After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

Meeting room of the Standing Committee of the Nanzhou Municipal Party Committee.

The oval conference table was full of people, and the atmosphere in the conference room was somewhat heavy. Even the air blowing from the air conditioning vents felt cool.

The municipal party secretary sat in the main seat, and Mayor Li Jianguo sat to his left.

Wang Weidong's face was grim, his eyes sunken and his cheeks flushed an unnatural red. He adjusted the microphone on the table, and then, as everyone's eyes were on him, he suddenly stood up.

"Secretary, Mayor, comrades! I have a question to raise with the Municipal Party Committee today!"

His voice was loud and jarring in the quiet conference room.

"A few young colleagues in the Municipal Government Office, taking advantage of the trust of their superiors, have acted without restraint! Yesterday, one of them openly organized people to tear down the seals that were legally affixed by several departments—this is violent resistance to the law! Such behavior will shake the foundation of our Nanzhou's administration according to law!"

Wang Weidong slammed his hand heavily on the table, making a "bang" sound.

"What's even more outrageous is that this comrade, using the name of a provincial leader, arbitrarily mobilized personnel from the finance and audit departments to conduct surprise inspections of key enterprises in our city, disrupting normal production and operations and creating a negative impact among cadres and the masses throughout the city!"

Although he didn't mention Chen Pingfang's name, his words were clearly directed at the young man sitting at the end of the table.

"I suggest that the municipal party committee immediately establish an investigation team to deal with this abuse of power and disregard for laws and regulations! Otherwise, the rules of Nanzhou will be in chaos, and the people's hearts will be scattered!"

In the conference room, everyone's eyes were on Chen Pingfang.

For a deputy secretary-general, even if he is the mayor's secretary, to directly confront a deputy mayor with real power is indeed going too far.

Li Jianguo frowned, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, without speaking immediately.

Chen Pingfang seemed not to have heard Wang Weidong's words. He stood up from his seat, walked to the front of the conference room, and held a black USB flash drive in his hand.

"Secretary, Mayor, could you give me ten minutes to report on my work yesterday?"

His voice was steady, completely different from the excited Wang Weidong.

The municipal party secretary glanced at him, then at Li Jianguo, and finally slowly nodded: "Speak."

Chen Ping inserted the USB drive into the computer.

The projection screen at the front of the conference room lit up.

A data table is displayed on the screen.

"These are Hongda Steel Plant's electricity consumption records and tax payment records for the past three years." Chen Pingfang's voice clearly reached everyone's ears through the microphone. "This plant completely ceased production three years ago, but it still consumes a large amount of industrial electricity every month—enough to support the operation of a medium-sized auto parts factory. At the same time, it continues to enjoy high electricity price subsidies. Over three years, it has fraudulently obtained a total of 137 million yuan in national subsidies."

A collective gasp filled the conference room.

Wang Weidong's pupils contracted slightly.

Chen Ping didn't stop; he pressed the page-turning button.

The second slide is a chart showing the flow of funds. The arrows point out from the accounts of six companies, including Hongda Steel and Jinxing Chemical, and transfer through several shell companies before finally ending up in a private account.

The account holder's information was clearly printed out.

He is a relative of the head of a department in the municipal power supply bureau.

"The key backbone enterprises that Vice Mayor Wang mentioned are these zombie enterprises that have long since ceased production but are still sucking blood from the Nanzhou power grid."

Chen Pingfang's voice wasn't loud, but it made everyone present feel cold.

"As for why I want to influence their operations, it's because their business involves selling electricity belonging to the people of Nanzhou at high prices to surrounding entertainment venues, and even... underground cryptocurrency mining farms."

The last slide appeared.

These photos were taken overnight by auditors in the power room of Hongda Steel Plant. They showed altered electricity meters, illegally installed dense cables, and thousands of mining machines operating at high speed hidden in the basement.

When the photos were released, the entire conference room fell silent; everyone was stunned by the thousands of mining machines.

Wang Weidong's face turned deathly pale, completely devoid of color. He swayed, his hands gripping the table trembling.

"Now, let's talk about the issue of administering according to law, which is of concern to Vice Mayor Wang."

Chen Ping turned off the projector, turned around, and looked at Wang Weidong directly for the first time.

"Vice Mayor Wang, you shut down eight core supporting manufacturers for the Chipfire project under the pretext of safety. I would like to ask, where are the safety hazard reports for these manufacturers? Have rectification notices been issued? Have they been informed that they can apply for administrative reconsideration?"

"Or are you saying that the safety concerns you're referring to are simply because they don't buy electricity from you at higher prices?"

"You always say I break the rules, but when you fabricated the power shortage and obstructed key provincial strategic projects, what rules were you talking about?"

"Comrade Wang Weidong!" Chen Pingfang's voice suddenly rose, addressing him by his full name for the first time. "You use the guise of security to sabotage the development of Nanzhou! Your so-called law enforcement is merely a means to eliminate those who disobey and protect your own pockets!"

"You..." Wang Weidong pointed at Chen Pingfang, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

With the evidence laid bare, all his defenses seemed ridiculous.

"That's enough!"

Mayor Li Jianguo, who had been silent until now, suddenly slammed his hand on the table and stood up. He scanned the entire room with a sharp gaze.

"This is outrageous! It's utterly absurd! Right under our noses, such a massive network of vested interests is undermining our Southern State!"

Li Jianguo was very angry.

"I hereby declare that the Municipal Party Committee and the Municipal Government fully support the industrial electricity consumption census initiated by Comrade Chen Pingfang! Not only must we investigate, but we must investigate thoroughly! No matter who is investigated, no matter how high their position or how powerful their background, they must be dealt with seriously, and no one should be let off the hook!"

"This is no longer a simple economic issue; it's a betrayal of Nanzhou's future development!"

Li Jianguo's words completely extinguished Wang Weidong's hope.

He went limp and sat back in his chair, his face ashen.

He knew he was finished.

The situation in the conference room changed instantly.

Chen Ping glanced at the dejected Wang Weidong, then turned to the municipal party secretary and Li Jianguo, and bowed slightly.

"Secretary, Mayor, in order to prevent this from happening again and to ensure the energy security of key projects like the Corefire Phase II project, I have a suggestion, though it may be premature."

All eyes were now on him.

"I suggest that, based on the work of this census team, a permanent institution be established—the Southern State Industrial and Energy Coordination Center."

Chen Pingfang's voice was clear and powerful.

"This center will be responsible for the unified assessment of electricity consumption quotas for industrial enterprises throughout the city, the review and issuance of subsidies, and the dynamic monitoring of energy efficiency. This will take power back from a certain department and bring it under the unified management of the city."

Everyone present was stunned by these words.

This is no longer as simple as investigating a case.

This involves redistributing power between the power supply bureau and related departments, establishing a new management core in the energy sector of the southern state.

Wang Weidong suddenly raised his head, staring intently at Chen Pingfang, his eyes empty and devoid of anything.

Facing everyone's gaze, Chen Ping spoke his last words.

"To ensure efficiency and direct accountability to the mayor, I suggest that this center be directly managed by the Municipal Government Office."

"I am willing to take on this responsibility."