58: Chapter 58 Old scores, the lingering sting of a past tail

In the Magic City, at the headquarters of Jiyuan Technology.

When Shen Du returned to his office from Yonglu, he still carried a trace of alcohol on him.

But in those eyes, there was not a hint of intoxication, only a cold sharpness.

He hadn't even taken off his suit jacket.

He walked behind his mahogany desk and picked up the landline phone.

He dialed the private line of Wang Xing at the Meituan headquarters, far away in Beijing.

The phone rang three times before being answered.

"Chairman Shen?"

On the other end of the line, Wang Xing's voice carried a hint of surprise.

In the past, this major shareholder who held Meituan's shares had always only controlled the general direction.

He had never interfered with the company's internal affairs.

A sudden call today was clearly unusual.

"President Wang, let's keep this brief."

Shen Du got straight to the point, his voice low:

"There have been whispers in the circle recently."

"When Meituan was first starting out, some people underneath were not clean, and there were quite a few bad accounts in the books."

"Some poisonous vines are already about to wrap around the main root."

As soon as these words were spoken, the air on the other end of the line froze.

Shen Du did not pause, his tone resolute:

"I don't care who is involved in this, nor do I care how troublesome it is to investigate."

"I hope you can be decisive and, in the shortest possible time, pull these hidden vines out by the root and cut them all off!"

After hearing these words, Wang Xing was stunned for a moment.

But as a helmsman who had fought his way out of the 'Thousand Group War', his sense of smell was incredibly keen.

Shen Du never concerned himself with the company's accounts; calling specifically today to give instructions, and mentioning "whispers" and "bad accounts".

This made Wang Xing alert.

This was definitely not a routine financial oversight.

It was that a hostile force had set its sights on their Achilles' heel.

They were preparing to make an issue of it and deal a fatal blow to Meituan.

This matter was not small; it had even reached a critical juncture of life and death.

After a brief moment of calm, Wang Xing's previously relaxed nerves tightened.

"Understood, Chairman Shen."

Wang Xing took a deep breath, his voice no longer hesitant, revealing a sense of decisiveness:

"I will immediately put all my expansion plans and external meetings on hold."

"Give me a week..."

Wang Xing paused, forcefully compressing the time:

"No, three days!"

"I will personally wipe my own backside clean; I will absolutely not let these hidden mines explode!"

"Good, I'll await your news." Shen Du hung up the phone.

Listening to the busy signal on the receiver, Shen Du tossed the handset back onto the landline.

His gaze turned toward the bustling skyline outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Since the Beijing Circle wanted to pull the rug out from under them.

Then he would just have to cut the fuse directly before this group of people could detonate it.

After hanging up Shen Du's call, Wang Xing did not hesitate for a second.

This big shot, who usually remained rational even when facing brutal battles, now had a gloomy expression.

He pushed away his boss chair.

He didn't even have time to put on his jacket before rushing out of the office.

"Bang!"

The glass door of the Meituan Finance Department's office area was violently pushed open.

Inside the spacious office area, everyone stopped what they were doing and looked in astonishment at the big boss who had barged in at the door.

A low pressure permeated the air.

"Financial Director!"

"Core Manager of the Business Department!"

"Get out here immediately!"

Wang Xing's voice exploded in the office area like thunder, carrying an irrefutable toughness.

In less than half a minute, several core executives ran out, covered in sweat.

Looking at Wang Xing's eyes, they were too scared to even breathe.

"P-President Wang, what happened?" The Financial Director wiped away cold sweat and asked cautiously.

"What happened? Someone wants to dig out our main root!"

Wang Xing's eyes were bloodshot.

He stared at this group of backbone staff and issued a death order:

"Pass on my word!"

"From this second on, all daily settlements and connections between the Finance Department and the Business Department are to be forcibly stopped!"

"Even if it's a transfer of tens of millions, hold it firmly in your hands for me!"

The whole room was horrified.

The two core hub departments were completely paralyzed.

For Meituan, how much of a loss did this mean?

But Wang Xing gave them no time to question.

He waved his hand violently and pointed at the Financial Director, roaring:

"Take people to the confidential warehouse immediately!"

"Take all the old paper accounts, original yin-yang contracts, and underlying transaction vouchers from the first day Meituan was founded."

"Even if it's a reimbursement form from years ago, bring it all out without missing a single page!"

"Pile them all into Conference Room No. 1!"

Wang Xing loosened his tie, his gaze sweeping over every employee present like a knife:

"From this moment on, the entire department is entering the highest level of wartime status!"

"Everyone, hand over your phones immediately!"

"Even if you don't eat, drink, or sleep, you must cooperate with me to conduct a carpet-style audit!"

"This is no longer work; this is about saving our lives!"

"Whoever dares to drop the ball at this critical moment, or misses a single bad account, can pack their bags and get out right now!"

With the issuance of this military order.

The entire Finance Department, like a machine with its gears forcibly switched, erupted into a flurry of panicked footsteps.

Everyone rushed toward the warehouse filled with confidential documents.

A mine-clearing battle racing against time had begun with a bang.

Under the high-pressure atmosphere of the large Conference Room No. 1, time ticked away second by second.

On the long conference table, yellowed early account books, paper vouchers, and yin-yang contracts were piled high.

Dozens of financial backbone staff, their eyes bloodshot, were cross-checking amidst the pile of old papers.

In less than half a day.

"P-President Wang!"

A financial supervisor suddenly stood up, clutching several early summary sheets. His voice trembled with fear:

"F-found it... it's here!"

Wang Xing, sitting in the main seat, suddenly opened his eyes.

He strode over and snatched the reports.

His gaze swept over those few lines of bad accounts that had been deliberately leveled off, and Wang Xing's pupils suddenly constricted.

A chill rushed from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

The hard evidence had surfaced.

During Meituan's early, rugged period.

Indeed, there were a few small shareholders who colluded with financial personnel.

Using covert methods, they had left holes in the accounts.

The amount of tax evasion exceeded 100 million RMB.

Looking at this shocking figure, Wang Xing gripped the report tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging.

In normal times, a mere hundred million in funds would count for nothing.

With Meituan joining forces with Xinghuo, the cash flow sitting on the books was in the tens or hundreds of billions.

Paying three to five hundred million in principal and interest would just be a drop in the bucket.

But the terrifying thing about this money was the timing of its detonation!

Wang Xing simulated it in his mind.

If this hidden mine were poked by the Beijing Circle to the tax bureau, or the consequences of it exploding in the media.

Just a slight deduction.

The shirt on this leader's back was instantly soaked in cold sweat.

That would be total destruction.

What would come first would definitely be a public opinion crisis.

The opponent would amplify the label of "Meituan tax evasion" infinitely.

Even following the vine to find the melon, splashing dirty water onto Xinghuo, and labeling it with "illegal fundraising".

Instantly destroying the corporate credibility they had built.

And the second step would be the fatal run.

As an O2O enterprise.

Meituan's lifeline was the millions of merchants who had joined, and the huge capital pool deposited in the backend.

Once negative news broke and the authorities issued an audit order.

Those million restaurant owners and bath center owners would, under the control of panic.

In order to save their hard-earned money, would frantically click the "withdraw" button in the backend.

Once that kind of financial-level run across the entire network occurred.

Meituan's capital chain wouldn't even last 48 hours before it completely snapped.

By then, the entire Meituan, along with the setup Shen Du had laid out, would be blown to pieces.

After verifying this loophole.

Wang Xing forced the finance team to conduct repeated reverse audits for several hours.

Until late at night.

After confirming that there were no other fatal loopholes in Meituan's entire historical accounts.

The anger in Wang Xing transformed into cold, decisive ruthlessness.

He slapped those few pages of bills onto the table.

His gaze, like a sharp knife, swept over all the executives present who were silent as cicadas in winter.

"Go investigate!"

Wang Xing's voice revealed a ruthless edge:

"Immediately find out which executives and small shareholders handled this account back then!"

"Regardless of whether they have resigned or not, have the security department control them immediately!"

"Collect the evidence, and tomorrow morning, hand these parasites over directly to the economic investigation department!"

Wang Xing gritted his teeth and spat out a few words:

"Use the charges of embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, and falsification of accounts to sue them to death!"

"Do not show any mercy!"

The Financial Director shuddered all over: "Yes! President Wang, I will go handle it right now!"

"Don't be in a rush to leave!"

Wang Xing stared at the Financial Director and issued a death order:

"It is now two in the morning."

"By twelve noon tomorrow, I want to see this tax payment of over 100 million."

"Together with all late fees and fines, paid in full into the tax bureau's account!"

Hearing this requirement, the Financial Director's face turned pale, and cold sweat dripped down his chin:

"President Wang, this is a massive capital movement of several hundred million!"

"It's the middle of the night right now."

"Even if we have money on the books, the approval process for interbank transfers is extremely cumbersome."

"There's no way to finish it in the morning tomorrow..."

"Bang!"

Wang Xing slapped the conference table heavily.

Like a starving wolf pushed to the edge of a cliff, he roared at the Financial Director:

"I don't want to hear excuses!"

"If the process is cumbersome, go call the presidents of the Big Four banks!"

"If the approval doesn't come down, take my seal and go smash down the branch manager's door at his home!"

"I only give you half a day!"

"If I don't see the tax payment certificate issued by the tax bureau by twelve noon tomorrow."

"Your entire Finance Department, from the director to the managers, will all pack your bags and be fired!"

Under this military order that left no room for maneuver, no one in the late-night conference room dared to say a single word of "no".

Following Wang Xing's order.

The entire Finance Department's executives and staff acted like they had gone crazy, splitting up to take action.

Contacting bank executives, calculating late fees, preparing tax payment reports...

On this sleepless night.

Meituan's financial hub, in order to snatch that half-day time difference of life and death, began a frantic cleanup.

Until all remedial measures were pushed onto the right track.

Only then did Wang Xing, dragging his exhausted body, return alone to the chairman's office.