After Qi Tongwei Jumps to His Death, Handong Is Rocked by an Earthquake

[A purely fictional political power struggle set in a parallel world, with no connection to reality. Please do not read it as referring to anyone in particular.]

Qi Tongfeng, head of the Jiangzuo Provincial Public Security Department, is gravely injured after falling from a building in the provincial government compound during an investigation.

A blood-written letter is sealed away as a mystery, while Qi lies in a coma in the ICU, his life hanging in the balance.

Overnight, rumors sweep across the province, unsettling the public and bringing the political order to the brink of collapse.

Provincial Deputy Party Secretary Gao Yubang had planned to yield and compromise. But after witnessing his prized protégé risk his life to protect him, he stays awake all night, stubs out his cigarette, and resolves to break the deadlock and fight back head-on.

Some want to stabilize the situation, some want to use the crisis to reshuffle the deck, some lie low and watch, and others stir beneath the surface.

Forces at every level pull against one another, public opinion becomes a battleground, and legal principles collide.

Just as the situation in Jiangzuo descends into chaos, a man in the capital who has old ties to Qi Tongfeng quietly enters the game.

He holds a list bearing just one name.

A high-stakes political power struggle spanning local government and the central authorities is officially underway.