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

The cold wind of Jingzhou at night blew straight in through the cracks in the door of the Maybach.

Wang Dalu sat in the spacious back seat, but felt like he couldn't even catch his breath.

He gripped the brown paper bag tightly in his arms, the sweat in his palms soaking through the paper.

The car was parked in the giant plaza outside the Lingxiao Building.

Wang Dalu took a deep breath, opened the car door, and strode towards the god-like building against the cold wind.

The lobby was brightly lit, almost blindingly so.

Several towering black-clad bodyguards, standing around him, gave him a cold glance.

The way he looked at her was no different from how he looked at a stray dog.

Wang Dalu walked to the front desk and forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.

"Excuse me, this is Wang Dalu from Dalu Group, requesting an audience with Master Yan."

The young receptionist didn't even lift her eyelids.

She typed slowly and deliberately on the keyboard, casually tossing out a sentence.

"I can't see you without an appointment. Mr. Yan is busy."

In the past, who would have dared to speak to the chairman of Dalu Group like that?

But now, Wang Dalu doesn't dare to utter a single word.

He took out a pure gold business card from his pocket and handed it over with both hands.

"Miss, could you do me a favor and pass a message to Secretary Zhou?"

"Just say that Wang Dalu brought the entire fortune of the Dalu Group to stand guard for Master Yan."

The receptionist glanced at the gold business card, picked up the internal phone, and dialed a number.

After saying a few words in a low voice, he hung up with a "click".

"President Yan is busy. You can wait if you wish."

Wang Dalu nodded repeatedly, like a doorman doing rough work, and obediently retreated to the side of the lobby.

I didn't even dare to sit on the leather sofa in the rest area; I just stood there ramrod straight.

An hour has passed.

Wang Dalu's calves started to cramp, and a large water stain appeared on the back of his suit.

Two hours, three hours.

The cold air in the lobby made his teeth chatter.

The tycoon, worth billions, stood like a schoolboy being punished.

It lasted a full five hours.

The sky was beginning to lighten with the first light of dawn, and the sanitation workers came out pushing water carts to mop the floors.

A soft "ding" sounded.

The doors to the president's private elevator opened.

Chief Secretary Zhou Yuan yawned and strolled out slowly.

He looked at Wang Dalu, whose legs were shaking, and gave a mocking smirk.

"Chairman Wang, you have great stamina! Has Li Dakang ever made you stand for this long before?"

Upon hearing that name, Wang Dalu trembled with fear.

He quickly bowed, his face full of flattery.

"Secretary Zhou is joking. I have long since severed ties with the Municipal Party Committee. Now, all I want to do is serve Master Yan faithfully."

Zhou Yuan chuckled and raised his chin.

"Go upstairs, Master Yan just woke up. You only have three minutes."

The top-floor office on the 120th floor.

Two heavy mahogany doors were pushed open from the inside.

Wang Dalu held his breath and tiptoed across the threshold.

The office was ridiculously large, with the morning light of Jingzhou just beginning to awaken shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Yan Qingfeng, dressed in a black silk bathrobe, was leaning back in a leather chair, resting with his eyes closed.

The room was dark, with only the faint blue light emanating from the holographic sand table on the side.

The light shone on Yan Qingfeng's cold and stern profile, revealing an aura of power that held the key to life and death.

Wang Dalu's mind went blank, and his knees buckled.

"thump"!

Without a second's hesitation, he knelt upright on the expensive, handmade carpet.

The impact was heavy, producing a dull thud.

"Master Yan!"

Wang Dalu picked up the brown paper bag with both hands and held it high above his head.

"Wang Dalu of Dalu Group kowtows to you!"

Yan Qingfeng didn't even lift his eyelids, his slender fingers gently tapping the leather armrest.

"Da, da, da."

The sound was like a death knell, making Wang Dalu's heart pound in his throat.

"Li Dakang's former favorite, the moneybag."

Yan Qingfeng finally spoke, his voice languid yet sharp.

"Old Liu from Xinghan just jumped off the building yesterday, and you, on the other hand, come here and kowtow to me?"

Wang Dalu swallowed hard, pressing his forehead firmly against the carpet.

"Old Liu doesn't know what's good for him, he deserves it!"

"I, Wang Dalu, may be a rough man, but I know the rules. The land of Handong belongs only to the Yan family!"

He quickly tore open the brown paper bag and pulled out the documents inside.

"Master Yan, this is the document for the gratuitous transfer of 30% of the core shares of Dalu Group!"

"And the consent form for full access to the Yunxiao system has been signed!"

Yan Qingfeng finally lifted his eyelids and glanced at the pile of waste paper.

"Thirty percent? To buy the lives of your entire family?"

"Chairman Wang, your scheme is as wide as the Pacific Ocean."

Wang Dalu felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

He looked around in a panic, his gaze landing on the coffee table beside him.

There was a set of freshly boiled purple clay teaware on it.

He scrambled over there, not caring how hot the freshly boiled water was.

He simply picked up the teapot with his bare hands and poured a cup of piping hot Da Hong Pao tea.

Wang Dalu gritted his teeth and didn't utter a sound even though a string of bright red blisters appeared on the back of his hand from the burn.

He held the teacup in both hands and crawled back to Yan Qingfeng's feet on his knees.

"Master Yan, if you drink this cup of tea, from this day forward, the Dalu Group will be Ling Xiao's dog!"

"I'll bite wherever you point!"

Yan Qingfeng quietly looked at the man on the ground.

Looking into his eyes, I saw a morbid determination and fear.

This was the effect he wanted: to kill them and destroy their spirit, to completely crush their dignity.

Yan Qingfeng slowly leaned out and extended two fingers.

Hold the edge of the teacup firmly.

Wang Dalu felt as if he had been granted a pardon, and quickly let go of his hands, collapsing into a limp mess.

Yan Qingfeng gently stirred the floating tea leaves with the tea lid and blew a puff of hot air on them.

He took a small sip and casually tossed the teacup back onto the table.

"Um."

A single, soft word escaped Yan Qingfeng's nostrils.

To Wang Dalu, that "hmm" sounded even more pleasing than the Jade Emperor's decree!

Tears streamed down his face as he kowtowed three times.

"Thank you, Lord Yan, for the meal! Thank you, Lord Yan, for sparing my life!"

"Get lost. Go connect with Zhou Yuan to the system."

Yan Qingfeng turned the large chair around and once again turned his back to him to look at the scenery.

Wang Dalu crawled out of the office using both his hands and feet.

It wasn't until the elevator doors closed that he realized even his underwear was soaked.

At 10:00 AM, the Maybach returned to the headquarters of the Grandeur Group.

The news of Wang Dalu's narrow escape from death and his kneeling to relinquish power spread like wildfire throughout the business community of Handong.

In that private group chat at the upscale teahouse, the message notification sound went crazy.

The bald boss called directly, his voice trembling.

"Brother Dalu! You really handed over the very foundation of the Dalu Group?"

Wang Dalu leaned back in his seat, picked up a cigar, and his hand holding the cigarette was still trembling.

"I handed it over. I'm making a tough decision, what do you know!"

The bald boss swallowed hard, stamping his feet in frustration.

"Did Master Yan accept the offer? Is he really planning to let us go?"

Wang Dalu exhaled a thick cloud of smoke, looking out the window towards the Lingxiao Building.

"Master Yan drank my tea. From today onwards, I, Wang Dalu, will have an immunity token above my head."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a commotion of rummaging through drawers and cabinets.

"Brother Dalu, don't hang up yet! Look at my building materials factory, is 40% of the shares enough?"

"What brand of bags does that receptionist like? What should I bring while I'm queuing?!"