67: Chapter 67 The Incident

As the car drove out of the Old City District, Jiang Chen glanced at the cardboard box on the passenger seat.

The little creature had completely quieted down, with only the occasional faint squeak, sounding as if it were dozing off.

He withdrew his gaze, his lips curling slightly as he stepped on the accelerator, merging into the main road's traffic.

At the exact moment Jiang Chen was driving out of the Old City District, another drama was unfolding in the Wantai Real Estate headquarters building.

Zhao Guofu sat in the leather chair of the general manager's office, the computer screen in front of him glowing with a faint blue light.

His fingers hovered over the keyboard, trembling slightly, but his eyes held a ruthless determination to burn his bridges.

After transferring the five shops to Jiang Chen this morning, the string in his heart had been stretched to its limit.

Zhou Wanquan could discover the issues in the accounts at any time; once an audit began, he would be completely unable to escape.

Rather than waiting to be struck, it was better to take the initiative.

He had worked at Wantai for ten years, and his authority as general manager gave him a thorough understanding of the company's financial system.

Over these years, he had cautiously operated a secret "backdoor."

A virtual account under the name of a shell company, which continuously drained Wantai's liquid capital through layers of nested transaction paths.

Today, he was going to transfer all that remained.

The first transaction: eight million.

He entered the account information and pressed the confirm key.

A prompt for "Transfer Successful" popped up on the screen, and his heart skipped a beat.

The second transaction: seven million.

The third transaction: nine million.

The fourth transaction: six million.

Four transactions, exactly thirty million.

Adding in the portions already transferred, the total amount he had drained from Wantai's accounts exceeded sixty million.

Zhao Guofu stared at the numbers on the screen, his fingers trembling slightly.

After circulating through three layers of shell companies, this money would eventually flow into his offshore account in Hong Kong, then be dispersed into several hidden accounts in Switzerland and the Cayman Islands.

Once it reached there, he would be far beyond anyone's reach, and no one could ever recover it.

He closed the financial system, cleared the operation logs, and checked everything once more to ensure no traces were left.

Then he took a long-prepared USB drive from the drawer and plugged it into the computer.

Stored on this USB drive were records of the grey-area activities Zhou Wanquan had instructed him to carry out over the years.

It wasn't anything fatal, and didn't even constitute a crime, but exposing it would be enough to disgrace Zhou Wanquan in the industry and make him lose a layer of skin dealing with regulators and the media.

Zhao Guofu hadn't originally wanted to touch these things; between him and Zhou Wanquan, it was ultimately just a relationship of interest, and there was no need to burn bridges.

But if Zhou Wanquan pushed him to a dead end, these things would be his protective talisman.

He didn't seek to destroy the other man, only to secure a chance to escape.

He stuffed the USB drive into the inner pocket of his undershirt and zipped it up.

Just as he stood up, there was a sudden knock on the office door.

"Come in," Zhao Guofu's voice remained relatively steady.

The door opened, and a junior clerk from the finance department entered, carrying a cup of coffee—the latte Zhao Guofu ordered every morning.

The clerk placed the coffee on the table, hesitated, and whispered: "Manager Zhao, Director Fang just called everyone from the finance department for a meeting, talking to them one by one."

Zhao Guofu's fingers paused slightly.

"What did he say?"

"I'm not quite sure, but the atmosphere is very serious. Director Fang pulled up all the transfer records from the last three months; it seems like he's looking for something."

The clerk glanced at him, looking like he wanted to say more but stopped. "Manager Zhao, I'll head out now."

The moment the door closed, Zhao Guofu's expression changed completely.

Fang Mingyuan was auditing the accounts.

And it was through one-on-one talks, going through everyone individually.

This meant it wasn't a routine check; someone was pushing for it from behind.

Zhou Wanquan.

Only Zhou Wanquan had this power, and only Zhou Wanquan would have Fang Mingyuan audit the accounts in this manner.

Zhao Guofu's head buzzed.

He had thought he still had a day or two, but now it seemed Zhou Wanquan's movements were ten times faster than he had anticipated.

He pulled out his phone, his fingers trembling so much he could barely hold it, and dialed a number.

"Old Wei, where's the passport? When will the passport be ready?"

The voice on the other end was somewhat hesitant: "Manager Zhao, tomorrow afternoon at the earliest... I'm already pushing for it, but the process has to be completed; there's nothing I can do."

"Tomorrow afternoon is too late!"

Zhao Guofu's voice was hoarse, practically a roar. "Today, can I get it today? I'll pay any amount!"

"Manager Zhao, it's really not possible. Even for an expedited one, we have to follow the procedure. Tomorrow at noon at the earliest. On your end... has something happened?"

Zhao Guofu didn't answer and hung up the phone directly.

He slumped back into his chair, propping his forehead with his hands, his mind in total chaos.

Fang Mingyuan had already started auditing; with his professional ability, it was only a matter of time before those transfers were found.

Once they were discovered, Zhou Wanquan wouldn't give him any chance to explain.

His fingers unconsciously felt the USB drive against his chest.

This was his trump card.

Although those things weren't enough to destroy Zhou Wanquan, they were enough to give him a massive headache in the Jiang City real estate circle for a long time.

The media would pursue him relentlessly, regulatory departments would come knocking, and partners would re-evaluate their relationships with Wantai...

Zhou Wanquan was a shrewd man; he would care about these troubles.

Zhao Guofu knew him.

That man valued face and reputation above all else; to protect those two things, he was willing to make concessions on many matters.

If Zhou Wanquan pushed him to a dead end, he would expose the contents of the USB drive.

He didn't seek to destroy the other man, only to secure a chance to escape.

But he knew in his heart that it was a last resort.

He just wanted to leave, taking the money far away from this place of conflict.

Whether it was Zhou Wanquan or Jiang Chen, they would have nothing more to do with him.

Zhao Guofu stood up, opened the drawer, and stuffed the long-prepared cash and documents into the backpack he carried.

He hadn't gotten the passport yet, but he couldn't wait any longer.

He decided to fly to Bangkok tonight and find a way to transfer to Europe after landing.

As for the passport issue, he could apply for a replacement at the Chinese consulate once he was there; although it would be a hassle, it was better than sitting here waiting for death.

He picked up his bag, walked to the door, and opened it.

The corridor was empty, but from the direction of the finance department in the distance, there were faint sounds of voices and typing.

Zhao Guofu took a deep breath and walked quickly toward the elevator.

He tried to keep his pace steady, but only he knew that his heart was pounding frantically in his chest.

When the elevator doors opened, he heard a sudden rush of footsteps behind him.

"Manager Zhao!"

He spun around; it was a young accountant from the finance department, clutching a stack of files and running over breathlessly.

"Manager Zhao, Director Fang says... he'd like you to come to the finance department. There are a few accounts that need your confirmation."

Zhao Guofu's fingers tightened around the backpack straps.

He glanced at the accountant, his voice sounding unnaturally calm: "Tell Director Fang I'm going out to handle something; I'll find him when I return."

As the elevator doors closed, he saw a flash of confusion on the accountant's face.

Basement level two, underground parking lot.

Zhao Guofu walked quickly to his car, pulled open the door, threw his backpack into the back seat, and started the engine.

The car roared as it left the parking space, its tires letting out a piercing screech against the floor.

He didn't look back, nor did he dare to.

As the car drove out of the parking lot, he pulled out his phone and sent a message to Old Wei.

"I don't want the passport anymore. I'm going to the airport now and leaving tonight. I'll contact you to handle the remaining money once I'm over there."

After sending the message, he threw the phone onto the passenger seat, gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and fixed his gaze on the road ahead.

In the rearview mirror, the silhouette of the Wantai Building grew further and smaller, eventually disappearing into the flow of traffic.

Zhao Guofu stepped on the gas, and the car accelerated sharply, merging into Jiang City's afternoon traffic.

He didn't know what awaited him ahead, but he was certain of one thing.

He would not sit still and wait for death.

He still had that USB drive, enough money to live abroad, and a path that he didn't know if he could successfully take.

It was enough.

As long as he could leave this place, everything could start anew.

At this moment, Jiang Chen's panamera was driving across the Jiang City Bridge.

In the cardboard box on the passenger seat, that blue-and-white Mutant Chinchilla had fallen completely asleep, letting out faint, even breaths.

Sunlight spilled through the windshield, shining on the box lid and on Jiang Chen's face.

His expression was calm, his gaze fixed on the road ahead, with a trace of a faint smile on his lips.

He didn't know what was happening in the Wantai Building, nor did he care.

He only knew that today was a good day.

Two cars, one heading east and one heading west, traveled through the urban veins of Jiang City.

One rushed toward the airport, while the other drove home.

One fled in panic, while the other returned fully laden.

The crossroads of destiny were always so quiet.