Police officer Chen Shu

Chapter 337 suggests canceling the press conference.

Under the overpass.

Several excavators dug a pit not far from the accident site, and then began to put the fallen ship's bow and some loose parts into the pit one by one.

Not far away, five or six reporters surrounded a newly arrived official from the spacecraft department.

Old Jin, the seasoned veteran, lightly nudged Xiao Ma standing beside him. Xiao Ma, understanding immediately, beamed and handed over the microphone: "Hello, boss! So you're saying you're planning to bury these ship cabins under the bridge?"

The official was young, gentle and refined, and wore white-rimmed glasses; he looked like a cultured person.

He patiently explained to everyone, "We dismantle and bury the already decommissioned ship cabins on the spot, creating a small, solid foundation so that large rescue machines and equipment can enter the site to carry out rescue operations."

This is standard practice for our spacecraft department. The ground here is extremely soft, and only tracked vehicles like excavators can reach under the bridge, severely hindering rescue and disaster relief efforts.

Xiao Ma continued, "Given the magnitude of this accident, shouldn't we preserve the evidence at the scene to facilitate future accountability?"

The official adjusted his glasses and said in a deep voice, "Our spacecraft are equipped with black boxes, which record all the data on the spacecraft's operation. This is the most comprehensive and authentic evidence. Besides, we will dig out the bow of the ship and take it away according to procedure after the rescue is over."

At this moment, a staff member pushed through the crowd of reporters, walked over to the official, and whispered a few words in his ear. Immediately afterward, the official waved to the reporters to end the interview and hurriedly ran to the excavator to direct the workers and vehicles to stop burying the bow of the ship.

The reporters stood still, expressionless, watching the staff running around busily.

About ten minutes later, the burial work was stopped. The spacecraft department staff and on-site workers evacuated one after another.

Old Jin and Little Ma exchanged a glance and burst out laughing.

Old Jin, feeling smug, glanced around and noticed a new female reporter from the local Dongzhou TV station, who was quite pretty.

Since they were all in the same industry, and with the intention of showing off in front of the beautiful women, Lao Jin boasted to everyone, "Look, now we have another thing to expose inside information."

Xiao Ma pulled out some good cigarettes from his pocket, offered one to Jin, and said ingratiatingly, "Master Jin, you're really brilliant! In a little while, we'll link the burying of the spaceship's engine compartment to the destruction of evidence and the covering up of the facts, and then put it on the news. It'll definitely be a sensation!"

"Yes, yes, yes! Master Jin is really amazing!"

"I can't wait to get back to my car and start writing!"

Haha, I'm so tempted!

"Following Master Jin means you'll have food to eat!"

"."

Old Jin was being lauded by everyone, but Yu Guangzhong noticed that the fair-skinned and beautiful female reporter remained silent.

They look down on us?
Still think this news isn't sensational enough?
Old Jin thought for a moment, then reached out and pressed down, pointing and saying, "Look at you guys, so easily excited by such a small amount of meat scraps? Don't rush to publish it, wait for my notification."

The spacecraft department is holding a press conference soon. I know the spokesperson; he's an honest man. We'll put some pressure on him, create some conflict, and he'll definitely make a mistake!

He crossed his arms, looking mysterious and inscrutable.

I came here as Chen Shu instructed, hoping to get some news material, but it turned out to be just some boring conspiracy theories.

Such petty tricks might garner temporary attention, but they're ultimately beneath contempt. Although both were journalists, Zhang Yang had absolutely no interest in this kind of behavior—jumping others to get attention. However, she also had no interest in reminding the spaceship department that some of their reporters were up to something.

Firstly, it's unnecessary, and no one would appreciate a favor from a reporter from a small local TV station; secondly, such petty tricks of spreading rumors are all too common among reporters.

In fact, as a journalist, one also needs to maintain a good reputation.

A far-sighted journalist should know which news stories are acceptable to report and which people are off-limits for interviews.

Zhang Yang disdained to associate with them, but unable to find good news material at the scene, he went ahead to the venue where the spaceship department was preparing to hold a press conference, hoping to find a favorable position and perhaps be called upon by the spokesperson.

Due to limited space, the press conference was held next to the temporary command center. Staff simply erected a huge backdrop with the words "Press Conference" printed in large white letters on a blue background. A long table was placed in front of the backdrop for the spokesperson, with four or five rows of benches underneath for visiting reporters.

The first row of seats is reserved for major domestic media outlets, and each chair has its specific media name displayed. The back rows are for other journalists; no seats are reserved, so please sit wherever you like, on a first-come, first-served basis.

Zhang Yang met Chen Shu at the entrance of the press conference venue, who was standing at the temporary command center. Feeling it was still early, she asked Xiao Zhao to put down the camera and hand it over to the lighting technician, then helped her find a good spot inside the press conference area.

She skipped and hopped towards Chen Shu.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that Chen Shu was frowning and staring intently into the command center, while standing next to him was a high-ranking police officer with a wheat stalk slung over his shoulder, who also had a furrowed brow and a serious expression.

Seeing that the police officers were all waiting outside, Zhang Yang felt a little awkward. He leaned closer to Chen Shu and whispered, "Brother Shu, what's going on inside?"

Chen Shu turned around and saw Zhang Yang. He said, "We argued for ages about burying the car's front end, but it finally calmed down. Now we're arguing about who should host the press conference."

Zhang Yang asked curiously, "This should definitely be handled by their department's spokesperson, what's there to argue about?"

Chen Shu pointed to a kind-looking middle-aged man: "Hey, this is their department's spokesperson. He's only been in Dongzhou for less than an hour since he got off the plane, so he's not confident in handling reporters. But their superiors want him to go."

"It's an order, there's no way around it," the police chief next to him interjected.

"Director Wang, hello." Zhang Yang greeted him politely.

The police chief was none other than Director Wang, the deputy director of the municipal bureau. His luck wasn't great either; ever since he was promoted from the traffic management bureau, he was always on duty whenever the city faced a situation requiring him to take responsibility.

Just as Director Wang had predicted, the debate inside ended, and the newly arrived spokesperson was ultimately allowed to host the press conference.

"It's not that I don't want to host. I just hope it can be postponed by a day. The situation is so chaotic right now, and I just arrived; it's easy for something to go wrong."

"Wang Ping, stop arguing. It's the higher-ups' decision; this is settled!"

Zhang Yang recognized the name and looked inside carefully, only to find that the new spokesperson was the amiable leader from the north he had met under the bridge earlier.

Just then, Wang Ping, looking furious, came out of the command post with several attendants.

Originally, Zhang Yang didn't want to get involved in this troublesome matter, but Wang Ping had helped Zhang Yang and his group before. So when Wang Ping passed by the door, Zhang Yang stopped him without hesitation, ignoring the surprise of those around them, and sincerely said:

"Director Wang, things are very chaotic over there. Something might happen today. I suggest you don't go. Let's cancel this press conference."

(End of this chapter)