98: Chapter 98: Currency without an anchor is worthless.

The soundproof walls of the interrogation room absorbed most of the noise, but they still couldn't block the roar of the man in the floral shirt.

"I want to drink that tea that costs a thousand per tael too! Get me the same kind that old man with the thermos is drinking!"

Wang Fugui slammed his silver handcuffs against the table with a clatter, making the stainless steel desk tremble.

The fat on his face wobbled with the movement, and spit flew everywhere.

"Do you know how much money I lose for every minute I'm locked up here? That's a number you wouldn't even dare to dream of in your entire lives! You think I won't use my money to level this crappy precinct once I get out?"

The recorder sitting opposite him was a newly graduated young police officer, who was a bit stunned by the outburst, his pen hovering over the paper, not knowing how to proceed.

The door was pushed open.

Gu Changan walked in unhurriedly, still holding that chipped thermos. He pulled out a chair, sat down, and tossed a red-headed document and a stack of A4 paper onto the table.

"Level the precinct?" Gu Changan blew on the steam rising from his cup. "Then you might have to take a number. There's someone ahead of you who wanted to turn this place into the Underworld, and now he's in prison operating a sewing machine."

Wang Fugui was about to shout again, but Gu Changan lifted his eyelids. His gaze was as calm as if he were looking at a specimen, instantly causing Wang Fugui to swallow the profanity that had reached his lips.

"Mr. Wang, we've checked your background."

Gu Changan pointed to the documents on the table.

"Or rather, there's no bottom to find."

"That's because! My money is... it's a Family inheritance!" Wang Fugui's eyes flickered, but he stiffened his neck even more. "It's a secret account in a Swiss bank; it would be a miracle if you could find anything!"

"The urgent report from the Central Bank's Anti-Money Laundering Center shows that the flow of funds under your name has no support from any real-world industry." Gu Changan turned on the projector next to him, and a beam of light hit the white wall.

On it was a financial model that wasn't particularly complex, along with Wang Fugui's exaggerated capital curve.

"Even when a mint prints money, there must be corresponding gold reserves or foreign exchange reserves behind it to act as an anchor." Gu Changan picked up a laser pointer and drew a circle around the red line that was rising almost vertically at 90 degrees. "Every piece of legally circulating currency represents national credit and social labor value."

"And your money?"

Gu Changan stood up, placed his hands on the table, and leaned forward, exuding a sense of oppression.

"No trade surplus, no industrial output, no resource exchange. You just typed out a string of garbled code out of thin air using a Keyboard."

Wang Fugui curled his lips in disdain. "So what if it's garbled code? As long as it can be spent, right? I don't steal or rob; I have money to give out welfare to the common people. Is that against the Law too?"

"Giving out welfare?"

Gu Changan acted as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world, the corners of his mouth curling into a mocking arc.

"You think standing on top of a car and throwing money is an act of charity? That is robbery."

"Bullshit!" Wang Fugui was agitated. "I threw out real money, and everyone was grabbing it so happily. How is that robbery?"

"The total amount of currency is limited, and the total amount of social resources is also relatively stable."

Gu Changan's voice was not loud, but every word was like a knife, precisely cutting open the fig leaf of the so-called "Tycoon" System.

"You conjured a trillion out of thin air and injected it into the market, but there aren't a trillion more goods in the market. The result is soaring prices and currency devaluation."

"The common people save their whole lives, originally able to afford a house, but after you mess with things, they might not even be able to afford a toilet. Cabbage that was five yuan a catty has become fifty because of your squandering."

Gu Changan stared into Wang Fugui's eyes, enunciating every word. "Every cent you squander is diluting the wealth in the hands of ordinary people. You are picking the pockets of every worker who leaves early and returns late, and every thrifty housewife."

"If this isn't robbery, then what is it?"

Wang Fugui was stunned.

He opened his mouth to retort but found that his brain, with only an Elementary school education, couldn't find the words to counter this kind of dimensional strike at the level of macroeconomics.

He subconsciously called out to the System in his mind.

"System! Refute him for me! Crush his logic with money!"

[Beep—Detected that the host's behavior is encountering logical suppression.]

[The other party's remarks conform to the core economic Law of the current plane.]

[Forced refutation failed, act-cool judgment failed.]

[Deducting 50,000 points of Prodigal Value.]

"Damn it!"

Wang Fugui wailed in his heart. What kind of crappy System is this? Why does it crash every time it encounters this Gu Changan?

But he wasn't reconciled. He was the Chosen One, a man who possessed a System. How could he be rendered speechless by a civil servant?

Wang Fugui rolled his eyes, leaned forward, and tried his best to make his expression look sincere.

"Officer... oh no, Director Gu, right?"

He lowered his voice, and his greasy face squeezed into a smile.

"Let's not talk about those big principles. Just tell me, how much do you want?"

Gu Changan raised an eyebrow and said nothing.

Wang Fugui thought there was a chance and immediately perked up. Although his hands were cuffed, he tried hard to gesture a number.

"There is one hundred million in this card, a bearer promissory note from a Swiss bank. The password is six sixes. As long as you let me out now, this money is yours."

He glanced at the recorder next to him and added heroically, "Little brother gets a share too. There's two million in change on this card; take it to buy cigarettes."

The recorder stopped typing on the Keyboard, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

Then, the recorder silently raised his hand, pointed to the Law enforcement recorder flashing red on his chest, and then pointed to the 360-degree high-definition surveillance camera in the corner.

"Wang Fugui, an additional charge is now added: bribing a public official, and the amount is exceptionally large."

Gu Changan said indifferently, picking up a pen and drawing a heavy line on the interrogation record.

Wang Fugui completely panicked.

This wasn't like the novel scripts he had read! Shouldn't the other party greedily accept it at this point and become his lackey?

Just then, a series of urgent alarms sounded in his mind.

[Warning! Host's Luck value is dropping rapidly!]

[Triggering emergency counterattack mission: Wealth Connects to the Gods.]

[Mission Objective: In this world where money is king, demonstrate your true dominance. Since the Law limits cash flow, slap the face of the villain Gu Changan through the capital market!]

[Mission Content: Enter the stock market and manipulate the stock prices of no less than ten listed companies.]

[Mission Reward: Immortal Body (Elementary).]

Immortal Body!

Greed exploded in Wang Fugui's bean-sized eyes instantly.

With this, what was there to fear about going to jail? Even if he were sentenced to death, he wouldn't be afraid!

"I don't accept this! I want to see my lawyer!"

Wang Fugui suddenly seemed like a different person. He slammed back into his chair and crossed his legs. "Before you produce concrete evidence proving my money is 'counterfeit,' you have no right to detain me for more than 24 hours!"

This was also the System's loophole protection mechanism.

Although the funds it generated had no source, they had a perfect disguise at the banking System level. Unless the Central Bank's underlying code was reconstructed, it would be impossible to convict him in the short term.

Two hours later.

A row of black Maybachs stopped at the police station entrance.

A dozen top-tier lawyers in suits and leather shoes, carrying briefcases, escorted Wang Fugui out like stars surrounding the moon.

Although Gu Changan knew this guy had issues, due to the special encryption methods of the System's fund flow, apart from "disturbing public order" and "attempted bribery," it was indeed impossible to detain him for a long period criminally for the time being.

The exorbitant bail was paid instantly.

Walking out of the police station gate, Wang Fugui took a deep breath of free air, then turned around and glared fiercely at the lit window on the second floor.

He knew Gu Changan was watching from there.

"Gu Changan, right?"

Wang Fugui raised his middle finger at the window, a twisted, wild laugh on his face.

"You just wait! You won't let me buy the streets? Fine! I'm not buying physical things anymore!"

"Starting tomorrow, I'm going to buy up every listed company in all of Donghai City! Let's see how you stop me! If you have the guts, seal off the Securities Regulatory Commission too!"

He spat fiercely and climbed into the stretched luxury car.

"Go to the exchange! I'm going to let these poor wretches know what the terror of capital is!"

In front of the second-floor window.

Gu Changan stood behind the blinds, watching the arrogant motorcade leave; there was no anger on his face.

On the contrary, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a cold smile of a hunter watching prey fall into a trap.

"Director Gu, are we just letting him go like this?" Chen Xiaobei stood behind, somewhat unwilling. "That damn fatty's look just now, he's definitely planning something big."

"That's exactly what I want—for him to do something big."

Gu Changan turned around and threw the unsigned arrest warrant in his hand into the paper shredder.

"Him throwing money on the street would at most get him a charge of disturbing order, and he'd be out in ten days or so—hardly a scratch."

"But if this fat pig insists on seeking his own death, then I will send him into the biggest slaughterhouse of all."