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

The dull thud of the conference room door locking instantly lowered the air pressure inside to freezing.

The five powerful department heads, who usually wielded considerable influence in the area, involuntarily exchanged surprised and uncertain glances. Although they held important positions, they knew that in this building rife with power struggles, locking the doors meant an absolute falling out and a fight to the death.

"Liu Ming! What do you mean by this?"

Zhao Ruihu was the first to react. He slammed his hand on the table, stood up, and pointed at Liu Ming's nose. His originally effeminate face became ferocious with extreme anger and the humiliation of being insulted.

"What do you want to do? Restrict our personal freedom? Let me tell you, this is a ministry, not those poor, remote places you used to work in! Every one of you here was rigorously vetted and promoted by the organization department. What right do you, a newly appointed director, have to decide our fate?"

"Exactly! You're absolutely lawless!"

Sun Zhiyuan, the director of the General Affairs Department, also jumped out. He was usually Zhao Ruihu's most loyal lackey, so he naturally had to show his loyalty to his master.

"Director Liu, I know you're new and eager to make a splash. But you've got your fire in the wrong place! We're all tenured employees! You want to take us down? Fine! Go ahead and file a complaint against us through the Party Committee! I want to see how you, a lone commander, can challenge the entire High-Tech Industries Department!"

Li Tiande sneered repeatedly. He was in charge of approving the most lucrative industrial projects, and his network of relationships was extremely complex. He didn't take Liu Ming seriously at all.

"Director Liu, don't take offense at my harsh words, but the waters in this building are deep enough to drown a dragon. Do you think you can just walk around here like that just because you've come with some kind of title? I advise you to open the door quickly, so everyone can save face, otherwise..."

"What else can we do?"

Liu Ming looked at the three clowns jumping around, her eyes showing no emotion whatsoever.

He ignored Zhao Ruihu's roar and paid no heed to Sun Zhiyuan and Li Tiande's threats. He simply and slowly unbuttoned the top button of his jacket, then gently pushed the top-secret document that he had been keeping under his hand to the center of the conference table.

This is a special document jointly issued by the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Council for Deliberation, bearing nine large, dark gold seals bearing the characters for "national" (国). The paper used is made of a very special anti-counterfeiting material, and under the bright lights of the conference room, it exudes a chilling sense of authority.

"Didn't you want to follow procedures? Didn't you want to see what authority I have to take action against you?"

Liu Ming's voice was soft, yet it carried a sense of oppression that could penetrate one's soul.

See for yourself.

Zhao Ruihu frowned and picked up the document with suspicion. In just one glance, his eyes, which had been filled with anger, shrank to the size of pinpoints!

[...To ensure the absolute security and efficient advancement of the core technology strategy, with the approval of the council, Comrade Liu Ming, Director of the High-Tech Industry Department of the National Development and Reform Commission, is hereby granted the right to exercise the "one-vote veto power over personnel appointments" and the "privilege of direct dismissal without prior report in a state of emergency" during the special project period...]

These few lines of text were like thunderclaps, exploding directly in Zhao Ruihu's mind!

A veto power in personnel matters! The privilege of immediate dismissal!

What the hell does that even mean?

Within the entire system of the Dragon Kingdom, this kind of "sword of Damocles" that can be described as "acting first and reporting later" is something that even a minister-level bigwig would never possess, let alone a director! This is simply handing over the power of life and death of the entire High-Tech Industry Department completely, thoroughly, and without reservation to Liu Ming alone!

"This...this is impossible! This is absolutely impossible! This is a fake!"

Zhao Ruihu's voice trembled as he stared intently at the nine glaring red seals, as if he were witnessing the most terrifying ghost in the world. He knew, of course, that the document couldn't be forged; with that level of anti-counterfeiting measures and seals, Liu Ming wouldn't dare to forge it even if he had ten times the courage.

But he couldn't accept this reality. He had painstakingly built up the entire High-Tech Industry Division over the years, believing it to be an impenetrable fortress. Unless Zhao Ruihu gave his approval, Liu Ming couldn't budge an inch of paper!

But now, the higher-ups have actually given Liu Ming a "dragon-slaying sword" that he can use to kill people at will!

"Fake? You can call the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China right now to verify it."

Liu Ming leaned back in her chair, looking at Zhao Ruihu's face, which had turned as pale as paper from fear, and a cruel smile curled at the corner of her lips.

Sun Zhiyuan and Li Tiande also sensed something was wrong. They leaned over and glanced at the document, and were immediately struck dumb.

"Thump."

Li Tiande's legs went weak, and he collapsed into a chair, his face ashen, gasping for breath. Sun Zhiyuan couldn't even hold his water glass properly; it crashed to the ground and shattered, splashing hot water all over his foot without him noticing.

They finally realized how childish and ridiculous their earlier shouting had seemed in Liu Ming's eyes.

"Didn't you just say that I have no right to touch you?"

Liu Ming stood up. His not-so-robust physique exuded a suffocating, terrifying aura, like a monstrous dragon from the abyss.

He walked up to Zhao Ruihu and looked down at him.

"Deputy Director Zhao, you just said that there's something fishy going on in this building?"

"Then I'll show you how this dragon can stir up trouble in these deep waters."

Liu Ming's gaze was sharp as a knife, suddenly turning to Sun Zhiyuan and Li Tiande, who had been jumping the loudest just now.

The two section chiefs, who had been so arrogant just moments before, were now like lambs being stared at by hungry wolves, trembling with fear and not daring to even glance at Liu Ming.

"Sun Zhiyuan, Li Tiande."

Liu Ming's voice echoed in the conference room, carrying a chilling tone reminiscent of a death sentence.

"From this moment on, both of you are fired."

"This isn't suspension, it's not transfer. It's a complete dismissal from public office. Furthermore, I have handed over all project approval records from your tenure to the special investigation team of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection. You can prepare to spend the rest of your lives in there."

"No! Director Liu! You can't do this! You can't be so cruel!"

Sun Zhiyuan completely broke down. He scrambled towards Liu Ming, trying to grab his leg, but Liu Ming kicked him away.

Li Tiande burst into tears. He crawled to Zhao Ruihu and grabbed his trouser leg tightly.

"Director Zhao! Director Zhao, please save me! Didn't you say it was foolproof? Didn't you say you had someone above you protecting me? Please save me!"

Zhao Ruihu's face was extremely grim. He looked at Liu Ming, his eyes filled with overwhelming hatred, but even more so with a deep sense of powerlessness.

He lost. He lost completely. He didn't even have a chance to struggle.

"What? Deputy Director Zhao, you want to go with them too?"

Liu Ming looked at Zhao Ruihu, her tone flat and without a trace of emotion.

Zhao Ruihu took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down. He knew that a direct confrontation would only lead to his death. He had to endure it, and he had to get the message out so that the big shots behind the scenes would deal with this madman.

"Director Liu, you have some impressive skills."

Zhao Ruihu gritted his teeth and forced out a sinister smile.

"However, there's plenty of time. We'll see."

After saying that, he turned and left without even glancing at the two dismissed subordinates.

Liu Ming watched his retreating figure without stopping him. She simply walked to the conference room door and opened the heavy door.

Outside the door stood two burly, expressionless men in black. They were special operations team members from Dragon Shield Security, and also Liu Ming's trusted confidants whom he had brought into Yancheng.

"Throw these two pieces of trash out."

Liu Ming pointed to Sun Zhiyuan and Li Tiande on the ground and said calmly.

"Yes, boss!"

Two special operations team members pounced in like wolves and tigers, lifting the two once arrogant section chiefs up like chickens and striding out.

"Liu Ming! You'll die a horrible death! You'll definitely get your retribution!"

The two people's desperate screams echoed in the corridor, but quickly disappeared into the depths of the elevator.

In the conference room, only Liu Ming and the three section chiefs, who were already so frightened that they were slumped in their chairs and didn't dare to breathe, remained.

Liu Ming walked back to the main seat, picked up the cup of stale tea that had gone cold, and drank it all in one gulp.

He looked at the three silent section chiefs, a bloodthirsty smile creeping onto his lips.

"Does anyone still think I have no right to touch you?"