58: Chapter 58 The Backer Makes His Appearance

After hanging up the phone, Bureau Chief Zheng Yufeng jerked the steering wheel, and the police car swung out in a beautiful arc on the road.

He pressed the car radio: "Command Center, this is 001. Immediately initiate the criminal investigation protocol. Deploy the Third Team, technical investigation, and forensics to Bishi Town to stand by—remember, use the encrypted channel!"

At the same time, Mayor Qin dialed a second number.

When a languid "Hello" came from the other end of the line, she went straight to the point: "Secretary Qi, are you aware that General Manager Xiang Wenqiang of your county's Bishi Coal Mine is suspected of murdering a public servant?"

The teacup in Secretary Qi Zhengming's hand "clattered" onto the floor, and he didn't even notice the scalding tea splashing onto his trouser legs.

"Mayor Qin, what did you say? Murder?"

His voice suddenly rose, "Has General Manager Xiang Wenqiang lost his mind?"

Mayor Qin sneered on the other end of the line: "Secretary Qi, the safety hazard report for Bishi Coal Mine was right in Xiao Bei's briefcase. Now he is lying in the intensive care unit, and the driver died on the spot—do you think this is a coincidence?"

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Secretary Qi Zhengming's forehead, and his fingers gripped the corner of the desk involuntarily: "I will immediately set up a special working group and seal off Bishi Coal Mine at once!"

"Remember," Mayor Qin's voice was like a blade scraping across the eardrum, "The nature of this case is egregious; you must investigate it strictly and punish accordingly!"

Hanging up the phone, Secretary Qi Zhengming kicked open his office door and roared at his secretary: "Notify the heads of the Public Security Bureau, the Work Safety Bureau, and the Land and Resources Bureau immediately! Have them in the conference room within half an hour!"

Secretary Qi Zhengming's office door was pushed open violently, and his secretary trotted behind him, still clutching the pen he hadn't had time to put down.

"Notify the heads of the Public Security, Work Safety, and Land and Resources departments immediately! Have them in the conference room within ten minutes!"

The secretary swallowed hard: "Secretary Qi, it's already night time…"

"What about it being night?" Secretary Qi Zhengming turned around abruptly, his eyes burning with fury, "Tell them, if they aren't here in half an hour, they don't need to come in tomorrow!"

The secretary didn't dare say another word and pulled out his phone to start dialing.

Secretary Qi Zhengming strode toward the conference room. After some consideration, he decided to make the calls himself to arrange things.

So, he first dialed the number of Secretary Wang Dehai, the director of the County Work Safety Bureau.

"Director Wang, I want you to take your men and seal off Bishi Coal Mine immediately!"

As soon as the call connected, Secretary Qi Zhengming commanded him sharply.

The sound of clinking glasses came from the other end of the line; Secretary Wang Dehai was clearly at a dinner party: "Secretary Qi, this… is so sudden? As for General Manager Xiang…"

"General Manager Xiang Wenqiang is suspected of murder!" Secretary Qi Zhengming practically roared, "Xiao Bei of Bishi Town is currently lying in the intensive care unit, and the driver died on the spot! You still dare to mention 'General Manager Xiang'?"

There was a "clatter" on the other end of the line, as if a glass had been dropped on the floor.

Secretary Wang Dehai's voice became instantly sober: "I'll take my men there right away!"

Just as Secretary Qi Zhengming hung up the phone, the conference room door was pushed open.

Police Chief Zhao Zhigang rushed in, panting, with one of his uniform buttons done up incorrectly.

"Secretary Qi, I just received a call from Director Zheng of the Municipal Police Bureau, saying…"

"I know." Secretary Qi Zhengming raised a hand to interrupt him, "Mayor Qin has personally inquired about this. You are to mobilize police forces immediately to assist the Municipal Police Bureau's Special Investigation Team in arresting General Manager Xiang Wenqiang."

Police Chief Zhao Zhigang's face turned deathly pale in an instant: "Arrest… arrest General Manager Xiang Wenqiang?"

"What? Is there a problem?" Secretary Qi Zhengming narrowed his eyes.

"No, no problem!" Police Chief Zhao Zhigang wiped the sweat from his forehead, "I'll go arrange it right now."

The director of the Land and Resources Bureau, Liu Jianguo, was the last to rush into the conference room, his tie askew; he had clearly just crawled out of bed.

Secretary Qi Zhengming didn't give him a chance to catch his breath and slammed his hand on the table: "Director Liu, freeze all mining rights and licenses for Bishi Coal Mine immediately!"

Liu Jianguo opened his mouth, hesitating to speak.

Secretary Qi Zhengming knew what he wanted to say—Bishi Coal Mine was a major taxpayer in the county, and General Manager Xiang Wenqiang had operated in the county for many years, with deep-rooted connections.

But now, none of that mattered.

"This is a major case personally supervised by Mayor Qin." Secretary Qi Zhengming said, enunciating every word, "If anyone dares to drop the ball at this critical juncture, don't blame me for turning heartless!"

The temperature in the conference room seemed to plummet.

The two directors exchanged glances, seeing shock and fear in each other's eyes; they had never seen Secretary Qi Zhengming so tough.

Meanwhile, in the Bishi Coal Mine office building, General Manager Xiang Wenqiang was pacing back and forth anxiously. His gold-rimmed glasses had been taken off and thrown onto the table, the lenses covered in fingerprints.

"What did you say? Director Zheng of the Municipal Police Bureau is leading the team personally?" He roared into the phone, his voice cracking.

The lackey on the other end of the line spoke with a trembling voice: "General Manager Xiang, I just saw over a dozen police cars heading toward the mining area, and the lead car is from the Municipal Police Bureau…"

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang kicked over the coffee table, and the tea set on it shattered all over the floor.

He ripped off his tie and suddenly felt a wave of suffocation; things were much more serious than he had imagined.

"Get me County Magistrate Xiahou Yang!" He roared at his secretary, "Immediately! Right now!"

The secretary dialed in a panic, and once the call connected, he immediately handed it to General Manager Xiang Wenqiang.

County Magistrate Xiahou Yang's deep voice came from the other end of the line: "Hello, General Manager Xiang, why are you calling so late…"

"County Magistrate Xia! Something big has happened!" General Manager Xiang Wenqiang practically shouted, "The Municipal Police Bureau has brought people to investigate me; you have to help me!"

There was a silence of a few seconds on the other end of the line, and County Magistrate Xiahou Yang's voice suddenly became serious: "What did you do? Why would they come to investigate you for no reason?"

"County Magistrate Xia, I… I may have done something not entirely appropriate." General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's voice suddenly became dry, his fingers twisting the phone cord unconsciously.

"What do you mean by 'not entirely appropriate'?" County Magistrate Xiahou Yang's voice suddenly rose by an octave, "What the hell did you do?"

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's Adam's apple bobbed, and his eyes behind the gold-rimmed glasses blinked frantically: "That new town Party Secretary, Xiao Bei… he discovered safety issues at the coal mine and wanted to shut it down… so I… I found someone to cause a small car accident…"

The crisp sound of a glass shattering came from the other end of the line, and County Magistrate Xiahou Yang's roar almost shattered the receiver: "A car accident? Are you fucking crazy?"

"I didn't think anyone would die…" General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's forehead broke out in cold sweat, "I just wanted to scare him…"

"Bullshit!" County Magistrate Xiahou Yang's voice trembled with rage, "Do you know whose man Xiao Bei is? He is Mayor Qin Ruoxi's former secretary. You've stabbed a hole in the sky, do you know that?"

General Manager Xiang Wenqiang's legs suddenly went weak, and he staggered to hold onto the desk, scattering the documents on it all over the floor: "County Magistrate Xia, you… you have to save me! All these years I haven't given you little…"

"Shut up!" County Magistrate Xiahou Yang interrupted sharply, "From now on, we have absolutely no relationship. If you dare to bite back at me…"

His voice suddenly dropped, carrying a bone-chilling coldness, "I guarantee I'll make you wish you were dead!"