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

The car stopped.

There were no blindfolds or handcuffs.

But that invisible sense of constraint is heavier than shackles.

Lin Che got out of the car.

This is a guesthouse in the northwestern suburbs of Beijing.

From the outside, it looks like an outdated sanatorium.

Red brick walls, ivy climbing, and several Audis with striking license plates parked in the yard.

It's very quiet.

You can't even hear the wind.

"Mr. Lin, please."

The middle-aged man in the Zhongshan suit—he now knew the man's surname was Song—made a gesture of invitation.

Lin Che straightened his collar.

The coat was still covered in snow from the East Third Ring Road.

He followed Director Song into the building.

Push open a door.

"We've arrived." Director Song stood at the door, not going in.

Lin Che went inside.

This is a standard "conversation room".

The walls were snow-white.

The walls were padded, which provides excellent sound absorption.

There are no windows.

In the center of the room, there was a table and two chairs.

The table was made of iron and welded to the ground.

Besides that, there was nothing of value.

"Wait a moment." Director Song smiled and closed the door.

Click.

The sound of the door lock clicking shut was like a gunshot in this absolutely quiet space.

Lin Che stood in the center of the room.

He didn't move.

Breathing is steady.

In his previous life, he had seen far worse scenes.

The despair of being forced to the rooftop by creditors and looking down into the abyss is a hundred times more terrifying than this kind of house arrest.

They come, the security.

He pulled out a chair and sat down.

The chair was also made of iron and was cold.

He closed his eyes and began to review the events in his mind.

The accounts of Weiguang were clean.

At least from a legal perspective, every acquisition has undergone compliance review by a top-tier legal team.

Its only fatal flaw is its "size".

In this country, anything that becomes too big is considered wrong.

I don't know how much time passed.

It might be an hour, or it might be three hours.

This technique of separating time is a basic operation in interrogation psychology.

The aim is to induce anxiety in the suspect, causing them to disintegrate.

But Lin Che just sat there.

Like a Buddha statue in deep meditation.

Until the door was pushed open again.

Director Song walked in.

He was holding an old-fashioned enamel mug in his hand and carrying a thick file folder under his arm.

Snapped.

The file folder was slammed heavily onto the iron table.

Dust particles danced in the light.

Director Song pulled out the chair opposite him, sat down, unscrewed the lid of the teacup, and blew on the tea leaves floating on the surface of the water.

Steaming hot.

This is the only thing in the room that has warmth.

"Not bad composure." Director Song took a sip of tea, his eyes fixed on Lin Che like an eagle through his glasses.

"If you have a clear conscience, you have nothing to fear," Lin Che replied calmly.

"ghost?"

Director Song smiled and put down his teacup.

"Lin Che, do you think we're ghosts?"

"It's just a metaphor."

"Take a look."

Director Song nodded his chin at the file bag on the table.

Lin Che reached out, untied the tangled white thread, and pulled out the documents inside.

It's incredibly thick.

It has about 300 pages.

Page 1: "Investigation Report on Weiguang Technology's Suspected Use of Capital Advantage to Implement Market Monopoly".

Lin Che translated it very impromptu.

Splash, splash.

The sound of turning pages was especially clear in the quiet room.

This report is very detailed.

It was so detailed that even he, the person involved, was surprised.

The entire funding chain for Weiguang's acquisition of Huaying Entertainment, every transaction node of Fangzhou Fund's short selling of Huaying overseas, and even some decision-making records from his and Xie Yu's private meetings.

Everything is here.

Transparent.

His secretive strategies, which he was so proud of in the business arena, are like a naked child in the face of the state apparatus.

Ten minutes later.

Lin Che closed the document and pushed it back.

"Is this your reason for arresting me?" Lin Che's voice was steady.

"Isn't that enough?"

Director Song leaned forward, and his warm, approachable demeanor vanished instantly, replaced by an imposing aura like Mount Tai pressing down on him.

"Lin Che, do you know what you're holding in your hands right now?"

"money?"

"No, it's a bomb."

Director Song's fingers tapped on the table, making a soft, rhythmic sound.

"You monopolize 65% of the film and television industry's funding. Your 'transparent billing' system is essentially collecting taxes on behalf of the tax bureau. Your Weiguang Video has mastered the viewing habits of 400 million users."

"What do you want to do?"

Director Song's voice suddenly rose, echoing in the small room.

"Do you want to rebel?"

That's a very harsh statement.

It's as heavy as a mountain.

If it were an ordinary businessman, he would probably be sweating profusely and collapsing to the ground by now.

But Lin Che did not.

He looked into Director Song's eyes and even smiled slightly.

"Director Song, you flatter me."

"You're exaggerating?" Director Song sneered. "Unregulated expansion of capital is a red line; you've crossed it."

"The entertainment industry has been rotten for ten years. How many times has the government investigated it? It's still impossible to stop it."

Why?

Lin Che asked and answered his own question.

"Because the data is not transparent. Because cash flow is uncontrollable."

"What I did was turn the black box into a glass room." Lin Che pointed to the document. "My 'transparent bills' make every penny's flow clearly traceable. If I wanted to rebel, would I have made the accounts so transparent, waiting for you to investigate?"

Director Song narrowed his eyes.

He has interrogated many people.

Some wept bitterly, some remained stubbornly defiant, and some desperately tried to shirk responsibility.

But Lin Che is the first person to describe "monopoly" as "sharing the nation's burdens."

"sophistry."

Director Song took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, but didn't light it; he just twirled it between his fingers.

"Your initial intentions may be good, but with great power comes great risk. You control such a large operation all by yourself, who will supervise you? Who can guarantee that you don't become the 'underground emperor'?"

"Putting power in a cage is the rule."

Director Song threw his cigarette on the table.

"Lin Che, hand over control of Weiguang and transfer all system interfaces. This is your only way out."

See the picture poorly.

This is the core of tonight's grand show.

The state will not allow an uncontrolled super monster to exist.

Lin Che fell silent.

He looked at the enamel mug.

The heat has dissipated.

If we relinquish control, Glimmer is finished.

It will become a mediocre state-owned enterprise, losing its wolf-like spirit and keen insight.

Everything he built after his rebirth will vanish into nothingness.

But not paying?

Look at this room.

Look at this man who represents the will of the nation.

This is a dead end.

unless……

Lin Che raised his head.

His eyes changed.

That passive, defensive posture has disappeared.

Instead, it is the sharp edge of a hunter when he sees his prey.

"Director Song."

Lin Che's voice was soft, but every word was like a nail.

"I know why you're in such a hurry to attack me."

Director Song's finger stopped.

"Oh?"

"Because you're afraid." Lin Che stared at Director Song. "You're afraid of the financial crisis, you're afraid of those unseen mines."

"2018 was a challenging year. The P2P lending crisis had just passed, local government debt was a huge burden, and the stock market was struggling to defend the 3000-point mark."

Lin Che leaned forward, and for the first time, he turned the tables on Lin Che with his aura.

"You think the glimmer of light is a time bomb, so you have to defuse it."

"But what if I said, 'I'm not a mine, I'm a mine-clearing engineer?'"

Director Song chuckled dismissively: "On what grounds? On your billions in cash?"

"Because I can see the future."

The moment those words were spoken, the air in the room seemed to freeze.

Director Song stared at Lin Che as if he were looking at a madman.

"Young man, those tricks won't work here."

"Whether it's a hoax or not, we'll find out once we try it."

Lin Che suddenly reached out and pointed to the corner of the room.

There was nothing there.

"Director Song, give me a computer."

"What?" Director Song frowned.

"Give me a computer that can connect to the intranet and view real-time financial data."

Lin Che's voice was resolute.

"What are you going to do?" Director Song became wary.

At this level of investigation, the suspect's access to the internet is absolutely forbidden.

"I want to give you a pledge of loyalty."

Lin Che held up one finger.

"Ten minutes."

"I'll show you something. After you see it, if you still think I'm a threat, you don't need to lift a finger; I'll sign a confession myself and spend the rest of my life in jail."

"But if you find it useful..."

Lin Che paused for a moment, a cold smile curving his lips.

"Let's talk about cooperation."

Director Song remained silent.

He stared intently into Lin Che's eyes.

He was looking for flaws. Looking for panic, looking for traces of fraud.

But all he saw was a bottomless lake.

Extreme self-confidence.

It was even a kind of...condescending pity.

The room was deathly silent.

The only sound was the buzzing of the fluorescent light.

one second.

two seconds.

ten seconds.

Director Song turned his head and looked at the snow-white wall on the side.

He knew that behind that was a one-way mirror, where someone was listening, someone was recording, and someone was making decisions.

He remained silent for a full minute.

Finally, he turned around and looked at Lin Che.

"You know the rules here. If you dare to play tricks, you won't be able to afford the consequences."

"I only want to survive," Lin Che said frankly.

Director Song took a deep breath and waved at the mirror.

The movement was very gentle.

But in Lin Che's eyes, it was the sound of the gears of fate turning.

Director Song coldly uttered two words:

"Give it to him."