Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

The meeting room at the Guangming branch was filled with smoke.

Cheng Du threw his hat on the table, put his legs up on the conference table, and his shoes were covered with mud that hadn't been wiped off.

Several trusted confidants sat below, heads bowed, none daring to utter a sound.

"Did you all understand?" Cheng Du lit a cigarette and slammed the lighter shut. "What the municipal party committee wants is stability, so we must solve their problems."

"Bring all those who spread rumors online, whether they're big influencers or small influencers, as long as their IP address is in Jingzhou, back to me."

A young police officer raised his hand: "Chief, what if some of them are indeed people whose homes have been affected by the disaster..."

Cheng Du rolled his eyes and pointed his cigarette butt at the man: "It's understandable that the public is upset about the disaster, but it's a different story if they are taken advantage of by people with ulterior motives."

"We're going there to 'educate' and 'educate' them, to let them know what they can and cannot give out."

"Also, have you found out about that blogger called 'Old Ghost of Jingzhou'?"

The trusted detective captain, Lao Ma, nodded: "We found out. He lives in Jinshan Community and is a freelance writer."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Cheng Du exhaled a smoke ring. "Invite him back for tea. If he refuses to delete the posts, then check his taxes and his computer. We'll find something out."

"Remember, be quick, Secretary Li is watching."

……

The No. 1 Office of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.

Looking at the online public opinion monitoring report, Li Dakang's tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed a little.

The screen, which was originally filled with insults and doubts, has now been covered by some positive disaster relief news.

Although there are still some sporadic noises, the tide has turned and they can't make any waves.

"That kid Cheng Du does have some talent in certain areas." Li Dakang picked up his teacup and blew away the foam.

Zhao Donglai stood to the side, his face grim: "Secretary Dakang, this kind of suppression will inevitably lead to trouble sooner or later. Silencing the people is more dangerous than preventing a river from overflowing."

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures." Li Dakang put down his teacup, his tone somewhat impatient. "If we let those rumors run rampant, what will become of Jingzhou's investment environment? How can the second phase of Guangming Peak even begin construction?"

"Donglai, sometimes, for the sake of the bigger picture, sacrificing a little bit of our own interests is unavoidable."

Zhao Donglai moved his lips, but in the end he didn't say anything.

……

At one o'clock in the morning, the rain gradually subsided.

Outside the Guangmingfeng project construction site, a section of the corrugated iron fence had been blown down by the strong wind. A figure wearing camouflage clothing covered in paint and a yellow hard hat stealthily climbed over the fence.

This man was Zhang Xiao, a well-known independent journalist in Jingzhou known for his tough-guy approach; there was no news he wouldn't dare to report.

He didn't bring any fancy cameras or lenses, only a miniature action camera tucked into his breast pocket, and a snakeskin bag in his hand, making him look no different from a migrant worker stealing building materials. The construction site was quiet, with only the security booth in the distance lit up.

The heavy rain washed the ground into a pockmarked mess, and it was all muddy underfoot.

Zhang Xiaoshen stumbled along the edge of a large, collapsed pit. This was originally the entrance to the main drainage channel on the planning map, but now it had been half washed away by the flood, revealing a dark hole.

A pungent musty smell mixed with the stench of the sewer hit me.

Zhang Xiao pulled his mask tighter, turned on his flashlight, and shone it into the pit. His hand trembled as the beam of light swept across the surface.

There are no spacious flood discharge channels, and no neat concrete pipe walls.

Deep inside the collapsed hole, a jumble of things blocked the waterway: broken precast concrete slabs, clumps of discarded steel bars, and even piles of unopened cement blocks.

This isn't a drainage ditch; it's clearly a construction waste landfill!

"Bastards..." Zhang Xiao cursed through gritted teeth, "These beasts are robbing people of their lives!"

He quickly adjusted the camera angle, capturing the obstructions clearly in the photos. To gather more solid evidence, he even risked sliding down to the bottom of the pit, picking up a numbered block of cement, and taking a close-up shot of it.

"This is a real-time view of the drainage ditch in the first phase of Guangming Peak. I'm Zhang Xiao. The so-called 'once-in-a-century' disaster is nothing more than blocking the lifeline of Jingzhou citizens with garbage!"

After recording the video, Zhang Xiaogang was about to climb up when his foot slipped, and a piece of gravel rolled down.

Splash!

The sound was particularly jarring in the quiet night.

"Who's there?" A powerful flashlight suddenly swept over from a distance.

"Stop! What are you filming there?"

……

Half an hour later.

Office of the Director of the Guangming Branch Bureau.

Cheng Du was about to take a nap on the sofa when his phone suddenly vibrated. The screen displayed "Deputy Mayor Ding".

Cheng Du was jolted awake and immediately sat up straight, pressing the answer button.

"Mayor Ding, it's so late..."

"Listen to me first," Ding Yizhen said in a sinister tone.

"Someone just broke into the construction site and took pictures of things he shouldn't have. The security guards couldn't catch him, and he got away."

Cheng Du's mind went blank for a moment: "What did you photograph?"

"What do you think we can photograph? Things that can't be seen in the light at Bright Peak."

The voice on the other end was icy cold. "We found the license plate number Han A·2A246. It's a silver Jetta. I've already arranged for people to clean up the scene. You need to make sure that person doesn't reveal anything. Young Master Zhao said that if this matter can't be contained, you're fired."

beep.

The phone hangs up.

The veins on the back of Cheng Du's hand, which was gripping the phone, bulged.

If we let him post those photos...

"Old Ma!" Cheng Du flung open the office door and yelled, "Wake up! Everyone assemble!"

Old Ma ran over, still wearing his coat: "Chief, what's wrong?"

Cheng Du's face was contorted with rage as he buttoned his shirt and walked out. "Get me a license plate number. Find out where he's hiding. This man is suspected of stealing state secrets and endangering public safety. Detain him!"

……

Xingfuli Residential Community, Building 3, Room 602.

Zhang Xiao, soaked to the bone, sat in front of the computer, her fingers flying across the keyboard.

On the screen, the upload progress bar is slowly climbing.

25%...30%...

The home internet suddenly became very slow for some reason, probably because the heavy rain had damaged the lines. He anxiously watched the spinning circle, his heart pounding.

He knew he was in big trouble this time.

"It has to be sent out..." Zhang Xiao muttered to herself.

Suddenly, a series of urgent police sirens sounded downstairs.

Then came the heavy slam of the door and the sound of hurried footsteps.

Zhang Xiao abruptly pulled the curtains open a crack. Three police cars were parked downstairs, their red and blue lights flashing wildly in the rainy night, illuminating the walls of the residential complex with flickering light.

A group of people in uniform rushed into the building.

They came for him!

Zhang Xiao's palms were sweaty as she glanced back at the screen.

45%.

That's too late.

He yanked the card reader out of the computer, shoved it into his mouth and bit down hard, then pried out the memory card and hid it in the lining of a thick dictionary behind the bookshelf.

He then dragged a chair over, stood on it, and set up the camera on the highest point of the bookshelf. He then started recording. Although he was worried about not being able to keep it safe, he also used tape to cover the indicator light tightly.

Boom boom boom!

The security door was smashed with a deafening roar.

"Open the door! Police are investigating!"

That was Du Cheng's voice, filled with a hysterical madness.

"Zhang Xiao, I know you're in there! Don't put up a futile resistance!"