Arnie Lennox had never imagined that on the very first day of taking office as the Party Secretary of Hongshan County, he’d get set up.

The welcome banquet was packed. Hongshan County’s key officials were all there, and the room was buzzing like everyone had been waiting forever for this moment.

“Secretary Lennox, you’re finally here! Now that you’ve come to Hongshan County, everything’s gonna be easy to sort out!”

“Exactly, Secretary Lennox. We’ve all been hoping you’d arrive sooner. The earlier you came, the sooner you could guide our work!”

“On behalf of the people of Hongshan County, I give Secretary Lennox the warmest welcome possible!”

One toast after another came at him like waves. Arnie could handle a battlefield, but this kind of social ambush was a different beast. By the end, he was already overwhelmed, his head heavy, his steps unsteady. He was eventually supported out by others and sent to rest in Room 366 of Lishui Hotel.

...

“It’s all set.”

The director of the Hongshan County office stepped out of the hotel and immediately made a call to report in.

The person on the other end said nothing at all. The line was cut almost at once.

Half an hour later, the door to Room 366 at Lishui Hotel slowly opened from the outside. A young woman with a seriously hot figure slipped straight inside.

She had a striking body, every curve sharp and eye-catching. She glanced at the man lying on the bed, the corner of her mouth lifting into a smile. Then, as if she’d done this a hundred times before, she stripped off her clothes with practiced ease and slid naked under his blanket.

Outside Lishui Hotel, Callum Langford, captain of the county public security bureau’s vice squad, sat in his car and checked the time on his watch. Then he picked up the radio.

“All units, listen up. Anti-prostitution operation begins in three minutes. Team One, lock down the front and rear exits. Team Two, secure the stairwells on every floor. Team Three, sweep room by room. Team Four, provide support.”

“Team One received.”

“Team Two received.”

“Team Three received.”

“Team Four received.”

As voices came through the radio one after another, the air instantly tightened.

This was a special operation by the Hongshan County Public Security Bureau’s vice squad. They had received a tip that illegal sex trade activity was taking place inside Lishui Hotel.

“Move.”

Callum jumped out of the car. The second he gave the order, the officers around him rushed in fast.

“Hey, what are you doing?”

“Vice raid.”

Callum charged over and snatched the phone out of a male attendant’s hand in one clean motion. The others quickly pinned down the people at the front desk.

“Team One in position.”

“Team Two has reached designated points.”

They got the front desk keys and immediately handed them over floor by floor to Team Three.

“Public security inspection. Open the door.”

A woman’s scream burst out from inside at once. A moment later, the door opened. The man and woman on the bed were in the middle of getting dressed.

“Squat down.”

The man and woman inside dropped into a squat, using their clothes to cover their faces.

“So you still know shame, huh? If you cared about saving face, you shouldn’t have done this in the first place.”

“She’s my girlfriend,” the man tried to argue. “What, even that’s not allowed now?”

“What’s her name? How old is she? What does she do? Where does she live?”

Under the string of questions, the man froze. His mouth opened, then shut. In the end, he could only lower his head and stay silent.

At Room 366, one officer took out the room card. With a soft beep, the door unlocked, and the officers rushed in.

“Public security inspection.”

“Ah—!”

The woman let out a sharp scream. Even though she’d prepared herself mentally, the sight of so many people suddenly storming in still scared her so badly that she shrank into the blanket. Her eyes were wide with panic as she stared at the intruders.

Arnie Lennox was jolted awake. He looked coldly at the people in front of him. Years in the Black Hawk Special Operations unit had trained him to stay rock steady no matter what happened.

“What are you doing?”

“Hongshan County Public Security Bureau, vice squad. Show your ID. Get out of bed. Full recording in progress. Don’t try anything.”

Arnie’s face darkened.

In that instant, he knew.

This was a setup.

And not just any setup. It had been prepared specifically for him.

He really had underestimated this place. What was supposed to be a welcome banquet had turned into a straight-up trap feast.

“I don’t care who you think I am. Get your superior here right now. Tell him this: I’m Arnie Lennox.”

His presence was intense without trying. In the other rooms, the people they’d caught were all scared stiff, but he was calm from start to finish. The officers who had rushed into the room immediately contacted Captain Callum Langford.

“Captain, come to 366.”

“What’s going on?”

Callum grabbed the radio and headed up to the third floor. Seeing the door already open, he walked straight in.

“I’m Callum Langford, captain of the county public security bureau’s vice squad.”

Callum didn’t know Arnie Lennox by face. He had only heard that the county’s new Party secretary was coming, transferred directly from the provincial military district. That kind of thing mattered to the county’s big shots. For a vice squad captain like him, whoever became county Party secretary was all the same.

“Do you know who I am?”

Arnie didn’t raise his voice, but the pressure in it was real. Meanwhile, his mind was moving fast, piecing together every scattered clue he could still remember.

Callum let out a short laugh. “Looks the same to me. Please cooperate with the vice squad’s work. Get dressed and come to the county public security bureau. Once we get there, you can take your time telling me.”

“Ridiculous.”

Arnie forced down his anger. His eyes landed on the recording equipment. “Turn that off. Have them all step outside first. Don’t let that woman leave. I want to question her.”

He didn’t reveal his identity right away. There were too many people around, and this whole thing was ugly enough already.

What had happened had happened.

Now the only thing that mattered was cleaning it up.

“Take her outside first.”

The woman put her clothes back on and was led out trembling, looking weak and scared.

The door shut.

Only then did Arnie get out of bed. He put on his clothes, opened his briefcase, and took out the appointment papers and official documents from the municipal Party organization department.

“You... you’re Secretary Lennox?”

Callum took one look at the document and went blank.

This was bad. Like, insanely bad.

This operation had been arranged by the leadership of the county public security bureau, but no one had told him that a figure like this was staying in Room 366. If they had, they could’ve avoided this room entirely, or just canceled the operation on the spot.

And now he had actually hauled in the newly appointed county Party secretary.

In this way, of all ways.

If this blew up, nobody involved was getting out clean.

Arnie gave a slight nod. “I can only tell you one thing. That woman has absolutely nothing to do with me. Do you believe that?”

“I... I do.”

Callum honestly didn’t even know what to say anymore.

There was no medicine for regret in this world.

The vice raid had been recorded from start to finish. The camera had never stopped. There was no way now to neatly cut out just this section.

Arnie glanced at him. For the moment, the situation was under control.

“Captain Langford, I want to know who gave the order for this operation.”

“It was...” Callum hesitated. He knew he shouldn’t say it. This was the kind of thing you absolutely did not touch. “It was a temporary operation. We received a report.”

“A temporary operation.”

Arnie gave a faint laugh. “Really? Because to me, this doesn’t look temporary at all. I can call your bureau chief right now and ask him personally.”

That was the weight of a county Party secretary.

He held the power over personnel appointments and transfers. He was the top authority in Hongshan County.

Who would willingly offend someone like that?

Callum clenched his teeth.

He definitely couldn’t say it.

At worst, he’d shoulder it himself. That was still better than selling out his superiors behind their backs. The fallout from that would be even worse.

“Secretary Lennox, it really was a temporary operation. I’m the person in charge of this operation, and we did in fact uncover a large number of illegal activities. Please instruct us on the next step.”

His reaction was quick. In one smooth move, he pushed the question right back to the newly arrived county Party secretary.

If they wanted to pretend nothing had happened, they could delete all the video footage right now and release everyone they had detained.

Arnie looked at Callum.

Not bad.

At least at this moment, the man hadn’t betrayed anyone. Even though they’d met under such an awkward and explosive situation, Arnie found himself liking this vice squad captain a little more.

“Bring that woman back in. I have questions for her. You can stay, but don’t let her know who I am.”

“Understood, Secretary Lennox.”

Callum let out a long breath. Right now, he had no clue how this was supposed to end either.

“You, come in.”

He coughed lightly, then said to the others, “I’ll handle things here. The rest of you go provide support. Bring in the hotel management too.”

The woman walked in slowly.

Arnie looked at her.

The second their eyes met, she quickly lowered her head.

“Who sent you here?”

“You did.”

She had clearly decided to cling to that story no matter what. “You paid me and told me to serve you well. Just a minute ago, you were even praising my skills. And now you’re pretending it never happened?”

“Where’s the money? Cash or transfer record, either one. Show it.”

“It was a verbal deal. You hadn’t paid me yet. Officer, I didn’t take his money, so this doesn’t count as illegal. You should let me go.”

Callum sneaked a look at the newly arrived county Party secretary. At this point, he didn’t dare say a word.

Arnie nodded.

The other side had clearly prepared for this. There was nothing more he could get out of her by force right now.

He gave Callum a look.

Let her go first. Cast the line and reel in the fish later.

“You can leave now.”

Callum stepped back. The woman grabbed her bag and hurried out.

“Captain Langford, I’m giving you a task. Remember this. It stays between you and me.”