The richest man started taking advantage of loopholes after joining Alibaba.

Nine o'clock the next morning.

Municipal Fire Brigade, Fire Prevention Supervision Division.

A fierce wind was blowing outside the window, making the aluminum alloy window frame rattle loudly.

Section Chief Li sat behind his desk, holding a steaming thermos.

A ring of brown tea stains had accumulated around the rim of the cup, and the rising steam barely countered the chill seeping in from outside the window.

For him, Singles' Day was just an ordinary Tuesday.

No police calls, that's a good day.

A clerk pushed open the door and slammed a large red urgent document bag onto the table.

That striking splash of red stood out starkly against the drab gray office.

"Section Chief, the registered letter just arrived from the post office."

Section Chief Li tightened the lid of the cup and slowly picked up the paper cutter.

Cut open the seal.

What slid out wasn't a thank-you letter, but three A4 sheets of paper and a stack of clearly printed photos.

First picture: Zhao Sihai's warehouse in the west of the city, the fire lane is completely blocked by goods.

Second picture: Severely aged electrical wires are exposed next to a flammable packaging box.

Third image: The pressure gauge on the fire extinguisher has returned to zero.

Section Chief Li frowned.

Such violations are common in logistics parks, and are usually turned a blind eye, with fines levied at the end of the year to settle the matter.

I reached out to throw the letter into the "To be processed" folder.

My gaze swept to the bottom of the letter.

A note was printed in bold Song typeface:

"This letter has been copied to: Provincial Safety Supervision Bureau and Mayor's Hotline Office. Attached: Fire risk assessment report for this area during the Double Eleven period."

The hand stopped in mid-air.

I subconsciously looked out the window.

Under a gloomy sky, a fierce wind whipped up withered leaves, causing them to dance wildly.

The meteorological observatory just issued an orange gale warning this morning.

Normally, this letter is a hassle.

But given the sensitive timing of Singles' Day, coupled with this windy day, and that glaring "CC to the provincial bureau" message...

This is a dead end.

The other party is too knowledgeable.

They don't talk about justice, they only talk about "responsibility".

With the registered mail receipt, if he fails to act today and a fire breaks out tomorrow, the provincial bureau will investigate and he will be the person primarily responsible.

This is not a whistleblower letter.

This is a disclaimer signing notice—either seize the other party's assets or sacrifice yourself.

Section Chief Li put down the letter and picked up a pen.

He stuffed the pen cap into his mouth, his teeth unconsciously clenching, leaving a ring of deep white teeth marks on the pen cap.

Anxiety is made concrete.

He was weighing his options.

Zhao Sihai had been bribing officials quite a bit, so he was a familiar face to them.

But when it comes to official positions, acquaintances are merely used as stepping stones.

He spat out the pen cap and picked up the landline phone.

"Hello, is this the law enforcement team?"

"Notify the Industry and Commerce Bureau and the Safety Supervision Bureau to conduct a joint enforcement action."

"Yes, today, the focus will be on inspecting the Chengxi Logistics Park."

"Remember to turn on your body camera and take photos of all violations."

I hung up, picked up my thermos again, and took a sip of hot tea.

You're only safe if you take your anger out on someone else.

Weiguang Logistics Distribution Center.

In stark contrast to the madness of the western part of the city, this place was as empty as an unfinished construction site.

There were no piles of packages.

No trucks were entering or leaving.

Only a few workers were mopping the floor.

Wang Pangzi stood by the second-floor railing, staring at the empty space below, his heart aching as he clicked his tongue in distress.

"Brother Che, what are we after?"

He pointed to the faint rumbling coming from next door.

"Zhao Sihai's trucks are lined up all the way to the main road, and we... are we supposed to clean up here?"

Lin Che stood opposite, inspecting a roll of bright yellow warning tape.

Squat down and apply the tape straight along the fire-prevention zone lines on the warehouse floor.

With a tearing sound.

Yellow tape marked an absolute no-go zone on the gray cement floor.

"Fatty, do you know what was most important on Noah's Ark before the flood?"

Stand up and press the edge of the tape firmly with your toes.

Fatty Wang was stunned: "It's sturdy?"

"wrong."

Lin Che brushed the dust off his hands.

"It needs to be empty."

"Empty yourself up so that you can fit the most things in when the flood capsizes the other boats."

An argument was heard downstairs.

Old Zhang and his men surrounded a truck.

That was one of his drivers, who had secretly loaded half a truck with cargo in the back.

A side job helping Zhao Sihai with transportation.

The entire city is experiencing warehouse overload, and freight rates have tripled. Drivers are looking to earn extra money while their companies are not accepting orders.

Lin Che walked down.

Under the driver's terrified gaze, he reached into the cab and pulled out the stack of waybills.

"Mr. Lin, I just... don't want to be idle..."

Lin Che didn't speak.

Hold the waybill in mid-air and slowly apply force with both hands.

hiss--

The sound of paper tearing echoed in the empty warehouse.

Torn private job delivery slips fell like snowflakes onto the freshly mopped, clean cement floor.

"Check out, let's go."

The sound wasn't loud, but it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

"As I said, for the next 48 hours, Weiguang Logistics will not accept orders or transfer goods; we will only do one thing—wait."

I walked to the wall and took out a fire extinguisher.

Lightly tap the pressure gauge with your fingernail.

The pointer stopped steadily in the middle of the green zone.

Absolutely safe, absolutely compliant.

"But Brother Che..." Old Zhang said with some reluctance, "The brothers feel uneasy seeing others make money."

Lin Che hung the fire extinguisher back up.

"Don't panic."

"At this time tomorrow, you'll be so busy you won't even have time to go to the bathroom."

"Now, continue mopping the floor."

"I want this warehouse to be so clean that there isn't a single speck of dust."

Only the cleanest container is worthy to receive such overwhelming wealth.

July 10, 23:00.

One hour left in the countdown to Singles' Day.

The West City Logistics Park was in complete uproar.

Zhao Sihai's warehouse was like a toad stuffed full of pebbles, its belly stretched to its limit.

The searchlights illuminated the night sky as bright as day.

The long line of trucks stretched a kilometer outside the park.

The sounds of horns, shouts, and engine roars intertwined, creating a symphony of greed.

Zhao Sihai stood on the second-floor terrace, a soft Zhonghua cigarette between his fingers.

A spectacular view from above.

"That's what business is all about."

He blew a smoke ring toward the warehouse manager next to him.

"That kid surnamed Lin doesn't know anything. Logistics is all about throughput."

The supervisor smiled apologetically, but his eyes betrayed his worry.

He pointed to the ground beneath his feet.

There was no place to stand on the first floor.

Even the steel structure shelves supporting the second-floor platform were emitting a teeth-grinding squeaking sound.

Several shelf beams were visibly bent due to bearing three times the weight.

The groans of metal fatigue.

But no one heard it due to the loud noise.

"Mr. Zhao, the fire exit is completely blocked..." the supervisor whispered, "Just now, a driver couldn't even squeeze into the toilet to pee."

Zhao Sihai casually flicked away the cigarette ash.

The once spacious passageway was now filled with flammable cardboard boxes.

In the corner, the green safety exit indicator light was completely blocked by the cargo.

Only a faint, ghostly green light peeked out from the crack.

Like eyes pleading for help.

"Once this batch of goods is shipped out after tonight, we'll make millions in net profit."

Zhao Sihai patted his supervisor on the shoulder.

Fortune favors the bold. Keep your mind at ease.

Two kilometers away on high ground.

Lin Che sat in the second-hand Jinbei van belonging to Weiguang Logistics.

The car window was rolled down halfway.

A cold wind blew in, messing up my hair.

Ignoring the lively lights on Zhao Sihai's side, I looked down at my phone.

The screen displays the official countdown for Tmall's Double Eleven shopping festival.

The red numbers were jumping wildly.

00:00:10

00:00:09

Lin Che counted silently.

Every second that passes adds a ton of explosive charge to that powder keg that is about to explode.

Zhao Sihai thought he was welcoming wealth.

They were actually preparing for trial.

00:00:00

At this moment, shoppers across China clicked to pay.

Astronomical numbers of orders flooded into the systems of major logistics companies like a tsunami.

Cheers could be heard coming from Zhao Sihai's direction in the distance.

They were celebrating record-breaking transaction volume.

Lin Che turned off his phone screen.

In the darkness, the voice was as cold as the wind tonight.

"The show is about to begin."