The game of power begins with the police officers at the local police station.

This technician was hired by Yi Feng from the Yizhou Song and Dance Troupe at great expense to seduce Chen Shi. Her bra contained a miniature camera. In another sauna room, Yi Feng and Zhang Kaizhi were watching the live broadcast.

As the two drank red wine, Yi Feng confidently said, "Chen Shi is so young and full of vigor. He definitely won't be able to resist the temptation of a beautiful woman."

Zhang Kaizhi said with a smile, "President Yi, our cadres were dragged down by you."

Everyone has weaknesses. Some people don't like money, others like beautiful women; there's bound to be one that suits you. Yi Feng said with a forced smile, "We have no choice. The competition is so fierce these days. Without the support of our superiors, it's hard to secure engineering projects. To survive, we have to resort to this tactic."

Chen Shi had a physical reaction and wanted to take this beauty right there and then. Two voices echoed in his mind.

One voice said, "It's just for fun, it's fine. A beautiful woman is offering herself up, why not take advantage of it? It's all for nothing anyway."

Another voice said, "You are a leading cadre, you can't act arbitrarily. Have you forgotten that money and beautiful women must be taken very seriously and strictly rejected?"

The same voice rang in my ears again: "Such a sexy beauty, it would be a waste not to play with her. This is a one-time thing, just this once."

Another voice rang out again: "Once will happen, and countless times will follow. Your career has just begun, and you're already going to be ruined by a beautiful woman. Don't you understand that Yi Feng is deliberately dragging you down with him? Once you can't control your lower body, your career will probably come to an end, and you'll become Yi Feng's puppet."

Chen Shi quickly came to his senses. He couldn't stay in the pool; it was easy for something to go wrong. He pushed the masseur away, got out of the pool, went to his room, changed his clothes, and gently patted his cheeks to control his desires.

The technician followed and stood at the door of the room waiting.

When Chen Shi came out, he saw the technician wearing a bikini. The bikini was transparent after it got wet, and her private parts were faintly visible. Most people would not be able to resist this naked temptation.

The technician giggled and said, "Sir, you pushed someone earlier, and they almost choked on the water."

As she spoke, she reached out to take Chen Shi's hand, but Chen Shi pushed her away and said sternly, "Just talk, don't touch me."

The technician sneered inwardly. There wasn't a man she couldn't handle. Pretending to be high and mighty, she'd make him live a life of debauchery soon enough.

With a big smile, he said, "Sir, how could you do this? Pushing people away again. Instead of taking a bath, let's have a couple of glasses of red wine and relax."

She had put an aphrodisiac in the red wine; she was confident she could win Chen Shi over as soon as he took a sip.

Chen Shi's expression was serious: "I'm not drinking anymore. I have something to do, so I'm leaving now."

When the technician saw that Chen Shi was about to leave, he panicked, pretended to lose his balance, and lunged at Chen Shi.

Chen Shi quickly sidestepped, causing the technician to fall to the ground with a thud, wincing in pain.

Damn man, does he have a problem in that area? I could see it clearly in the pool earlier; he had a physiological reaction.

Feigning a pitiful expression, she softly called out, "Oh dear, I can't get up, sir, please help me up."

Chen Shi didn't even glance at her, and quickly walked out of the sauna room.

The technician quickly got up, but unexpectedly, this seasoned veteran had stumbled in the small county of Chunyang, with only a section-level cadre as his downfall.

Many division-level and department-level cadres groveled at his feet, feeling a deep sense of defeat.

At the same time, he secretly thought highly of Chen Shi. This lowly section-level cadre was able to resist temptation and had a strong will; he was quite a character.

Chen Shi went to the changing room, took off his clothes, put on his own, and prepared to leave.

The fact that Zhang Kaizhi invited her to dinner, and that she left before even eating, shows that she has completely fallen out with Zhang Kaizhi.

Zhang Kaizhi is the deputy secretary of the county party committee, and he also has the support of high-ranking leaders in the municipal party committee. He might become the next county head or county party secretary. Offending him would also end one's career.

I must suppress the urge to leave. I still need to give Zhang Kaizhi face. Within the system, it's best to avoid offending people, especially leaders who hold real power.

Chen Shi waited in the rest area, while Zhang Kaizhi and Yi Feng watched from a distance. Zhang Kaizhi joked, "Mr. Yi, has this been a case of unexpected setback?"

Yi Feng smiled and said, "He may not like beautiful women, but he definitely likes money. I've investigated Chen Shi; he's a native of the countryside. People like him, once they have real power, are mostly filled with a desire for money."

He's just a section-level cadre, his monthly salary is meager, and he has a bunch of poor relatives who only hold him back and can't help much. Leaders like him are the easiest to manage.

The two men walked towards Chen Shi, who quickly stood up to greet them with a smile: "Secretary Zhang, are you done washing up?"

Zhang Kaizhi chuckled and said, "Director Chen, why don't you soak a little longer? The massage therapists here are quite good. Go get a massage after you finish your meal."

Chen Shi pondered that Zhang Kaizhi was trying to drag him down and was still persistent. With a smile on his face, he said, "Secretary Zhang, I have an appointment with Secretary Liu. I need to go to his place later to report on my work."

When Zhang Kaizhi saw Chen Shi bring up Liu Youguang, he sneered inwardly. How dare a mere director of the Education Bureau refuse his invitation?

With a smile still on his face, he said, "Director Chen, it's so late, and you still have to go to Secretary Liu to report on your work. You've never been to my place even once."

Chen Shi quickly explained, "Secretary Zhang, I've just arrived at the Education Bureau and have been very busy. I haven't had a chance to come and see you. I apologize for this and will come to report to you more often in the future."

Zhang Kaizhi chuckled twice and patted Chen Shi on the shoulder: "Director Chen, I was just kidding. I don't like formalism. Respect for superiors is something I keep in my heart, not just talk about."

"Let's go get some drinks."

The three entered the private room, and Yi Feng opened four bottles of fine wine, preparing to get Chen Shi drunk.

Take the wine dispenser, fill it with wine, and pour wine for Zhang Kaizhi and Chen Shi.

Despite the table laden with delicious food, Chen Shi had no appetite. He told himself he absolutely mustn't get drunk, or something bad would happen.

Yi Feng raised his glass: "Director Chen, I'd like to propose a toast to you."

Chen Shi smiled and said, "President Yi, you've toasted the wrong person. Secretary Zhang is my superior, you should toast Secretary Zhang first. If you've toasted the wrong person, you'll be punished with three drinks."

Yi Feng was surprised that Chen Shi made the first move, smiling and saying, "Tonight, Director Chen is a guest, so I should toast him first. Secretary Zhang is the host, so we'll toast him later. This is the drinking culture of Yizhou."

Chen Shi looked at Yi Feng: "President Yi, this is Chunyang County, not Yizhou. When in Rome, do as the Romans do. We must follow the rules of Chunyang."

Zhang Kaizhi quickly smoothed things over: "Let's drink the first glass of wine together, all three of us. Come on, let's drink this in one gulp, our friendship is deep."

Chen Shi had no choice but to pick up his wine glass, clink glasses with Zhang Kaizhi and Yi Feng, and drink it all in one gulp.

Zhang Kaizhi was a man of Zhu Ming, the deputy secretary of the municipal party committee. He knew that Chen Shi was Wang Mingzhang's nephew and wanted to drag Chen Shi down with him so that he could use him for his own purposes.

Zhang Kaizhi put down his wine glass, and Yi Feng quickly refilled it for him and Chen Shi as well.

Zhang Kaizhi raised his glass: "Director Chen, if you don't offer me a toast, I'll offer you one. Let's have a drink."

Chen Shi had no reason to refuse, so he raised his glass, smiled, and said, "Secretary Zhang, I'd like to toast you."

The two drank it all in one gulp.