Extreme Almightiest Young Master

Chapter 146: Now It’s a Big Deal

"Can’t you two just calm down for a moment? I’ve already reported this to Mayor Leng, so you’d better handle it yourselves!" As soon as Xu Mingtao opened the door, he scolded them angrily. So much noise! Let’s see what you’ll do when the leaders arrive. All you do is argue here; what problem can that solve?

"What? Already reported to Mayor Leng?" Zhou Yang heard this and appeared very surprised on the surface, but inside he was thrilled to death. This was exactly how it was designed, and now everything was unfolding according to plan. Just wait for Mayor Leng to arrive, and then it will be time to deal with Liu Jilong. Look at you, still so arrogant—you couldn’t even dream that Lin Feng has already completely altered your evidence. Soon, you’ll know what the result is!

"Already reported to Mayor Leng?" Liu Jilong, hearing Xu Mingtao say this, was stunned for a moment. A dispute with Zhou Yang was one thing, but why report it to Mayor Leng? Besides, Zhou Yang had been unusually confident today. Normally he was low-key and timid—why was he so assertive now, refusing to back down? What on earth was going on? Plus, with Mayor Leng coming, what should I do? Today’s incident had become quite the scene. But involving Mayor Leng might have been taking things too far!

While the two were each preoccupied with their thoughts, people began to trickle in, resulting in their eyes widening more and more. How had this issue blown up to such proportions, pulling in every single member of the Standing Committee? This situation was utterly illogical!

My god! A fight with Zhou Yang in the hotel caused this massive show of force? Why drag all the Standing Committee members here? As Liu Jilong looked around the conference room at the several committee members, doubts began to plague his mind. What exactly was the situation today? It was so abnormal. First, Zhou Yang argued with me, and then the full committee mobilized. What’s going on here?

Watching the committee members walk in one by one, Zhou Yang’s mind went blank, and he stood there dumbfounded. What’s this situation? Wasn’t this just supposed to be reporting to Mayor Leng? Why did all the other committee members also come, without exception? How should this play be performed next? At that moment, Zhou Yang fixed his gaze on Leng Junsheng, and only upon seeing Leng Junsheng smiling and nodding at him did he completely relax and suddenly understood the reason for the uproar. After all, Liu Jilong was the chief of the Tianhai Police Bureau, with many people involved—a lot of people meant many mouths could be shut for good!

"Mayor, the general situation is as follows..." Xu Mingtao gave a brief overview, although everyone present had already received detailed information about the incident. However, to save face for the leaders, an explanation was still called for.

"Liu Jilong, you’ve been a bureau chief for so many years; how could you lack political sensitivity to this extent? How could you argue with Zhou Yang in front of everybody, causing such an adverse impact? Have you ever considered what would happen if somebody took photos or recorded the incident at the scene, and it got out, affecting the entire Tianhai City? How could you make such a basic mistake?" Leng Junsheng publicly chastised Liu Jilong. However, every point Leng Junsheng made was reasonable, which effectively silenced any objections from the others.

"You can’t blame me for this; it’s Zhou Yang’s fault!" Liu Jilong aggressively defended himself, insisting he had the right of it. Clearly, his son was the one who had been beaten, and he had just received a message from his son saying they had definitive evidence, with the surveillance video as proof. How could he swallow this injustice? Mayor Leng starts off by berating me—what does that mean? Is it as if I’m the only one to blame? Clearly it was Zhou Yang who started the physical altercation with my son, leading to the subsequent events, so why should I be singled out for blame?

"How can you blame me? It was simply a routine police response. Because Liu Nan is your son, Director Liu, that’s why I personally attended the scene," Zhou Yang immediately retorted to Liu Jilong’s words. The committee members are all here; what do I have to fear? Moreover, I’m aware that Mayor Leng will speak up for me. If not now, when should I argue back? The issue has already escalated, drawing the attention of all committee members. I don’t mind making it even bigger to find an opportunity to bring you down, Liu Jilong.

Moreover, I now hold the trump cards: the surveillance video has already been modified, and with Lin Dongchen currently hospitalized—all of these are my aces. Just give me the chance, and I’ll turn Liu Jilong into history.

"Police response? My son is the victim, and you’ve arrested him; what was the point of that police action?" Liu Jilong, hearing Zhou Yang still daring to argue with him in front of the committee members, looked at Zhou Yang with great surprise. Zhou Yang had decided to pick a definitive fight with him today; otherwise, he wouldn’t dare argue with me in front of the committee. Has he taken the wrong medicine today, or is he just crazy? This shift was like night and day; was this the same Zhou Yang I knew before?

"Someone reported that your son assaulted someone else. The victim is now in the hospital, half-dead. What am I supposed to do, not respond?" Zhou Yang countered Liu Jilong’s claim. Even though he was telling the truth, saying it out loud gave it a different spin. Things had reached this point, and no matter what, he had to push forward. His goal was to argue with Liu Jilong as fiercely as possible—the fiercer, the better!

"My son also has that surveillance video as proof—what evidence do you have? Without evidence, you’re just making baseless accusations!" Liu Jilong raised his voice considerably, glaring at Zhou Yang and couldn’t help but roar. Want to fight me? I have the surveillance video as irrefutable proof, enough to clear my son’s name. But what do you have? If nothing unexpected happens, you won’t be able to produce any evidence, will you? Then just wait for the bombardment from the high-ranking committee members.

"Interestingly, my complainant also claimed that the same surveillance video is proof sufficient to demonstrate your son’s assault on others." Zhou Yang, hearing Liu Jilong bring up the surveillance video as evidence, instantly grinned with delight. Just now, he was pondering how to lead the conversation in that direction, but to his advantage, Liu Jilong brought it up himself—perfect for sticking to that line of reasoning. Best to involve this surveillance video and let everyone have a clear view, and even if all else fails, Mayor Leng will back me up. Who should I fear then?

"What a joke. Everyone knows my son; how could he possibly assault anyone? That’s an absurd notion. Besides, the evidence also proves my son is the victim. Zhou Yang, stop spreading nonsense. You’re blatantly slandering now!" Liu Jilong glared at Zhou Yang, thinking to himself that bringing up the surveillance video was like signing his own death warrant. The video clearly showed his son being attacked, and he was curious to hear what Zhou Yang would say about it later!

"I slander your son? I saw with my own eyes that the victim was left with half a life on the hospital bed, and you say your son is the victim; can a victim still go to a hotel to drink?" Zhou Yang now had one purpose: to drive Liu Jilong mad right here, the angrier the better. That way, Liu Jilong would reveal more problems.

"Maybe that victim is just someone you made up, what’s wrong with my son drinking? Who says a victim can’t drink," Liu Jilong said, infuriated. Inside, he blamed his disappointing son, who didn’t know how to keep a low profile and had given Zhou Yang a handle on him. But it didn’t matter, once the video comes out later, it will all be over.

...

"Enough, stop arguing! Look at yourselves, what have you become!" Xu Mingtao saw that the two were getting more and more outrageous with their words. Were they still the Police Chief and Deputy Chief of the Police Bureau? If he didn’t intervene now, who knew where this argument would lead. Unacceptable!

The committee members also discerned some issues from the debate between the two. Neither was willing to budge, yet neither was wrong, and both had legitimate starting points. However, they couldn’t remain deadlocked; a solution had to be found...

Just then, Xu Mingtao’s phone rang, but he didn’t hang up because it was a call from his secretary. Knowing that he would not disturb him without something important, he answered the call.

"Mayor Xu, the internet is now completely filled with the affair at Yuehai Seafood Restaurant; pictures, videos, even comments are flooding everywhere..."

"I understand." After listening to his secretary, Xu Mingtao’s face turned even darker. These two chiefs had thrown Tianhai into chaos, and with the scandal blowing up, how was he to settle this?

"Mayor Leng, Secretary Feng, the internet is now entirely focused on the incident at Yuehai Seafood Restaurant—nothing but negative news, including photos and videos. Most importantly, there are comments detailing all the particulars of the people involved, and the issue has blown up completely. The public reaction is very strong," Xu Mingtao hung up the phone, gathered his thoughts, and relayed the latest developments to Mayor Leng and Secretary Feng.

This was a major mess!

The internet was in an uproar; the impact was too great!

What kind of mess had these two made!

...

All the committee members were shocked by this turn of events. The spread of such news on the internet was extremely fast and this was now harming the image of the Tianhai Government. How to resolve this situation?

Secretary Feng Luping’s mind was racing. Liu Jilong, who usually had close ties with him, was someone he understood well. Without solid assurance, Liu Jilong would not have insisted against Zhou Yang and sparked such a furor. More importantly, as a member of the Liu Family system, he should undoubtedly support his own. Considering this, Feng Luping glanced at Liu Jilong and saw him nodding in his direction, which made Feng feel even more confident. With this assurance, it seemed that bringing down Zhou Yang should be quite easy.

The day’s events couldn’t just be brushed aside since they had already spread online; trying any other methods was out of the question now. Someone had to bear the consequences for today’s events. Since Liu Jilong had already made his stance clear, there was no doubt that Zhou Yang would have to be the scapegoat. But what did Leng Junsheng’s initial scolding of Liu Jilong imply? Was he on Zhou Yang’s side? If so, that was intriguing. Once the result is out later, could I perhaps take advantage of the situation and leave Leng Junsheng in an awkward position? That would indeed be a pleasing turn of events!