Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

He spoke with absolute confidence.

For the past few months, he and his team of engineers and construction workers have been living like groundhogs, almost hollowing out the underground of the Hexi District.

To say that the completed sponge city system is the most advanced in the province would be an understatement.

The surveillance footage showed that although there was water on the main road in Hexi District, small whirlpools were visibly forming as the water was greedily sucked into the huge sewer opening.

"Listen," Sun Liancheng said, pointing to the floor.

A deep rumble and vibration came from beneath my feet, which could still be clearly felt even through the thick concrete.

That was a giant underground turbine pump operating at full power, drawing away tens of thousands of tons of rainwater and directing it into a newly built underground flood storage tank.

The huge weight that had been hanging over He Xia's heart finally lifted.

"You've worked hard. If we can get through this, let's see who dares to say that our Hexi District has a bad environment and can't attract businesses."

Sun Liancheng grinned, revealing a set of teeth that were yellowed from smoking and tea.

"This place is Noah's Ark. As for other people's homes..."

He raised his hand and pointed to the split-screen monitoring in the upper right corner of the screen, which showed Guangming District, which is separated from Hexi District by a river.

In the footage, the yellow waves surged to the sky.

……

The No. 1 Office of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.

Li Dakang's roar almost drowned out the thunder outside the window.

"Useless! They're all useless!"

The red telephone receiver in his hand creaked as he gripped it, and spittle flew all over the table.

"The Guangming Peak project was only half-built, how the hell did it turn into a water curtain cave? Huh? What happened to the flood discharge channel on the original planning map? Did the dogs eat it?"

On the other end of the phone, the newly appointed acting district head of Guangming District trembled like a leaf.

"Secretary... the flood discharge channel... is... blocked by construction waste. It's because... to meet the construction deadline, the construction team directly... directly filled the riverbed with slag and waste materials..."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Li Dagen slammed the phone back onto the stand.

The landline phone bounced up half a foot high, then fell heavily back down, emitting a piercing busy signal.

Outside the office's floor-to-ceiling windows, rain cascaded down the glass like a waterfall, blurring the entire world.

Secretary Xiao Jin rushed in, her face deathly pale.

"Secretary, something terrible has happened! The shopping mall underground at Guangming Peak is flooded; the water is knee-deep, and more than a dozen citizens are trapped inside! The fire trucks are all stuck in the road and can't get through!"

Li Dakang suddenly stood up, and the boss's chair behind him overturned with a loud crash.

"What did you say?"

If water gets into an underground shopping mall, and there's an electrical leak or backflow, it could be fatal.

This is no longer an accident; it's a major upheaval in Li Dakang's political career.

His GDP, his political achievements, and the Bright Peak he was so proud of were about to turn into the Five Elements Mountain that crushed him in an instant.

"Get the car ready!" Li Dakang grabbed the trench coat from the hanger and strode out. "To the scene!"

"Secretary, the roads outside are all flooded, and cars can't drive at all..." Xiao Jin shouted as he chased after them.

"If it floods, get the boats there! Stop talking nonsense, follow me!"

Ten minutes later.

A black Audi A6 slid along like an eel in the downpour. The windshield wipers were on their fastest setting, swishing wildly across the glass, but they still couldn't clear away the thick curtain of water.

The air pressure inside the carriage was so low it could suffocate you.

Li Dakang's face was so gloomy it looked like it could be wrung out, and he stared intently at the marshland outside the window.

The Jingzhou Avenue that he was once so proud of is now a muddy Yellow River. The muddy water has submerged the curbs, and the roadside trash cans and shared bicycles drift with the current like duckweed.

Countless private cars were stranded in the water, and the owners stood in knee-deep water, desperately pushing their vehicles. Horns blared incessantly, but were swallowed up by the even louder thunder and rain.

"Why did you stop?" Li Dakang asked sternly when he saw the car slow down.

The driver was covered in sweat, and his voice trembled.

"Secretary, the culvert ahead... the water is too deep, I estimate it's over 1.5 meters, our car definitely can't get through."

Li Dakang squinted and looked into the dark culvert, which was the only way to reach Bright Peak.

"Charge through." He squeezed out the three words through gritted teeth.

"Secretary, the engine will go out soon..."

"I told you to rush over there! Don't you understand? There are over a dozen people inside waiting to be saved, and you're here discussing a beat-up car with me?"

The driver gritted his teeth, closed his eyes, shifted into a low gear, and floored the accelerator.

The Audi let out a defiant roar, its front end soaring high, creating a splash over two meters high, before plunging headfirst into the deep water of the culvert.

We've only gone halfway.

"puff--"

A thick plume of black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe, the engine coughed violently twice, and then went completely silent.

The car swayed in the water for a moment, then stopped.

The murky water rose rapidly and soon overflowed the bottom edge of the car window.

The carriage was deathly silent.

The driver turned the key, but the engine only emitted a weak, mournful groan.

Li Dakang took a deep breath and unbuckled his seatbelt.

"get off."

Xiao Jin panicked: "Secretary, the water outside is too dirty, and the current is too strong; it's not safe..."

"Are we just going to sit here and wait to drown?" Li Dakang pushed open the car door.

The icy, bone-chilling muddy water instantly poured into the carriage, carrying a foul stench from the sewers, and submerged his gleaming leather shoes and impeccably tailored trousers.

He got out of the car, his foot slipped, and he almost fell. The water was deeper than he had imagined; it was already up to his waist.

Xiao Jin quickly opened a long-handled black umbrella, wanting to shield him from the rain.

A sudden gust of wind.

Snapped.

The umbrella ribs folded backward, the canopy torn open, like a crow with broken wings, tumbling and drifting into the turbid current.

Li Dakang didn't even glance at the umbrella.

He wiped the rain off his face, held his head high, and trudged forward amidst shouts and blaring horns.

The surrounding area was full of other car owners who were also trapped.

"Damn it, all they know how to do is build skyscrapers, but they can't fix the sewers! My new car is totaled!"

"Where have all these officials gone? All they know is how to collect money!"

No one recognized that this middle-aged man, soaking wet and disheveled, was the municipal party secretary they saw on television every day. Or rather, even if they did recognize him, their anger at that moment was enough to burn away all their respect.

As Li Dakang listened to these words, each one felt like a sharp awl piercing his heart.

This is his capital city.

This is Jingzhou, which he built with GDP.

Now, the city has trapped him in a downpour, making every step he takes incredibly heavy.

"Keep up!" Li Dakang yelled back at the bewildered Xiao Jin, "Forget about the shoes, even if we have to crawl, we'll get to Bright Peak!"