I chose one of four options at the start, and I chose the number one clan in Lingnan.

Lin Ting swiped the mouse.

"Not only this villa, he also has two other properties in Brisbane."

"He regularly sends in 100,000 Australian dollars every month, to his illegitimate son whom he's keeping outside the marriage." Lin Ting stared at the screen.

Lin Dayou leaned over and glanced at the photo, smacking his lips.

"This little bastard looks quite like President Liu. Grandpa, do you think you can force President Liu to approve the loan based on just these few photos?"

"What if he denies it to the death? At worst, we can say he's a relative's child," Lin Dayou said.

Lin Ting pulled out a stack of electronic bank statements and slapped them on the table.

"Look closely at the transfer records above. It shows 100,000 Australian dollars per month, which is being transferred to the official account of Nancheng Tongda Trading Company."

This trading company just took out a 50 million yuan unsecured credit loan from the city branch last month.

"The money traveled overseas and ended up in his mistress's pocket." Lin Ting pointed at the screen.

Lin Fu was taken aback.

"This is blatant money laundering and embezzlement of public assets," Lin Fu said through gritted teeth.

"And this too." Lin Ting turned to the next page, "The VIP room bill from the Lisboa Casino in Macau. Over 40 million lost in three years."

The timing of each chip exchange coincided with the time the city branch issued non-performing loans; he was using bad debts to pay off his gambling debts.

Lin Dayou's hands were trembling.

"If the inspection team finds this, they'll be executed ten times over. Grandpa, where did you get this?" Lin Dayou swallowed hard.

Lin Ting didn't answer. He unplugged the USB drive and tossed it to Lin Fu.

"Go to town to get it printed. Make sure it's in color," Lin Ting instructed.

Lin Fu caught the USB drive, turned around and ran out of the office.

Half an hour later, Lin Fu ran back carrying a stack of color-printed A4 paper. The paper was still warm from the copier.

Lin Ting divided the documents into three parts: the villa's property ownership certificate, the illegitimate child's birth certificate, bank statements, and casino money laundering bills.

He took out a brown paper bag and stuffed all three documents into it.

Lin Ting picked up a black marker and wrote three large characters on the paper bag cover.

It's a matter of life and death.

He pushed the paper bag to the edge of the table.

"Lin Fei," Lin Ting called out.

Lin Fei walked forward carrying the steel pipe.

"Take two brothers with you to the city. The address is on the back of the paper bag."

"This is the private residence where Director Liu keeps his mistress in the city center. He'll definitely be there tonight." Lin Ting looked at Lin Fei.

Lin Fei reached out to grab the paper bag.

"Send the item in and place it next to the safe where he keeps his money. Don't alert anyone; I want him to open it himself," Lin Ting added.

Lin Fei stuffed the paper bag into his pocket. "Don't worry, Grandpa."

Lin Fei turned and walked out.

"Drive that Santana without license plates," Lin Ting instructed.

Lin Fei waved his hand and turned to leave.

Lin Fu pulled out a chair and sat down. "Grandpa, if we send this over, will Director Liu bow his head? That old bastard doesn't even give a damn about the Municipal Construction Commission."

"If we hand over these materials, he'll be shot ten times over."

Lin Ting picked up his teacup and took a sip. "If he still wants to live, he'll be kneeling in front of the ancestral hall in Tazhai tomorrow morning."

In the city center, at the top-floor private room of the Golden Goblet Club.

The crystal chandelier was dazzling. A bottle of liquor and a fruit platter sat on the table.

President Liu leaned back on the sofa, his tie half-loose, holding a glass of whiskey in his hand, while several owners of small and medium-sized building materials factories in the city sat beside him.

"President Liu's move today was absolutely brilliant. Those country bumpkins from the Lin family think they can turn the world upside down just because they got the tender documents."

"If you cut off their loan channels, they won't even be able to call a bulldozer tomorrow." A fat boss raised his glass in a toast.

President Liu took a sip of wine and placed the glass on the marble table.

"Rules are rules. If you're doing construction work in the city and you don't curry favor with powerful figures or acknowledge wealthy tycoons, you'll starve." President Liu let out a burp.

The phone on the table rang, and Leng Qiu's name appeared on the screen.

Bank Manager Liu waved to the portly boss, signaling for silence. The music in the private room was turned off.

President Liu answered the phone.

"Manager Liu, is there any news from the Lin family?" Leng Qiu's voice came through the receiver.

"President Leng, you can rest assured. All four major banks in the city have been contacted, and even the credit union in the town doesn't dare to accept their orders."

"The Lin family can't even afford a boxed lunch right now," Director Liu laughed.

"Tomorrow morning at nine o'clock, Deputy Commander Chen from the Municipal Construction Committee will personally go to the Municipal Square."

"If the Lin family's machinery doesn't arrive, their bid will be withdrawn on the spot, and the penalty for breach of contract will be directly frozen in their corporate account," Leng Qiu said coldly.

"President Leng is decisive and efficient in his work." President Liu raised his glass.

"After things are settled tomorrow, I will transfer the mining rights of the cement plant behind the Lin family to your brother's building materials company through the proper procedures."

"We, the three major conglomerates, only hold a small share; consider it a token of our appreciation." Leng Qiu tossed out her bargaining chip.

President Liu's eyes lit up, and he sat up straight.

"Mr. Leng, you're very generous. Leave this to me. Even if the Lin family had wings, they wouldn't be able to get past this hurdle tomorrow," Bank Manager Liu assured him, patting his chest.

The phone call ended. The portly boss came over to pour the drinks.

"Did Mr. Leng give you a big gift?" the chubby boss probed.

"The Lin family is going bankrupt. That special cement factory behind their mountain is a real gem. After tomorrow, that place will belong to the Liu family." Manager Liu reeked of alcohol.

The portly boss gave a thumbs-up repeatedly. "I'll follow Manager Liu's arrangements completely!"

1 a.m. Yujingwan upscale residential community.

This is the city's most exclusive upscale neighborhood, where all the security personnel are veterans, and they patrol 24 hours a day.

Lin Fei and his two cousins, dressed in black jackets, squatted in the green belt outside the back wall of the residential area.

"Brother Fei, a team of security guards goes by every ten minutes. There's an infrared alarm on the wall," one of the brothers reported in a low voice.

Lin Fei glanced at the digital watch on his wrist.

"Once they turn the corner of Building 3, we'll have a 30-second blind spot. Follow me, and don't touch the barbed wire on the wall."

The beam of the searchlight swept across the area. The security team marched away in orderly steps.

Lin Fei stood up, took two running steps, pushed off the wall with both feet, and soared into the air.

He precisely grabbed the gap between two barbed wire fences with both hands, and rolled onto the lawn inside the wall. His two brothers followed closely behind.

The three followed the shadows of the green belt and made their way to the entrance of Building 16.

The unit door required facial recognition, so Lin Fei didn't stop. He led his people around to the side fire escape and climbed the stairs all the way to the sixteenth floor.

Lin Fei pressed his hand against the stairwell door and glanced down the corridor. Each apartment had a fingerprint lock.

Lin Fei took out a black card without a magnetic stripe from his pocket. This was a special access card that Lin Ting had given him before he left.

He placed the card on the sensor area of ​​the combination lock.

The green light came on, and with a click, the door lock popped open.

Lin Fei pushed open the door and slipped inside, leaving his two brothers outside to keep watch.

The room was dark, but a faint scent of perfume wafted through the air.

Lin Fei put on shoe covers and rubber gloves, and, using the light from the streetlights outside the window, crept into the master bedroom.

The large bed in the master bedroom was empty, and the blankets were neatly folded.

Lin Fei's gaze fell on the bedside table, where two black combination lock suitcases were placed, the same two that Leng Qiu had taken to the director's office during the day.

Lin Fei walked over, took out the brown paper bag from his pocket, and placed it neatly between the two combination lock boxes.

After doing all this, Lin Fei didn't linger. He returned the way he came and exited through the gate.

At 2 a.m., a black sedan was parked in the underground parking garage of Yujingwan.

President Liu, carrying his briefcase, walked somewhat unsteadily into the elevator.

He was in a great mood today. Twenty million in cash was lying in his bedroom. The Lin family was going bankrupt tomorrow, and the cement factory on the back mountain was about to fall into his pocket.

The elevator stopped on the sixteenth floor. President Liu walked to the door and pressed his fingerprint.

The door opened, he changed into slippers, and without even turning on the living room lights, went straight to the master bedroom.

Pushing open the door to the master bedroom, President Liu habitually looked at the bedside table.

He wanted to take one last look at the two briefcases full of cash before going to sleep.

The moment President Liu saw the bedside table, he instantly sobered up.

Between the two briefcases, there was now a thick brown paper bag. It had been empty before he left.

Bank Manager Liu turned on the bedroom light, instantly illuminating the room. The doors and windows were securely closed, showing no signs of forced entry.

The paper bag was prominently displayed on top of two boxes filled with 20 million yuan in cash.

President Liu took two steps closer, and three bold characters written in black marker came into view on the cover of the paper bag.

It's a matter of life and death.