Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

Early morning, the office of the municipal party secretary

"This is outrageous! It's shameful! It's unbearable to look at, unbearable to look at!" Mayor Li Hong said, sitting on the sofa, shaking her head with a pained expression.

Recently, one unexpected incident after another has broken out in Shenhai City, each one more serious and bizarre than the last. Li Hong has been exhausted by this ordeal. If things continue like this, he feels that his career is in danger!

"Old Li, don't be irritable. Here, have some hot tea!" Liu Yusheng personally brought the brewed tea to Li Hong.

"Secretary! How can you be so calm?! Major cases are happening one after another in Shenzhen City, aren't you worried? I'm about to explode with anxiety!"

"I'm anxious! How could I not be anxious? But being anxious won't help, it won't solve the problem. Come on, have some tea, calm down first, and then we'll talk."

Helpless, Li Hong could only take the teacup. He wanted to take a sip, but the tea was too hot, so he put the cup back on the coffee table in a bit of annoyance.

Liu Yusheng sighed softly: "Old Li, I understand how you feel. Actually, I'm even more anxious than you."

Our Shenhai City is a window city; not only are people all over the country watching us, but the whole world is watching us.

Especially with 1997 fast approaching, during this period, the world's attention will be increasingly focused on us.

So many strange things have happened in our Shenhai City recently. It's as if there's an invisible hand stirring up trouble behind the scenes!

Especially in times like these, we must remain clear-headed and calm, and absolutely not lose our composure!

"Secretary, I understand everything you're saying! How could I not understand?"

But I'm really scared!

The shooting incident a while ago was so big, but fortunately the public security and armed police responded in time and dealt a devastating blow to those drug lords. It was only with great difficulty that the situation was brought under control.

It's only been a few days? So many things have suddenly happened overnight!

The mayor of Guishan City in the neighboring province came here to pick up his wife and take her home, but he inexplicably died on the way home.

Hu Haikong, a well-known businessman in our Shenhai City, has been missing after his villa exploded. Prior to this, Hu Haikong's company had encountered serious financial problems and defaulted on its debts, which had already triggered several mass incidents.

Now look what's happened, he's completely disappeared!

This is a huge problem!

Hu Haikong's company is one of the leading companies in our Shenhai City. If something really happens to his companies, I don't know how I'll handle it!

I've already had someone investigate his company's finances, and wow, they found a lot of unbelievable things in just one hour!

I don't know whether I should let them continue investigating. I'm afraid that if they do, it will uncover a huge problem!

The most hateful ones are Liu Ming, Zhang Zuozhou, and Pei Hongbin! How could they do that? It's appalling! A disgrace! How can I face the citizens now, how can I give orders?!

"Alright, alright, Lao Li, calm down, let's calm down!" Liu Yusheng rubbed his forehead. "How about this, let's analyze these problems one by one, prioritizing them and discussing and resolving them one by one, okay?"

"That's great, Secretary! Please give me some advice! I'm so confused right now, I really don't know what to do!"

"Okay, then I'll tell you."

I believe that of these three issues, the most serious and the one that needs to be addressed immediately is the one related to Hu Haikong. This is related to the economy of the entire Shenhai City and is closely related to the lives of the people of Shenhai City.

If this problem is not properly resolved, it could easily trigger a series of chain reactions, severely damaging the economy of Shenhai City and even seriously affecting the daily lives of its residents.

However, Lao Li, you just mentioned that Hu Haikong's company is one of the leading companies in our Shenhai City.

I have reservations about this.

Hu Haikong's company is indeed large and profitable, that's a fact, but to say that it's one of the leading companies in Shenzhen is, in my opinion, an exaggeration.

Let me give you a heads-up: Hu Haikong and his company have problems. In fact, we noticed this a long time ago, and the higher-ups have already made a lot of preparations to deal with the risks. Even the funds needed to deal with the risks have all been in place.

Before you arrived, I had just spoken with the relevant people in charge of the Overseas Group and Huayun Group. They said they would help if any of Hu Haikong's companies encountered serious problems.

So, Lao Li, the situation isn't as serious as you think. I believe that even if there's no preparation from above, the problem won't be that serious.

The reform and opening up has been going on for so many years, and our Shenhai City has achieved such brilliant results, which is obvious to all!

If a problem with one businessman could cause a major economic crisis for the entire city, that would be a truly serious problem.

I believe this is only a temporary difficulty, and with your leadership, we will soon be able to overcome this challenge.

"Secretary, what you said makes a lot of sense... Wait, wait a minute! Secretary, the higher-ups have already made preparations? Why didn't you tell me beforehand? You can't do this, Secretary!"

"Look at you, getting anxious again. I'm telling you right now, I only found out about these things when I was reporting to my superiors."

"Fine, go ahead and lie to me! You just enjoy seeing me jump around in a panic, don't you?"

"Haha, you!"

"Secretary, I truly admire you; you can actually laugh!"

"Haha, okay, okay, I'll be serious, I'm not laughing anymore!"

We've resolved Hu Haikong's problem, so you don't need to worry. We'll deal with whatever comes our way.

If Haikong Group has problems, investigate it and deal with it accordingly. With the support of the municipal and provincial party committees, you don't need to have any concerns.

Let's move on from this issue for now.

Next, it's about Liu Ming and his group.

The deed is done, and the videotapes have spread far too far; we can't cover it up now, no matter how hard we try. Since that's the case, let's handle it openly and honestly!

No matter the country or the government, there will always be bad apples.

The emergence of bad apples is neither terrible nor surprising. As long as we do not cover them up or shy away from them, but conduct thorough investigations and handle the matter properly, giving the people a satisfactory explanation, I believe our people will understand us and continue to support us.

The people's demands are not high; they just want an explanation and an outcome they can accept.

That's it.

Therefore, this matter must be dealt with as soon as possible. I suggest that the procuratorate take all these people into custody immediately to prevent them from taking any further extreme actions.

Then, investigate their problems as quickly as possible, take swift action, and give everyone a satisfactory explanation. There must be no evasion or delay; the sooner the better.

"Yes," Li Hong nodded, "I think so too. I've already had Gao Zheng and the others take control of all these people."

Sigh... I really didn't expect that the First Prison had just dug out a bunch of people, and before we even had a chance to deal with them, this kind of thing happened.

That's outrageous!

"Old Li, I think this matter is not as simple as it seems on the surface. This has been premeditated for a long time! So many videotapes, involving so many of our cadres, cannot be accomplished overnight."

It's really hard to say what the motives of those who distributed these videotapes are!

"Yes, I just called Zhou Zhengguo. He's on his way. We must get to the bottom of this!"

"Yes, we have to be careful... Let's just leave it at that for now."

"After Lao Zhou arrives, call me. Let's go talk to him together and also discuss Comrade Chen Zhongjin's family matter. What do you think?"

"I think it's okay... Alright, after hearing what the secretary said, I feel more at ease. I can't stay here any longer. I need to hurry back to work. There's a lot of things waiting to be dealt with!"

I'm leaving now, see you later.

Li Hong stormed off, and Liu Yusheng shook his head and smiled wryly, "That old Li, he came all the way here first thing in the morning to reassure me..."

-------

Shenhai City Public Security Bureau

As Zhou Zhengguo walked out of the office building, he looked much older than he had been, having spent the entire night without sleep.

Before the driver could even bring the car over, a military jeep drove into the yard and stopped in front of Zhou Zhengguo.

As the car door opened and Yan Hong got out, he quickly gave Zhou Zhengguo a wink.

"Director Zhou, I was just looking for you, and here I am! What good luck!" Yan Hong said with a sly grin.

"Xiao Yan, what brings you here so early in the morning? Tell me quickly, I have to go to the city hall for a meeting now."

"We've run into some problems and need to find An Xiaohai to find out what's going on, but I can't find him anywhere. After asking around, I found out he's being held here with you."

"Could we borrow An Xiaohai for two days? We'll find out what's going on and then return him to you."

"I see..." Zhou Zhengguo frowned, thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Okay, I don't have time to deal with him right now. How long do you need the money?"

"It could take as little as one or two days, or at most a week."

"Okay, you can bring him back to me after you're done asking him questions. This kid is lawless!" Zhou Zhengguo said, while subtly giving Yan Hong a wink.

Yan Hong turned around with a smile and saw a group of people squatting at the gate. He immediately understood what Zhou Zhengguo meant.

"Don't worry, Director Zhou, we'll bring the person back to you as soon as we've finished asking the questions."

"Alright...you, you're Xiao Liu, right?"

"Yes, Director, my name is Liu Cong!" Liu Cong, who was still on duty, immediately stood up and saluted Zhou Zhengguo.

"Okay, Xiao Liu, this is Captain Yan Hong from the Third Detachment of the Armed Police. They need to take An Xiaohai to assist with the investigation. Can you help them complete the formalities?"

"Yes! Captain Yan, please come with me."

"Okay, thank you! Thank you, Director Zhou! I'll go get the person now."

"Go."