At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

Sun Zaiquan acted quickly.

Less than a day after Li Xiao sent out his message, a preliminary investigation report on Yunfan Zhilian was already on his desk.

The report wasn't thick, only about ten pages long. It contained information ranging from business registration details to social security payment records, from the company's official website filing to bidding records for the past six months—basically everything that could be found.

Yunfan Zhilian has a registered capital of three million, but its actual paid-in capital is less than six hundred thousand.

The company's business scope includes intelligent security system integration, R&D and sales of IoT terminal equipment, and data processing services. Since its establishment, the company has not conducted external business. Only three employees are currently employed and registered with social security: Su Wenjing herself, and two of her former subordinates from Bing Sheng.

Li Xiao opened the report, his gaze skipping over the irrelevant corporate financial statements and landing on the personal resume of the legal representative, Su Wenjing.

The woman in the photo has short, ear-length hair, wears black-rimmed glasses, and exudes a stubbornness and competence unique to women with a science and engineering background.

Yunfan Zhilian is registered in Anhui Province, and the registration date was exactly the second week after Su Wenjing left Bingsheng Biotechnology.

What really caught Li Xiao's attention was Su Wenjing's position at Bingsheng Logistics before she left.

She is not an ordinary IT manager, but the person in charge of Bingsheng Logistics' digital transformation project.

The three overseas PhDs that Zhou Bingsheng recruited were nominally technical consultants, but in reality, Su Wenjing controlled the entire digitalization project team's daily management, budget approval, and supplier liaison.

Su Wenjing is 41 years old this year. She holds a master's degree in software engineering from Northwestern Polytechnical University and worked for six years at a well-known domestic logistics equipment company after graduation.

Seven years ago, Zhou Bingsheng personally recruited her to Bingsheng Logistics, parachuting her into the then-unknown IT department. At that time, Bingsheng Logistics was undergoing a critical period of transformation from a traditional trucking fleet to a comprehensive logistics service provider, and Su Wenjing was Zhou Bingsheng's most important technical asset.

He couldn't believe that such a key figure would leave at the most crucial moment of the project without something fishy going on.

Li Xiao flipped through the report again, his fingertip hovering over the section on bidding records for the past six months.

Since its establishment, Yunfan Zhilian has not secured any decent business deals. The only record is that a month ago, it submitted a bid for the security renovation of a district-level middle school in Jianye City. Its bid was 18 percent lower than the winning bidder, but it was rejected during the qualification review process. The reason given was vague, only stating that the company's qualification certificates were incomplete.

A company that can't even pass the qualification review for a middle school security renovation project looks like a half-dead, empty shell.

But Li Xiao doesn't think so.

Zhou Bingsheng's digitization transformation project, which involved a hefty investment, couldn't possibly be headed by someone with mediocre abilities. The fact that Su Wenjing was able to hold that position shows she has real talent.

"What exactly went wrong between her and Zhou Bingsheng?" Li Xiao closed the report and looked at Sun Zaiquan across the desk.

"There was no public falling out. Su Wenjing cited personal health reasons for her resignation, and Bingsheng Logistics processed her resignation normally and gave her all the compensation she was entitled to. But the strange thing is that after she left, two of the three overseas-educated PhDs also resigned within a month. Now Bingsheng Logistics' digitization project is basically at a standstill, and it's still publicly listed as a system upgrade, but in reality, no one can take over the mess that Su Wenjing left behind."

Sun Zaiquan said.

"I had someone inquire indirectly, and Su Wenjing has a very good reputation within Bingsheng Logistics. The veteran employees all respect her. Some people say that before she left, she and Zhou Bingsheng slammed their fists on the table in a conference room, making a noise that could be heard throughout the entire floor, but nobody knows exactly what they said."

Nobody knows for sure, but the logic is sound. People like Zhou Bingsheng rose to power through their daring and reckless spirit, but deep down they believed in factionalism and clan interests.

When a company is small, this kind of work style can unite people, but when the business grows and requires highly specialized and process-oriented systems like digital upgrades, clan power becomes the biggest obstacle. If Su Wenjing wants to change the lower levels, she will inevitably have to threaten the vested interests of the Zhou family's old retainers.

Sun Zaiquan nodded in deep agreement:

"Mr. Li, you guessed right. I also checked the winning bidder for the middle school security project. It's called Dingsheng Electronics, and the actual controller is Zhou Bingsheng's wife's nephew. When Su Wenjing went out to work on her own, Zhou Bingsheng ostensibly let her go, but secretly he issued a blacklist against her in Jianye."

Anyone who dares to give Yunfan Smart Connect a contract is going against Zhou Bingsheng. She was forced to relocate to Anhui Province because she couldn't survive in Jianye, and finally had to try her luck in the Jiangyang High-tech Zone for rent-free housing.

After Sun Zaiquan finished reporting on Yunfan Zhilian's situation, he waited for Li Xiao to make a decision. He thought Li Xiao would ask him to continue investigating further, or simply arrange a meeting.

But Li Xiao simply put the report into the drawer and calmly said:

"Don't rush to recruit him. This person is valuable, but now is not the time to make a move."

Sun Zaiquan was somewhat surprised, but did not ask any further questions.

He knew Li Xiao's style of doing things; the more important something was, the less he would rush into action.

Su Wenjing, who was driven to the brink by Zhou Bingsheng but dared not openly turn against him, was more wary than anyone else.

If you stick it on now, she'll only think you're there to finish off Zhou Bingsheng.

To take her in, we have to wait until she's completely desperate, or until she sees Xinglan's platform and comes to her own senses.

If she speaks up then, her joining won't be a job change, it will be a defection.

"Keep an eye on Yunfan Zhilian's matter, but don't alert her. Record her movements in Jiangyang, who she contacts, and whether she has submitted any further bids. Also, pay close attention to her company's cash flow; the 600,000 yuan in paid-in capital won't last long. We'll reappear when her money is almost gone."

Li Xiao changed the subject, glanced at the time, and said to Sun Zaiquan...

"She's not the most important thing right now. The unveiling ceremony of Xinglan headquarters is the top priority next Monday. Whether Cao Weidong can get through the inspection team's interview will be revealed in the next week or two. You keep a close eye on these two matters in Jiangyang. Su Wenjing's matter is the last priority."

Sun Zaiquan nodded, made a phone call on the spot to instruct his subordinates to continue keeping an eye on Yunfan, and then shifted the focus back to the preparations for the official opening of Xinglan headquarters and the coordination with the inspection team's interview.

Li Xiao got up and walked to the window. It was already completely dark outside, and the park's light strips were coldly spread out in the night.

He suddenly felt that every time he returned to Jiangyang, the chessboard grew larger. Su Wenjing was just a newly emerging piece on the edge of the chessboard, not yet ready to be played.

Over the next two days, Li Xiao focused all his energy on the two matters: the unveiling of Xinglan headquarters and the meeting with the inspection team.

The unveiling ceremony for Xinglan's headquarters is scheduled for 10:00 AM on Monday.

Sun Zaiquan and his legal and administrative teams rehearsed the entire process three times, from vehicle guidance in the underground parking garage, guest check-in, exhibition hall explanation, seating in the main venue, to the final group photo positions, every step was precise down to the minute.

Chen Qiming's side wasn't idle either. The data migration in the server room was completed. The first full load test of version V2.5 in the Jiangyang T4 server room achieved a latency of 47 milliseconds and an error rate of 0.27%, which was a few milliseconds faster than the best result in the Jianye laboratory.

When Chen Qiming called to report, his voice was hoarse, but his excitement was palpable through the receiver.