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

Sha Ruijin's words, "Name your terms, whatever you want, I'll give you," were still echoing in the room.

The curve of Yan Qingfeng's lips visibly disappeared.

The playful, spectator-like attitude from just moments ago vanished completely in an instant.

Instead, there is the cold, ruthless face of a top capitalist, devoid of any human warmth.

He pulled a steaming white towel from the rosewood tray beside him.

He slowly and methodically wiped his slender fingers one by one.

"Secretary Sha, do you think that simply bowing your head and admitting your mistake will make this matter closed?"

Yan Qingfeng crumpled the towel he had used to wipe his hands into a ball and casually tossed it into the wastepaper basket at his feet.

With a clang, a muffled sound rang out.

Sha Ruijin shuddered, and the two shiny blisters on the back of his hand touched his trouser leg, making him shudder with pain.

He dared not utter a sound, only glancing cautiously upwards with his cloudy eyes.

"I, Yan Qingfeng, never play any childish games of forgiveness and reconciliation."

Yan Qingfeng interlaced his fingers and rested his elbows on the rosewood tea table.

His gaze was like two sharpened awls, fixed firmly on Sha Ruijin's face.

"At the adults' table, there is only absolute exchange of interests."

Sha Ruijin swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down twice.

"President Yan, please speak," he said, his voice hoarse like a broken bellows, "As long as the Provincial Party Committee can do it, we'll give you the green light all the way."

"Green light? What would I need your green light for?"

Yan Qingfeng scoffed, looking at him as if he were a country bumpkin who had just arrived in the city.

"The rule I set before was that you guys would be glamorous on stage, while I, Ling Xiao, would make money behind the scenes."

"It's your own fault for being so impulsive and ruining this perfectly harmonious relationship."

Yan Qingfeng stood up, walked around the large tea table, and his leather shoes made a dull thud on the floor.

He walked up to Sha Ruijin and looked down at this powerful regional official.

"Didn't the bigwig in Beijing tell you this on the phone just now?"

A cruel smile curled at the corner of Yan Qingfeng's lips.

"I just took down the parent company of the William Group on Wall Street and brought back five billion US dollars in foreign exchange."

"Right now, the domestic capital pool is worried about where to drain its resources."

Upon hearing this, Sha Ruijin felt a cold sweat instantly cling to his shirt, and his mind went blank.

Five billion US dollars! It turns out that everything the boss said on the phone was true!

The man in front of him was not some country bumpkin boss he could control; he was a super dragon that had crossed the river!

"Now that foreign capital has fled and speculative capital has died, Handong has become a complete mess."

Yan Qingfeng leaned forward slightly, exuding a strong sense of pressure.

"Since you can't manage it, then this territory will have to operate according to my, Lingxiao's, rules from now on."

Sha Ruijin tilted his head back, finding even breathing difficult.

"What exactly are President Yan's rules?"

"I want absolute control over Handong for the next fifty years."

Yan Qingfeng spoke slowly and deliberately, each word like a heavy weight, striking Sha Ruijin's heart.

"Energy, infrastructure, finance, healthcare, and even those franchise licenses you have."

"They all have to be surnamed Yan."

Sha Ruijin gasped, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.

Fifty years! Absolute control!

This isn't doing business! This is practically treating the entire Handong Province as the Yan family's private territory!

"This...this is far too ambitious, it's against the rules, Mr. Yan!"

Sha Ruijin frantically waved his hands, causing the blisters on the back of his hands to break open, and yellow fluid seeped out.

He didn't even care about the pain; his face was filled with terror.

"If so many core assets are shipped out, and the authorities in Beijing investigate, I won't be able to explain myself!"

"Explain? That's your business, not mine."

Yan Qingfeng watched him jump around like an ant on a hot pan, completely unmoved.

"I not only want these things, I also want you, Sarrijin, to personally legalize them."

Yan Qingfeng extended a finger and tapped Sha Ruijin's shoulder.

"I want you to issue a legal official document in the name of the Provincial Party Committee, with the words in black and white and stamped with a large red seal."

"Let's rightfully and legitimately put this piece of fat meat, Handong, into my mouth, Lingxiao."

Sha Ruijin's legs went weak, and if his buttocks hadn't been still touching the low stool, he would have already knelt on the ground.

If he really stamped that document, then he would be the biggest traitor in the history of Handong.

They'll be talked about behind their backs for generations to come!

"President Yan, you're driving me to my doom..."

Sha Ruijin's voice was choked with sobs, and snot and tears mingled together in the wrinkles of his face.

"I'm just an employee; this is a huge business, I can't make all the decisions by myself!"

"You can't go back on your word? Then you shouldn't be doing this job."

Yan Qingfeng turned around, not even bothering to look at him again.

"The door is over there; you can leave now."

"Tomorrow morning, go and explain to all the civil servants in the province who can't get their salaries paid."

"Go and explain to those ordinary people who can't afford gas or food."

"Let's see if they curse me as a heartless capitalist, or if they'll skin you alive as an incompetent provincial party secretary."

Sha Ruijin froze completely, his whole body trembling.

The image of the confidential phone call from the boss, urging him to give up, flashed through his mind.

If he can't solve this deadlock before dawn, he'll have to pack his bags and get out of here tomorrow.

On one side is the infamous official document, and on the other is the disgraced Qincheng Prison.

Yan Qingfeng left him no second chance in this multiple-choice question.

Seeing his cowardly, conflicted state, Yan Qingfeng was too lazy to argue any further.

He raised his right hand and snapped his fingers crisply in mid-air.

"Smack."

As if by voice control, the heavy, carved solid wood door of the tea room was pushed open.

Lin Yubing walked in wearing a tailored black business suit and red-soled high heels.

The high heels clicked rhythmically on the wooden floor.

She wore her signature gold-rimmed glasses, the lenses gleaming with an emotionless coldness.

Lin Yubing was holding two thick kraft paper file folders in her hands.

She strode up to the tea table, not even glancing at the provincial party secretary huddled on the low stool.

"Mr. Yan, the entire plan that the Ministry of Justice prepared overnight is all here."

Lin Yubing handed over the file folder with both hands.

Yan Qingfeng didn't take it, but simply raised his chin.

Lin Yubing understood, turned around, and threw the two thick documents down hard.

A crisp "snap" sounded.

The two documents were slammed heavily onto the small empty table in front of Sha Ruijin.

The force was so great that even the purple clay teacup next to it jumped.

"Secretary Sha, take a look."

Lin Yubing parted her red lips slightly, her tone as cold as a ruthless announcer.

"The places where you should stamp your seal have been marked in red and blue pencils beforehand."

Sha Ruijin stared intently at the two documents.

The black ink on the white paper even smelled of freshly printed ink.

This smell is usually harmless, but now it's like a deadly poison, piercing straight into my nostrils.

He didn't dare reach out to touch it, but just stared blankly at the large bold characters on the title page.

His eyes twitched uncontrollably with fear.

"The terms are all laid out on the table; it's a deal that's been calculated clearly."

Yan Qingfeng sat back in his armchair and poured himself another small cup of tea.

"Sign up, take the money back and pay your men's salaries, and continue being your local tyrant."

He picked up his teacup and gently blew on the floating tea leaves.

"Either get out, or wait until dawn when thunder roars in Handong, and I'll be waiting to bring you food from Qincheng."

The tea room was eerily quiet.

All that could be heard was the bubbling sound of water boiling in the teapot and Sha Ruijin's heavy breathing.

Sha Ruijin raised his right hand, which was scalded, his fingertips trembling in mid-air.

He knew that as soon as that hand fell...

The entire territory of Handong was completely changed hands.

Yan Qingfeng took a sip of hot tea, raised his eyelids, and glanced at the provincial governor opposite him who was on the verge of collapse.

He put down his teacup, threw a gold-embossed pen onto the document, and his voice was as cold as a icy blade.

"Secretary Sha, my time is very valuable. Tell me now, sign or not?"