Xia Zhining rushed to the outside of the meeting room, her breath slightly ragged.
She tugged at the secretary who was leading the way and asked in a low voice, "Has the meeting already started? Is there a back door to get in? And... which corner is my seat?"
The secretary smiled slightly, but her tone was meaningful: "Your seat is very conspicuous; you can see it at a glance."
After saying that, the secretary pushed open the heavy, soundproof door.
The moment the door opened, Xia Zhining felt as if a bright and clear view had suddenly appeared before her—
The grand conference hall, which could accommodate hundreds of people, was completely silent. All eyes were fixed on her like spotlights.
And her seat is more than just "visible at a glance".
Right at the very front of the venue, in the middle of the high-ranking podium!
Sitting in the same row were several police veterans with high-ranking officers whom I had only ever seen in the news!
Xia Zhining froze at the doorway, her mind going completely blank.
Just then, the elderly man with slightly graying temples who was sitting next to her stood up first, his loud voice, filled with laughter, resounding throughout the room:
"Let's give a warm round of applause to welcome our distinguished police officer and special expert, Xia Zhining, as she arrives at the meeting!"
These words were like a starting gun, instantly igniting the entire venue.
A thunderous applause erupted, so enthusiastic it almost lifted the roof off.
The commander-in-chief smiled and picked up the microphone, his voice full of praise: "Everyone may be wondering why Expert Xia is so late."
"Just before arriving at the venue, she also cracked a particularly heinous poisoning case, protecting the safety of an important citizen!"
"That's the efficiency of our expert Xia!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the applause grew even more enthusiastic, interspersed with a few heartfelt exclamations of praise.
Xia Zhining felt her face burning, and could only grit her teeth and walk step by step towards the radiant yet unsettling center seat under the gaze of hundreds of eyes and thunderous applause.
While she tried her best to maintain a polite smile and nod to those around her, her heart was already screaming wildly:
My goodness... this is huge!
My social anxiety is really kicking in!!!
Even after Xia Zhining sat down, her heart was still pounding.
Fortunately, this highly anticipated segment did not last long.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries and expressions of concern with Xia Zhining, several high-ranking police officers got straight to the core issues.
The discussion focused on how to leverage cross-disciplinary collaboration to solve long-standing cold cases and unsolved mysteries.
Xia Zhining also received a thick case file.
The commander-in-chief, who was presiding over the meeting, looked solemn and his gaze swept across the room: "The first case we are discussing today is a heavy cloud of doubt that has been hanging over our police force for many years and has never been able to dispel."
"The Mysterious Death of All Crew Members of Seahorse 173".
Xia Zhining flipped through the files, becoming more and more puzzled.
The incident occurred three years ago in the early morning amidst a thick fog.
The location is on the edge of the sea, about 12 nautical miles from the nearest coastline.
The vessel involved, the "Haiji-173" high-speed patrol boat, was on a night patrol mission at the time.
The three experienced coast guard officers on board were all normal that night, and their last routine communication with the command center was at 11:15 p.m.
However, at around 6 a.m. the next morning, another patrol boat spotted the "Haiji-173" slowly spinning in place on radar, with no response to its calls.
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