Morning.
Seven thirty.
A sedan slowly pulled up and stopped in the hotel's open-air parking lot. Deputy Mayor Hua Li stepped out, frowning as he took out his phone and made a call. Beep, beep, beep, beep. Director of the Meiyang District Investment Bureau Lu Weiguo's phone went unanswered.
That Old Lu!
What the hell was he doing?
What time was it already? He would not even answer his phone?
Hua Li's expression was grim. Normally, it would have been one thing, but this was during the Investment Conference. The city had long stipulated that all active Investment Bureau civil servants had to keep their phones on and reachable twenty-four hours a day during the conference, let alone Lu Weiguo, the Top Leader. Yet Hua Li had been calling since before he left, and Director Lu's phone had remained unanswered. Mayor Hua's secretary had also called several other Municipal Investment Bureau officials beside him, with the same result. Aside from one person whose phone was switched off, everyone else simply did not answer. One person was understandable, but none of the Municipal Investment personnel could be reached? What the hell did that mean? What were they all doing?
After getting out of the car.
Hua Li snapped, "Still can't get through?"
The secretary gave an uneasy nod. "The Top Leaders of the Investment Bureaus in the other districts and counties can't be reached either."
Hua Li slammed the car door shut. "Did they all vanish off the face of the earth?"
The secretary blinked. "Uh, could they have drunk too much last night?"
Hua Li knew about last night's dinner. "How much could they possibly have drunk? How could not a single one of them get up? Keep calling! Call until they answer!"
The secretary and several municipal staff members