199: Chapter 199 Crisis

Lin Ning's voice was very flat, showing no emotion: "Brother Chen, someone is following me. They look like they're from the Ministry of State Security. Did you arrange this?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

Then Chen Zhi's voice came through, "You noticed? Yes, I arranged them to protect you."

Lin Ning frowned, his heart tightening. He had been threatened by foreign spy agencies before, but they had never sent anyone to protect him. This time...

Chen Zhi continued, "The hit order issued by Langley has caused many people to start looking into 'Lin Ning.' We've caught quite a few rats recently."

He paused.

"Some of them are from within the government. We've caught those who stuck their heads out, but no one knows how many are still hidden, so..."

Lin Ning understood his unspoken words.

People from the government investigating "Lin Ning" would be closer to the truth than anyone else.

Chen Zhi comforted him, "Don't worry. Internally, we've raised your security clearance level, and externally, I've sent experts... people to protect you. Just stay quiet and alert yourself. It will be fine after this period passes; they won't keep staring at one target forever."

Lin Ning gave an "Mhm."

He hung up the phone.

Lin Ning gripped his phone, his knuckles slowly turning white.

A storm was coming.

He put away his phone, stood up, and walked out to go home.

Twenty minutes later, Lin Ning pushed open the door to his home, which he hadn't returned to in a long time.

The June sun shone through the window, filling the room with bright sunlight that fell on Lin Ning, feeling quiet and grounding.

He looked at the lush, green branches of the trees outside the window and listened to the occasional sounds of children screaming, running, and laughing.

Sitting on the sofa, Lin Ning suddenly smiled.

A hit order? Moles?

Fine.

China was his home turf, the Ministry of State Security stood behind him, and he had his Golden Finger.

Why be afraid of those rats hiding in the gutters?

Instead of worrying, he might as well use that time to improve his own strength.

Lin Ning opened his computer and began to immerse himself in studying the materials he had downloaded previously.

Lin Ning's state of total concentration was interrupted by his phone ringing.

He glanced at the caller ID—Judge Zhao.

His heart suddenly stirred, and he picked up the phone: "Judge Zhao?"

"Mr. Lin, sorry to disturb you," Judge Zhao's voice carried a hint of a smile. "I'm calling to notify you that the execution of Sun Guoqiang's case is complete. The 15 million reward has been deposited into the account you provided. Please check it."

A smile touched Lin Ning's eyes: "So fast?"

"The evidence was solid, and the process went smoothly," Judge Zhao said. "It's all thanks to you providing such detailed information and the whereabouts of the assets."

"I really am very grateful to you. You haven't just upheld the justice of the law, but you've also helped those victims."

Judge Zhao's voice paused for a moment. "I hope we have more opportunities to cooperate in the future."

After a few polite exchanges, Lin Ning hung up the phone, his lips curling upward.

He couldn't wait to open his mobile banking app.

[Account Balance: 17,182,712.5 RMB]

Lin Ning's breathing hitched for a moment as he stared at that string of numbers for three seconds.

An idea quickly surfaced in his mind. He exited the app and directly dialed Wang Qiao's number.

"Old Wang!" Lin Ning's voice was full of laughter. "That project you mentioned before, the person you were optimistic about—is there still any investment quota left?"

Wang Qiao paused on the other end: "Which one do you mean?"

"That one, the one you said many big shots were optimistic about, the one with an investment quota of 5 million per share."

Wang Qiao was silent for a second.

"It's been gone for ages. I told you the big shots liked it; the quota was snatched up as soon as it was released. Didn't I tell you about it with regret?"

The smile on Lin Ning's face froze.

"Nothing left at all?"

"Not a bit left," Wang Qiao said helplessly. "The project was good, and the big shots were optimistic. We didn't have 5 million, but to those big shots, it's just pocket change. How could there be anything left?"

Lin Ning fell silent.

Wang Qiao sensed something: "What's wrong? Do you have money now? Could it be..."

"Mhm." Lin Ning's excitement faded, feeling a bit dull. "I'm telling you that the 15 million reward just arrived in my account."

The other end of the phone was silent for two seconds.

"F*ck!" Wang Qiao cursed, then said with resignation, "Forget it, there will be other opportunities. Mr. Huang has been very helpful; I've attended several investment banquets with him recently and met more and more people. There will definitely be other chances."

"Since you're flush with cash, let's increase the Company's capital. The two small investment projects Mr. Huang introduced to us can also be started."

A sound of typing on a computer came through the phone, followed by Wang Qiao's voice.

"For those two projects, the quota Mr. Huang gave us totals 3.2 million for both. See how much you want to increase the capital by, and later give your ID and power of attorney to Jiang Yu to handle the capital increase and equity change."

"Mhm, got it." Lin Ning didn't stand on ceremony; even brothers should keep clear accounts.

As Lin Ning continued to increase the capital, Wang Qiao's shares had already been diluted significantly. If Lin Ning made large capital increases in the future, he planned to set a minimum share threshold for Wang Qiao so they wouldn't drop any lower.

Otherwise, if they were really diluted to zero point something percent, he felt he would be letting down Wang Qiao's wholehearted dedication to managing the Company, but there was no need to say all that now.

Hanging up the phone, Lin Ning leaned back in his chair, staring at the ceiling.

In addition to working hard to become stronger to protect himself and those around him, he had also just thought about what Jiang Yu and his mother would do if he really met with an accident.

The 15 million that had arrived gave him inspiration.

He had originally intended to invest to obtain shares in some project companies with good prospects, which would serve as a golden rice bowl and a guarantee for his mother and Jiang Yu. But now...

After being dazed for a while, he suddenly sat up.

No.

Just because that project was gone didn't mean he couldn't invest in others.

He hadn't even seen the one that was handed to him with his own eyes; who knew if it was truly a golden seedling?

But he could go find the true golden big shot seedlings himself!

Wasn't his previous plan to go to the high-tech park's incubation base to scout for golden big shot seedlings once he had money?

Lin Ning stood up and paced around the room twice.

He directly grabbed his phone and keys and headed out.

Fifteen minutes later, he parked his electric scooter at the High-tech Zone Incubation Base.

Looking at several buildings connected together, Lin Ning crossed the plaza, picked a building at random, and walked in.

The spacious hall was very similar to the lobby of a high-end hotel.

With a high vaulted ceiling and polished marble floors, sofas for resting were scattered near the floor-to-ceiling windows among green plants.

Some people were on the phone, some were hurrying past clutching laptops, and some were sitting on the sofas staring blankly.

Lin Ning found a sofa in a corner to sit down, his gaze slowly scanning the crowd.

Yellow, yellow, light gold, light gold, light gold, light red.

Lin Ning's gaze paused for a moment.

F*ck!

He was being f*cking stupid!

Was becoming stronger something that could be done just by huddling at home and studying? He should be out sweeping the streets! His greatest reliance, the Golden Finger, had already given him infinite surprises and abilities; if he wanted to become stronger, he should upgrade the Golden Finger.

Catching people, racking up headcounts, and leveling up!

That was his path to becoming stronger.

The sunlight shone through the massive glass windows onto the people.

Lin Ning suddenly laughed, his eyes shining brightly.

Looking at the people passing before him one by one, he had never felt that people with a patch of light red over their heads looked so pleasing to the eye.

It was these people who had woken him up.

He rubbed his palms; his hands were feeling a bit itchy.

Sweep the streets! He had to sweep the streets!

After he found a golden big shot seedling and settled the investment matter, he would go sweep the streets.

He'd throw gang crimes to Jin Er and the others, and if he found a lead, he'd throw it to Officer Li Feng, then sit back and wait for the money while racking up headcounts.

He'd throw suspected spies to Chen Zhi, so he wouldn't have to worry about them himself.

Headcounts would count as upgrade materials, and the rewards would fill his vault.

Win! He was winning big time!

Once his heart had settled, he began to scan the crowd intently.

Green...

Yellow...

Light gold...

Half an hour passed.

An hour passed.

Lin Ning changed his posture and continued watching without any impatience.

His gaze suddenly fixed.

A sky-piercing golden light filled his pupils as a figure walked into the building.

It was a man in his early 30s, wearing a white shirt, carrying a backpack, and also holding a large briefcase—[Company Private Enterprise General Manager]