Me! A high-ranking official!

As the two dogs collided again, his gaze locked onto the most ferocious pit bull, Tiger Head.

As soon as Tiger Head landed and prepared to jump again, his right foot, clad in hard-soled leather shoes, kicked out like a battle axe.

This kick was nothing fancy, just pure, hard force, hitting Tiger Head squarely in the face.

"Awooo..."

Tiger Head was kicked over in mid-air and slammed heavily onto the iron net. When it finally managed to shakily get up, the gamblers above all gasped in shock.

The once ferocious dog's mouth was now severely twisted to the right, its jawbone completely broken, and its mouth could no longer close. Dark red blood mixed with drool dripped down, and it made whimpering sounds of terror from its throat. With its tail between its legs, it scrambled and crawled towards the iron gate from which it had come out, pressing its head against the crack in the door, completely cowered.

In the pit, only the Japanese Tosa Yellow Wind General remained. He looked at the half-paralyzed Iron General on the ground, then at the trembling Tiger Head huddled by the door, and finally turned his gaze to the masked man standing in the center of the sand.

The Tosa Inu wasn't stupid. It seemed to realize that the person in front of it wasn't prey at all, but a formidable enemy. Terrified, it tucked its tail tightly between its hind legs, whimpering anxiously. Not only did it not dare to go forward, but it also retreated little by little. Finally, it simply shrank back to the iron gate, scratching at the iron bars with its paws, desperately wanting to crawl back inside.

The entire room fell silent.

From start to finish, it lasted a total of five minutes.

Of the three dogs, one was paralyzed with a broken back, one had a broken jaw and was disfigured, and one was terrified out of its wits.

A full five seconds passed before a tsunami of angry shouts erupted from the stands above.

"Fuck your mother, refund my money! You coward, General Huang Feng! Attack!"

"Damn it! I've lost over a million dollars! It's a shady deal! This is absolutely a shady deal!"

Enraged, the gamblers furiously smashed their water bottles and lighters into the pit.

"when……!"

A gong sounded, followed by a slightly off-key announcement from the loudspeaker: "Race 5, Man vs. Dog, Challenger wins!"

Hearing the desperate curses of the gamblers above him, Zhao Jianguo's tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

Ignoring the shouts from the stands, he calmly turned around and retreated into the dark passageway through the open iron gate.

……

Twenty minutes later.

I washed my face with cold water, changed back into my old clothes, and walked back to the betting area outside the dog racing track.

The numbers on the big screen are still scrolling and calculating.

The final, unprecedented one-against-three match was so difficult, coupled with the gruesome deaths of the challengers in the previous rounds, that retail investors and high rollers almost placed all their bets on the dog.

The final odds were set at 1 to 16.

Looking at the bright red number, he couldn't help but let out a slight sigh of relief. Before going on stage, he had the dog farm place a bet of two million on his behalf.

With two million and odds of 1 to 16, after deducting the commission, he can take away more than 30 million in cash today. Not only will the 20 million debt in that treasure trove be settled, but there will also be a surplus.

With food in my pocket, I have nothing to fear.

When he strolled back to the county town, it was exactly five o'clock in the afternoon. The office building of the Culture and Tourism Bureau was right next to his hotel, just a short walk away. He thought he would go back to the office to check in and file the few old documents he hadn't finished reviewing that morning.

Pushing open the door to the Tourism Development Division's office, the room was so quiet that the only sound could be the ticking of the clock on the wall.

He didn't get off work until 5:30, and there wasn't a soul in the office. Wang Pingping's computer at her workstation was already off, and there was still a half-finished cup of Mixue Ice Cream on the table, the water droplets on the cup had dried. He then went to walk around the other departments in the corridor, and wow, apart from the old man in the gatehouse listening to the radio, the entire bureau was practically deserted.

This is the norm for marginal government departments: no power, no money, no projects. The bureau chief takes the lead in lying down, and the people below naturally just coast along.

He shook his head helplessly. During his twelve years in the county party committee office, he was always working until eight or nine o'clock at night. Being called back by a leader at midnight to revise materials was commonplace. Now, he was suddenly thrown into this half-dead place, so bored that he was itching to get out of bed.

Going back to the hotel and staring blankly is too early. Going to drink with Liu Tao? Forget it. Liu Tao has been busy with supermarket matters all day and is currently helping his wife and children with their homework. There's no need for me to bother him every day.

So he put his hands in his pockets and wandered aimlessly through the streets of the old town.

In recent years, the political and economic focus of Linshui County has shifted entirely to the new urban area. Walking on the streets of the old town, one can clearly see the desolation. The curbs on both sides of the road are missing bricks and the streetlights are dim and yellow. The wealthy and well-connected have all moved to the high-end residential areas in the new urban area with good greenery and good school districts. The old town that remains is becoming more and more like a huge village that has been drained of its blood.

Unbeknownst to him, Zhao Jianguo wandered to the edge of a dark and desolate ruin, to Xiaozhai Village, east of the county town.

Back when he hadn't yet passed the exam to get a job in the county government office, this place was a powder keg in Linshui County. Xiaozhai Village was originally located on the main road connecting to the city, and it was full of red brick bungalows from the 1970s and 80s. When the county carried out its first batch of urban renewal projects, they started with this place.

The negotiations went smoothly at first, with 70% of the homeowners signing the agreement. However, the remaining 30% were cunning and always felt that the government's bottom line could be pushed further. They banded together to demand exorbitant prices and refused to move. In order to maintain stability, the county made concessions again and again, which resulted in the demolition compensation being driven up to an astronomical price.

This caused a huge problem. The 70% of people who had signed were envious and felt they had been cheated. They banded together and turned against the government, blocking the county government gate. During the scuffle, an elderly woman climbed onto the roof and threatened to commit suicide, which became a scandal.

Finally, the city officials were furious and slammed their fists on the table, holding the deputy county head in charge at the time accountable.

When things are done within the system, the methods can sometimes be shockingly crude. To prevent residents who had already signed the agreement from secretly moving back and occupying the houses, the county hired an excavator overnight to carve a large hole in the load-bearing wall of each house that had been signed. This is called "damaging" the house. With wind and rain, it would become a dangerous building and no one could live there.

But things had escalated to this point, and the demolition was completely stalled. The county party secretary was a tough character. Seeing that the people in Xiaozhai Village were unyielding, he simply wrote down that the demolition would not proceed!

The strategic approach was changed directly from on-site demolition and reconstruction to relocation and reconstruction. The county tightened its belt and started a new urban area from scratch. The main road connecting to the city was also re-planned, bypassing Xiaozhai Village.

Seven or eight years have passed, and a new city has sprung up. Xiaozhai Village, once a major transportation artery, has been completely reduced to a neglected auxiliary road.

Standing at the entrance of this dilapidated village, he looked at the abandoned houses with large holes in the walls, overgrown with weeds taller than a person. Those 30% of the holdouts who stubbornly demanded exorbitant prices couldn't take it anymore a few years ago and went to the county to beg and plead, saying they were willing to demolish according to the original agreement.

But the county's money-grubbers have already invested their money in the new town, so who cares about this rotten piece of meat?

The village, which used to have more than a hundred households, has now been decimated. Only about twenty households remain, consisting of the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled who have no money or power. They are forced to live in these dilapidated houses without sewers or heating, and they have nowhere to turn for justice, filled with regret.