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

"Sizzle."

The dry, rough edge of the specialty paper scraped roughly across Zhou Zhengrong's nasal bridge.

A thin, whitish scratch appeared, and then fine red blood vessels instantly seeped out.

The heavy "Franchise Takeover Agreement" slammed into Zhou Zhengrong's face and then fell onto the carpet covered with shards of broken glass.

The paper smelled of ozone from the copier, mixed with the smell of cheap ink.

It went straight into Zhou Zhengrong's nostril, choking him so much that he coughed twice.

"Bang! Clang!"

In the corridor outside, the last blast-proof iron door emitted a deafening, twisting thud.

The steel plate was dented by tens of thousands of rioters outside smashing it with large iron hammers.

Sparks fell through the crack in the door, carrying a strong smell of burning.

"Smash it open! Drag those vampires out and burn them like lanterns!"

The mob's hoarse, shrill screams, like a black tsunami, surged into the office wave after wave.

Zhou Zhengrong's thigh muscles twisted into a tight knot and began to cramp uncontrollably.

He lay sprawled on the broken glass, his crotch area of ​​his trousers warm to the touch.

The foul-smelling urine flowed down his trousers and into his leather shoes, leaving him limp and weak.

His shrunken stomach walls rubbed and contracted violently inside his abdomen.

The bitter, acidic fluid rushed back up into my esophagus, burning my throat with a fiery pain.

"vomit--"

He clutched his stomach, opened his mouth wide, gagged, and spat out a mouthful of yellowish-green sour liquid.

Lin Yubing was wearing a tight black suit and high heels.

The sharp heel rolled casually on the carpet, shattering a piece of glass with a piercing "crunch".

With a flick of her fair wrist, she slammed a miniature holographic projector onto the mahogany desk.

A soft "beep" sounded.

Two holographic light screens popped open in mid-air, connecting the offices of the top officials of Jiangbei Province and Nanhai Province.

Those two usually imposing regional officials were now behaving like stray dogs on the screen.

In the background noise of the governor of Jiangbei Province, the provincial government building is being engulfed in flames.

The governor of Nanhai Province was so frightened that he hid under the table, trembling all over, his teeth chattering wildly.

"Governors, listen to what's going on outside."

Lin Yubing crossed her arms over her chest, her cold, hard voice drowning out the banging on the door from outside.

The frameless glasses reflected Zhou Zhengrong's deathly pale face.

"Lord Yan has no time to listen to your requests to the capital, nor is he interested in waiting for you to go through the stamping process."

Lin Yubing parted her red lips slightly, and the words she uttered were more piercing than the night wind outside.

"The granaries of your three coastal provinces—Jiangnan, Jiangbei, and the South China Sea—have been emptied by the people."

"Either hand over all the power grid, water network, and points-based minting rights now, and transfer them all to Ling Xiao."

"Or, you can stay here and become an urn for the old era."

"Bang! Crack!"

The blast door in the corridor was cleaved through by a long-handled fire axe.

The axe blade pierced through the door panel, gleaming with a cold, lifeless light.

The group of starving people outside, their eyes bloodshot with hunger, let out wild, ecstatic roars.

Zhou Zhengrong was so frightened that his heart clenched as if it had been crushed by a rusty iron claw.

He gasped for breath, no longer caring about official authority or the rules of the capital.

What's the use of saving face if you're dead?

"I'll sign! I'll pay! I'll pay everything!"

Zhou Zhengrong scrambled toward the agreement, his hands trembling as if he had severe Parkinson's disease.

Unable to find the pen, he simply put his right thumb into his mouth and bit down hard on the soft flesh of his fingertip!

"Hmm!"

The sharp pain shot straight to the top of my head.

The flesh was bitten open, and a strong, metallic, bloody taste filled the mouth.

He spat out bloody saliva indiscriminately.

With his bloodied and mangled thumb, he pressed down hard on the signature area of ​​the agreement.

The bright red bloodstains spread across the paper, exuding an aura of humiliation and death.

On the holographic screen, the two provincial governors from Jiangbei and Nanhai also completely broke down.

On the electronic agreement, they frantically pressed the confirmation button for the electronic bloody handprint with trembling fingers.

Without any authorization from the capital, the highest power in the three coastal provinces was forcibly and physically transferred.

"Buzz—"

The moment the last agreement was uploaded.

The red secure telephone on Zhou Zhengrong's desk and the emergency light on the wall.

Including the alarm that was still flashing in the hallway outside the door.

At the same second, a high-frequency electronic noise burst out in unison, and the power was instantly cut off and the noise went out.

Followed by.

The emotionless, cold, mechanical voice of Yunxiao AI resounded loudly in the three provincial government buildings through the holographic projector.

"The authority over basic infrastructure for people's livelihood in the three coastal provinces has been physically taken over."

"Lingxiao Points Trading Network, comprehensive coverage."

Lin Yubing put the paper agreement into the sterling silver briefcase and locked it with a "click".

She pushed up her reflective glasses, not even glancing at Zhou Zhengrong, who was sprawled on the ground, panting heavily.

At the same time.

Border junction of Handong Province.

The 30-meter-high physical isolation wire mesh, electrified with high voltage, slowly descended as the hydraulic shaft rotated.

The rusty barbed wire crashed onto the muddy ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

"Boom—!"

A deafening roar of tracks ripped through the night.

Tens of thousands of heavily armored logistics mechs, all black with the "Lingxiao" logo printed on them in dark gold.

Like a steel torrent threatening to devour the heavens and the earth, it brutally swept across the provincial border.

The tracks rolled over the gravel road, producing a harsh metallic scraping sound.

The air was instantly filled with the pungent smell of heavy engine oil and diesel exhaust.

But within this pungent smell lies a domineering and pure aroma of mutated rice.

He charged onto the foremost, twelve-meter-tall command mech.

Chu Yunfei, the logistics supervisor of the heavy industry, was wearing a tattered vest stained with black oil stains.

He sat imposingly on the mecha's outer shell, a loudspeaker clutched in his rough, large hands.

"Listen up, you disaster victims over there!"

Chu Yunfei's rough, hoarse voice shook the leaves off the nearby trees.

"Master Yan said that as long as we put down those broken bricks and torches and honestly register a Lingxiao account..."

"These tens of thousands of tons of premium rice are all yours to enjoy tonight!"

Those rioters who originally had bloodshot eyes and were holding torches, ready to smash the provincial government gates.

They all froze in place when they saw the mountain of white rice piled up.

The shriveled stomach wall, stimulated by the aroma of food, frantically secretes acid.

Clang.

I don't know who threw away the rusty iron rod first.

Immediately afterwards, a series of "thump, thump" sounds of knees hitting the ground filled the air.

Hundreds of thousands of people in Jiangnan were starving and reduced to skin and bones.

They knelt down in the muddy water, a dark mass, and kowtowed frantically to the steel torrent.

"Long live Lord Yan! Lingxiao Consortium, save us!"

Amidst the heart-wrenching cries, there was a fanatical faith nurtured by welfare.

What riots, what public grievances? Faced with absolute material superiority, they vanished without a trace.

Four o'clock in the morning.

The highway toll station intersection at the provincial border in southern Jiangsu.

The wind was a bit chilly, making the rusty metal roof of the tollbooth clang.

Zhou Zhengrong, along with the governors of Jiangbei and Nanhai provinces who were escorted here overnight by security.

Three once arrogant and powerful regional officials.

He was kneeling on the side of the asphalt road, wearing a tattered shirt that was sour, smelly, and covered in mud.

The massive logistics mechs roared past them.

The heavy tracks kicked up clouds of dust.

The pungent smell of earth and diesel fuel rushed into the lungs of the three provincial governors.

"Cough cough cough!"

Zhou Zhengrong coughed violently, tears streaming down his face.

His eyes were filled with a desolate, lifeless look.

He knew it better than anyone else.

These three coastal provinces will still belong to China on the map tomorrow.

But the underground pipe network, the wheels on the road, and the grain coupons in the hands of ordinary people have all been completely changed to belong to Yan.

Chu Yunfei jumped off the mecha, his military boots slamming heavily onto the asphalt road in front of Zhou Zhengrong.

He pulled out a crumpled, cheap cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag.

A puff of choking white smoke was blown directly onto Zhou Zhengrong's pale old face.

"How does it feel to kneel here and eat dust, you three provincial governors?"

Chu Yunfei grinned, revealing a set of gleaming white teeth, his rugged face full of ruthlessness.

Zhou Zhengrong's thigh twitched suddenly, and he swallowed a mouthful of bitter saliva, not daring to lift his head.

Chu Yunfei flicked the ash from his cigarette, then pointed towards Europe with the cigarette between his fingers.

"Alright, stop looking like you've lost your father. Save your energy for watching the news."

"Master Yan said that the southern territory has been completely cleared."

"This fire will now spread all the way to the other side of the Atlantic."

Chu Yunfei spat out the tobacco dust in his mouth, his cold laughter as grating as sandpaper grinding iron.

"Lu Yuan's EMP fleet is already targeting Paris."

"Once midnight tonight, Master Yan is going to make those old European nobles who are drinking coffee all go back to their caves and light candles."