Ashen-faced

December 15th, 7:40 AM.

In the underground operations room of Mirror Moon Pavilion, the curtains were tightly drawn, and the electronic clock on the wall ticked to the hour.

On both sides of the long table, four computers belonging to Song Yan's team were lit up simultaneously, displaying Tonglian Logistics' financial monitoring report, Hongyuan Building Materials' sand yard distribution map, and more than a dozen telephone lines that were still in operation.

Song Yan stood in front of the large screen, dressed in a sharp suit, his frameless glasses reflecting a cold light, holding an unlit fountain pen in his hand.

Lin Feng sat in the main seat, his expression calm.

Shangguan Jinghong, Ouyang Qian, and Kui Zi took their positions. Over the past twelve days, all the firewood had been piled up and all the blowers had been placed; now, only one match was needed.

"Everyone, check your watches." Song Yan's voice came clearly into everyone's ears through the walkie-talkie. "8:30, ignition of the building materials line. 9:00, ignition of the financial line. All actions proceed according to the schedule, neither ahead of schedule nor behind schedule."

"I want Ma Hongtao and Qian Litong to receive despairing phone calls on the same morning, at the same time."

8:30 AM, Daqinghe Sand Quarry

Seven law enforcement vehicles, painted with the logos of the water conservancy, public security, and tax authorities, split into three groups and simultaneously rushed towards three illegal sand pits belonging to Hongyuan Building Materials along the Daqing River.

This was a well-planned joint law enforcement operation.

The team was led by the River Inspection Detachment of the Municipal Water Resources Bureau, followed by police officers from the Economic Investigation Detachment and an inspection team from the Tax Inspection Bureau. The evidence package that Shangguan Jinghong handed over was extremely solid.

The evidence included forged sand mining permits, images of illegal nighttime mining in prohibited areas, photos of sand dredgers with modified dark compartments, three years' worth of bank statements from seven personal bank cards, and new witness testimonies from the assault case that had been suppressed for two years.

At the Daqing River sand quarry, several sand dredgers were still moored on the shore, and the conveyor belts could not be shut down before law enforcement officers rushed in.

"We have the certificates! We have all the necessary paperwork!" the sand pit manager shouted defiantly, but the inspectors immediately slapped the forgery report in his face, and his face turned pale instantly.

Another team discovered two ledgers in the sand quarry office—a fake ledger for corporate use and a black ledger recording real transactions, as well as a drawer full of weighing slips that hadn't been destroyed.

The tax inspector flipped through two pages and sneered, "Eighty-four million yuan in personal accounts over three years, not a single penny of tax paid. That's quite something."

Ma Hongtao was taken away from a teahouse in the city.

The night before, he was drinking with his underworld friends from Bazhou, boasting that he had already captured half of the sand and gravel market in Cangzhou and would raise prices and collect money once he had bankrupted Shuke. The next morning, four economic crime investigation police officers showed their identification as they entered the room.

"Ma Hongtao?"

"...It's me."

"You are suspected of illegal mining, tax evasion, and intentional assault. Criminal coercive measures have been taken against you in accordance with the law. Sign here."

The moment the cold handcuffs were put on his wrists, "Ma San," who had been terrorizing Bazhou for over a decade, felt his legs go weak and almost lost his balance.

He tried to make a phone call to pull strings, but his phone was confiscated on the spot. Unbeknownst to him, almost simultaneously, several public officials in Bazhou who had stood up for him were also summoned for questioning by the Discipline Inspection Commission and the Supervisory Commission.

The trees fell and the hozens scattered.

Three illegal sand pits, five sand dredgers, and two material storage yards were all seized and their accounts frozen within 48 hours. Hongyuan Building Materials' supply of low-priced sand and gravel in Cangzhou was cut off by noon that day.

At 9:00 AM sharp, Tonglian Logistics headquarters

Qian Litong was woken up by a phone call from the CFO.

"Mr. Qian! Something terrible has happened!" The voice on the other end of the phone was trembling uncontrollably. "ICBC just notified us that our 30 million working capital loan, which was supposed to mature next month, has been canceled. The bank says our operations are abnormal and there's a risk warning, demanding early repayment today, and the entire credit line is frozen!"

Qian Litong sat bolt upright in bed, the hangover headache instantly dispelled by a cold sweat: "What?! What right do they have to withdraw the loan! Where's the contract?!"

"They say...they say someone has filed a formal complaint with the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) against us for using a fund pool and engaging in related-party transactions, and the bank's risk control department needs to protect itself..."

The second call came right away; it was from a guarantee company that had lent him 20 million: "Old Qian, I heard you're having some trouble with your accounts? That loan is due today. I don't want the interest, but you have to transfer the principal today, or we'll see you in court."

The third, the fourth, the fifth...

As if by prior arrangement, the private creditors whom Song Yan's team had carefully "smoked over" over the twelve days all collectively smelled blood on the same morning.

Capital is the most bloodthirsty yet also the most cowardly; no one wants to be the last fool to leave. Debt collection calls bombarded Qian Litong's phone, and people were already waiting outside his company building.

At 9:40, the fatal blow struck.

The CFO practically burst into the office in tears: "Mr. Qian! The accounts... our main account and three general accounts have all been frozen by the court! It's a joint lawsuit filed by seventeen affiliated drivers and suppliers, who applied for pre-litigation asset preservation, claiming we owe freight and fuel card payments! With the accounts frozen, we won't be able to get back a single penny of the cargo owners' deposits!"

The words "deposit" were like a knife, precisely piercing Qian Litong's heart.

The biggest fear for a fund pool is a run on the bank.

At the entrance of Tonglian Logistics' Cangzhou branch, a large number of cargo owners who had rushed over after hearing the news quickly gathered. Some had seen the message in the cargo owners' group that "Tonglian is going to run away, banks are withdrawing loans, and accounts are frozen." Fearing that their annual deposits of 100,000 or 200,000 yuan would be lost, they abandoned their businesses and came to demand their money back. The crowd was indignant and grew larger and larger, with some people even calling the police on the spot.

Meanwhile, the affiliated drivers on whom Tonglian relied for its operations also received word at the same time that freight payments might not be made. No one wanted to drive for a company that could go bankrupt at any moment, and dozens of trucks stopped operating simultaneously, blocking the entrance to the logistics park, and the situation completely spiraled out of control.

Qian Litong was trapped in the office, his eyes red as he made a final struggle.

He remembered that he had one last trump card: through an affiliated company, he could leverage his position to hold a large number of shares in a logistics company listed on the New Third Board. These shares were pledged to a securities firm, and he could have used them to raise tens of millions of yuan to stay afloat.

With trembling hands, I dialed the number of the brokerage firm's account manager.

The other party's tone was unusually cold: "Mr. Qian, I'm sorry, but this morning we received a formal complaint regarding your nominee shareholding, illegal guarantees, and misappropriation of funds. The materials are very complete and have been submitted to the compliance department. Until the regulatory authorities have completed their investigation, all your pledge renewals and supplementary financing are suspended. In addition, your existing pledges are approaching the warning line. If you cannot provide additional collateral this week, we will enforce liquidation in accordance with regulations."

"No...impossible!" Qian Litong slumped into his chair, his face ashen.