Evening.
Chenggang County.
Hotel room.
Dong Xuebin sat alone on the sofa, drinking and eating. The television at the foot of the bed was broadcasting the news, and he had been watching it closely. Yet the news segment had already begun, but Chenggang County Television Station had not reported the afternoon's events at all—not even a mention. Dong Xuebin shook his head helplessly, took a sip from his glass, then changed the channel to Meihe City's news station.
The moment he switched channels, the news came on.
The footage showed the Chenggang County Party Committee Office Building, now reduced to ruins.
The rather plain-looking female anchor said, "It has been learned that at around two o'clock this afternoon, an Office Building collapse occurred in Chenggang County. This was a County Party Committee and county government Office Building. As construction had not yet been completed, there were no staff inside at the time. The specific cause of the accident is still under investigation."
That was all. There was nothing else.
Dong Xuebin watched for a while longer before turning off the television. He knew he would not get any information from it, so he decided to make a call. But when he took out his phone, he discovered that its battery was dead. He had no idea when it had run out. He had come in a hurry this time and had not brought a charger. He tried using the hotel phone, but it seemed able to make only internal calls, not external ones. Dong Xuebin could only get dressed and head downstairs, where he found a public phone. After thinking it over, he ultimately called Li Xiaona, County Chief Jiang's secretary. He had originally wanted to ask Yao Cui, but Cui'er had only become his secretary after he took office,