Chapter 112 The Explosion

After the explosion, the Dragon City Police Department received reports immediately, and a large number of criminal investigation police officers from the headquarters, as well as on-duty personnel from the anti-terrorism and riot prevention departments, rushed to the scene.

...

Longkou District, the Mayor's residence.

Ouyang Zhen had just returned when he saw Li Mingsheng standing by the window, talking on the phone.

"Please sit down, Minister." Li Yuan, who was attending to him, brought Ouyang Zhen tea and pastries. "The Mayor said you haven't eaten yet. We just had dinner prepared for you, so please wait a moment."

Ouyang Zhen nodded.

Li Mingsheng finished his phone call by the window in less than three minutes, and walked over with a strange expression.

"What's wrong?" Ouyang Zhen noticed that Li Mingsheng's face was not quite right.

Li Mingsheng sat down on the sofa with a serious expression, and after a long silence, he suddenly said, "Bao Long Mining suffered a bombing attack, and it's very serious."

As soon as these words came out, Ouyang Zhen's expression also became solemn: "An explosion?!"

"Yes, the people from the Municipal Police Department have gone, but there is no definite information yet." Li Mingsheng sat on the sofa, interlocked his fingers, and said, "I've sent the director of the Municipal Office over there."

As soon as he finished speaking, both of them fell silent.

At such a sensitive juncture, Bao Long Mining was bombed. Could this be an accident? How stupid would the staff there have to be to put explosives in the white-collar workers' office building?

Obviously, the possibility of this matter being an accident was too low, and it was highly likely to be man-made.

Who would put explosives in the Bao Long Mining Company at this extremely sensitive time?

This was too weird!

Li Mingsheng and Ouyang Zhen were both seasoned politicians, and their way of thinking about problems was more complicated, so the first thing they thought of was whether Bao Long Group was directing and acting the whole thing themselves, deliberately creating such a scene to reduce the pressure on the regulatory committee.

Now the three major associations were protesting. If Bao Long Mining suffered an extreme attack at this time, it would be easy to associate it with overzealous workers.

Bao Long's counterattack was undoubtedly very effective. They put themselves in the position of the victim, which could effectively slow down negative news that was unfavorable to the regulatory committee and the general group.

The more the two thought about it, the more they felt that this possibility was very high.

After a long silence, Ouyang Zhen took the lead and said, "Lao Li, the longer this matter drags on, the more unfavorable it will be for you! In the eyes of the public, you are the Mayor, and you cannot escape the blame for all the vicious incidents that occur in Dragon City. But the regulatory committee is different. If they lose a chairman, they can replace him with a second one, but we can't."

Li Mingsheng nodded slowly: "You also suspect that the other side is behind this?"

"It's possible, but it could also be the neutral faction, a third-party force causing trouble." Ouyang Zhen rubbed his palms together: "I don't think we can delay any longer. If the regulatory committee doesn't give us a reply tomorrow, then let's stir things up completely and let the media in District One start getting involved in the mine disaster."

"Okay!" Li Mingsheng immediately replied, "I'll also have someone investigate what exactly happened with this explosion."

"Yes!"

After the two finished discussing, Li Mingsheng walked into the study and directly dialed Su Tianyu's phone: "I remember you have connections in the Police Department, right?"

"Yes, Wang Daolin." Su Tianyu replied immediately.

"Have you heard about the explosion?" Li Mingsheng asked.

"I've heard about it, but I don't know the details yet."

"The people I have in the Police Department are not easy to use for the time being. You find someone to inquire, preferably starting from the grassroots level. Sometimes they know more." Li Mingsheng instructed.

"Understood, Boss!" Su Tianyu replied immediately.

"Okay, that's all." Li Mingsheng hung up the phone.

...

The outer perimeter of the Mining Company.

After arriving at the scene, firefighters used various equipment to enter the main building, putting out the fire and rescuing survivors as quickly as possible.

Six rooms on the third floor of the main building of the Mining Company were completely destroyed, including four offices, one bathroom, and a white-collar worker area of approximately 200 square meters.

The floors adjacent to the third floor of the main building were also affected to varying degrees. Some windows were shattered, and some floors and ceilings were blown out, but the overall degree of destruction was not too severe.

The firefighters hardly rescued any survivors in the building, because the on-duty security guards and other overtime workers who could run had already escaped as soon as the explosion happened. So, the only ones left in the building were the five management personnel from the project department in the office on the fourth floor.

None of these five people survived. After the explosion, they were either crushed to death or melted in the first instance, and none of the bodies were intact.

After the five tattered corpses were pulled out, the fire inside the building was brought under control, and technical personnel from the anti-terrorism and riot prevention department began to enter the building to investigate the scene.

During this time, Miao Ziwei of Bao Long Group also drove to the vicinity of the company, but did not show his face. He only sent senior executives of the group to follow behind the police officers to inquire about the situation.

Inside the car.

Miao Ziwei held the phone and said urgently, "I don't think Li Mingsheng instructed the three major associations to do it, because doing so would not benefit them at all. This matter seems like someone is deliberately fueling the flames, so that the regulatory committee and the Li faction continue to fight to the death. Damn it, how is this thing getting more and more out of control...!"

A series of accidental emergencies made Miao Ziwei a little tired of dealing with them. He talked on the phone with a major shareholder of the group for a long time before hanging up.

Miao Ziwei rubbed his somewhat stuffy chest, turned his head to look at the secretary and asked, "Has Yang Decheng's phone been connected?"

"No." The secretary shook his head: "I've been trying to contact him just now, but his phone is turned off!"

"Didn't he say he was going back to the company?!" Before coming, Miao Ziwei had already asked the security department of the mining group and learned that Yang Decheng had not returned at the time of the explosion.

"Yes, but I can't get in touch with him now...!" The secretary replied helplessly.

"Damn it, this bastard, why does he disappear whenever something happens!" Miao Ziwei cursed in frustration.

...

Around 12:00 a.m., after a preliminary investigation of the scene, the technical personnel of the riot team immediately reported to Guo, the Deputy Director of the Police Department.

In the command vehicle outside the building, the technical personnel said to Lao Guo with a strange expression: "...Director, something is not right about this matter."

"What's not right?"

"According to the explosion range, the degree of damage to the building, and the diffusion direction of the primary and secondary shock waves, I can basically determine that the explosives used by the bandits are not military-controlled, nor are they like those finished explosives used for crime on the black market." The technical personnel replied in a low voice.

"Then what is it?"

"Explosives used for mining. The intensity, diffusion direction, pinpoint destructive power, and other characteristics are very consistent. Of course, this requires further identification."

"...Mining?!" Hearing this, Lao Guo unconsciously looked at Miao Ziwei's vehicle on the outside.

...

In the city.

Wang Daolin sat in the car, looking at Su Tianyu and scolding: "Nephew! You're so awesome now, so don't look for me anymore, okay? What you're doing is too big, I can't handle it...!"

"Mayor Li said he'll find a chance to promote you to Deputy Director." Su Tianyu replied.

"Do you think I'm a fool?!" Wang Daolin asked, interjecting: "In this situation, if a small deputy division-level cadre like me gets involved, I could end up going in to accompany Lu Feng with one wrong move."

"Uncle Wang, just help me find out some news, okay? Just ask what happened with the explosion, I'm really anxious...!"

"...!" Wang Daolin looked at Su Tianyu: "I heard the Minister of the Patrol Department is here?"

"Yes, he's already here." Su Tianyu nodded.

"...Okay, I'll help you one more time!" Wang Daolin pointed his finger at Su Tianyu's nose and shouted: "I want to go to Victory District now, you know what I mean?"

"Understood!" Su Tianyu nodded immediately.

"Okay, you go back, I'll contact you again when I get the first-hand information." Wang Daolin waved his hand.

...

Dragon City, in a botanical garden.

Yang Decheng and others were tied up and struggling on the ground.

By the water, the man in the dark blue uniform turned his head and looked around, and said softly, "I've been here before, and I've contributed to the beautiful scenery here..."