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

Lin Che clicked on the message.

It was sent by Shen Nan.

At this critical juncture, there is only one person in the entire business world who would proactively send a message from China.

Shen Nan was one of the people he trusted most, and someone who could see the wind direction for him from a thousand miles away.

Over the years, whenever Shen Nan solemnly handed over a message, it was always something truly important.

There were no pleasantries, no preamble, just the usual simplicity: a mere three lines.

After reading it, Lin Che remained silent, his hand still holding the phone.

Although Shen Nanyuan was in China, it was as if he could see through his current predicament from across thousands of miles.

Lin Che did not report every detail of what was happening in Africa to him.

But Shen Nan had the ability to sniff out the most crucial trends from those scattered movements.

Lin Che had witnessed this skill countless times, yet he was still secretly terrified every time.

Those three lines of text read:

He already knew about the land.

Some people will use my identity as a weapon.

Identity is the biggest risk in this game.

Not a single word was superfluous.

There wasn't a single word of comfort or suggestion.

Shen Nan is that kind of person.

He doesn't waste words; he simply presents you with the most crucial point he has identified.

Whether you believe it or not, and what you do, is your own business.

However, Lin Che knew Shen Nan all too well.

Since he sent this message at this particular time, it's definitely not just a simple reminder.

That meant he had made a mental note of it, and he would prepare things for Lin Che that he might need in the future.

As for what was prepared, Shen Nan didn't say, and Lin Che didn't ask either.

Between them, there's never a need to make absolute statements.

But precisely because it was Shen Nan who said it, these three lines carried extra weight.

Shen Nan is not one to exaggerate or scare.

At this moment, from so far away, he was able to pinpoint the crucial point about identity with remarkable accuracy.

This shows that the risk is definitely not just the hidden worry that Lin Che himself figured out.

Instead, it has already surfaced and is being watched by those with ulterior motives.

The tactics our opponents are using are not the same as what you'd expect in the business world.

What they want to destroy is the very foundation upon which Lin Che stands.

This move was both accurate and ruthless, hitting him in the spot where he was most vulnerable to retaliation.

He Wei leaned closer, saw the words on the screen, and her expression changed slightly.

She knew who Shen Nan was.

The person who always slips a word to you from behind at the most crucial moment.

That person who almost never makes a mistake when making a judgment.

Even Shen Nan pointed out that her identity was the biggest risk, so this hurdle was even more dangerous than she had imagined.

The optimism that had just been ignited in her heart because the policy had worked out quickly cooled down.

Identity is something that cannot be seen or touched, yet it is undeniably there.

It's not something that can be resolved by signing a few contracts or completing a few formalities.

She subconsciously looked at Lin Che, wanting to see his reaction.

To her surprise, Lin Che's face showed none of the solemnity she had expected.

He was even calmer than he had been in the car.

Shen Nan's judgment did not deter him.

On the contrary, those three lines of cold, impersonal words seemed to completely dispel the last layer of fog that had shrouded this game of chess for him.

He finally saw clearly what made the most difficult move in this game so difficult.

Seeing things clearly brings peace of mind.

What's most frightening is not knowing where the difficulty lies, but not even being able to grasp where the difficulty lies.

Lin Che put down his phone and stood up.

He walked to the exploration map spread out inside the tent.

On the map, the core area he identified was clearly circled in red.

And on that red circle, he drew a mark heavily with a pencil.

That was today, when he came back and added it to the boundary marker of the Western Company.

At this moment, that mark, like a thorn, was stuck in the core area of ​​what he considered his possession.

Someone else's mark was placed on his ground.

The red circle represents his judgment, earned through overcoming numerous obstacles and working tirelessly for the past ten days and nights.

That pencil mark was a declaration that the opponent had arrived first.

The two marks overlapped, like two hands pressing down on the ground at the same time.

Whose hand will ultimately be able to grasp it completely remains to be seen.

Lin Che stared at the two marks for a very long time.

He was neither angry nor anxious.

He was just watching and thinking, and something gradually formed in those eyes that always seemed to see through the fog.

It's a calm and focused sharpness that only a hunter possesses after locking onto their prey.

He Wei stood behind him, watching his back.

She didn't know what Lin Che was thinking, but she felt that his back was straighter than usual.

The tent remained quiet for a long time.

So long that He Wei thought he wouldn't say anything more.

Just as the silence reached its end, Lin Che spoke.

His voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like each word was squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying an undeniable force.

He looked at the mark on the map that belonged to his opponent.

That marker seemed to be announcing to him that the land was now owned.

But in Lin Che's eyes, there was not a trace of resignation after his sovereignty had been declared.

Yes, but it was a kind of calm that came from knowing the opponent was right, almost cold and indifferent.

He slowly uttered a sentence.

"First come, first served."

He paused.

"It's not necessarily the case that you get it first."

Six words, resounding with conviction.

There was no roar, no shouting, but the sharpness that emanated from his very bones gave He Wei, who was standing behind him, a sense of peace that came out of nowhere.

She suddenly felt that what seemed like an unsolvable dead end might not be so terrible after all.

Because the person next to me is never one to admit defeat.

He walked through the rain in Nairobi, encountering countless obstacles and wading through countless murky waters, but he never once bowed his head.

The more hopeless the situation seems to others, the more likely he is to carve out a path out of it.

He Wei didn't know where the road led this time.

But she believed that as long as Lin Che still had that look in his eyes, she would definitely find that path.

The opponent arrived first, took advantage of his status, and enlisted strong local support, driving stakes into his land.

It seems they have the upper hand in every aspect.

But in this world, things are never something that can be taken away by whoever arrives first.

Those who arrive first may not be able to hold the line.

What comes later may not be unrecoverable.

The one who truly secures this land is not who arrives first, but who has the greatest ability and who laughs last.

Lin Che believed this more than anyone else.

He has never relied on being ahead of others to get where he is today.

Regardless of who came first or last, he was always the one who arrived later.

In the end, what was it that he didn't get?

This time will be no exception.

The only problem facing Lin Che has become crystal clear.

How do you take over the territory that others have already occupied and make it your own when faced with the hurdle of identity?

That was the only thing he needed to think about next.

This is also the key point of this grand game.

The hurdle of identity: Western giants, local strongmen, and that core area where someone else has already planted their flag.

One obstacle after another lined up before him.

You must overcome the hurdle of identity, seize the land you have already occupied, and defeat powerful opponents.

This game was several times more difficult than he had anticipated before coming to Africa.

Anyone else would have given up long ago in the face of this situation.

But in Lin Che's eyes, this was not a dead end.

The tougher the battle, the more worthwhile it is for Lin Che to fight it personally.

What he wanted was never a piece of land that anyone could easily take.

What he wanted was the exhilarating feeling of snatching meat back from the mouth of an opponent who seemed to have it all figured out.

Outside the window, the African night pressed down heavily.

But the eyes of the person inside the tent were even brighter than the blue paint on the boundary marker.