As soon as the Human Emperor Banner came out, I became the Lord of the Old Ones

Chapter 224 Industrial Chain

"However, this guess also has problems."

Long Jianhuan said, "Suppose that Sheikh Krat really planned it all out, using the high-profile poaching of members to enhance the influence of the Shattered Star Club, and then attracting new members with super low discounts, so as to swindle a huge amount of membership fees in the shortest possible time."

"Theoretically, this money should also be kept in the club's public accounts."

"Even if he could extract the money secretly, it would be impossible for him to take so much cash away in one go, unless he could exchange it for high-quality crystal coins that are small in size, light in weight, and high in value."

"But as you just said, this kind of high-purity top-grade crystal coins are extremely rare. One or two is one thing, but how could he possibly exchange all his money for top-grade crystal coins in just over half a month?"

"That's true."

Xu Yan scratched his head and said, "Besides Dawn Heavy Industries, I really can't think of any other force in Dawn City that could produce so many top-grade crystal coins in one go."

After saying that, he was stunned for a moment.

The predecessor of Liming Heavy Industry was Liming Mining.

Crystal mining and smelting have always been their main business.

Even a starved camel is bigger than a horse. Although Liming Heavy Industry is currently in dire financial straits, over the past few decades, they have thoroughly explored almost every underground space within a hundred miles. Naturally, their warehouses contain many valuable items that money cannot buy.

"No, it's impossible."

Xu Yan shook his head, denying his own guess. "According to this guess, Sheikh Krat would first have to collude with insiders at the bank, and might even have to involve illegal financial institutions like underground banks, in order to quietly transfer public funds to his own name."

"Afterwards, he also needs to find a powerful seller within Dawn Heavy Industry to exchange all this cash into high-quality crystal coins that are easy to carry but not easy to track."

"And after the other party gets his cash, they will have to find a way to turn it into legitimate income."

“Every step here is risky. If any link goes wrong, it will lead to a huge scandal and implicate a large number of people.”

"Even if he is the owner of one of the three high-end spirit card clubs in Dawn City, I don't think he has such great power to drive so many people to risk their lives for him."

"Unless, he has something on the other party."

"But there are too many links in this chain. He can't possibly have the other party's weakness at every link, can he?"

"If that's true, why would he still abscond with the money? He could practically be the local tyrant of Dawn City!"

These words made Long Jianhuan frown deeply and fall into deep thought.

Perhaps it was Xu Yan's casual remark about the word "chain" that gave her a completely new inspiration.

She suddenly said, "What if it's not a weakness, but a business opportunity?"

Xu Yan was slightly taken aback: "Captain Long means—"

“Sheikh Krat certainly doesn’t have that much power to command everyone in the entire chain,” Long Jianhuan pondered. “But if this chain already existed, Dawn City would have long had a very mature money laundering industry chain that could transform all kinds of shady illegal gains from a series of numbers in a bank account into huge amounts of cash that are difficult to carry, and then into easily portable, high-value bearer currency.”

"In this way, Sheikh Krat can take away all the money from employees, customers and partner manufacturers in one go, as long as he is willing to spend the money."

"This one……"

Xu Yan was dumbfounded. "That's unlikely. If there really is such a mature money laundering industry chain, it would involve too many people, from banks to underground banks, to people within Dawn Heavy Industry who are qualified to handle top-grade crystal coins, and perhaps even the regulatory body of the Spirit Card Club, namely the Spirit Card Association, or even the business representatives sent to Dawn City by the four major card manufacturing companies."

"It's impossible to leverage so many big shots at so many different levels with just this one deal with Sheikh Krat."

"Does this mean that many people in Dawn City have a need for money laundering and transfer?"

Long Jianhuan remained silent.

But his fists clenched tighter and tighter.

"Xu Yan, you've been in Dawn City for two months now. You should be able to see that although Dawn City is still the most prosperous city in the southeastern border region, with the depletion of mineral veins, financial strain, and the long-term operational difficulties and repeated failures of its pillar enterprise, Dawn Heavy Industry, it can be said that the city is on the verge of life and death."

"Of course, many people are born and raised here, and have spent their whole lives fighting against the indestructible minerals deep underground and the ancient monsters lurking in the darkness. They would rather be shattered to pieces than leave their homeland."

"But many people, especially profit-driven businessmen, sensed the approaching storm and wanted to escape before the ship sank completely, which is only natural."

"Since we are all leaving Dawn City forever, and even foresee that Dawn City will decline or even be completely destroyed in the near future."

"Then, all the identity, connections, and reputation I've accumulated in Dawn City over the decades have become meaningless."

"If, before leaving, one can make a fortune by taking advantage of the goodwill that is about to be wiped out, then once one has gone far away, no matter where one goes, one can live a comfortable life and may even have the opportunity to make a comeback."

"I suspect that it's not just Sheikh Krat who thinks this way, but also many other great figures who have brought prosperity and glory to Dawn City. They think this way and act this way as well."

"If that's the case, it's not surprising at all that there's a mature money laundering industry chain serving them."

"If I'm not mistaken, Sheikh Krat isn't even the biggest customer in this industry chain. There are probably many guys who are more powerful, famous, and influential than him who want to do or have already done the same thing."

"And that's why the murderer sent me this blood-stained crystal coin—he hopes I can investigate every link in the chain, find out all the big shots who are trying to drain Dawn City dry and escape with their round bellies!"

Xu Yan's eyes widened.

"I don't know."

He murmured, "This murderer sounds like he has a strong sense of justice. Even if there really is a big shot who wants to squeeze all the value out of Dawn City and then leave, the only ones who will suffer are the ordinary citizens of Dawn City. What does that have to do with the murderer?"

"It's not a problem, but it can divert the Security Bureau's attention and prevent them from constantly chasing after him."

Long Jianhuan sighed and said, "If we find out about some powerful figure during our investigation, and it triggers a conflict between the Security Bureau and other forces, the culprit lurking in the shadows will have a better chance to take advantage of the chaos and become the ultimate winner!"

(End of this chapter)