Special forces soldier demobilization: Starting from the county government compound, a meteoric rise

The lights in the top-secret operations room had a cold, hard, bluish-gray hue.

Liu Ming sat in the empty seat that originally belonged to the commander-in-chief. He was not wearing a military uniform or any medals, but his black trench coat made the dozens of generals and ministers present not dare to raise their heads.

This is not only because of his seniority, but also because of the almost tangible, murderous aura he exudes, as if he were emanating from a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood.

"The standard diplomatic protest has been sent out, but not only has it been ignored, that bastard Smith also tweeted five minutes ago that he would be holding a live-fire exercise on our 'doorstep'."

The Foreign Minister, pale-faced, pointed at the approaching red dot on the screen, his voice trembling slightly, "Old Liu, once a spark ignites, we're not prepared to enter a state of full-scale war. The economy won't be able to handle it."

Liu Ming slightly raised her eyes, a chilling smile curving her lips.

He held an unlit cigarette between his fingers, turning it gently, his voice as calm as still water.

"Who said I was going to fight them?"

The air in the conference room froze for a moment after these words were spoken. Several veteran generals with stars on their shoulders exchanged bewildered glances.

"Not attack? Their aircraft carrier is practically at our throats, are we just going to stand by and watch?" A hot-tempered general slammed his fist on the table, but when he met Liu Ming's deep, black-hole-like eyes, his imposing manner instantly diminished, and his voice lowered, "Then... then what does Elder Liu mean?"

"War doesn't necessarily have to be fought with bullets."

Liu Ming stood up and walked to the huge electronic sand table. He drew a circle around the red dots representing the aircraft carrier group with his finger, his tone chilling.

"Tank, notify Nangong Yao. Tell her to activate the 'circuit breaker' immediately. Tell her I don't care about the process, I only care about the result. I want to see the stock prices of those companies that provide core avionics support to the Seventh Fleet fall below their IPO price within three hours."

"Yes!" The tank standing at the door was like an iron tower, responding in a muffled voice.

"Ghost Hand." Liu Ming turned his head to look at the young man with black-rimmed glasses on the other end of the screen. "Your 'maintenance plan' can begin."

"Roger that, boss." Ghost Hand's lips curled into a fanatical smile, the kind of expression a tech fanatic would wear during a hunt. "I've infiltrated their undersea fiber optic cable node on the west coast. Now, all I have to do is press enter, and their Department of Defense's intranet and the servers of several mainstream media outlets will simultaneously see something... good enough to give them all a heart attack."

The high-ranking officials in the conference room held their breath.

They watched Liu Ming in front of the screen, as if she were operating a sophisticated instrument, each command accompanied by a tsunami on the other side of the ocean.

"Mr. Liu, 30% of the core raw materials for their chips are imported from several industrial parks in the south of our country," the Finance Minister said hastily, as if realizing something. "Should we...?"

"That's too slow," Liu Ming interrupted him, her tone dismissive. "Just notify the port to detain all cargo ships bound for San Diego and Yokosuka under the pretext of 'routine environmental inspections.' Also, activate quantum encryption interference."

I'm going to make those three ships 'blind' and 'deaf' at sea for the next twenty-four hours.

The next three hours were an almost magical catastrophe for the entire world.

The Seventh Fleet, which was sailing menacingly toward the Taiwan Strait, suddenly discovered that its satellite positioning had a large-scale jump deviation. On the originally precise radar screen, a series of transaction records of illegal political donations by high-ranking officials of their Ministry of National Defense inexplicably popped up. This was caused by the implantation of "some unknown virus"!

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean.

The CEOs of several of America's top defense contractors are watching their companies' stock prices in despair. It's not just a drop; it's a high-altitude dive, a freefall with no bottom!

The trillions of dollars in speculative capital commanded by Nangong Yao, in conjunction with the sanctions announced by the Chinese government, are like a group of bloodthirsty piranhas, frantically tearing at their foundations.

Not only that.

On several core forums deep within the international dark web, a video about Smith and his financial backers colluding with transnational human trafficking groups was pinned to the top and bolded, and even forcibly pushed to the homepages of some mainstream social media platforms by hackers.

That was the most damning, nuclear-level dirt that Ghost Hand had kept hidden away.

"Look! What on earth did that madman named Liu Ming do?"

Smith sat in his Washington office, staring in horror at his computer screen. He tried to close the webpage, only to find the entire system locked. Liu Ming's cold, stern face flashed across the screen, followed by Smith's most secret and sordid records.

His phone rang; it was the White House.

Instead of instructions, the voice on the other end of the phone was filled with furious roars and an ultimatum to get out of there.

Half an hour later.

The Seventh Fleet, which was originally invincible on the high seas, with its three massive carrier strike groups, turned around in an extremely embarrassing manner without any external attack.

Their power system was not broken, nor were their weapon systems.

But the country behind them collapsed.

Their logistical supply chain was disrupted.

Their supreme commander is facing impeachment and scandals domestically that could land him in jail for life.

The Bund in Shanghai.

The sea breeze remained gentle, and the river surface shimmered. The news that once terrified the people turned into a comical joke within just a few hours.

The crisis vanished without a trace, thanks to Liu Ming's lightning-fast and venomous combination of punches, without a single shot being fired or a drop of blood being shed.

"Reporting to the leadership! The enemy formation has completely withdrawn from the exercise area and is retreating to Yokosuka Base at full speed!"

Lei Tie's excited report rang out in the conference room, startling the ministers who had been worried about the overall economy.

Everyone turned to look at the man sitting in the shadows.

He still didn't light the cigarette, but slowly stood up and straightened his slightly heavy black trench coat.

"Don't bother me with such trivial matters next time." Liu Ming's voice remained calm, even tinged with a hint of dejection. "The orchids haven't been thoroughly watered yet."

He strode out of the conference room, his shadow stretching long in the dim light of the corridor, appearing both lonely and unapproachable.

The young generals watched his retreating figure, their eyes filled not only with admiration but also with a profound sense of relief at surviving a calamity. They finally understood why the central government had gone to such lengths to persuade this reclusive old man to return to service.

"This is our country's 'pillar of stability'."

The Foreign Minister wiped the cold sweat from his face and looked at his colleagues.

"You call this ruling from behind the curtain?" His colleague shook his head with a wry smile. "If it weren't for his influence, half of our sky would probably be exposed today."

As the tank stepped out of the red wall, it opened its door.

"Boss, are we going back to the courtyard house?"

Liu Ming watched the dark clouds gradually dissipate on the horizon, took a deep breath, and her eyes regained their gentle, homely expression.

"Return."

He leaned back in the back seat, his tone relaxed.

"Wanqing has probably already started stewing the ribs. If we go back any later, the bones will be mushy."