In name only: The land of Handong, I shall rule its fate.

Back at the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee building.

Li Dakang's expression was beyond just ugly.

It was a complex expression, a mixture of anger, shame, and fear, like the sky before a storm, so gloomy it seemed to drip water.

Sun Liancheng and Cheng Du looked like two quails with their heads down, wishing they could stop breathing.

"Notify Zhang Shuli to come see me immediately."

As Li Dakang walked into the office, he said to his secretary, Xiao Jin, "Has everyone arrived? Especially Ding Yizhen and Zhao Donglai!"

"Except for Mayor Wu, who is still studying at school, all the other members of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee attended on time, along with Vice Mayor Ding, District Chief Sun, Director Zhao, and Director Cheng."

Xiao Jin looked cautious and added, "And Chief Prosecutor Xiao and Dean Zhao."

Meetings of this size are usually only held when major events occur.

Xiao Jin didn't dare say a word more.

Li Dakang sat at his desk, his hands clasped together, his eyes fixed on a document on the table—the progress report for the Guangming Peak project.

Ding Yizhen just submitted it yesterday; the report states:

"The project is progressing smoothly, with demolition work basically completed. It is expected to enter the main construction phase next month."

"Progress is going well..."

Li Dakang sneered, then slammed the documents on the ground. "Fuck your smooth progress!"

Boom!Boom!

There was a knock on the office door.

Zhang Shuli cautiously leaned halfway in. "Secretary Li, you wanted to see me?"

"sit!"

Li Dakang stared intently at the cowardly middle-aged man in front of him with his dead fish eyes. He thought, "You can know a person's face but not their heart. He's obsequious in front of me, but he extorts money from investors."

"Are you aware of what happened at the Dafeng Factory in Guangming District?"

Li Dakang leaned back in his office chair, his eyelids drooping, like a dozing tiger.

"Secretary, you mean...?"

Zhang Shuli, who had just sat down halfway, trembled and dared not speak easily.

"all!"

Li Dakang grabbed the progress report from the table and threw it at the table.

Zhang Shuli didn't dare to dodge at all and took the blow squarely. Seeing Li Dakang sit back down, he stammered, "I've heard from Dean Zhao that there's nothing wrong with the equity dispute between Dafeng Factory and Shanshui Group."

"As for the violent resistance to demolition at Dafeng Factory..."

"Secretary Li, I have reported to you several times, but every time I open my mouth, you say that Ding Yizhen is the chief commander of the Guangming Peak project. The Guangming Peak project is a top priority for the development of Jingzhou. We should make an exception and not be too fussy."

Zhang Shuli seemed like a wronged person, and started to cry.

"Oh!"

Li Dakang was so angry he laughed.

He was astonished that someone in Jingzhou dared to shift the blame onto him; a chilling murderous intent flashed in his eyes. He truly wanted to kill someone.

"I'm sorry, Secretary Li."

"It's my fault for not doing my job well and for failing to live up to your and the municipal party committee's trust."

Upon receiving this gaze, Zhang Shuli didn't even dare to sit down and immediately stood up and gave a deep 90-degree bow.

"sit down."

Seeing that the other party was so sensible, Li Dakang's coldness softened slightly. He tapped his fingers on the armrest of the chair. "Are you aware that Dafeng Factory has stockpiled twenty tons of gasoline?"

"What?! Twenty tons of gasoline!"

Zhang Shuli jumped to his feet, his face filled with shock and bewilderment. "Secretary Li, I really don't know anything about this... The Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection has never received any leads on this..."

Twenty tons of gasoline!

What are they trying to do? Live as long as the heavens?

"Zhang Shuli, you have seriously neglected your duties!"

"Is the municipal discipline inspection commission's oversight of the municipal emergency management bureau, public security bureau, and district government merely a formality?"

Li Dakang lost his temper again.

Zhang Shuli was sweating profusely.

If twenty tons of gasoline were to explode, they would all be sinners in Jingzhou and Handong. There would be no need to differentiate between the two. The seaweed and egg drop soup would have no vegetables, no flowers, and no soup.

Of course, Li Dakang also knew that Zhang Shuli and the Municipal Commission for Discipline Inspection were not the primary responsible parties. His cold expression suddenly vanished, as if his face had changed. "So you know the purpose of my convening this expanded meeting of the Standing Committee?"

Zhang Shuli quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead, his mind racing at an unprecedented speed:

The accident occurred at Guangming Peak, and the person primarily responsible is undoubtedly Ding Yizhen. However, Ding Yizhen is the embodiment of Secretary Dakang and the person in charge of the Guangming Peak project, so he is unlikely to be removed from his post.

Then, the next two would be District Chief Sun Liancheng and Cheng Du from the Guangming Branch Bureau, but these two came back with Secretary Li today. If we wanted to take them down, we would have done so already.

Next up is the Municipal Bureau.

"Secretary Li, I understand what you and the organization mean."

Zhang Shuli suddenly realized something and was filled with fear.

This time, Secretary Li is actually going to target his trusted confidant.

At 2 p.m., the enlarged meeting of the Standing Committee of the Jingzhou Municipal Party Committee was held on time.

The conference room was packed with people, and the atmosphere was so heavy it was almost palpable.

The members of the Municipal Party Committee Standing Committee whispered among themselves, unaware of what had happened. Meanwhile, Ding Yizhen, Sun Liancheng, Cheng Du, Zhao Donglai, and others who had been specially notified to attend the meeting displayed varying expressions.

Ding Yizhen sat in a position second only to the Standing Committee members, appearing calm on the surface, but inwardly he was filled with anxiety.

He had a vague feeling that today's meeting was related to him.

Sun Liancheng kept his head down, not daring to look at anyone; Cheng Du kept his eyes down, doing all he could; Zhao Donglai's expression was calm, but a hint of unease flashed in his eyes.

The city's chief prosecutor, Xiao Gangyu, and the city's intermediate court's Zhao Liang were exchanging words in hushed tones.

Li Dakang led Xiao Jin into the conference room, his face ashen.

He did not sit in the main seat, but stood in front of the conference table, his gaze sweeping across the room, the coldness in his eyes almost solidifying.

"Today's meeting is not a Standing Committee meeting, it's an accountability meeting."

Li Dakang cut to the chase, his voice as cold as ice, "I want to ask everyone here, do you still see me as the Party Secretary of the Municipal Committee? Do you still see the Jingzhou Municipal Committee? Or do you treat me, the Party Secretary of the Jingzhou Municipal Committee, as a puppet in your hands, to be deceived and manipulated at will!"

The audience was silent.

"Xiao Jin, send out the photos and videos that Director Qi and the others took so they can have a good look at them."

Li Dakang broke the silence.

"Yes, Secretary!"

Xiao Jin quickly turned on the prepared projector, and photos showing layers of barbed wire, trenches several meters deep, watchtowers at the entrance, and countless oil drums were clearly presented to everyone.

Everyone's pupils suddenly contracted.

The one who reacted the most was Ding Yizhen, who knew Dafeng Factory all too well and recognized it just from the edges of the photo; the second was Zhao Donglai, who could still keep his composure while watching the trenches and watchtowers, but the barrels of gasoline completely shattered his hopes.

"Most of the Standing Committee members aren't familiar with this place, right?"

Li Dakang saw the confusion in the eyes of most of the Standing Committee members, and his voice grew colder, "I can tell you all that this is Dafeng Factory, located within the planning area of ​​Guangming District and Guangming Peak Project. It is two kilometers away from the Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government in a straight line, and three kilometers away from the Provincial Party Committee and Provincial Government."

"Right under our noses."

"That's great! That's amazing!"

"An armed base and a 20-ton gasoline depot that could explode at any moment have appeared in the place where we live and work every day, and none of you here know about it."

"If I hadn't accompanied Governor Lin on this inspection tour of Guangming Peak today, if an explosion had occurred one day, none of us would know how we died! And none of the 6.8 million people of Jingzhou would know how they died!"