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

Beijing, Xishan Special Grade Sanatorium.

Outside the thick, bulletproof glass window, sleet was falling heavily.

The ward had a constant temperature system running 24 hours a day, but it still couldn't suppress the suffocating deathly atmosphere.

"Beep—beep—beep!"

The imported vital signs monitor by the bedside suddenly emitted a series of sharp red alarm sounds.

Former vice-state-level official Zhao Lichun lay on his hospital bed, his withered chest heaving violently.

He was wearing an oxygen mask, and his throat was making hoarse, labored breathing sounds like a broken bellows.

That face, covered in age spots, had turned bluish-purple by now.

"Where's the serum?! Why hasn't my dad received his life-saving serum yet?!"

Zhao's eldest son, his eyes bloodshot, grabbed the attending physician's white coat like a man-eating beast.

The attending physician was so frightened that his legs went weak, and the record folder in his hand fell to the floor with a "thud".

"Mr. Zhao, you've stopped taking the medication!"

He was covered in sweat, his voice trembling like a leaf, and he didn't dare to look the Zhao family members in the eye.

"Bullshit! This is a top-tier sanatorium, covered by the highest level of medical insurance. How could we possibly stop medication!"

The eldest son of the Zhao family shoved the doctor away, spitting everywhere.

"Call Handong immediately! Order the goods! Send them over by military aircraft!"

"It can't be adjusted!"

The dean wiped the sweat from his brow and cautiously shuffled in from outside the door.

"Lingxiao Medical has entered a one-month technical sequestration period, and the special cold chain supplied by customs has been completely cut off."

The dean swallowed hard, then closed his eyes in despair.

"The exclusive global distribution rights for this serum are held by Dean Bai Zhi. Even a billion dollars on the black market wouldn't buy you half a vial!"

Upon hearing this, Zhao's eldest son felt a wave of dizziness wash over him, and his head began to buzz.

He slumped onto the sofa, watching his father struggling on the hospital bed, a chill running from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

Until this moment.

Only then did these people at the very top of the power pyramid finally wake up completely.

Yan Qingfeng drained the economy of Handong, but that only hurt the official's face.

But now, they've cut off the life-saving tubes; they've truly seized control of their lives!

The scene shifts back to Jingzhou.

That dilapidated Santana sped wildly along the asphalt road in the rainy night, like a stray dog.

The windshield wipers were swinging frantically, but they couldn't clear the mud and water off the windshield.

Inside the train carriage, Sha Ruijin's red secure cell phone was practically a burning hot coal.

The phone rang incessantly, its ringing sending chills down one's spine.

He mechanically pressed the answer button, held the phone to his ear, and his face was even more ashen than the gloomy, rainy day outside.

"Old Sha! I don't care what method you use, get me three doses of targeted cancer therapy right now!"

On the other end of the phone was the head of a ministry in Beijing, a big shot who usually wouldn't even give Sha Ruijin a second glance.

At this moment, the other person's voice was filled with utter panic and exasperation.

"My wife is in so much pain in the VIP ward she's banging her head against the wall! If you don't get her medication, I'll have someone skin you alive tomorrow!"

Sha Ruijin gave a bitter smile, too exhausted to even offer an explanation.

"Old boss, it's not that I don't want to give it to you, it's just that Lingxiao Medical has sealed off the cold storage, so I can't get in."

"Then go beg! Go kowtow to Yan Qingfeng!"

The other party swore without any mercy, tearing away all pretense of civility.

"As long as Yan Qingfeng is willing to give the medicine, we'll pretend the incident with the investigation team a few days ago never happened!"

The call was abruptly ended.

Before Sha Ruijin could even catch his breath, a higher-level Beijing number popped up on the screen.

This time, the call came from a powerful elder who had previously strongly supported Zhong Xiaoai and clamored for a thorough investigation of the Lingxiao Consortium.

"Sha Ruijin, we in the capital are no longer going to deal with this mess in Handong!"

The elder's voice was hoarse, revealing a sense of compromise forced to the brink of disaster.

"As long as the Lingxiao Consortium can fully resume operations and maintain the supply of the special medicine, Yan Qingfeng can set any conditions he wants!"

Sha Ruijin gripped his phone, listening to these once high-ranking officials weeping and resorting to threats and inducements on the phone.

He found it utterly absurd and ridiculous.

Is this power?

This is the public instrument they are so proud of, the one they think can crush everything?

Faced with absolute capital barriers and the cycle of birth, aging, illness, and death.

These usually arrogant big shots, when they wag their tails and beg, are no better than beggars on the street.

Sha Ruijin hung up the phone and casually tossed it onto the dial.

He turned his head and looked at the few sheets of A4 paper in his hand, soaked with sweat.

The paper was covered with names, all of them high-ranking officials and nobles who had come from the capital seeking medicine.

The list of medicine requests weighed heavily on him, like a mountain pressing down on him, making it hard to breathe.

"squeak--"

The Santana slammed on the brakes and came to a stop outside the two towering brass gates of Lingxiao Manor.

The car door opened.

Sha Ruijin didn't even use an umbrella; he strode out through the muddy ground.

Li Dakang followed closely behind, his gray hair plastered to his scalp by the cold rain.

A cold wind, mixed with icy rain, lashed against their faces like knives.

Sha Ruijin stood in front of the iron fence, his hands tightly gripping the list of people requesting medicine.

Unlike the previous times, he didn't put on airs, nor did he send Secretary Bai to knock on the door.

This nominal supreme leader of Handong bent his stiff spine.

He stretched out his fingers, which were red from the cold, and respectfully pressed the brass doorbell by the door.

The sound of dripping water was especially clear in the rainy night.

In the rosewood tea room on the third floor of the manor's main building.

The underfloor heating was on full blast, and a pot of aged Pu'er tea was warming on a small red clay stove.

The fragrant aroma of tea dispelled the chill outside.

Yan Qingfeng, dressed in pure black silk loungewear, leaned lazily against the armchair.

He toyed with two warm and smooth Hetian jade pieces in his hands, his gaze deep and unwavering.

The old butler, Afu, stood in front of the huge panoramic monitoring screen, a mocking smile spreading across his lips.

"Young Master, Sha Ruijin and Li Dakang are getting soaked outside."

Afu turned around and gently placed the tablet computer in his hand on the tea table.

"It's not just the two of them."

Afu pointed at the intercepted communication data on the screen, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes.

"The situation in Beijing is completely chaotic. Zhao Lichun has stopped receiving serum, and Zhong Xiaoai's uncle is in the emergency room."

Yan Qingfeng picked up the small teacup and blew away the tea leaves floating on top.

He took a small sip, the steam enveloping his sharply defined face.

"These people will never learn how to speak properly until they cut themselves with the knife."

Yan Qingfeng placed the teacup on the table, making a crisp sound.

"They always feel that by wearing that suit, they can be above the rules."

He stood up, walked slowly to the French windows, and looked down at the two figures shivering in the rain outside the door.

"If we control their wallets, they can still put up a fight."

Yan Qingfeng sneered, his eyes even more piercing than the winter rain outside.

"Once their oxygen tubes were cut off, all they could do was kneel down and beg for mercy."

Afu nodded in deep agreement.

He stepped forward and bowed slightly to ask for instructions.

"Young Master, they've been waiting for ten minutes. Shall we let them in now?"

Afu looked at Sha Ruijin's ashen face on the screen.

"The old man is holding a stack of papers in his hand, which are probably the peace terms offered by the capital."

Yan Qingfeng twirled the jade gall in his hand, the joints making a slight knocking sound.

He turned around, his gaze piercing, and his domineering aura instantly filled the entire tea room.

"Open the door to welcome guests."

Yan Qingfeng straightened his collar and sat down again behind the tea table.

"Since they've brought a list of names to ask for medicine, let them understand that my medicine, Yan Qingfeng's medicine, is never free."

He raised his eyes, the curve of his lips cold and cruel.

"Go tell them they can take this batch of special medicine."

"But from today onwards, all medical pricing power and authorized import channels in Handong Province must be unconditionally incorporated into the board of directors of the Lingxiao Consortium!"

Outside the gate, the cold rain soaked through Sha Ruijin's black trench coat.

His lips were so cold they turned purple, but he didn't dare move an inch.

Li Dakang was sneezing repeatedly beside him, his arms crossed over his chest, looking like a drowned rat.

A dull, mechanical click rang out.

The two large, intricately carved brass doors, which had been tightly closed countless times, finally slid open slowly to the sides.

Ah Fu, holding a huge black umbrella, slowly walked out of the door.

He stopped on the steps, looking down at the two high-ranking officials of Handong.

Sha Ruijin breathed a sigh of relief and quickly held up the soaked list in his hand, just about to speak ingratiatingly.

Ah Fu didn't give him that chance, his gaze as indifferent as if he were looking at two menial subordinates.

"Secretary Sha, Master Yan is waiting for you in the tea room."

Afu smiled slightly and uttered a message that sent a chill down Sha Ruijin's spine.

"However, Master Yan said that whether the lives on that list in your hand can be extended depends on what you offer in exchange today."