Chapter 520: Save One Whenever You Can (New Book Launch)

"The general train of thought is already clear!" Chen Jiajun said to Silva: "Someone capable of manipulating such a large sum of wealth is definitely not an ordinary person!"

Silva nodded: "And to be able to stir up this kind of trouble in Hong Kong, they are not an ordinary person!"

Chen Jiajun sneered and said: "The outside world calls me the 'Hong Kong King', yet there is actually a force in Hong Kong I don't know about; this is truly too interesting! Keep investigating for me, investigate everything, including this so-called Z Fund and everyone related to it. I need a file."

"Understood!" Silva nodded: "I will have the intelligence agency operate at full capacity to follow up on this matter. Additionally, it seems the Independent Commission Against Corruption has already set their sights on them!"

Chen Jiajun stroked his chin and said: "Then don't act rashly. Investigating the Z Fund is not our business; I want to know the Boss pulling the strings behind the Z Fund!"

"Coming to my turf to stir up trouble without even greeting me—isn't that looking down on me, Chen, a bit too much?"

Chen Jiajun has many territories, but Hong Kong is the one place he least wants to give up.

It is not just a matter of sentiment; his Guojun Group is rooted in Hong Kong.

Although Guojun Group is now a multinational corporation, its main operations are all in Hong Kong.

If he were to leave Hong Kong, Chen Jiajun's assets would be like water without a source or a tree without roots.

Therefore, Chen Jiajun will not be soft-hearted toward anyone who wants to stir up trouble in Hong Kong.

……

After Huang Wenbin was released, he immediately took action.

The first person he dealt with was his wife... or rather, his ex-wife now.

He found a bunch of thugs to intimidate her and beat his wife up.

This immediately woke Jiang Huiling up.

She knew the people behind Huang Wenbin were not someone an ordinary person like her could afford to provoke.

So, she prepared overnight to take her elderly mother and go abroad to avoid the limelight.

By the time Lu Zhilian investigated, Jiang Huiling directly refused to cooperate with the Independent Commission Against Corruption anymore.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption could not protect her and her son; continuing this would likely cost them their lives.

Lu Zhilian was helpless. He also knew that reality was just like this; Jiang Huiling and her son did not meet the standards for the Witness Protection Program at all. He could only ask her for the contact information of the private investigator who had been tracking Huang Wenbin before she left Hong Kong.

Jiang Huiling could not stand Huang Wenbin being so arrogant and still living so carefree. After hesitating for a moment, she still left the private investigator's contact information for Lu Zhilian.

By the time Lu Zhilian found the private investigator, he discovered he was one step too late.

The private investigator's place had been splashed with paint by loan sharks.

Even after finding the man himself, this mercenary fellow refused to say anything, insisting that the photos he had taken were taken away by the loan sharks.

Lu Zhilian did not believe he had such high professional ethics as to not back up such photos.

After some coercion and bribery, the private investigator agreed to cooperate, but he needed some time and money.

Lu Zhilian agreed immediately.

When he returned to the Independent Commission Against Corruption, a subordinate suddenly said to Lu Zhilian: "Director Lu, something has happened!"

Lu Zhilian frowned and said: "What is so urgent?"

The subordinate immediately pointed at the news and said: "Look!"

After Lu Zhilian glanced at the news, a chill immediately rose up.

Chen Zhicai, who had reported Luo Deyong, had accidentally fallen off a mountain while walking his dog this morning and had died after emergency treatment.

This meant that all of Lu Zhilian's sources of information had been directly blocked by Huang Wenbin.

How could a small Superintendent of the Economic Crime Investigation Division have such great power? Clearly, he had a bigger backer behind him.

Lu Zhilian took his subordinates to organize the clues once more. Director An spoke up directly: "Could it be a case within a case?"

Lu Zhilian split them into two groups: "Group A, follow Luo Deyong twenty-four hours a day. I want to know clearly who he has been in contact with, okay?"

"Meili, Meili, what are you looking at?" Lu Zhilian asked his assistant curiously.

Meili immediately pushed the computer over and said: "Director Lu, look! I just searched for Luo Deyong; this is the latest current affairs news from half an hour ago."

At this moment, the computer was playing a news report: "The Z Fund announced an hour ago that it has appointed Luo Deyong's accounting firm as their accountant, and it has passed the approval process before the Securities and Futures Commission's final deadline! This means that the Z Fund will be listed on schedule next week!"

"Z Fund? The Hong Kong government's 15 billion Care Fund—will it all be invested as soon as the Z Fund is listed?" Director An said with a look of surprise.

Another member followed up: "The Hong Kong government's 15 billion, plus the 10 billion subscribed by retail investors—this case is really becoming more and more complicated!"

Lu Zhilian soon felt that there must be a connection between these cases, so he said directly to his subordinates: "Can we get a few tickets to the press conference? Let's go in together and see what this Z Fund is really all about?"

Meili nodded and said: "Leave it to me, Director Lu!"

At the Z Fund press conference, Lu Zhilian and the others snuck in.

They also managed to grab a copy of the Z Fund's prospectus.

This thing touted the Z Fund to the skies, and it looked completely legal and compliant.

No wonder so many retail investors would be fooled and rush to subscribe to this company that hadn't even gone public yet.

Many people came to the press conference; besides some wealthy individuals, there were also many financial reporters.

The few people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption were not very conspicuous; after all, they were only there to observe today.

Moreover, they were secretly filming the several main people in charge of the Z Fund.

At this time, Hu Zhiyong found Luo Deyong and said with a smile: "How much do you want to subscribe for? I'll help you ask the underwriter for some!"

Luo Deyong remained Yin Yang and said: "Still subscribing? No thanks!"

"We are partners; if there's money to be made, we make it together!" Hu Zhiyong continued.

He truly wanted to pull Luo Deyong into his own camp.

Luo Deyong, however, gave him no face at all and said: "I never wanted to be a partner with you people; it was you who insisted on cooperating with me!"

After saying this, Luo Deyong ignored this fellow and left the place directly.

In fact, it wasn't just the Independent Commission Against Corruption; Chen Jiajun also sent someone in to check the situation.

And this person was Su Xingbai. Chen Jiajun's target was too big; he was simply not suited for this kind of occasion, so he could only send his personal assistant.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption did not notice, but the sharp Su Xingbai unexpectedly discovered the discord between Luo Deyong and Hu Zhiyong.

Having been rebuked by Luo Deyong, Hu Zhiyong's expression turned gloomy; that look was practically murderous! Su Xingbai immediately recorded this situation, preparing to report it to Chen Jiajun later.

The press conference began shortly after, with several people, including Luo Deyong, sitting under the backdrop.

Hu Zhiyong spoke first: "Simply put, over the past three years, the Z Hedge Fund has mainly invested in blue-chip stocks such as the FTSE in England, the Dow Jones, and the DAX in Deguo. Although the financial storm caused market volatility, the fund has achieved an annual compound return of 10.2 percent over the past three years. This is a brilliant achievement. Does anyone have any questions?"

At this moment, a financial reporter raised their hand and asked: "Two weeks ago, the Z Fund dismissed its auditor in the United States. There are rumors that the auditor discovered discrepancies in the Z Fund's accounts. Is this true?"

Hu Zhiyong denied it on the spot: "Absolutely not! The Z Fund changed auditors because the management felt that since the Z Fund is rooted in Hong Kong, it should serve Hong Kong!"

Subsequently, another financial reporter raised their hand and asked: "We know that the Hong Kong government's 15 billion Care Fund will be invested into the Z Fund. Why is that?"

Hu Zhiyong smiled and said: "For this, I must ask Secretary Xu to answer!"

Xu Huaijing smiled and said: "First, I must clarify that I am not Secretary Xu. I am a former secretary; I have already left the government for half a year. We are investing in the Z Fund because we believe in the fund's professional team! According to the fund's analysis, the projected return rate for the next two years is around 8 percent."

"15 billion multiplied by 8 percent means at least 1.2 billion will be used for poverty alleviation every year. Remember, this 1.2 billion does not cost taxpayers a single cent, yet it will be used for the benefit of the general public!"

Hearing Xu Huaijing's answer, another reporter asked: "Then how can you guarantee that the Z Fund will have returns?"

"It means that whether the market rises or falls, the Z Fund can guarantee to provide returns, and they are returns that investors can accept..."

Another person in charge began to talk glibly. But this sort of thing seemed capable of fooling ordinary people, yet it couldn't even fool a half-baked person like Su Xingbai.

Su Xingbai sneered as he listened to the Z Fund people talking big, and he immediately understood exactly what was wrong with the Z Fund.

Regarding whether market volatility would affect returns, the senior management of the Z Fund appeared exceptionally confident.

But Su Xingbai knew this was all bullshit. If it weren't for Chen Jiajun and the folks back home holding firm against Soros's harvesting, Hong Kong would likely be in ruins by now; there would be no room for these guys to be spouting nonsense here.

They were simply using the recent positive stock market news to pump up the general public.

To put it simply, there was no guarantee at all; it was pure deception.

For a company that relied purely on deception, Su Xingbai could see the problem at a glance.

This was also the result of his training during this period.

But not everyone had the conditions Su Xingbai had, being able to learn by Chen Jiajun's side.

So even the professional financial reporters below were completely fooled by the Z Fund.

Coupled with the issue of the government Care Fund being involved, many people felt the Z Fund was unreliable but wouldn't say so on such an occasion.

The government side clearly favored the returns brought by the Z Fund; speaking out of turn to spoil the mood at this time would be offending people, wouldn't it? So, many who saw the problem just silently let go of the subscriptions in their hands.

As for the others, what did it have to do with these rich people?

After the press conference ended, Su Xingbai returned to the Guojun Group.

He told Chen Jiajun everything he had seen today.

Chen Jiajun sneered on the spot: "Sure enough, this Z Fund has problems! I just had Cao Weicai over in the United States use the connections of Rust Water Capital to check on this Z Fund. Do you know what the situation is?"

"What is the situation?" Su Xingbai asked curiously.

Chen Jiajun shook his head and calmly spat out a term: "A Ponzi scheme!"

The so-called Ponzi scheme, in the local parlance, is "robbing Peter to pay Paul."

The Z Fund uses money from new investors to pay interest and short-term returns to old investors, giving people the feeling that it is constantly making a profit.

Then it continues to fool new investors until the scheme expands to the point where it can no longer be sustained.

By that time, the few senior executives of the Z Fund will vanish into thin air on the spot.

By then, forget about interest; you won't be able to get back a single cent of your principal.

This is a very classic type of fraud that was once rampant over in the United States.

As for why Chen Jiajun was able to find out the Z Fund's background so quickly.

It was because the uncle of this guy Cao Weicai had encountered such a scheme.

He was the one who saw through the scheme, which is why he prevented his family from being deceived.

"Ah?" Su Xingbai was stunned on the spot: "A Ponzi scheme? They scammed the government?"

"Tsk, this matter is also going to get tangled up in politics!" Chen Jiajun said slowly: "The Chief Executive is newly appointed and has just won a battle! He will definitely want to immediately expand his political ambitions, so..."

Su Xingbai understood immediately and nodded helplessly: "Looking at it this way, it is indeed possible!"

Subsequently, Su Xingbai said to Chen Jiajun in horror: "If that's really the case, won't the government suffer heavy losses?"

Chen Jiajun shook his head and said: "Not necessarily. Now we have to see if the people at the Independent Commission Against Corruption are sharp enough! If they can find evidence in a short time, they can stop the Z Fund from going public, and then the government's 15 billion Care Fund won't need to be injected!"

"Then what about the 10 billion from the retail investors?" Su Xingbai said with wide eyes.

Chen Jiajun shook his head helplessly: "No one is a god. In this situation, it's estimated that it can't be recovered! It was a Ponzi scheme to begin with; these bastards have probably already prepared to run away. It just depends on whether the government can catch them."

"But I estimate the possibility is very small. By now, the retail investors' money has probably already been transferred abroad by this group of guys, right? Trying to investigate it will definitely be extremely difficult!"

Su Xingbai said with a strange expression: "I thought we in the underworld were already bad enough, but I didn't expect this group of bastards to be even worse!"

Chen Jiajun said indifferently: "Capital comes into the world dripping with blood from every pore from head to toe. The worst kind is this type of person."

Hearing Chen Jiajun's words, Su Xingbai's gaze drifted involuntarily toward Chen Jiajun.

Chen Jiajun was immediately furious, grabbed a file, and slapped it on Su Xingbai's head: "You punk, I am a patriotic entrepreneur, not a capitalist! Get out of here!"

Su Xingbai chuckled and immediately rolled out nimbly.

Chen Jiajun looked at the Hong Kong night view outside the window and muttered to himself: "The bastard behind the scenes is much more ruthless than I imagined! This is a plan to crash Hong Kong's economy again! However, I won't let you succeed!"

……

On the High Seas, on a yacht.

Hu Zhiyong and Xu Huaijing were enjoying the sea breeze blowing in their faces.

"A Sunseeker yacht is the Rolls-Royce of the yachting world; you won't find anything better than this." Hu Zhiyong introduced this luxury yacht to Xu Huaijing with a smile.

Xu Huaijing nodded and said: "The yacht is really nice, very luxurious!"

"Look over here, this is the master bedroom!"

"Hahaha, it's really comfortable!"

Back on the deck, a waiter brought over various delicacies and fine wines, setting them out on a table.

Xu Huaijing leaned back comfortably on the sofa and said, "This yacht is truly magnificent!"

Hu Zhiyong took out the keys directly and said to Xu Huaijing with a smile, "It only cost about one hundred million; if you like it, just take it and use it!"

Xu Huaijing immediately pushed Hu Zhiyong's hand away gently and said with a smile, "Absolutely not. If you give me such a luxurious yacht, should I sit on it or not? I am a former Secretary; you also said this is the Rolls-Royce of the yacht industry, this is very sensitive! How could I dare to sit on it!"

Hu Zhiyong continued, "This yacht is under an overseas company, registered in the British Virgin Islands, it cannot be traced!"

Xu Huaijing shook his head and said, "Many of their assets are also said to be held by overseas companies, yet aren't they still investigated clearly by others? Forget it, I had better not be greedy!"

Seeing that Xu Huaijing insisted on refusing, Hu Zhiyong did not continue to persuade him, but instead said, "I know you are cautious, so my client has opened an account at a Swiss Bank, and ten million US dollars have already been deposited inside! As soon as the Z Fund goes public, the account number and password will be sent to you immediately!"

The next day, news about the Z Fund's listing was being reported everywhere.

"Because the Z Fund received an investment from the Hong Kong government's Care Fund, under the influence of such positive news, the first day of subscription drew an enthusiastic response from Hong Kong citizens..."

Watching the large crowds of retail investors on television planning to rush into the stock market to subscribe, Chen Jiajun could not help but shake his head.

He was not a god, and he had no way to stop this kind of thing. Although he knew it was a trap, he could not even speak out about it.

Otherwise, the media would definitely report that he was being sour.

Even if Chen Jiajun had defeated Soros during this financial crisis, it was useless.

He could only influence a small portion, and he estimated that he would also fall out with the newly appointed Chief Executive because of this matter.

Thinking of this, Chen Jiajun called over Su Xingbai: "Do you know who at the Independent Commission Against Corruption is keeping an eye on this case?"

Su Xingbai frowned and pondered for a while, then said to Chen Jiajun with a strange look in his eyes: "Do you still remember Lu Zhilian? I heard that you had a conflict with the Independent Commission Against Corruption back then because of the Kowloon Motor Bus incident! The guy responsible for inviting you to 'drink tea' was this Lu Zhilian!"

Chen Jiajun was not angry; instead, he said quite amusedly: "I didn't expect that small character from back then has now also been promoted to a trusted official! What position does this guy hold at the Independent Commission Against Corruption now?"

"Chief Investigator!" Su Xingbai replied: "Why are you asking about this?"

"Ho, he's got something to him!" Chen Jiajun was quite surprised, then said with a smile: "Since we know about the Z Fund matter, we might as well speed things up for the Independent Commission Against Corruption!"

Su Xingbai said with a confused face: "How to speed it up?"

Chen Jiajun handed the information he had obtained from Cao Weicai to Su Xingbai and said: "Send this to Lu Zhilian!"

"Ah? You still want to help him?" Su Xingbai said with a surprised face.

Regarding Chen Jiajun, he considered himself to have some understanding.

Those who offended him in the past almost none had a good ending.

Now, facing this guy Lu Zhilian, not only is he not going to mess with him, but he is actually helping him?

"Is there a problem?" Chen Jiajun spread his hands and said: "Your Boss never goes after those small characters. Remember to find someone to send the information anonymously! Don't let the Independent Commission Against Corruption run over here to ask me this and that!"

"Understood, Boss!" Su Xingbai took the documents and went to do the task.

Chen Jiajun looked at the citizens on television eagerly subscribing and sighed, saying: "I'll save as many as I can!" (End of chapter)