44: Chapter 44: The National Team's Final Cleanup

The Huanyu Group has fallen, and the stir it caused was greater than anyone had imagined.

This wasn't just catching a bad businessman; it was like throwing a bomb into the domestic business world.

When the stock market opened the next day, all stocks connected to Huanyu hit their downward limit, and the wealth of hundreds of thousands of people vanished into thin air.

The internet exploded in an uproar.

Initially, many people felt that the state's hand was too heavy; for a giant like Huanyu to collapse so suddenly, how many people would lose their livelihoods, and how much would it impact the economy?

Some so-called "economists" and "influencers" also jumped out, sarcastically talking about "protecting private entrepreneurs" and "not engaging in campaign-style law enforcement."

But before these people could start their clamor, official actions arrived, each one harsher than the last.

The evening news on State TV spent a full fifteen minutes exposing all the scandals of the Huanyu Group over the years.

From early forced demolitions that resulted in deaths, to government-business collusion for monopolies, to financial fraud and stock market manipulation, and finally, the matter of the "Kuafu Project" was brought to light.

The news directly broadcasted the interrogation videos of A-Biao and several other undercover agents, all of them weeping bitterly.

"...It was Chairman Qian Boan. He gave me five million to blow up the main water supply pipeline of the 'Kuafu Project'... He said if he couldn't have it, no one would..."

With tears and snot covering his face, A-Biao confessed everything with absolute clarity.

The scene then cut to the large cracks in the desert that had just been repaired, as well as the seized military-grade explosives shaped like wrenches.

The host's voice was devoid of emotion: "The 'Kuafu Project' is our country's highest-level strategic project, vital to the future of national energy. Chairman Qian Boan and his gang, for their own selfish interests, attempted to destroy it using terrorist attack methods. Their actions have constituted the crime of treason."

Treason!

As soon as those two words came out, the voices that had previously been trying to defend Chairman Qian Boan vanished instantly.

No matter how confused the common people might be, they could distinguish that doing business and betraying the country were two different things.

"Damn! Is this guy named Qian crazy? Bombing a national project? Is that something a human does?!"

"Execute him! He must be executed! Are we keeping him around to breed?"

"I was wondering why the state was so ruthless. This isn't a businessman; this is a national traitor!"

The tide of public opinion online changed completely.

Everyone was terrified by the ruthlessness of the Huanyu Group.

Not long after, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Supreme People's Court issued a joint notice, establishing a Special Task Force to initiate public prosecution for the "Chairman Qian Boan Treason Case."

From the arrest to the legal classification, it took less than two days.

The state used the most direct means to tell everyone, especially those ambitious people who used money as their ultimate authority: on this land, capital will never be allowed to ride on the neck of the state.

Anyone who dares to touch the state's bottom line must be prepared to be crushed to pieces.

This storm quickly spread abroad.

Foreign companies that had collaborations with Huanyu were scared out of their wits and hurriedly issued statements to distance themselves.

Those on Wall Street who had previously been shorting Huanyu also retreated upon seeing this display.

They could see that the higher-ups were serious this time.

This wasn't some commercial rectification; this was the state conducting a "clean-up," sweeping out all the filth from every nook and cranny.

And at the center of all this, the "Kuafu Project" was instead protected so tightly that not a drop could leak.

Aside from the phrase "highest-level strategic project" in the official announcement, not a single detail was revealed.

This project became a mystery; everyone knew it held immense weight, but no one knew what it actually was.

The more mysterious it was, the heavier it felt in people's hearts.

...

Inside the desert base.

Chief Engineer Wang Heshan and Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo were leading a group of engineers in a meeting.

The atmosphere in the meeting room was completely different from a few days ago. Two days ago, everyone had long faces, but now, everyone's face was beaming with joy, as if they were celebrating the New Year early.

"Hahaha, satisfying! Truly satisfying!" Chief Engineer Wang Heshan slapped the table, his beard trembling with delight. "In my whole life, I've never seen anything so gratifying! Those sons of bitches finally got their retribution!"

"Exactly," Chief Engineer Wang Jianguo said with a grin. "After the state threw this punch, let's see who else dares to harbor ill intentions toward our project."

With the Huanyu Group gone, all the previous stranglehold problems were solved instantly.

Those suppliers who had been held in Huanyu's grip were now acting subservient, rushing to call and beg to supply goods, even proactively lowering prices by thirty percent.

The detained convoys were personally escorted by the heads of the local transportation departments, with green lights all the way as they arrived, bowing and scraping to apologize.

The entire "Kuafu Project" went from having difficulty taking a single step to being a wide-open thoroughfare.

"Alright, don't just focus on being happy." Chief Engineer Wang Heshan coughed, signaling everyone to quiet down. "Qian is down, but our work has only just begun."

He pointed to the engineering planning map on the wall, where the blueprint for The Oasis already had a rough shape.

"The Chief Consultant is still inside and hasn't come out. We can't let her see a mess when she does."

"Everyone, give it your all! We need to make up for all the time we lost before!"

"We must let the Chief Consultant know that even if she's not here, us old fogies can look after the house for her!"

"Yes!"

In the meeting room, the roar was deafening.

Everyone had a surge of energy pent up inside.

They were going to use their own hands to turn the grand blueprint drawn by the Chief Consultant into reality!

And atop the high tower.

The Chief Consultant, whom everyone was talking about, knew nothing of the outside world.

Her entire focus was withdrawn into her own body.

The spiritual power in her Dantian was already full, so full it was about to overflow.

The liquid spiritual power was compressing and swirling frantically; at the center, something was about to emerge from its cocoon.

The hurdle from Qi Condensation to Foundation Establishment was already covered in cracks under her continuous impact.

Just one last push was needed.

Success meant soaring to the heavens in a single step and entering the true path of cultivation.

Failure meant becoming a pile of soil, with nothing left. Success or failure, it all came down to this!

She no longer hesitated, mobilizing the last trace of strength in her body along with that spiritual power that was about to explode, and slammed hard against that invisible wall.

There was a buzz in her head, as if something had exploded.

Sharp pain instantly spread through her entire body; her internal organs felt as if they were being crushed and reorganized. She almost couldn't help crying out, clenching her teeth tightly as the veins on her forehead bulged.

After an unknown amount of time, that excruciating pain slowly receded, replaced by an unprecedented sense of comfort and lightness.

The mass of liquid spiritual power in her Dantian had completely changed. It was as if water had turned into ice; all the power had solidified, no longer scattered, but twisted into a single cord, coiling heavily in her lower abdomen.

The impurities in her body were expelled all at once, and a layer of sticky black grime seeped out onto the surface of her skin, emitting a foul stench.

Yet she felt an unprecedented lightness. Her body was so light it felt weightless; her ears could hear the sound of shifting sands several kilometers away, and her eyes could clearly see the most distant stars in the night sky.

She slowly opened her eyes.

Foundation Establishment—achieved.