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

The command center was quiet.

Guo Xiaojun and his team felt suffocated by the "two-day" deadline. Everyone's gaze unconsciously drifted to the figure standing by the window.

Chen Ping turned around, his gaze sweeping over the tense faces, his voice calm.

"What's the panic? The sky hasn't fallen yet."

He walked to the construction overview map, picked up his baton, and issued his first order: "Old Guo, immediately contact all the on-site managers of the suppliers. I need to know the situation firsthand, alive or dead. Materials department, re-inventory all inventory, down to every bag of cement and every steel bar, and report back to me in half an hour."

His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an irrefutable force, finally giving the panicked people in the office a sense of security.

Meanwhile, a tense atmosphere had already spread throughout the construction site.

In the core tube pouring area, the first batch of concrete mixer trucks, which were supposed to arrive at six o'clock in the morning, never showed up. Old Li, the foreman in charge of on-site scheduling, was covered in sweat under his safety helmet, and he was almost hoarse from shouting into the walkie-talkie.

"Gate! Gate! Answer me! Where is the tanker truck?"

"Old Li, there isn't a single car in front of the gate! You can't see a soul in sight!"

Old Zhang from the materials department was standing at the main gate of the construction site, looking at the empty entrance road, his heart sinking. Usually at this time, the line of cars waiting to enter could stretch for miles, but today it was so quiet you could hear the wind.

He had a bad feeling.

Just then, Lao Zhang's phone rang urgently again in the command center. Guo Xiaojun grabbed the phone and pressed speakerphone.

On the other end of the phone, Old Zhang's voice was panting: "Director Guo, I... I just ran back from Hongfa Commercial Concrete Plant! Their gates were tightly shut, with a sign saying 'Equipment under maintenance, temporarily closed,' but there was no movement inside at all! I slipped two packs of cigarettes to the security guard, and he quietly told me that they received a notice from above that we couldn't answer anyone's calls, and that whoever asked, we should only say the same thing!"

The notice was clearly transmitted to everyone in the command center via hands-free hands-free.

These words sent a chill down everyone's spine.

The faces of everyone in the office turned deathly pale instantly. Their last shred of hope vanished. This was a premeditated crackdown from above.

The atmosphere in the office became even more oppressive.

Only Chen Pingfang's expression remained unchanged.

He walked to the map of Yunzhou City on the wall, picked up a red pen, and said calmly, "Old Guo, mark the locations of all the companies that stopped supplying goods today on the map."

Guo Xiaojun suppressed his fear and, following Chen Pingfang's instructions, drew red circles on the map one by one.

Soon, a cluster of connected red dots appeared on the map, tightly surrounding the Jinshuiwan project.

Chen Pingfang looked at the map, his gaze cold: "These companies are scattered in various directions in Yunzhou, and their bosses are different. The fact that they can act in unison at the same time and under different pretexts means that there must be a unified coordinator behind them."

Guo Xiaojun understood immediately and called a classmate of his who worked in the municipal finance department. He used his connections to urgently check the equity structure of these companies in the business registration system.

The efficiency is astonishing.

Less than half an hour later, Guo Xiaojun rushed back to his office with a serious expression, holding a document that had just come out of the fax machine.

"Director, we've found it!" He slammed the documents on the table. "These suppliers seem unrelated on the surface, but after going through several layers of shareholding, they all point to a common shadow shareholder—Delong Investment! And the legal representative of this company is Zhao Decai, the vice president of the Yunzhou Chamber of Commerce!"

"Zhao Decai?" a young engineer exclaimed in surprise. "Isn't that... isn't that the one who accompanied Secretary Zhou on the inspection of the Chengnan New District a few days ago..."

Guo Xiaojun nodded heavily, then added a sentence that chilled everyone to the bone: "That's right, he's one of Secretary Zhou Wenyuan's men, and he has absolute power in the building materials and transportation industries in Yunzhou."

boom!

The enemy's identity was completely revealed.

Behind him stood the shadow of Yunzhou City's top figure, the city's Party Secretary.

The atmosphere in the command center instantly shifted from oppressive to a deeper fear. The level and strength of their opponent far exceeded their expectations. This was simply impossible to fight.

Just as everyone was in a state of panic, feeling that it was all over, Chen Ping's rarely used black personal cell phone on his desk suddenly rang.

The ringtone was jarring.

The caller ID showed an unfamiliar local number.

Chen Ping gestured for everyone to be quiet. He walked behind his desk, sat down, calmly answered the phone, and pressed the speakerphone button.

A greasy and arrogant voice came clearly from the receiver.

"You must be Director Chen from the Jinshuiwan project? Haha, let me introduce myself, my name is Zhao Decai."

Zhao Decai!

A collective gasp filled the command center. Everyone held their breath, staring intently at the phone.

The person in question has actually come to us on their own.

On the other end of the phone, Zhao Decai seemed to enjoy the feeling of being in control. He made no attempt to hide his purpose and continued in a sarcastic tone, "Director Chen, I heard your project is experiencing a shortage of materials lately. Sigh, there's nothing we can do. Environmental inspections in Yunzhou have been very strict lately, so everyone's having a tough time."

"However," he changed the subject, a smug tone in his voice, "I, Zhao, still have some stock. It's just that the risk is high, so the cost is a bit higher. How about this: double the price, all cash settlement. The money will arrive this afternoon, and I guarantee the first batch of concrete trucks will be parked at your construction site first thing tomorrow morning. What do you say, Director Chen, what do you think?"

This is blatant extortion and humiliation.

These words made everyone present clench their fists, their faces flushed with anger, their chests heaving, yet they were utterly helpless. Their fates were in the other's hands; they couldn't even utter a word in rebuttal.

All eyes were on Chen Pingfang, eager to see how he would respond.

However, to everyone's surprise, it happened.

Chen Ping leaned back in the wide chair, relaxed, and a smile appeared on his lips.

His tone was calm as he spoke into the speakerphone, unhurriedly saying, "Chairman Zhao, you've truly come to my rescue. On behalf of the project team, I thank you."

"However, Jinshui Bay is a key provincial project, and all procurement has strict procedures and iron discipline in finance. Doubling the price and demanding all cash is such a big deal. If it's against the rules, I can't bear the responsibility."

"Well then, I need to write an urgent report to Mayor Xiao, who is in charge of the project, and the leaders of the Provincial Development and Reform Commission, detailing the difficulties encountered in the project and Chairman Zhao's proposal, and hear their opinions."

After saying that, without waiting for Zhao Decai's reaction on the other end of the phone, Chen Ping decisively hung up the phone.

beep...beep...

A busy signal sounded.

The entire command post was completely silent.

Everyone was stunned by Chen Pingfang's unconventional reaction, staring at him in disbelief.

On the other end of the phone, Zhao Decai, who was preparing to enjoy Chen Ping's pleading posture, froze instantly upon hearing the busy tone on the phone.

Chen Ping glanced around at his shocked subordinates in the conference room, then regained his composure.

The crisis still loomed overhead, but the balance of power had quietly shifted the moment he hung up the phone.