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

The landing gear of the Gulfstream private jet slammed onto the private runway at Kyoto International Airport with a loud bang.

The rubber tires rubbed violently against the asphalt road surface covered in water.

A sharp, piercing whistling sound was heard, mixed with the smell of burning.

The cabin jolted violently.

The oppressive feeling from the sudden drop in air pressure in Yan Qingfeng's ears hadn't completely faded yet.

My eardrums felt like they were stuffed with a wad of wet cotton, and they were swollen and uncomfortable.

The flight attendant jogged over to press the switch to open the hydraulic hatch.

A hissing sound of air being released.

A gust of cold wind, carrying the muddy smell of rain, rushed in through the hatch.

The morning air in Handong is so humid it's choking.

As soon as Yan Qingfeng stepped out of the cabin, the hem of his black trench coat billowed up violently in the wind.

The hem of her clothes lashed against the back of her knees, sending a chill down her spine.

Zhou Yuan's massive body was squeezed in at the back, his short, stubby fingers rubbing the corners of his eyes haphazardly.

I picked out a small piece of dry, hardened eye discharge.

"Holy crap... I've been holding it in for over ten hours."

He let out a loud yawn, his mouth reeking of stale garlic sausage.

"Those lousy American steaks are full of blood; when you bite into one, the juices just gush out. They make me feel nauseous. It's not as satisfying as the rice porridge we get in Handong for 1.2 yuan a piece."

Su Jianxin took a half-step to the side in disgust.

The gold-rimmed glasses on his nose immediately fogged up with a layer of white mist when exposed to the cold wind.

Su Jianxin casually rubbed his glasses with the cuff of his suit sleeve a couple of times.

I stepped onto the aluminum alloy gangway in my leather shoes and walked a little too fast.

The clanging of metal echoed across the empty tarmac, creating a series of jarring sounds.

Three all-black Rolls-Royce Phantoms were already parked right next to the gangway.

The engine was still running, and white smoke was billowing out of the exhaust pipe.

Yan Qingfeng lowered his head and climbed into the back seat of the middle car.

The car door slammed shut, cutting off all sound of the wind and rain outside.

The heating in the carriage was on high.

The temperature rose immediately, dispelling the damp chill on my body.

The air was thick with the sweet, rich tobacco aroma of a top-quality Cuban Cohiba cigar.

The bottom layer also smelled of freshly made top-grain cowhide, which made one's chest feel stuffy.

Su Jianxin had just settled into the passenger seat.

He then pressed the button on the miniature terminal that was on his lap.

A deep blue holographic screen suddenly popped up above the instrument panel.

The light made his face, which he had been avoiding sunlight for years due to staying up late, look deathly pale, as if it were covered with a layer of flour.

"Master Yan, those old men in the provincial party committee compound are practically bursting to pee."

Su Jianxin swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He stretched out two fingers and traced them across the data chart that was suspended in mid-air.

"The Hantong Finance Department's true colors were completely exposed last night."

"What's wrong?"

Zhou Yuan pulled out a half-pack of flattened Zhonghua cigarettes from the storage compartment on the side of the car door.

He picked one out with his lips, didn't light it, and just chewed on the filter to satisfy his craving.

"That old fox Li Dakang, wasn't he still pretending to be a big shot, protecting his meager GDP growth rate the day before yesterday? Now he can't keep up the act anymore?"

"What a load of crap."

Su Jianxin gave a cold laugh, his lips twitching stiffly.

This also triggered a spasm in a muscle on my cheek caused by lack of sleep, causing it to twitch.

"The 300 billion yuan of local government financing vehicle (LGFV) bonds will default at noon today."

His long, slender fingers jabbed heavily onto a nearly invisible thin red bar on the screen.

"The system just intercepted and compiled statistics on all accounts across the province and Jingzhou City."

Su Jianxin paused for a moment, then said, "The available current account balance is 17.5 million."

Zhou Yuan's jaw suddenly went limp.

The cigarette he was holding in his mouth fell directly onto the crotch of his trousers.

"What the hell? Seventeen million... ten million? Are you trying to fob me off like a beggar?!"

Zhou Yuan hurriedly brushed the cigarette butts away, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"This isn't even enough to pay the bricklayers at the South City Bridge for the red bricks! Is he risking his life to fill a 300 billion dollar hole?"

Yan Qingfeng leaned back in his leather chair, ignoring this nonsense.

His slender fingers traced the wood grain of the armrest edge.

The sensation of wood splintering came through my fingertips, with a slight resistance.

"How many are lying in our tents?"

Yan Qingfeng kept his eyes fixed on the scenery outside the car window.

The windshield wipers were swishing away the water on the windshield.

Su Jianxin took a deep breath of the stuffy air in the car.

He felt his heart was beating too fast in his chest, making his ribs ache.

"Hot money that was just dumped by those old money circles on Wall Street."

Su Jianxin's fingers left afterimages as he typed on the holographic keyboard, making a continuous "click-click" sound.

"In addition to the past two weeks, all the daily savings that the people of Handong have voluntarily deposited into our Lingxiao payment gateway."

The numbers on the holographic screen began to jump wildly.

Zero is getting longer and longer.

Finally, it froze on a number that was so long it made people dizzy.

"Two trillion yuan of readily available cash flow."

Su Jianxin's throat was hoarse, and his tongue was uncontrollably tied in knots when he said those words.

"This doesn't even include the mutant food we've stockpiled in the warehouse, or the valuation of our battery patents. Pure cash, available anytime."

No one in the carriage made a sound.

All that remained was the dull thud of the wheels rolling over the speed bumps.

Two trillion is less than twenty million.

This is not some kind of commercial disruption.

This is like shoving the entire Han Dong government's heads into a cesspool and then casually placing a heavy millstone on top of them.

They didn't even give me a chance to chime in.

Yan Qingfeng stopped moving his knuckles.

His lips were pulled straight, without a single extra facial muscle moving.

There was absolutely no indication of any emotional fluctuation.

"Has no loan been disbursed in Beijing?" he asked casually.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Zhou Yuan laughed, revealing two rows of yellowed teeth from smoking.

He slapped his thigh loudly.

"Just received news that the presidents of the four major banks unilaterally cut off Li Dakang's video conference plea for help."

"That bastard Qi Weidong is still eating instant noodles at the train station guesthouse, he doesn't even dare to open the curtains a crack!"

Zhou Yuan leaned back, and the leather seat creaked.

"It's clear the higher-ups aren't going to care! Let Li Dakang go ask the King of Hell for help himself!"

Yan Qingfeng felt a dry, astringent feeling in his throat.

He turned to the side and reached out to pull the glass sliding door of the car's wine cabinet.

The slide rail may be a little dry, as it made a slight "squeaking" friction sound.

He took out a crystal goblet.

He threw two pieces of old ice into it with a silver clip.

With a slight flick of the wrist, the amber-colored whiskey was poured in, just covering the ice.

"Ding-dong—"

Ice cubes hit the glass.

It makes a crisp sound that makes your teeth ache.

The pungent, spicy smell of the liquor immediately overpowered the sweet aroma of the cigars in the car.

"Right now, Li Dakang should still be soaking in the rain."

Yan Qingfeng tilted his head back and took a small sip of the cooled wine.

The alcohol slid down the esophagus, and the burning sensation immediately exploded on the empty stomach wall.

Su Jianxin tapped on the security perimeter monitoring screen on the tablet.

I leaned close to the screen and squinted to look at it.

"I've been standing in the puddle outside the main entrance of our building for half the night."

Su Jianxin pushed up his slipping glasses.

"He was soaked from head to toe, his suit clinging to his skin. The security camera just caught him bending over and dry heaving, vomiting up yellow bile. He looked like he was about to have a heart attack."

Yan Qingfeng looked at the melting mixture of ice and water in the glass.

"They're almost dry."

He casually placed the remaining half-glass of wine on the small bar table between the two seats.

The glass base made a dull thud when it was bumped.

"Notify the legal department to print out the agreement that was finalized last night."

Yan Qingfeng brushed off a tiny, inconspicuous fuzzy hair that was stuck to his cuff.

"Put it in a waterproof, thick kraft paper bag and throw it on the table."

He turned his head and coldly watched the silhouette of the Lingxiao Building getting closer and closer.

The dark golden light on the exterior wall was blurred into a blur by the rain.

"Have the perimeter security personnel open the electronic gate at the main entrance."

A chilling, emotionless look appeared in Yan Qingfeng's eyes.

"Let Li Dakang in here and kowtow to borrow money."