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

Chen Ping put the pen into his inner pocket.

"I have a way."

He pulled a printed copy from his briefcase and handed it over with both hands.

Lu Zheng caught it, flipped it open, and stopped at the column of the equity penetration diagram.

"Dingsheng Venture Capital is associated with a company called Guangling Xinyuan Investment. The legal representative is Fang Huiying, Fang Zhiyuan's younger sister."

Chen Ping moved the picture forward by half an inch.

"The 300 million yuan guidance fund was transferred to Dingsheng, which then transferred the money to Xinyuan under the guise of investment. Xinyuan then used the prepayment for procurement to transfer the money to Tianhong Chemical. After going through three layers of accounting, the money was finally wiped out under the name of raw material loss."

Lu Zheng's thumb swept across the number column.

"Are all the paperwork complete?"

"The purchase contract, acceptance slip, and inventory ledger—they have a complete set," Chen Ping paused for a moment. "But the purchase price was 2.3 times the market price, and the goods never left Tianhong's warehouse. The goods on the books simply vanished into thin air."

Lu Zheng closed the printout, took out a folded strip of paper from a compartment next to the armrest, and pushed it over.

"The Economic Crime Investigation Division of the Provincial Public Security Bureau, the captain's name is Zheng Xian. Call this number, we'll talk tonight, and things can move tomorrow."

Chen Ping put the note into his pocket.

"Can the letter of assistance be processed expedited?"

"I've had someone send it to the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection simultaneously." Lu Zheng lifted a corner of the car window curtain, letting in a thin sliver of light from the parking lot. "If you go to Guangling, Fang Zhiyuan won't just sit and wait."

"He can't sit still." Chen Ping didn't make any unnecessary movements. "His inability to sit still makes it easier to find weaknesses."

The car door opened from the outside.

Chen Ping put down the car without turning around. The Coaster's engine hummed softly behind him again.

On the highway, Chen Ping made three phone calls in the back seat.

The first call was to Zheng Xian, and the deal was finalized in just a few sentences. The next morning at eight o'clock, they met in Guangling city, bringing the Economic Investigation Team and equipment.

The second call was to Zhao Deshan, asking the Discipline Inspection Commission to add its signature to the Provincial Public Security Department's letter of assistance, and the document must be issued tonight.

The third call was to Su Qingwan.

Keep a backup copy of Xinyuan Investment's business registration information on your own hard drive.

Su Qingwan paused for three seconds.

"How serious is it?"

"It's too early to say."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Ping placed it face down on his lap, pulled down the sunshade, closed his eyes, and leaned back in his chair. Outside the window, the streetlights flashed past one by one.

He slept for forty minutes on the highway.

At 8:05 a.m. the next day, Zheng Xian and six others parked in front of the Guangling Xinyuan Investment Building. Two unmarked Passats with provincial license plates were discreetly parked next to the roadside green belt.

Chen Ping got out of Jiang Fan's car and shook hands with Zheng Xian.

Zheng Xian slapped a thick brown paper document bag into his hand.

"The letter of assistance was signed last night, it has an official red header, and it was jointly signed by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection. When I went in, someone stopped me, so I showed them this."

Chen Ping weighed it in his hand, then walked towards the building entrance.

Just as the lobby security guard was about to stand up, Zheng Xian's men had already bypassed the front desk and headed towards the elevator.

The security guard shouted, but Zheng Xian blocked him by stepping aside.

"Do not obstruct official business."

The elevator reached the thirteenth floor. As soon as the doors opened, a man in a dark suit jogged out of the corridor, stood across the middle of the elevator entrance with his legs spread apart, and made his way to the ground.

"Without a search warrant, you have no right to enter. This is a private company."

Zheng Xian pasted his work ID in front of him.

"Economic Crime Investigation Division of Provincial Public Security Department, please show your identification and cooperate with the inspection."

The man took half a step back and took out his phone to dial a number.

The person next to Zheng Xian stepped forward and took a picture with his phone.

"Communication tools will be temporarily stored."

Deep in the corridor, a door was pushed open from the inside.

Fang Zhiyuan came out.

His suit and tie were both buttoned up perfectly. He was just walking a little too fast.

He walked from one end of the corridor to the other and stopped in front of Chen Pingfang, less than two steps away.

The entire floor fell completely silent.

"Chen Pingfang, what's the meaning of bringing people from the provincial department to Guangling?"

It wasn't a question. It was something squeezed out through clenched teeth.

Chen Ping opened the document bag, pulled out two official documents, and casually pushed them onto Fang Zhiyuan's chest.

"The first document is the joint special investigation authorization letter signed by Lu Zheng, the provincial party secretary."

"The second document is a letter of assistance for investigation jointly signed by the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection and the Provincial Public Security Department."

Fang Zhiyuan took the two documents, turned to the first page, and his gaze fell on the signature section.

The handwriting next to the seal was pressed very heavily, and the ink had seeped around it.

Two words: Lu Zheng.

Fang Zhiyuan's hand stopped.

Along both sides of the corridor, employees of Xinyuan Investment peeked out one after another, then withdrew. Only Fang Zhiyuan stood in the middle of the corridor, his feet increasingly appearing to be supported by something on the ground.

The document rested on the back of his hand; he didn't turn the page again.

Chen Ping didn't give him time to recover.

"The subject of the investigation is Xinyuan Investment, which is suspected of illegally transferring state-owned assets amounting to 300 million yuan. Details are on page three of the attachment."

Fang Zhiyuan's Adam's apple bobbed, but nothing came out.

Zheng Xian had already led his men deeper into the corridor.

A young employee stood at the edge of the corridor, his gaze involuntarily drifting towards the end.

Zheng Xian followed that direction and pushed open the innermost door.

There was a wide wooden table by the window in the office, the chair was empty, and there was a white porcelain teacup on the table, the steam had just evaporated halfway.

Zheng Xian asked someone to take a picture to record it, then walked to the metal filing cabinet in the corner, squatted down, and pulled out the bottom drawer.

Locked.

The technician stepped forward, and in less than three minutes, the lock cylinder was pried open.

Two stacks of folders were placed inside, and at the bottom was a small, dark-colored safe. The door of the safe was the same color as the metal wall, and the gap between them was only a line wide.

Chen Ping walked over and squatted down next to the safe.

"Have you found Fang Huiying's backup password?"

Jiang Fan walked in from the door and handed over his phone.

The screen displays a message sent by Su Qingwan last night:

"Fang Huiying is used to using the last six digits of her birthday as a backup password, 19830614."

Chen Ping pressed the six-digit number into the keypad.

The latch popped open.

Inside the safe were three brown envelopes, a USB drive, and a black hardcover notebook with a smooth spine and no printed words.

Chen Ping took out the notebook first and opened it to the first page.

The names were lined up in a dense row, each followed by a string of numbers. Some names included bank card numbers, some included city names, and some only included amounts, without any explanation.

One page, two pages, three pages.

Turn to page seven.

Third line.

Five characters, plus a number, with neat strokes and even ink, just like all the previous entries, without any hesitation in the pauses in the brush.

"Wang Cheng~Nanzhou~800."

Eight million.

Chen Ping pressed his index finger on that line and didn't lift it.

"Little Jiang."

Jiang Fan took two steps closer from the doorway.

Chen Ping flipped the notebook over, facing Jiang Fan.

"Take a picture and send it to Zhao Deshan."

Jiang Fan looked down, then froze on the spot, not uttering a single word.