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

The piercing sound of police sirens ripped apart the gray, misty morning in Jingzhou.

The red and blue flashing lights of police cars were flashing wildly on the walls of those usually high-rise residential compounds.

People, wearing military overcoats and carrying steaming hot soy milk, crowded on both sides of the street to watch the spectacle.

Ironically, none of those handcuffed and put into police cars this time were unscrupulous businessmen.

They are all high-ranking officials within the system who usually bully and oppress them!

Director Hu of the Internet Supervision Bureau had hair that looked like a bird's nest that had been ransacked.

He was forcibly dragged out of his warm bed, without even having time to put on socks.

"You've arrested the wrong person! I'm the bureau chief! I was just issuing notices and maintaining stability all night a few days ago!"

He screamed like a pig being slaughtered as the police officers shoved him into the car.

"Maintaining stability? When you use your public power to hijack online traffic and delete or edit people's comments, why don't you ever think about the meaning of 'stability'?"

The team leader sneered and slammed a thick file onto his fat face.

"The eight million US dollars you hid in your overseas account is enough for you to sit in jail and work a sewing machine for the rest of your life!"

Director Hu's eyes rolled back, and his legs went limp like noodles, causing him to collapse onto the back seat of the police car.

On the other side, the deputy chief of the city's fire brigade was also pinned to the marble floor of his own villa.

In order to curry favor with Li Dakang, this guy used his authority as a weapon and went to Lingxiao's factory every day to cause trouble and put up seals.

Now, the wall full of expensive calligraphy and paintings that he bought with kickbacks has become irrefutable evidence that sent him to his death.

"Serves them right! These parasites should have been caught long ago!"

An old man frying dough sticks, who was watching, spat a mouthful of phlegm onto the ground.

"They've been trying to strangle us every day, and now they want to strangle Lord Yan too? They're getting their comeuppance!"

The surrounding neighbors immediately erupted in a burst of enthusiastic cheers.

Those dozens of police cars were taking away not corrupt officials, but corrupt officials.

This is clearly the pent-up anger that ordinary people have been holding in!

At this time, in the compound of the Hantong Provincial Party Committee.

The air pressure in the No. 1 Standing Committee meeting room was so low it could break a person's spine.

Sha Ruijin slumped into the leather swivel chair in the main seat.

He clutched the arrest list, still smelling of ink, in his hand, his hands trembling as if he had Parkinson's.

This list is so long that just looking at it sends chills down your spine.

Urban construction, industry and commerce, taxation, and internet monitoring.

Forty-seven people in positions of real power were uprooted overnight by the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection.

"Secretary Sha, things are completely chaotic down below. Several bureaus don't even have a deputy who can stamp and sign documents."

Secretary Bai walked over carrying a freshly brewed cup of strong tea, her voice trembling.

"These forty-seven gaps need to be filled as soon as possible, otherwise the city will not be able to function."

Sha Ruijin suddenly lifted his eyelids, his bloodshot eyes revealing a near-desperate horror.

"Put them on top? Who should be used to put them on top?"

He gritted his teeth and slammed the list hard onto the table.

"Look at this list of people who were arrested. They're all die-hard loyalists who followed me and Li Dakang a few days ago, trying to seize the Lingxiao Consortium!"

Secretary Bai swallowed hard, his back instantly soaked with cold sweat.

He mustered his courage and carefully pushed another newly drafted replacement appointment document in front of Sha Ruijin.

"This is a list of replacements that the Organization Department urgently compiled overnight. They are all cadres with a pragmatic work style and strong professional skills."

"For example, several district-level officials recommended by Mayor Yi Xuexi are listed here."

Sha Ruijin's hands trembled as he opened the brand-new substitute list.

His gaze, like a rusty, dull knife, slowly traced across those names.

With each name he scrolled past, the chill in his heart deepened.

"Pragmatic? Strong in business?"

Sha Ruijin suddenly burst into a manic, agonizing laugh that echoed through the empty conference room, chilling and desolate.

"These people are pragmatic! Because in the resumption of work incident, they were all the doers who sided with Yan Qingfeng and gave the Lingxiao Consortium the green light!"

He suddenly stood up, grabbed Secretary Bai's tie, and stared so hard his eyes almost bulged out.

"Don't you understand yet!"

"Those arrested were all people who opposed Yan Qingfeng!"

"Those who rose to power were all those who curried favor with Yan Qingfeng and followed his rules!"

Sha Ruijin pushed Secretary Bai aside and slumped back into his chair, exhausted.

He finally saw through this deadly trap, which was even more terrifying than the abyss.

Yan Qingfeng did not use a single soldier, nor did he bribe any assassins.

He simply handed over the USB drive containing irrefutable evidence of corruption left behind by Qi Tongwei to the Discipline Inspection Commission.

Then, using the disciplinary committee—a knife representing absolute national justice—they legally and compliantly slaughtered all their political enemies!

This is the most chilling open conspiracy.

You know perfectly well that he's using someone else to do the dirty work, yet you still have to watch him kill!

You even have to applaud and cheer on TV for this righteous sword!

A muffled creak.

The heavy soundproof door to the conference room was pushed open.

Li Dakang, like a withered lotus leaf battered by frost, shuffled in with faltering steps.

His already gray hair looked completely white today, and his back was hunched over.

"Secretary Sha, has the appointment document been approved?"

Li Dakang pulled out a chair and sat down, his voice as weak as that of a terminally ill patient.

"We're waiting to get to work. The people have just started to have enough to eat, and the government can't afford to be paralyzed again."

Sha Ruijin looked at the once arrogant Party Secretary of Jingzhou City, a bitter smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

He picked up the red-tipped fountain pen on the table and stiffly signed his name on the appointment document.

"Approved."

Sha Ruijin tossed the documents to Secretary Bai and waved his hand dismissively.

"From today onwards, our leadership team in Handong has undergone a complete overhaul."

Li Dakang watched Secretary Bai run out with the documents, his eyes terrifyingly empty.

"A complete overhaul... Yes, they've all been replaced with a bunch of obedient, living people."

He shook his head with a bitter smile, tears welling up in his bloodshot eyes.

"Now, in the entire municipal party committee compound, from bureau chiefs to clerks, who doesn't know that only by following Master Yan can you get a share of the spoils?"

"The instructions we two are giving out are less effective than a single phone call from the Lingxiao Building."

Sha Ruijin picked up the now-cold teacup and took a big gulp of bitter tea, trying to suppress the frustration in his chest.

"Accept your fate, Dakang."

He stared intently at the tea leaves that had sunk to the bottom of the teacup, his voice filled with a chilling stillness.

"He used open schemes to put us in a difficult position, and used legal procedures to reshuffle the entire officialdom."

"In this small piece of land in Handong, we have been completely skinned alive by him."

At this moment, in the chairman's office on the top floor of the Lingxiao Building.

The dazzling sunlight streamed through the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing the exquisite Persian carpet in a golden glow.

Yan Qingfeng sat in a large leather swivel chair, holding a freshly brewed Geisha coffee in his hand.

Lin Yubing walked in lightly in her high heels and placed a briefing stamped with a red seal on the table.

"Master Yan, Sha Ruijin obediently signed."

She pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses, her peach blossom eyes filled with a proud smile.

"All 47 key positions have been filled by our preferred, pragmatic individuals."

"Those parasites who used to take advantage of us and cause us trouble are now singing their 'Tears Behind Bars' in the detention center."

Yan Qingfeng put down his coffee cup, casually flipped through two pages of the briefing, and showed no surprise whatsoever.

"If the water is too clear, there will be no fish. If they are clean, Qi Tongwei's USB drive won't be able to bite them."

He stood up and adjusted the cufflinks of his dark shirt with his long, slender fingers.

"Use their official laws to prosecute their officials."

Yan Qingfeng strode to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked down at the revitalized steel forest below.

"This is called cleaning house, or winning people over with virtue."

Lin Yubing smiled and nodded, her eyes filled with fervent admiration for the man before her.

"Well then, Master Yan, the territory in Handong is now completely secured. Shouldn't we now begin to digest our spoils?"

"Is it a sure thing?"

Yan Qingfeng sneered, turned around, and his deep gaze was as sharp as a knife.

"I forced those bigwigs in the capital to abandon the Zhong family. Do you really think they can swallow this humiliation?"

He walked back to his desk, picked up the solid gold lighter, and lit a Gosbach cigar with a click.

"These parasites who were brought in turned on us before they died, and they managed to bite off a real tough nut to crack."

Yan Qingfeng exhaled a thick white smoke ring, which slowly swirled in the beam of light, blurring his cold and handsome face.

"That high-ranking official from the capital who was preparing to parachute in and reap the rewards is probably already on his private plane bound for Jingzhou."

Lin Yubing's eyes sharpened, and she instantly wiped the smile off her face.

"A tough nut to crack? Should I have the legal department prepare the materials and give him a taste of his own medicine?"

Yan Qingfeng, with a cigar between his fingers, leaned back lazily in his chair, the curve of his lips domineering and cruel.

"No rush, the show has only just begun, let the dust settle for a while."

He squinted slightly, toying with the custom-made lighter in his hand, like a hunter in complete control.

"Go and inform Yi Xuexi that his new master is arriving soon."

"I just want to see if his newly sharpened knife dares to touch this hard steel plate from the capital."