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

"Use your phone to call a ride-hailing service?"

Team Leader Qi chuckled, his withered fingers tapping on the broken porcelain shards on the ground, a ferocious smile curving his lips.

As an imperial envoy from the capital, he was always surrounded by a retinue of attendants and escorted by police cars wherever he went.

Today I was actually forced to take a ride-hailing car in the cold wind!

"Call! Call right now!" Team Leader Qi gritted his teeth, spitting out each word slowly and deliberately.

"I want to see if Yan Qingfeng really has connections everywhere, even monopolizing the ride-hailing platform!"

Secretary Zhang swallowed hard and quickly pulled out her phone.

Several investigators also lowered their heads and frantically tapped their fingers on the screen.

"Old Qi, the largest ride-hailing app in Handong is called Lingxiao Chuxing. Usually, you can get a ride instantly when you call a premium car."

While explaining, Xiao Zhang turned up the dispatch fee to the highest level.

A cold wind was howling, and the group of high-ranking officials were stamping their feet to keep warm on the tarmac.

A minute passed, and the radar on the screen spun around and around.

Five minutes passed, and still no driver accepted the order.

"What's going on? They won't come even with extra money?" Team Leader Qi's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

Xiao Zhang rubbed his frozen hands, brought the screen close to Team Leader Qi, and his voice trembled.

"Old Qi, the system... the system has changed its algorithm."

A bold red notification pops up in the center of the screen.

"The VIP parking apron at Gyeongju International Airport where you are located has been identified by the system as an extremely remote area."

"Premium rides are temporarily unavailable. You have been automatically downgraded to an economy carpooling service."

When Team Leader Qi looked at those words, he felt as if he had swallowed a mouthful of blood and almost spat it out on the spot.

Extremely remote area? This is right in the heart of the international airport!

Yan Qingfeng wasn't changing the algorithm at all; he was clearly pointing his finger at Qi and calling him a beggar from a remote mountain area!

"drop--"

My phone suddenly rang; finally, a driver accepted my order.

Xiao Zhang breathed a sigh of relief, quickly glanced at the vehicle information, and his face instantly turned as white as paper.

"Has the order been accepted? What kind of vehicle?" Team Leader Qi tightened his coat collar and urged impatiently.

"I...I got it. It's a red Xiali that's twelve years old." Xiao Zhang stammered.

Just then, a piercing engine roar came from the end of the runway, accompanied by a tractor-like "putt-putt" sound.

A dilapidated Xiali car with peeling paint drove up, wobbling along.

The ride-hailing sign on the roof was missing a corner, and when the car braked, the brake pads emitted a teeth-grinding scream.

The car door opened, and a thin, dark-skinned driver wearing a worn-out down jacket and with half a cigarette dangling from his mouth leaned out.

"Are you the passenger whose license plate ends in four eights? Hurry up and get on the bus, it's windy here!"

Team Leader Qi stood there, his eyes practically bulging out of their sockets.

As soon as the window of the Xiali car was rolled down, a strong smell of cheap tobacco mixed with the pungent odor of dead fish hit the driver.

"You're just going to let us sit in this?" Team Leader Qi's chest heaved violently as he pointed at the dilapidated car.

The driver exhaled a smoke ring, looking displeased.

"You think it's too old? If you think it's too old, then walk to the city yourself! All the good cars in the city are getting their annual inspection today."

The old man patted the well-worn leather seat in the passenger seat and grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"The system just sent my seafood truck to pick up this big order, and I was even complaining that you guys dirtied my mat!"

Seeing that Team Leader Qi was about to lose his temper, Xiao Zhang quickly stepped forward and grabbed the car door.

"Old Qi, bear with it. We're out in the middle of nowhere; if we wait any longer, we'll catch a cold."

Team Leader Qi gripped the handle of his briefcase tightly, his knuckles turning white.

He took a deep breath, enduring the stench, and bent down to squeeze into the back seat.

This beat-up Xiali, which can only seat four people, was crammed with five grown men.

The seat, with its springs completely broken, creaked under the weight.

"Driver, to the provincial party committee compound, drive faster!" Xiao Zhang urged, covering his nose as he sat in the passenger seat.

"Alright! Hold on tight!"

The driver floored the accelerator, and the old Xiali spewed out a plume of black smoke from its exhaust pipe as it sped off.

The road conditions became terrible as soon as the car left the airport.

Instead of taking the straight highway, the driver turned onto a bumpy side road.

"Why don't we take the highway!" Team Leader Qi, who was squeezed in the back and couldn't breathe, shouted.

"The entire highway entrance is closed! Two days ago, Lingxiao Infrastructure withdrew its investment, and heavy trucks damaged the road surface, so no one is repairing it!"

The driver shouted at the top of his lungs and turned the steering wheel rapidly.

"The roads at the Guangming Peak project are in such bad condition that they're impossible to walk on; those abandoned pits don't even have any railings."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the car wheel slammed into an unfilled cement crater.

With a loud crash, the carriage shook violently.

Team Leader Qi's head slammed directly into the metal roof of the vehicle, and the pain brought tears to his eyes.

"Do you even know how to drive?!" The officer in the back cursed, clutching his head.

"Insulting me won't do any good! If you're so capable, go ask Mayor Li Dakang to fill this hole!"

The driver, an older man with an even more explosive temper, stepped on the gas and sped through the muddy puddle, splashing mud all over the windshield.

"With Lord Yan gone, the infrastructure in Jingzhou is completely ruined. You should be grateful; you're lucky to even have a cart to take you away!"

These words pierced Team Leader Qi's heart like a knife.

As a special envoy to the capital, he was not only rendered speechless by a driver, but also suffered endless torment from the mess left by Yan Qingfeng.

Two full hours.

This dilapidated Xiali, reeking of fish, swayed from side to side like a bumper car on the bumpy, unfinished road.

When the car finally stopped at the entrance of the Hantong Provincial Party Committee compound.

These high-ranking officials from the capital are practically falling apart.

As soon as the car door opened, several staff members rushed to the flower bed and vomited.

Team Leader Qi pushed open the car door, his legs went weak, and he almost knelt on the steps.

His expensive black cashmere coat was covered in oil stains and fish scales from the car seat.

It reeked of a nauseating, fishy smell.

The guards standing at the gate, guns in hand, were completely dumbfounded.

These aren't imperial envoys from the capital; they're clearly a group of refugees who just escaped from the seafood market!

"What are you looking at! Go open the door!"

Enraged, Team Leader Qi shoved away Xiao Zhang, who had come to help him.

Carrying his briefcase and wearing limp leather shoes, he stormed into the provincial party committee's first conference room.

He was seething with rage and had nowhere to vent it; he was determined to skin Li Dakang alive today!

In the first conference room at this moment.

Sha Ruijin and Li Dakang were extremely uncomfortable, as the ashtrays in front of them were already overflowing with cigarette butts.

"Bang!"

The two solid wood doors were kicked open, and the door panels slammed against the wall.

Team Leader Qi, reeking of fish, stormed in like an enraged lion.

He slammed his briefcase down on the conference table, making the teacup lids bounce.

"Li Dakang! This is the Handong you've governed! This is the Guangming Peak you've created!"

Team Leader Qi pointed at Li Dakang's nose, spitting everywhere.

"I, the head of the investigation team, was jostled around for two hours in that beat-up old Xiali that was carrying dead fish!"

"What kind of Party Secretary are you! You can't even control a businessman? You might as well go home and farm!"

Li Dakang was sprayed with spittle all over his face, which turned as red as an eggplant.

He felt more aggrieved than anyone else. What did Yan Qingfeng's withdrawal of investment have to do with him? This was clearly a battle between gods, with mortals suffering the consequences!

But faced with the furious imperial envoy, he could only swallow his anger.

We need to find someone to take the blame and shift the focus of the criticism.

Li Dakang's eyes darted around, and he suddenly turned to look at his secretary, Xiao Jin, who was standing in the corner trembling.

"Xiao Jin! Where is Sun Liancheng, the district head of Guangming District!"

Li Dakang slammed his fist on the table and roared.

"The Guangming Peak project was abandoned, and he was in charge of cleaning up the mess! Where is he now that such a huge disaster has happened?"

"Call him right now and tell him to get to the meeting room and get a dressing down! Someone has to take the blame for this!"

Startled, Xiao Jin quickly pulled out her phone and frantically dialed Sun Liancheng's number.

The beeping lasted a long time before the call finally connected.

Xiao Jin covered the microphone, ran to the conference room door, and whispered a few words.

A short while later, he ran back, pale-faced and covered in sweat.

Seeing his expression, Li Dakang became even angrier and roared angrily.

"What did Sun Liancheng say? When is he coming over here?!"

Xiao Jin swallowed hard, his saliva dry, and stammered as he spoke.

"Secretary Li... District Chief Sun can't make it."

"He said he was seriously ill and had just asked the district committee for a long sick leave."

Li Dakang was so angry he almost smashed the teacup in front of him: "Seriously ill? What kind of seriously ill illness makes you unable to even walk a few steps!"

Xiao Jin wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his voice trembling like a leaf in the cold wind.

"District Chief Sun said... he's got cosmic vertigo and is currently hiding in his office, stargazing through a telescope!"