It's better to conquer them than to command the steel torrent

Chapter 212 (Twenty-Seventh Chapter) | Dimensional Reduction Attack
Shang Ke hesitated before replying, “Theoretically, it is indeed impossible. A small number of accounts in the short term can be done perfectly, but over a period of several years, with so many different kinds of accounts, it is impossible to be perfect in every aspect.”

"Why insist on following standard procedures? Isn't this a critical time? Can't we just proceed with a presumption of guilt?" She was getting impatient.

Presumption of guilt? You're really ruthless.

With a wry smile, Shang Ke gently tapped her forehead and said earnestly, "It's true, if we really wanted to go all out, we wouldn't need to bother finding evidence at all; we could just fabricate charges. But we're not at that point yet, are we? Let's handle the case according to due process and justice first."

Jian Keqiu said "Oh".

Shang Ke thought back and realized that he had never realized his wife was so vengeful; she had kept it hidden all along.

Eight or nine professional accountants worked together for two days and one night, but they couldn't find any flaws. The cooperation and transactions of the companies under the Kong family's name seemed to be normal.

After the setback, the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Regional Command planned to find some more accountants to assist in the audit.

Meanwhile, because it was suspected that Haixing International Trading Company, under the name of the Kong family, had illegally exported chemical raw materials to Ivan Ross, which was a much more serious matter, the Third Bureau of the General Staff's Military Intelligence Department also intervened in the investigation.

The Military Intelligence Bureau has three sub-departments: the First Bureau is responsible for human reconnaissance, the Second Bureau is responsible for technical reconnaissance, and the Third Bureau is responsible for counter-espionage work within the territory.

In the words of the head of the Third Bureau: "I have been in this business for more than 30 years and I have never seen a perfectly fabricated account."

In the days leading up to the full investigation, Jian Keqiu was particularly attentive, calling every day to inquire about the latest developments despite the high phone bills.

Shang Ke knew she was eager to see the Kong family suffer, so he tried his best to please her by sharing the progress of the case every day.

That day, when Shang Ke mentioned the accounts of another company under the Kong family's name—Baymax Chemical Company—Jian Keqiu hesitated and said, "I suddenly have an idea, sir, I don't know if you believe me."

"Hmm? What's your idea? Just tell me."

"There seems to be a cutting-edge finding on natural laws that can be applied to auditing, which might help investigators."

"Huh? The laws of nature?" Shang Ke thought he had misheard.

"Two years ago, a scholar summarized a rather unbelievable pattern: most random sets of numbers in nature begin with 'one,' accounting for about 30%, and the remaining numbers also have their own approximate proportions. I think this pattern can also be used to check whether the accounts are falsified," Jian Keqiu succinctly stated.

This sounds familiar... I think I learned about it in a science video in my past life?

While trying hard to recall, Shang Ke asked, "What is this pattern called?"

Jian Keqiu replied, "It was first proposed by a physicist named Benford. According to academic tradition, it should be called Benford's Law."

Upon hearing this, Shang Ke immediately remembered.

Benford's Law!
Two years ago, in 1938, American physicist Benford published a paper titled "The Law of Anomalous Numbers." He collected data from over twenty different fields, including city population, birth rate, death rate, atomic weight of compounds, physical constants, chemical constants, river length, financial costs, and other seemingly unrelated data. Common sense dictates that these naturally generated data should be completely random, with the probability of any number from 1 to 9 starting with the same digit being equal. However, the reality is quite the opposite: these data all follow a pattern—numbers starting with 1 account for 30% of the total, decreasing with each subsequent digit.

This law is very interesting and seems to be inextricably linked to the origins of the world. Benford's Law states that in naturally generated data, numbers starting with 1 account for about 30%, numbers starting with 2 account for 17%, and the probability of subsequent numbers decreases. Numbers starting with 9 account for the lowest proportion, only about 4.6%. This law is often used to detect data anomalies or accounting fraud.

【Picture】

No? Girl?
My dear little wife, you've actually brought out such cutting-edge academic findings just to bring down the Kong family as soon as possible.

Shang Ke remained silent for a full five or six seconds, then chuckled, finally praising, word by word, "Baby, you're really something."

On the other end of the phone, Jian Keqiu continued to add, "After this paper was published two years ago, it also sparked heated discussions in our academic community. Last year, many statisticians and mathematicians successively published related reports, and it is generally accepted that this law is in line with the facts and can be used as strong evidence. Sir, you must remember to emphasize Benford's law, it may really come in handy."

Shang Ke hummed in agreement and teased her deliberately, "Use something more affectionate, call me husband, otherwise I won't mention this Benford Law."

Hearing this, Jian Keqiu had no choice but to comply. She called out "husband" softly again, then, on a sudden impulse, she provoked him, "By the way, husband, can you have a say in the investigation?"

Shang Ke scoffed, "How could you not be able to speak? You're underestimating me."

Since the words have already been spoken, there's no way not to do them.

Therefore, the next day, Mr. Shang took a small service plane to Nanjing, as if he had gone there specifically to join in the fun.

He first went to Jiangning University, the nearest university, found relevant literature and materials, obtained several photocopies, and also took the opportunity to lure away a statistics graduate student who was short of money with the promise of "high compensation".

He then approached the Special Investigations Unit and the Military Intelligence Bureau's Third Division Task Force, expressing his desire to see the accounts currently under investigation and mentioning Benford's Law, a cutting-edge academic achievement.

The special investigation team, composed of personnel from the Jiangsu-Zhejiang Regional Command, was indifferent and even felt that this guy, Shang, was just there to cause trouble.

The people in the Third Bureau of Military Intelligence were very interested in this and attached great importance to it.

As an intelligence agency, the Military Intelligence Bureau is often stereotyped as a group of elite agents who can scale walls and defeat enemies with a single move. However, most of the Military Intelligence Bureau's employees are actually well-educated professionals, and a few are even high-achieving students who excel at analysis and reasoning.

Therefore, they were very interested in Mr. Shang's idea of ​​introducing cutting-edge academic results to examine the accounts, and instead of scoffing at it, they praised it highly.

They first tried looking at Haixing International Trading Company's accounts from last year, and quickly got results. As expected, it did not conform to Benford's Law. The percentage of figures starting with "first" was far less than 30%, less than 20%.

Clearly, either Benford's Law or the company's accounts must be false.

After discussion, the Special Task Force of the Third Bureau of the Military Intelligence Bureau decided to continue to audit the accounts from previous years, while conducting a targeted and detailed audit.

(End of this chapter)