lu Zhao said, "I'm afraid Lü Jinshan might not be able to save himself."

Zhang Like looked thoughtful. "You mean the Special Response team's report? But even if he's held accountable, it shouldn't be too serious. After all, everything Lü Jinshan did was in accordance with procedure."

The casualties on the recent mission had resulted from Lü Jinshan's obstruction. If Lu Zhao had been there from the start, so many people would not have died.

But Lü Jinshan had followed procedure, and Zhang Like didn't believe a Special Response team captain could have that much influence.

Lu Zhao said, "Lin Zhiyan. She'll use her authority against Lü Jinshan."

"Did you hook up with her?"

Zhang Like's guess made Lu Zhao's face darken. At a loss for words, he explained, "The political classes at the Imperial Capital didn't teach us how to play those kinds of games, but they did at least teach us how to counter local forces obstructing an investigation."

A graduate of the Imperial Capital would most likely be assigned to a law-enforcement-related unit for their first posting and would need to conduct investigations in local areas, so he knew much more about this than Zhang Like.

If they had no leverage at all, they would choose to set up an office in a neighboring area and mobilize multiple departments across district lines to break through administrative barriers.

Otherwise, they would use their authority to report directly to the highest levels and take the obstructing party into custody.

Once the Special Response team filed a report, the task force could suspend Lü Jinshan pending investigation, even if there were no major problems.

Knock, knock, knock.

Someone was knocking at the door.

"Come in."

After Lu Zhao gave permission, a tall, thin field-grade officer pushed the door open and entered.

Ant Ridge Border Station had only four field-grade officers: station chief Lü Jinshan, deputy station chief Chen Hongtao, battalion commander Zhang Like, and logistics section chief Mo Kun.

Under the Federation's dual-command system, Chen Hongtao and Lü Jinshan were commanding officers of equal rank at the base. In some large units, the deputy was no less powerful than the chief.

But Ant Ridge was a small place, and there were hardly any duties that needed to be delegated to a deputy, so Chen Hongtao was practically invisible.

"Captain Zhang is here too. Good timing..." Chen Hongtao strode over, pulled out a notice, and held it up in front of them.

[Authorization for Acting Appointment]

"I just received orders from above. I'll be taking temporary command of Ant Ridge Border Station. Captain Zhang, please bring your men and come with me to arrest Lü Jinshan."

He paused, shifting his gaze to a handsome face.

"To be safe, Staff Officer Lu should come with me too."

When public officials were involved, even an ordinary suspension required an armed escort. The higher their rank, the more necessary it was.

Too many violent incidents had occurred when people were driven to desperate measures.

Superhuman democracy was also a product of such violence. Whatever the circumstances, a consensus with the superhuman community had to be reached at the very least.

Zhang Like's eyes widened slightly, and he looked at Lu Zhao. By then, Lu Zhao was already on his feet, saluting as he answered solemnly, "Yes, sir!"

The border station's main building.

Liang Fei came storming down the corridor. Many people moved out of his way when they saw him, then began talking among themselves after he passed.

"What's wrong with Liang the Skinflint?"

"My guess is he got nowhere with the reinforced platoon. He couldn't order Lu the Tiger's crack troops around."

"He looks so miserable. Maybe they beat him up."

Ant Ridge Border Station was small, with only a thousand people at most. Even counting non-staff personnel, it had no more than fifteen hundred. Word of the slightest disturbance spread easily, so a change in the reinforced platoon's commander could hardly be kept secret.

Lü Jinshan's office.

Liang Fei suddenly burst in, his tiny eyes brimming with tears. "Station Chief! You have to stand up for me! This... this reinforced platoon is impossible to lead. It's practically Lu Zhao's private army."

Startled by the sudden commotion, Lü Jinshan looked up and saw tears and snot streaming down Liang Fei's face. A dark look appeared in his eyes.

He had expected the reinforced platoon to disobey when he transferred Lu Zhao away. But the sight of Liang Fei looking so pathetic, unable to control the situation and capable only of running to him in tears, irritated him.

"What happened? Explain it clearly first."

Liang Fei began embellishing his account of the problems he had encountered in the reinforced platoon: how the soldiers disobeyed orders, and how Liu Qiang and the other key members followed Lu Zhao's every command.

When it came to flood control, he couldn't get a finger in.

"This is a serious disregard for military discipline!"

Liang Fei had learned well from Lü Jinshan, slapping one accusation after another on them.

"Please punish the reinforced platoon severely and replace every one of them! And Lu Zhao too-he's exceeding his authority to issue orders."

Bang!

Lü Jinshan's anger blazed as he listened. He slammed the desk. "How dare he!"

Lu Zhao retaining influence over the reinforced platoon was within his expectations, and it was normal. Anyone who held command would inevitably gather a faction of their own.

But Lü Jinshan had not expected Lu Zhao to be this bold.

If he didn't deal with him today, what would the others at the station think? How could he give orders in the future?

Chapter 42: Lü Jinshan Suspended

He had to come down hard!

Lü Jinshan began weighing his options, and a plan came to him in an instant.

He would severely punish the entire reinforced platoon, break it up and scatter its members among the various companies, completely eliminating Lu Zhao's influence.

Though he couldn't eliminate Lu Zhao's influence all at once, he could at least destroy his foundation.

"Notify..."

Knock, knock, knock!

The sudden knocking interrupted Lü Jinshan. He frowned slightly, his heart racing for no apparent reason.

Before he could answer, the door opened.

Chen Hongtao strode into the room, followed by Zhang Like and Lu Zhao.

Lü Jinshan had already sensed that something was amiss. He stood up and asked, "Deputy Chen, what's going on?"

Chen Hongtao came to the desk and placed a suspension notice on it. "Comrade Lü Jinshan, you are being temporarily suspended pending an investigation into your dereliction of duty."

Lü Jinshan's tiny eyes went round. He picked up the document and read it over and over, beads of sweat beginning to form on his forehead.

His lackey Liang Fei stood at attention beside him. For some reason, his gaze became exceptionally resolute. "Sir, reporting in. I'll excuse myself."

Lu Zhao glanced at him, certain of one thing:

Looks like Liang Fei's hands aren't clean either.