Chapter 522: Why Are You So Stupid? Accepting Cash?

Wei Yaoting could not help but say to Chen Jiajun, "To be honest, Mr. Chen, the Independent Commission Against Corruption has already set its sights on the Z Fund."

Chen Jiajun feigned surprise and said, "Oh? Is that so? It seems I have been meddling in affairs that do not concern me!"

"No, no, no, Mr. Chen's heart is full of sincerity; how could it be meddling!" the head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority immediately said. "We are all so grateful to you, Mr. Chen! Since you have also noticed this matter, we will be sure to pay attention to it on our end as well."

Chen Jiajun stood up, shook hands with the two of them, and said, "You are too kind; this is just what any person from Hong Kong ought to do."

After Chen Jiajun left the lounge, Wei Yaoting said to the head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, "Why would a Big Boss like Chen Jiajun be concerned about this kind of thing?"

"You don't know?" the head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said with a smile.

Wei Yaoting had only recently come into his position, and indeed, he did not know much about Chen Jiajun.

The head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said with a complex look in his eyes, "Chen Jiajun is a very complicated man! Some say he started out in the gangs and only reached his current status by doing shady business. Others say he only earned his current wealth by shamelessly fawning over the mainland."

"But no one can deny that, whether as a citizen, a tycoon, or a patriotic entrepreneur, Chen Jiajun is highly qualified."

"Back during the financial crisis, it was he who turned the tide and used his own money to save all the Chinese Capital Merchants, preventing Hong Kong from being economically colonized by England! This time, he was the first to step out and repel Soros."

"Even his opponents and those who dislike him have to admit that he is a thorough patriot, so it is not at all strange that he would do something like this!"

Wei Yaoting was speechless for a moment. Indeed, as a member of the Local Faction, their contributions were not as great as those of the patriotic faction, which left them with little to be proud of.

The head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority continued, "I think you should have a good talk with Xu Huaijing about this. If something really goes wrong, surely you can't have everyone, including the Chief Executive, resigning in disgrace, right?"

Hearing the head of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority put it this way, Wei Yaoting finally understood the gravity of the situation.

But the contract had already been signed; no matter how things developed, the government would be in trouble.

Unless... the Independent Commission Against Corruption made some smooth progress.

In that case, they would only need to lose a little face at the top and admit that the vetting process had not been strict enough.

At the very least, it wouldn't have to reach the point of resigning in disgrace.

Thinking of this, Wei Yaoting took a deep breath and said, "Fine, I will go talk to them!"

The next day, Wei Yaoting arranged to play golf with Hu Zhiyong and Xu Huaijing.

During a break, Wei Yaoting spoke up, "I invited the two of you here today because there is actually something I would like to discuss with you. The media is very concerned about the risk assessment of this Z Fund, the opposition is constantly making noise, and most importantly, the Independent Commission Against Corruption is investigating this matter."

"So we are a bit worried; could the Care Fund's investment in the Z Fund be delayed slightly? Old Xu, what do you think?"

Xu Huaijing did not understand why Wei Yaoting had suddenly changed his stance, which caught him off guard: "This..."

Hu Zhiyong, standing to the side, spoke up directly: "The Z Fund has already received many subscription forms from citizens; it will be very difficult for the government not to invest. Yaoting, do you know that we have already received many times the amount in oversubscriptions? This is hundreds of billions!"

"I am not saying we shouldn't invest," Wei Yaoting waved his hand. "I just want to issue another risk assessment. Once this assessment is out, the media and the opposition will have nothing more to say! Then we can invest, okay? I hope you, Zhiyong, can be understanding and help me out."

Hu Zhiyong immediately laughed: "I would love to help; we are all friends! But it is very difficult for me to answer to the shareholders if I do this. Both sides have already signed the agreement, and now you want to back out? If this goes to court, it won't be pleasant!"

Hu Zhiyong appeared very aggressive, directly shutting down Wei Yaoting's words.

Wei Yaoting also laughed: "That is why I didn't invite the two of you to the government headquarters to talk today!"

As he spoke, Wei Yaoting aimed his gaze at Xu Huaijing to apply pressure: "Old Xu, you are the idea man; can you think of a way to delay this matter?"

Seeing Wei Yaoting's gaze, Xu Huaijing suddenly looked intimidated.

Just as he was about to speak, a waiter walked over: "Mr. Xu, there is a delivery at the entrance that requires your personal signature."

"Thank you!" Xu Huaijing nodded, then stood up and said to Wei Yaoting, "Excuse me, I must step away for a moment."

Afterward, Xu Huaijing went to the hotel lobby to sign for a document.

After opening the document, Xu Huaijing's face changed instantly.

Because the document envelope contained photos of him messing around with women, and the photos were quite clear.

This immediately made him realize that this must be Hu Zhiyong warning him.

Xu Huaijing took a deep breath, packed the photos away, and tucked them into his clothes before preparing to return.

He did not notice that he had long been followed by people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Even the photos from just a moment ago had been captured by the people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

After returning to the booth, Wei Yaoting continued to press him: "Old Xu! Regarding the matter I mentioned earlier, what are your thoughts?"

"My thoughts?" Xu Huaijing paused and then said, "I think the current criticism of the Z Fund from the outside is completely groundless. You are quite right; there are too many people in Hong Kong singing a different tune. No matter what the government does, there are always people nitpicking. If the government wants to maintain strong leadership, it must not back down."

"If we back down any further, it will become a Thucydides Trap, and no one will believe anything we say! So we must act according to the law and invest in the Z Fund on schedule. Otherwise, it will only give those media outlets and the opposition more excuses to attack. Don't worry, I will take full responsibility for this! As for the government side, I will communicate with them personally."

Wei Yaoting found Xu Huaijing's sudden change quite strange.

It wasn't as if Xu Huaijing didn't hold a position in the government; how could he not know that if something really went wrong, there was no way he, as a mere fund chairman, could bear the responsibility?

But Xu Huaijing refused to speak up now and even insisted on pushing for the Care Fund to invest in the Z Fund.

He had no other choice, so he could only nod helplessly.

Hu Zhiyong immediately laughed: "That is great! One word from Mr. Xu inside the government is worth ten thousand words outside! We wish the Z Fund a successful listing and continued prosperity. Cheers!"

Wei Yaoting had already tried his best to stop it, but unfortunately, it had no effect at all.

But that was fine, too; when the investigation came, at least he had already made an effort.

Even if something happened, it wouldn't involve him.

So Wei Yaoting did not force the issue, and the matter was left at that.

On the side of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, there were only three days left.

Lu Zhilian used both reason and emotion to finally persuade Luo Deyong to cooperate with him.

Just as Lu Zhilian was excitedly planning to go to the hospital to pick up Luo Deyong, a heavy object suddenly fell from the roof.

Right in front of Lu Zhilian, it smashed into a car, causing it to cave in.

Lu Zhilian, still shaken, walked over to take a look—who else could it be but Luo Deyong?

After such an incident, Lu Zhilian was completely stunned.

The hospital doctors and nurses all ran out to check on Luo Deyong's condition.

Unfortunately, having fallen from such a high roof, he was dead beyond any doubt.

All the hard work Lu Zhilian had put in had gone down the drain.

Very quickly, the autopsy report for Luo Deyong came out, ruling it a suicide.

Moreover, Luo Deyong's wife had already stopped breathing before his "suicide."

Furthermore, a note was found on Luo Deyong's body with the words "no desire to live" written on it.

This case was thus hastily closed.

Just when his subordinates thought Lu Zhilian would surely be very dejected, they came one after another to comfort him.

However, they discovered that Lu Zhilian not only had no intention of being dejected, but instead showed a tendency to become more courageous with every setback.

In Lu Zhilian's view, Luo Deyong was of little use after the Z Fund passed the audit.

Killing even a person like this meant that the Z Fund side was desperate.

Furthermore, a subordinate also brought him good news: they had found evidence of Xu Huaijing's power-for-sex deals.

Just as Lu Zhilian was analyzing with his subordinates, Meili received a call: "Director Lu, private investigator Zhang Qiang has come to provide information, he is downstairs!"

Hearing this news, Lu Zhilian immediately took people downstairs. Very quickly, he saw several photos from the copies provided by the private investigator.

The woman in the photos and the woman Xu Huaijing met were the same person; clearly, there was a problem.

Lu Zhilian immediately planned to use this breakthrough to launch the most intense offensive.

Subsequently, Lu Zhilian had someone look up the information on this woman, whose name was An Ying.

This woman had been helped by kind-hearted people because she had suffered from leukemia.

And among the donors was this guy, Hu Zhiyong.

Through this clue, the connection between her and Hu Zhiyong was quickly found.

Lu Zhilian and Meili bombarded her with questions, and brought out those photos Hu Zhiyong used to threaten Xu Huaijing, finally making An Ying agree to cooperate with the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

And in Hu Zhiyong's villa, they induced Hu Zhiyong to personally lead the occurrence of this series of events.

It was just bad luck that, just as An Ying was preparing to leave, she was discovered by Hu Zhiyong with a wiretap.

Fortunately, Lu Zhilian had been nearby, ready to provide support at any time, which allowed An Ying to escape smoothly.

Looking at the wiretap in his hand, Hu Zhiyong was completely stunned!

He had not expected that he who spent his days hunting geese would have his eyes pecked out by a goose.

Thinking that because of him, the Z Fund's listing had failed, the consequences...

Hu Zhiyong simply dared not think any further and immediately contacted Mr. Zorro: "Mr. Zorro, I have encountered some trouble here!"

To make this evidence invalid, the only way was to silence An Ying.

And so, Mr. Zorro approached Huang Wenbin again, using ten million to buy An Ying's life.

Huang Wenbin intercepted Lu Zhilian's group on the road, but he did not act immediately.

The charge of killing people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption was too heavy; he simply could not bear it.

Moreover, he still had a bright future and would simply not take action himself.

So he had people tail the Independent Commission Against Corruption staff to find their Safe House, and then brought in a few gunmen from the Vietnam gang to do the job.

That same night, the gunmen launched an attack on the Independent Commission Against Corruption's Safe House.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption had the right to carry firearms, but even if they did, they were only a few small Handguns that Lu Zhilian had applied for from his superiors; how could they possibly be the opponents of these insane Vietnam gunmen?

This time, Huang Wenbin had spent a large sum of money, so the gunmen were not only all equipped with Bujiang, but even brought Shoumiliudan.

In an instant, they suppressed the few people from the Independent Commission Against Corruption inside the house, leaving them unable to move.

If things continued like this, everyone inside being killed was just a matter of time.

At this moment, there was a fierce battle inside the Safe House, but the Information Officer under Chen Jiajun was watching the show.

"Boss, if we don't take action, this batch of Independent Commission Against Corruption people is afraid they will be finished here!" a Young Demon Slave said to the head of the Information Department.

The head of the Information Department sneered and said: "No rush, this Lu Zhilian previously had a grudge with our boss, let them suffer a bit first. Besides, people who dare to go against the boss definitely aren't that simple; look, didn't this guy run out?"

"It really is! That woman is there too," the subordinate Young Demon Slave said in surprise.

Watching the killers surround them from all directions, the head of the Information Department dropped the half-eaten apple in his hand and said: "Alright, the show has been watched enough, it's time for us to take action!"

Saying this, the people from the Information Department directly grabbed the silenced submachine guns in their hands and charged toward these Vietnam killers.

The Information Department was originally the elite under Chen Jiajun.

These guys walked in the dark night like ghosts.

The Vietnam gunmen had all focused their attention on Lu Zhilian and An Ying, and simply did not notice that the Young Demon Slaves had already charged over.

Every time they opened fire, a Vietnam gunman was killed on the spot.

By the time the Vietnam gunmen reacted, their manpower had already been reduced to only a dozen people left.

"Someone is sniping!" The leader of the gunmen immediately discovered something was wrong and immediately grabbed the Bujiang in his hand to counterattack.

In this way, Lu Zhilian and An Ying in the car finally had a moment to catch their breath.

You have to know that if the Young Demon Slaves hadn't taken action, their car would not have been able to withstand the bullets.

Lu Zhilian heard the different gunfire outside, and his mind was full of confusion.

He did not know who had saved him and An Ying.

A few minutes later, it became completely quiet outside the car, quiet to a terrifying degree.

Lu Zhilian quietly raised his head to observe outside and discovered that apart from some corpses of Vietnam gunmen, nothing was left behind.

As if... they had seen a ghost.

A moment later, a roar of car engines came over, and Lu Zhilian saw that it was his superior, Yu Hongsheng, who had brought people to provide support.

"Zhilian, are you alright?" Yu Hongsheng asked with concern.

"I'm fine, the witness is also safe; Yaozu was hit by a bullet and probably needs treatment," Lu Zhilian said immediately.

Yu Hongsheng looked at the corpses all over the ground and the riddled car, and said with a curious face: "What exactly happened? How did it end up like this?"

Lu Zhilian said, completely bewildered, "I was just about to ask you that!"

"This... forget it. The Z Fund is going public today; this is the last chance to stop them!" Yu Hongsheng said to Lu Zhilian, "Hurry to the court and apply for an interim injunction! There should still be time!"

"Alright, I'll go right now!" Lu Zhilian could no longer care about the identities of those who saved him, and immediately took An Ying and his subordinates to the court.

Nine o'clock in the morning, the time the market opens.

Hu Zhiyong and Xu Huaijing led a group of people striding toward the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to prepare for the listing.

Reporters nearby were constantly taking photos of the group; this matter seemed to be a done deal.

But just as they were about to walk out of the hotel entrance, the doors were pushed open by someone else first.

Members of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, led by Lu Zhilian, blocked their path.

"Wait, Independent Commission Against Corruption!" Lu Zhilian said coldly to Hu Zhiyong, "This is an interim injunction issued by the court, prohibiting your Z Fund from going public."

"Mr. Hu Zhiyong, Mr. Xu Huaijing, you are suspected of violating the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance, and we would like to invite you both to come back to assist with the investigation."

Hu Zhiyong immediately said to his subordinate, "Tell them I'm at the Independent Commission Against Corruption!"

But Lu Zhilian let out a cold snort and said, "We do not intend to grant you bail. We already have sufficient evidence to send you both to court within forty-eight hours! Perhaps you won't be coming out so quickly this time!"

Saying this, he had his subordinates take the two of them away directly.

Meanwhile, Huang Wenbin was carrying a bag of money, preparing to take the ferry to Macau and then flee to Thailand.

But on the ferry, he was intercepted by the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

"Mr. Huang Wenbin, this is an arrest warrant. You are suspected of violating the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance; please come back with us to assist with the investigation." As luck would have it, the ones leading the team this time were Director An and Xiao Ma.

They were the two people who had been humiliated by Huang Wenbin back at the Independent Commission Against Corruption.

Xiao Ma even spoke up directly to mock him, "Superintendent Huang, didn't you say that money only takes eight seconds to travel around the world? How could you be so stupid? Accepting cash?" (End of chapter)