Liang Fei had kicked up a huge fuss, and word spread quickly.
Zhang Like rushed over to Lu Zhao's office. True to form, he gave a token knock before pushing the door straight open.
The room carried a faint trace of tobacco smoke. Lu Zhao sat buried behind his desk, constantly rummaging through various documents.
Zhang Like walked over and leaned against the edge of the desk, complaining, "Every time I see you, you look busy. We're both cadres—how come you're the only one working around the clock?"
"It's not that I'm busy. I'm just unfamiliar with clerical work. A lot of these documents need handling, but at the same time, it feels like they don't."
Lu Zhao set down the paper in his hands, beginning to understand why desk-bound cadres all enjoyed drinking tea. Sometimes it wasn't mere laziness or bureaucratic slack, but simply that there was genuinely nothing to do.
For instance, drafting the training schedule for an operations and training staff officer: adhering to the prior year's plan was sufficient, whereas redundant adjustments only invited problems.
It reminded him of live-fire shooting drills in his past life. Most police stations failed to meet the standards simply because organizing them was too troublesome. Not every department had a firing range, and those without had to coordinate transfers across districts, tangled in endless red tape.
In this current era of social unrest, firearms control wasn't nearly as strict. Yet it had its own difficulties, primarily reflected in life-force development. The border defense station's life-force development evaluations failed to meet standards; many soldiers simply didn't pass.
Could Lu Zhao actually fail those men? Clearly not.
When he had been on the front lines, Lu Zhao had plenty to keep him occupied. Now he could only sit around twiddling his thumbs, occasionally poaching Liang Fei's responsibilities on the side.
"That's administrative posts for you. Most of the time, they're boring as hell."
Zhang Like lit a cigarette. Taking a drag, he said, "Aren't you being a bit too blatant? Flood season is almost here. Lü Jinshan won't dare do anything to you right now, but he's bound to settle scores once the dust settles."
If the flood-prevention work went well, the biggest beneficiary was Lü Jinshan. Meanwhile, Lu Zhao's overstepping of command was a serious violation; one misstep could earn him disciplinary action.
Zhang Like realized Lu Zhao had truly changed. In the past, people only called him 'Lu Tiger' in jest, but now he genuinely resembled a tiger charging down the mountain, radiating sheer aggression.
Lu Zhao shook his head. "I can't let Liang Fei command blindly. With the flood season approaching, we don't have the luxury to let him mess around."
Zhang Like frowned. "Wouldn't it be better to wait until he screws up, and then we step in to take him down?"
Lu Zhao said in a somber tone, "If things screw up, people die."
Six years ago, precisely because of a failure in flood prevention, his hometown had been submerged by flash floods, resulting in countless deaths at the jaws of water beasts.
Back then, due to his mother's heart condition, his family had long since relocated to Cangwu City and thus escaped disaster. But all of the Lu family's older female relatives—those past fifty who had never remarried—had perished.
Now that it was his turn to hold a position at the border defense station, Lu Zhao would never permit the slightest error.
"Isn't that just—"
"Nothing can be pursued at the expense of the safety of the people and their property!"
Lu Zhao cut him off forcefully, his voice rising, carrying unmistakable anger.
The two stared at each other for several seconds, the air turning tense.
Zhang Like was conventional in his conduct, preferring to struggle without breaking relations. Lu Zhao, on the other hand, was aggressive, refusing to yield an inch when his bottom line was breached.
They had not aligned out of shared ideals. As Lu Zhao steadily consolidated power, the one challenged was not just Lü Jinshan, but Zhang Like himself.
Lu Zhao had taken the hardest stance, yet he was also the first to concede. "Old Zhang, this is my bottom line, and this is my home. On many things I'm willing to defer to you, but on this one matter, I cannot compromise."
"Sorry, I was being an idiot."
Having been given a way out, Zhang Like softened his tone. "This can be as big or small as people make it. Before the flood prevention wraps up, they won't touch you. Even Lü Jinshan wouldn't dare let anything go wrong with the flood control."
Lu Zhao remarked, "Lü Jinshan will probably have his hands full just saving his own neck."
Hearing that, Zhang Like looked thoughtful. "You mean the Special Counter-Terrorism team's report? But even if they hold him accountable, it shouldn't be too severe. After all, everything Lü Jinshan did followed procedure."
The casualties during the previous mission had stemmed from Lü Jinshan's obstruction; had Lu Zhao been present from the start, so many wouldn't have died. But procedurally, Lü Jinshan hadn't broken the rules, and Zhang Like didn't believe a mere Special Counter-Terrorism team captain wielded that kind of leverage.
Lu Zhao said, "Lin Zhiyan—she'll use her authority to strike at Lü Jinshan."
"You hooked up with her?"
Zhang Like's speculation made Lu Zhao's face darken. Exasperated, he explained, "Even if the political science courses at Dijing University didn't teach us how to play political games, they at least taught us how to counter local powers trying to obstruct an investigation."
A graduate from Dijing was most likely to be assigned to an investigative or inspection agency for their first posting, requiring deep dives into local jurisdictions. In that regard, he understood far more than Zhang Like.
If investigators had zero leverage, they would establish an office in an adjacent jurisdiction, mobilizing multiple departments across regions to dismantle administrative barriers. Conversely, if they did have leverage, they would exercise their authority to report straight to the top, removing the obstructionist on the spot.
Once the Special Counter-Terrorism team submitted a formal report, even if there were no major infractions, the special investigation team could still suspend the target pending investigation.
*Knock, knock, knock.*
A rapping sound came from the door.
"Come in."
Receiving Lu Zhao's permission, a tall, slender field officer pushed the door open and stepped inside.
There were only four field officers at the Ant Ridge border defense station: Station Chief Lü Jinshan, Deputy Station Chief Chen Hongtao, Group Commander Zhang Like, and Logistics Section Chief Mo Kun.
Under the Federation's dual-commander system, Chen Hongtao and Lü Jinshan were garrison commanders of equal rank; in some larger units, a deputy was no less influential than the principal chief. However, because Ant Ridge was a minor outpost, there were hardly any affairs that required delegating authority to a deputy, leaving Chen Hongtao largely an invisible figure.
"Commander Zhang is here as well? Perfect..." Chen Hongtao strode forward and pulled out an official notice, holding it before the two men.
[Authorization of Acting Authority]
"I have just received orders from above. I will temporarily assume command of the Ant Ridge border defense station. Commander Zhang, please assemble your men and accompany me to detain Lü Jinshan."
He paused, shifting his gaze to Lu Zhao's handsome face.
"Just to be safe, Staff Officer Lu, come along as well."
Whenever public officials were involved—even for a standard suspension—an armed escort was required, and the higher the rank, the truer this held. Too many violent incidents had occurred when desperate individuals were cornered.
Superhuman democracy was itself a product of such violent history: whatever the circumstances, reaching a consensus with the superhuman community was the bare minimum requirement.
Zhang Like's eyes widened slightly before turning to Lu Zhao. By then, Lu Zhao had already risen, saluted, and responded crisply, "Yes, sir!"
***
Main building, border defense station.
Liang Fei marched forward in a fury. People in the corridor steered clear of him, whispering among themselves once he passed.
"What's with Skinflint Liang?"
"Probably ate dirt over at the reinforced platoon. Couldn't boss around Lu Tiger's seasoned veterans, I'd bet."
"Looking that pathetic, maybe he got beat up."
The Ant Ridge border defense station was small, counting a thousand men at most, and no more than fifteen hundred even including civilian contractors. Any stir traveled fast, and a change of leadership in the reinforced platoon was impossible to conceal.
Station Chief's office.
Liang Fei barged straight in, his beady eyes brimming with tears as he whined aggrievedly, "Chief! You have to back me up! This... this reinforced platoon is impossible to lead! It's practically Lu Zhao's private army!"
Startled by the sudden intrusion, Lü Jinshan looked up. Seeing Liang Fei's snot-and-tear-streaked face, a flicker of gloom crossed his eyes.
The reinforced platoon's insubordination was something he had anticipated when transferring Lu Zhao away. But Liang Fei's utter incompetence—unable to control the situation and doing nothing but running back to cry—irritated him.
He asked, "What happened? Explain it clearly first."
Liang Fei launched into an embellished rant describing all the obstacles he had encountered in the reinforced platoon: how the soldiers defied orders, and how Liu Qiang and the other core veterans obeyed Lu Zhao alone. In matters of flood prevention, Liang Fei couldn't wedge in so much as a single hair.
"This is a gross disregard for military discipline!"
Liang Fei had truly inherited Lü Jinshan's penchant for pinning labels, slapping on one grave charge after another.
"I urge the station chief to severely punish the reinforced platoon and replace every last one of them! And that Lu Zhao—he's overstepping his command!"
*Bang!*
Listening to the report, Lü Jinshan's temper flared. He slammed his palm onto the desk. "Such brazen audacity!"
Lu Zhao maintaining sway over the reinforced platoon was within his expectations and entirely typical. Anyone who wielded command would inevitably gather their own faction. But Lü Jinshan had never imagined Lu Zhao would be this bold.
If he didn't put the man in his place today, what would the rest of the station think? How could he ever issue commands in the future?
Chapter 41