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

With Yan Qingfeng's chilling command last night, the meat grinder of capital has quietly started.

The next morning, the blinding sunlight tore through the clouds.

The light shone directly onto the glass window of the VIP ward in Jingzhou Municipal Hospital, making people dizzy.

Li Dakang leaned against the rocking back of the hospital bed, his face ashen.

A transparent oxygen tube was inserted into his nose, and his chest was rising and falling.

Since being rescued from a sudden cerebral hemorrhage, this once decisive and efficient municipal party secretary seems to have had most of his life taken away out of thin air.

"Secretary Dakang, this hole really can't be filled."

Yi Xuexi, deputy secretary of the municipal party committee, stood at the foot of the bed, clutching a crumpled report in his hand, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep.

"The initial funding for the Guangmingfeng project was all embezzled by Ding Yizhen and his gang, and now the project has been completely halted and abandoned."

"Four major contractors jointly sued our municipal government yesterday."

Yi Xuexi's voice was hoarse, conveying a deep sense of powerlessness.

"The daily bank interest and default fees alone wouldn't even amount to a fraction of the total revenue if we drained the finances of the districts below."

Li Dakang's withered lips trembled twice as he stared intently at the ceiling.

"What did Sha Ruijin say?"

"The provincial party committee is playing dead." Yi Xuexi gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the edge of the bed.

"Secretary Sha said that this is a mess that Jingzhou City itself has to deal with, and the provincial finances are also tight, so we have to find a way to save ourselves."

"Self-rescue? How can we save ourselves!"

Li Dakang coughed suddenly, which aggravated the blood vessels in his brain, causing his face to contort in pain.

Guangming Peak was once his most significant achievement in gaining a seat on the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee.

Now, however, it has become a deadly noose around the neck of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee.

Just then, a series of chaotic footsteps came from outside the ward.

The two security guards at the entrance tried to stop them, but were rudely pushed aside.

With a soft "bang," the heavy soundproof door was pushed open.

Four or five men in suits, their hair neatly combed, filed in.

The leather shoes made a uniform, dull sound as they stepped on the hospital's sterilized floor mats.

The man in the lead was carrying a silver metal briefcase and wearing gold-rimmed glasses.

Gu Ming, Chief Legal Officer of Lingxiao Consortium.

"Deputy Secretary Yi, please make way."

Gu Ming didn't even glance at Yi Xuexi, and walked straight to the bedside and stood there.

"I've come to deliver life-saving medicine to Secretary Li on behalf of Master Yan."

Yi Xuexi's face turned ashen, and he pointed at the door and growled.

"Who let you in? This is a VIP ward. Get out immediately!"

Gu Ming ignored him, but simply gestured with his chin to his assistant behind him.

Two men who looked like bodyguards immediately stepped forward and blocked the door to the ward like iron towers.

Li Dakang struggled to lift his heavy eyelids and ripped the oxygen tube out of his nostrils.

"What tricks is Yan Qingfeng planning this time?"

His voice was hoarse, as if it had been sanded.

Gu Ming chuckled softly, placed the combination lock box flat on the bedside table, and clicked open the lock.

"Secretary Li is right. Master Yan is a respectable businessman and can't stand seeing ordinary people suffer."

Gu Ming took out a thick stack of documents and handed them to Li Dakang.

"The Lingxiao Consortium is willing to take over the mess of the Guangming Peak project and fully guarantee its restructuring."

Upon hearing the words "full coverage," Yi Xuexi was stunned.

Even in Li Dakang's cloudy eyes, a hint of surprise flashed across his face.

Guangming Peak is now a bottomless pit that can never be filled, burning through money every day.

Would Yan Qingfeng, that ruthless capitalist crocodile who devours people without spitting out the bones, really be so kind?

"What are the conditions?"

Li Dakang forced himself to sit up straight, his eyes fixed on Gu Ming.

"How much preferential treatment does Master Yan want? How many years of tax reductions or exemptions do you want?"

"You misunderstand. Master Yan doesn't want a single penny of tax reduction, nor does he want any special policy privileges."

Gu Ming turned to the third page of the document and pointed to the core clauses.

"Lingxiao will register three shell companies in the Cayman Islands to conduct complex cross-shareholding."

"We will use the pretext of assuming all of Guangmingfeng's non-performing debts to directly carry out debt-to-equity swap operations."

Yi Xuexi leaned over and glanced at it, then his head exploded with a "buzz".

"Bullshit! This is blatant robbery!"

Yi Xuexi was so angry that he trembled all over and pointed at Gu Ming's nose, cursing loudly.

"They didn't pay a single penny in cash; they just used a few transfer agreements and bundled the debts together to separate the debts."

"You want to take away 100% of the actual development rights and perpetual revenue rights to Bright Peak?"

The terms in the document are clearly written, and every word is like a cannibalistic fang.

On the surface, the municipal government still retains the "reputational control" over Guangming Peak.

To the outside world, this is still a public welfare project under the leadership of the municipal party committee.

But in reality, the land, construction rights, all future shop rents, and the technology park's revenue are all at stake.

Everything belongs to the Lingxiao Consortium; the municipal government doesn't even get a penny.

Li Dakang felt as if he had been hit hard in the chest with a dull thud.

A faint rusty taste rose in my throat.

"Yan Qingfeng has quite the appetite!"

Li Dakang gripped the white bed sheet with both hands, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

"The land at Guangming Peak alone is valued at several billion yuan!"

"I'd rather resign and go to jail than sign this contract of servitude!"

"Get out! Take your filthy money and get out!"

Gu Ming didn't even lift his eyelids, pulled over a chair, and sat down with an air of nonchalance.

"Resign? You're dreaming."

Gu Ming opened the bottom of the briefcase, took out a few thin photos, and threw them onto the hospital bed.

The photos show ordinary people holding white banners and crying out in despair outside unfinished buildings.

Some people even sat in front of the large iron gate of the municipal party committee compound, holding gasoline cans.

"You think you can just pack up and leave?"

Gu Ming's voice was filled with undisguised mockery.

"As long as the Lingxiao Consortium doesn't take over, no company in Handong Province will dare to take on this hot potato."

"It's easy for you to go to jail, but can you bear the blame for the thousands of families torn apart and destroyed?"

Looking at those photos, Li Dakang's once straight spine gradually slumped.

He always claimed that he was working for the benefit of the people of Jingzhou and for the GDP of Handong.

In the end, Yan Qingfeng seized on this weakness and drove him to a dead end.

This is the devastating effect of capital; it kills without bloodshed, yet it can destroy one's spirit.

"Secretary Sha... are we just going to stand by and watch you run rampant like this?"

Undeterred, Li Dakang gritted his teeth and brought out the final Buddha statue.

"Sharikin?"

Gu Ming felt like he had heard the biggest joke in the world and couldn't help but sneer.

"Secretary Li, are you truly confused or just pretending?"

"Master Yan already said last night that all the troublemakers in Handong have been eliminated, and now it's time to liquidate the situation."

"Secretary Sha can't even hold onto his own position right now, how could he have the time to care about your life or death?"

A deathly silence fell over the ward.

Only the monitor emitted a monotonous ticking sound, like a death knell counting down.

Yi Xuexi turned his head away, unable to bear watching any longer.

He knew that the last shred of dignity in this city had been utterly crushed.

Gu Ming stood up and straightened the hem of his suit jacket.

He pulled an exquisite gold-plated fountain pen from his breast pocket and removed the cap.

The chief legal officer handed a gold-plated pen to Li Dakang, whose face was ashen.

His tone was neither humble nor arrogant, yet it conveyed a strong sense of pressure.

"Secretary Li, please sign it. For the sake of the people of Jingzhou, you have no other choice."