Chapter Summaries

Dong Xuebin warned Feng Jie and the Xiping District officials that an aftershock was coming and rushed everyone out of the Teaching Building. After the building collapsed, Liu Hanqing and Ning Shaoyang were trapped beneath a falling wall, and Dong Xuebin charged in to save them.

• Dong Xuebin rushed into the Teaching Building and ordered Feng Jie, Deputy District Governor Chu, and the others to evacuate before an aftershock.
• Feng Jie and Deputy District Governor Chu dismissed Dong Xuebin’s warning, and Dong Xuebin angrily accused Deputy District Governor Chu of corruption and negligence.
• The aftershock struck, the Teaching Building began to break apart, and Dong Xuebin led the group toward the exit while pulling Fei Fan and Zhu Zhu out of the way of falling debris.
• The group escaped just before the Teaching Building collapsed, but Ning Shaoyang fell and knocked Liu Hanqing down as a massive wall came crashing toward them.
• Dong Xuebin rushed toward Liu Hanqing and Ning Shaoyang and thrust his hands up to stop the falling wall.

Dong Xuebin used REVERSE to hold up a collapsing wall and save Liu Hanqing and Ning Shaoyang, though he became trapped beneath it. As the crowd scrambled to find a way to rescue him, he continued supporting the wall for several minutes.

• Dong Xuebin rushed beneath the falling wall and held it up with both hands, allowing Liu Hanqing and Ning Shaoyang to escape.
• Dong Xuebin repeatedly used REVERSE to recover as the crushing force shattered his body, but he could not move without losing his support.
• Liu Hanqing ordered people to call the Fire Brigade and demanded that the construction crew find a way to rescue Dong Xuebin.
• Feng Jie and Deputy District Governor Chu ordered a vehicle to brace the wall, but it did not take any of the weight off Dong Xuebin.
• Dong Xuebin continued holding the wall for several minutes as the crowd watched in stunned silence.

Dong Xuebin held up the collapsed wall until firefighters could support it, then escaped as their rescue machine failed under the wall’s weight. Despite being covered in blood and sweat, he stood up and checked whether everyone else was hurt, leaving the onlookers stunned.

• The firefighters arrived and found Dong Xuebin still holding up the wall, while Liu Hanqing and Fei Fan urged them to rescue him quickly.
• The firefighters braced the wall with their equipment, and Dong Xuebin shuffled backward until they told him he could let go.
• After Dong Xuebin released the wall, it crushed the rescue machine and a sedan, revealing its immense weight.
• Dong Xuebin collapsed from exhaustion, and Zhu Zhu, Liu Hanqing, and the others rushed to get him medical help.
• Dong Xuebin waved off the medical staff, stood up, and asked whether Zhu Zhu and the others were hurt, astonishing everyone.

Dong Xuebin saved Liu Hanqing and Ning Shaoyang from a collapsing wall at No. 3 Middle School, then was taken to the hospital for examination. As reporters questioned officials about the collapse, Dong Xuebin explained that he had saved his colleagues because it was simply his duty, and Liu Hanqing apologized for their past conflict.

• Dong Xuebin reassured his colleagues after lifting the collapsed wall, but collapsed from exhaustion once he was placed on a stretcher.
• Reporters confronted Feng Jie and Deputy District Governor Chu about the Teaching Building collapse, while they questioned Dong Xuebin about rescuing Liu Hanqing and Ning Shaoyang.
• Dong Xuebin told a reporter that he had saved people because it was the natural thing to do, with no need for a reason.
• Liu Hanqing and Ning Shaoyang accompanied Dong Xuebin in the ambulance, where the doctor said his life was not in danger but that further examinations were needed.
• Liu Hanqing apologized for their past conflict, and Dong Xuebin said he had saved them because he was responsible for his colleagues' safety.

After rescuing Liu Hanqing and Ning Shaoyang from a collapsing wall, Dong Xuebin underwent hospital tests and was found to have only superficial wounds and muscle strain. Zhan Guiping praised him for saving the others and said he would seek a commendation.

• Dong Xuebin told Xie Huilan over the phone that Feng Jie was unlikely to get the vacant deputy mayor position and urged her to act quickly.
• Dong Xuebin reassured his family, friends, and colleagues who called to ask about his condition.
• Zhan Guiping and Liang Xuan rushed to the hospital, fearing Dong Xuebin had been badly injured, but the doctor reported that he had no serious damage or fractures.
• Dong Xuebin asked to be discharged, but Zhan Guiping insisted on additional examinations, which again showed no serious injuries.
• Liu Hanqing and Ning Shaoyang blamed themselves for the accident, while Dong Xuebin told them not to worry.
• Zhan Guiping thanked Dong Xuebin for saving the others and promised to seek a commendation for him.

Dong Xuebin returned to work and was praised at a committee meeting for rescuing people at Xiping Third Middle School. Provincial leaders ordered a thorough investigation of the collapse and post-disaster reconstruction projects, and Dong was put in charge of the probe.

• Dong Xuebin returned to the office despite Zhan Guiping's advice that he rest longer, and Luo Haiting told him she had worried about him.
• He Suien praised Dong at a department meeting for reporting the problems at Xiping Third Middle School and saving colleagues during the building collapse.
• Dong thanked the provincial and city leaders for their recognition and delivered formal remarks to the assembled officials.
• He Suien told the Standing Committee that provincial leaders had ordered a thorough investigation of the school collapse and all post-disaster reconstruction projects.
• Zhan Guiping proposed that Discipline Inspection and Supervision Office One lead the investigation, and He Suien assigned Dong to take charge.

Dong Xuebin questioned supplier Song Fei about the collapsed Xiping Third Middle School building and used a signed meeting document to trick him into confessing. Song Fei implicated Deputy District Governor Chu and admitted cutting costs on construction materials, while Dong Xuebin’s team continued its investigation.

• Dong Xuebin assigned his staff to investigate suspected officials and gather evidence, uniting the office behind him after he had risked his life to save Liu Hanqing.
• Luo Haiting reported that Song Fei’s company had supplied materials for the collapsed school building, and Dong Xuebin arranged for the Public Security Bureau to bring Song Fei in for questioning.
• Song Fei denied involving local officials, so Dong Xuebin warned that his company would face inspections and severe consequences if he stayed silent.
• Luo Haiting let Song Fei glimpse a signed document, which he mistook for Deputy District Governor Chu’s testimony, and Dong Xuebin ordered the questioning to end.
• Song Fei panicked and confessed that he had bribed Deputy District Governor Chu with 200,000 yuan and used substandard materials to make up for the low payment he received.
• After Song Fei signed his confession, Dong Xuebin revealed that the document had only been a meeting paper and that he had deliberately used Song Fei’s assumption to make him talk.

Dong Xuebin’s investigation implicated Deputy District Governor Chu and led him to suspect that Secretary Song had warned Chu before the Third Middle School building collapsed. Chu was brought in and admitted to receiving a call about Feng Jie’s inspection, but he denied that it contained any other warning.

• Dong Xuebin ordered Liu Hanqing to bring Deputy District Governor Chu to the Disciplinary Inspection Commission after Song Fei implicated him in taking bribes.
• Dong Xuebin learned from Xie Huilan that Feng Jie remained a strong candidate for the Standing Committee position despite the school collapse.
• Dong Xuebin checked Chu’s phone records, found an eight-minute call from Feng Jie’s secretary, Secretary Song, and ordered Zhu Zhu to summon him.
• An unidentified caller warned Chu to say as little as possible, especially about the call from Secretary Song, before Liu Hanqing took Chu to the Commission.
• Dong Xuebin questioned Chu about the bribe and the call; Chu stayed silent about the bribe, said Secretary Song had only given him Feng Jie’s inspection itinerary, and Dong Xuebin ended the questioning.

Dong Xuebin used a staged interrogation to make Deputy District Governor Chu believe Secretary Song had betrayed him, prompting Chu to confess that Song had relayed Deputy Mayor Feng Jie's instructions about the Third Middle School Teaching Building. Dong submitted the preliminary investigation report to Zhan Guiping, who accepted the result but warned him not to use such tactics again.

• Luo Haiting and Xiao Zhang pretended to question Secretary Song, leading Deputy District Governor Chu to believe Song was blaming him for the case.
• Chu returned to Dong Xuebin and confessed that Song had told him to remove the substandard materials at the Third Middle School Teaching Building, citing Deputy Mayor Feng's intentions.
• Dong had Chu write down his testimony, then revealed that the apparent questioning of Secretary Song had been a staged trap.
• Dong compiled the investigation findings and delivered the preliminary report to Zhan Guiping.
• Zhan Guiping confronted Dong about his deceptive methods, let them pass under the circumstances, and warned him not to repeat them.

Dong Xuebin finished investigating corruption in Xiping District and learned that Xie Huilan had joined the Fenzhou City Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee. After dinner, the newly promoted couple celebrated at home, and the chapter ended with them in bed.

• Dong Xuebin told Xie Huilan that Song Fei, Deputy District Governor Chu, and other officials had faced investigation or discipline, and that Vice Mayor Feng had been criticized and warned.
• Dong Xuebin said his rescue work and investigation had earned him merit, while Xie Huilan praised his performance and fed him a bite of food.
• Xie Huilan revealed that she had officially joined the Fenzhou City Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee and would assist the mayor with personnel and staffing.
• Dong Xuebin congratulated Xie Huilan and said her appointment was a promotion in influence, even though her rank had not changed.
• After dinner, Dong Xuebin and Xie Huilan discussed her pregnancy, then went to the bedroom to celebrate her appointment.

Dong Xuebin and Xie Huilan visited Mayor Zhong and Madam Chen to offer belated New Year’s greetings and strengthen their relationship after Xie Huilan’s promotion to the Standing Committee. Madam Chen finally met the much-discussed Dong Xuebin and found him surprisingly ordinary.

• Dong Xuebin woke late on Saturday, and Xie Huilan told him they would visit Mayor Zhong and his wife for dinner.
• Xie Huilan and Dong Xuebin brought gifts to Mayor Zhong’s home, where officials along the way congratulated Xie Huilan on her promotion.
• Mayor Zhong and Madam Chen welcomed the couple, and the four chatted comfortably as they built closer ties.
• Madam Chen praised Dong Xuebin’s rescue efforts and daring reputation, then privately concluded that he seemed utterly ordinary.

Dong Xuebin learned that the Discipline Inspection Committee would send out inspection teams and was appointed to lead the third team. His unprecedented appointment surprised his colleagues as he prepared to inspect two counties on the outskirts of Fenzhou City.

• Gao Wenrong informed Dong Xuebin that the Discipline Inspection Committee would hold an afternoon meeting about forming inspection teams.
• At lunch, Zhong Zhengwei offered to recommend Dong Xuebin to lead a team, and Dong Xuebin realized he had a real chance at the appointment.
• At the meeting, Secretary He assigned Xiao Bin to lead Team One and Zhan Guiping to lead Team Two.
• Secretary He appointed Dong Xuebin to lead Inspection Team Three, responsible for two outlying counties, surprising the officials present.

Dong Xuebin traveled to Ma Yang County ahead of an inspection and unexpectedly reunited with his high school classmates Pang Shuo and Du Juan, who now held deputy section-level posts there. Over dinner, he learned that the county was preparing for the City Discipline Inspection Committee’s inspection the next day, without realizing that he was leading the team.

• Dong Xuebin left home early after saying goodbye to Xie Huilan and drove to Ma Yang County to inspect the area before his team arrived.
• At a restaurant, Dong Xuebin ran into Pang Shuo and Du Juan, his former high school classmates, and joined them for a meal.
• Pang Shuo and Du Juan told Dong Xuebin about their civil service careers and their new deputy section-level positions in Ma Yang County.
• Pang Shuo offered to help Dong Xuebin find work locally, assuming Dong Xuebin was a company employee earning just over four thousand a month.
• Pang Shuo and Du Juan complained that the county was preparing to receive an inspection team from the City Discipline Inspection Committee the next day, and Dong Xuebin realized they were talking about his team.

Dong Xuebin led a City Discipline Inspection Committee inspection team into Ma Yang County and rejected the county officials’ elaborate welcome, driving straight past them. The team left the officials waiting as they began their inspection.

• Pang Shuo invited Dong Xuebin to a class reunion that evening at Ma Yang Hotel.
• Dong Xuebin drove around Ma Yang County and saw local offices and businesses preparing for the inspection.
• Liao Huaxiong and the other inspection team members arrived, and Dong Xuebin decided they would survey the county before visiting departments the next day.
• The team found County Party Secretary Sun Yitao and other officials waiting beneath a welcome banner, though they had not announced their arrival.
• Dong Xuebin ordered the cars to drive past the welcoming officials, leaving Sun Yitao, Du Juan, and the others stunned.

Dong Xuebin attended a high school class reunion during his inspection visit to Ma Yang County, where his classmates learned that he was among the City Discipline Inspection Committee leaders. The reunion continued as the county officials remained anxious about the inspection.

• Dong Xuebin checked into the Ma Yang Hotel with his inspection team and waited outside for his high school reunion.
• Dong Xuebin greeted his classmates, who noticed his changed bearing but mostly left him out of their conversations.
• Pang Shuo and Du Juan arrived, and the classmates entered a private room after seeing the banner welcoming the City Discipline Inspection Committee leaders.
• Pang Shuo treated the classmates to dinner, while Dong Xuebin took a seat at the far end of the table.
• Luo Haiting called Dong Xuebin about County Party Secretary Sun Yitao's invitation, and Dong Xuebin told the inspection team to dine with him without drinking.
• Pang Shuo told the classmates that Ma Yang County was on edge because the inspection team intended to uncover problems.

Dong Xuebin attended a class reunion where his former classmates discussed their jobs and status, then watched them prepare to surrender their private room to county officials hosting city leaders. He challenged Director Wang’s order to make them leave.

• Du Juan described how Inspection Team Three had ignored the county leaders’ welcome and refused their offers of assistance.
• Dong Xuebin told his classmates that he earned a little over four thousand, and their interest in him quickly faded.
• Director Wang entered and demanded that Pang Shuo and Du Juan’s group clear the room for the County Party Secretary’s dinner with city leaders.
• Pang Shuo agreed to leave, but Dong Xuebin stayed seated and asked Director Wang who he was to order them out.

Dong Xuebin refused to give up his private room when Director Wang tried to clear it for County Party Secretary Sun Yitao and visiting city leaders. When Sun Yitao recognized Dong Xuebin, he reprimanded Director Wang and greeted Dong Xuebin warmly, leaving Dong’s old classmates stunned.

• Dong Xuebin challenged Director Wang’s demand that he and his classmates leave the private room.
• Pang Shuo and Du Juan tried to smooth things over and urged Dong Xuebin to leave, but he stayed seated.
• Sun Yitao arrived, and Pang Shuo and Du Juan agreed to vacate the room for him and the visiting city leaders.
• Dong Xuebin refused to leave and questioned whether Sun Yitao’s position exempted him from acting reasonably.
• Sun Yitao recognized Dong Xuebin, scolded Director Wang for his behavior, and introduced himself to Dong Xuebin with a warm handshake.

At a high school reunion, Dong Xuebin confronted a county official who tried to force his group out of their reserved room, and County Party Secretary Sun Yitao arrived and recognized him. After the county officials learned Dong Xuebin was leading the city inspection team, they treated him with deference, and his classmates resumed the meal with a new understanding of his position.

• Director Wang tried to make Dong Xuebin and his classmates leave their reserved private room before they had finished eating.
• Sun Yitao greeted Dong Xuebin, criticized Director Wang, and urged him to apologize.
• Sun Yitao introduced Dong Xuebin as a city Discipline Inspection Committee director and inspection team leader, leaving Director Wang and the other county officials stunned.
• Director Wang drank two more glasses to apologize, while the county officials greeted Dong Xuebin.
• Dong Xuebin apologized to Pang Shuo and Du Juan for not revealing his role in the inspection, then sat with Pang Shuo at the head of the table.
• The classmates finished their meal, and the waitress said Sun Yitao had already paid the bill.

Dong Xuebin told his old classmates Pang Shuo and Du Juan about his rapid rise and the enemies he had made, while they wondered why county officials treated him with such deference. Director Li revealed that Dong Xuebin’s wife was a standing committee member and deputy mayor of Fenzhou City, leaving Pang Shuo and Du Juan stunned by the influence behind him.

• Dong Xuebin told Pang Shuo and Du Juan that he had risen through his achievements but had badly offended Fenzhou City Party Secretary Wan.
• Pang Shuo and Du Juan wondered why county officials had shown Dong Xuebin such unusual respect and worried whether refusing them a room would cause trouble.
• Director Li invited Pang Shuo and Du Juan into a room and said Secretary Sun wanted them to look after Director Dong during the inspection.
• Director Li told them that Dong Xuebin’s wife was a deputy mayor of Fenzhou City and a standing committee member.

Dong Xuebin’s Inspection Team found minor issues during its morning visits, then made an unannounced inspection of Ma Yang County’s Tourism Bureau. They discovered idle staff and Deputy Director Liu Haibin apparently alone with a young woman in his office, and Dong led the team away after confronting him.

• Dong Xuebin led the Inspection Team through several county departments, pointed out minor problems, and accepted the officials’ promises to correct them.
• Dong Xuebin chose to inspect the Tourism Bureau without notifying its leaders, and the county officials accompanied the team without knowing its destination.
• At the Tourism Bureau, Dong Xuebin and the others encountered thick cigarette smoke and found staff chatting, snacking, and playing games instead of working.
• Dong Xuebin went upstairs with the team and ordered Zhu Zhu and Fei Fan to knock on the bureau leaders’ office doors despite Deputy County Chief Zhang’s excuses.
• A young woman hurried out of Deputy Director Liu Haibin’s office with her clothes disheveled, and Liu then greeted the inspection team as if nothing had happened.
• Dong Xuebin refused Liu Haibin’s handshake, remarked on the bureau’s conduct, and led the team away to continue its inspection.