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

The meeting room was deathly silent, except for the jarring sound of a tablet computer falling to the floor.

The screen displayed a ghastly green candlestick chart, so green it made one's scalp crawl.

Li Dakang pushed the chair aside and pounced on the tablet like a hungry wolf.

He stared intently at the data on the screen, his eyes almost bulging out.

"This is impossible! Where did such a large sell-off come from?" Li Dakang roared angrily.

"Secretary Li, there are massive sell orders! The market hit the daily limit down within a second of opening!" Xiao Jin slumped to the ground, wiping away tears in desperation.

The news that more than 100 infrastructure projects were suspended last night has finally taken hold.

By morning, the capital market had given the most brutal response.

Capital with a keen sense of smell has outpaced the real economy by a hundred times.

This is not a typical withdrawal of investment; it's a direct cut to the economic lifeline of Handong.

Top-floor trading room of Lingxiao Financial Center in Jingzhou CBD.

On a large curved screen covering an entire wall, a waterfall of data, alternating between red and green, flashes.

Shin was wearing a flashy dark red vest and holding an iced Americano.

He slumped lazily in the leather boss's chair, his legs crossed and propped up on the desk.

"Mr. Su, all 57 local listed companies in the Handong sector have been hammered down to their daily limit."

The chief trader turned his head, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement.

Su Jianxin took a sip of his iced Americano and slowly chewed the ice cubes.

"Has the stampede effect of capital outflows appeared yet?" He tilted his head and asked casually.

"It's out! Panic has spread completely, and speculative funds and retail investors are all fleeing in a frenzy."

The trader pointed to the plummeting curve on the screen, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

"The sell orders at the daily limit down price exceed 30 billion yuan, and no one dares to take over the shares now."

Su Jianxin snapped his fingers in satisfaction and casually tossed the empty plastic cup into the nearby trash can.

He put his legs off the table, stood up, and straightened the collar of his vest.

"Does that old bastard Li Dakang really think he can find someone to take over the more than one hundred infrastructure projects we're withdrawing from?"

Su Jianxin walked to the huge display screen and gently tapped the explosion-proof glass with his slender fingers.

"Today I'll let him get a good feel for the place and see who's in charge of the money laundering in Handong's financial pool."

He turned around, looked at the room full of financial traders, and his eyes suddenly turned cold and sharp.

"Continue to place sell orders and liquidate your positions in a compliant and legal manner. Don't leave even a single penny of your initial holdings."

"Understood! We'll stick to the story Lin taught us: it's just normal asset optimization for the company."

The traders responded in unison, and the only sound in the hall was the frantic clatter of keyboards.

There was no insider trading, and we did not engage in any illegal market manipulation techniques.

Su Jianxin's credit is based on the simplest and most brutal method: overwhelming financial strength.

This is like an elephant rolling over in a bathtub; the fish in the water don't even know how they died.

In just ten minutes, the Handong Index, which represents the economic barometer of Handong Province, plummeted like a kite with a broken string.

The white line on the main index plummeted straight down to the bottom, showing no sign of turning back.

"Beep—" The trading system emitted a piercing long beep.

The circuit breaker mechanism was triggered directly, and trading in the entire provincial stock market was forcibly suspended.

A market value of hundreds of billions vanished in the time it takes to eat breakfast.

Meanwhile, in the No. 1 office of the Hantong Provincial Party Committee compound.

Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the carpet.

Sha Ruijin, wearing gold-rimmed reading glasses, is reviewing an official document concerning economic development in the second half of the year.

He was in a good mood today. With Gao Yuliang and Qi Tongwei gone in, the situation in Handong had been completely turned around.

The famous Yixing teapot on the table, which has been nurtured for seven or eight years, is emitting a fragrant aroma of Pu'er tea.

"Bang!"

The heavy, solid wood soundproof door was pushed open with such force that even the calligraphy and paintings on the wall shook.

Secretary Bai barged in without even knocking, his brow beaded with sweat.

Sha Ruijin frowned, took off his reading glasses, and his tone revealed obvious displeasure.

"Xiao Bai, have you forgotten the rule of knocking before entering a room? What kind of behavior is this, so clumsy and sloppy?"

Secretary Bai was panting heavily, her once neat tie was now askew, and she was gripping the edge of her desk tightly with both hands.

"Secretary Sha, something terrible has happened! The Handong Index... has triggered a circuit breaker!"

Sha Ruijin's hand, which was holding the purple clay teapot, froze in mid-air, and his eyelids twitched suddenly.

"What did you say? What circuit breaker?" He thought he had misheard.

"Just now, as soon as the stock market opened, all the funds fled!" Secretary Bai's voice was filled with barely suppressed panic.

"Fifty-seven leading domestic companies all hit their daily limit down. A market capitalization of hundreds of billions of yuan was wiped out in just ten minutes!"

Secretary Bai swallowed hard, feeling as if her throat was about to burst into flames.

"Crack—"

Sha Ruijin's fingers stiffened, and the valuable purple clay teapot slipped directly from his hand.

Scalding hot tea and tea leaves splashed all over the floor, and the teapot smashed into more than a dozen pieces.

He suddenly stood up, bracing himself on the mahogany table with both hands, staring intently at the secretary in front of him.

"Where's Li Dakang? He held a meeting all night last night, and this is the result?"

Sha Ruijin slammed his fist on the table in frustration, shouting, "Why didn't he stop the funds from dumping their shares?!"

"We couldn't stop them! Secretary Li sent traffic police to block the highway last night, but they couldn't even impound a few dump trucks."

Secretary Bai shook her head, her voice trembling, her face paler than paper.

"The legal team of the Lingxiao Consortium stepped in and even deposited the more than 40 billion yuan in breach of contract penalties into the treasury account in advance."

"This is a completely compliant and legal business exit; the municipal party committee can't even find a pretext to issue a fine!"

Sha Ruijin slumped back into his large office chair, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead.

He originally thought that no matter how much money Yan Qingfeng had, he would have to be cautious in the face of absolute public power.

But now he truly realizes just how terrifying this financial behemoth hidden beneath the surface of the Han River is.

It doesn't need to use any illegal or underhanded methods at all.

If it were to legally and legitimately turn itself around, the resulting massive upheaval would be enough to drown the entire Handong Provincial Committee.

This is a mess that Li Dakang can't handle.

Without money and infrastructure, hundreds of thousands of people will soon face unemployment.

The situation is completely out of control.

At the same time, in a remote detention center on the outskirts of Handong Province.

The heavy iron door made a dull scraping sound as the prison guard carried a copy of the "Handong Daily" that smelled of ink.

The special detention cell at the end of the corridor was dimly lit.

The prison guard walked up to the iron bars and stuffed the newspaper through the small gap at the bottom.

The person inside was sitting cross-legged on a hard bed, wearing blue and white prison uniforms.

Although his hair was gray, his slicked-back hairstyle was still meticulously combed.

He slowly put on his reading glasses and picked up the day's newspaper.

The prison guard knocked on the iron bars, lowering his voice.

"Teacher Gao, Yan Qingfeng has made his move, and the world outside has been turned upside down."

Gao Yuliang looked at the glaring words "circuit breaker" on the front page of the newspaper and a complex, cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Now, Sha Ruijin should know what a real hot potato is, shouldn't he?"