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

After hanging up the phone, Lin Che didn't move immediately.

He sat in the chair, looking out through the floor-to-ceiling window.

In Hangzhou's winter, the sky is a dull gray without any distinct layers, the entire sky resembling an old rag draped over the rooftops.

People were walking and cars were driving on the street. A row of red lanterns hung on the exterior wall of the shopping mall across the street. The red of the New Year's celebrations looked incredibly tacky against the gray sky.

everything is normal.

Then the memories came.

It wasn't the visuals that came first, it was the feeling.

The tightness in his chest felt like someone was covering his mouth and nose with their hand, not forcefully, but gently. He could breathe, but each breath was shallow.

He experienced this feeling of suffocation in his past life.

It wasn't just a day or two, it lasted a full three months.

Supermarket shelves.

empty.

The instant noodles are gone, the rice is gone, even the salt is gone.

He arrived late and only managed to grab two packs of noodles and a bottle of dark soy sauce. The checkout line stretched all the way to the freezer. The cashier was wearing a mask but no gloves, and touched her face directly with the hand that had taken the money.

Face mask.

Disposable masks that cost two yuan rose to ten yuan, then to thirty, then to fifty, and still couldn't be bought. Someone posted a message on WeChat Moments offering to buy a box of masks for only four hundred yuan, and a bunch of people left comments saying "want it." There was a long queue outside the pharmacy, and after queuing for two hours, when it was his turn, the shutter door was pulled down, and they were sold out.

The delivery service has been suspended.

It's not slow, it's stopped.

The logistics information on the order page is always stuck at "package has been picked up", and the customer service hotline is unreachable, with an automated voice saying "current incoming call volume is high, please call back later".

He sat in his rented room, scrolling through his phone until it ran out of battery, then plugged it in and kept scrolling, watching the number grow bigger every day.

The entire city was put on pause.

There was no one on the street, not even a dog. Occasionally, an ambulance would pass by downstairs, its sound carrying far up, trailing a long tail. He stood at the window watching, but the window was closed, and he didn't dare open it.

He still remembers that feeling of helplessness, not in his mind, but in his body.

My back feels cold, my palms are sweaty, and my stomach feels like it's pushing upwards.

There's nothing we can do, nothing we can change. All we can do is watch the numbers rise and see people in our social circles go from complaining to asking for help and then back to silence.

But that was in a past life.

He closed his eyes, then opened them again.

Outside the window, Hangzhou was still operating normally; the lanterns were still red, cars were still running, and a New Year's song was faintly playing from the mall's loudspeaker, its cheerful melody almost jarring.

This life is different.

He's rich; his 500 billion yuan credit line alone is enough to buy half of Zhejiang's mask production capacity.

He has a logistics network of cloud warehouses in 12 cities and more than 3000 delivery personnel on duty.

He has Abyss, data, and a credit-based shopping system with 37 million users.

Most importantly, he has time.

Twenty-one days.

Today is January 2nd, and from January 23rd, Wuhan will be under lockdown for exactly 21 days.

He made a list in his mind very quickly, like flipping through an account book that only he could understand.

Masks are currently 20 cents each, ordinary three-layer non-woven fabric ones. N95 masks are a bit more expensive, a little over a dollar. But 80% of the production capacity is in China, and factories are all on the list of factories that will be shut down for the Spring Festival. The shutdown will last for three to four weeks, and some small factories will be shut down until after the Lantern Festival.

Meltblown fabric, the core material of masks, is used to make the filter layer. The majority of global production capacity is in China and Southeast Asia. Prices have been stable for several years without rising. Suppliers have some inventory, but not much, and they are eager to clear out their stock and make money before the Spring Festival to go home for the holidays.

Ventilators rely on imports for more than 60% of their core components. These are not things that money can buy. Production capacity is limited, and the total global output is limited each year. But no one is scrambling for them now because no one knows that they will be needed.

Disinfectant, protective clothing, forehead thermometers, and body thermometers are all at rock-bottom prices; suppliers are begging to sell to them.

How much strategic material reserve is needed for three months?

He did the math in his head.

Domestically, the company operates on a low-profile basis, with an estimated 3 to 5 million RMB in revenue, following normal operational procedures, and using Abyss's early warning reports as the basis for decision-making.

The data is real; the conclusions can be adjusted as needed. It's compliant, and there won't be any problems with this line of investigation.

But spending 3 to 5 million yuan to buy up goods in the domestic market will cause quite a stir.

With 12 city cloud warehouses simultaneously purchasing medical supplies, word spread quickly among suppliers, and within three days the industry knew that Weiguang was stockpiling masks.

Sun Zheng's men are still keeping an eye on things.

The cross-shareholding transaction has not yet been completed. There is a window period between signing and closing, and that person will not be idle.

He would seize on any unusual occurrence and never let it go.

Therefore, you can't just follow one route.

A second condition is required.

Offshore.

Ark Foundation, a Singapore-based SPV.

He stood up and walked to the whiteboard.

This whiteboard was wiped clean just half an hour ago; it's so white it's practically glowing, and there's not a trace of marker left.

He picked up a black marker and drew a vertical line in the middle of the whiteboard.

On the left were written two words: Glimmer of Light.

The words "Ark" are written on the right.

Starting from the left, 30% of the space in the cloud warehouses of 12 cities is reserved for emergency use, and the disinfection process has been fully upgraded. A reasonable quantity of epidemic prevention materials, including masks, disinfectant, protective clothing, and forehead thermometers, will be procured, with a total budget of 3 to 5 million yuan. Abyss early warning reports will be used as the basis for decision-making, and normal operational approvals will be processed.

The logic behind this line of reasoning is sound: the AI ​​system detects abnormal signals in public health, and the company makes advance arrangements for risk control. Even if someone checks, every transaction has an approval form and a signature.

right.

In Southeast Asia, Vietnam has several mask factories with a monthly production capacity of tens of millions, and Thailand also has some.

These factories are currently not doing well, and many owners want to sell them off before the end of the year.

The acquisition was a direct purchase through a Singaporean SPV of the Ark Fund, officially described as "investment in the healthcare industry".

The company is scouring the globe for meltblown nonwoven fabric and nonwoven fabric raw materials, placing orders in batches from suppliers in South Korea, Japan, India, and Vietnam. The total amount is approximately US$3000 million, which is negligible compared to the assets of the Ark Fund.

He looked at the words on the whiteboard, from left to right, and then from right to left.

Two lines.

Compliant domestically, covert overseas.

There can be no legal intersection between the two lines.

The money in Weiguang goes through Weiguang's accounts, and the money in Fangzhou goes through Fangzhou's accounts. There are two sets of legal departments, two sets of approvals, and two teams, and neither knows what the other is doing.

He picked up the blackboard eraser.

Wipe the right side first.

Ark, Southeast Asia, acquisitions, SPV—erase them all.

Wipe the left side next.

The whiteboard is clean again.

All war plans exist in only one place.

He looked down at his hands, his fingertips stained with marker ink and eraser powder, a dirty mess of black and white.

He rinsed his hands at the sink; the water was very cold, and he had to rinse the ink stains between his fingers twice to get them clean.

He returned to his table, picked up his phone, and dialed a number.

It's still the same Singapore number.

How much available capital does Ark have in its healthcare investment portfolio?

The other party quoted a number.

"That's enough. I'll send over a list with information on two factories, one in Vietnam and one in Thailand. You can go and negotiate the acquisition."

The person on the other end of the phone said something.

"Don't haggle," Lin Che said. "The quote will be 10% higher. We'll sign the contract that day and start purchasing raw materials simultaneously. We'll contact suppliers in South Korea, Japan, India, and Vietnam for meltblown fabric and nonwoven fabric."

There was a two-second silence on the other end.

"Mr. Lin, this level of business... it's almost the end of the year, these suppliers are practically trying to clear out their stock. Should we buy it at a premium...?"

"Speed ​​is more important than price."

There was another second of silence.

"Understood, the delivery period will approximately take..."

"All production capacity deliveries must be completed before January 20th."

"...Why the 20th?"

Lin Che did not answer.

I hung up the phone.

The phone screen went dark, revealing half of his face.

The sky outside was even grayer; it was almost five o'clock. Winters in Hangzhou get dark early, and the streetlights were already on, casting a row of dim yellow light on the gray street.

He put his phone on the table, picked up the over-brewed tea, and took a sip.

It was bitter and astringent, with the taste of tea stems overpowering the tea flavor; it tasted like chewing grass.

He didn't frown; he was used to drinking it.