Chapter 146

A little after two in the morning, the mayor's residence.

Li Mingsheng sat in his first-floor study, squinting at the riot police warriors pacing outside, his mind a whirlwind of thoughts.

This night was the most difficult Li Mingsheng had endured since entering politics. He knew very well that with things having reached this point, countless people within the Oversight Committee and the upper echelons of rival parties were fighting for every second to figure out how to put him down for good.

The Great District Security Inspection Department wouldn't arrive in Dragon City until at least tomorrow morning. In the meantime, anything could happen.

Gun battles, assassinations, even small-scale armed conflicts could erupt at any moment in this high-ranking cadre compound, just like the sudden outbreak of the Independence War.

Although Li Mingsheng was a civil official, he was a tough character through and through. Just as Li Yuan had told Su Tianyu, this man had wanted to make a difference when he was young, even if it meant betting his entire political career.

He didn't want to wait here in frustration for the outcome dictated by the higher-ups. Even if he died, he would fight until the very last second.

Li Mingsheng slowly rose to his feet and immediately waved towards the outside.

Li Yuan, who had been closely monitoring the leader's movements from outside the study, immediately pushed the door open and entered.

Li Mingsheng glanced at Li Yuan's expression and softly asked, "Still not used to it?"

Li Yuan paused for a moment. "I'm completely used to it now."

"The special envoy from above is estimated to land in Dragon City around eight o'clock tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we must be fully prepared." Li Mingsheng instructed Li Yuan with his hands behind his back, "Find someone to contact the Tianhong Port Navy. Have Lao Lu send some people over to wait outside the gate for news."

Li Yuan nodded. "Okay."

"The situation with Liu Zi is also unstable. Those guys at the Police Department are opportunistic and may issue orders to take drastic actions." Li Mingsheng paused for a moment and continued, "Go tell Jin Maohui to send two teams of riot police over there to pressure the Police Department with armed personnel. The masses don't have guns; they gather easily, but they can also scatter easily out of fear. Before tomorrow morning, the protesters cannot be dispersed."

"I understand."

"Go then." Li Mingsheng waved his hand.

Li Yuan turned and left. After considering it for a long time, Li Mingsheng picked up his phone and dialed the number of Wen Zhanbo, the garrison brigade commander.

...

Half an hour later, Oversight Committee headquarters.

The new chairman, Riel, sat in a small conference room, looking serious and anxiously smoking. He was also waiting for orders from above.

This Riel was sixty-one years old this year. He had been doing well in the Great District Council, eating steak and singing freedom songs, but some time ago, he was suddenly parachuted into Dragon City because of the shocking case that Zhao Weihu had caused in this place, which had shaken the entire Europa region. The former chairman of the Oversight Committee had stepped down after taking the blame, and he had temporarily filled the vacancy and come to Dragon City.

Riel had inherited a mess. The Oversight Committee's public support and credibility continued to decline due to the Zhao Weihu incident. Various negative impacts put this usually low-profile but absolutely powerful institution on the hot seat.

Before Riel could even begin to deal with the various incidents after his arrival, there was a sudden mine disaster, and because of the continuous infighting at the upper levels, the incident escalated again and again. So he was very uncomfortable and aggrieved sitting in this position at the moment.

If he handled it well, the result would naturally be ideal, but if he made a slight mistake, his fate would not be much better than that of the former chairman.

After careful review, Riel realized that he had bought a three-month trial pass for the supreme power of Dragon City, and the cost might be the complete end of his political career.

Thinking of this, Riel, who couldn't bear it any longer, almost soiled himself out of anger.

After a long wait, there was finally a response.

The telephone on the conference table rang, and Riel immediately picked it up and said, "This is the Oversight Committee, Riel speaking."

"I am Ouyang Zhen, the Minister of the Great District Security Inspection Department. Regarding the incident that occurred in Dragon City, I must remind you that Li Mingsheng is the autonomous city mayor appointed by the Great District. His personal safety will be closely monitored by the higher-ups. The Oversight Committee has an obligation to protect his administration and personal safety." Ouyang Zhen said in a stern tone, "I will land in Dragon City at eight in the morning. All conflicts and disputes can wait until I arrive."

"Your words are arrogant, Mr. Ouyang. The Oversight Committee...!" Riel frowned and was about to retort because the other party's department did not have leadership power over the Oversight Committee, and he didn't need to give this minister any face.

"If tonight's incident escalates again, my Inspection Department may mobilize district external troops into the city to maintain stability for the sake of Mayor Li's life. That's all." Ouyang Zhen said and hung up the phone directly.

"Bang!"

Riel slammed the phone down and angrily stood up, putting his hands on his hips and cursing, "Damn fool! I hope his plane crashes on this terrible night...!"

"Mr. Riel, the council is calling."

"...!" Riel walked angrily to the side and picked up the microphone.

"The people from the Inspection Department are probably there to mediate. You should be prepared to listen to their conditions first." A middle-aged man's voice sounded from the phone.

"That damned Inspection Department, they actually claimed they would send troops to Dragon City...!" Riel was very agitated, shouting into the microphone in a chaotic manner.

Next to him, the secretary looked at Riel's buttocks and immediately reached out to pick up a suit jacket, frowned, and walked over to wrap it around his waist.

...

Around eight-ten in the morning.

Outside Dragon City, about three kilometers from the Baolong Mining area, a civilian ranch was suddenly flooded by a rising natural lake, and a large amount of wetlands and ranch equipment and feed were destroyed.

Because of the continuous heavy rain for several days before, various natural disasters could occur at any time, so the Dragon City water resources department, rescue team, and geological survey department rushed here after work to conduct routine inspections.

A team of more than twenty people found the flooded natural lake and surveyed it inside and out.

A Chinese leader from the water resources department stood on the hillside, looked at the lake basin rushing out with water, and looked down at the instrument that recorded the average terrain height: "I infer that it is still the underground river. The terrain here is too low, and the water accumulated inside has caused the underground river to rise, opening the natural cave, so the water has flowed here."

One person next to him looked at the top of the hillside and scanned the direction of the mining area: "It's not far away. I also think it's that underground river."

"Third-level monitoring, record the water flow rate, density... I personally think that the stored water inside is not enough to endanger the surrounding people or cause natural disasters. The flooding has been going on for two days, and it's probably almost drained." The middle-aged man instructed and walked down the hillside.

...

At the same time.

After arriving in Dragon City, Ouyang Zhen went to the municipal cadre family compound as soon as possible.

The people from the Oversight Committee did not recognize him and wanted to stop him.

Ouyang Zhen's secretary pointed at the other party's nose and cursed: "Open your dog eyes and see what department's badge I'm wearing!"

The people from the Oversight Committee glanced at the badge and immediately chose to give way.

Five minutes later, Ouyang Zhen walked into the mayor's residence. Li Mingsheng came out to greet him and immediately said, "First, protect the association."

In one sentence, the two major Dragon City official media outlets affiliated with the People's Political Party rushed to the Victory District Police Department as soon as possible, and Su Tianyu also received a call from Li Yuan, who told him in detail how to deal with the media.