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

The spacious and bright lobby of the Lingxiao Energy Building was in complete chaos.

Xiao Jin knelt on the cold marble floor, her hands pressing hard on Li Dakang's philtrum.

When he heard the receptionist say, "The ambulance is out of gas and can't get out," cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

"Go to hell with the ambulance!"

Xiao Jin's eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. He ripped off his tie and threw it on the ground.

He bent down and, with all his might, hoisted the unconscious Li Dakang onto his back.

The old Volkswagen Santana's engine roared with a tearing sound, and a plume of black smoke billowed from the exhaust pipe.

Xiao Jin managed to make this nearly scrapped secondhand car look like a supercar.

They ran four red lights along the way, and the tires emitted a pungent, burnt smell as they scraped against the asphalt.

"Secretary Li! You absolutely must hang in there!"

Xiao Jin jerked the steering wheel while yelling at the back seat.

"Let's skip the First Municipal Hospital and go to Kanghua Special Needs Hospital! That's the best place in Jingzhou for cardiovascular emergency care!"

The screeching sound of brakes ripped through the night sky of Jingzhou.

The old Volkswagen Santana came to a wobbly stop at the entrance of the emergency room at Kanghua Hospital.

Several doctors in white coats rushed out pushing a stretcher.

The glaring operating lights and the shrill sound of the defibrillator charging swirled in Li Dakang's mind like a jumbled mess.

He felt as if his chest had been pried open with a rusty iron crowbar and a large chunk of ice had been stuffed inside.

pain.

The pain, so intense that even breathing tasted of blood, plunged him into deep darkness.

After an unknown amount of time, I heard a regular "tick-tock" sound.

Li Dakang struggled to move his dry eyelids and slowly opened his eyes.

The walls that come into view are not the peeling white walls typical of public hospitals.

Instead, there's a ceiling without a main light, emitting a soft, warm glow, and the walls are covered with sophisticated imported wallpaper.

There was no pungent smell of Lysol in the air; instead, there was a faint, calming scent of agarwood.

He moved his arm and found himself sinking into a soft, electric medical bed.

The top-of-the-line German-made vital signs monitor by the bedside was flashing a deep blue data curve.

Three or four transparent IV tubes were attached to the back of his hand, and drops of cold medicine were being poured into his veins.

This isn't a hospital ward; it's more luxurious than a presidential suite in a five-star hotel.

"Click".

The heavy, solid wood soundproof door to the special care ward was gently pushed open.

Li Dakang struggled to move his eyes.

He thought it was Xiao Jin, or a leader from the city who had come to visit after hearing the news.

As a result, the crisp sound of high heels stepping on the wooden floor slowly approached the bed.

The person who arrived was wearing a well-tailored dark business suit.

Lin Yubing pushed up her gold-rimmed glasses and looked down at the old man on the hospital bed.

On that cold and aloof face hung a professional smile that was flawless yet revealed a chilling indifference.

"Secretary Li, you're awake."

Li Dakang was stunned.

He opened his mouth, but it felt like his throat was stuffed with sand, and he could only make hoarse gasps.

"You...how did you get here?"

Lin Yubing did not answer.

She slowly took two pieces of paper from her Hermès bag and gently placed them on the bedside table.

One is a long list of expenses.

The other document is a critical illness notice with a section for family members to sign.

Li Dakang's gaze swept over subconsciously, his pupils suddenly contracting to the size of pinpoints.

In the upper right corner of that critical illness notice, there was a dark gold totem.

That's the exclusive logo of the Lingxiao Consortium.

"You...you dare to forge hospital documents!"

Li Dakang's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, his breathing quickened instantly, and his chest heaved violently.

The vital signs monitor next to it immediately emitted a sharp alarm.

Lin Yubing calmly reached out and pressed the mute button on the monitor.

"Secretary Li, you'd better not get angry. You just had a heart stent implanted, and your blood vessels are very fragile."

She pulled over a leather armchair next to her and sat down gracefully.

"This is not a forged document."

Lin Yubing tapped the expense list with her slender fingers, her tone as calm as if she were discussing the weather.

"Three days ago, Kanghua Special Needs Hospital filed for bankruptcy reorganization with the court due to a broken capital chain."

"Master Yan thought the hospital's equipment was passable, so he casually spent 3 billion to acquire it outright."

Li Dakang gasped, his blood running cold for a moment.

His prized Jingzhou First Hospital was out of service.

What saved his life was a private hospital that his arch-rival had bought out entirely!

"I don't need your fake kindness!"

Li Dakang gritted his teeth, a hint of humiliated anger igniting in his eyes.

He trembled as he raised his hand, which was covered in tubes, and tried to pull out the needle from the back of his hand.

"I, Li Dakang, would rather die than swallow a single drop of Yan Qingfeng's medicine!"

"Don't bother, Secretary Li."

Lin Yubing didn't even try to stop him, he just casually threw out a sentence.

"The bag of highly effective thrombolytic drugs that you just hung up was flown in from a Swiss laboratory by Master Yan at great expense."

"Each bottle costs 80,000, and you've already used three."

Li Dakang's hand froze in mid-air.

Lin Yubing stood up and straightened the hem of his suit jacket, which was completely wrinkle-free.

"Your poor secretary, Xiao Jin, was carrying a bunch of coins and loose change yesterday, and couldn't even scrape together enough for a registration fee at the cashier."

"The city's corporate accounts have been locked, and the medical insurance settlement system has also been shut down due to unpaid fees."

She crossed her arms, her eyes filled with absolute pity and mockery.

"If it weren't for this medication keeping you alive, you wouldn't even have the chance to open your eyes and see this bill."

These words struck Li Dakang like a blow to the back of the head.

His beliefs, his self-respect, and his unyielding spirit as a municipal party secretary.

It was crushed into powder in the face of this cold, hard bill and the ticking imported equipment.

He could only gasp for breath, mouth agape, like a fish out of water.

A single, cloudy tear slid down the corner of his eye and landed on the pristine white pillow.

Lin Yubing glanced at her watch, then turned and walked towards the door.

The sound of high heels was particularly jarring in the quiet hospital room.

As she reached the door, she paused and turned around.

"Oh, by the way, before Mr. Yan boarded the plane, he specifically told me to give you a message exactly as it was."

Li Dakang gripped the bedsheet tightly, the veins on the back of his hands bulging.

Lin Yubing parted her red lips slightly and uttered a sentence that was both deadly and psychologically damaging.

"Master Yan said that you are a good official, so he specifically instructed that the most expensive medicine be used to keep you alive. You must live well, after all, when it comes to signing that transfer agreement for the core plot of land in Jingzhou, we will have to trouble you to personally sign it."