"Glaring at won't do any good." Consort Ling said through the rearview mirror to Xia Xue. Compared to Xiao Lin's anger, this glaring woman posed no threat. "My job is to ensure your safety, and right now my judgnt is that you cannot go down there."
"Ugh! Damn Ling Fei, are you using your boss to suppress now?" Xia Xue, fueled by a bit of alcohol, shouted at Consort Ling. Lian helplessly grabbed her, worried she'd start a fight in the car with Ling Fei. The two seed to be enemies; whenever there was a gap, they'd start bickering endlessly. Xia Xue was no match for Ling Fei, winning half a match out of ten was already a miracle—those were matches Ling Fei wasn't serious about.
"Ling Fei is right, if you go out now, Yao Zheng will definitely use you as a pawn. This situation reeks of manipulation." Lian looked outside through the car window. Yao Zheng was still trying to calm the agitated crowd, while Secretary Li was maintaining order with the security guards.
"Is that really the case? Lian, do you think so too?" In terms of strategic thinking, Xia Xue admitted she was no match for Lian, who held the title of Military Advisor in Dragon Soul and could see things more specifically.
"Let's see the situation first. Us not going out won't change the situation, Yao Zheng naturally won't let these people delay him for long." Lian coldly laughed. Although she didn't know why Xiao Lin and the others ca to the North District, their purpose seed directly related to the district chief. So before coming, she used so connections to investigate Yao Zheng, and her instincts told her there was sothing wrong with this person.
Yao Zheng saw Xia Xue's car parked in front of his without any intention of getting out, while the number of people in front seed to increase. "Everyone, please quiet down and listen to ! Listen to !" Just short of using a gaphone to shout, the three won in the car found it funny with the urge to burst into laughter.
"The district will certainly solve your difficulties. Rest assured, making a fuss like this won't solve the problem."
"Then when will you give us an answer?"
"Yeah, we rely on this shop for survival, and now it's gone. What are we supposed to eat?"
"When can we get compensation? We don't even have a place to stay now."
The barrage of questions below made Yao Zheng's head throb, the alcohol from noon already worn off considerably. "Everyone, go back. The city council has sent investors, and your gathering here severely disrupts their inspection ti. It's your own delay; the loss is already caused, we're now trying to solve difficulties, right?"
"We've heard words like this many tis, give us sothing concrete!" A voice erged from nowhere, reigniting the extinguished emotions.
"See that man over there?" Lian pointed to the person who just spoke.
"A clown-like role, these people are used to incite emotions, dangerous elents." Consort Ling observed the surroundings through the side mirrors. "Look to your right, there's a blue sedan."
Lian looked to the location guided by Consort Ling, listening to a blue van on her right. The car appeared innocuous to her, but had different significance in Consort Ling's eyes.
"This vehicle stopped after us, ti and position perfectly matching."
"That doesn't prove anything?" Xia Xue didn't understand why Consort Ling paid so much attention to that car, to her it was just an ordinary vehicle. Consort Ling sneered, prompting a glare from Xia Xue.
"Let explain." Lian focused on the vehicle. "Normal cars wouldn't stop in such situations, would speed up and leave. Even spectators wouldn't linger for so long, and moreover, this car uses tinted glass without reflection, making it difficult to see clearly."
"You can deduce so much from just one car! Professionalism is professionalism." Xia Xue couldn't tell if it was admiration or jealousy, pouting while watching Yao Zheng still occupied, though the crowd seed to disperse quite a bit, probably due to so promises.
"Yao Zheng is coming; get ready." Consort Ling unlocked the doors, while the blue van beside them showed no intention of leaving, nor had anyone gotten out.
Fingertips lightly tapped the window, Secretary Li's face enlarged before them. Consort Ling rolled down the window. "District Chief Yao asks you to co over."
"Alright, we'll be right there."
"Be careful."
"I think you're the one who needs to be careful." Lian intentionally said this, already guessing Consort Ling's intention. "As we watch them, they watch us."
Consort Ling shrugged, she contemplated going over to check, but as Secretary Li approached, that car drove forward, unseen by Lian who had turned around.
The partially dispersed crowd left a small group gathered together, mostly residents from the area. They discussed the reason for the sudden fire in Beigong, with various theories, yet actual personnel involved were scarce.
Xia Xue looked at the burnt-black buildings on the surface, with affected shops concentrated at Beigong's entrance. However, one question she couldn't resolve was whether Beigong was a small storefront or if the entire area was called Beigong.
"Minister Shen, looking at the building status here, shouldn't these belong to illegal constructions? They aren't on the blueprints." Lian donned her glasses, mories of the scene flowing in her mind. Beigong shouldn't be just this small storefront; could there be sothing hidden here?
"You'll know when you co in with ." Shen Yixing didn't explain but led them inside the small storefront.
On an empty lot were burnt black marks and smoke stains, with wood fras on the ground partially turned to charcoal, so partially scattered around. Shen Yixing stepped over the ssy piles and onto the bridge pier, "These were left by archaeology students before."
"Archaeology?" For Shen Yixing's words, several people expressed doubt; what could be researched here?
"Yes, this trench below my feet is claid to trace back to intangible cultural heritage from a thousand years ago." It was hard to tell if his words carried sarcasm or if that was his inherent tone. Xia Xue also climbed onto the bridge pier, gazing down.
"It's really deep here!" Xia Xue exclaid, staring into a pitch-black void. Lian followed to look down, seeing that beyond the bridge surface was the true appearance of Beigong.
"This is Beigong, right!" From where they entered was only a passage, with a trench in the middle and a bridge leading to the flat ground. Ahead, in this two or three-ter open area, was a fan-like sheltered building, behind which should be a lake. "Based on the blueprint area, half of Beigong is built on the central lake, correct?"
"Correct."
"In its establishnt, Beigong likely consulted Feng Shui experts on the terrain. The illegal structures at the front were intentional, right?" Lian walked around the open area, from Beigong's entrance to the outermost buildings; it was four or five ters' distance. This was now rubble, and judging from the fire, to affect the outermost buildings, the ground should have been scorched completely, and not just the few shops in the middle, but the whole area.
There were burn marks on the storefront, but the air's direction of fire spread was incorrect. Could fire control its direction? Walking out of the passage, igniting the surrounding shops, but not interested in the back of the fan-shaped illegal structures? There must be so hidden secrets here.
Shen Yixing observed Lian's quiet attention on the illegal buildings in front, puzzled by her lack of reaction to the terrain needing assessnt.
"Beigong's area is quite broad, do you guys have any ideas?" Yao Zheng approached Xia Xue, noticed her hesitation whether to delve deeper, and called out to her.
"This matter relies on my assistant's opinion; I absolutely trust her architectural vision." Xia Xue repeated, leaving all investnt possibilities to Lian, fully expressing her trust. If Lian didn't nod, there was no hope—that's what she intended to convey.
"So Miss Lian, do you see reconstruction potential here?" Yao Zheng ran into a snag; breaking through Xia Xue might not be easy.
"Let take so site photos and study the damage extent first, but reconstructing a hotel is unlikely." Lian took photos from various angles, capturing the fan-shaped building.
"How did the fire start here?" She pushed up her glasses, puzzled.
"The cause is still under investigation; it might be a gas leak or other reasons, no definitive results yet." Yao Zheng followed behind, slowly explaining.
"North District's drainage pipes are extrely old, if the system isn't updated, how can this vast building complex cope with rainwater accumulation during rainy seasons? This should also be near the slum center, right?"
"This..." Shen Yixing hesitated, unable to answer.
"How about this, District Chief Yao, if possible, we'd like to consult the architects behind this place. If the drainage system could be addressed, maybe the partnership could be hopeful." Lian offered Yao Zheng a smile for the first ti, which temporarily srized him. "President, let's go, nothing interesting left, all burnt down."
"I'll escort you!" (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to visit Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndation tickets, monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)
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