Gangster heir? Please call me a legitimate entrepreneur.

The air from the heating vent brushed against the rosewood tabletop.

The black USB drive lay quietly beside Su Ye, its casing reflecting the cold light of the energy-saving lamp.

Su Ye didn't touch it.

He held a chipped silver thermos in his left hand, the lid already screwed on.

He pushed up his gold-rimmed glasses on the bridge of his nose with his right hand.

"Ms. Anna, Sihai Group welcomes foreign professionals."

Su Ye's tone was calm, without any discernible emotional fluctuation.

"Go to the HR department downstairs tomorrow to complete the onboarding process. The five social insurances and one housing fund will be paid at the highest level. Passport will not be held."

Anna's tense shoulders instantly slumped.

She let out a long breath.

He didn't even bother to adjust his frameless glasses, which had slipped down to the tip of his nose.

Chen Suan, who was standing next to him, felt a spasm in his stomach.

The acidic fluid surged up his esophagus, burning him until he saw stars.

It’s over.

The criminal organization has officially launched its transnational capital operations. As an undercover economic crime investigator, he'll have to learn to submit reports entirely in English from now on.

"Sizzle—"

Suddenly, the walkie-talkie in Chen Suan's suit pocket emitted a piercing electrical sound.

Zhang Tiezhu's hoarse voice, thick with a rural accent, boomed through the room.

"Director Chen! Something terrible has happened!"

The walkie-talkie was filled with the whooshing sound of wind. "That foreign devil just woke up, and while I was looking for a rope, he ran to the rooftop through the fire escape!"

"He's already stepped one leg over the parapet! He's yelling that he wants to go back to his hometown!"

Chen Suan's head buzzed.

My knees buckled, and I almost knelt on the carpet.

"Holy crap! What hometown is he going back to?! That's the 33rd floor!"

Chen Suan let out a burp with a bitter coffee smell, grabbed the walkie-talkie, and roared, "Tiezhu, keep him steady! Don't let him fall! Our company can't get involved in any murder cases!"

Su Ye stood up.

He casually straightened the hem of his dark blue suit.

"Let's go, Director Chen. Let's go see our international business partners."

He strode out, carrying the thermos steadily in his hand.

……

The 33rd floor of the InterContinental Hotel. Open-air rooftop terrace.

The northwest wind, which was below minus ten degrees Celsius, raged across the rooftop like a steel knife scraping bone.

A thick layer of black ice had formed on the ground.

It's so slippery when you step on it.

Steven was barefoot on one foot and wearing a crocodile-skin shoe on the other.

The expensive custom-made shirt was soaked and ruined, and it froze into a hard shell against my skin.

He straddled the half-meter-wide parapet wall.

Behind me, a building more than ten stories high hung suspended in the air. The glow of the streetlights below shrank to a few small yellow dots.

"Don't come any closer! Fuck! You bunch of liars!"

Steven was shivering from the cold, and snot was running down his lips.

His blue eyes, bloodshot and filled with madness and despair.

Chen Suan had just squeezed out of the stairwell when a blast of cold air hit him.

"Hiccup—Boss Shi!"

He pressed his hands tightly against his stomach and shouted in a hoarse voice.

"Calm down! Three hundred million dollars is gone, but you can earn more money. If you jump and get smashed to a pulp, the forensic pathologist will have to painstakingly piece together your body!"

"Shut up! Shut up!"

Steven waved his arms wildly.

His fingernails were full of dirt and grime from scratching on the ground.

"My money! My Quantum Fund!"

He turned his head sharply and stared intently at Su Ye, who was slowly walking up to the rooftop.

The gold-rimmed glasses reflected the cool moonlight.

"You devil! You're a devil who eats people without spitting out the bones!"

Steven's voice was hoarse, like a bellows leaking air from a hole.

"What a 'legitimate' company... it's all a lie! I'm going to expose you in hell!"

He closed his eyes, leaned forward, and was about to fall.

"Tiezhu! Make your move!"

Chen Suan was so frightened that he closed his eyes.

"Come back to me!"

Zhang Tiezhu's furious shout rang out from behind the water tank in the corner.

This is a retired security guard who was previously a special police officer.

It was the middle of the night, and I hadn't even zipped up my winter coat; I was sweating profusely.

He had a thick, red fire hose tucked under his arm, and his hands were tightly gripping the brass-colored water nozzle.

He had already turned the valve of the fire hydrant to its maximum.

"Sizzle—Boom!"

A thick, white, high-pressure water column, carrying terrifying pressure, ripped through the night sky.

It landed squarely on Steven's chest.

"Pfft—"

Steven didn't even manage to scream.

It felt like he had been struck head-on by a giant iron hammer.

The tremendous impact slammed him back off the edge of the parapet.

He slid several meters across the icy ground.

My back slammed into an abandoned exhaust pipe with a dull thud.

Water splashed everywhere.

In temperatures below -10 degrees Celsius, the water that fell on him instantly began to freeze into white ice crystals.

"Well done."

Su Ye stood three meters away. Not a single drop of water splashed on him.

He unscrewed the lid of the thermos.

A warm, slightly sweet aroma of goji berries wafted through the cold air.

Steven convulsed on the ice like a dying carp.

He spat out a mouthful of dirty water tinged with blood.

His teeth were chattering loudly.

"You...you all..."

He rolled his eyes, staring at Su Ye's hand holding the cup, and completely broke down.

"They won't kill me... but they'll still stab me... madmen... they're all madmen..."

Steven chuckled twice, then his head lolled to the side and he passed out.

Chen Suan quickly ran over.

He reached out and checked Steven's breath. It was warm.

"Hiccup—Chairman Su, he's not dead. He's just freezing cold and has been traumatized, so his mind seems a bit off."

Chen Suan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead; his palms were covered in ice crystals.

Su Ye lowered his head and took a sip of warm water.

He chewed the plump goji berries in his mouth and swallowed them.

"Director Chen, we are a legitimate company that values ​​humanitarian concerns."

Su Ye pushed up his glasses and looked at Steven on the ground.

"We cannot stand idly by as this foreign businessman has suddenly developed a mental illness in our country."

Chen Suan was stunned.

The black-rimmed glasses slipped down to the tip of his nose again.

"Then... what should we do? Send them to the city's mental hospital?"

"The medical facilities in the city may not be suitable for him."

Su Ye put the lid on the cup. The metal threads clicked shut.

"Contact Ye Hongyu. Go to the special account of the Sihai Charitable Foundation."

He turned around and walked towards the stairwell.

"Charter a medical plane and bring a professional medical team."

Su Ye's voice was somewhat ethereal in the wind, yet every word was clear.

"Send him back to Los Angeles, to the best private mental hospital. Our foundation will cover all treatment costs."

He paused for a moment, without even turning his head.

"Issue a press release to the media stating that Sihai Group is providing cross-border assistance to overseas investors suffering from sudden serious illnesses, demonstrating the responsibility and commitment of a major national enterprise."

Chen Suan slumped onto the ice.

A bone-chilling cold rushed up my tailbone and straight to the back of my head.

To kill someone is to destroy their spirit.

They stripped them bare of their $300 million fortune. Then they went through a tax-free charitable account and spent a little money to send them to a mental hospital.

Finally, they also need to gain a good reputation for international aid.

Is this something a carbon-based organism could do?

"I understand!"

Zhang Tiezhu excitedly rubbed his hands together and threw the water hose aside.

"Chairman Su, that's called magnanimity! I'll go carry this foreign devil downstairs right now!"

He grabbed Steven, who was frozen stiff, like a chick and slung him over his broad shoulders.

……

2:00 AM. Underground parking garage of Sihai Building.

Chen Suan sat in that dilapidated Jetta.

The heater wasn't on. A layer of white frost had formed on the car windows.

He was clutching a newly completed financial approval form for a charity charter flight.

Looking at the perfectly sealed official seal and tax registration number on it.

In despair, he slammed his head against the steering wheel. The horn emitted a short, muffled thud.

The tent was too clean.

Even the fuel surcharge receipts for the chartered flights were neatly pasted on.

The blind-type encrypted phone in my pocket suddenly started vibrating wildly.

Chen Suan was startled and hurriedly pulled out his phone.

I pressed the answer button.

On the receiver came Director Li Jianguo's hoarse voice, which was suppressing extreme excitement.

"Old Chen! I woke you up in the middle of the night, but it's good news!"

Li Jianguo, panting heavily on the other end of the phone, said, "My sources in the city say Steven made his move tonight! He's off dumping $300 million on the stock market!"

Chen Suan swallowed, only to feel a bitter taste in his mouth.

"With those Wall Street actuaries involved, they'll definitely expose Su Ye's fraudulent accounting!"

Li Jianguo's voice was trembling.

"Quick! Tell me! How much money laundering stuff have they uncovered? Is it enough to get Su Ye a life sentence? I even had Captain Gu fill out the arrest warrant!"

The garage was so quiet you could hear Chen Suan's heart pounding.

"Director... Director."

Chen Suan clutched his acid-filled stomach tightly with his left hand.

"The accounts couldn't be found."

"What?" The voice on the other end of the phone suddenly rose eight octaves.

"Not only did they fail to find anything, but they also failed to detect anything."

Chen Suan let out a dry heave, his voice trembling with tears.

"Steven is bankrupt. He just attempted suicide by jumping off a rooftop. Su Ye is using legitimate charitable funds to charter a plane to send him to a mental hospital in the United States for treatment."

"..."

There was a deathly silence on the other end of the receiver.

A full ten seconds passed.

A crisp "crack" sound.

Chen Suan clearly heard the sound of the enamel mug that Director Li Jianguo had always held in his hand cracking completely.