Three Days Later

After signing, he pulled Ouyang Qian aside and said, "President Ouyang, to be honest, Tonglian is not only lowering prices recently, but also desperately trying to get us, the cargo owners, to pay our 'annual deposit' in advance. Pay 100,000 and get 120,000 off; the more you pay, the cheaper it gets. The two companies next to mine, one of them paid 200,000."

This intelligence was presented to Song Yan that very evening.

Song Yan stared at the line of words for half a minute, and his originally calm eyes suddenly lit up.

"Found it." He said in a low voice, and immediately asked the data analyst to summarize Tonglian's "deposit" policy, prepayment discounts, and driver franchise fees in the three cities, and fill them into the capital model one by one.

On the screen, a sophisticated and terrifying financial network gradually emerged.

Qian Litong's business isn't logistics; it's a cash pool.

He used low prices to aggressively expand his business in every city, while collecting annual deposits from cargo owners and franchise fees and fuel card deposits from affiliated drivers. The massive amounts of money did not go into the regulatory account, but were all collected into the pool of affiliated companies that he could directly control.

Instead of turning the money into vehicles and facilities, it was used to cover the previous deficit, and the remainder was siphoned off and transferred by him through various means.

Ten pots, nine lids.

The larger the logistics network, the more security deposits are collected, and the more glamorous the pool appears on the surface. However, if cargo owners in a certain city collectively demand refunds of their security deposits, if a certain private loan matures at once, or if a certain bank senses the risk and begins to withdraw loans, the situation can easily deteriorate.

The moment the lid can no longer cover the pot, the entire building will collapse within days.

"A classic case of maturity mismatch combined with a Ponzi scheme." Song Yan wrote numbers rapidly on the whiteboard, the pen tapping loudly. "I've already checked his debt maturity schedule. Next month's fifteenth is his doomsday—three private loans and one bank loan mature that day, totaling 87 million. And the amount of liquid cash he can readily access across the country..."

He drew a heavy horizontal line under the number.

"Less than 30 million."

The operations room was deathly silent, then filled with suppressed gasps from the crowd.

A funding gap of 57 million.

If on that day, banks withdraw their loans, cargo owners rush to withdraw their margin deposits, and private creditors sense the risk and come knocking on the door to collect their debts, even if Qian Litong has extraordinary abilities, he won't be able to conjure up this money.

"Tonglian Logistics' demise is inevitable." Song Yan put down his pen, his tone as calm as if he were stating the weather. "All we need to do is let the winds blow and pile up the firewood before the 15th, and then—"

He made a ignition gesture.

At 2 a.m., only Lin Feng and Shangguan Jinghong remained in the operations room.

Song Yan's team went to the next suite for a break, the blue light from the computer screens flickering on the wall. After working seven consecutive days, Lin Feng leaned back in his chair, his brow furrowed, his temples throbbing.

The door was gently pushed open.

Shangguan Jinghong walked in carrying a white porcelain stew pot containing a calming soup made from gastrodia elata that had been simmering for an afternoon. She had changed out of her cheongsam from the daytime and was now wearing only a beige silk nightgown with a cashmere cardigan loosely draped over it. Her long hair was not tied up and hung loosely over her shoulders.

The lights in Mirror Moon Pavilion were already warm, and her skin was extremely white, the kind of cold porcelain white that never gets sun exposure. In the halo of the lamp, it was so white that it almost glowed, and even the pale blue veins on her neck and wrists were clearly visible.

The silk robe clung softly to her body, the neckline opening slightly as she leaned forward, revealing her delicate collarbone and a small, undulating curve.

"Have some soup. If you keep thinking about this, you'll burn yourself out." She handed him the stew pot, then naturally sat down beside him, her shoulder lightly touching his arm, and looked down at the financial report on the table.

She carried a faint scent of sandalwood and the warmth of the soup. She was very close to him, her hair almost brushing against his chin.

Lin Feng took a sip of the soup, the warmth sliding down his throat, and his nerves, which had been tense all night, relaxed a little: "You've had a hard time these past few days. Did you make the soup yourself?"

"Hmm." Sister Hong responded softly, her fingertips slowly tracing the shareholding diagram on the report. Her nails were neatly trimmed and rounded. "Song Yan and the others are hired hands. No matter how sharp they are, someone has to pave the way for them in the shadows. The informants in Bazhou, the channels for delivering evidence, the connections with law enforcement—these are all shady matters that you and Ouyang Qian can't get involved in."

She turned her head and looked at him so close, her phoenix eyes lacking their usual sharpness, only filled with tenderness.

"You're responsible for winning from the front." She raised her hand, her cool fingertips gently smoothing his furrowed brow. "I'll take care of keeping everything behind you clean forever."

Lin Feng took her hand and pulled her into his arms. Hong Jie let out a soft gasp and leaned against his shoulder. The collar of her nightgown slipped open a little more, and her full curves pressed against his arm, warm and soft.

She didn't move again, just leaned against it quietly.

"Will Ma Hongtao and Qian Litong resort to desperate measures?" she asked softly.

"Yes." Lin Feng looked at the two diagrams on the wall with a calm expression. "So on the day we take action, the building materials, logistics, and public security departments will all be mobilized simultaneously, keeping them busy with their own affairs. I also need to have Kui Zi keep a close eye on the Bazhou direction to prevent Ma Hongtao's underworld connections from reaching out to Cangzhou."

"Everything's arranged." Sister Hong nodded, snuggling closer to him, her voice slightly hoarse from staying up all night. "Then don't worry about it. Even if the sky falls, we'll have to wait until tomorrow."

Lin Feng lowered his head and placed a kiss on her smooth forehead.

Outside the window, the neon lights of Mirror Moon Pavilion burned all night long. The city was deep in slumber, but the undercurrents were being tightly locked up by a net that was tightening ever more.

On the morning of the eighth day, Song Yan pushed open the door to the operations room on time.

He hadn't slept all night, and there were faint dark circles under his eyes, but he was unusually excited. He walked to the whiteboard and drew a scarlet circle over each of the two names.

"President Lin, the plan is finalized."

"Ma Hongtao's fate rests on his sand mining permit and tax issues. I have already broken down the evidence package by department and it is ready to be submitted at any time. The water resources, public security and tax authorities will conduct a joint enforcement action and seal off all his sand pits and sand dredgers within 48 hours."

"Qian Litong's fate hinges on its capital pool and the 15th of next month. Starting today, we have twelve days to make our moves—to precisely spread the word about the financial difficulties of Tonglian Capital Chain to its lending banks, private creditors, and large-scale cargo owners; on the 15th, banks will withdraw loans, creditors will demand repayment, and cargo owners will run on their margin deposits—all three actions will be taken simultaneously."

He turned around, his gaze behind his frameless glasses calm and cruel.

"At that time, Hongyuan Building Materials' sand quarry will be seized, and Tonglian Logistics' cash flow will be disrupted. Both companies will be too busy to support each other. One will go to jail, and the other will go bankrupt and be liquidated."

"And the material yards, outlets, vehicles, and customers they painstakingly built up in Cangzhou," Song Yan paused, a very faint smile curving his lips, "will be on your acquisition list at a rock-bottom price."

In the operations room, everyone's eyes were focused on Lin Feng.

Lin Feng picked up the coffee, which had long since gone cold, walked to the whiteboard, and looked at the two scarlet circles.

He spoke slowly, his voice low but each word clear.

"Pass the word down."

"Make your move in twelve days."