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

Ji Changming lay sprawled on the carpet, his chest heaving violently like a bellows.

He gripped Xiao Chen's sleeve tightly, his eye-rolling technique rivaling that of an Oscar-winning actor.

Xiao Chen was so frightened that his hands trembled so much that he pressed the emergency button three times before he could barely get through to 120.

The outer gate was being pounded on by the old men and women, and the sound of shattering glass was painful to the ears.

Less than ten minutes later, an ambulance with blue lights flashing, without daring to sound its siren, quietly slipped in through the back door of the provincial procuratorate.

Several doctors in white coats rushed up to the second floor on a stretcher and quickly carried the "dying" Ji Changming up.

Hearing the deafening crash of the riot shields being smashed at the front gate, Ji Changming, lying on the stretcher, closed his eyes and secretly felt relieved.

Run fast, and the world will be a better place. Let whoever wants to clean up this mess do it.

Half an hour later, at the Provincial People's Hospital, in the special ward for high-ranking officials.

The ward door had just clicked shut when the electrocardiogram monitor was still beeping.

Ji Changming, lying on the bed, suddenly opened his eyes, ripped the oxygen tube off his nose, and sat up abruptly.

Xiao Chen was carrying a plastic basin to fetch hot water when he saw this and his hand suddenly trembled.

With a loud crash, the red basin of water smashed directly onto the floor, splashing water everywhere.

"Quarterly... quarterly checkup? Didn't you have a heart attack?" Xiao Chen stared wide-eyed, stammering as he spoke.

"Bullshit! My heart is strong enough to run a marathon."

Ji Changming rolled his eyes, sat cross-legged on the hospital bed, and casually tugged at the collar of his hospital gown.

"Go and lock the door. Don't see anyone who comes to visit. Just say I'm still in critical condition."

Xiao Chen quickly did as instructed, moved a round stool and sat on the edge of the bed, his face full of question marks.

"Boss, aren't we going a bit overboard with this act?"

Xiao Chen lowered his voice: "Secretary Sha gave a direct order, demanding that the procuratorate and the court intervene immediately."

"You know nothing!" Ji Changming stretched out his finger and poked Xiao Chen's forehead hard.

"Sha Ruijin is talking without understanding the situation. He's sitting in the rear, pushing us into the fire pit on the front lines."

"Investigate Yan Qingfeng? What are you going to use to investigate? Your head, you think?!"

Ji Changming grew angrier as he spoke, slapping his hands loudly on the bed.

"But Director Hou of the Anti-Corruption Bureau is still on the front lines..." Xiao Chen muttered to himself.

"Hou Liangping is just a stubborn kid who only knows how to recite legal articles! If he wants to die, don't drag me down with him."

Ji Changming sighed, picked up the warm water from the bedside table, took a sip, and moistened his parched throat.

"Do you think Yan Qingfeng is like those country bumpkin coal bosses of the past? Giving him a sweet treat and he'll laugh, but slapping him and he'll cry?"

He sneered and slammed the paper cup heavily onto the table.

"They're backed by the Lingxiao Consortium! Hundreds and thousands of supply chains are holding Handong by the throat."

"Hou Liangping is auditing the accounts? I think he's lost his mind! If he finds anything wrong, Handong will immediately grind to a halt; if he doesn't find anything wrong, the anti-corruption bureau will be a complete joke!"

Xiao Chen was stunned and quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve.

"Xiao Chen, you're still young and can't see through this game."

Ji Changming lowered his voice, his usually smooth eyes becoming serious.

"What Yan Qingfeng holds in his hands is not just the 40 billion yuan in breach of contract penalties, but the rice bowls and food baskets of 60 million people in Handong!"

He pointed out the window, as if he could see the angry crowds on the street who couldn't buy vegetables.

"Did you see those elderly folks banging on the door outside today? That's public opinion!"

"Yan Qingfeng doesn't have to do anything. He just withdraws investment and stops the car. That's what you call using public opinion to command the princes!"

Ji Changming shook his head, a bitter smile that looked worse than crying tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"To take action against Yan Qingfeng now would be to go against the people of the entire province and against the hungry masses."

"This case is impossible for me, the provincial procuratorate chief, even if the King of Heaven himself came!"

"If we can't afford to offend them, can't we at least avoid them?"

Ji Changming leaned back and comfortably lay back on the soft pillow.

"Smelling disinfectant in this special ward is better than going out and getting your head smashed by a brick from ordinary people!"

Xiao Chen swallowed hard, and a layer of white sweat broke out on his back.

He finally understood the old leader's good intentions in faking illness to save his life.

The waters of Handong have long been stirred up by Yan Qingfeng into a bottomless whirlpool; whoever touches it will die!

At the same time, in Office No. 1 of the Provincial Party Committee compound in Handong.

The air pressure inside the room was so low it felt like you could wring water out of it, and the air was so stuffy it was hard to breathe.

Sha Ruijin stood in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling window, his hands behind his back, his brows furrowed like two rusty iron locks.

The sirens of police cars could be heard from time to time on the streets outside, and the whole of Jingzhou was in complete chaos.

Secretary Bai tiptoed in, holding a freshly prepared emergency briefing in her hand.

"Secretary Sha, we have received news from the Provincial Procuratorate." Secretary Bai swallowed hard and spoke cautiously.

Sha Ruijin did not turn around; his voice was as deep as a piece of raw iron.

"What progress has Ji Changming and his team made?"

"Ji Jian... he suffered a sudden acute myocardial infarction and was just taken away by ambulance through the back door. He is now lying in the VIP ward of the People's Hospital."

Secretary Bai lowered his head, not daring to look at Sha Ruijin's back.

"The provincial procuratorate is leaderless, and its front gate is completely blocked by people who can't buy vegetables."

Upon hearing this, Sha Ruijin's back stiffened abruptly, and his hands behind his back clenched tightly.

He slowly turned around and stared intently at Secretary Bai's anxious face.

"Sudden heart attack?" Sha Ruijin sneered, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

"Why did he have a heart attack of all times, right when I gave the order to intervene?"

Sha Ruijin strode to his desk, grabbed the official document, and slammed it onto the carpet.

"Old fox! Slippery! He's faking illness to shirk responsibility!"

Sha Ruijin's voice was filled with barely suppressed anger, making the teacup lid vibrate.

Secretary Bai was so frightened that she took half a step back, lowered her head, and dared not utter a sound.

He knew perfectly well what was going on. Forget Ji Changming faking illness; right now, who in the entire provincial party committee compound wasn't avoiding him?

Sha Ruijin braced his hands on the table, his chest heaving violently.

He thought that with his supreme power, he could easily crush Yan Qingfeng, this restless grasshopper.

But reality gave him a resounding slap in the face.

Yan Qingfeng didn't confront him head-on at all; he simply removed the cornerstone that was weighing down on Handong's economy.

The results of it?

These officials who usually talk a lot about the big picture have all turned into cowards!

Zhao Donglai returned defeated, Hou Liangping was humiliated, and now even Ji Changming has hidden in the hospital pretending to be dead.

The entire Han Dong officialdom has been thrown into disarray by Yan Qingfeng's unseen influence.

This is not a political game at all; it's a blatant act of overwhelming force!

"Fine, so none of you dare go up, huh? You all want to watch the sky fall down in Handong, don't you!"

Sha Ruijin gritted his teeth and slammed his hand on the red internal communicator on the table.

"Xiao Bai, go and issue the highest-level (red) emergency notice from the Provincial Party Committee!"

Sha Ruijin's eyes were bloodshot, like those of an enraged lion.

"Notify all members of the provincial standing committee and the top leaders of all cities to assemble in the first conference room within half an hour!"

Secretary Bai quickly stood at attention, nodded repeatedly, and took out his notebook.

"Yes! I'll take care of it right away! Secretary Sha, what should the agenda for this emergency meeting be?"

"The issue can be summed up in four words: life or death!" Sha Ruijin gritted his teeth, staring at the scattered documents on the table. "Even if we have to turn Handong upside down, we have to come up with a solution to fill this hole!"