419: Wang Wen's admission

Once everyone had signed in and taken their seats, the conference room door was pushed open.

A man in an Inspection Group uniform slowly walked in, the starburst insignia on his epaulets glinting coldly under the lights, followed by two similarly dressed deputies.

He walked straight to the head seat and sat down, his gaze calmly sweeping over the room, his eyes sharp as an eagle's, as if able to penetrate all disguises.

“Everyone.”

The man spoke, his voice not loud, but it clearly carried throughout the entire conference room, carrying an unquestionable authority.

“I am the leader of the Xili Empire’s Central Direct Fourth Inspection Group. The purpose of summoning you here today is by order of the Empire—after verification, the Galaxy you are in has systemic, large-scale personnel corruption issues, which have severely threatened the administrative foundation and public interests of the Galaxy.”

As his words fell, a subtle stir rippled through the conference room.

Some looked astonished, some nodded secretly, and more turned their gaze towards Wang Wen and the others.

Wang Wen’s back instantly tensed, his fingernails almost digging into his palms.

He clearly remembered that half an hour ago, this group of people in black uniforms suddenly appeared in his office, sternly demanding his immediate cooperation with the investigation.

At that moment, he knew that everything hidden in the shadows could no longer be concealed.

Those meticulously woven networks of relationships, those secretly manipulated transactions, those secrets they thought could be covered up forever… in front of the Empire Direct Inspection Team, they were like a fortress made of paper, collapsing at the slightest touch.

The Inspection Group leader’s gaze fell on Wang Wen, lingered for a moment, then moved away, and he continued speaking.

“From now on, all administrative, judicial, and military systems of This Galaxy Cluster will be temporarily taken over and audited by the Inspection Group. Please cooperate with the work and provide relevant information truthfully. Those involved in corruption who voluntarily confess may receive lenient treatment as appropriate; those who stubbornly resist will not be tolerated by Imperial law.”

His words were like a huge stone thrown into a lake, stirring up ripples in everyone’s hearts.

Wang Wen closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and when he opened them again, only a desolate gray remained in his gaze.

As soon as these words were uttered, a collective gasp echoed through the conference room.

Except for a few who were already aware, the other officials all turned pale, looking at each other with expressions of disbelief.

They never imagined that the seemingly stable power system of the Galaxy usually concealed such a vast web of corruption.

The Inspection Group leader’s gaze swept over the entire room, his voice still steady but carrying immense weight.

“What we received was a joint report from comrade Ou Ben, Vice Speaker of This Galaxy Cluster, comrade An Cheng, chief justice of the Court, Comrade Li Yang, Secretary of the Discipline Inspection Committee and supervision director, and comrade Wei An, Commander of the stationed Guard Division.”

He paused, tapping his fingertip lightly on the table, and a bolded line of text immediately appeared on the holographic screen— “Regarding the investigation of issues related to the corrupt group led by Wang Wen, Vice Speaker of This Galaxy Cluster, Jiang Xin, Deputy Presiding Judge of the Court, Yao Qiao, Deputy Commander of the stationed Guard Division, and Zhang Yuan, Director of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office.”

“Now, I would like to ask everyone present, especially these four comrades…”

Lu Cheng’s gaze slowly fell on Wang Wen, his eyes sharp as knives, as if to pierce through his feigned composure.

“Are the acts of illicit profit transfer, power-for-rent, and falsified accounts mentioned in the report true?”

The conference room instantly fell into a deathly silence, even breathing became cautious.

The officials who were previously unaware completely erupted into whispers, like a surging tide, with surprise, shock, and anger spreading through the crowd.

As for those officials who had been implicated with Wang Wen and others, they all turned ashen, their bodies trembling uncontrollably, their hands clammy with cold sweat, wishing they could find a hole to crawl into.

Wang Wen clenched his teeth, his fingers digging deep indentations into the armrest of his chair, just as he was about to speak in defense, Jiang Xin beside him could no longer hold back.

She abruptly stood up, her chair scraping loudly across the floor, her voice sharp and urgent.

“Nonsense! We are all loyal officials of the Empire, how could we do such disciplinary-violating, Empire-betraying things? This must be slander!”

Her cheeks were flushed red, but her eyes could not hide her panic, her hands flailing wildly in the air, trying to cover her inner fear with heated words.

But this hysterical excuse, in front of the conclusive report and the serious gaze of the Inspection Group, appeared particularly pale and powerless.

The Inspection Group leader’s fingertip tapped lightly on the table, his gaze sweeping over the various expressions of the few people, his tone as calm as a bottomless, cold pool.

“According to the Inspection Group’s procedures, if you refuse to cooperate with the investigation and deny the accusations, we will immediately initiate a comprehensive audit. Once confirmed, all charges will be treated as one degree higher—I don’t need to explain the extent of Imperial law further, do I?”

The weight of his words sank like lead into everyone’s hearts.

Everyone knew that in the Empire’s penal system, the death penalty was already extremely severe, but after that, the mental stripping for serious offenders, and even the collective punishment involving relatives, were the truly chilling deterrents.

Jiang Xin’s face turned deathly pale, and she instinctively tried to defend herself, her voice trembling.

“This is completely fabricated! We…”

“Enough.”

Wang Wen suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse as if sandpapered.

He slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the last trace of struggle in his eyes had extinguished, leaving only weary desolation.

He raised his head, meeting the Inspection Group leader’s gaze, and said word by word.

“I admit it. The report is true; Jiang Xin, Yao Qiao, Zhang Yuan, and I have indeed long utilized our positions for illegal, corrupt, and disciplinary-violating activities.”

The moment his words fell, Jiang Xin abruptly turned to glare at him, her lips trembling, but she couldn’t utter a single word.

The surrounding air seemed to solidify, with only the tense breathing of the crowd, tapping on everyone’s taut nerves.

Those officials who were implicated with them felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, their bodies chilling—Wang Wen’s confession was like the first domino to fall, signaling an irreversible collapse.

Li Yang looked at Wang Wen’s frank confession, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Jiang Xin’s hysterical defense was still echoing in his ears, and he had expected Wang Wen to stubbornly deny everything, but he didn’t expect him to be so straightforward, without even a hint of struggle.

The Inspection Group leader’s face remained expressionless, his fingertip gently tapping on the table, his voice so steady that no emotion could be discerned.

“Since you’ve confessed, report everyone who participated. Regardless of their position, not a single one can be missed.”

Wang Wen nodded, without any unnecessary words, and immediately began to read out names.

At first, there were only a few names of mid-level officials, but as the list grew longer, from department deputies to core section chiefs, and even a few seemingly incorruptible veterans who were unexpectedly on the list, Li Yang and the others’ brows gradually furrowed into knots.

“...Liu Zhi, Deputy Director of the Civil Affairs Department, Fang Ming, Section Chief of the Ministry of Energy’s Dispatch Section, Zhou Lei, Director of the Starport Management Office…”

Wang Wen’s voice was flat, like a machine accurately reading out numbers, each name behind it implicated a long chain of power-for-money transactions.