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

The roar of the huge propellers shattered the tranquility above Handong Second Prison.

The prisoners who were on their exercise break on the playground stopped in their tracks, looked up, and squinted at the sky.

The strong wind whipped up sand and dust from the ground, which stung people's faces.

"Wow! That big black bird is awesome!"

Old Pi, a new inmate who had only been there a few days ago, wiped the dirt off his face and smacked his lips.

"That must be the private jet of some high-ranking provincial leader! Look at the pomp and circumstance!"

Qi Tongwei, dressed in a blue and white striped prison uniform, stood with his hands in his pockets under a peeling basketball hoop.

He didn't agree with Old Pi's words, but just stared intently at the helicopter in the sky.

On the side of the fuselage, the two characters "Lingxiao" painted in dark gold gleamed dazzlingly in the sunlight.

That wasn't an official plane; it was Yan Qingfeng's private car.

Qi Tongwei took a deep breath of the sandy air, and a complex smile appeared on his lips.

"A big leader? He doesn't care about being a leader."

Old Pi came over and handed him a crumpled cigarette, his face full of flattery.

"Director Qi, you used to handle important matters abroad, so who exactly is on this plane?"

Qi Tongwei didn't take the cigarette; his gaze remained fixed on the helicopter that was gradually disappearing into the distance.

"I wouldn't call myself a god," Qi Tongwei said with a self-deprecating shake of his head.

"But if he were to stomp his foot, all those self-important living saints in Handong Province would have to roll off their clay altars."

Just then, prison guard Xiao Wang walked over with his baton and tapped on the barbed wire next to him.

"What are you chatting about? Old Pi, get out of here!" Xiao Wang glared at the new prisoner.

Old Pi shrank his neck and quickly slipped to the other side of the playground.

Xiao Wang turned his head and looked at Qi Tongwei, his expression even more unpleasant than if he were crying.

"Teacher Qi, you were absolutely right," Xiao Wang said in a low voice, sighing.

"The living bodhisattvas outside are now completely in a predicament."

Qi Tongwei turned around, looked at Xiao Wang's eyes with dark circles from lack of sleep, and raised an eyebrow.

"Yan Qingfeng has made his move?"

"They didn't just take action, they practically ripped a hole in the sky over Handong!" Xiao Wang slapped his thigh, spitting everywhere.

"More than a hundred infrastructure projects were all halted overnight, and hundreds of excavators lined up to leave the province."

Qi Tongwei's pupils suddenly contracted, and his hands, which were in his pockets, unconsciously clenched into fists.

"Didn't Li Dakang stop it? Are all those departments under him just sitting around doing nothing?"

"What can we use to stop him?!" Xiao Wang said with a bitter face, waving his hands repeatedly.

"Yan Qingfeng poured every last penny of the 47 billion yuan in breach of contract penalties into the treasury account!"

"The severance pay was generous, and the taxes were all paid cleanly."

Xiao Wang became more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice even cracked.

"Hou Liangping from the Supreme People's Procuratorate led a team to investigate for three days and three nights, but they couldn't find anything wrong with even a receipt for buying cabbage!"

Upon hearing the name "Hou Liangping," Qi Tongwei's body stiffened abruptly.

The "monkey" who once drove him to a deserted island and forced him to commit suicide has actually suffered a setback at Yan Qingfeng's hands.

"The outside world is in complete chaos." Xiao Wang rubbed his face, pouring out his grievances.

"The stock market crashed, 300,000 people lost their jobs, and even cabbage at the market is selling for ten yuan a pound!"

"The provincial inspection team was so scared by the quarterly inspection that they faked a heart attack and were hospitalized. Secretary Sha is currently slamming his fist on the table and cursing in the provincial party committee compound!"

Qi Tongwei listened quietly, the furious faces of Sha Ruijin and Li Dakang flashing through his mind.

He once thought that power was the sharpest knife in the world.

For this knife, he sold his soul, made a shocking kneeling gesture on the playground of Han University, and even attempted to "defeat fate by half a move".

But only today has he truly seen the underlying logic of this world.

Pointing a gun at someone's head, that's called being a bandit.

The truth is that someone with legal accounting books can use money to buy out the entire city's right to breathe!

"A half-step victory over Heaven..."

Qi Tongwei muttered to himself, then suddenly let out a low laugh from deep in his throat.

The laughter grew louder and louder, eventually turning into unrestrained, maniacal laughter.

He laughed so hard on the playground that he almost fell over, and tears even welled up in his eyes.

The surrounding prisoners all stopped what they were doing and stared at the former director of the Public Security Bureau as if he were a madman.

"Teacher Qi, what are you laughing at?" Xiao Wang felt uneasy from his laughter and quickly took two steps back.

Qi Tongwei straightened up and wiped away his tears with his rough sleeve.

He pointed to the sky beyond the high walls, his chest heaving violently.

"I laugh at how stupid I was back then! I laugh at how arrogant Sha Ruijin and his gang were!"

"Did they think that by sending me, Qi Tongwei, in and bringing down Teacher Gao, Handong would suddenly belong to the Sha family?"

Qi Tongwei gritted his teeth, each word brimming with a ruthless and satisfying intensity.

"Sha Ruijin, Li Dakang, you've messed with the wrong person!"

He suddenly turned around and slammed his fist into the chipped metal pipe of the basketball hoop, making a dull thud.

"Power is nothing but a fart in the face of the devastating impact of capital!"

"The government in Handong has long since changed hands!"

Qi Tongwei's maniacal laughter seemed to pierce through the towering prison walls and drift all the way into the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee compound.

The oppressive atmosphere in the provincial party committee's first conference room was as thick and heavy as a pot of burnt asphalt.

Sha Ruijin sat in the main seat, his face ashen, the ashtray in front of him overflowing with twisted cigarette butts.

The provincial standing committee members and high-ranking officials looked like wilted eggplants, each with their heads down counting ants.

No one can come up with a solution that can fill the gap of tens of billions of dollars and create 300,000 jobs.

"Nobody's going to say anything?" Sha Ruijin coldly swept his gaze across the room, his voice chillingly cold.

"When it comes to asking for funding and vying for political achievements, aren't they all quite the smooth talkers?"

His gaze finally settled on Li Dakang's pale face.

"Comrade Dakang, you were the one who started Guangming Peak, so you have to give me a straight answer today."

Sha Ruijin tapped the table with an unquestionable air.

"Can you even clean up this mess? If not, then hand in your resignation!"

These words were like a death warrant, pushing Li Dakang to the brink of despair.

Submitting resignation?

Li Dakang has worked hard for most of his life and is about to take another step forward. How could he possibly admit defeat at this critical juncture!

Once he admits defeat, he will become the biggest laughingstock in the entire Han Dong officialdom, and Yan Qingfeng will forever nail him to the pillar of shame.

Li Dakang's eyes instantly became bloodshot.

His mind raced, frantically searching for all the major domestic financial giants that could rival the Lingxiao Consortium.

Suddenly, a name flashed through his mind like lightning.

Jiangnan Province, internet tycoon and richest man Ma Tengyun!

Ma Tengyun has a large enough amount of capital and has always wanted to extend his reach into the real economy of Handong.

This is a ready-made lifeline!

Li Dakang suddenly raised his head, pressing his hands firmly against the table, like a gambler who had lost everything.

He suddenly stood up, knocking over the mahogany chair behind him with a screeching sound.

All eyes immediately turned to him.

"Secretary Sha! I have a solution!"

Li Dakang was panting heavily, his voice hoarse but revealing a desperate madness.

"Yan Qingfeng has been dismissed, but the auspicious land of Guangming Peak remains in the hands of our municipal party committee!"

Sha Ruijin raised an eyebrow, a hint of suspicion flashing in his eyes.

Li Dakang gritted his teeth, his fists clenched so tightly they cracked.

"I'm flying to Jiangnan Province tonight to find Ma Tengyun!"

He suddenly waved his hand, his expression resolute and his eyes filled with determination.

"Even if it costs me my reputation, I'll give him tax breaks and land as a gift, I'll still bring Ma Tengyun's capital into Handong and take over completely!"