After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

Su Qingwan replied to the message three seconds later.

"Wu Shaoming resigned from his government job last June and is currently affiliated with a law firm in Jiaxing. He has connections with Sun Keming."

Chen Ping locked the phone and placed it face down on the bedside table.

The soundproofing at Jiacheng Hotel was poor, and the intermittent clattering of slippers could be heard in the corridor. Chen Pingfang stared at the ceiling, analyzing Fang Zhiyuan's plan in his mind.

With Han Zhengke detained, the second phase of the Chipfire project will be halted. If the provincial project's progress cannot be controlled, Chen Pingfang will ultimately bear the responsibility.

Fang Zhiyuan lost face in the provincial party committee meeting room today, and immediately began to retaliate. Instead of directly targeting Chen Pingfang, Fang Zhiyuan disrupted the supply chain.

But Chen Pingfang always felt that something was wrong with the charge of issuing false value-added tax invoices.

Han Zhengke's company has been cooperating with the Chipfire Center for over two years, and every purchase has followed the formal procedures. Chen Pingfang personally oversaw the setup of the Chipfire Center's financial system. All supplier payment records, contract numbers, and acceptance documents are kept in the system and cannot be altered.

Chen Ping sat up, opened his laptop, and logged into the internal financial platform of the Corefire Center.

He typed "Jiacheng Precision Equipment Co., Ltd." into the search bar and pressed enter.

A string of records appeared on the screen.

From September of the year before last to March of this year, Chipfire Center signed a total of five contracts with Jiacheng Precision. These include manufacturing contracts for three core pieces of equipment and two technical service agreements.

The total amount of the five contracts is 23.4 million.

Of the 16 million, it was for equipment, and the remaining 7.4 million was for technical service fees.

Chen Ping's finger stopped on the fourth contract.

The contract number is XH-2024-SV-003. The title is "Service Agreement for the Introduction of Core Temperature Control Module Technology for Silicon Carbide Crystal Growth Furnace", and the amount is 4.2 million.

The payer is Chipfire Center, and the payee is Jiacheng Precision. The purpose field states "Payment on behalf of Hearst Precision Instruments GmbH, Germany, for technology licensing fees and core component procurement fees".

Han Zhengke's company does not manufacture temperature control modules. The core components of this system are all imported from Germany, and there are no domestic alternatives. Han Zhengke's role is intermediate integration, which involves buying the German parts, installing them into their own furnace structure, and finally delivering the complete machine.

The 4.2 million technical service fee corresponds to Hearst's technology licensing fee, as well as the value of three batches of spare parts.

Chen Ping opened the contract attachments and flipped through them page by page.

The original English version of the technology licensing agreement is available. Hearst Corporation has stamped it. A scanned copy of the customs declaration is available. Bank receipts for foreign exchange payments are also included.

Every single transaction went from Chipfire Center to Jiacheng Precision, and then from Jiacheng Precision's foreign currency account to Frankfurt. The flow of funds was crystal clear. There was no interception or idle transfer in between.

The so-called "false invoicing" refers to a discrepancy between the invoice amount and the actual transaction. However, every VAT invoice issued by Jiacheng Precision to Xinhuo Center was backed by a corresponding contract. The acceptance slips and bank receipts also matched. The logic was sound.

The tax bureau investigated for three months but found no problems, and this is why.

Someone deliberately wanted to make Han Zhengke's accounts appear problematic.

Chen Ping took screenshots of all the key pages of the five contracts and saved them to an encrypted folder. Then he opened another directory.

That's the backup plan file.

When the CoreFire Center's procurement system was initially established, Chen Pingfang specifically created a backup mechanism. All equipment procurement contracts exceeding five million yuan, in addition to being archived normally, would also be simultaneously reported to the Technical Equipment Division of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology.

This was a preventative measure left behind by Chen Ping.

The provincial department's reporting records are independent of the Chipfire Center's system, so the Economic Investigation Department can't access them. Even if Jiacheng seizes all of Jiacheng Precision's financial documents, the provincial department's archives can still prove the transaction was genuine.

Chen Ping opened the query portal of the provincial department's reporting system and entered the contract number.

The document contains three equipment manufacturing contracts and two technical service agreements. The filing dates, contract summaries, and approval signatures are all listed.

The approval section bears the official seal of the Technical Equipment Division of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology. The signatory is Liu Mingyuan.

Liu Mingyuan is the deputy director who sat to Chen Pingfang's left in the provincial party committee meeting room today.

Chen Ping also saved a screenshot of the provincial department's filing record. He then packaged and exported all the materials—including the original contracts, bank receipts, and customs declarations from the Corefire Center's financial system—to a USB drive.

When I closed the laptop, it was already past 1 a.m.

Chen Ping dialed Jiang Fan's room number.

"We'll leave at 7 a.m. tomorrow to go to the Jiaxing City Public Security Bureau."

Jiang Fan paused for a second on the other end of the phone.

"Economic Crime Investigation Division?"

"Economic Crime Investigation Division."

At 6:50 a.m. the next morning, Chen Pingfang put on his shirt, packed the USB drive and printed materials into his briefcase. Before leaving, Chen Pingfang sent a text message to Qian Weiguo.

"Mayor Qian, I went to the Economic Crime Investigation Division this morning to inquire about the Han Zhengke case. I have already spoken with Liu Mingyuan, the Deputy Director of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology. The procurement files related to key provincial projects are backed up at the Provincial Department. I am informing you of this."

Less than two minutes after the text message was sent, Qian Weiguo replied with three words: "I understand."

At 7:00 AM sharp, Jiang Fan drove his car to the hotel entrance.

The Jiaxing City Public Security Bureau is located in the north of the city, in a gray eight-story building. The Economic Crime Investigation Division is on the third floor, with banners hanging on both sides of the corridor.

Chen Ping displayed his identification at the front desk.

"Nanzhou High-tech Zone Management Committee, find Sun Keming, Deputy Chief of the Economic Investigation Detachment."

The police officer at the front desk made a phone call, hung up, and then looked up at Chen Pingfang.

"Team Leader Sun is holding a case analysis meeting. Please wait a moment."

"I can't wait any longer. The case involves the equipment supplier for the Xinhuo Phase II project, a key provincial project. I brought the filing materials from the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology, and I need to verify them in person."

The receptionist hesitated for three seconds, then made another call and said a few words.

"The third-floor conference room, the second one on the left."

Chen Ping carried his briefcase upstairs.

The meeting room door was ajar. Inside, six or seven people sat around a table. A pile of printed bank statements was spread out on the table.

Sitting directly opposite the door was Sun Keming. Sun Keming was in his early forties, with a square face and a buzz cut.

Chen Ping pushed the door open and went in. Sun Keming looked up and was stunned for a moment.

"Who are you?"

"Chen Pingfang, Party Secretary of Nanzhou High-tech Zone. The Han Zhengke case involves the procurement of core equipment for the second phase of Xinhuo. I will provide some information."

Sun Keming's chair moved back half an inch.

"Secretary Chen, the case is still in the preliminary investigation stage. According to regulations..."

"According to regulations, written materials provided by interested parties can be accepted during the preliminary investigation stage."

Chen Ping opened his briefcase and slammed the thirty-seven pages of materials onto the conference table.

"This is the complete file of five contracts between Chipfire Center and Jiacheng Precision. It contains the original contracts and bank receipts. The original customs declarations and the original technology licensing agreement with Hearst GmbH of Germany are also included."

Chen Ping turned to the fourth contract page and pressed it down with his finger.

"The core of your investigation into the fraudulent invoicing is this 4.2 million yuan technical service fee. You believe that Jiacheng Precision did not provide actual services, and the invoice amount does not match the transaction."

Sun Keming remained silent. A young investigator next to him subconsciously glanced at the bank statements on the table.

Chen Ping laid out the customs declaration form and the foreign exchange payment receipt side by side.

"Four million two hundred thousand, corresponding to one million six hundred thousand in technology licensing fees from Hearst Corporation. There are also three batches of core components for temperature control modules worth two million six hundred thousand. The funds flowed from Chipfire Center to Jiacheng Precision, and then from Jiacheng Precision's foreign currency account to Frankfurt. Every transaction has bank receipts. Every batch of goods has customs clearance records. Which link is fraudulent?"

The meeting room was silent for five seconds.

Chen Ping then pulled out the last few pages.

"This is the filing record from the Technical Equipment Division of the Provincial Department of Industry and Information Technology. All five contracts were filed with the Provincial Department within seven working days of signing. The approval and seal are from Deputy Director Liu Mingyuan. You can directly verify the filing number and timestamp with the Provincial Department."

The materials were spread all over the table.

Sun Keming stared at the customs declaration forms. His left hand rested on the edge of the table, his thumb nail digging into the lacquer.

Chen Ping stood across the table without sitting down.

"Captain Sun, the tax bureau investigated for three months and concluded 'no abnormalities found.' What's the basis for the economic crime investigation department's direct filing of a case, bypassing the tax bureau's conclusion? Whose source was this lead?"

Sun Keming's Adam's apple bobbed.

The meeting room door was ajar, and the sound of hurried footsteps on leather shoes echoed down the hallway. The sound grew closer.

Qian Weiguo appeared at the door, followed by the executive deputy director of Jiacheng City Public Security Bureau.