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

Meeting Room No. 1 of the Provincial Party Committee.

The atmosphere was so oppressive that you could hear a pin drop; the air seemed to have frozen.

Sha Ruijin sat in the main seat, clutching a red and blue pencil in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force.

Li Dakang sat to the side, his head almost buried in his crotch, without uttering a sound.

The finance director, Lao Gao, pushed open the door with trembling hands, clutching a few thin sheets of A4 paper.

He swallowed hard, his calves cramping, and he staggered as he walked.

"Secretary Sha... Mayor Li." Old Gao's voice was weak, as if he were reporting a funeral.

Sha Ruijin raised his eyelids and gave him a sharp look.

"Tell me. How much more money can be squeezed out of the special fiscal account?"

Old Gao wiped the oil and sweat from his forehead, his hands trembling like leaves in the wind.

"Not a single penny left. The Lingxiao Consortium withdrew its investment following compliant procedures, and transferred all the pre-paid deposits."

"The vaults of the city's major banks are now empty, and our special fiscal accounts are completely locked."

Sha Ruijin slammed the red and blue pencils on the table with a loud crack.

"That's money meant to cover losses! How can the bank just let them transfer it away!"

"They have all the necessary paperwork, even the China Banking Regulatory Commission's stamp is on it, we can't stop them." Old Gao almost cried.

He took a deep breath and dropped an even more explosive bombshell.

"Secretary Sha, today is the 10th. It's the day all civil servants, teachers, and doctors in the province get their salaries."

Li Dakang suddenly raised his head, his eyes wide like copper bells, and his breathing rapid.

"Have you received your salary yet?"

Old Gao shook his head like a rattle-drum, cold sweat dripping down his chin.

"No money has been deposited. The HR system could only send a mass text message saying that there was a system malfunction and the payment would be delayed."

"System malfunction?" Li Dakang suddenly stood up.

The chair screeched as it scraped against the floor.

"Are ordinary people stupid? They're so proactive in tax audits, but the system malfunctions when it comes to payday? Who believes that nonsense!"

Parking lot of Jingzhou Public Security Bureau.

Young police officer Xiao Liu was squatting next to the tires of his police car, eating a cold steamed bun, when his phone suddenly vibrated.

He took it out and saw that it was a text message notification that his salary would be delayed.

"Another malfunction? My mortgage payment is due tomorrow, how much will I have to pay in late fees if it's even a day late!"

Xiao Liu threw half a steamed bun on the ground, jumping up and down in anger.

Old Li, who was driving the police car next to them, stuck his head out and sighed helplessly.

"Stop yelling. I just went to the gas station, and as soon as they saw it was a public bus, they pulled the nozzle off."

Old Li patted the steering wheel, his face full of frustration.

"The gas station said that the municipal party committee's accounts had been tied up for three months, and since Lingxiao Energy stopped operating, they wouldn't give us gas on credit anymore."

Xiao Liu panicked and rushed to the car window.

"How do we respond to this? The elderly women on Guangming Street who can't buy affordable vegetables are almost fighting!"

"Go to hell. Walk there?" Old Li rolled his eyes.

Not only were the police cars out of gas, but the city police station's canteen also ran out of food.

With Lingxiao Logistics shut down, vegetable farmers are unable to enter the city at all.

There was a lot of discontent and unrest in the city bureau compound.

Zhao Donglai stood on the second-floor corridor, his eyes bloodshot.

He listened to the complaints of his men below, his chest heaving violently, like a bull driven to desperation.

He ripped off his police cap and strode towards the stairwell.

The scene cuts back to the provincial party committee meeting room.

Sha Ruijin leaned back in his chair, feeling a sudden dizziness and his head buzzing.

Sitting next to him was Qi, the special envoy from the capital, who slowly picked up his teacup and blew on it to cool it down.

"Secretary Sha, are you already throwing a tantrum? It's just a few days' pay suspension; let the comrades at the grassroots level get through it."

Team Leader Qi spoke in an official tone, his voice light and casual, as if he were talking about a trivial matter.

"Ideological education work must keep up; the more difficult the period, the more it tests the purity of the team."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud "bang" was heard.

The two solid wood doors of the conference room were kicked open.

The door slammed heavily against the wall, causing the plaster to peel off and wood chips to fly everywhere.

Zhao Donglai burst in like a black tower, his eyes bloodshot.

One of the buttons on his police uniform popped open, and he was panting heavily.

Li Dakang was startled and slammed his hand on the table.

"Zhao Donglai! What's wrong with you? Don't you know any rules?!"

"Rules? My men aren't even able to eat, and you're talking to me about rules?"

Zhao Donglai rushed to the conference table in a few strides and slammed his hand on the table in front of Li Dakang.

The shock caused Li Dakang's thermos to fall over with a clatter, spilling hot water all over the floor.

"Zhao Donglai! You dare to rebel!" Li Dakang roared, pointing his finger at his nose.

"I'm rebelling? Secretary Li, go check out the city bureau's canteen!"

Zhao Donglai slapped Li Dakang's hand away and roared angrily, his neck stiff.

"The chef boiled cabbage stalks in a huge pot, not even bothering to add a drop of sesame oil!"

His eyes were blazing with fury as he pressed closer and closer.

"Traffic police officers stood guard on the streets for eight hours straight, and they didn't even get a hot lunchbox!"

He turned around, pointed to the chaotic street outside the window, and spat as he spoke.

"Right now, all the police cars in the city can't afford gas, they're all sitting in the yards like scrap metal!"

"With 300,000 people blocking the streets and causing trouble, how am I supposed to maintain order?"

"Are you expecting our brothers to stand on empty stomachs and take the blows of the common people?!"

Li Dakang's face turned pale and then red, his lips trembled, and he couldn't utter a single word for a long time.

Team Leader Qi frowned, slammed his teacup heavily on the table, making a dull thud.

"How dare you! How dare you, a municipal bureau chief, speak to your superiors like that?"

He adopted the airs of an imperial envoy, staring coldly at Zhao Donglai with an air of superiority.

"Is this the quality of the Handong police? They come here to throw a tantrum at the slightest difficulty?"

"Go back and write a 5,000-word self-criticism! Is the organization starving you? This is just a temporary cash flow problem!"

Zhao Donglai slowly turned his head, looking at this high-ranking official from the capital as if he were a fool.

He sneered, a mocking sneer curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Team Leader Qi, is that right? It's easy for you to talk when you're not the one suffering the consequences."

Zhao Donglai braced his hands on the table, staring intently into Team Leader Qi's eyes, refusing to yield an inch.

"The auxiliary police officers under my command only make three thousand yuan a month."

"If they don't get paid today, the landlord will have to kick them out onto the street tomorrow!"

"You're going to try and persuade them? Are you going to just pay their rent with your mouth?"

Zhao Donglai grew increasingly angry as he spoke, and directly revealed Team Leader Qi's trump card.

"You!" Team Leader Qi trembled with rage, pointing a finger at Zhao Donglai, "Disorganized and undisciplined!"

"I don't care about this job anymore, but I'm going to get this straight today!"

Zhao Donglai roared at the top of his lungs, his eyes red as if they were about to bleed, and the veins on his neck throbbed.

"Yan Qingfeng withdrew his investment because he was playing by the rules. You guys messed things up, so why should your men pay the price!"

Zhao Donglai's roar echoed throughout the conference room.

The sound was like a resounding slap, striking the face of every person in power with a burning pain.

Sha Ruijin sat in the main seat, feeling a chill run down his back, his shirt soaked with cold sweat.

He turned his head and looked out the huge floor-to-ceiling window.

At the entrance of the provincial party committee compound, a number of grassroots cadres in uniforms had already gathered.

They didn't put up banners or make a loud noise.

But those pairs of eyes, filled with resentment and confusion, were staring intently at the office building.

The complete collapse of morale within the army became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Sha Ruijin closed his eyes with a bitter smile and shook his head wearily.

His pride in his power crumbled before Yan Qingfeng's impeccable withdrawal of funds.

It became a sand tower without a foundation, and it crumbled in the wind.

He slowly opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over Team Leader Qi, who was still putting on airs.

He then looked at Li Dakang, whose face was ashen and who dared not utter a sound.

Sha Ruijin suddenly stood up and grabbed the black trench coat draped over the back of the chair.

"Secretary Sha, where are you going?" Li Dakang was stunned and somewhat at a loss.

Team Leader Qi also frowned, his face full of displeasure.

"Secretary Sha, the investigation team is currently providing guidance; what kind of attitude is this?"

Sha Ruijin ignored them and strode towards the conference room door while putting on his trench coat.

His steps were a little unsteady, but his back was very straight.

He stopped at the door and gripped the doorknob.

He didn't turn around, leaving everyone with only a resolute silhouette.

"Where to? To Lingxiao Manor. Even if Yan Qingfeng keeps a dog outside the gate, I'm going to squat down today and ask that dog what kind of bones it likes to gnaw on!"