Handong: Sha Li wants political achievements? I'll shut down the entire province.

"Who will this bloodthirsty dragon target tomorrow?"

Gao Yuliang's murmurs seemed to drift away on the evening breeze, disappearing into the cool night air of Handong.

Meanwhile, the true ruler of this city stands in the clouds.

On the top floor of the Lingxiao Building, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The sheer height of 120 stories made the traffic on the ground appear as faint sparks.

Yan Qingfeng gently swirled the wine glass between his fingertips, his posture upright like a pine tree.

A thick, sticky bloodstain clung to the dark red Romanée-Conti glass.

He looked down at the brightly lit city of Jingzhou, his eyes as deep and unfathomable as a dry well.

It has no ripples, yet it can devour everything.

"Thump, thump".

Two soft knocks came from behind me.

"Go in." Yan Qingfeng didn't turn around, only uttering one word.

The heavy mahogany door was pushed open, and Chief Secretary Zhou Yuan tiptoed in.

He stopped exactly three steps away from Yan Qingfeng and bowed slightly.

"President Yan, the Municipal Bureau just sent us an inside message."

Zhou Yuan swallowed hard, his voice low.

"Hou Liangping is dead."

Yan Qingfeng's fingers, which were swirling the wine glass, didn't even pause for a moment.

"How did he die?"

"On the old green train back to his hometown, he was said to have suffered a sudden attack of anger and vomited blood, which caused him to die."

Zhou Yuan felt a pang of sadness when he recalled the photos sent back from the scene.

"The train attendant was terrified and had her carried off the train at a small station halfway through the journey."

"When the local police station went to verify his identity, they found that he didn't even have a single coin in his pocket, and his woven bag was full of rags."

Zhou Yuan paused, a hint of mockery in his voice.

"They didn't know his background, so they treated him like an unknown homeless person, and his body was just thrown into the morgue and put into a freezer."

Yan Qingfeng brought the wine glass to his lips and took a sip.

It has a rich flavor with a hint of bitter fruitiness.

Hou Liangping is dead.

This self-important "Imperial Envoy" once turned Handong upside down.

Just like a stray dog, it died silently in the stinking carriage.

There wasn't even anyone to collect his body.

"Has no one from the Zhong family come to inquire?" Yan Qingfeng asked casually.

"He didn't come." Zhou Yuan shook his head, his face full of disdain.

"Zhong Xiaoai is now in dire straits herself. Her overseas fraud case is under investigation, and even the Zhong family's courtyard house has been sealed off."

"She has no time to care about her ex-husband who has been skinned alive."

Yan Qingfeng turned around and casually poured the priceless glass of red wine into the potted plant next to him.

The scarlet liquid seeped into the soil, giving off a fishy smell.

In his eyes, Hou Liangping wasn't even a real opponent.

It was just a noisy mosquito; if you swatted it, you'd complain about getting your hands dirty.

"understood."

Yan Qingfeng took out a wet wipe and slowly wiped his fingers.

"Notify the senior management group that a meeting will be held in Conference Room 1 on the top floor in fifteen minutes."

Zhou Yuan's heart skipped a beat, and he bent over even deeper.

"Understood. What kind of document do you need?"

Yan Qingfeng threw the used wet wipe into the trash can and looked up at Zhou Yuan.

Those eyes revealed an undisguised greed and arrogance.

"Liquidation".

Just two words, yet they instantly sent a chill down Zhou Yuan's spine.

He knew that the world in Handong was about to be turned upside down tonight.

Fifteen minutes later.

The lights in Conference Room No. 1 were on full display.

The core strategists, operators, and legal directors of the Lingxiao Consortium sat upright.

No one dared to whisper; they even held their breath.

Yan Qingfeng pushed open the door and entered, his leather shoes making a dull sound on the carpet.

He walked straight to the head seat at the end of the long table, pulled out a chair, and sat down.

"Everyone, all the troublemakers in Handong have been eliminated."

Yan Qingfeng crossed his hands and rested them on his chin, scanning the entire room.

"Sha Ruijin is currently hiding in the provincial party committee compound pretending to be mute, and Li Dakang is still in the hospital due to a cerebral hemorrhage."

"The troublemaker sent from the capital just died on the tracks."

A suppressed gasp of cold air rose from below.

Hou Liangping is dead?

The news was so explosive, but no one dared to ask a single question at that moment.

"Mr. Yan, can we now go all out with our next moves?"

The investment director mustered his courage and tentatively asked a question.

Yan Qingfeng gave a cold laugh.

"Let go? I want you to strip Han Dong naked."

He stood up and walked to the giant LED screen in the conference room.

"We've been holding back our fighting for a while now, just to save face for the capital."

"Now that the facade is torn off, the substance must be entirely ours."

Yan Qingfeng snapped his fingers.

The large screen lit up instantly, displaying a dense array of data and red-marked plots of land.

"Those people in politics haven't even caught their breath yet."

"I intend to seize all of Handong's strategically valuable core assets within the next few days."

"No matter what means are used, no matter what procedures are followed."

Yan Qingfeng's voice wasn't loud, but it made everyone's eardrums ache.

"I want to completely change the economic lifeline of Handong to the Yan family."

The CFO quickly stood up and opened the report in his hand.

"Master Yan, we currently have ample cash flow in our accounts, with tens of billions of working capital that we can readily invest."

"No need to spend money," Yan Qingfeng interrupted him directly.

The CFO was taken aback, looking somewhat bewildered.

"If you don't spend money, how will you clear the table?"

"Use the debt." Yan Qingfeng tapped the screen.

"Handong has been taking too big a step in the past few years and has messed things up. There are unfinished buildings and triangular debts everywhere."

"We won't be suckers, we'll be saviors."

The chief legal officer adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and stood up with a solemn expression.

"Master Yan, if you make too big of a move, it will look too unseemly."

"I'm worried that the municipal party committee will resort to desperate measures and do everything they can to block our approval process."

"Approval blocked?" Yan Qingfeng thought to himself that he had heard the biggest joke in the world.

"What kind of cards are they using? Their meager salaries, or the nearly empty fiscal deficit?"

He pointed to a string of red debt figures on the screen and gave a mocking smirk.

"The fiscal deficit in Jingzhou City is bigger than a crater on the moon."

"Contractors from all walks of life are blocking the entrance to the municipal party committee compound every day to collect debts, and Li Dakang can barely afford his medicine anymore."

Yan Qingfeng swiped his finger across the screen, and the scene instantly changed.

A giant 3D sand table model appeared prominently on the big screen.

A prime location, massive in scale, yet it's been glaringly labeled as an "unfinished and abandoned project."

The Bright Peak Project.

This was once Li Dakang's proudest achievement, and a stepping stone for him to become a member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee.

Now, however, it has become a thorn in the side of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.

The daily bank interest alone was enough to drive Li Dakang to the brink of suicide.

"Let's start with that."

Yan Qingfeng pointed at the sand table of Bright Peak, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes.

"Old Zhou, go and get the restructuring agreement we prepared beforehand."

Yan Qingfeng tapped his long fingers on the table, making a clicking sound.

"Take the strictest possible conditions; not a single penny in cash is allowed."

"Using shell companies with cross-shareholdings, I want 100% actual development rights and revenue rights to Guangming Peak through debt-to-equity swaps."

The meeting room was deathly silent; everyone was shocked by the sheer scale of the appetite.

They're trying to get something for nothing, and they also want to take a bite out of the most valuable piece of the municipal party committee.

This is like pulling out Li Dakang's spine and then making him loudly say thank you.

The chief legal officer wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and swallowed hard.

"Master Yan, these conditions are too harsh; it's blatant robbery."

"With Secretary Li's stubborn temper, he'd probably rather resign than sign."

Yan Qingfeng turned his head and looked at the deep night sky outside the window.

"Go and draft a contract."

Yan Qingfeng's lips curled into a cold smile. "Have Li Dakang sign the document for me while he's in the hospital bed."