Chapter 112: Secret Conversation

Song Qi glanced at the dark circles under Long Yue Zhi’s eyes.

Then, his gaze shifted to Jing Xi, who was sitting nearby. He gave Long Yue Zhi a look, silently asking if they needed to switch to a different room.

Long Yue Zhi considered it for a few seconds before nodding.

Jing Xi had already sensed that the two had something to discuss. Before Long Yue Zhi could say anything, she stood up and said, “I’ll head out first. You two talk.”

Then, as if escaping, she quickly left.

She even thoughtfully closed the door behind her.

Only after confirming that Jing Xi’s footsteps had completely faded did Song Qi speak in a low voice, one only the two of them could hear.

“You suspect someone deliberately caused this accident?”

“Yes, I suspect…”

=====

After stepping out, Jing Xi went straight downstairs to find Liang Chen.

Yu Er and a few others were standing guard at the staircase entrance, preventing anyone from entering and disturbing Long Yue Zhi.

To one side of Yu Er, Hu Wei and Zhang Sheng were engaged in conversation with the military officer.

On the other side, Quan Jia and his wife stood with a few of their attendants, along with several of the mine’s lower-level leaders.

Both Quan Zhiwen and Xu Jin looked displeased.

The moment Xu Jin saw Jing Xi walking out of the heavily guarded building, she immediately lost her temper.

“Why can she go in, but I can’t? I want to see Long Yue Zhi!”

Yu Er remained polite but firmly blocked her path.

“Miss Xu, I’m truly sorry, but Fourth Master has given strict orders that while he is speaking with Commander Song, no one is allowed to enter and disturb them.”

Xu Jin snapped, “Then why was she allowed inside?”

Yu Er glanced back.

“She…”

Before he could finish, Jing Xi quickly cut in.

“I just went in to use the bathroom, and then Long Yue Zhi kicked me out.”

Xu Jin scowled. “Then I want to use the bathroom too. This building doesn’t belong to Long Yue Zhi alone!”

Yu Er remained composed. “Miss Xu, if you need to use the restroom, there’s one right here on the first floor. No need to go up to the third.”

Standing beside her, Quan Zhiwen—whether out of concern for his wife or simply to de-escalate the situation—gently took Xu Jin’s hand.

“Forget it. Let Fourth handle his business first. It’s probably something important. We can wait a little longer.”

Xu Jin exchanged glances with Quan Zhiwen.

She then shot a fierce glare at Jing Xi, rolling her eyes and muttering a curse under her breath before following Quan Zhiwen to rest in their car.

Jing Xi couldn’t help but think—Xu Jin was like a brainless, fire-spewing creature that could explode at any moment, while Quan Zhiwen was her personal fire extinguisher.

Every time Xu Jin threw a tantrum, Quan Zhiwen stepped in, and her anger would immediately dissipate.

It happened so often that sometimes Jing Xi suspected the two were just putting on an act as a married couple.

She pretended not to hear Xu Jin’s complaints and turned her attention to the military medical team treating the injured miners.

As expected from the military—fast, efficient, and highly organized.

In no time, they had treated and stabilized the wounded. Those needing bandages were bandaged, those needing disinfection were disinfected, and those requiring hospitalization were swiftly transported.

They even conducted thorough health checks on the other survivors.

Nearby, a few reporters were conducting interviews.

One male reporter approached a middle-aged miner.

“Comrade, hello. I’m a journalist from the local television station. How are you feeling right now? Do you have any physical discomfort?”

A young miner with a broken arm, his face streaked with both tears and snot, choked out, “I was scared to death! I thought I was about to meet the King of Hell! I never imagined I’d actually make it out alive!”

The reporter asked again, “What were you thinking about during those more than twenty hours underground?”

“We wanted to get out! We thought about our parents, our wives, our children—everything!”

The male reporter continued, “Can you describe what exactly happened down there? How did you manage to endure those twenty-plus hours?”

“At first, we were just working as usual. Then, our squad leader told us the lift had broken down. Well, if it’s broken, it has to be fixed, right? We didn’t think too much of it at the time. But later, we heard loud noises coming from the entrance, and we could even feel the ground shaking. We all rushed out to check and saw that the upper section had collapsed. The entrance was completely buried, and a few people who didn’t make it out in time were trapped underneath. The squad leader tried to contact the surface, but no matter what we did, we couldn’t get through…”

As Jing Xi listened to the man’s account, she noticed something peculiar.

If Long Yue Zhi’s suspicions were correct, then—

The elevator might have been deliberately sabotaged, and the collapse might not have been an accident either…

The reporter moved on to interview another person, this time a young man who looked to be in his twenties. He was thin, over 1.75 meters tall, and his face was covered in black coal dust.

However, his eyes were strikingly bright, without a trace of fear.

When he saw the reporter approaching with a camera, the young man quickly covered his face and turned away.

The female reporter asked, “Comrade, may I interview you?”

The young man shook his head without turning around and pointed to the person next to him. “Interview him instead.”

Then, without another word, he turned and walked away.

Jing Xi watched him go and smiled to herself. This guy seems pretty introverted.

A few seconds later, as the young man turned back to take a sip of water, he accidentally revealed a portion of a black tattoo on his back.

Jing Xi’s eyes narrowed—there was something familiar about that tattoo. She felt like she had seen it somewhere before.

She looked at his face again, particularly his eyes.

Had she met him before?

Maybe at a bun shop?

No, that’s impossible. This is South Town, not North Town.

As she wrestled with her thoughts, more and more people in the mining compound began gathering in front of the main office building.

Hu Wei and Zhang Sheng stood among the crowd, addressing everyone—right in front of the military officers and television crews. They promised that the mining company would provide answers to the public regarding:

1. The cause of the accident.
2. The handling of the situation.
3. The measures taken for remediation.
4. The compensation plans for the victims and their families.

Before Hu Wei spoke, he whispered a few words to Quan Zhiwen.

Then, he publicly assured everyone that compensation for the victims would be finalized within a week.

Once the speech concluded, the families and workers slowly dispersed.

The mining company arranged shuttle buses to transport people home.

An hour later, most of the people had left.

Only then did Song Qi and Long Yue Zhi emerge from the office building.

Long Yue Zhi glanced at Xu Jin and Quan Zhiwen.

Song Qi walked straight up to the group. “The higher-ups are paying close attention to this incident. Therefore, this mining area will temporarily be taken over by the military, working in coordination with the local police.”

“In addition, all mine management personnel must report to their posts by 8 a.m. tomorrow. Our unit will be conducting a thorough investigation.”

“Lastly, effective immediately, all mining operations are suspended. All entrances to the mine are to be sealed off. Any personnel unrelated to the investigation must evacuate at once.”

Song Qi’s voice was firm and commanding, sending chills down the spines of several people.

Quan Zhiwen immediately stepped forward, attempting to shake hands with Song Qi. However, Song Qi didn’t move.

“Sir, may I ask your name? Also, if the military is taking over this mine, shouldn’t there be official documentation? Please understand, I’m not questioning your authority, but as a shareholder of this mining company—”

Song Qi shot him a glance.

It seemed casual.

But that single look made Quan Zhiwen’s hair stand on end.

This was the aura of a man who had been to war and taken lives.

This was the condescending gaze of a high-ranking individual who had seen and experienced much more than him.

Quan Zhiwen instinctively took a step back.

His scalp tingled with fear.

This was someone he absolutely could not afford to offend.

Without a word, Song Qi signaled to Xu Chen with his eyes. Xu Chen stepped forward immediately, took out a document, and said, “Please review this.”

The first person to read it was Long Yue Zhi.

Then, Quan Zhiwen and Xu Jin.

After that, Zhang Sheng and Hu Wei.

Finally, Xu Chen posted the document on the public bulletin board.

Now, everyone could see it clearly.

Zhang Sheng shook hands with Song Qi. “I’ve heard a lot about you! I feel reassured leaving this matter in your hands. The public security bureau will fully cooperate as well. Hopefully, we can get to the bottom of this soon and provide the people with an explanation!”

Song Qi gave a brief handshake, his expression unreadable. “Secretary Zhang, you’re too kind.”