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

The stylus of the record player slid to the end, and the stirring symphony came to an abrupt halt.

Yan Qingfeng walked to the panoramic floor-to-ceiling window and put his hands in his pockets.

The searchlights downstairs were on, and several assassins, looking like tattered sacks, were being dragged out of the flower bushes by security guards like dead dogs.

"Young Master." Ah Fu stepped forward and lowered his voice.

"What should we do with these useless dogs? Should we hand them over to the city bureau so Zhao Donglai can follow the trail?"

Yan Qingfeng looked out at the deep night sky and a cruel, cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Traffic police? Taking legal action would be too lenient on their superiors."

He turned and walked to the rosewood desk, tapping his fingertips lightly on the surface twice.

"Connect Ye Qingmei and Su Jianxin online."

In less than half a minute, the holographic projection screen in the study lit up.

On the left side of the screen, Ye Qingmei wore bright red lipstick and held a slender women's cigarette between her fingers.

"Master Yan, the mercenaries' communication frequency has been cracked."

She exhaled a puff of smoke, her eyes alluring yet filled with a chilling murderous intent.

"The IP address is fixed; it's located at the Shuiyunjian upscale clubhouse in the western suburbs of Jingzhou."

On the right side of the screen, Su Jianxin, wearing a floral shirt, was typing away on his keyboard.

"I also dug up the root of that 20 million bounty on the dark web by following the botnet as a springboard."

Su Jianxin grinned, laughing like a madman.

"Zhao Ruilong and his cronies also have a secret fund pool overseas, totaling a full one billion US dollars!"

Yan Qingfeng picked up the whiskey and slammed the bottom of the glass on the table, making a crisp sound.

"Po Jun" (破军).

Standing in the shadows by the door, Shen Pojun immediately straightened his back: "What are your orders, Master Yan?"

"Take the men to the western suburbs. Put them, dog and master, into an iron cage."

Yan Qingfeng's voice was devoid of any warmth, as if he were discussing a few insignificant pieces of trash.

"Lake Brightness needs some fertilizer tonight."

Shuiyun Club, located in the western suburbs of Jingzhou.

A tall, thin man, holding a glass of red wine, paced anxiously in front of the leather sofa.

"Why haven't we heard anything yet? Did those vultures fail?"

"Bang!"

The solid wood door of the private room was kicked away along with the entire frame.

Wood chips and scraps, mixed with the cold wind, flew everywhere.

The tall, thin man was horrified, his hand just reaching for the pistol at his waist.

A large, iron-like hand had already gripped his neck tightly.

Shen Pojun slammed him onto the liquor cabinet with one hand, like picking up a chick.

The expensive red wine was shattered on the floor, the red liquid splashing onto the pale face of the tall, thin man.

"You...you dare to trespass..."

Shen Pojun ignored his nonsense and delivered a heavy punch to his abdomen.

The tall, thin man vomited up his leftovers and rolled his eyes back.

"Put it in a sack and take it away." Shen Pojun waved his hand coldly.

Late at night, on the shore of Guangming Lake.

The cold wind, mixed with moisture, scraped against people's faces like ice scalpels.

A heavy crane was parked on the shore, its engine emitting a deep roar.

A huge cast iron cage was suspended from the crane boom.

The tall, thin man was doused with a bucket of ice water and woke up with a jolt.

He opened his eyes and was terrified.

He was locked in an iron cage, with dark, bottomless lake water beneath his feet.

Beside them lay six mercenaries, their limbs severed, emitting wild, agonizing howls.

Shen Pojun stood on the shore, holding a tablet computer in his hand.

"Release," Shen Pojun uttered a single word.

The crane winch turned, the iron cage creaked, and it slowly descended to the lake surface.

The icy lake water washed over my ankles and then over my knees.

"Yan Qingfeng! You've gone mad! You're killing someone!"

The tall, thin man was so cold his teeth were chattering. He clung tightly to the iron bars, screaming at the top of his lungs.

"I am a member of the Zhao family! If you dare to touch me, the overseas forces will not let you get away with it!"

Yan Qingfeng's calm and even voice came from the tablet screen.

"Murder? I, Yan Qingfeng, never spill blood."

The lake water continued to rise, submerging the tall, thin man's waist.

"That's because the lake water was too cold, and you couldn't hold on. What does that have to do with me?"

The water gradually rose above my chest.

The fear of being slowly swallowed up by the dark, deep water completely shattered the tall, thin man's psychological defenses.

The water reached neck level, and the crane came to a steady stop.

Even the slightest ripple would send the icy black water gushing into his nostrils.

"I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Please, Master Yan, spare my life!"

The tall, thin man completely broke down, tears and snot mingling with lake water streaming down his face.

With a cold face, Shen Pojun flipped the tablet over, pointing the high-resolution camera at the iron cage.

"The entire dark web channel is now live-streaming, and tens of thousands of black market accounts worldwide are watching."

Shen Pojun's voice was like that of a judge summoning death.

"Tell us everything about the Zhao family's remnants, their contacts, and the sources of all their illicit funds, down to the last word."

"If you miss a single word, the crane will be lowered an inch."

The tall, thin man dared not hide anything any longer and spilled everything to the camera like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.

They revealed everything, from overseas account passwords and corrupt networks to even the color of their underwear.

On the other end of the live stream, the global underground world was deathly silent.

Everyone witnessed firsthand the consequences of provoking this God of Wealth of Handong; it was a hundred times worse than death.

The screen switched back to the study, where Yan Qingfeng was twirling a cigar.

"Have you written everything down in the letter?"

"Master Yan, all accounts are locked." Su Jianxin's excited voice came through.

"Then send them on their way."

Su Jianxin pressed the Enter key heavily.

"Beep—Transfer successful. One billion US dollars in illicit funds have been donated in full to the African branch of the International Red Cross."

Su Jianxin laughed so hard he slapped the table.

"The procedures were legal and compliant, and they didn't even have enough money left to buy a bottle of heroin."

Yan Qingfeng exhaled a smoke ring and flicked off the ash.

"Pull him up."

He gave instructions to Shen Pojun on the screen.

"As long as the person isn't dead, send them to the city bureau gate to boost Zhao Donglai's anti-gang crime performance."

The next morning, at the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee building.

The sky was overcast, and a light drizzle was falling.

Li Dakang pushed open the office door, looking like a piece of withered wood about to rot.

In just five days, a large patch of hair on his temples turned white.

He walked to the desk, then suddenly stopped.

On the table, a kraft paper file folder was neatly placed.

Li Dakang's hands trembled as he untied the tangled white thread.

Several high-resolution screenshots of dark web live streams slid out.

In the video, only the head of the assassin is visible above the water, his face contorted with terror.

Attached to the scene was a detailed report that clearly described the events leading up to the sinking in the lake last night.

And it's buried at the very bottom of the report.

It was none other than the "Handong Infrastructure Concession Agreement".

Li Dakang gasped, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

This isn't a report; it's clearly Yan Qingfeng revealing his bottom line!

Those who obey me prosper, while those who defy me find even death a luxury!

"Bang."

The office door was pushed open.

Sha Ruijin walked in, wearing that wrinkled trench coat, his face ashen.

He glanced at the agreement on the table, then at Li Dakang's gray hair, and shook his head bitterly.

"Dakang, stop looking. Grab a pen and sign it."

Li Dakang gripped the agreement tightly, his eyes filled with resentment and despair, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

"Secretary Sha! Are we just going to hand over the lifeline of Handong like this? This is a humiliating loss of national sovereignty!"

Sha Ruijin gave a bitter laugh and slumped onto the sofa, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

"What else can we do if we don't sign? Feed those 300,000 people with our own mouths?"

He pointed to the red secure telephone on the table, his voice trembling like a broken gong in the cold wind.

"Do you think I'm willing to back down like this? The highest levels of government in Beijing just called and gave us an ultimatum. We only have forty-eight hours left."

Sha Ruijin raised his bloodshot eyes and stared intently at Li Dakang.

"If you don't sign, we'll both be going to the Discipline Inspection Commission for questioning tomorrow, and we'll have to make way for Yan Qingfeng in Handong!"