Chapter 100: Just a Small Profit
As Zhuang Ning and his men hurried away to Longhu City to hunt down Zheng Yangliang and the others, Zhang Ze also set his plan in motion.
...
“Is the information confirmed?” Zhang Ze asked as soon as he got into the car.
Yu Qian, who was in high spirits, looked as though he was quite used to doing this sort of thing.
Before Yu Qian could even answer, Ma Cheng climbed into the car as well.
“Mind if I come along and take a look?”
“Heh.”
“As long as you’re willing, Brother Ma.”
Zhang Ze did not dwell on Ma Cheng’s arrival.
At the same time, Yu Qian started the car and explained to the two men in the back seat, “I checked yesterday. Chen Hao really does have quite a few shell companies under his name.”
“And just as you guessed, those companies all have a fair amount of liquid capital on their books.”
This sort of thing was actually very common, especially since Chen Hao was the heir to Bright Capital.
Investing in a few small companies was perfectly normal.
But people could not resist reading into things.
Take Yu Qian, for example. As a lawyer, he naturally understood these people’s methods.
What troubled him was that several of the companies had no projects at all, yet were sitting on large sums of money.
More importantly, the registration dates of these companies were astonishingly close, nearly identical.
Combined with Zhang Ze’s guess, it was obvious that this was the method Chen Hao used to take over the cult’s internal funds.
...
After hearing Yu Qian’s explanation, Zhang Ze and Ma Cheng quickly understood.
At that point, Ma Cheng could not help asking beside him, “Since we’ve already figured out Chen Hao’s method, how much do you think we can move out?”
Seeing Ma Cheng’s grave expression, Zhang Ze did not hide anything. Instead, he asked, “Brother Ma, in your opinion, how much would Bright Capital need to invest...”
“Or rather, how much would the cult have to invest if it wanted a major share of a province’s medicinal-pellet market?”
“......”
Ma Cheng fell silent.
That was impossible to estimate.
Just a first-rank body-strengthening pellet already cost fifty to sixty thousand apiece.
Not to mention that once martial artists reached the middle ranks, their demand for pills became even more terrifying.
But even if Ma Cheng did not say it, Zhang Ze had his own thoughts.
In a low voice, he said, “If the cult wants the pill market, then what it needs is not a few hundred thousand or a few million.”
“I’m afraid just the early preparations and investments alone would not be less than a billion.”
Of course, these were only Zhang Ze’s guesses. As for exactly what role the cult intended to play in the medicinal-pellet market of North River Province, he did not know.
Still, Zhang Ze was right about one thing: the cult’s reserves of capital were undoubtedly vast beyond imagination.
...
“I’m only taking one shell company from Chen Hao!”
That was Zhang Ze’s final answer to Ma Cheng.
By then, Ma Cheng had no intention of trying to talk him out of it anymore.
In fact, he even felt a trace of admiration for Zhang Ze’s way of doing things.
Indeed, that was the proper style of that little fellow who had once forced his way into the headquarters of the Investigation Bureau.
“I won’t interfere with your decision, but there are a few things I still have to remind you of.”
“Even if your intention is only to rob the funds of one of his shell companies, the moment you make your move, the cult will definitely remember your name.”
To put it plainly—
If you took the money, the cult would surely take action against you.
And Zhang Ze seemed to have anticipated this long ago. After hearing Ma Cheng’s reminder, he merely shook his head slightly.
“Since I dare to do this, I’m not afraid of the cult’s revenge.”
In truth, Zhang Ze had wanted to say that he had already been hunted once by two middle-rank martial artists from the cult.
Although Zhang San and Li Si had acted against him out of personal will, in Zhang Ze’s heart they had still planted hatred toward the cult.
Seeing that Zhang Ze had already considered this, Ma Cheng fell silent and said no more.
...
A moment later, Yu Qian led the two men to the office of this studio.
Come to think of it, Chen Hao really was cautious.
For such an inconspicuous little company, he still left a second-rank martial artist behind.
The man’s public identity was the legal representative of the company.
By now, how could Zhang Ze still not understand their scheme?
He did not waste a single word on him. Relying on his nearly seven-hundred-point physical strength, he quickly subdued the man.
Carrying him along, the three of them drove to the office Yu Qian had rented in advance.
“Damn it!”
“Did you take the wrong medicine?”
“Do I know you?”
The middle-aged man had short hair and, at first glance, had once looked rather handsome.
But after Zhang Ze had smashed his face with a few punches, he no longer had anything to do with the word handsome.
“Heh.”
“Don’t worry.”
Ignoring the man’s curses, Zhang Ze said with a teasing smile, “You don’t need to know who I am, but since I’ve caught you, I certainly know who you are.”
“You’re the legal representative of Second Brother Catering Co., Ltd., Zhao Lao’er, right?”
Hearing this question, the middle-aged man blinked, but did not deny it.
“I am Zhao Lao’er.”
“Seriously, with a name like that of yours...”
Zhang Ze looked speechless and muttered, “Calling a restaurant ‘Old Second’—how disgusting is that?”
Without giving the middle-aged man a chance to explain, Zhang Ze went on mockingly, “Your catering company doesn’t even have a single storefront. How do you manage more than twenty million in monthly turnover?”
The middle-aged man’s expression stiffened.
He knew why Zhang Ze had come.
“These funds were all supported by Manager Chen Hao of Bright Capital, who helped me open the hotel. What’s the problem?”
“Heh.”
“So it’s Chen Hao again?”
Zhang Ze chuckled twice.
However, he had already known beforehand that this Zhao Lao’er was not a cultist.
Otherwise he would have been beaten to death long ago by Zhuang Ning and the others.
“You didn’t know Chen Hao was a cultist?”
“What... what did you say?”
Startled by Zhang Ze’s words, the middle-aged man’s eyes went wide with disbelief.
“Heh.”
“Those funds—did he not direct you to transfer them to certain designated accounts?”
“No—”
The middle-aged man still wanted to argue, but Yu Qian, standing beside them, exposed him.
In a cold voice, Yu Qian said, “Was it Chen Hao’s driver, Liu Ying, who ordered you people around?”
At this, how could the middle-aged man still not understand?
The three people in front of him had clearly been watching him for a very long time.
Zhang Ze did not bother wasting words on him and asked, “You still don’t know that Liu Ying and Chen Hao have both been arrested?”
“That’s impossible!”
“Manager Chen Hao’s father is a fifth-rank...”
“All right.”
“Stop lying to yourself.”
Cutting him off directly, Zhang Ze said in a chilling tone, “Transfer the funds that are still sitting in your account, complete the handoff with him, and then I’ll send you to the Investigation Bureau to turn yourself in.”
Zhang Ze pointed to Yu Qian beside him.
Yu Qian was quick and efficient as well. Carrying a thick stack of documents prepared in advance, he came before the middle-aged man.
...
Zhang Ze and Ma Cheng waited in the car for Yu Qian to finish.
“You’re not bad at this, kid.”
“So you really did rob a sum this easily?”
As soon as he spoke, Ma Cheng’s expression toward Zhang Ze was one of delight.
Zhang Ze was not being modest at all as he smiled and said, “What can I say, Brother Ma? I’m just a couple of steps faster than Captain Zhuang of the Investigation Bureau and the others.”
“And besides, my brother’s parents suffered such a calamity. It’s not wrong to collect a bit of compensation in advance, right?”
“Haha!”
Ma Cheng burst into laughter.
...
The military camp near Wolf Fang Mountain.
“Damn!”
“What in the world is that thing?”
The fat man’s eyes widened as he stared at the corpse lying not far away on the ground and shouted.