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

Li Dakang stared intently at the copy of the indictment, which was entirely in English, on the table.

Three hundred billion US dollars.

These glaring numbers hit him like a blow to the back of the head.

He was trembling all over, and a hissing sound came from his throat.

Smith pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery.

George straightened his disheveled suit and patted Li Dakang's stiff shoulder with a cold smile.

"Secretary Li, see you in court."

George turned around and swaggered out with his lawyer and bodyguards.

"Bang!"

The solid wood door was slammed shut with a deafening bang.

Li Dakang, as if his spinal cord had been drained, slumped into the boss's chair.

Secretary Xiao Jin scrambled in, her face ashen with fright.

"Secretary Li, has...has this foreigner gone mad?"

Li Dakang didn't speak, but painfully clutched his gray hair.

Half an hour later, at the Jingzhou International Hotel.

The No. 1 multi-functional hall on the top floor was practically bursting at the seams with media cameras.

Not only domestic journalists, but also foreign media based in China were like sharks that had smelled blood.

George sat in the center of the podium, his eyes bloodshot.

He rubbed his face vigorously, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes, as if he were possessed by a theatrical genius.

"ladies and gentlemen!"

George ripped off his tie and spoke in English, his voice hoarse but perfectly timed.

"Today, I stand here with grief and anger."

The flashes of the cameras went off in a blur, blinding everyone.

George held up the indictment in his hand and shook it vigorously in front of the camera, making a rustling sound.

"Our William Consortium has come to Handong Province to invest with the utmost sincerity."

His eyes instantly reddened, and he forced out a few tears of grievance.

"But what happened to us?"

George slammed his fist on the table, and the microphone emitted a piercing howl.

"Our machines won't start, and our goods are rotting and stinking at the dock!"

"The guarantees promised by the Handong government are nothing but empty words!"

The foreign journalists in the audience went wild, and they all barged in with their cameras and microphones.

Several blond, blue-eyed reporters held up recording pens, practically wanting to shove them right into George's mouth.

"Mr. George, do you mean this is a scam targeting foreign investors?"

"A scam? This is a blatant coordinated fraud!"

George gritted his teeth, spitting as he spoke.

"Mayor Li Dakang personally lured us in, and then, together with that man named Yan Qingfeng, embezzled all our funds!"

The entire room erupted in uproar; this accusation was both cruel and malicious.

George straightened his back, his eyes like poisoned knives.

"Therefore, the William Consortium has formally filed a lawsuit with the International Commercial Court."

He spoke slowly and deliberately, his words carrying a menacing aura.

"We are formally suing the Handong Provincial Government and Li Dakang himself for commercial fraud and breach of investment promises."

"They demand compensation for all our losses, totaling 30 billion US dollars!"

As soon as the numbers were announced, even the gasps of astonishment could be heard clearly from below.

Three hundred billion US dollars!

If this case is officially filed, the Handong Provincial Government will be unable to afford the compensation even if it sells everything it owns.

Meanwhile, in the No. 1 office of the municipal party committee.

Li Dakang stared intently at the television screen on the wall, his eyes almost bulging out of their sockets.

On the television, George's tearful face now appeared particularly ferocious.

"Bullshit! Utter nonsense!"

Li Dakang grabbed an ashtray from the table and smashed it against the television.

With a loud crash, the screen shattered into a spiderweb pattern, emitting a plume of black smoke.

He clutched his chest with both hands, panting heavily.

Just a few days ago, he regarded George as a living saint who could help him salvage his political record.

They even went so far as to pressure Sha Ruijin into offering him tax-free factory buildings, a humiliating and detrimental clause.

But this savior turned into a mad dog in the blink of an eye!

Not only did they fail to catch Yan Qingfeng, they instead bit right into the lifeline of the Handong government!

The internet has been completely turned upside down.

Foreign media reports spread like a virus along the internet.

Shocking! Handong Province has become a graveyard for foreign investment!

The shocking scam perpetrated by Li Dakang, the Party Secretary of the Municipal Committee!

Various shocking headlines have directly dragged Handong's investment environment into the mud.

Domestic netizens were stunned, and the comment section exploded instantly.

"My goodness, Li Dakang has really stirred up a hornet's nest this time!"

"Forcing away the God of Wealth, Master Yan, only to attract a treacherous foreigner—this move is brilliant!"

"A lawsuit worth 30 billion US dollars—even if Li Dakang sold himself, he couldn't afford to pay it!"

Lingxiao Manor, on the outskirts of Beijing.

Inside the greenhouse, several newly cultivated black roses are in full bloom.

Yan Qingfeng held a pure silver spray bottle in his hand, and the water mist fell evenly on the black petals.

The old housekeeper, Afu, stood to the side, holding a tablet computer in his hand, grinning from ear to ear.

"Young master, this foreigner has gone berserk; he's biting anyone he can get his hands on."

Yan Qingfeng put down the spray bottle, picked up a white towel and wiped his hands, his eyes calm and indifferent.

"When a dog is cornered, it'll bark a couple of times."

He walked to the sandalwood tea table, sat down, and took a sip of Da Hong Pao tea.

Su Jianxin, wearing a floral shirt, strode in from outside.

"Master Yan, George played a dirty trick, directly diverting international conflicts onto Li Dakang."

Su Jianxin pulled out a chair and sat down, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

"With this $30 billion black pot being pinned on them, Sha Ruijin and Li Dakang, those two old guys, are probably going to have a stroke."

Yan Qingfeng twirled the teacup in his hand, a cold, sharp smile curving his lips.

"Li Dakang wanted to find an outside force to counterbalance me, so I'll show him what it really means to invite a wolf into the house."

He leaned back in his armchair, his gaze terrifyingly deep.

"This fire needs to be burned a little longer."

Yan Qingfeng tapped his long fingers twice on the table.

"There should be some movement coming from the capital."

The No. 1 office in the Hantong Provincial Party Committee compound was deathly still.

Sha Ruijin slumped in his chair, looking as if he had aged ten years in an instant.

The foreign media's accusatory report was right under his nose.

The red secure phone on the table, like a vengeful ghost, suddenly began to scream wildly.

The piercing ringing of the bell was particularly eerie in the quiet office.

Sha Ruijin shuddered, his hands shaking like a leaf.

He swallowed hard, his saliva dry, and picked up the microphone with trembling hands.

"Hello...Commander, I am Sha Ruijin."

The voice on the other end of the phone was filled with suppressed rage; you could feel the murderous intent even through the receiver.

"Sha Ruijin! Does your Handong Provincial Committee think the sky isn't high enough, and want to pierce it?"

The commander's roar made Sha Ruijin's eardrums ache.

"The Foreign Affairs Office's phones are ringing off the hook! Several major Western newspapers are using this $30 billion lawsuit to smear us!"

Sha Ruijin's back was instantly soaked with cold sweat, and he wiped it away repeatedly.

"Sir, that's a false accusation by the William Foundation. We are organizing our legal team to deal with it..."

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your excuses!"

The commander didn't give him a chance to explain and issued an ultimatum directly.

"If the lawsuit against the International Court of Justice cannot be withdrawn within three days, public opinion will not be calmed!"

"You two might as well spend the rest of your lives in jail!"

The phone slammed shut, the busy tone scraping at Sha Ruijin's nerves like a knife.

The phone slipped from Sha Ruijin's hand and slammed onto the table with a thud.

He stared blankly at Li Dakang, who sat opposite him looking as if he had lost his parents.

Li Dakang's lips were pale, his legs were weak, and the back of his clothes was completely soaked.

"Secretary Sha... what's the situation in Beijing?"

Li Dakang swallowed hard and asked in a trembling voice.

Sha Ruijin gave a bitter laugh, looking at him as if he were a dead man, his voice filled with utter despair.

"How so?"

Sha Ruijin gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with desolation.

"The chief has spoken: if we can't get rid of this 30 billion international lawsuit, we'll both buy our coffins."

He gripped the edge of the table tightly and pronounced the dead end, word by word.

"Now, get to Lingxiao Manor right now! Even if you have to kneel at Yan Qingfeng's feet and lick the soles of his shoes, you'll still have to beg him to settle this messy foreign debt!"