Chapter 2 ✦ There must be an explanation for the incident
It was half past ten.
The office manager, Wei Ning, knocked on the door, interrupting the meeting, “He-zong, the people from the criminal investigation team have arrived. Can you spare a little time to see them now, or should I let them wait?”
The police arrived exactly on time.
Right now, the investigation of the air incident was the most important thing. He Jianzhen put down his teacup and got up, “I’ll be right there.”
Chen Xi left the reception room together with him, along with the chief counsel from the legal department. The police station was very low-key. The captain of the criminal investigation team only brought along two subordinates, and they didn’t drive a police car, coming in a private car instead.
“The plane wreckage still hasn’t been found yet,” the captain was also very troubled, “After the plane fell underwater, it was definitely carried by the current, so it’s hard to say where it sank. We’ve already expanded the search scope to the entire reservoir. Searching at night is relatively difficult. Even if our progress is fast, we probably can’t find it until dawn.”
He Jianzhen was in a hurry, “Can you do it within the survival time window1[Time window when survival rate is relatively high.]?”
The captain sighed, “I can only tell you, it’s very difficult.”
He Jianzhen took a deep breath, “Tell me the truth, in this situation, what is the probability of the plane passengers surviving?”
“Basically zero,” The captain spoke frankly, “Even if the plane didn’t fall into the water, there was already a large scale fire in the air. Once a plane catches fire, it will spread rapidly. There are so many combustibles in the cabin. As for the people inside, even before falling into the water, it’s likely that they… died in the fire. So the reason why I came here today, it’s also to ask, do you want to give up the emergency rescue?”
He Jianzhen was very firm, “Rescue, we must definitely rescue. No matter how much it costs, we won’t give up.”
The criminal investigation captain understood his feelings, “We will do our best.”
He Jianzhen rubbed his nose subconsciously, moving his two fingers back and forth along the bridge of the nose from top to bottom. As he let go, his eyes landed on the large photo on the wall of the conference hall.
It was a group photo of Chairman Liang Chongzheng receiving the previous term of the Politburo Standing Committee2[The Politburo Standing Committee is a permanent committee (currently with 7 members) that is composed of the highest leadership of the CCP. They are somewhat analogous to a presidential or parliamentary cabinet. Anyway, it’s a big deal due to the culture of pomp and circumstance in state inspections.].
This was the highest-level reception since the establishment of the company. The chairman personally led all the executives to attend. He Jianzhen remembered that it was the year when he was promoted to an administrative department manager. There was a big test the moment he took office. A reception at such a high level absolutely could not have any mistakes.
He spent one month in advance on the company campus, inspecting every corner carefully. From the small to the big, from the tea cup used in the conference hall, to the etiquette team’s training, to the greening and sanitation of the campus, the administrative department was responsible for it all, and it had to be as perfect as possible.
The night before the reception, Chairman Liang Chongzheng called him into his office. As a small manager, he didn’t have many opportunities to go in and out of the chairman’s office, so he was awkward and stiff in front of the leader. Liang Chongzheng asked about each and every procedure in detail, down to the piece of red carpet in front of the door. When he discovered a detail that hadn’t been considered, his expression became very grave, opening his mouth to spout out what are we feeding you for? It was the first time for twenty-something He Jianzhen to be scolded in this way by the big boss. He was so scared that he went out, holed up in the washroom, and cried. After a few sentences of scolding, he felt the sky was falling, and he couldn’t sleep the entire night.
The reception the day after was very successful, and the leaders were very impressed. Before leaving, they took a group photo in front of the company gate as a souvenir. Originally, only management cadres who were middle-level and above were invited to take the photo. He Jianzhen was only responsible for arranging everyone’s standing positions. But after everyone’s positions were arranged, the chairman suddenly waved and smiled at him, Xiao He3[Little He, casual way to address subordinates and people younger than the speaker.] should also come. He hurried over and squeezed into a corner of the back row.
The camera clicked. In the photo he smiled, knowing in his heart, the leader had actually seen the work he had done.
He had been in the company for thirteen years. He entered right after graduating, and all his career achievements were here. He couldn’t let the chairman and the company’s cultivation of him go in vain. Whether or not he took the general manager job wasn’t the most important thing. But they had to rescue people, and there must be an explanation for the incident. Otherwise, his conscience would be troubled.
“Such a big plane, it’s impossible for it to just fall out of the sky for no reason. We must have an explanation.” He was rarely so firm.
The criminal investigation team captain spoke about the investigation, “What we know so far is, the last time the captain contacted the control tower of the arrival airport was at 5:45 pm. At the time, the captain told the control tower that the plane had caught fire, and the left engine had failed and was no longer responsive. He requested the control tower to arrange the nearest possible site for him to make a forced landing. The tower received the message, but before they could contact the emergency landing site, the wireless communications were cut off. About 3 minutes later, the radar also failed. At 5:51 pm, the tower completely lost contact with the plane.”
“He didn’t tell the control tower what caused the fire?”
“The control tower asked, but the captain said he wasn’t sure and was investigating.”
“Then we can at least rule out external causes such as bird strikes or terrorist attacks. It should be an internal failure, so we need to investigate the aircraft itself.”
“About whether or not there was a malfunction of the plane, we contacted the departure airport and summoned the ground crew inspectors and related staff for questioning. We lost contact with one of the key maintenance personnel. When his colleagues reacted, it was around four in the afternoon, and he had already disappeared. Now he’s been out of contact for around six hours. Coincidentally, the plane took off a little while before 4 pm.” The captain concluded, “This is a relatively big point of doubt. If this maintenance personnel is connected to the failure of the plane, then the crash might not be an accident, but a planned sabotage and murder.”
He Jianzhen frowned. His intuition was that the situation couldn’t be so simple.
“What model is the chairman’s plane?”
“Airbus A3194[In real life, this aircraft model has had no fatal accidents.].”
He Jianzhen smiled a little, “It’s like this. Our company started out as an aircraft component manufacturer. Although I don’t know much about the technology, I may still know a little more about planes than you. To put it simply, a malfunction can only cause a fire, but a fire does not necessarily mean a crash. In order to kill people by causing a crash, it takes far more than a little malfunction.”
“What are you saying?” The captain motioned him to continue.
“Most people probably think that aircraft malfunctions are terrifying, and if there is a failure, the plane will crash land. In fact, this is a misunderstanding. The truth is, aircraft failures are common, and aircraft breakdowns in flight are even more common. But we also see that the frequency of plane crashes is still relatively low. Why? Faults can be minor and major. Minor faults can be resolved, and the passengers probably wouldn’t even know that a fault has occurred during the entire flight, only the crew is aware. A major failure is also not unfixable, and the operation of the crew can still turn the tide.”
“Can the crew’s actions play such a big role?”
“All the major aircraft manufacturing companies provide lengthy operation manuals in case of an aviation accident, detailed to the point of teaching the crew how to deal with microphone background noise. The crew, especially the captain, has to undergo lengthy and repeated safety training. That’s why in recent years, there’s always news like wing damage, engine damage, a broken window, and so on. And the captain still landed safely, and it might not be a case of no survivors.”
“Let me summarize what you said. The crash should be the result of several factors. If you only create a failure, it is difficult to ensure that the plane will definitely crash. It depends on what the fault is, the role played by the crew, the actual flight situation, and so on.”
“For an aircraft with a mature design, this is the case.”
“What does ‘mature design’ mean?”
“The biggest plane crash we’ve seen in recent years is the Malaysia Airlines case, right? The final investigation concluded that there was a problem with the design of Boeing’s aircraft model, so it didn’t matter how well the pilots were trained. Boeing could only recall the model for improvement. But this time is different. The Airbus A319 is a model with a very mature design. It was originally a variant of the A320. The A320 is one of the longest-used planes in civil aviation. It has been slowly tested in flight countless times. There isn’t a more mature design.”
“But the disappearance of the inspector is still a problem.” The captain of the criminal investigation insisted, “We can say that the crash was not directly caused by the inspector. But something happened to the plane, and the inspector in charge of the plane disappeared. There must be something wrong here. “
He Jianzhen sighed, “I understand, maybe I just don’t want to think in this direction.”
“You still want to believe that the crash was just an accident, don’t you?” The captain understood his meaning.
What kind of talk was this. “Of course, I want to believe it was an accident,” He Jianzhen looked at him deeply, “But I want solid evidence, comrade, this part is your job. I hope you can give me an answer.”
The captain felt a little sympathetic to him, “Don’t worry, we will continue to investigate the cause of the incident. But please be mentally prepared, the investigation of similar cases usually takes a long time. In addition, I would like to ask, who was in charge of arranging this trip in the company? We need to have a chat with everyone who was aware of the flight schedule.”
He Jianzhen looked at the office manager, “Manager Wei, who can see the chairman’s itinerary, and who is in charge?”
“The office has always handled the chairman’s itinerary, and I am the ultimate person in charge. The specific itinerary was arranged by one of the chairman’s secretaries, and this time, he was also on the plane.” Office Manager Wei said generously, “If you need me to go to the police station or to talk, I will definitely cooperate, no problem.”
“Who else in the company knew about this trip?”
“Quite a number of people. The chairman’s itinerary isn’t a secret. Basically, all the executives know, otherwise they can’t coordinate their working hours. It’s hard to say how many people from below know.”
“He-zong, I want to have a private conversation with Ms. Wei first. Is it convenient for you?”
He Jianzhen knew they were going to start interviewing her, and he was also in a hurry to go. In the office, there was still a group of old guys waiting for him to discuss whether to hold a press conference.
Chen Xi led him out of the conference hall, and just as he went out the door, he heard loud noises coming from the other side of the corridor. When He Jianzhen turned the corner, he wasn’t prepared, and a hand swiped over clawing at him, sharp nails slicing across his forehead!
Fortunately, Chen Xi moved fast and pushed him back, “Be careful, He-zong!”
On the other side, the security guards tried their best to block these women. He only heard the leader of this group crying out, “Don’t stop me, what right do you have to stop me! Is there any morality5[王法 (lit. king’s law), also means norms, general code of conduct, natural law.] now? Something this big happened and you still want to hide it, do you guys still have a conscience! Pity us orphans and widows ahhhh…”
Another woman who followed behind her simply sat down on the ground, “My pitiful older brother, what kind of evil has been done to him…”
He Jianzhen hadn’t calmed down yet, and he was still being supported by Chen Xi. A sharp stabbing pain came from his forehead. Moving out of instinct, his fingertips were stained red. Chen Xi stood in front of him, blocking him with his body. He turned around and scolded the security guard, “What’s going on? This is the company! If you can’t stop them, you don’t know how to call the police?”
The woman pointed at his nose and started shouting, “Chen Xi! Look carefully and see who I am before you talk!”
It was only then that He Jianzhen recognized her. This was Wu-taitai6[Mrs. Wu, Madame Wu. It doesn’t mean that her surname is Wu, but rather, she married into the Wu family.], the wife of the general manager.
It should be the wife of the former general manager, and following her were the younger sister from the Wu family and a few other relatives. Wu-taitai was in her forties, wearing expensive and exquisite suits, with blonde hair in a curly perm. She attended the company’s annual meeting with her husband every year, and many employees knew her. She was a bold woman with a hearty laugh.
“Suwen7[素文, Wu-taitai’s first name.]-jie8[Older sister, friendly way to address a woman older than you, or your boss’s wife.], what are you doing, coming to the company at this time?” Chen Xi was very troubled, “The company is in chaos, it’s safer for you at home.”
Wu-taitai stared at him with her eyes that were bloodshot from crying, “Such a big thing happened, I went around asking everywhere but couldn’t get any news. If I didn’t come, you would just treat me as a woman, easy to bully. Are you trying to cover the sky with one hand9[Relying on their power to deceive the masses.]? Let me tell you, it’s not that simple!”
Chen Xi had been pressing down the news the entire time. He didn’t even dare to announce the police coming to visit, precisely because he was afraid of this kind of scene happening.
“We also don’t know, only the police know what happened,” Chen Xi gave the security guard a look, signaling them to take the people away. “If we have any news, we will definitely contact you, okay? You all go back first. I’ll arrange a driver to take you home.”
Mrs. Chen10[Traditionally, this title (夫人 furen) was used with the maiden name, because women don’t take their husband’s surname in China. But in more modern times, due to western influence, it was used with the husband’s surname. So it’s not 100% clear if Suwen’s last name is Chen because this is the only place in the novel where she is addressed in this way.] refused to give up. Even though she was held up by the security guards, she kept shouting, “Who dares to touch me! Which one of you is so daring!”
The security guards were neither moving nor not moving. After all, this was the wife of the general manager. If they bumped her, they couldn’t afford it. In the back, there were some male family members about to break through the security guards, taking advantage of the chaos to rush over. There were a few women on the floor howling as if to cheer them on. The security could control one end, but not the other. The entire aisle was messed up into a pile, clearly about to go out of control.
Chen Xi protected He Jianzhen and retreated, backing up straight to the stairs, “I’ll call the police over to control the situation. He-zong, you go down the stairs first!”
He Jianzhen trembled with fear, escaping into the stairwell and running up the stairs.
The lights had already been turned off in the stairwell, and it was pitch black. He couldn’t see the steps clearly. One missed step, and his body flew forward. His head hit the staircase straight on, causing him to scream out in pain.
The wound the woman slashed earlier had probably opened again. He clearly felt a warm liquid creeping down his forehead. The faster it flowed, the more wildly his heart raced. It seemed like there were still chaotic footsteps and the horrible sound of cursing behind him. He was scared silent, and got up and ran disregarding the pain. How he went up the stairs, and what floor he was on now, he had no idea.
It wasn’t until the noises faded in the distance and the surrounding area gradually quieted that he dared to slow down. He came out of the stairwell panting heavily, turned around and randomly picked a door that could be opened, and went in to hide. He closed the door, and his legs were still shaking. There was white static in front of his eyes. He leaned against the door panel, and finally lost his strength and slowly slid to the ground.
All night, his mind was tight like a stretched rubber band from the chaos, panic, and stress. His brain was spinning as hard as it could but he couldn’t keep up with the development of events. Finally, no one was around. Finally, he was the only one left. His helplessness suddenly expanded, directly pushing him to the brink of collapse.
He buried his head between his knees, wrapped his arms around himself, and forcefully took deep breaths. But his stomach was tossing like the waves. Unable to control himself, he collapsed on the ground and began retching. The strong, sour smell of vomit stimulated him to cry.
Someone opened the door behind him and approached, but he didn’t hear it.
Then the lights above his head suddenly flipped on, and a man made a surprised noise, “Xiao He11[Little He]?”
T/N: The Characters page is being updated. So please check it out again if you’re confused about who is who.
- 1[Time window when survival rate is relatively high.]
- 2[The Politburo Standing Committee is a permanent committee (currently with 7 members) that is composed of the highest leadership of the CCP. They are somewhat analogous to a presidential or parliamentary cabinet. Anyway, it’s a big deal due to the culture of pomp and circumstance in state inspections.]
- 3[Little He, casual way to address subordinates and people younger than the speaker.]
- 4[In real life, this aircraft model has had no fatal accidents.]
- 5[王法 (lit. king’s law), also means norms, general code of conduct, natural law.]
- 6[Mrs. Wu, Madame Wu. It doesn’t mean that her surname is Wu, but rather, she married into the Wu family.]
- 7[素文, Wu-taitai’s first name.]
- 8[Older sister, friendly way to address a woman older than you, or your boss’s wife.]
- 9[Relying on their power to deceive the masses.]
- 10[Traditionally, this title (夫人 furen) was used with the maiden name, because women don’t take their husband’s surname in China. But in more modern times, due to western influence, it was used with the husband’s surname. So it’s not 100% clear if Suwen’s last name is Chen because this is the only place in the novel where she is addressed in this way.]
- 11[Little He]