81: Chapter 81: Even within the rules, you can still be played to death.

Lin Ning got up to open the door and was stunned, "Second Brother?"

After entering the room, Jin Er sat on the sofa and got straight to the point, "Last night, the three of us went to eat at Old Yang's place and ran into Jiang Yu's parents and brother cornering her downstairs and hitting her. She wouldn't let us tell you; she only asked us for that lawyer's letter for the claim."

He paused and continued, "Third Brother and Stone also agreed not to tell you. This girl is a good girl—pretty and with a good personality. Even in such a difficult time, she was still thinking about not bothering you. You're still young and don't know the burden of such a family; once you get involved, you'll at least lose a layer of skin. If you really get together with her, you'll never have peace in this lifetime. They are just shameless people meddling in your life. The law is useless; you can't even imagine how shameless and heartless they can be."

"I feel the same way, but I thought I should tell you and let you decide for yourself."

When people are speechless, they really do laugh, "Ha! Truly, a shameless person is invincible. Thank you all; I know you have my best interests at heart. I don't have any other thoughts right now, it's just that... when the road is uneven, someone has to tread on it. Get those people you know who have done debt collection to start making calls."

"It's useless! Even if you make up the amount you originally intended to lend Jiang Yu for debt collection, it's useless! Her parents won't let her go."

Lin Ning sneered, "I know. First, let the people back home know that Jiang Yu owes money outside. Cut off the lines of those who want to 'buy' her. If her value isn't high enough, they might think less about it. It also paves the way for the next step."

The anger he thought had dissipated was rekindled. Why must good people be constrained by animals? He acknowledged that rules must exist, so he accepted the logic of the poker table behind the leniency for spies, and accepted the explanation for the "gentle" sentences of cutting flesh with a dull knife for corrupt officials and traitors.

Since the rules treat everyone equally, he could also play with them properly within the rules.

"What next step?" Jin Er frowned, regretting a little that he had come to talk about this. Regardless of whether it was out of morality or because he coveted her body, managing things up to this point was enough. He was afraid that Lin Ning, being young, would get carried away and cross the red line.

"Then I have to trouble you again to find two people to 'discuss' a few stories and cases in front of the Jiang family," Lin Ning's eyes were obscure and cold, "The story where the boyfriend's proposal bride price wasn't settled, the woman's parents threatened to sue for rape, and the man only then agreed to pay an exorbitant bride price. Aren't there plenty of those online lately? Find a few cases; let them know this is a 'good path'!"

Jin Er sucked his teeth as if he had a toothache, "You are a ruthless person! Alright! It just so happens that Stone knows which hostel they are staying at."

Before leaving, he advised, "Don't actually sleep with her! If you do, keep evidence."

Lin Ning almost broke character, "Get out!"

After seeing Jin Er off, Lin Ning opened a beer, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, and dialed Jiang Yu's number.

After it connected, there was a moment of silence on the other end, then a voice pretending to be cheerful rang out, "Lin Ning, are you finished with your work?"

"Jiang Yu, I did something without asking."

Without waiting for Jiang Yu to ask, Lin Ning directly told her about instructing Jin Er to find people to tell stories, "Should we continue with the next steps?"

Jiang Yu was silent for a moment, "How should I cooperate?"

Lin Ning curled the corner of his mouth into a smile, "I have already had people make debt collection calls. The numbers you provided will be called. Once they know you owe money, the people back home will quiet down a bit. Then, you call them and say that I am your boyfriend, that I am willing to help pay off the debt, but that we must get married first and transfer your household registration."

"They definitely won't agree without a bride price. Coupled with that story, I suspect they will try to coax or threaten you to side with them to squeeze a sum of money out of me. You just need to not explicitly oppose it and act as if you are eager to get rid of them."

Compared to Lin Ning, who started from analyzing human nature, Jiang Yu understood better what kind of character her so-called relatives had.

A husky voice came through, "Okay! Lin Ning, thank you! Ha, it seems like I've been saying 'thank you' ever since we met."

"...Good night."

Lin Ning's feelings for Jiang Yu were complex—from the initial lust at first sight to the later shared misery, she had unknowingly walked into his heart.

Watching the city nightscape with its ten thousand lights, he tilted his head back and downed the last mouthful of beer, calming the surging emotions in his heart.

Early the next morning, Lin Ning received a call from the Municipal Bureau's Economic Investigation Division, asking him to come over.

When he arrived at the Municipal Bureau, he discovered that Tao Shuyu was also there.

"Brother Tao, did you rush back on a flight in the middle of the night?"

Tao Shuyu nodded with a bitter smile and pressed firmly on his shoulder, "Thanks, Lin Ning. If it weren't for your warning, your brother would have taken a big fall this time. Old Huang has already fallen. I came over to cooperate with the investigation to see if we can recover the losses."

Lin Ning was shocked, "Didn't they say the funds hadn't been fully raised yet?"

Tao Shuyu sighed, "That 'General Manager Zheng' had long since made contact with Old Huang. Old Huang investigated it, and in terms of profit guarantees and return rates, it was a rare good project in recent years. Usually, you can't get a foot in the door without connections. Of course, Old Huang didn't want to let such an opportunity go. They showed two hundred million in margin, and he also invested two hundred million, effectively securing the domestic fund pool for this project for himself. Who would have thought? It turned out to be a scam!"

Lin Ning opened his mouth, suddenly not knowing what to say. Does this count as an old hand getting pecked by a bird, or greed getting slapped by a pie?

"Can it be recovered? What did the police say?" He had thought this report was a case of anticipating the enemy, but it turned out to be two hundred million!

"The project is overseas, and it has already been transferred out. Now we are just hoping that they are eyeing the four hundred million in the country, and that money is lying idle in the account, otherwise it's hopeless. The police said they would do their best, but in the past, it's rare for these to be recovered. They just move their fingers, transfer it out, flip through a few Cayman Islands company accounts, and it's gone."

"Is General Manager Huang okay?" Although Lin Ning wasn't familiar with him, he was, after all, Tao Shuyu's friend and had treated him to hospitality, so he had to show some concern.

"He's... okay, I guess." Tao Shuyu's expression was a bit strange, "He doesn't know yet."

"Huh?" Lin Ning was confused.

"Didn't I hear a reminder from Wang Qiao and then receive a call from the police? I contacted Old Huang to ask around, and that's how I found out he had already invested two hundred million. I wanted to talk to the Economic Investigation Division first to see how to proceed. Old Huang has bad heart and cerebrovascular conditions; if he collapses or gets anxious and alerts the scammers, what would we do?"

"Oh! Oh!" Lin Ning didn't know how to evaluate this situation. Are you actually on good terms with Old Huang, or not?

The Zhao Tianming from last time walked over after finishing giving instructions to his subordinates.

"Lin Ning, sorry to trouble you with a trip here." He shook hands with Lin Ning, "There are a few documents that need your signature. Also, because you keenly discovered the suspect's anomaly, we would like you to carefully recall the details regarding Duan Pingheng at the banquet that day, such as whether there was any special eye contact with anyone, or whether others were playing with their phones at the same time he was using his phone midway, and so on."

Tao Shuyu had also heard from Wang Qiao that Lin Ning had a very strong sixth sense and observation skills, and that it was because he felt 'General Manager Zheng' was not right that the subsequent events happened, so he looked at him with great curiosity.

Lin Ning smiled bitterly in his heart; as expected, one lie requires countless lies to cover it up.

Why did he have to say that he wanted to investigate Duan Pingheng because he felt his expressions and behavior were a bit off? He had dug a hole and buried himself.

But the police meant that they suspected there were accomplices of Duan at the banquet? That made sense; without an inside man, you can't attract outside thieves. There must have been someone in General Manager Huang's small circle providing him with information, which allowed them to precisely manipulate this old hand.

Lin Ning thought of the 'Memory Palace' he had used in coordination with Chen Zhi and decided to give it a try. If it didn't work, he could just say he hadn't noticed anything; it would be the same.

Lin Ning nodded, "Find me a quiet room; I'll try to recall."