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

A muffled "crash" sounded.

Hou Liangping grabbed the audit report from the table and slammed it onto the floor, scattering white scraps of paper all over the place.

He slumped into the large leather sofa in the living room, like a deflated balloon.

His stubble had grown half an inch long, his tie was askew, and his eyes were filled with dense blood vessels.

Is this still the same confident and assertive anti-corruption bureau chief who once commanded respect at the Supreme People's Procuratorate?

Zhong Xiaoai, wearing a dark red silk nightgown and carrying a steaming cup of milk, walked out of the kitchen.

Seeing her husband's defeated rooster-like appearance, she raised her eyebrows and her anger flared up instantly.

"Liangping, what's wrong with you? Are you scared out of your wits by some local rich man?"

Zhong Xiaoai slammed the milk down on the coffee table, the glass making a crisp, clear sound as it hit the glass.

A milky white liquid splattered out, spilling a few drops onto the expensive mahogany table.

Hou Liangping gripped his hair tightly with both hands, his voice hoarse like sandpaper rubbing against dry wood.

"Xiao Ai, you don't understand. He wasn't some nouveau riche at all."

He raised his head, his eyes terrifyingly empty.

"Three days and three nights! I led my men through thousands of ledgers of the Lingxiao Consortium, and we couldn't find a single flaw in them."

Hou Liangping became more and more agitated as he spoke, slapping the armrest of the sofa, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

"No tax evasion, no tax avoidance, even the social security contributions for the cleaning lady are paid at the highest standard!"

He gasped for breath, his eyes filled with despair.

"He even voluntarily overpaid hundreds of millions in charity surcharges! I've handled corruption cases for half my life, and I've never seen such impeccable accounting!"

Seeing her husband on the verge of collapse, Zhong Xiaoai showed no sympathy, but instead gave a disdainful sneer.

She grew up in the circles of powerful and influential people in the capital, and was used to seeing those big shots who could turn the world upside down with a flick of their wrist.

In her dictionary, capital is always just an appendage of power, and doesn't even have the right to negotiate.

"The ledgers are clean? This only shows that Yan Qingfeng is cunning and good at putting on a show."

Zhong Xiaoai crossed her arms and looked down at Hou Liangping.

"In the end, it's all because those people in the Handong Provincial Committee are incompetent. Sha Ruijin and Li Dakang talk a big game all day, but when it really matters, they can't even handle a businessman."

She walked to the window, looking at the dazzling night view of the capital, her tone revealing an air of superior arrogance.

"What is law? Yan Qingfeng uses a few stinking coins to hold hundreds of thousands of ordinary people hostage, and that's what you call legal?"

Zhong Xiaoai turned around, her eyes sharp as knives.

"We've always set the rules!"

Hou Liangping gave a bitter smile and shook his head dejectedly.

"It's no use. Ji Changming faked a heart attack and was hospitalized, and Zhao Donglai was turned away by a lawyer's letter. Even our old leader Chen Yanshi went to plead for him, but he was turned away."

"Yan Qingfeng is like a hedgehog now; anyone who touches him will get pricked and end up with bloody hands. Nobody in Handong dares to mess with him."

"No one in Handong dares to make a move because they're spineless!"

Zhong Xiaoai, wearing slippers, quickly walked to the antique display shelf in the corner of the living room.

She grabbed the red, secure landline and quickly dialed a special internal number.

"What peasants can't do, I'll do."

She snorted coldly, a fierce glint appearing in her eyes.

"Does he really think that just because he's made some money, he can challenge the state apparatus?"

The call was answered quickly, and Zhong Xiaoai's originally cold and stern voice instantly became a few degrees gentler.

But that undeniable confidence still emanated from him through the microphone.

"Hello, Uncle Qi? It's me, Xiao Ai."

"Yes, you've heard about what happened in Handong, haven't you? It's utterly lawless! A businessman actually dared to threaten the provincial party committee by withdrawing his investment, thus endangering the livelihoods of ordinary people."

Hou Liangping sat on the sofa, staring blankly at his wife.

He knew who "Uncle Qi" was. He was the head of a powerful ministry in Beijing, a notoriously tough and iron-fisted figure.

Zhong Xiaoai embellished the story on the phone, deliberately portraying Yan Qingfeng as a local cancer who opposed the central government.

"Uncle Qi, Sha Ruijin and the others are losing their composure. If this continues, the consequences will be dire."

She paused for a moment, then unleashed her trump card.

"I suggest that the higher authorities directly establish a joint investigation team dispatched by the Central Committee, bypassing the Hantong Provincial Committee, and intervene immediately."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, followed by a dignified reply.

Zhong Xiaoai pressed on relentlessly, revealing her trump card.

"If you can't find anything on the books, investigate his cash flow! Use foreign exchange controls and suspected money laundering as pretexts to freeze his accounts first!"

"Once the funds are frozen, we'll charge him with 'disrupting the national financial order,' and see how arrogant Yan Qingfeng can be then!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhong Xiaoai breathed a sigh of relief.

She turned her head and raised an eyebrow at Hou Liangping, then walked to the sofa and patted her husband's stiff shoulder.

"All settled. Uncle Qi is personally leading a special investigation team composed of eight ministries. They will fly to Jingzhou tonight on a private jet."

"I've brought you the imperial sword; now you can stand tall and arrest people."

A flicker of fervent passion finally rekindled in Hou Liangping's gloomy eyes.

Two hours later, at Beijing Capital International Airport, on the VIP military tarmac.

A silver-gray private jet without any airline markings is roaring as it warms up for takeoff.

Inside the cabin, on a spacious leather airline seat, Team Leader Qi, dressed in a sharp black jacket, was resting with his eyes closed.

The old man had gray hair, but the wrinkles on his face exuded an imposing and dignified aura.

The senior secretary next to him closed his tablet, leaned over, and asked in a low voice for instructions.

"Old Qi, a briefing came from Handong. Sha Ruijin and Li Dakang went to Lingxiao Manor this afternoon and stood outside for more than two hours, but they didn't even get to see Yan Qingfeng."

Team Leader Qi suddenly opened his eyes and let out a heavy, cold laugh through his nose.

"What a spineless coward! A high-ranking official in charge of a region, reduced to guarding a capitalist? He's utterly disgraced the system!"

He picked up the ginseng tea on the small table, blew on it to cool it down, and his eyes were sinister.

"That Yan Qingfeng kid does have some cunning. But to scheme against us is just asking for his own death."

The secretary frowned with some concern and swallowed hard.

"Old Qi, we didn't find any substantial evidence of a crime this time. If we just shut down the accounts based on a catch-all charge of disrupting the financial system, won't that give others grounds for criticism?"

"Pretext? Ordinary people can't buy vegetables, and hundreds of thousands are unemployed—that's the biggest pretext!"

Team Leader Qi slammed his teacup down on the table, splashing tea onto the white napkin.

"Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures! Doesn't Yan Qingfeng like to follow the rules? I'll take the rule-maker down with me, and let's see how he turns the tables!"

The special plane accelerated on the runway, roaring through the night sky, and soared into the clouds.

This plane, carrying the highest will of the capital, headed straight for Handong Province, which was mired in a quagmire.

Outside the cabin, the night was as dark as ink; inside, the atmosphere was tense and menacing.

The secretary glanced at the time on her watch, then turned to look at the dark night sky outside the window.

"Team Leader Qi, this operation is an emergency, bypassing our usual level. The Hantong Provincial Committee probably isn't ready to receive us yet. How do we proceed after we land?"

Team Leader Qi leaned back in his chair, a contemptuous sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

"If they can't provide enough cars, we'll take taxis! We don't need these useless idiots to pick us up at the airport. As soon as they land, we'll lead the team to seize the Lingxiao Group's safe!"