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

In mid-February, Shen Nan sent an email.

The title is short: "Mauritius registration complete."

The main text consists of only three lines.

Registered entity name: Microlight Indian Ocean Limited.

The registration number, registered address, and legal representative are neatly arranged, one per line.

The attached document is a scanned copy of the registration certificate, stamped with the seal of the Mauritius Financial Services Commission.

The seal is round, printed with blue ink, and is clearly visible on the scanned document.

Shen Nan added a sentence to the last line of the text: "The account opening materials have been submitted and are expected to be completed within this week."

They didn't say anything else.

It was four days faster than the three-week estimate.

Lin Che saved the email and marked it on the calendar.

Registration with Mauritius is complete; the process has now moved to account opening and compliance filing.

The first node on the path graph is lit up.

The departure date marked in red on the calendar is February 26th, which is about ten days away.

Within ten days, account opening, compliance filing, and initial transfer approval need to be completed.

Each step has a corresponding time requirement.

Time is still tight, but a little more than before.

Four days' worth of supplies isn't much, but it's enough.

He Wei arrived in the afternoon.

The sound of high heels echoed three or four times in the hallway, the rhythm steady, before stopping at the doorway.

He had heard He Wei's footsteps many times; the rhythm and speed were almost unchanged.

Two knocks, spaced evenly apart.

"Enter."

When He Wei pushed the door open, she was carrying a transparent file bag containing several pages of paper.

She wore a dark gray suit jacket today, and her hair was tied back.

The earrings are small, silver dots, so small that they are almost invisible if you don't look closely.

"The compliance report has been completed simultaneously, with no abnormalities."

She placed the file folder on the table, opened it, pulled out the first page, and handed it to her.

"This is a compliance self-checklist for African SPVs, consisting of twelve items."

Lin Che took it and glanced at it.

The list was formatted in He Wei's usual style: tabular and neatly laid out.

Each item is followed by three options: "Pass/Pending Confirmation/Not Applicable". The option to select is handwritten.

Nine out of the twelve items were marked with a "pass" checkmark, and the checkmarks were made with heavy ink.

Both items were marked "Pending Confirmation" using a red pen.

One item was marked "Not Applicable".

He Wei stood across the table, her hands folded in front of her, waiting for him to finish reading.

"Please let me know about the two that need confirmation."

He Wei pulled out the second page and pointed to the annotations on it.

"The first is proof of the source of funds."

"Because the original funding route has changed, the source of funds has shifted from the British Virgin Islands to overseas reserves."

"A new certificate of origin is required; the original one is invalid."

"Once the registration materials from Shennan arrive, I can proceed immediately; I won't have to wait too long."

"The second is the host country compliance filing."

Kenya requires foreign companies to complete local compliance filings before their first payment is received.

"This regulation was updated in 2022 and is stricter than before."

"The filing includes company information registration, beneficiary disclosure, and cross-verification with local anti-money laundering authorities."

"This requires a local law firm to handle it. I contacted two; their quotes and procedures are on page three."

She turned to the third page.

The names and contact information of the two law firms are listed above, followed by their quotes and estimated completion dates.

Both firms are Narobi law firms, and He Wei made a comparison note.

"The fastest one said five business days, the slowest one said seven to ten business days."

"I recommend using the faster one; although it's about two thousand dollars more expensive, it's more reliable in terms of time."

Lin Che glanced at the quote.

The fastest one was called Kenyatta & Associates, and they quoted $4800.

The slower one, East African Legal Partners, quoted $2700.

The difference of $2,100 translates to a two- to five-day time difference.

Given the current time constraints, this price difference isn't worth saving.

Not a single day of those ten days should be wasted.

"Use the fast one."

"Okay, I'll send the confirmation letter today."

He Wei made a note on her phone.

Then put the file back into the transparent file bag.

The process of packing was swift and efficient; the three sheets of paper were neatly aligned and stuffed inside, the zipper was zipped up, and it was all done in one smooth motion.

"There's one more thing."

She took her phone out of the inside pocket of her suit jacket and turned to a page.

"A comprehensive compliance check needs to be conducted before departure, covering all overseas entities under Ark's name."

"This is an annual routine; I did it once last year, and I just finished it before departure."

"I've compiled a list; there are six entities in total."

She turned her phone screen around so Lin Che could see it.

The screen displays a list with six rows, each containing the name of an entity.

He knew the first five; some of them had been with Fangzhou for three or four years.

The last one is a newly registered Mauritius entity; the name is still quite new.

"One of the six is ​​a newly registered company with a blank compliance record, so we need to start building a file from scratch."

"The workload for establishing files is the largest, including anti-money laundering screening, beneficiary disclosure, and tax information exchange registration."

"The other five have historical data, so they only need to undergo annual inspections."

"The annual inspection mainly involves updating the annual report and confirming the registration status, which is relatively quick."

"It will take about three to four days to complete everything."

Lin Che nodded.

"Do."

He Wei put away her phone, stood there for a few seconds, as if trying to remember if she had missed anything.

Her habit is to go through everything twice: first, according to the checklist, and second, to check it from memory.

Then she said something.

"Is there anything I need to coordinate regarding the departure itinerary?"

"Airfare and hotel bookings."

"Not for now."

"Okay, just let me know when you need it."

She picked up the file bag and turned to walk towards the door.

The sound of high heels on the floor was the same as when they came in, three or four times, with a steady rhythm.

She turned her head back as she reached the door.

"Wishing you all the best."

The tone of her voice when she said this was different from when she reported the compliance checklist.

She used a professional tone when giving the report, and those two words were added by herself.

Then he went out, closing the door gently behind him.

The sound of high heels gradually faded away in the corridor, becoming softer and softer until it could no longer be heard.

The office quieted down.

After He Wei left, nothing was left on the table; she took the transparent file bag with her.

He mentally reviewed the nine "passed" checkmarks and the two "pending confirmation" red marks on the compliance checklist.

Nine items have been completed, and two more are on their way.

The compliance work before departure is almost complete.

Lin Che leaned back in his chair and glanced at the computer screen.

Shen Nan's emails were still open, and a scanned copy of the registration certificate was in the attachment field.

The filename was a string of English letters followed by the date, just like all the files Shen Nan had sent.

She never names her files in Chinese; they are always in English with the date and version number.

He closed the email.

It was already dark outside the window.

In mid-February, it gets dark early; it starts to get gray around 5 PM.

The office lights were off, but the light from the screen reflected off the desk, casting a shadow around the water glass next to it.

He turned the chair around so that it faced the window.

The blinds weren't open, but you could see outside through the gaps between the slats.

The lights in the parking lot downstairs came on, their white light shining on the asphalt surface, illuminating the entire parking lot.

Most of the parking spaces were empty; most of the people leaving get off work had already left.

The lights in the security booth were on, and someone was sitting inside with several paper cups stacked in front of them.

The trees lining the green belt cast long shadows under the lights, which flickered when the wind blew by.

His gaze shifted from the green belt to the left, sweeping over a row of empty parking spaces.

Seven or eight cars were empty, leaving only three or four parked.

There is a dark-colored car near the east exit.

The headlights were off, the engine was off, but a faint light shone through the driver's side window.

Like the light from a mobile phone screen, or the light from a laptop.

He recognized that location.

Fang Yuan's car was parked there.

The dark-colored sedan's side mirrors were not folded up, indicating that it was not temporarily parked.

The car is already there when I arrive in the morning, and it's still there when I leave work.

Old Zhou said that Fang Yuan has been working overtime until 10 pm recently.

It's only six o'clock now.

It's almost six o'clock.

Most people have left.

Fang Yuan's car is still there.