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

Three months later, in late autumn of 2018.

Autumn in Beijing is short. Before you can even properly appreciate the golden ginkgo leaves, the harsh footsteps of winter are already lingering outside the door.

A window seat at a Starbucks in the CBD.

Two recent female graduates are browsing their phones looking for apartments.

"What do you think of this one? It used to be an apartment in Anju Apartment, but now it belongs to Weiguang." The short-haired girl pointed to the screen. "It's only 200 meters from the subway, and it has large floor-to-ceiling windows."

"Let me take a look..." The long-haired girl leaned closer, her eyes lighting up instantly, but then dimming again. "No, it's not possible to rent it."

"Why? The rent is only three thousand five hundred, it's a great deal."

"Look at the restrictions below." The long-haired girl sighed and pointed to a line of small gray text on the screen, "Requires a 'Microlight Score' of 700 or higher. I forgot to pay my credit card bill last month, so my Microlight Score is only 680."

"Oh? That's it." The short-haired girl looked at her sympathetically. "Now, all the decent apartments in Beijing are directly operated by Weiguang. Without Weiguang points, you can only live in old, run-down apartments outside the Fifth Ring Road, and you have to put up with the nasty habit of private landlords raising prices at any time."

The three words "micro-light fraction" have, since some point, become a second identity card for surviving in this city.

It's easier to get than a household registration, but it's more prestigious than a degree.

In this vast rental market, if you are turned away by a glimmer of hope, it's as if you're turned away by half of the civilized world in this city.

……

The top floor of the Weiguang Building.

Lin Che stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, overlooking the enormous city.

If there were a heat map at this moment, you would see countless blue dots covering the entire city of Beijing, representing the 350,000 core properties held by Microlight.

Like capillaries, they have seeped deep into the fabric of this city.

"Boss, this is the quarterly financial report."

Xie Yu pushed open the door and came in, his steps light as if he were dancing on a cloud.

He placed a thick report on the table, his face displaying an incredulous, dreamlike expression.

"Nian." Lin Che didn't turn around, holding a glass of red wine in his hand.

"First, there are the results of the 'Ark Fund'."

Xie Yu took a deep breath, suppressing his trembling voice, "All the CDS short positions we established before the Anju Apartment collapse have been closed out. Because our counterparties, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, agreed to settle early in order to stop losses..."

He paused, then recited the astronomical figure:

Net profit: $12.4 billion.

Lin Che's hand was very steady as he swirled the wine glass.

The red liquid clung to the glass, like blood, or like rubies.

"continue."

"Secondly, there are the physical assets." Xie Yu turned a page. "The Anju Apartment properties we acquired at a 1.5% discount, after being incorporated into the Weiguang system and cleaned of the 'rent loan' toxins, have seen their asset valuation recover to 80% of their original price. In addition, there are the tax breaks and 'housing rental special bonds' support from the government..."

Xie Yu swallowed hard. "The book value of the Weiguang residential sector has increased by 200 billion RMB overnight."

A cash flow of 150 billion, plus this massive amount of physical assets.

Today, Weiguang is no longer just an internet company.

It is a giant beast.

A giant sea monster holding a money bag (finance) in its left hand and a key (right of residence) in its right.

"What's the government's attitude?" Lin Che took a sip of his drink.

"All green lights all the way." Xie Yu smiled and gave a thumbs up. "That Director Li said that Weiguang is now the 'ballast' of Beijing's rental market. As long as we don't do anything reckless, they will give us whatever policies we want."

Lin Che turned around, walked to his desk, and put down his wine glass.

He looked at the map of Beijing on the table.

Previously, he only wanted to make money here.

Now, he felt he had the pulse of the city in his hands.

These 350,000 rooms represent not only 350,000 rent payments, but also the entry point into the lives of 350,000 young people.

Microlight can know immediately what they eat, use, and watch, and feed them precisely.

This is a monopoly.

It's not a price monopoly, it's a lifestyle monopoly.

"Is this the taste of power?"

Lin Che muttered to himself.

This feeling is even more addictive than earning 10 billion.

It is cold and rational, yet filled with a suffocating sense of domination.

"Brother Che, there's one more thing."

Xie Yu interrupted his thoughts, his expression turning somewhat strange.

He pulled out a thin report from the back of the folder and handed it to him.

"This is an abnormal data stream recently captured by the Abyss system. It was originally a tabloid news item in the entertainment section, but the system determined that its 'risk level' is extremely high, and it may even trigger a tax earthquake."

"Taxes?"

Lin Che raised an eyebrow and took the briefing.

The briefing was very short. It consisted of only a blurry photo of the contract and a few keywords circled in red.

[Dual Contracts]

[Salary: 6000 million]

[Split: 1000 million (positive) + 5000 million (negative)]

And in the signature section of that contract, there was a name that everyone in China was familiar with.

That name represents top-tier popularity, the queen of the red carpet, and half of the entertainment industry.

Fan XX.

"System analysis shows this isn't just an isolated case." Xie Yu lowered his voice. "The entire film and television industry, from the shell companies in Horgos to the assessed taxation of celebrity studios, is a huge black hole. They're laundering money and evading taxes, on a scale... possibly reaching hundreds of billions."

Lin Che looked at that familiar name.

Memories of my past life flooded back like a tide.

The second half of 2018 was not only a winter for P2P lending, but also the end of the entertainment industry.

A cell phone thrown into the sea triggered a massive earthquake that swept through the entire world of fame and fortune.

That was a thunderous blow from the national will against the "entertainers who mislead the country and the disorder of capital".

And now, that fuse is in his hands.

"interesting."

Lin Che's fingers tapped lightly on the briefing, making a "tap, tap" sound.

The current Weiguang has already taken over the financial sector (P2P) and the real estate sector (rental housing).

But this is not enough.

He also needs to control something more influential—public opinion and culture.

Or rather, in this age of entertainment to the death, whoever controls the stars controls the public's attention.

"Brother Che, should we get involved?" Xie Yu asked. "This is a hornet's nest; the capital behind the entertainment industry is incredibly complex..."

"Manage? Why should we manage it?"

Lin Che's lips curled into a playful smile, but his eyes were as cold as autumn frost.

"We are major taxpayers. Since we pay taxes, we naturally feel resentful when we see others not paying taxes."

He threw the briefing into the shredder.

sizzle.

The sound of paper being shredded sounded like a knife being sharpened.

"Is the 'Full-Network Black PR Evidence Collection' function of the Abyss system upgraded yet?" Lin Che asked.

"Upgrade complete, ready for targeted demolition at any time."

"very good."

Lin Che stood up and straightened his collar.

The setting sun outside the window cast his shadow long, like a giant net, over his desk.

"It's time to start collecting taxes from the entertainment industry."

He looked at Xie Yu and gave him new instructions.

"Prepare a gift; I'm going to see an old friend who's always 'telling the truth'."