Hello everyone, I'm Ke'an. I run a law firm in City Y. In this line of work, I come across all kinds of people. I'm often entrusted with investigating tricky cases, and behind each one lies a hidden, often grim side of society.
These experiences—each more unbelievable than the last—have pushed me to the edge of life and death more than once.
It was a winter day in early 2010. After wrapping up affairs at my law firm, I was preparing to head home. As I passed by a street corner, I overheard a heated conversation among a few people:"We've waited so many years, and it's finally happening! That incredible factory is going to be built right here. Our old houses will be demolished, and we'll finally have a better life!"
But someone nearby poured cold water on the excitement:
"All you people care about is money. That's a notorious chemical plant—they say the toxic gas it emits could make sure no one around here lives past 70! This is all a conspiracy by those damn officials!"
I did, in fact, know about the project. A few days earlier, the city had held a grand press conference. The political and business elites of Y City were all in attendance: the Chief Executive of Y City, the Director of the Environmental Bureau, and the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, among others.
At the event, they announced a joint initiative between the municipal government and the chamber—code-named "Xinhai." The plan was to build a massive petrochemical plant in the outskirts of Y City, aiming to stimulate the local economy. The spokesperson swore that all environmental protection issues would be overseen by the Environmental Bureau, promising that the project would not harm the city's ecology and would ensure environmental quality.
Back then, I didn't pay much attention to the street corner chatter.
Until a week later, when the law firm called me:"There's a case—someone wants to sue the Environmental Bureau. It's complicated. No one knows what to do. Please come back and take a look."
A chill ran down my spine. I rushed back immediately.Pushing open the office door, I froze. Sitting in front of me was a young man I recognized—he had been one of the most agitated protesters at the rally against the chemical plant.
Seeing me enter, he spoke urgently:
"I've been to five or six law firms. The moment I said I wanted to sue the Environmental Bureau, they all threw me out. Yours is the only place that didn't."
I looked at him gravely.
"Do you understand what it means to sue the Environmental Bureau? I saw you the other day. You're protesting the Xinhai project, right?" The young man grew even more emotional:"That's right! The government and the chamber have gone mad! With the current level of technology, building such a large-scale refinery is no different from spreading poison! The purification systems can only filter out 20% to 30% of harmful substances—the rest will slowly poison us all!"
I gestured for him to sit down.
"I need to know—do you have solid evidence? And you must understand, doing this could lead to unpredictable consequences. Go home for now and let me think it over." After he left, I gathered everyone in the meeting room and relayed the conversation. As soon as I finished, a young lawyer who had recently joined the firm spoke up:"Brother An, there's something I haven't had the chance to tell you.
Phase Two of the Xinhai plant has already broken ground in Beicun. A few days ago, there was a protest there. The Public Security Bureau arrested quite a few people—held them for two days, then let them go.
One elderly woman claimed her son disappeared on the day of the arrests. Everyone else was released, but there was no trace of her son. She went to the Public Security Bureau to inquire, and they told her he had already been released. Desperate, she came to our firm and said she wanted to sue the Public Security Bureau. It took a lot of effort to talk her out of it."
After hearing that, I had a few guesses—along with even more questions.
I instructed everyone to strictly keep what happened today confidential, and I gave a few private instructions to my assistant, Liu Ming.
Night fell. I drove toward Beicun.
This road to the outskirts was usually quiet, but with the Xinhai project underway, it was now filled with trucks going back and forth.
After driving for half an hour, I saw bright lights up ahead—I had arrived.
Due to the recent waves of protest, the Public Security Bureau, the Environmental Bureau, and the City Administration had deployed heavy security around the plant site—nearly 200 personnel were stationed there. Such a scale was rare.I wondered: the last protest only had about 40 people. Why such a five-to-one defense ratio?What exactly are they so afraid of?
I parked my car in a small village about a kilometer away from the site and began walking toward a hill behind the plant.Before coming, I had studied the map. This hill behind the facility was the closest possible observation point.The plant's front entrance was completely sealed off.Maybe I could find a breakthrough from here.