Recaps

Dongbei’s desperate PR campaign backfired when staged emotional videos became viral targets for ridicule, and Zheng Dong decided to change tactics. Lin Feng learned that Zheng Dong had withdrawn a settlement proposal and was meeting suspected judicial-system contacts, so he asked Lü Yi to stay with him as he prepared for a possible threat.

• Zhao Bin launched a plan to post sentimental videos after Dongbei’s sales collapsed and earlier PR efforts failed.
• Dongbei’s staged videos about a crying boy, an elderly man offering an apartment, and a baby eating a teething biscuit went viral and drew widespread mockery.
• Zheng Dong saw that negative mentions had reached 99.3 percent and summoned Wang Qian and Old Chen to discuss changing tactics.
• Lin Feng learned that Dongbei was paying agencies to delete posts, while some agencies took the money and continued mocking the company.
• Zhou Wenyuan told Lin Feng that Dongbei had withdrawn its settlement proposal and Zheng Dong had arranged meetings with people suspected of being from N Province’s judicial system.
• Lin Feng asked Lü Yi to stay with him for the next few days and considered the Criminal Law’s provision on false accusation and frame-up.

Zheng Dong faced Dongbei Catering’s mounting public backlash, business losses, legal scrutiny, and pressure from shareholders before suffering a medical emergency. After recovering in the hospital, he obtained Lin Feng’s personal information and called him, leaving their conversation about to begin.

• Zheng Dong heard that negative sentiment had reached 99.3%, stores were losing business, and shareholders, media, consumers, and regulators were demanding answers.
• Zheng Dong ordered his staff to provide altered procurement records, settle consumer complaints with nondisclosure agreements, and suspend media appearances and publicity.
• Zheng Dong collapsed in his office and was rushed to the hospital with signs of an acute heart attack.
• After waking, Zheng Dong asked a judicial-system relative to investigate Lin Feng and received Lin Feng’s personal information from his secretary.
• Zheng Dong called Lin Feng and introduced himself as Zheng Dong from Dongbei Catering.

Zheng Dong tried to make Lin Feng stop exposing Dongbei by offering money and threatening him, but Lin Feng refused and said he only wanted to be left alone. After Lin Feng ended the call, Zheng Dong ordered his secretary to contact Old Liu in N Province and carry out their earlier plan against Lin Feng.

• Zheng Dong called Lin Feng from his hospital room and blamed him for Dongbei's collapse, while Lin Feng pointed to Zheng Dong's deception and retaliation.
• Zheng Dong offered Lin Feng one million, then more money and a job, in exchange for a video praising Dongbei, but Lin Feng refused and mentioned evidence of its premade dishes.
• Lin Feng told Zheng Dong to stop bothering him and warned that he could hold him legally accountable for his threats.
• After Lin Feng hung up, Zheng Dong smashed his phone and ordered his secretary to contact Old Liu in N Province and carry out their earlier plan against Lin Feng.

After Lin Feng’s words left him humiliated and desperate, Zheng Dong arranged to use his connections in N Province to have Lin Feng summoned across provincial lines. He ordered his staff to fabricate evidence and send security along, leaving the chapter with Zheng Dong awaiting the attempt to bring Lin Feng to N Province.

• Zheng Dong called Liu Zhenguo and falsely accused Lin Feng of commercial disparagement, asking for help summoning him from S City.
• Liu Zhenguo told Zheng Dong to submit materials to Captain Wang and said he would put in a word, while warning that the evidence and procedure had to be solid.
• Zheng Dong ordered his secretary to assemble a crime report and economic-loss assessment overnight, and to fabricate proof linking Lin Feng to a water army.
• Zheng Dong instructed the secretary to send security personnel to S City to ensure Lin Feng was brought back, then told Zhao Bin to suspend public-relations activity and say Dongbei had reported the matter to police.
• Zheng Dong switched off his phone and waited for the next day, believing Lin Feng would be handcuffed and taken to N Province.

Plainclothes officers from N Province detained Lin Feng on suspicion of damaging a business’s reputation and drove him toward the expressway. As the convoy neared the tollbooth, Lin Feng secretly notified Wei Guanglin, who responded by issuing an order.

• Six plainclothes officers surrounded Lin Feng outside his law firm and showed him a summons warrant.
• Lü Yi challenged the officers, but Lin Feng calmed him and agreed to go with them.
• The officers handcuffed Lin Feng and took him away in a gray sedan, with two black SUVs accompanying them.
• Lü Yi watched the convoy leave, then angrily contacted someone on his phone.
• During the drive out of the city, Lin Feng secretly notified Wei Guanglin, who put down a document and issued an order through an internal communicator.

Lin Feng was being transported out of S City when Police Inspector Zhang and his officers intercepted the convoy, citing another case that required Lin Feng’s cooperation. The two police teams faced off at the expressway entrance as Lin Feng waited in the car, aware that Wei Guanglin had activated contingency plan three.

• Lin Feng rode handcuffed in Captain Wang’s convoy toward the intercity expressway, while he observed the officers and anticipated Wei Guanglin’s response.
• Lin Feng spotted Police Inspector Zhang and several S City officers positioned near the toll station, and Captain Wang ordered the convoy to continue.
• Police Inspector Zhang stopped the convoy, checked Captain Wang’s credentials and summons warrant, and challenged the plan to take Lin Feng out of the city.
• Police Inspector Zhang told Lin Feng that he was involved in another S City case and ordered him to get out of the car for questioning.
• Captain Wang and Police Inspector Zhang argued over their jurisdictions and procedures as Zhang’s officers formed a semicircle around the convoy.
• Lin Feng remained silent in the car and perceived that Wei Guanglin had received the news and activated contingency plan three.

Zhang Zhigang stopped Captain Wang’s N Province team from taking Lin Feng out of S City, citing an urgent local investigation and the procedures for cooperating across jurisdictions. The standoff continued after Captain Wang appealed to his superior, with Lin Feng remaining in S City as the two police teams faced off.

• Police Inspector Zhang told Captain Wang that S City needed to verify Lin Feng’s involvement in another case and would not let him leave.
• Captain Wang ordered Lin Feng out of the car, and local officers positioned themselves around the handcuffed suspect.
• Captain Wang threatened to contact his superiors, while Zhang Zhigang cited Article 246 to justify holding Lin Feng for verification.
• Lin Feng calmly agreed to cooperate with Zhang Zhigang’s investigation.
• Captain Wang’s superior demanded that S City let Lin Feng go, but Zhang Zhigang refused and said he would follow his bureau’s procedures.
• Captain Wang’s officers and Zhang Zhigang’s officers faced off around Lin Feng as the interception continued.

Captain Wang failed to take Lin Feng from the S City police despite appealing to a provincial department director. Zhang Zhigang kept Lin Feng in S City’s custody, leaving Captain Wang to face the consequences of returning empty-handed.

• Captain Wang pleaded with Zhang Zhigang to release Lin Feng, but Zhang refused and demanded that any transfer request follow official channels.
• Captain Wang called Director Li at the S Province Public Security Department, who spoke with Zhang Zhigang by phone.
• Zhang Zhigang told Director Li that Lin Feng’s case required immediate investigation under S City Bureau authority, then ended the call without releasing him.
• Captain Wang recognized that S City’s backing for Lin Feng was stronger than he had expected and ruled out taking him by force.
• Zhang Zhigang’s officers replaced Lin Feng’s handcuffs and escorted him into an S City police car.
• Lin Feng thanked Captain Wang quietly as the S City police drove away, while Captain Wang put away his phone without calling his superior.

Wei Guanglin explained how S City’s local government backing let its police resist N Province’s pressure and arranged for Lin Feng’s release. Back at his apartment, Lin Feng received updates from his allies and secretly ordered his deathsworn to act, leaving his response to Zheng Dong’s cross-provincial attack underway.

• Wei Guanglin told Zhang Zhigang that S City’s local leadership supported the interception and instructed him to release Lin Feng after the required procedures if evidence did not justify further detention.
• Wei Guanglin ordered the publicity division to emphasize lawful cross-provincial cooperation and the protection of citizens’ rights, then wondered who stood behind Lin Feng and replied to his message that he would handle N Province.
• Lin Feng returned to the Splendid Garden apartment, where Lü Yi checked on him and Lin Feng read messages from Zhou Wenyuan, K, and Wei Guanglin.
• Lin Feng reflected on Zheng Dong’s use of handcuffs and cross-provincial arrest, then asked Lü Yi to make food while issuing an order to the deathsworn under his command.

Li Wei faced a succession of inspections at Dongbei's flagship store, and inspectors found serious food safety and sanitation violations that led to a sealed freezer, a fine, and a three-day closure. As a fire brigade inspection began, Li Wei sat motionless and messaged his wife that his wages might not be paid.

• Li Wei rushed the staff to clean the store and prepare its records after the regional manager warned of a possible inspection.
• Zhao Qiming and the market regulation team found an improperly warm freezer and inconsistencies between fish purchases, stock, and sales, then sealed the freezer and ordered corrective action.
• Sun Hongmei and the health supervision team found grease buildup, an expired health certificate, faulty disinfection records, inadequate rodent-proofing, and unauthorized meal kits, then fined the store and ordered it closed for three days.
• Li Wei received a call from the regional manager about the violations, hung up, and told Xiao Wang the store could not open.
• A fire brigade inspection team arrived to inspect the store, and Li Wei sat in the kitchen and messaged his wife that his wages might not be paid that month.

Fire inspector Chen Jianguo found multiple serious safety violations at Dongbei and ordered Li Wei to close indefinitely until the restaurant passed a follow-up inspection. After headquarters told Li Wei to cover the repair costs himself, a tax bureau inspection request left him laughing as he continued down the street.

• Chen Jianguo documented blocked fire exits, faulty equipment, unsafe wiring, and an uncleaned exhaust duct, then ordered Li Wei to cease operations until the violations were corrected and approved.
• Li Wei signed the fire department’s notice and told the employees to close the restaurant for rectification.
• Li Wei called the regional manager, who said headquarters was in chaos and told him to pay for the repairs himself for now.
• Li Wei closed and locked Dongbei, then decided not to tell his wife that the restaurant had shut down and he had lost his job.
• A tax bureau employee called Li Wei and asked him to come in that afternoon to discuss Dongbei’s operations, and Li Wei accepted while laughing.

Livelihood Watch exposed safety and management problems at Dongbei, triggering a wave of public outrage and leaving the company struggling to keep its restaurants open. As managers faced mounting losses and Zheng Dong suffered a medical crisis, the chapter ended with Dongbei’s outlets closing across the city.

• Zhou Ting presented Livelihood Watch’s report on Dongbei’s premade food, failed inspections, and safety hazards, including problems found at all twelve inspected restaurants.
• The report spread across social media and financial outlets, with users criticizing Dongbei and questioning its business practices.
• Old Liu ordered Dongbei’s managers to offer steep discounts and try to reopen sealed restaurants, while warning Li Wei that the company might not survive.
• Zheng Dong read the online criticism and a legal scholar’s analysis, threw his tablet, and lost consciousness after being sedated.
• Online criticism continued as Dongbei restaurants shut their doors, displayed closure notices, or removed their signs.

Dongbei’s leaders faced collapsing revenue, supplier and bank pressure, and a formal tax investigation, then agreed to cut the S Province business and close or sell unprofitable stores. Zhou Wenyuan told Lin Feng that anonymous financial records could help remove Dongbei from S Province, while Zheng Dong sought a meeting to apologize.

• Liu Min reported that Dongbei’s nationwide sales had plunged, suppliers had suspended deliveries, and its banks were reconsidering loans as the company faced potentially massive losses.
• Shareholders Sun and Zhao urged Dongbei to withdraw from S Province and close or sell failing stores, while Old Qian agreed to the plan and promised to take responsibility.
• Secretary Xiao Wang delivered notice that the S Province Tax Bureau had opened an investigation into suspected fraudulent invoices, inflated costs, and tax evasion, demanding three years of records within three working days.
• Old Qian told Zheng Dong’s wife to let him focus on recovering, then ignored a reporter’s call and sat alone in Zheng Dong’s empty conference-room chair.
• Zhou Wenyuan received anonymous financial records about Dongbei’s S Province branch and told Lin Feng that the material could help drive Dongbei out of the province.
• Zhou Wenyuan told Lin Feng that Zheng Dong wanted to apologize in person, and Lin Feng said they could talk when Zheng Dong truly understood he was wrong.

Zheng Dong woke in the ICU to learn that Dongbei Catering faced legal and tax investigations, closures, layoffs, and a deeply discounted share sale. As the company’s collapse became public, he accepted responsibility, asked to apologize to Lin Feng, and prepared a public confession.

• Zheng Dong woke in the ICU, and his wife urged him to rest and avoid company news.
• Xiao Wang told Zheng Dong that Lin Feng’s law firm had sent a legal notice, the tax bureau had opened a case, and shareholders had voted to withdraw from S Province and close struggling stores.
• Xiao Wang reported that Shareholder Sun planned to sell shares to an investment company under Yunchuan Group for thirty percent of market value, and Zheng Dong left the decision to the shareholders.
• Zheng Dong watched a news report on Dongbei Catering’s closures and share sale, then called Director Liu to ask for a meeting with Lin Feng so he could apologize in person.
• Zheng Dong asked Xiao Wang to record a video in which he would admit Dongbei used prepared dishes and lied, accept blame for mismanaging the company, resign, and apologize.

Zheng Dong posted a public apology, resigned from Dongbei Catering, and the company announced it would leave S Province and begin nationwide rectification. Lin Feng judged the apology to be a calculated response to defeat, then agreed to meet Zheng Dong for one meal.

• Zheng Dong admitted Dongbei had deceived customers about premade dishes and neglected food safety, then resigned and bowed to the camera for ten seconds.
• The apology spread across Weibo, where public opinion shifted from anger toward debate about Zheng Dong's responsibility and the restaurant industry.
• Dongbei accepted Zheng Dong's resignation, announced its withdrawal from S Province, and appointed Mr. Qian xx acting chairman while launching nationwide rectification.
• Lü Yi showed Lin Feng speculation that he had orchestrated Dongbei's downfall, but Lin Feng dismissed it and said Zheng Dong knew he had lost rather than truly understood his wrongdoing.
• After receiving Zhou Wenyuan's message that Zheng Dong wanted to meet, Lin Feng agreed to one meeting over a meal.

Lin Feng rejected Zheng Dong’s money and properties, demanding that Dongbei leave S Province, settle its tax obligations, and publicly apologize to the people it had pressured. He left after warning Zheng Dong not to appear in S Province again, while Zheng Dong was left shaken and questioning his life.

• Zheng Dong stood with difficulty and bowed deeply to Lin Feng, apologizing in person.
• Zheng Dong offered Lin Feng a five-million cashier’s check and three properties, but Lin Feng refused them.
• Lin Feng demanded that Dongbei withdraw completely from S Province, disclose its accounts and pay all back taxes and fines, and publicly apologize to Yang Xiaoming and others it had harassed.
• Zheng Dong accepted all three conditions and promised to handle the public apology and compensation personally.
• Lin Feng left the meal and told Zheng Dong not to let him see him again in S Province.
• Zheng Dong suffered chest pain after Lin Feng left, then watched Lin Feng disappear into the city and questioned what he had spent his life doing.

One month after Dongbei rebranded as the more affordable, openly premade-food chain Xibei, Lin Feng hired former military scout Liu Zhenjun for protection. Lin Feng’s daily summoning then succeeded in calling a mysterious, highly significant person whose identity was classified, leaving him with a powerful but unpredictable new ally.

• Dongbei reopened as Xibei, lowering prices, disclosing its central-kitchen production and earning a calmer public response.
• Lü Yi introduced Liu Zhenjun, a former army reconnaissance specialist, as Lin Feng’s new security professional.
• Liu Zhenjun agreed to assess Lin Feng’s home and routine, while Lin Feng accepted his protection.
• Lin Feng used Daily Random Summoning and received a successful result identifying the summoned daredevil as mysterious, with absolute loyalty and a classified identity.
• Lin Feng concealed his reaction from Lü Yi and Liu Zhenjun as he realized the summon had changed the stakes of his future.

Lin Feng learned that K had gained a key role in a Northern Myanmar scam compound but was under surveillance and unable to leave. Lin Feng asked Golden Sun to arrange a covert rescue, with operatives expected to begin infiltrating within seventy-two hours.

• K reported that he had earned the general’s trust and now oversaw much of the compound’s money and laundering routes.
• K told Lin Feng that he was confined and feared the general might make him disappear once he was no longer useful.
• Lin Feng told K to keep acting normally and wait for further instructions.
• Lin Feng contacted Golden Sun and sent him K’s location and information about the compound’s guards.
• Golden Sun agreed to assemble operatives, reach the target area within seventy-two hours, and provide Lin Feng with an identity code and verification procedure.

Golden Sun ordered a covert operation to rescue the technical specialist K from Northern Myanmar, prioritizing his safe extraction. The Spark mission was authorized and secretly set in motion.

• Golden Sun reviewed intelligence on K’s suspected location and the compound in Northern Myanmar.
• Golden Sun activated the Spark emergency protocol and ordered an infiltration, contact with K, and his safe extraction.
• Golden Sun directed intelligence officers to select elite sleeper agents and create flawless cover identities within seventy-two hours.
• Golden Sun gave the first infiltration team’s leader authority to make decisions in the field and ordered the rear to provide support.
• The three generals confirmed their directives, began deployment, and destroyed the written orders and digital traces.

“Bai Shan” and seven fellow infiltrators crossed from Yunnan into Northern Myanmar disguised as smuggled recruits and entered a guarded compound. Once inside, Bai Shan activated a locator and began mapping the compound as the team prepared to observe and wait for the moment to act.

• Bai Shan watched the recruits gathered by Yan Bao and silently confirmed that seven other infiltrators were among them.
• Bai Shan and the group followed Yan Bao through the forest, exchanged covert signals, and crossed the border river on a makeshift raft.
• Yan Bao handed the recruits over to Northern Myanmar militia, who escorted them to a guarded compound.
• Brother Bo ordered the newcomers to squat, then assigned them to different work and training groups; Bai Shan and Qingsong were separated.
• Bai Shan activated a concealed locator, surveyed the compound, and feigned sleep while planning possible routes and evacuation plans.

A Bin endured another day in a compound where trafficked workers were forced to scam people online, while a tall newcomer’s unusual reactions caught his attention. The chapter left A Bin suppressing his suspicions and continuing to deceive his targets.

• A Bin recalled how his cousin lured him away from his factory job and how he was beaten into submission after arriving at the guarded compound.
• A Bin ate a meager breakfast and noticed a tall newcomer quietly assessing the security guard.
• Brother Qiang warned A Bin that he would lose dinner unless he made a sale, and A Bin resumed his scripted investment scam.
• Brother Bo beat a young newcomer for standing in the aisle while the workers kept their heads down.
• A Bin noticed the tall newcomer tense briefly during the beating, then dismissed his suspicions and returned to typing lies.

K managed the compound’s money laundering while secretly mapping its layout, security routines, and personnel. After a suspicious new group of arrivals appeared, he sent Lin Feng a covert signal that he was stable and waiting.

• K processed the compound’s illicit funds under the constant watch of A Long and A Hu.
• K used a hidden communication channel to review his intelligence on the compound’s layout, security blind spots, and weak patrol period between three and four in the morning.
• K noticed that seven or eight of the day’s new arrivals had unusual remarks in their records, including assignments to the kitchen and maintenance team.
• K linked the arrivals to Lin Feng’s promise to send a message and raised his estimate that outside intervention had begun to infiltrate the compound.
• K sent a covert signal reporting that everything was normal and that he was waiting, then returned to work as A Long watched him.

Qingsong, posing as the electrician A Mu, surveyed the compound’s security while making repairs and secretly gathered intelligence with fellow agent Black Stone. They exchanged details about weak points and guard routines, leaving the infiltrators to continue observing and wait for an opportunity.

• Qingsong used his repair work to map the compound’s walls, towers, weapons, buildings, cameras, and guards’ routines.
• While fixing a toilet light in Zone A, Qingsong planted a hidden camera above the ceiling hatch.
• Qingsong photographed nearby security details while adjusting a camera in Zone B and gathered more information during his repairs.
• At lunch, Qingsong exchanged intelligence with Black Stone, who had infiltrated the kitchen as Old Shi.
• Black Stone revealed a kitchen back door and a route near a damaged electric fence, while Qingsong shared information about blind spots, a corroded ladder, and lax patrols.

Brother Bo reported to the general that K’s cryptocurrency cash-out was nearly complete, and the general ordered K killed once the money was secured. After warning Brother Bo to watch the newcomers, the general’s suspicion briefly settled on A Mu, who was secretly Qingsong.

• Brother Bo told the general that K was behaving normally and that the cryptocurrency transfer would be completed in three to five days.
• The general ordered Brother Bo to get rid of K after the money reached the clean accounts and to make the death look accidental.
• The general told Brother Bo to keep a close eye on the newcomers, and Brother Bo agreed to arrange surveillance.
• Brother Bo noticed that A Mu moved with unusual steadiness and seemed familiar with the compound, but dismissed his suspicion.
• Qingsong, posing as A Mu, returned to work without reacting to Brother Bo’s scrutiny.

Lin Feng confirmed that the infiltration team was in position, while K and Bai Shan prepared the compound for a coordinated assault at 3:30 a.m. As the operation drew near, A Bin sensed that something was wrong but did not know what was coming.

• Lin Feng received confirmation from the Golden Sun that the agents had infiltrated and ordered them to proceed while keeping K safe.
• K planted a hidden trigger in the compound server, mapped his escape route, and arranged to send Bai Shan the final operational details.
• Bai Shan received K’s route information and mentally rehearsed the 3:30 a.m. assault, including the teams’ targets and escape plans.
• A Bin grew uneasy about A Mu and Old Shi and struggled to sleep as the compound fell into an ominous silence.