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

"Here" Private Kitchen is hidden in a hutong deep in Houhai.

There was no signboard, only two large red lanterns hanging at the entrance, swaying in the night breeze.

This is a den of iniquity for Beijing's elite, where a plate of stir-fried cabbage is said to cost three figures. What they're selling isn't food, but privacy.

The private room is called "Tingtao Pavilion".

The name was elegant, but the air in the private room was so thick it was suffocating.

The fine sandalwood round table was laden with delicacies, but no one touched their chopsticks.

Tang Jun sat in the main seat, having taken off his white suit jacket and draped it over the back of the chair.

His shirt collar was open, revealing a section of his slightly slack neck, and his face was as red as a boiled crab.

"Mr. Lin, come on, being late means you'll have to drink a penalty shot."

Tang Jun was holding a dispensing container filled with 53-proof Moutai.

He smiled as he watched Lin Che walk in, a sense of superiority in his eyes, like a cat playing with a mouse. "This cup is my apology to you. All those rumors online are just my subordinates being ignorant and making a mess. I've already given them a good scolding."

Lin Che stood at the door, his gaze sweeping over the leftover food on the table and the two young girls in cheongsams sitting next to Tang Jun, who were responsible for pouring drinks.

A strong smell of alcohol mixed with the scent of cosmetics wafted towards me.

"Mr. Tang, you're too kind."

Lin Che took off his black trench coat, handed it to the waiter next to him, and calmly walked over to sit down.

He didn't take the glass of wine, but poured himself a cup of tea instead.

"We came by car, so we're serving tea instead of alcohol."

"Hey! That's not giving me any face!"

Tang Jun's face darkened, and he slammed the wine dispenser heavily onto the turntable with a "thud".

In that instant, the atmosphere in the private room froze, and the two girls pouring drinks shrank back in fright.

"Lin Che, let's speak frankly."

Tang Jun waved his hand, signaling all bystanders to get out.

As the door to the private room closed, only two people remained in the room.

That feigned "harmony" instantly crumbled, revealing the naked fangs of self-interest.

"Since you're here today, it means you've come to your senses."

Tang Jun took a cigar out of the cigarette case, and before lighting it, he pointed it at Lin Che's nose and said, "Young man, it's good to have ability, but in this industry, ability alone is not enough. You also need to understand 'human relationships'."

"Look, you created that whitelist thing, which made everyone panic. I lost a lot of money, and you got a lot of criticism. This is a lose-lose situation."

Tang Jun held a cigar in his mouth but did not light it. Instead, he leaned forward, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Lin Che.

"I know what you're trying to do. You want to set rules, you want to be the leader of the alliance. No problem, I support you, but even the leader needs to eat, right?"

Lin Che held the teacup, gently blew on the steam, and remained calm.

"So, according to Mr. Tang, how should we eat this meal?"

"happy!"

Tang Jun slapped his thigh hard, and the fat on his face twitched twice.

He felt that Lin Che had figured things out, or rather, had been convinced by the media frenzy of the past few days.

He bent down, took out a pre-filled check from the briefcase at his feet, placed it on the table, pressed it down with two fingers, and slowly pushed it in front of Lin Che.

It was a bearer check.

There are so many zeros on it that it's dizzying.

Two hundred million.

Tang Jun's voice was low and had a devilish allure. "This is a Swiss bank draft, payable on demand. As long as you have this paper, you can exchange it for real money anytime, whether you go to Hong Kong or Zurich."

Two hundred million.

In the summer of 2018, this amount of money was enough to buy ten luxury homes in prime locations in Beijing, or to revive a listed company on the verge of bankruptcy.

Lin Che's gaze fell on the check, and he remained silent.

Tang Jun observed Lin Che's expression and, seeing that he did not immediately refuse, felt completely relieved.

"Brother Lin, this money isn't given away for nothing. It's a prepayment from Jubaopen to Weiguang Payment for 'technical service fees'."

Tang Jun leaned back in his chair, a knowing smile spreading across his face. "We don't need much. Just add Jubaopen to that damn whitelist in front of everyone at tomorrow's industry conference. And by the way... just say that the previous data anomalies were due to a misunderstanding in the system integration, and now that the misunderstanding is cleared up, Jubaopen is safe."

"Just this one sentence, and two hundred million is yours."

"And I guarantee that as long as you take this money, all those smear articles online will disappear before sunrise tomorrow. From now on, in the P2P lending circle, we'll be like brothers, and we'll make money together."

This is the Tang army's trump card.

A big stick in one hand, a carrot in the other.

He was certain that Lin Che would accept it.

In his view, no one would turn down money.

Lin Che is doing all this just to make money, isn't he?

Now that the money is being delivered to your door, what reason is there to refuse?

The private room was so quiet that the only sound was the whooshing of the air conditioner vents.

Lin Che put down his teacup, stretched out his slender fingers, and pressed down on the corner of the check.

The paper was thin, yet it weighed a ton.

"Mr. Tang, that's a generous offer."

Lin Che's voice was very soft, revealing no emotion.

He slowly pulled the check to his face, glanced down at the numbers and signature on it.

Tang Jun's handwriting was ugly, resembling a few crawling earthworms, exuding the sloppiness of a nouveau riche.

"However, isn't Mr. Tang afraid that I'll take the money and not do the job?" Lin Che raised his head, his eyes playful.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

Tang Jun burst into laughter, the sound so loud it seemed to shake the ceiling. "Brother Lin, you're joking. In this industry, reputation is everything, besides..."

His laughter stopped abruptly, and his eyes suddenly turned sinister, like a venomous snake flicking its tongue.

"If you dare to double-cross me, I guarantee you won't be able to stay in the country. My connections at the top are much stronger than you think. This money is a toll, a pledge of loyalty. If you take it, we're in the same boat; if you don't..."

Tang Jun didn't finish his sentence, but the threat in his words was already overwhelming.

Lin Che looked at the man in front of him.

Greedy, arrogant, and foolish.

Even as death looms, he's still dreaming of winning people's hearts.

Tang Jun had no idea that the moment he handed over that check, he had already sent himself to the gallows.

For Lin Che, the previous smear articles only proved that Tang Jun was engaging in commercial defamation, and at most he would have to pay compensation and apologize.

But this check completely changed its nature.

This is bribery.

It was a huge commercial bribe.

It's money laundering.

Once this check enters Weiguang's account, combined with the source of funds traced by Abyss, it would be a nuclear bomb capable of annihilating the Tang army.

"I've kept Mr. Tang's words in mind."

Lin Che folded the check neatly and elegantly placed it into the inside pocket of his suit jacket, close to his chest.

"Since President Tang is so sincere, I can't be ungrateful."

Lin Che stood up, straightened the hem of his clothes which were not wrinkled, and said, "At tomorrow's press conference, I will give a proper mention of the Treasure Bowl and make sure that the entire industry will have a deep impression of you."

Tang Jun was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.

He stood up, his face flushed, and tried to pat Lin Che on the shoulder. "Good! I knew Brother Lin was a smart man! Come on, let's have a drink, we won't leave until we're drunk tonight..."

"I won't drink any more alcohol."

Lin Che sidestepped Tang Jun's greasy hand and picked up the trench coat from the back of the chair.

"I still need to go back and prepare my speech for tomorrow. After all, I received such a large 'writing fee' from President Tang, so I have to make the speech as impressive as possible to justify the 200 million, right?"

Tang Jun's hand hovered in mid-air, but he wasn't embarrassed at all; instead, he laughed even harder: "I understand, I understand! Business comes first! I'll stay in the audience and wait to hear President Lin's good news!"

Lin Che nodded and turned to walk towards the door of the private room.

Just as he grasped the doorknob, he stopped and, with his back to Tang Jun, said:

"Mr. Tang, eat well these next few days."

Tang Jun was taken aback: "What?"

"It's nothing." Lin Che pushed open the door, letting in a gust of cold wind. "You haven't looked too well lately. Take care of yourself."

After saying that, the black-clad figure disappeared outside the door.

Tang Jun stood there, smacked his lips, and felt that Lin Che's last sentence was a bit strange.

But he quickly put that feeling behind him.

Become!

With Lin Che dealt with, the biggest problem with the Treasure Bowl has been eliminated.

As long as it gets on the whitelist tomorrow, the stock price will rebound, and new retail investors will keep pouring in.

Even if it costs 200 million, as long as it goes public, it can make back 1 billion by fleecing American investors!

"waiter!"

Tang Jun plopped back into his chair, beaming, and roared, "Bring me one of your most expensive dishes, that 'Buddha Jumps Over the Wall'! And open two bottles of that... '82 Lafite! I'm celebrating today!"

……

Stepping out of the alley, the night wind was biting.

Lin Che stood under the streetlight and took out the check, still warm from his body, from his pocket.

The dim yellow light from the streetlights shone on the check, making the string of zeros after the "2" look like countless open black holes.

"Boss."

Xie Yu, who had been waiting in the car, strode over and stared wide-eyed at what Lin Che was holding. "He really gave it to him? This...is this considered bribery?"

"bribery?"

Lin Che sneered and handed the check to Xie Yu. "This is called 'irregular income.' Go back and have the finance department deposit it into the account, open a separate escrow account, and put it in the remarks 'Pending payment of funds related to the case.'"

"Also," Lin Che opened the car door, sat in the back seat, and rubbed his temples wearily, "notify our acquaintances in the Economic Crime Investigation Department to come to the press conference tomorrow. Remember to tell them not to wear police uniforms, but to wear civilian clothes."

"Huh?" Xie Yu's hands trembled as he held the check. "Arrest them tomorrow?"

"He spent 200 million to buy the ticket, so he should at least be allowed to watch the whole show."

Lin Che looked out the window at the rapidly receding street scene, his eyes revealing a chilling indifference.

"Moreover, arrests are most educational when they are conducted under the spotlight."

The car started and merged into Beijing's massive traffic flow.

In the sleepless nights of this city, some are striving for a rebirth tomorrow, while others are celebrating their impending death.

That thin check, like a one-way ticket to hell, had been personally stuffed into Lin Che's pocket by Tang Jun.