Chapter Twenty-Six: Over a Billion

At 5:00 p.m., Zhou Yi notified the personnel involved in the system upgrade to evacuate promptly. Fatty was left in the underground parking lot, not far from the sapphire-blue Maybach. Zhou Yi, carrying nothing, headed straight up to the twenty-sixth floor.

He had already contacted Secretary Luo, who confirmed that Wang Shengyu was in his office.

When the elevator doors opened, Secretary Luo was waiting with a bright smile. “Engineer Zhou, you’re here. President Wang is expecting you, and we’ll transfer the funds to your company shortly.”

Zhou Yi nodded, wasting no words as he walked straight into Wang Shengyu’s office. Perhaps because Zhou Yi had resolved his issue swiftly, Wang Shengyu didn’t slip away as he usually did.

Standing up to shake Zhou Yi’s hand, he invited him to sit together on the sofa. Seizing the moment, Zhou Yi slipped a small object into Wang Shengyu’s pocket, then removed the camera hidden on the potted plant, tidied his clothes, and sat forward with his hands resting on his knees.

A broad smile spread across Wang Shengyu’s face. “Thank you for your help this time. If it weren’t for your timely intervention, we can’t even estimate our losses. Even if you hadn’t come, I would have made sure your company was paid promptly. And this—this is for you personally.”

He placed a card before Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi shook his head. “President Wang, I’m not here to chase payments. While cleaning your internal network, I discovered traces of financial and sales data theft. It seems to have occurred before the security system was installed—about two months ago. The system upgrade revealed the signs.”

Wang Shengyu was taken aback. “Evidence of theft? Do you know what was stolen?”

Zhou Yi shook his head. “I can’t say exactly what, but both your financial and sales systems show traces. The necessary permissions came from within.”

“What do you mean?” Wang Shengyu asked.

Zhou Yi looked up at him. “It means someone inside collaborated with an outsider to steal the data. That’s why the traces are so faint. Even if you know who did it, you wouldn’t have proof.”

Wang Shengyu was stunned, staring at Zhou Yi in silence, at a loss for what to do.

He stood, paced back and forth, and when he looked at Zhou Yi again, his gaze had grown resolute.

“You mean both the finance and sales departments leaked information to outsiders at the same time—no time gap?”

Zhou Yi nodded. “Exactly.”

Wang Shengyu dialed a number, greeted his father, and explained in detail everything Zhou Yi had said. Zhou Yi’s estimate of the timing was quite precise, because Fatty had previously investigated their company and discovered that two months ago, seven or eight mid- and high-level employees from finance and sales had resigned, which was why Zhou Yi had mentioned that timeframe.

Soon after Wang finished, his father seemed to reach a decision. The two discussed their next steps. Zhou Yi lowered his head, indifferent to their plans—revenge was due, after all, and it was just as well if the money couldn’t be kept and ended up donated.

When Wang Shengyu hung up, he walked over to Zhou Yi, operated his phone, and pressed the bank card into Zhou Yi’s hand, his expression now serious.

“There are two million in here—my father’s decision. Without your intervention, we’d never have known what was going on. In the past two months, we’ve bid on land twice, and both times someone undercut us by just a few thousand, as if they could read our minds. We investigated but found nothing. Now we finally know why. This gives us a way to deal with it. It’s not much, but please take it—as a token of our gratitude.”

Zhou Yi made to stand, but Wang Shengyu pressed him back down, slipping the card into his pocket.

“That’s enough. I’m grateful for your honesty. I won’t keep you—now it’s time to settle things with the other side.”

Zhou Yi nodded. “Thank you, President Wang. I’ll take my leave.”

With that, he left the office, heading downstairs. His phone chimed twice—QQ messages. It was Fatty.

Fatty: I’ll need ten more minutes down here. Can you stall a bit?

Zhou Yi frowned slightly and replied:

Zhou Yi: I’ve just left the office. From the way he talked, he’s going after the culprit. Since we’ve already tipped them off, I’ll wait on level B2. If anyone comes down, I can stall them and you’ll hear the commotion.

Fatty: Got it!

The elevator dinged, and Zhou Yi stepped out into the underground garage. He took out a tablet and put on headphones. A red dot appeared on the screen—that was the tracker on Wang Shengyu.

Through the headphones, the sound was reasonably clear; Wang Shengyu seemed to be discussing strategies with his father—setting up obstacles for their adversaries, even hiring people to rough up a few individuals. There was also mention of embezzling reserve funds.

Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes. It seemed to involve the deaths of several workers during previous construction, which meant the evidence might be found in the financial system. Their anxiety made sense—they feared leaving a handle for others to seize.

The more he listened, the more Zhou Yi marveled at their ruthlessness and lack of scruples, their willingness to use any means, lawful or not. It was astonishing.

Fatty’s chat window flashed.

Fatty: Done!

Zhou Yi slung his backpack over his shoulder, pulled his baseball cap low, and strode quickly to the car. Fatty climbed in from the passenger side. Despite his caution, the car gave a pronounced shake. Zhou Yi glanced over; Fatty blinked in confusion.

“Why are you looking at me like that? Are we waiting here?”

Zhou Yi shook his head and tossed the laptop from his backpack to Fatty. “Keep an eye on the surveillance. I’m driving. If this attempt fails, at least we’ll have an alibi for next time. If we succeed, someone will come looking for me. This isn’t a good place—we need to set a trap in advance.”

Fatty nodded, excitement in his eyes as he donned the headphones and checked the tracker on the laptop. “Let’s go. Wang Shengyu seems to be coming down.”

Zhou Yi started the car and sped toward Fenghuangchi, turning into the northwest corner of the parking lot and hiding the car under the trees before glancing at Fatty’s monitor.

The red dot moved steadily, already out of the real estate company’s building and, by now, across the Runyang Bridge into Yangzhou territory.

“Are you sure about what you did just now?” Zhou Yi glanced at Fatty, skeptical.

Fatty shot him a look. “Don’t doubt my skills. I just reprogrammed the car’s central control—acceleration protection only activates past eighty kilometers per hour. He can’t hit that speed from a standstill. By the way, when are you transferring their company’s funds like you said?”

Zhou Yi picked up another laptop, logged into the financial system, and quickly accessed the Spring Thunder Aid Foundation’s website. He transferred the funds, finishing with an animation of cartoon children scattering flowers. Fatty blinked and gave a thumbs-up.

“Success? How much did you send?”

A faint smile played at Zhou Yi’s lips. “Every bit of cash in their company account. Anonymously, of course. And the two million from today, I donated under your name. Altogether, it’s over a billion—probably the funds they’d just raised for the land deal.”

Fatty froze, eyes wide, but Zhou Yi showed him the donation confirmation before he could protest, leaving him speechless.

“You work fast… Well, it’s donated now—no getting it back anyway.”

Zhou Yi shot him a look. “That money wasn’t earned honestly. Isn’t it better used to help those in need? Are you short on cash?”

Fatty rolled his eyes. “Who isn’t? But you’re right—the father and son are no saints. Donating it gives me peace of mind. With so much gone, their cash flow will collapse, and so will the company.”

Zhou Yi quickly logged out and wiped the traces. In their earpieces, a phone rang—Wang Shengyu’s call. The two exchanged glances and listened, holding their breath.

“You brat, did you touch the company’s accounts? Why is all the cash gone, when the finance department hasn’t done anything?”