Reborn in 1993, Dark Sea

Deepsea City Government, Conference Hall

Mayor Li Hong flew into a rage and slammed a huge stack of documents in front of Cao Yingying, leaving the officials in attendance speechless with fear.

"Acting Director Cao! Give me an explanation! Give me an explanation!" Li Hong roared, his face flushed red and veins bulging on his forehead.

"Why?! Why are these heinous crimes happening one after another in our Deepsea City?! Tell me, why?!"

Why aren't you saying anything?! Are you mute?!

Okay, the case was committed by criminals and has nothing to do with you, but couldn't you have been a little smarter after receiving the report? Wouldn't it have been better to remove the body, cover it up, and then investigate slowly?!

Is it really that hard to do this?!

You just wouldn't have it! You dawdled for over two hours, finally taking the body down at 8:30! 8:30! Everyone was on their way to work! Everyone saw it!

Do you know what? Our phones have been ringing off the hook! People are practically ready to come to our yard and protest with banners!

Tell me, what should I do? How am I supposed to explain this to the citizens?! Tell me! Don't stay silent!

Li Hong slammed her hand on the conference table, making a loud bang.

"Mayor, we have our procedures for handling cases. The condition of those five bodies is very strange. If we remove them immediately, it will destroy all the clues."

We can't do that. If we do, the case might never be solved.

"Our goal is to solve the case as soon as possible and give the public an explanation. All our actions are in accordance with the proper procedures for handling cases."

Cao Yingying spoke fluently and calmly.

"You!...You!...!"

Li Hong was so angry that he couldn't speak. Vice Mayor Wang, who was next to him, quickly handed him a glass of water: "Old Li, calm down. Getting angry won't solve anything. Have some water first."

"I'm not drinking water!" Li Hong shoved the water glass away. "Where's Zhou Zhengguo? Where did he go? At a time like this, he just hides and abandons us? What kind of behavior is that?!"

"Old Li, Old Zhou is still in the hospital. It seems like he has some heart problems."

"Hmph!" Li Hong snorted coldly, "Fine, fine! Very well! I reckon Old Zhou's illness was caused by you good students and good apprentices!"

So it's in accordance with the case-handling procedures, right? Okay, then don't just stand here like idiots, hurry up and solve the case!

If you can't do it, don't occupy the position; let the capable ones do it!

Li Hong grabbed the documents on the table and threw them at Cao Yingying. The folder scattered in the air, and the snow-white manuscript papers fell like snowflakes.

"Yes, we'll continue the investigation right away!" Cao Yingying stood up, saluted Li Hong, and led Wang Tiejun and several other police officers out of the conference room.

"Look! Look at them! They don't even realize their mistake!" Li Hong slammed her hand on the conference table again.

"Calm down, calm down..." Vice Mayor Wang quickly tried to persuade him.

-------

Deep Sea Municipal Government Hall

Cao Yingying, Wang Tiejun, and the others walked out the door.

The officers were all dejected; Wang Tiejun had a furrowed brow, clenched his teeth, and looked furious, but Cao Yingying remained calm.

"Yingying, how can you be so calm? Don't you feel ashamed?... But Mayor Li went too far. How could he say such things about us? Really..."

"Tie Jun, just shut up!"

Wang Tiejun was grumbling in the car when Cao Yingying gave him a cold glare and said...

"Yingying...this isn't right, is it? You seem like a completely different person. What happened?" Wang Tiejun was greatly surprised. In the past, Cao Yingying would not only complain with him, but she also had a much stronger temper than him.

"Tiejun, after going through so much lately, I've finally figured it out. Xiao Liu, let's go back," Cao Yingying said, gesturing for Xiao Liu to start the car.

"You've finally figured it out? What have you figured out?" Wang Tiejun asked, looking completely bewildered.

Cao Yingying glanced at Wang Tiejun, took a deep breath, and said, "We cannot be swayed by appearances, nor can we be swayed by emotions. The more critical the moment, the more we must remain calm and see through the appearances to the essence."

What do you mean?

"What I mean is simple: Mayor Li Hong isn't really angry; he's just putting on an act."

"Acting? I can't tell he's acting."

"Of course you can't tell, because you feel guilty and you're focused on solving the case quickly, so you're very concerned about his outward emotions, and your emotions are constantly being swayed by his emotions, which makes it impossible for you to even notice the whole content of what he's saying."

If Mayor Li was really angry, he didn't need to scold us like that in the meeting. He could have just given us a timeframe to solve the case, and if we couldn't, he could have punished us directly.

He was the one who lost face by shouting and yelling at the meeting.

As for the citizens, he doesn't need to deal with them himself. He can just hold a press conference and let us explain ourselves, thus shifting the blame. After all, he is the mayor, and we are the investigators.

So why did he act so undignifiedly and fly into a rage in front of everyone? As the mayor of a city, was it necessary for him to behave like that?

"Yes, why?" Wang Tiejun gradually came to his senses.

"He's acting; he's protecting us. Think about it, he's already scolded us like this, how can anyone else have the nerve to say anything to us?"

He sent us away not because he wanted us to solve the case, but because he wanted us to leave that dangerous place as soon as possible so that he could take all the pressure.

"Is that so?... " Wang Tiejun was stunned.

"I think so," Cao Yingying nodded:

"Moreover, I have a feeling that Mayor Li Hong may know some inside information about the case of the body found exposed on the overpass in Baoshan District early this morning, but he cannot say it openly, so he uses this method to protect us."

After Cao Yingying finished speaking, she sighed softly. Wang Tiejun fell completely silent until the car drove into the courtyard of the Municipal Public Security Bureau, at which point he finally came back to his senses.

"Yingying, when did you learn all this?"

"Sigh..." Cao Yingying sighed again: "Director Zhou has actually told us these things many times, but we just didn't take them to heart before."

Now that I've taken on his burden, I realize just how heavy it truly is.

We've been protected by him too much in the past, and we've gradually become willful, only caring about our own pleasures and grudges, while ignoring the fact that he's always been on top, bearing the pressure for us.

Now, Director Zhou is practically collapsed. We can't let him down. Tie Jun, you should go back first.

"And what about you? Where are you going? Do you want me to come with you?"

"No need, the bureau needs someone to keep things in order."

I'm going to the security department to have a good talk with their superiors and see if they can provide us with any information. I can go alone.

"Alright, then I won't go with you. Be careful."

"Okay, don't worry."

Cao Yingying's car drove out of the compound. Wang Tiejun stood at the entrance of the office building, watching Cao Yingying gradually disappear into the distance. He stood there for a very long time.

------

Liu Yu's ward at the First People's Hospital of Shenhai City

Liu Yusheng sat on the hospital bed, smiling as he watched Li Hong peel an apple for him.

"My dear Mayor Li, what brings you here to peel apples? Have you finished your work?"

Li Hong glared at Liu Yusheng, shoved the peeled apple into his hand, and then picked up another apple to peel.

"Old Li, one is enough, you don't need to bother anymore."

"Oh, so you mean I don't have to eat? What's wrong with eating one of your apples?!" Li Hong immediately exploded.

"Okay, okay, you can have this, you can have it!" Liu Yusheng quickly handed over the apple in his hand, but Li Hong pushed it away.

"My dear secretary, can't you at least give me a heads-up before you start doing anything?! This is terrifying! Are you filming a horror movie?"

"Forget about the ordinary citizens, I was horrified when I saw the photos! It's outrageous!"

"It's outrageous...sigh, I never knew they would turn things up like this."

"Hmph, you don't know? I think you know it perfectly well!" Li Hong quickly peeled the apple and took a big bite.

"Old Li, how did you come to the conclusion that I knew about the body found on the overpass beforehand?"

"Is that even a question? Haven't enough strange things happened in the last six months?! If I still can't figure it out, I'd be an idiot!"

You guys have gone too far!

Do you know what happened? That day, I was humming a little tune while I was in the bathroom when I got a phone call telling me that you had been shot by a thug and were seriously injured and in critical condition.

Do you know how I felt at that moment? I was so scared my head almost flew off! I pulled up my pants and rushed to the scene, without even wiping my butt...

"Ah! That's enough! Old Li, you're the mayor of a city, how come you're getting more and more disgusting..."

"Ha! Now you know how disgusting it is? I'm disgusting you! I did it on purpose! Sharing is caring!"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I formally apologize, I'm scared of you!"

"You're scared now? If you're scared, then don't treat me like a monkey next time!"

But Secretary, just how serious is this matter? Even you risked your life to go yourself, can you give me a heads-up? I'm really on tenterhooks!

"Well, I can't really say anything about this, because it involves a very large foreign force. I'll keep it to myself for now, so you don't get bothered with me. You should just go about your business and leave these things to me."

This is a very special time, and we must stay calm!

However, I can also give you a heads-up: the criminal gangs entrenched in Shenhai City have been largely eliminated after a period of continuous crackdowns.

Those spies hidden within us have been exposed one by one, and the situation is still favorable for us. We should not see any more such heinous incidents in the future.

Hang in there a little longer, I believe things will get better soon.

"Fine, I'll trust you one more time, but it's a deal: next time, let me do the dangerous stuff. I'll lie down and rest, and you can go outside and be the bad guy!"

"Hehe, you know, Shenzhen City can do without me, but it can't do without you, Mayor Li!"

"You're kidding me!"

------

One week later, in Xingfuyuan residential area, Nancheng City, Haixi Province, on the top floor of building 6, duplex apartments.

"Mr. Chen, you've been lying on the sofa for six days now since you got here. Aren't you bored?" Mai Xiaoyu asked while running on the treadmill.

"Secretary Mai, you exercise all day long, aren't you tired?"

"I'm getting old, I need to exercise more to stay young!" Mai Xiaoyu rolled her eyes and said.

"Oh, I'm injured. I need to rest more to help the wound heal!"

Speak like a human being!

"We have the advantage now, why are we in such a hurry? He's the one who should be anxious!" An Xiaohai put down his book and looked out the window as he spoke slowly.