The fire at the scene was finally brought under control after the gates were closed. With the relentless efforts of more than a hundred fire trucks and two fire-fighting helicopters, the mighty blaze gradually subdued and dimmed. After a night of strenuous and extraordinary battle, with the efforts of over five hundred firefighters and more than a hundred police officers, the fire was eventually extinguished.

In the command room, Secretary Xiao Xue fell asleep in a chair, and Song Xiao Jia was also sleeping on the sofa. Tang Yumeng quietly waited at the scene.

"Secretary Tang, the fire has been put out," said the person in charge of the chemical plant hurriedly. "You can rest assured and go home to rest now."

"Have you found Lin Chuan?" Tang Yumeng asked anxiously.

"Not yet," the person in charge shook his head and said, "But the firefighters have now entered the site. However, don't get your hopes up too high!"

"Why?" Tang Yumeng felt a pang of panic inside.

"Because... such a big fire, such high temperatures..." the person in charge sighed, "I'm afraid he might have already turned to ash."

Tang Yumeng shuddered all over, and her legs suddenly felt weak.

"Secretary Tang, are you alright?" the person in charge asked urgently.

"I'm fine." Tang Yumeng shook her head, saying, "No matter what, we must find Lin Chuan, alive or dead."

"Yes!" the person in charge nodded.

At this moment, Deputy Director Li sighed in relief, saying, "Finally, the fire has been controlled. Secretary Tang, don't be too sad. Lin Chuan also did a good deed for the people of Jiangbei City. If it wasn't for him, the other furnaces might have exploded, and then, the pollution would have been uncontrollable. The whole Jiangbei City might have had to relocate. By then, it wouldn't just be a matter of one or two people dying."

"Yes..." Tang Yumeng nodded, but her heart was still in pain.

"Secretary Tang, you should go back and rest," Xiao Xue got up at this time. The dawn was already breaking outside, and the workers and their families had all gone back, only a few remained at the scene waiting, waiting for their dead relatives to return.

"No." Tang Yumeng shook her head firmly, saying, "Lin Chuan was brought here by me, so I will take him back."

Zhang Wenhui hadn't slept all night, feeling very guilty. Suddenly, he stood up: "I will go find him."

"Team Zhang," Song Xiao Jia stood up quickly, saying, "I'll go with you."

Zhang Wenhui glanced at Song Xiao Jia without saying a word, seemingly agreeing. Just as they were about to leave, suddenly, the door was pushed open, a beam of light shone in, and the dim room instantly lit up.

"Lin Chuan!" Song Xiao Jia exclaimed.

Even though the person in front of her was almost unrecognizable, she still recognized Lin Chuan at a glance. Shirtless, Lin Chuan's body was filthy, with two parts of his chest charred, and the skin on his shoulders burned away. Holding a flashlight in his hand, he revealed a smile of return: "Sister, I'm back."

After speaking, Lin Chuan collapsed heavily to the ground.

"No, Lin Chuan!" Tang Yumeng exclaimed.

"Quick, call the doctor," Zhang Wenhui ran out hurriedly. As Tang Yumeng was about to step forward to help Lin Chuan up, Song Xiao Jia rushed to stop her, saying, "Secretary Tang, you can't go near him, he has too many toxic chemicals on him."

"Get away," Tang Yumeng pushed Song Xiao Jia aside, saying, "He is a person too."

Tang Yumeng quickly held Lin Chuan's head and hugged it tightly in her arms. This scene moved everyone, and they all lowered their heads in shame. Lin Chuan, who was originally unrelated to himself, could step forward without hesitation to save millions of people in Jiangbei City; Tang Yumeng, as the city's secretary, could care for Lin Chuan without any reservations. Everyone felt inferior, especially Song Xiao Jia.

An ambulance on standby at the scene rushed over, and then, the doctor immediately conducted a series of examinations on Lin Chuan.

"How is he?" Tang Yumeng asked anxiously.

"He's alright," the doctor breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Heart rate, pulse, blood pressure are all normal... But his skin is severely burned, to prevent later infections, he must be sent to the hospital for bandaging."

"That's great," Tang Yumeng heard this and immediately showed a relieved smile, her smile accompanied by tears.

Soon, Lin Chuan was sent to Jiangbei City Center Hospital for treatment.

Lin Chuan was able to escape this calamity thanks to his intelligence and individual capability. After Lin Chuan was sent away, the atmosphere in the command room was noticeably cheered up. Deputy Director Li smiled and said, "Secretary Tang, that's good, Lin Chuan is fine now, you can rest easy."

"Yes!" Tang Yumeng heavily sat down, at that moment she felt as if all her strength had been drained.

"However, how should we explain this to the public next?" Deputy Director Li asked.

"Reveal all the truth to the public," Tang Yumeng calmly smiled, her smile revealing a hint of wisdom, and she said, "Such a big incident can definitely not be covered up, the investigation of the accident needs to be transparent, injured personnel must be sent to the hospital in a timely manner, and the families of the deceased must be comforted first, pending instructions from the City Committee."

......

After the disaster, the work of the City Committee officially began. First was a series of press conferences where they announced the final casualty figures – sixty-seven fatalities – and signed compensation agreements with the families of the deceased. Each deceased worker would receive compensation from the insurance company, in addition to extra compensation from the municipal government. All families accepted these terms. There was no choice, the deceased had passed, and the living must remain strong.

Deputy Secretary Song argued with Tang Yumeng about this matter, detailing to her the consequences of revealing the truth.

Yet, Tang Yumeng still adhered to her principles, publicly disclosed the truth about the accident and the handling measures. Moreover, she conducted a profound self-review to the Provincial Committee.

This incident alerted both the provincial and central governments, which jointly dispatched an investigative team to look into the explosion. Unexpectedly to Tang Yumeng, the Provincial Committee did not pursue accountability for this accident, possibly waiting for the investigation results.

The City Committee's propaganda department established a heroic role model, following Tang Yumeng's direction, all accolades this time were credited to the police, Deputy Director Li became the hero of this event and even appeared on television. Initially, Zhang Wenhui was to be highlighted, but he declined, disliking fame. He preferred a low-profile and mundane life. Besides, he believed that all the credit should go to Lin Chuan instead of himself.

As the hero of this occasion, Lin Chuan was now lying in the hospital.

"Oh dear, how could you be so careless?" Mrs. Lin, having just put down her walking stick, was struck anew by seeing Lin Chuan with several burns, although not serious, still worrying nonetheless.

"Mom, I told you it's nothing." Lin Chuan smiled: "These are just minor injuries."

"Minor injuries require hospitalization?" Mrs. Lin glared at him.

"I didn't want to stay either," Lin Chuan said helplessly: "I requested to be discharged yesterday, but the hospital refused."

"If the hospital refuses, there must be a reason for it," Mrs. Lin glanced at Lin Chuan, indicating: "It means your injuries are serious, and you cannot just leave the hospital carelessly."

Lin Chuan chuckled bitter-sweetly, having been confined for two days already. He knew his body well – could he not know his own condition? Just as Lin Chuan was about to speak, the door opened. Tang Yumeng walked in wearing a long woolen coat, carrying a stylish bag on her left arm and holding a thermos food container in her right hand.

"Secretary Tang, what brings you here?" Lin Chuan was surprised.

"Oh, so you're Secretary Tang!" Mrs. Lin exclaimed in surprise and quickly went over to greet her.

"Auntie, I... I came to visit Lin Chuan," Tang Yumeng smiled: "This time Lin Chuan was injured because of me, so…"

"Oh my, no need for formalities, you're a leader, he should protect you," Mrs. Lin laughed: "Besides, the boy is tough, he'll be fine, don't worry too much."

"I also came to see him after work," Tang Yumeng blushed slightly: "I specifically made some bird's nest soup to bring over."

"Thank you so much," Mrs. Lin hurriedly said: "Then... you two talk, I'll step out for a bit."

After speaking, Mrs. Lin quickly cleared the space.

This was a VIP ward, hardly accessible to ordinary people, and this time Lin Chuan enjoyed VIP-level treatment. He stayed inside, quite pleased with himself.

"Secretary Tang…"

"Still calling me 'secretary'?" Tang Yumeng slowly walked over and placed the thermos food container on the side table.

"Sis…" Lin Chuan chuckled softly: "You must be very busy these days, still managing to bring me bird's nest soup?"

"You are a significant contributor," Tang Yumeng smirked sweetly: "How could I not come to see you? Otherwise, if your merits were unrecognized and you felt aggrieved, who would you confide in?"

"I'm not that kind of person," Lin Chuan lay back in bed, resting against the thick blankets.

"Here, let me feed you," Tang Yumeng began serving the bird's nest soup.

Lin Chuan's heart burst with joy inside, being fed bird's nest soup by the beautiful secretary was a blessing from a hundred lifetimes. Lin Chuan, excited, reclined at the head of the bed, eating the bird's nest soup while sneakily peeking at Tang Yumeng.

It must be said, there was a completely distinct facet of Tang Yumeng today. Dressed in a long coat, under which was a black knitted sweater, her neck adorned with a brilliantly shining necklace, her hair elegantly tied up. She appeared cool, noble…with an imposing aura. Most importantly, every time Tang Yumeng bent down to feed him, he could peek through her collar at the snowy white expanse, that undulating landscape, which started to overwhelm Lin Chuan.

Thump...

Suddenly, Tang Yumeng, clenching a fist, lightly bumped it on Lin Chuan's head, chiding: "You rascal, where are you looking?"

"I..." Lin Chuan's face turned red with embarrassment; intrepid in battle, yet merely a novice in the realm of romance. Lin Chuan felt so ashamed he wished he could hide in a hole.

"Naughty boy," Tang Yumeng covered her chest and handed the bowl to Lin Chuan: "Drink it yourself."

"Alright," Lin Chuan sheepishly accepted the bowl from Tang Yumeng's hands, now only able to console himself.

Tang Yumeng stayed in the hospital for less than half an hour before a phone call hurriedly summoned her away, probably some urgent matter at the City Committee. Although Lin Chuan had been staying in the hospital, he had been closely following the situation at the Jiangdong District Pioneer Chemical Plant. Tang Yumeng, a wise woman, swiftly minimized the negative impact of the incident with her resolute actions and intelligent mind. This incident, in turn, enhanced the standing of the City Committee and municipal government in the eyes of the public, as well as the image of the police force.

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