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

China World Trade Center Phase 3, 80 floors.

The Cloud Club was cleared out today; the huge lobby was completely empty.

When Dai Wei pushed open the door, he brought in a blast of cold air, along with the lingering smell of secondhand smoke.

He was wearing a wrinkled black down jacket, and his stubble was unshaven and looked like weeds.

The once spirited "post-90s entrepreneurial leader" now looks like a down-on-his-luck middle-aged man who just squeezed into the city from Tongzhou by subway.

Lin Che sat in the seat by the window.

A pot of freshly brewed Pu'er tea sits in front of me, steam rising gently.

He was dressed in a well-tailored, bespoke suit, looking clean and composed, a stark contrast to Dai Wei.

"sit."

Lin Che did not get up, but simply gestured with his eyes to the chair opposite him.

Dai Wei walked over, each step heavy.

He sat down opposite Lin Che. The comfort of the leather sofa made him relax a little, but then the stomach cramps caused by not eating for two days made him bend over again.

"Have a hot drink."

Lin Che pushed a cup of tea towards him.

Dai Wei stared at the reddish-brown tea, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He picked it up, his hands trembling so badly that the tea spilled and burned his fingers, but he didn't notice and tilted his head back to gulp it down.

The scalding liquid flowed down his esophagus into his stomach, restoring some of his sense of being alive.

"President Lin..."

Dai Wei put down his cup, his voice hoarse.

Name your price.

"No matter how many shares you want, I'll give them to you, as long as it can fill that 20 billion yuan hole, as long as it can get the regulators to let me off the hook... ofo is yours."

After saying that, he seemed to have lost all his strength and slumped into the sofa.

Lin Che looked at him with a calm gaze, as if he were looking at a lamb to the slaughter.

You've misunderstood.

Lin Che took a document out of his briefcase and gently pushed it in front of Dai Wei.

The paper slid across the smooth marble tabletop, making a soft rustling sound, before finally coming to rest beside Dai Wei.

"I don't want your shares."

"ofo owes so much debt, it's a liability. What would I do with your shares? It would just be taking on your debts."

Dai Wei suddenly raised his head, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes.

"and you……"

"What I want is trusteeship."

Lin Che tapped his fingers lightly on the table, making a rhythmic "tap-tap" sound.

"Sign this agreement."

"Weiguang Payment will inject 20 billion yuan in cash into ofo, but this money will not go into your company account, but will go directly into the 'compensation account' supervised by Weiguang."

"This money can only be used to refund the deposit; not a single penny can be used for anything else."

Dai Wei was stunned.

He opened the agreement and quickly scanned the terms.

The more he looked, the colder his heart became.

This isn't saving a life; it's a contract of servitude.

Article 3: ofo will fully integrate with the Weiguang credit system, abolish the deposit system, and its data will be fully connected with Weiguang.

Article 5: All future cash flows of ofo (GG, riding fees) will be used to repay the principal and interest injected by Weiguang first.

Article 7: Weiguang Technology has a veto right and can take over operations at any time.

"this……"

Dai Wei's hands were trembling.

"This is tantamount to handing over the company's lifeline to you! Am I still the founder? What do I have left?"

"You still have your freedom."

Lin Che's voice was very soft, but it sounded like a heavy hammer hitting Dai Wei's head.

He leaned forward, his gaze fixed intently on Dai Wei's eyes.

"Dai Wei, haven't you figured out what's going on?"

"It's 2 a.m. now."

"Shen Nan just told me that the Economic Crime Investigation Department has already set up surveillance downstairs. If the 20 billion hasn't arrived by 9 a.m. tomorrow, when the banks open..."

Lin Che raised his wrist and glanced at the Patek Philippe.

"You have 7 hours left."

"Seven hours later, you will no longer be the CEO. You will put on that orange vest, walk into the detention center, and face 10 million creditors who wish they could tear you apart."

"Think about your parents, think about your reputation at Peking University."

Lin Che took a Montblanc pen out of his pocket and placed it on the agreement.

"With this one transaction, you'll simply be considered a business failure, but you can still gracefully exit the business and become a wealthy man."

"If you don't sign..."

Lin Che didn't finish speaking.

He leaned back in his chair, picked up his teacup, and gently blew on it.

silence.

Dead silence.

The only sounds in the room were the mist from the humidifier and Dai Wei's heavy breathing.

Dai Wei looked at the pen.

He was not reconciled.

He was truly unwilling to accept it.

ofo was the child he raised from scratch; it was a unicorn, an empire once valued at tens of billions.

Now, Lin Che wants to use 20 billion to completely extract its soul, leaving it only as an empty shell.

But he was also afraid.

He feared the terror of losing his freedom and the humiliation of being condemned by everyone.

"Lin Che..."

Dai Wei gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face.

"You win."

"You're not just trying to win, you're trying to destroy their spirit."

Lin Che remained expressionless, not even lifting his eyelids.

"The business world is like a battlefield."

"I didn't kill Bo Ren. Bo Ren died because of me, but at least I gave Bo Ren a complete body."

Dai Wei reached out with trembling hands and grabbed the pen.

The pen was very heavy, making his wrist ache.

He placed his pen on the signature line.

Swish swish.

Those were the three most difficult words he had ever signed.

Every stroke felt like a cut on his heart.

After signing the last stroke, Dai Wei seemed to have used up all his strength. The pen slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a crisp sound.

Snapped.

In this empty hall, this echo heralded the end of an era.

Lin Che reached out and pulled the agreement back.

He glanced at the signature; the handwriting was messy and conveyed despair.

"Shen Nan."

Shen Nan, who had been standing in the shadows, stepped out.

"Arrange for the finance department to make the payment, issue a public announcement, and tell the whole society that Microlight has covered the losses."

"Yes." Shen Nan took the document and quickly left.

Lin Che stood up and straightened his collar.

He didn't even glance at Dai Wei again, and turned to walk towards the door.

"President Lin."

Behind him came Dai Wei's weak voice.

"What will happen to ofo in the future?"

Lin Che stopped walking, but he didn't turn around.

He looked out the floor-to-ceiling window ahead; the sky over Beijing was beginning to lighten with the first light of dawn.

The first ray of sunlight is about to pierce the darkness, illuminating this city filled with desire and cruelty.

"It will become a specimen."

Lin Che's voice echoed in the empty hall.

"A cautionary tale for future generations."

"The bike war is over."

Lin Che pushed open the door, and light flooded in, casting a long shadow over him.

"But the credit war that belongs to the faint light has only just begun."

The door closed.

Only Dai Wei remained, slumped in the expensive leather sofa, like a soulless shell.