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

The No. 1 meeting room of the Municipal Party Committee was deathly silent.

Li Dakang slumped in the main seat like a lump of mud.

All the subordinates in the room had left, leaving not even a single person to collect the teacups.

His once-proud authority as the municipal party secretary was utterly crushed by Yi Xuexi and his cronies.

He was not reconciled.

He's spent most of his life in this chair, so why should a businessman so easily kick him out?

Li Dakang, his hands trembling, pulled his phone out of his pocket.

Because of the excessive force, the phone almost fell into the puddle of goji berry tea.

He found an encrypted number, gritted his teeth, and pressed the call button.

That was a phone call from the Zhong family in Beijing.

The phone rang three times before being answered.

"Director Zhong, this is Dakang from Jingzhou."

Li Dakang swallowed hard, his voice weak like that of an old man who had just recovered from a serious illness.

On the other end of the phone, Zhong Xiaoai, wearing a silk nightgown, was sitting on the sofa in her Beijing villa.

She glanced at Hou Liangping, who was drowning his sorrows in alcohol beside her; his face was so gloomy it could drip water.

"Secretary Li, the opera performed in Handong was truly awful."

Zhong Xiaoai sneered, her tone revealing a condescending and sarcastic tone.

"Liangping went to help you settle things, but he couldn't even figure out the accounts before Sha Ruijin chased him back like a dog."

Li Dakang's Adam's apple bobbed, and his old face turned bright red.

"Director Zhong, this really isn't our fault; it's just that Yan Qingfeng's methods are too wicked!"

He quickly embellished the story of Yi Xuexi's defection and the complete sidelining of the municipal party committee.

"Now even the foreign-owned William Consortium has been forced to sign a contract of servitude, giving away 80% of its shares for free."

Li Dakang was so anxious that he kept slapping his thigh, his voice tinged with a mournful sob.

"If Yan Qingfeng completely controls Jingzhou, Liangping will have nowhere to vent his humiliation!"

These words hit Zhong Xiaoai squarely on the back.

Zhong Xiaoai grew up in the elite circles of Beijing. When had she ever suffered such humiliation?

She suddenly stood up, slamming her coffee cup heavily onto the mahogany coffee table.

"Does this local tycoon really think he's the emperor of Handong?"

Zhong Xiaoai's eyebrows furrowed, and an uncontrollable rage ignited in her eyes.

"Sha Ruijin has no backbone, your municipal party committee has no guts, but the Zhong family can't afford to lose face like this!"

Upon hearing this, a bright light suddenly burst forth in Li Dakang's previously lifeless eyes.

"Director Zhong, as long as you're willing to lend a hand, I, Li Dakang, am willing to be your pawn!"

"You want to be a pawn? You can't even get a district chief under your command now, what makes you think you can be one?"

Zhong Xiaoai mercilessly exposed his shortcomings.

"Doesn't the William Consortium still have two ships carrying foreign trade goods stuck in port, unable to leave?"

She paced back and forth in the living room, her mind racing as she considered her network of connections in the capital.

"The logistics line is the lifeblood of the Lingxiao Consortium, right? Then I'll just cut its main artery!"

Zhong Xiaoai stopped in her tracks, a cold, sharp smile curving her lips.

"I'll call the relevant ministry right now and issue the highest-level administrative order for forced takeover."

"By bypassing the Hantong Provincial Committee, they directly seized Yan Qingfeng's Jingzhou port, forcibly transporting this batch of goods out of the country for foreign investment!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Dakang gripped it tightly and sprang up from his chair as if he had been electrocuted.

He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, his chest heaving violently.

"Yan Qingfeng, you think you've got this in the bag? Let's see how you defend yourself against this knife in the capital!"

Li Dakang tugged at his crooked tie, his eyes filled with a frenzied desire for a desperate counterattack.

Two hours later, on the main road of Jingzhou City.

Thirty white law enforcement vehicles bearing the words "Supervised by the Ministry" sped past with their sirens blaring.

The convoy skipped the formalities at the provincial party committee compound and headed straight for Jingzhou's largest deep-water port.

Outside the port gate.

The sea breeze carried a strong, salty smell, making it hard to open one's eyes.

With logistics at a standstill, colorful containers are piled up like small mountains in the yard.

More than a dozen giant bridge cranes stood motionless in mid-air, like dead steel behemoths.

"Creak—"

Dozens of law enforcement vehicles braked suddenly and lined up in a fan shape outside the port gate.

The car doors opened in unison, and hundreds of law enforcement officers in crisp uniforms poured out.

The leader, Special Envoy Zhang, had a large belly and a briefcase tucked under his arm.

He was directly parachuted in from a ministry in Beijing, representing absolute administrative power.

"Go! Smash the door open! Let everyone breathing inside get out!"

Special Envoy Zhang waved his hand arrogantly.

Just as several of his men were about to step forward and pull down the large iron gate, a person slowly walked out of the security room next to the gate.

Chu Yunfei was dressed in a dark blue Tang suit with dark cloud patterns, and he was holding two shiny walnuts in his hands.

The "crackling" sound of walnuts colliding could be clearly heard in the sea breeze.

He was followed by only two ordinary security guards who were yawning, without even a riot shield.

"Are these leaders playing around with dismantling doors in broad daylight?"

Chu Yunfei stopped behind the retractable gate, looking at the menacing law enforcement team through the railing with a smile.

"Are you in charge here?" Special Envoy Zhang frowned and looked him up and down.

"My name is Chu Yunfei, the manager of Lingxiao Logistics."

Chu Yunfei bowed slightly, his posture impeccable.

Special Envoy Zhang snorted coldly and pulled out a document stamped with a bright red seal from his briefcase.

He shoved the document right in front of Chu Yunfei's nose.

"Look carefully! This is an administrative order for forced takeover issued by a ministry!"

Special Envoy Zhang, with his chin held high, displayed the demeanor of a high-ranking official from the capital.

"Your Lingxiao Consortium is suspected of malicious hoarding and speculation, and disrupting international trade channels."

"This port is now under our complete control! All of you, get out of here immediately!"

As Commissioner Zhang had anticipated, the other side would definitely jump up and try to stop him at this point.

He was even prepared to have his men force their way in.

But Chu Yunfei wasn't in a hurry; instead, he chuckled.

He reached out and took the flimsy takeover order, glancing at it casually.

"Wow, that's the official red seal of the ministry. It looks really impressive."

Chu Yunfei casually folded the document twice and stuffed it into the pocket of his Tang suit jacket.

"What are you doing! Trying to resist the law!" Special Commissioner Zhang shouted angrily, pointing at Chu Yunfei and cursing.

Chu Yunfei stopped playing with the walnuts.

He turned around and waved to the security guard behind him who was yawning.

The security guard quickly handed over a large bunch of heavy brass keys.

"Bang!"

Chu Yunfei tossed the bunch of keys directly in front of Special Envoy Zhang's shoes through the iron gate.

Special Envoy Zhang was startled and instinctively took half a step back.

"What...what do you mean by this?"

Chu Yunfei pressed the electric switch on the gate.

The heavy sliding gate hummed with the grinding of gears as it slowly opened to both sides.

"It doesn't mean anything. Special Commissioner Zhang came all the way from Beijing; we have to cooperate with law enforcement, right?"

Chu Yunfei stepped aside and gestured for them to proceed.

The smile on his face vanished instantly, replaced by a cold indifference as if he were looking at a dead man.

"Want to take over? Come on in, have fun."