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

Just as Sha Ruijin's hand touched the brass handle of the solid wood door, a deafening thud came from behind him.

"stop!"

Team Leader Qi slammed his hand on the conference table, causing the blue-and-white porcelain teacups on the table to bounce and spill tea all over the floor.

The special envoy from the capital stood up, his thin fingers pointing directly at Sha Ruijin's back.

"Sha Ruijin! You, the top provincial leader, are going to beg a capitalist who reeks of money?"

Team Leader Qi was so angry that the muscles in his face twitched, and spittle flew everywhere in the air.

"This is political spinelessness! You're bowing to capitalist forces! If this gets back to Beijing, will you still hold onto your official position?"

Sha Ruijin did not turn around, but his broad back visibly stiffened for a moment.

He took a deep breath of the foul-smelling air, forcibly suppressing the anger surging in his chest.

"Team Leader Qi, what are your thoughts?" Sha Ruijin asked, his back to him, his voice as cold as ice.

Team Leader Qi snorted coldly, straightened his wrinkled collar, and once again adopted the air of an imperial envoy.

"To deal with these unruly businessmen, we must use swift and decisive measures! We must use the iron fist of authoritarianism!"

He pulled a stack of blank documents stamped with a red seal from his briefcase and slammed them onto the table with a loud thud.

"On behalf of the joint investigation team, I hereby issue an urgent official document!"

Team Leader Qi raised his chin slightly, his eyes revealing an arrogant and superior air, as if he had everything under control.

"Charge Yan Qingfeng with the crime of 'maliciously withdrawing funds and disrupting the national financial order'."

"Notify the Economic Crime Investigation Department and Special Police to immediately freeze all asset accounts of the Lingxiao Consortium and proceed directly to their premises to arrest and detain individuals for investigation!"

He glared with his triangular eyes, his tone full of unquestionable domineering authority.

"As long as we hold him in our hands, why should we worry about him not obediently returning the funds and supply chain?"

These words were so powerful that Li Dakang's eyes lit up, as if he had grasped a lifeline in despair.

"Secretary Sha, Team Leader Qi is right!"

Li Dakang suddenly raised his head, gasping for breath like a drowning man.

"We have the authority, we have the power of the law enforcement! Why should we have to be beholden to Yan Qingfeng!"

"Hahaha!"

A low laugh suddenly came from the doorway, interrupting Li Dakang's agreement.

Sha Ruijin slowly turned around and looked at Team Leader Qi and Li Dakang as if they were two terracotta warriors that had just been dug out of the ground.

The laughter grew louder and louder, eventually turning into a desolate and manic laugh.

"Convict? Seize the property? Arrest people?"

Sha Ruijin strode back to the conference table, gripping it tightly with both hands, his eyes bloodshot.

"Team Leader Qi, can your imperial sword fly in the sky or swim in the water?"

He stared intently into Team Leader Qi's eyes, gritting his teeth as he uttered his words.

"They transferred over 500 billion yuan of their funds overseas and to other provinces last night with legal approval from the China Banking Regulatory Commission!"

Sha Ruijin slapped the stack of blank red-headed documents, making a rustling sound.

"Even a mouse would have to cry if it went into the bank vaults in Handong!"

"What are you going to use to seal this up? These few scraps of paper with your red stamp on them, are you trying to seal the air?!"

Team Leader Qi was so yelled at that he took half a step back, his old face turning red, but he still stubbornly stuck out his neck.

"If you don't have money, then investigate! Isn't he still staying at the manor? Have Zhao Donglai take a gun and arrest him!"

"Do you think this is a kidnapping by bandits?!"

Sha Ruijin completely tore off his usual refined mask, like a lion driven to the brink of despair.

"He neither evaded taxes nor breached his contract. His legal team has a complete set of tax payment certificates and his resignation letter!"

He pointed out the chaotic provincial party committee compound outside the window and roared at the top of his lungs.

"You'll go and arrest them? If you dare step even half a step into Lingxiao Manor today without any evidence!"

"Tomorrow morning, Western media and global investors will portray Handong as a den of robbers!"

As Sha Ruijin spoke, he grew increasingly desperate, his chest heaving violently, his breathing heavy like a broken bellows.

He finally came to terms with the cruel reality.

Faced with this absolute capital-driven defeat, their once-proud power has long since become nothing more than a pile of worthless paper.

"Zhao Donglai's police cars can't afford gas, and 100,000 civil servants across the province have no money to pay their salaries."

Sha Ruijin's eyes were red-rimmed, and his voice trembled violently.

"The cabbages at the Nancheng vegetable market are ten yuan a pound, and 300,000 ordinary people can't afford them. Right now, they're blocking the entrance to the provincial inspection station and smashing windows!"

He pointed at Team Leader Qi's nose, mercilessly tearing away the other party's fig leaf.

"Tell me, Handong is going to declare bankruptcy tomorrow!"

"Can your official document conjure cabbages? Can it be used as cooking oil? Can it pay people's salaries?!"

The conference room was deathly silent, save for Sha Ruijin's heavy breathing.

Team Leader Qi opened his mouth, his lips trembling for a long time, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.

His usual bureaucratic logic crumbled completely in the face of hunger.

Sha Ruijin did not give this high-ranking official from the capital another glance.

He turned his head and stared coldly at Li Dakang, who was still slumped in the chair pretending to be dead.

He strode over and grabbed the back of Li Dakang's expensive suit collar.

"Secretary Sha... what are you doing?" Li Dakang trembled with fear, his legs went weak.

"What are you doing? Go and clean up the mess you made!"

Sha Ruijin dragged Li Dakang off the chair like a dead dog.

"The one who tied the knot must untie it. Even if the sky falls, you have to come with me to bring this Buddha statue back!"

Ignoring Li Dakang's struggles, he dragged and pulled him out.

Li Dakang was so choked that his eyes rolled back, and he stumbled along behind, not even bothering to grab his thermos.

The two rushed out of the provincial party committee office building like a gust of wind.

A gust of cold wind blew outside, and Li Dakang shivered, his mind clearing up a bit.

The spacious provincial party committee compound was deserted; not a single black Audi that used to line up in a row was to be seen.

Secretary Bai ran over from the gatehouse, covered in sweat, clutching a car key with chipped paint in her hand.

"Secretary Sha, we got it! Old Li the gatekeeper's nearly scrapped Santana, we filled it with half a tank of smuggled gas, and it still runs!"

Secretary Bai pointed to a dusty, old car parked on the side of the road, its paint peeling off completely, his face full of embarrassment.

A high-ranking official in charge of a region and the top leader of the provincial capital, he actually had to borrow a beat-up car from the gatekeeper when he went out.

This would have been unthinkable in the past.

But now, Sha Ruijin didn't even flinch.

He snatched the car keys, opened the creaking car door, and got into the driver's seat.

"Get in the car!" Sha Ruijin roared at the stunned Li Dakang.

Li Dakang swallowed hard, and could only grit his teeth and reluctantly crawl into the old, oil-smelling seat in the back.

The old Santana roared like a tractor, spewing black smoke from its exhaust pipe as it spewed out of the provincial party committee compound.

The car bumped along the uneven road, and drafts seeped in through the cracks in the windows.

Li Dakang huddled up in the cold, looking at the silent Sha Ruijin in front of him, his heart pounding.

"Secretary Sha." Li Dakang gripped the front seat with both hands, his voice trembling like a leaf.

"Yan Qingfeng has such a stubborn temper. What if we go empty-handed and he refuses to see us?"

"We can't push open that manor's big iron gate."

Sha Ruijin gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white, his eyes revealing a desperate, all-or-nothing resolve.

He floored the accelerator, and the Santana roared as if being torn apart.

"Go to Lingxiao Manor! We'll go even if they refuse to see us!"

Sha Ruijin gritted his teeth and squeezed out the last four words, his voice filled with the humiliation of bowing his head and the madness of trying to survive.

"Even if Yan Qingfeng's doorstep is higher than the sky, I'll crawl there and knock on it!"