Chapter 25: A Report Has Been Made, and the Security Department Has Arrived!

Behind Zhou Tiejun followed three fully armed officers.

Semi-automatic rifles were slung behind their backs, and in their hands, they held paper that was a glaring, piercing white.

Those were sealing strips.

The crowd, which had been boiling with the frenzy of the buying spree...

...was suddenly silenced, as if an invisible giant hand had seized them by the throat.

Everyone instinctively backed away, leaving a large open space.

In this era, nothing good ever came from the Security Department knocking on your door.

"Who is Lin Xi?" Zhou Tiejun's gaze was like a hawk's, his voice dull and heavy.

"Right here!"

"Section Chief, he's in that room!"

A shrill voice rang out.

Zhao the Scabby jumped out from behind the jeep.

By now, he had changed into a set of clean clothes.

Although his face still bore injuries, the arrogant smugness of a petty man achieving his ends practically overflowed from him.

He pointed at the door and howled loudly:

"This is the illegal den!"

"That Lin Xi is the ringleader!"

"Speculation and Profiteering, setting up a Private Slush Fund—the evidence is conclusive!"

"Seal it! Seal this illegal den for me!"

"Take them all away to rot in prison!"

Zhao the Scabby hopped around, his finger nearly poking Wang Dapao in the nose:

"Big guy, why aren't you acting tough anymore?"

"The Security Department is here today; let's see if you still dare to lift a finger!"

Wang Dapao's eyes bulged, and just as his fists clenched tight, Sun Erga grabbed him firmly around the waist.

"Brother Cannon! Don't be impulsive!"

"Those are real guns!"

Sun Erga was so terrified his face turned pale, and his legs were trembling uncontrollably.

Inside the room.

The ledger in Liu Guihua's hand hit the table with a "thud," and her whole body began to shake:

"Man... Manager Lin, what do we do?"

"The Security Department is here..."

"Are we going to prison?"

Lin Xi closed his fountain pen and gently screwed on the cap.

His movements were slow and methodical.

"What's the panic?"

Lin Xi stood up, straightened his collar, and tucked the ledger from the table under his arm.

He glanced at the trembling group and gave a light chuckle:

"Come on, let's go out and take a look."

The livestream chat exploded instantly:

【Holy crap! Iconic scene alert! Queue the BGM!】

【Why am I not panicking even after seeing real guns? I even kind of want to laugh?】

【The Streamer's composure is absolutely insane! This pre-flex buildup is maxed out!】

【Lin Xi: I'm not pretending anymore, I'm laying my cards on the table; I'm a high-tier player.】

【As long as the protagonist doesn't panic, it's definitely the villain who should be panicking. That's an ironclad rule!】

Lin Xi pushed open the door and stepped onto the porch.

The cold wind ruffled the hem of his clothes as he stood on the high ground, calmly meeting Zhou Tiejun's gaze.

There was no fear, no fawning.

There was even a hint of... playful mockery, as if he were watching a play.

Seeing the main target emerge, Zhao the Scabby's face turned red with excitement.

He pointed at Lin Xi, spit flying everywhere as he vented all the frustration he'd built up over the past few days.

"Section Chief Zhou! It's him!"

"Look in that room, it's full of money!"

"That's the blood and sweat of the people!"

"You must arrest him and parade him through the streets!"

Zhou Tiejun was momentarily stunned.

He hadn't expected this so-called "ringleader" to be so young, and...

...he looked a bit familiar.

Right, on the day Elder Qian summoned this kid, Zhou Tiejun had been present as well.

However, he had left early and didn't know about the special approval.

"Comrade Lin Xi," Zhou Tiejun's hand remained on his holster, maintaining professional vigilance,

"Someone has reported you for using your position to embezzle state assets, engaging in Speculation and Profiteering, and setting up a Private Slush Fund."

"This is a serious matter; we need to investigate."

A commotion broke out in the crowd.

In this era, the words "Speculation and Profiteering" were an extremely severe accusation.

At best, one would rot in jail; at worst, they'd face a firing squad.

Liu Guihua's legs went weak, and she had to lean against the doorframe to keep from collapsing.

Sun Erga's face turned ashen, and he instinctively tried to block the money boxes in the room.

Only Lin Xi gently brushed some non-existent dust from his sleeve.

"Section Chief Zhou, handling a case requires evidence."

Lin Xi's voice wasn't loud, but it pierced clearly through the wind and snow.

"Since Master Zhao says I've embezzled assets, then let's go through it item by item."

He turned his head and looked at Sun Erga, who was shrinking back:

"Erga, take out the Material Allocation Slips and paste them on the door."

Trembling, Sun Erga pulled a stack of documents from his coat.

"Paste them," Lin Xi said, using only two words.

Sun Erga gritted his teeth, found some paste, and slapped those papers hard onto the wooden door.

"These are Waste Material Disposal Slips issued by the base's Material Department."

Lin Xi pointed at the documents, his tone flat.

"Every screw, every pound of aluminum plate, every meter of resistance wire—they all have serial numbers, signatures from the handlers, and the official seal of the Material Department."

He looked at Zhou Tiejun:

"Section Chief Zhou is an expert; you should be able to see that on the books, these items are all listed as 'scrapped materials'."

"According to base regulations, using scrapped materials for production for self-relief isn't considered embezzling assets, is it?"

Zhou Tiejun stepped closer and scanned them.

Indeed, the paperwork was complete, the red seals were glaring, and it was beyond reproach.

Zhao the Scabby grew anxious: "Then... what about the money!"

"You sold so much and made so much money!"

"I saw it myself, a whole box of Great Unity billss!"

"That must have been split among you!"

"Big Sister Liu." Lin Xi snapped his fingers. "The bankbook and the ledger."

Liu Guihua tremblingly handed over a small red book and a bankbook.

Lin Xi took them and handed them directly to Zhou Tiejun:

"This is the bankbook and ledger for the 'Red Star Labor Service Agency Collective Account'."

"All incoming and outgoing transactions are in the ledger; the destination of every cent is traceable."

"All the money, after deducting costs, is in the collective account, not a cent missing."

Zhou Tiejun flipped open the bankbook.

The numbers were staggering, but the account name was even more so—

Red Star Labor Service Agency Collective Account.

This meant that this huge sum of money didn't belong to Lin Xi personally; it belonged to the public.

"This..." Zhao the Scabby was dumbfounded.

In his wildest dreams, he couldn't imagine that someone could resist pocketing a huge sum of several thousand yuan for themselves.

Is this guy an idiot?

The livestream chat was spamming wildly:

【This is what you call 'vision'! Short-sighted people like Zhao the Scabby will never understand long-term investment.】

【Separating public and private, clear accounts—this 'Golden Cicada Shedding Its Skin' move was played perfectly!】

【Scabby Bro must be sweating bullets now, right?】

【Lin Xi: Not only am I not taking it, but I'm also making sure you can't find any faults. Are you mad yet?】

"The accounts are fine, the materials are fine."

Zhou Tiejun closed the bankbook, his expression softening slightly, though his tone remained firm.

"However, Lin Xi, producing and selling electrical appliances without authorization involves business licensing."

"You still can't shake off the label of 'Speculation and Profiteering'."

"Even if the money is in a public account, the act itself is a violation of regulations."

"Right! Right, right, right!"

Zhao the Scabby shrieked as if catching a lifesaver.

"He's running an illegal workshop!"

"Operating without a license!"

"Arrest him! Hurry and arrest him!"

Lin Xi smiled.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

He methodically pulled a piece of paper from the ledger folder under his arm.

The paper had been well-protected, smooth and white, standing straight even in the cold wind.

At the top of the paper, a line of bright red characters stood out starkly against the greyish-white world.

【Approval Regarding the Commencement of Technical Innovation and External Business Piloting at the Red Star Labor Service Agency】

And the signature at the very bottom, that bright red square seal, made everyone present who could read gasp.

【Base General Command Headquarters】

Holding the paper, Lin Xi took a step forward and thrust it directly in front of Zhao the Scabby's terrified face.

"Can you see it clearly now?"

Lin Xi's voice suddenly turned cold. "This is a document personally approved by the General Command Office!"

"It allows us to 'operate independently, take responsibility for our own profits and losses, and be brave in innovation'!"

"You want to arrest me?"

Lin Xi abruptly turned to look at Zhou Tiejun, raising the document in his hand, his aura fully unleashed.

"Section Chief Zhou, are you going to shut down a reform pilot personally approved by the General Command Headquarters?"

"Are you trying to slap Elder Qian in the face?"