Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

At the same time, in Handong.

Inside the opulent private club suites, the aroma of alcohol mingled with the fragrances, creating an atmosphere of unparalleled excitement.

Liu Xinjian, chairman of Handong Oil and Gas Group, his face flushed from drinking, was raising his glass and boasting in a thick tongue to Li Dacheng, the executive deputy head of Hexi District, who was all smiles and fawning over him.

"Dacheng, put your mind at ease!" Liu Xinjian patted Li Dacheng's shoulder forcefully, spilling some red wine, but he didn't care. "So what if he's a paratrooper from Beijing? Having a soldier husband makes him so special?"

"When we get to this land of Handong, if you're a dragon, you have to coil up before me! If you're a tiger, you have to lie down before me!"

Li Dacheng quickly nodded and bowed, refilling Liu Xinjian's cup.

"Chairman Liu is absolutely right! Chairman Liu has great foresight!"

"That He Xia, let me tell you, she won't stay in her position as district head for long!" Liu Xinjian hiccuped, waving a finger in front of Li Dacheng. "How many years have I been with Secretary Lichun? In this whole Handong game, it's the secretary who makes the moves; who dares to mess with them?"

"He's a nobody, Shen Zhong, trying to overturn the table? He's not qualified!"

Li Dacheng's eyes lit up, as if he could already see the day he would sit on the district head's seat. He excitedly raised his glass again: "Chairman Liu, I can't thank you enough! From now on, I, Li Dacheng, will follow your lead without question! If you tell me to go east, I will never go west!"

"Haha, no problem, no problem!"

Liu Xinjian laughed triumphantly and downed his glass of red wine in one gulp. He was completely immersed in his fantasy of having unparalleled power, unaware that a net tailor-made for him was already tightening.

Little did he know that at that very moment, as he was enjoying his drinks, in the depths of the night outside Jingzhou, the heavy iron gate of a military camp was silently sliding open.

A dozen or so heavy trucks, tracked bulldozers, and large excavators, painted in a deep military green, formed a silent steel convoy and quietly drove out. These engineering behemoths did not flash their lights or sound their horns; only the deep, orderly sound of their engines resonated in the quiet night, creating a suppressed cacophony.

Following their predetermined route, under the cover of night, they moved swiftly towards their final destination, White Horse Mountain, like a giant python made of steel.

In the lead military off-road vehicle of the convoy, Zhou Weiguo sat in the passenger seat. He was dressed in a crisp training uniform, sitting upright, his gaze fixed on the road illuminated by the headlights through the windshield.

In his hand, he held a thin document. It was a detailed operational plan personally drafted by Shen Zhong, concise and clear, yet precise down to every step. Several areas requiring "key attention" were highlighted in red ink—the sand quarry's office, the finance office, and the warehouse storing materials and spare parts.

Zhou Weiguo knew very well that this operation, ostensibly "clearing obstacles," was actually a raid on homes.

The commander's sword is already drawn.

4 a.m. the next day.

This is the darkest moment of the day.

On the western outskirts of Jingzhou, behind Baima Mountain, an illegal sand quarry was brightly lit. Huge searchlights illuminated the murky riverbed and the banks riddled with holes. The deafening roar of machinery filled the air as a dozen modified sand dredgers churned up sand and mud from the riverbed. Huge conveyor belts creaked and groaned, continuously piling sifted sand onto the banks, forming sand dunes.

The workers, shirtless, bustled about amidst the deafening noise and billowing dust. Shouts and machine noises mingled together, creating a frenzied symphony of wealth.

In the shabby two-story office of the sand quarry, the quarry's boss, Fatty Wang, was shirtless, wearing only a pair of shorts, and comfortably reclining in his boss's chair. He was swiping his phone screen with his greasy fingers while whispering sweet nothings to his lover on the phone.

"Oh, my darling, just wait two more days. Once this batch of sand sells, I guarantee I'll get you that Hermes bag! Not just the bag, I'll even get you a new car!"

He fantasized about the huge profits he would make this time, his fat face glistening with oil.

Just then, a deep, rhythmic engine sound, growing ever closer, drifted in from outside the window. The sound was unlike any other machine in the sand quarry; it carried a uniform, oppressive quality, and even the ground began to vibrate slightly.

"Damn it, which truck bastard is it again? Can't they turn the volume down?"

Fatty Wang cursed impatiently, hung up the phone, and got up from his chair. He assumed it was one of his drivers causing trouble again and prepared to go out and teach him a lesson.

He pushed open the office door, cursing, and poked his fat head out.

The next second, he froze in the doorway.

He saw it.

The only entrance to the sand quarry was now completely blocked by more than a dozen huge military green vehicles. Trucks, bulldozers, excavators... lined up in a row, forming an iron wall.

All the vehicles turned on their headlights, dozens of bright beams intertwined, piercing the pre-dawn darkness and illuminating the entire sand quarry as if it were daytime. Under the blinding light, the astonishment and confusion on every worker's face were clearly visible.

Immediately afterwards, the side panels of the trucks were opened.

"Splash!"

With a synchronized sound, dozens of soldiers in full combat uniforms, armed to the teeth, jumped off the vehicle. Their movements were swift and precise; they quickly dispersed, forming a combat formation that surrounded the entire work area and blocked every possible exit.

The black muzzle of the gun was pointed at every stunned worker on site.

Wang Pangzi's legs went weak uncontrollably, almost unable to support his obese body.

He'd been around this area for years; what hadn't he seen? Thugs, he'd fought them. Police, he'd dealt with them. But this scene before him… this kind of fully armed, regular army, with heavy machinery sealing off the area—he'd only ever seen it on TV news and in movies!

These aren't police! These are the military!

Under the horrified gaze of all the workers, Zhou Weiguo jumped off the lead vehicle. Expressionless, holding a megaphone, he walked straight to the center of the field.

He raised the loudspeaker, his cold, clear voice, devoid of any human emotion, amplified by the electric current, resounding throughout the entire sand quarry.

"The People's Liberation Army is on official duty! Everyone, put down your tools, cover your heads, and squat down on the spot!"