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

The snow in Beijing has stopped.

But the wind on Chang'an Avenue was blowing even harder.

A secluded, high-end club.

The heating is on very high.

The air was filled with the aroma of premium cigars and an undisguised excitement.

There are no outsiders here.

The few people sitting around the rosewood round table could shake the entire Chinese internet with a stomp of their feet.

He is the vice president of Alibaba, a partner in Tencent's investment department, and the strategy director of Baidu.

And then there's the chamber of commerce president, Mr. Li.

Several unopened bottles of Moutai were on the table.

But nobody drank.

A huge projection map was spread out in front of them.

The above lists all of "Weiguang Technology's" business areas: payment, entertainment, video, and e-commerce.

"What a pity."

Mr. Li sighed, fiddling with two walnuts in his hand.

Click, click.

"Young people who run too fast are prone to getting hurt. This time, he probably won't come out."

His tone was full of regret.

But his eyes were fixed on the red area on the map labeled "Weiguang Payment".

Like a wolf eyeing meat.

"Mr. Li, is the news accurate?" The Tencent employee adjusted his glasses. "They're always very tight-lipped about things from the Deep Sea side."

"I have my own channels."

Mr. Li smiled and lowered his voice.

"Those cars with Beijing V plates tonight took people directly to the West Suburbs Guesthouse. In the past ten years, I haven't seen anyone go in and come out unharmed."

There was a two-second silence in the private room.

Then came a tacit chuckle.

"In the entertainment sector, we at Tencent won't hold back," the Tencent representative said, gesturing across the map. "We want half of the user data from Weiguang Video."

"Alipay will take over the payment and e-commerce sectors," the Alibaba representative followed up. "Perfect timing, it will help the country eliminate financial risks."

"What about search and data..."

"We'll take it," the Baidu director interjected.

A gluttonous feast.

Before the tableware was even set out, the diners had already started drawing lines on the giant beast called "Glimmer".

It was as if it were already a corpse.

Nobody cares about table manners.

When faced with enormous profits, dignity is the least valuable thing.

……

Weiguang Building.

It's 2 a.m.

The entire building was brightly lit, yet it felt lifeless.

People's hearts have fallen apart.

Although the news of Lin Che's abduction was kept strictly confidential, there are no secrets that stay hidden forever.

The headhunters have been calling every executive at the director level and above non-stop.

"Triple salary, double stock options, start tomorrow."

Such conditions are too tempting.

Top floor office.

Xie Yu sat in Lin Che's boss's chair.

The chair was large, making him appear somewhat frail.

His phone kept vibrating.

This is the 42nd call tonight.

A familiar name flashed on the screen: the CEO of a competitor.

Xie Yu stared at the screen.

That green answer button is like a door to a safe world.

Just press the button, and you can escape the sinking Titanic.

He stretched out his hand.

The finger hovered in mid-air.

The office door wasn't closed properly, and whispers from outside drifted in.

"Have you heard? The boss has gotten himself into a huge mess this time..."

"The CFO just submitted his resignation..."

"Shouldn't we also...?"

Xie Yu's fingers trembled slightly.

He closed his eyes.

The scene from a few hours ago in the snow on the East Third Ring Road flashed through my mind.

The image of Lin Che being taken away.

Resolute and aloof.

"Wait for me to come back."

That was the last thing Lin Che left him.

There are only four characters.

But Xie Yu suddenly felt that these four words were more important than those hundreds of billions of assets.

Snapped.

He pressed the hang-up button.

Then shut it down directly.

At this moment, the world became quiet.

He stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window.

Looking out the window at the myriad lights of Beijing.

"Let's take a gamble."

Xie Yu muttered to himself.

His palms were sweaty, his heart was pounding, but his eyes lit up strangely.

"Boss, if you manage to come back alive this time, I'll sell my life to you for the rest of my life."

He whirled around, flung open the door, and yelled at the lifeless office area outside:

"You all better be damn smarter!"

That shout was punctuated by a crack in his voice.

Everyone was startled and looked up at him.

"The boss is just cooperating with the investigation! Anyone who dares to spread rumors again can get out of here right now!"

Dead silence.

No one spoke.

Everyone looked at Xie Yu's bloodshot eyes as if they were looking at a madman.

Just then.

hum-

The red secure phone on Xie Yu's desk suddenly rang.

Only two people know the number on this phone.

One is Lin Che.

One is...

The entire room fell silent instantly.

All eyes were fixed on the red telephone. The ringing was shrill, like a midnight alarm.

Xie Yu swallowed hard.

He lunged forward and grabbed the receiver.

My hands are shaking a little.

"Brother Che?" His voice trembled.

On the other end of the receiver, there was a hissing sound of electricity.

There was no sound from Lin Che.

A few seconds later.

A cold, emotionless, synthesized voice came out:

"Notify the finance department to prepare all the necessary documents."

"The investigation team will be there in an hour."

Beep, beep, beep.

The phone hangs up.

Xie Yu stood frozen in place.

The receiver slipped from his hand and slammed onto the table with a loud "bang".

In that instant, he felt as if the psychological defenses he had just built up had been smashed to pieces with a sledgehammer.

An investigation team has been dispatched.

Everyone knows what this means.

Takeover. Liquidation. Conviction.

It’s over.

This time it's really over.

……

At the same time.

On the internet, a bombshell has been detonated.

There was no warning whatsoever.

Several financial influencers with millions of followers posted the same Weibo message almost simultaneously:

Exclusive Breaking News: Lin Che, Chairman of Weiguang Technology, has been suspected of being taken away by relevant authorities, putting his multi-billion yuan financial chain at risk of collapse!

The accompanying image is a blurry photograph.

On a snowy night, several black Audis were parked, with a man's back visible in the middle.

Although blurry, those familiar with the subject will recognize it at a glance.

That was Lin Che.

Public opinion exploded instantly.

The hashtag #WeiguangLinCheArrested# surged to the top of the trending topics list within just ten minutes.

It was followed by a glaring "Explode".

The comments section was filled with panic.

"Holy crap? Really? I still have 20,000 yuan in my WeChat Pay account!"

"I just bought shares of Huaying Film Group. Will it hit the daily limit down tomorrow?"

"Wake up, upstairs! If Weiguang falls, the entire entertainment industry will be dragged down with it!"

Panic spread like a virus.

This is what is meant by "when the wall falls, everyone pushes it down".

Those media outlets that usually praise Weiguang as the "shining light of the industry" have now turned their guns on it and begun to dig deep into Weiguang's "original sins".

One after another, pre-written smear articles sprouted up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain.

Glimmer Empire: A Sandcastle Built on Monopoly

Lin Che's Ambition and Downfall

Every single one of them is piercing to the heart.

Every single one of these articles is like hammering nails into the coffin lid of a glimmer of hope.

……

Inside a private room at the club.

Mr. Li looked at the trending topics on his phone, his face beaming.

"here we go."

He raised the glass of Moutai that he hadn't drunk yet.

"Everyone, for a new era tomorrow."

"Cheers."

The glasses clinked together.

Crisp and melodious.

It was like a death knell tolling for the fading light.