stonecrandall Chapter 61 A Widespread Online Blackout: Let the Bullets Fly for a While
Chapter 61 A Widespread Online Blackout: Let the Bullets Fly for a While
At 3 a.m., the nightlife in Jingzhou had just ended, but the online revelry was just beginning.
Several meticulously edited videos spread like wildfire across major social media platforms, short video apps, and forums. The videos were deliberately aged in quality, shaky, and paired with eerie filters and rapid background music, making them highly provocative.
Video 1: Demolition site of Dafeng Factory. In the video, Qi Tongwei points at a group of elderly workers in tattered overalls, seemingly holding a gun handle, his mouth moving as if he's roaring. Caption: "Jingzhou Public Security Bureau Chief Threatens Workers Demanding Unpaid Wages with a Gun—Is This What They Call Public Servants?"
Video 2: A private room in a nightclub. Qi Tongwei kicks a customer, sending him flying, then grabs the man's hair and slams his head against the coffee table. The video abruptly ends, with no context or explanation. The caption reads: "Police brutality or gang fight? Police chief assaults man at brothel late at night!"
Video 3: The interrogation room. The truck driver, terrified and wetting his pants, is howling. Qi Tongwei, with his back to the camera, is fiddling with a lighter, his shadow stretching long like a demon. Caption: "Terrifying Interrogation! No lawyers, no legal procedures—is this rule of law or rule of man?"
In less than two hours, these three videos topped the trending search list.
The comments section was in an uproar, with paid commenters and uninformed netizens alike going wild.
"This is the 'tiger-slaying hero'? I think he's more like a 'vicious tiger'!"
"This is terrifying! How could someone like him become the bureau chief? Investigate him! This must be a thorough investigation!"
"I can tell from the expensive watch on his wrist that he's a corrupt official."
"I feel so sorry for that driver. He was terrified. Was this a case of being tortured into giving a confession?"
Jingzhou Public Security Bureau, Director's Office.
Zhao Donglai, sporting two large dark circles under his eyes, paced anxiously around the room, almost wearing through the carpet.
"Director Qi! How can you still have the appetite for breakfast?" Zhao Donglai looked at Qi Tongwei, who was sitting on the sofa slowly peeling an egg, his throat almost hoarse. "The outside world is in an uproar! The Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department even called me, asking what's going on. And the Provincial Department's Inspection Team said they're sending people down to investigate."
Qi Tongwei put the peeled egg into his mouth, took a sip of hot soy milk, and then wiped his hands with a tissue.
"What's the rush?" Qi Tongwei picked up the remote control, turned on the wall-mounted TV, and tuned it to the Jingzhou News Channel.
On television, several so-called "legal experts" were spitting as they spoke vehemently in a studio, condemning the harm of this "brutal law enforcement" and calling on relevant departments to immediately suspend the bureau chief involved.
"These people are really good at acting." Qi Tongwei leaned back on the sofa, his face showing no sign of panic. Instead, he seemed to be watching a farce. "Zhao Xiaohui's 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' tactic is pretty smooth. She's using public opinion to muddy the waters, so I don't have the energy to investigate her messy affairs. If she can also take my job, she'll be even more at ease."
"Then what should we do? Issue a statement to refute the rumors?" Zhao Donglai asked.
"Issuing a statement now would be like jumping into a fire pit. People will say it's 'official whitewashing,' and it will only make things worse." Qi Tongwei stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the dozens of reporters with cameras and microphones gathered outside the main entrance downstairs. "Let's wait a bit longer."
"What are you waiting for?"
"Let the dust settle." Qi Tongwei straightened his police uniform collar, his tone calm. "The harsher the insults now, the louder the repercussions will be when they come back to haunt us. By the way, has the cyber police branch made any arrangements?"
"All arranged, everyone on standby, currently tracking those first-release IPs."
"Remember, don't alert them. I'm going to wipe out this whole nest of rats."
……
The Office of the Secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.
Li Dakang stared at the public opinion report on his tablet, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. He slammed his teacup down on the table, splashing water all over it.
"This is utter nonsense! Utter nonsense!" Li Dakang yelled at the propaganda minister standing in front of him, pointing at the trending topic on the screen. "Only a few hours have passed? Tens of millions of views! What about Jingzhou's image? What about the environment for attracting investment?"
"Secretary Dakang, we also want to remove it from the trending topics, but this momentum is too strong. It's clearly an organized online army pushing it." The propaganda minister wiped his sweat. "And... and many influential bloggers are reposting it. We're under a lot of pressure."
"Where's Qi Tongwei? What's he doing?" Li Dakang paced back and forth in his office, hands behind his back. "Such a big thing happened, and instead of coming out to explain, he's playing the coward!"
"Director Qi's line is constantly busy."
Li Dakang irritably unbuttoned his shirt collar. While he admired Qi Tongwei's drive, his uncontrollable tendency to cause trouble also gave him a headache. This was a critical time; Secretary Sha Ruijin had just arrived in Handong, and if such a major scandal broke out in Jingzhou, he, as the top leader, would lose face.
"Pass down the notice: a press conference will be held at 2 PM this afternoon." Li Dakang gritted his teeth. "If Qi Tongwei can't provide a reasonable explanation, suspend him from his duties and let him reflect on his actions! We can't let one person ruin the overall situation in Jingzhou!"
……
Deep within a courtyard with red walls and yellow tiles in Beijing.
The early autumn sun shone through the ginkgo leaves into the courtyard, where a prized Persian cat was basking in the sun on a stone table.
Ye Cunxin sat cross-legged on the old rosewood daybed, holding a new tablet computer in her hand, her brows furrowing more and more tightly.
Instead of her usual structured windbreaker, she wore a loose-fitting off-white cashmere sweater with a wide neckline, revealing one of her rounded, fair shoulders and delicate, deep collarbones. She paired it with tight-fitting dark gray yoga pants that breathtakingly accentuated the lines of her long legs—thighs firm and strong, calves slender and long—and casually slipped on a pair of thick-soled, fluffy slippers.
Her hair was casually tied into a bun, with a few wisps of hair hanging down beside her ears. Her face, free of makeup, was rosy and had a charmingly innocent look, but her big eyes were burning with fire.
"Outrageous!" Ye Cunxin threw the tablet computer onto the bed, startling the Persian cat, which meowed and scurried up a tree.
"Have these people no shame?" Ye Cunxin's chest heaved with anger, her loose sweater unable to conceal her alluring curves. "It was clearly Brother Qi who rescued those workers and arrested the drug dealers, so how did they turn him into a criminal gang?"
Growing up in a military compound, she couldn't stand such dirty tricks as stabbing someone in the back. That day in Guichou Gorge on the southwestern border, if it weren't for Qi Tongwei's earth-shattering shot, she would have been a victim of drug lords long ago. The broad, kind back of that man carrying her through the minefield still frequently appears in her dreams.
"Those are heroes! How can we let heroes bleed and weep?"
Ye Cunxin jumped out of bed, barefoot on the thick carpet, and pulled a red encrypted phone out of her bag.
She thought for a moment and then dialed a number.
"Hello, Third Uncle." Ye Cunxin's voice immediately became sweet and cloying, with a hint of coquetry and a touch of the domineering nature unique to the little princess of the Ye family. "It's me, Cunxin. Oh, I'm doing great, and Grandpa is in good health too... I want to ask you for a favor."
Um... I noticed something odd about the news online today, especially about Qi Tongwei from Handong. Yes, the policeman who saved me.
Someone is spreading rumors! ...Aren't you going to do anything about it? That's a hero of our public security system. If a few scoundrels spill dirty water on him, who will dare to risk their lives on the front lines in the future?
"Alright! I knew my third uncle loved me the most! Now I'll wait and see what the People's Daily and CCTV say!"
After hanging up the phone, Ye Cunxin snorted, picked up her tablet again, and looked at the blurry but still handsome photo of Qi Tongwei on the screen, a beautiful smile curving her lips.
"Brother Qi, you owe me a favor."