Seeing Chen Yan's expression, Zhao Xuan had a face full of question marks.

Then he heard Chen Yan say, "No, Uncle Zhao. I'm sorry to tell you."

"I'm not waiting for the right moment, but because Zheng Juan has disappeared."

Zhao Xuan: ??

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Zhao Xuan was bewildered.

The main reason he could relax while at the investigation agency, enjoying good food and sleep was that he believed as long as Zheng Juan was there, he wouldn't have any problems.

After all, the only crime the investigators suspected him of was the murder of Zheng Juan.

So long as he could prove Zheng Juan was still alive, the matter would be easily resolved.

But now, Chen Yan told him... Zheng Juan had disappeared. He couldn't sit still at that moment.

He couldn't help but ask, "What happened?"

Chen Yan glanced at the time, and after confirming that there was still plenty to spare, he briefly summarized the key points.

After listening to Chen Yan, Zhao Xuan was silent for a long time...

Just when Chen Yan thought he was confused, Zhao Xuan suddenly broke into a smile and said, "Indeed. I'm still one step behind Zhao Qingtian."

"I always thought I had outsmarted him completely."

"But I forgot, if he could be so easily outwitted, how could he have reached his position today?"

Zhao Xuan speculated, "Either he has long been suspicious of my person."

"Or during the investigation, he dispatched multiple people to investigate the same matter separately, to avoid accidents."

"But no matter which one, I lost because I underestimated my opponent."

Chen Yan: ....

Seeing Zhao Xuan like that, Chen Yan wanted to comfort him, but felt pressed for time, so all he could say was, "Uncle Zhao, don't worry too much."

"The final outcome isn't set yet." Time is precious.

He cut to the chase, "Now that the opponent has the upper hand, the only way to save you is to bring down Zhao Qingtian and his associates."

"I know Zhao Qingtian has a sum of money overseas, the entire fortune of him and his people. Do you know where that money is?"

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Zhao Xuan was stunned for a moment, then looked at him in surprise.

He said, "Chen Yan. Are you actually planning to go after that money?"

"You must know, if you touch that money, they will come after you with everything they've got."

"At that point, it will be a fight to the death."

Hearing Zhao Xuan's words, Chen Yan couldn't help but smile and retort, "Even if I don't touch that money, would we have peace?"

"Without targeting that money, did they let you off?"

At this point, he paused and added, "Moreover... Uncle Zhao, haven't you noticed?"

"A big part of the reason you've always been under Zhao Qingtian's thumb is that you lack ruthlessness."

"You always unconsciously leave the other side some leeway, some room to turn things around."

"That's why you have the strength of ten, but can only exert six or seven parts of it."

"Your strength is already inferior to Zhao Qingtian's, so the gap becomes even bigger."

"Zhao Qingtian, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of you."

"He goes all out in everything he does, leaving no room for retreat."

"That way, he is more likely to win."

"After winning, if he lets his opponent off, the opponent becomes even more fearful and grateful to him."

"That's the difference between him and you."

Hearing Chen Yan's words, Zhao Xuan was lost in thought for a long time.

Finally, he could only nod with a wry smile, "You make sense."

"I won't try to persuade you. Do as you wish."

"As for... his money."

At this point, Zhao Xuan paused, then said, "I've looked into it."

"Of course, as his adversary, it's natural for me to collect his weaknesses."

Hearing Zhao Xuan's words, Chen Yan's eyes lit up.

Indeed, Zhao Xuan knew about this!

With that thought, he couldn't help but ask, "Where is that money kept?"

Zhao Xuan's eyes showed a hint of recollection as he spoke,

"Actually, I also investigated that money for a long time and couldn't find it at first. It was only later by chance, through corporate accounts, that I stumbled upon the money hidden in an overseas fund of our group."

"A fund? Which fund?" Chen Yan couldn't help but press for details.

Zhao Xuan recalled for a moment, just about to respond, when suddenly, the door to the interrogation room was opened.

The uniformed man walked in quickly and said in a low voice, "Time's up. My colleague's coming back. Let's go quickly."

Seeing this scene, Chen Yan was a bit anxious.

This wasn't a TV drama; why was it that at the crucial moment, he was about to be denied the information!

Fortunately, Zhao Xuan wasn't the brainless side character often found in TV dramas.

He glanced at Chen Yan, agreed with a smile, got up, and followed the uniformed man out.

But as he walked past Chen Yan, he leaned in and whispered a string of numbers into Chen Yan's ear.

After speaking, he nodded at Chen Yan and walked away with the uniformed man.

At that moment, Chen Yan blinked, then silently repeated the numbers.

Afterward, he retrospectively used his 'Heartbeat Headphones'.

Indeed, those numbers were echoing in Zhao Xuan's heart.

But in Zhao Xuan's heart, he spoke more comprehensively, "Chen Yan, this is the fund number for that fund. You mustn't get it wrong."

"Zhao Qingtian has hidden that money very carefully, and moreover, used various financial maneuvers to operate it."

"He used Zhao Group's money to set up a private equity fund overseas and gradually laundered their money into this fund."

"Given the huge amount of money, in order to ensure safety, Zhao Group's investment is subordinate, while their money is given priority."

"It's really very difficult to touch this money. So, although I've known about it for many years, I've never made a move."

"Since you're confident, then go for it. It's all up to you now."

"If you succeed, I'll tell you a secret about Zhao Ying..."

"I believe you'll be interested in it..."

His inner monologue stopped abruptly there.

Chen Yan was full of question marks.

Because Zhao Xuan's parting words really contained a lot of information.

It had details on the fund, some obscure financial tools Chen Yan did not understand, and a secret about Zhao Ying.

"Wasn't Uncle Zhao always very composed? Why is he saying so much now?"

"Indeed... Zheng Juan's disappearance has really shaken Uncle Zhao."

And additionally... Zhao Ying's secret? What secret?

The fact she's an "idiot"?

Isn't that something everyone knows?

....

With the information provided by Zhao Xuan, it would be easy for Chen Yan to investigate that fund.

Since he was not very knowledgeable about finance, Chen Yan simply pulled Yang Nuannuan and Yang Rou into a group and asked this mother-daughter duo to investigate for him.

With Yang Rou's understanding of Zhao Group and Zhao Qingtian, and Yang Nuannuan's outstanding financial knowledge, they quickly got a full picture of the fund.

Moreover, because the investigation was targeted, the two were quickly able to follow the trail and discovered the hidden illicit funds in the fund, even uncovering through which financial systems the money was laundered.

During this process, Chen Yan finally understood the concepts of "subordinate" and "priority" level funds in private equity.

In a private equity fund, the money is differentiated. Not all contracts are completely the same.

For example, in the fund where Zhao Qingtian's associates and Zhao Group cooperated, their money was at "priority" level, which means it held an absolutely advantageous position within the fund.

If the fund made money, the priority funds had to be paid dividends first. After that, the "subordinate" money would be distributed.

And if the fund lost money, the "subordinate" money would compensate first, and after it was exhausted, then the "priority" funds would take a hit.

No doubt, Zhao Qingtian was a capable man.

After such a clever and legal financial maneuver, the safety of that money was practically guaranteed at its highest.

Especially since the total amount of the fund was 50 billion, and their share was just 32 billion.

That is to say, unless they lost 18 billion, their money would not suffer any loss.

Seeing the situation with the fund, Chen Yan felt a headache.

After all, although he was seen as a stock guru in the outside world, in reality... he knew nothing about stock or finance.

He was truly a "stock guru who knows jack about stocks"....

Initially, he thought that he could just crash the market and short the fund relentlessly as part of his plan.

However, who knew that the opposition had used financial tools to create a floor.

Based on this pattern, even if Chen Yan shorts the fund without any regard for losses, the opposition would react before their money took a hit and transfer it away in advance.

What a headache...

Perhaps sensing Chen Yan's predicament, Yang Nuannuan hesitated for a moment before speaking up in the video conference, "Brother Yan, if you trust me, maybe I can find some weakness in this fund first and see if there is any financial maneuver that can lock their money inside."

"Then I'll specifically seek out people adept at shorting funds to discuss the plan together."

"Once everything is prepared, then we can take action."

Chen Yan's relationship with Yang Nuannuan seemed to have grown more intimate after frequently collaborating.

Even the way she addressed him changed from the original "Chen Yan," "President Chen," and "Boss" to "Brother Yan."

Perhaps she didn't think too much about it or didn't notice the change. But hearing her call him that, Chen Yan was nearly flustered for a moment... especially since Yang Rou was still there, and Chen Yan had just chosen her as his Virtual Girlfriend.

So he coughed and glanced at Yang Rou's image in the video conference, seeing that she had no particular reaction, he then said, "Alright. Start preparing that way."

"We'll see how it goes."

With Yang Nuannuan backing him up, Chen Yan felt a bit more relaxed.

To be honest, over this year, Chen Yan had a big change of opinion about Yang Nuannuan.

It's like she truly had a rebirth.

Even though her nature seemed a bit colder than before, she was more genuine.

Moreover, her personality was no longer as extreme and volatile.

Chen Yan didn't know whether she truly changed, or was hiding it better, but at least whenever he tested her with his "Heartbeat Headphones," he didn't detect any traces.

In terms of her abilities, Yang Nuannuan also impressed Chen Yan.

Perhaps inheriting her family's excellent funds and finally finding her talent, Yang Nuannuan achieved outstanding results in finance and management.

Riding on Chen Yan's reputation in Hong Kong, she easily established two financial companies in the mainland and Hong Kong.

Within six months of the companies' establishment, she not only turned Chen Yan's one billion yuan into 1.5 billion yuan but also kept the maximum drawdown within 8%.

For the generally stable stock markets in Hong Kong and the mainland during that period, this was really an incredible achievement.

While engaging in practical operations, Yang Nuannuan didn't neglect her studies.

She applied and was accepted to the finance department of Hong Kong University, which ranks in the top 30 in the world for finance, to further study more theoretical knowledge at this globally famous institution.

During this period, she also handled several small-scale cash withdrawals assigned by Chen Yan efficiently.

She even earned some extra money for Chen Yan (though he still doesn't understand how she did it).

Previously, Chen Yan could fudge his way through by spouting a few professional-sounding phrases. Now, he would just directly hand things over to her without daring to say anything extra, afraid of being exposed.

Gracefully put: Let yourself experience it.

So, since Yang Nuannuan said she would take charge, Chen Yan felt he really could give her a chance.

After all, he was still in the planning stage, and his money hadn't been moved into place yet. There was ample time to prepare...

....

After entrusting Yang Nuannuan with assembling the short-selling team, Chen Yan also began to immerse himself in his own plans.

He started contacting people related to V Company and Netflix as per his plan, to discuss investment matters.

V Company wasn't particularly interested in Chen Yan's investment, but that was expected by Chen Yan; he just wanted to establish a contact for the future use of the Strong Buy Card.

And after a month, the quota for the Strong Buy Card that Chen Yan had longed for was finally refreshed.

Having waited a long time, Chen Yan immediately spent all his Happiness Points on Strong Buy Cards.

This way, he had an astonishing 36 billion in Strong Buy Card quota, nearly matching his cash reserves.

On a dark windy night, Chen Yan decisively, as per his plan, applied 17 billion of the Strong Buy Card quota to V Company and the remaining 19 billion to Netflix.

At first, Chen Yan worried the Strong Buy Card wouldn't work on foreign companies—after all, the Chinese system might not extend to foreign countries.

However, the system's abilities were not as weak as he imagined.

After using the Strong Buy Cards, within a week, V Company and Netflix reached out to Chen Yan, expressing their interest in his investment.

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