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

"Secretary Li, we can't stop them, they've all crossed the border!"

On the other end of the phone, Ma Changlin's sobbing was amplified by the sharp static.

Li Dakang's wrist went limp, and the red microphone fell to the table with a "thud," knocking over a stack of official documents.

His eyes glazed over, and his legs felt like they'd been pulled out of their sockets as he slumped heavily back into the boss's chair.

"Unstoppable...legal and compliant..."

Li Dakang's lips trembled, his dead fish eyes staring intently at the ceiling, as if his soul had been drained away.

Sun Liancheng, who was standing nearby, swallowed hard and mustered up his courage to step forward.

"Secretary, what did Lao Ma say? Did he really let Yan Qingfeng's men escape?"

Li Dakang suddenly turned his head, his eyes fierce as if he wanted to devour someone.

"A top-notch legal team paves the way; all vehicles are properly loaded and do not violate regulations; all penalties for breach of contract will be fully paid!"

He gritted his teeth, and the words burst out from between them.

"Sun Liancheng, Yan Qingfeng isn't just withdrawing investment; he's using money to slap the entire Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee in the face!"

It was 4 a.m. outside the gate of the Guangmingfeng construction site.

A cool night breeze stirred up a few fallen leaves on the ground.

Chen Zongheng, the CEO of Lingxiao Infrastructure Group, sat imposingly in a folding chair, wearing a black trench coat and with a cigarette dangling from his mouth.

"Mr. Chen, the accounts are all balanced."

The CFO, carrying a briefcase, strode up and handed over a long receipt.

"The wages and overtime pay of 35,000 migrant workers for the month, plus three months' severance pay, have all been deposited into their personal accounts."

Chen Zongheng exhaled a smoke ring and flicked off his cigarette ash.

"Well done. With Master Yan's word, we're going to overturn the table with Li Dakang. We can't let the brothers who did the work suffer."

He stood up and patted the CFO on the shoulder: "No labor disputes left over, right?"

"Don't worry, it's spotless, even whiter than a sheet of paper."

The head of the legal department pushed up his glasses and interrupted with a cold laugh.

"The default penalties for more than 100 projects, including Guangming Peak, totaling 47 billion yuan, have been transferred in full to the Jingzhou fiscal special account."

After hearing this, Chen Zongheng burst into hearty laughter, the sound echoing through the empty street.

"Doesn't Li Dakang like to show off his achievements? I'll spend money to completely destroy them!"

He casually tossed the cigarette butt aside and crushed the embers with his leather shoe.

"Pass on my message: cut off the power, seal the gate! Sweep up all the household garbage that you can't take with you."

Chen Zongheng waved his hand, exuding a strong sense of chivalry.

"Let's come cleanly and leave cleanly, without giving the municipal party committee even the slightest excuse for environmental fines. Let's withdraw!"

As the last few Coaster buses took away the management personnel, a loud "bang" rang out and the main power switch at the Guangmingfeng construction site was cut off.

Hundreds of searchlights went out instantly.

This project, which carried Li Dakang's boundless hopes for political achievements, has fallen into complete silence.

At 7:30 in the morning, the sky was already bright.

Several Audis with municipal government license plates braked suddenly in front of the Guangming Peak gate.

Li Dakang pushed open the car door, not even bothering to open an umbrella, and rushed into the construction site through the muddy ground.

His trench coat was covered in yellow mud, but he was completely unaware of it.

Sun Liancheng and Secretary Xiao Jin followed behind, panting and stumbling.

The scene before him made Li Dakang gasp in shock.

The huge construction site was empty and eerily quiet.

The once towering heavy tower cranes now stand suspended in mid-air, resembling rigid steel skeletons.

The huge foundation pit was filled with a layer of muddy water, and not even a single valuable steel bar was left.

There were no workers holding banners demanding unpaid wages, and no contractors refusing to leave.

Even the trash cans in the temporary housing area have been emptied and covered with new plastic bags.

This cleanliness exudes an unreasonable contempt.

Li Dakang slipped and nearly fell into a mud pit.

"Secretary Li, watch out!" Sun Liancheng reacted quickly and grabbed his arm.

Li Dakang shook off Sun Liancheng's hand, his chest heaving violently, and pointed at the huge unfinished pit.

"A business worth over 10 billion yuan, and overnight, they left me with a hole?"

His voice trembled, and his vision blurred.

Secretary Xiao Jin held a newly printed report, her hands trembling like a leaf.

"Secretary Li... this is the data that the Municipal Construction Commission just compiled."

Xiao Jin swallowed hard, not daring to look Li Dakang in the eye.

"All 120 key municipal projects in the city have been halted and the sites cleared, and the developers have all issued letters terminating the contracts."

Upon hearing this, Sun Liancheng's legs went weak, and he plopped down on the muddy ground.

"It's over, it's all over. This year's GDP is completely ruined."

He slapped his thigh and looked up at the sky, exclaiming, "The gods are fighting! They've broken a hole in the sky over Handong!"

"Shut up! The sky isn't going to fall!"

Li Dakang's eyes were bloodshot, and he roared at the top of his lungs like a trapped beast.

"Yan Qingfeng has money to burn; he left behind over 40 billion in breach of contract penalties!"

Li Dakang grabbed the notification form from Xiao Jin's hand and crumpled it into a ball.

"Return to the Municipal Party Committee! Immediately convene a meeting of all Standing Committee members!"

"With this 40 billion yuan safety net, our city can organize its own construction teams to continue the work! Even without the Lingxiao Consortium, Jingzhou will keep running!"

Nine o'clock in the morning, in the first conference room of the municipal party committee.

Li Dakang sat in the main seat and took a big gulp of strong tea, trying to suppress the panic in his heart.

The officials below were all ashen-faced, and none of them dared to speak first.

"Why are you all looking so gloomy? The sky isn't falling!"

Li Dakang banged on the table, raising his voice to bolster his courage.

"The funds are still in the account, and the land is still in our hands! Today is just to set the tone; we'll immediately start a new bidding process..."

"Bang!"

The conference room door was suddenly and violently kicked open from the outside.

Xiao Jin scrambled in, dropping his tablet computer on the floor.

"Secretary Li! Something terrible has happened! The entire defense line has collapsed!"

Xiao Jin was so anxious that tears were about to fall as she pointed to the clock on the wall.

Li Dakang frowned, and his heart skipped a beat.

"What's the panic! If infrastructure construction stops, we'll do it ourselves. What's the big deal?"

Li Dakang slammed his fist on the table and stood up, glaring angrily at his out-of-control secretary.

Xiao Jin picked up the tablet and handed it over with trembling hands.

"It's not about the construction site! Secretary, look at the time, it's 9:30 in the morning!"

Xiao Jin's voice, trembling with tears, rang out in the conference room.

"The stock market had just opened when dozens of listed companies with the Handong label were all driven to their daily limit down by massive amounts of capital; the Handong Index triggered a circuit breaker!"