I feel right at home in the world of the courtyard house.

Outside the mine gate, under a makeshift rain shelter, the military sub-district commander and political commissar were discussing something in hushed tones with the head of the local party committee, while soldiers occasionally rushed in and out to report on the battle situation.

"What's going on? Why the sudden attack?" Li Jing'an strode in from the shadows. Those inside the awning immediately stood up and saluted: "Commander!"

"Here's the situation: our unit was suddenly attacked and forced to counterattack, taking advantage of the situation to force our way in. Progress is going smoothly; the enemy crumbled at the first contact," the commander quickly reported.

"Attacked? What are the casualties among the soldiers?" Li Jing'an frowned, his face full of worry.

"Reporting to the Minister, we haven't received specific casualty figures yet. But judging from the situation just now, our side should have suffered no substantial casualties. The main problem is that the enemy has absolutely no military discipline; they're practically a rabble who collapsed at the first touch." The commander's tone was respectful, but he couldn't hide a hint of smugness.

"Good, good, good! I knew our soldiers were of excellent quality, and every commander and fighter was outstanding!" Li Jing'an exclaimed repeatedly.

"Thank you, sir!" The commander stood at attention and saluted, his smile finally spreading across his face.

"Comrade Commander, how long do you estimate it will take to take over the entire mining area?" Li Jing'an asked.

"Commander, at the current pace, we can take the main mining area within half an hour, basically resolve the resistance at the fortifications around the mining area within an hour, and wipe out the remaining enemy within two hours. This will not delay the workers' normal construction tomorrow." The commander's tone was relaxed. Actually, he had planned to end the battle in an hour, since the enemy had no fighting spirit and would scatter like birds at the first shot, leaving only travel time. But to be on the safe side, he gave it more time.

Li Jing'an and his comrades from the prefectural committee praised the military sub-district leaders again. Just then, someone shouted, "Look! It's on fire!"

Everyone turned to look towards the mining area. The sky was overcast, and the raindrops were lessening. Although no open flames were visible, the factory workshops and construction areas were already glowing with an orange-red light. A chill ran through everyone. Li Jing'an's expression changed drastically, and he shouted urgently, "Quick! Go put out the fire! That's where the new production line is located—we just bought it with precious foreign exchange!"

Inside the office building, Director Fei was ashen-faced. Downstairs, a small military unit had approached the square. The militiamen who had just resisted at the gate were now either surrendering on the ground or fleeing into the factory area, offering no effective resistance. Inside the office, chaos reigned. Some were shouting, some were arguing heatedly, and others were sneaking out of the office.

"Director Fei, what should we do?" Everyone finally looked at Director Fei, who had been silent, hoping he could come up with a solution. The room instantly fell into an eerie silence.

"What can we do? It's all over!" Director Fei sighed.

"Director, shall we run?" someone shouted, standing up.

"Run? Where to run? The whole country has been liberated. Those who know what's good for them should just surrender." Director Fei glanced at everyone and gave a bitter smile. As soon as he said this, everyone immediately deflated, and all their energy for arguing vanished.

In the silence, someone suddenly pointed out the window and exclaimed, "Fire!"

Everyone's gaze turned to the window. Director Fei suddenly turned his head, his pupils shrinking: "That's the production workshop!" He rushed to the window, his face almost pressed against the glass. "Quick! Put out the fire!" he roared hoarsely. But it was too late. Everyone just stared at him blankly, no one carrying out the order.

"It's over, it's over..." Director Fei muttered to himself, staring intently at the orange-red flames outside the window.

"Director, shall we go down and surrender?" a voice came from behind.

Director Fei shook his head and gave a bitter laugh: "Surrender? Too late, too late... We're doomed this time."

"Squads one and two, follow me into the building. Squad three, go around to the back and check if there's a back door. The rest of you, stay alert!" A soldier was giving orders downstairs in the office building. Before he finished speaking, a loud bang rang out, followed by the sound of shattering glass. A heavy object crashed to the ground, startling the soldiers.

"How is it? Is the fire under control?" Li Jing'an asked solemnly at the gate, his brows furrowed.

"Sir, not yet, they're still trying to save him." The commander said worriedly. At this time, the entire factory area had been taken over by the military district, and everyone in the mine had laid down their weapons and surrendered. Soldiers were seen escorting prisoners out from time to time.

Li Jing'an looked up at the dark night sky and sighed, "The weather is so uncooperative, how come the rain stopped so suddenly?" His tone was full of heartache.

"Minister, I'm back!" Old Hu hurriedly rushed to Li Jing'an's side.

Li Jing'an frowned: "Where have you been? Why did it take you so long to come back?"

"Minister, I was on my way to rescue the original factory leaders who were being held captive by conspirators, so I'm late," Old Hu said, pointing to the group of people next to him. The group was dressed in rags, but their spirits were still good, after all, they had escaped from a desperate situation.

Li Jing'an frowned as he looked at the group of people and said with disdain, "Then let them go back and rest quickly."

"They would like to meet with you to express their gratitude to you and the leaders..."

"Forget it, what's the point of meeting them? Aren't you ashamed? An entire leadership team, just like that, they're controlled by someone else. I'm ashamed for them. Get lost!" Li Jing'an said with unusual disdain, waving his hand at Lao Hu.

Helpless, Lao Hu could only wave to signal the group to move aside. The group of people, looking ashamed, walked out with their heads down.

"Hey, don't move." Li Jing'an suddenly pointed to a figure at the back of the line. "Hey, that person."

The man being pointed at trembled, not daring to look up. Li Jing'an squinted as he walked over, stood in front of him, and stared down at him intently: "Raise your head!"

The man shakily raised his head, but before he could even see Li Jing'an's face clearly, he caught a glimpse of a blur coming towards him. A sharp "smack" rang out clearly in the noisy entrance. The man fell flat on his face, seeing stars and nearly passing out.

Li Jing'an pointed at the man on the ground and roared, "You still have the nerve to live? Where's your shame? As the head of the Shandong Provincial Metallurgical Bureau, when an emergency occurs, instead of thinking about how to solve it, you're just trying to cover it up! If you were capable, that would be great, but you don't even have any self-awareness. You came here and got detained! How can you still have the nerve to stand in front of me?"

Li Jing'an unleashed his fury, his eyes blazing. The head of the Shandong Provincial Metallurgical Bureau, lying on the ground, finally recovered, half his face swollen, blood trickling from his mouth. He looked up at the enraged Li Jing'an, his mouth agape as if to defend himself, but no words came out. His will to survive ultimately overcame his shame; he collapsed to the ground, kneeling in a puddle, his eyes pleading, "Minister, please listen to me! I did this for the sake of my work, for stability, that's why I risked everything to mediate. Everything I did was for the country!" He wept uncontrollably, trying to crawl towards Li Jing'an.

Li Jing'an frowned and kicked him in the shoulder, sending him sprawling to the ground. "Guards!" Li Jing'an shouted, pointing at the groaning man on the ground with a fierce look in his eyes. "Take him away and keep a close watch on him!" Two soldiers immediately stepped forward, grabbed him by the arms, and dragged him away.