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

The first stop for that money was Singapore.

Shen Nan laid a printed flowchart on the table. The top box contained the words "Overseas Reserve Account," with a balance of twelve million. He started drawing from this box and moved his pen downwards.

"Start from here, and pass through Mauritius first."

The pen tip rested on a frame in the middle. Inside the frame was a long string of English text: Microlight Indian Ocean Limited.

"This entity is clean, it has been registered for the required period of time, and its accounts can withstand scrutiny from beginning to end. The money goes through a bridge here before entering the project company in Kenya."

Lin Che stared at the string of English words for two seconds.

"Why not just call directly?" He Wei asked from the side. "Going through another route is more troublesome."

"Because there are three accounts that can't be touched." Shen Nan put down his pen. "You've forgotten what happened back home. There are six accounts under Ark, and three of them have been marked."

"What markings did you make?" He Wei pressed.

"The funds were embellished." Shen Nan's tone was flat. "The money itself isn't the problem, but someone planted tracking devices in those three accounts. Every single transaction that went out of there, wherever it went, how many times it was transferred, they can see it all. The domestic supply chain hasn't been completely severed yet, and now that this one's been pulled in, it's a complete disaster."

He Wei's expression changed slightly.

"If this additional funding were to be transferred from the corrupted account to save trouble," Lin Che continued, his voice flat. "The people tracking it wouldn't take any effort; the entire trail would be exposed to them. From China to Africa, from Ark to this mine, it's all connected by one line. No matter how many traces we leave here, it'll be for nothing."

He tapped the box containing the Maurices with his finger.

"So it's better to go around in circles. What you find by going around in circles is a whole story laid bare in the open."

"Is he really going to go this far?" He Wei was still a little worried. "What if he finds out about Mauritius and then investigates further?"

"What they found was a properly registered entity with clean accounts." Shen Nan shook his head. "The deeper they investigate, the more they are acting as our witnesses, proving that the money is clean. Tracking that kind of thing only works against those who are sneaky, not against those who are upright."

He pulled a page from the architecture; it contained information about the Maurice entity.

"This shell company was registered last year, even before Fangzhou ran into trouble. It has all the necessary annual reports, audits, and tax filings. Before the money goes in, it stays in this account for a while, and to the outside, it appears to be a normal investment and cash flow, so there's nothing wrong with it."

He circled the date in the middle with a pen.

"Starting from Singapore, then to Mauritius, and finally to Kenya, there are three checkpoints, each a few days apart, following the normal pace of business travel. No rushing, no shortcuts. Slow and steady wins the race."

Lin Che looked through the string of dates.

"It's okay to go slower," he said. "Anyway, there's no rush to use this money on the table tomorrow."

He read the flowchart from beginning to end without saying a word.

The sky outside the window darkened a little. Evening comes quickly in Narobi; it was bright just a moment ago, but now the light is slanting downwards, and the shadow of the Venetian blinds on the wall is slowly creeping upwards.

He Wei thought he was checking the numbers, but after a while, she realized that his gaze was fixed on the bottom box, which was the Kenyan project company, the place where the money would ultimately go.

"The money is settled," Lin Che finally said. "We'll stick to this approach, not a single step will be changed."

He Wei wrote down the route in her notebook, listing Singapore, Mauritius, and Kenya in a row, and marking each name with a small mark to remind herself to check the receipt later.

He pushed the flowchart back and turned to Shen Nan.

"Now let's talk about what's on the table."

Shen Nan moved the stack of legal documents to the side, making room on the desk. The half-page of text he had pressed down yesterday was tucked at the bottom and never taken out again.

"How do you plan to start tomorrow's first round?"

Lin Che did not answer immediately.

He stood up, walked to the window, and turned his back to the two people. The evening light slanted in through the gaps in the blinds, lengthening his shadow and casting it on the floor.

"No game," he said.

He Wei raised her head.

"Their global assessment makes it sound like the core issue is in the northern region, as if it's a done deal." Lin Che's voice wasn't loud. "We have something in our hands, but revealing it now would be like telling them what our trump card is. If they change their tune and backtrack, my card will be useless."

"Then let him go first," Shen Nan replied.

"Let him go first." Lin Che repeated, as if weighing the significance of those four words. "He plays one card, I look at one card. The further he goes, the more confident he becomes, and the fewer options he has left. If I don't reveal any cards, he won't be able to tell whether I have any cards left or not."

He paused.

"When your peers encounter this situation, nine out of ten can't resist showing off their skills. If the other party makes a mistake, they immediately want to slam their fist on the table to correct them, proving that they know more than their opponent. But as soon as you correct them, the other party becomes alert, stops talking, and starts to regroup. You may have gained a moment of satisfaction, but you've lost the whole game."

He Wei listened, and her pen slowed down.

"If a person doesn't know what their opponent is holding, they'll scare themselves and deceive themselves." Lin Che looked out the window. "I bet he's deceiving himself. His assessment is recognized worldwide; he believes it more than anyone else. The deeper his belief, the harder he'll fall when the truth comes out."

The room fell silent.

He Wei lowered her head and took notes in her notebook, but stopped halfway through. She suddenly understood. From Shen Nan's defensive strategy yesterday, to this money-making path that only leads to gains but never gains, and to this tacit opening move tomorrow, Lin Che's entire plan was to shrink himself to the minimum and wait for the other party to expand him to the maximum.

Whoever loses their composure first will lose.

Lin Che was the most composed person in the room.

"But let's leave the core area occupied for now," He Wei finally asked. "Are we just going to wait like this?"

"Wait." Lin Che turned around. "He's occupying what he thinks is the right piece of land. When the report comes out, he'll realize he's got nothing to show for it. At that point, I won't need to fight for it; he'll have to give up the land himself."

He Wei looked at him and slowly swallowed the word "wait".

"So what are the arrangements for tomorrow?" Shen Nan asked. "What time, and where?"

He Wei turned to a page of her notebook and read it aloud.

"At 10 a.m., they'll be in the conference room of that mining company. Their chief representative will be there, with two assistants. On our side, it'll be you and General Manager Lin, and I'll be accompanying you."

She paused for a moment, then continued reading.

"The local government sent representatives to attend. There was also a local person who was specifically requested by the other party."

She read the name aloud.

Lin Che was standing by the window, about to adjust the angle of the blinds.

Upon hearing that name, his hand froze in mid-air.

The last ray of light from outside the window leaked through his fingers.