Gao Fei drove away from the task force less than a minute later when Zhang Cheng’s call came through.
"Lao Gao, where did you go? I’ve called you over a dozen times, and you were out of service! When I asked Sister Ding and the others, they all said you were out on business. Where are you?"
"My phone was just turned off. I'm heading back to the factory now. Why are you calling me so many times? Did something happen?" Gao Fei asked, driving.
"Something definitely happened, and it's big!" Zhang Cheng took a deep breath on the other end of the line and continued excitedly, "The entrepreneurship competition suddenly exploded. Multiple departments including taxation, audit, discipline inspection, and economic investigation are currently investigating the competition's office location. It's rumored that two-thirds of the competition's organizing committee has been found to have violated regulations, accepted huge bribes, engaged in favoritism, and misappropriated startup funds."
Gao Fei, who was driving, suddenly stopped. "Is the news true? Who told you?"
"It's true. Teacher Li Changhuang told me. He wanted to inform you immediately, but your phone was unreachable, so he asked me to relay the message to you as soon as possible! Also, Teacher Li asked me to tell you to return to school as soon as possible. You need to explain the specific situation regarding the 300,000 yuan startup fund you borrowed from the competition to the investigation team." Zhang Cheng relayed Li Changhuang's instructions truthfully. He also mentioned that Teacher Li was already under investigation, and the reason was also related to that 300,000 yuan startup fund.
"Alright, I'm heading back to school now!" Gao Fei hung up the phone, his mood inexplicably brightening. At this moment, he finally understood the great gift Director Ge had given him. From the south of the city to the task force, he had been guessing what gift Director Ge would give him. Now, hearing the news from Zhang Cheng, he finally realized that Director Ge's great gift was at the school. This gift was incredibly precious to Gao Fei, beyond what worldly money could measure. The involvement of tax, audit, and disciplinary inspection departments in investigating the entrepreneurship competition not only directly severed Kong Liwei's attempts to pilfer the fruits of his labor and halt his illegal dealings in privately acquiring startup projects, but it also decisively ended Gao Fei's grievances with the entrepreneurship competition. If the disciplinary inspection and other departments hadn't intervened, he might have continued to fight with the entrepreneurship competition and Kong Liwei. Back then, he had declared with great ambition that he would resist the entrepreneurship competition to the end. As long as one side hadn't fallen or a victor hadn't emerged, Gao Fei would absolutely not back down. After all, he had made his statement and couldn't retreat halfway and slap himself in the face. As for why Ge Qing would give such a gift, Gao Fei knew it clearly. Ge Qing did not want him to go astray due to the grievances arising from this capital-manipulated competition. Since he started confronting the entrepreneurship competition, much blood had been shed, and several lives had been lost. Now, Yu Min, in order to befriend him, was constantly finding ways to help him and send him benefits. What Ge Qing said when he left earlier was very clear. He did not want to see Gao Fei get entangled with Yu Min. Gao Fei was now adorned with various accolades and was leading China's film, music, and novel industries onto the world stage, with an immeasurable future. Therefore, Ge Qing's admonishment and reminder earlier was a clear indication to Gao Fei to take the righteous path and not embark on a road of no return because of certain people. Now, with the tax, audit, and disciplinary inspection departments investigating the entrepreneurship competition at the school, it was also Ge Qing personally severing Gao Fei's grievances. It protected him from being influenced by grievances with underworld connections in the future.
"Director Ge, your gift is truly immense!" Gao Fei exclaimed sincerely while driving. He had only helped plan the police documentary, and Ge Qing had repaid him with such a great gift that he felt undeserving for a while. Now, Ge Qing completely distanced himself from him, which also meant that this great gift did not need to be repaid.
Just as Gao Fei was driving to school, a strange number suddenly called his phone. He glanced at the number, didn't answer, and directly hung up, without calling back. It wasn't until he returned to school and entered the public restroom in the parking lot that Gao Fei took out another phone and called the previous number back.
"Hello, Mr. Gao!"
"Heh heh, Mr. Huo, aren't you afraid the police will find you if you call me now?"
"Don't worry, Mr. Gao. I've already had someone go to surrender. Even if they find out, I'll only have to pay a fine at most!" A male voice with a strong Hong Kong accent came through the phone. The man was not Xiang Guosheng, but Huo Dongcheng, who had cooperated with the act before.
"Mr. Gao, I have to say, your methods of doing things are so frightening to me. I thought Feng Kunlin would put up a prolonged fight, and it would take at least half a year to determine the winner. I didn't expect him to fall completely in just two rounds."
Listening to Huo Dongcheng's praise, Gao Fei remained unmoved. Leaning against the sound of running water, he lowered his voice and said, "Old Huo, since I've helped you deal with that batch of hot potatoes, how do you plan to repay me?"
"Besides the original agreed-upon terms, all raw materials will be at a 50% discount. Furthermore, I will open up my company's cosmetic channels in mainland China and Hong Kong to you for free. Also, if you want to do cosmetic export business, I will help you with operations and sales, only taking a 20% profit."
"Forget about the export business, I don't have that much appetite. As for your cosmetic market channels in mainland China and Hong Kong, I can give you 20% of the profit."
"Then thank you, Mr. Gao, for your generosity!"
After they discussed cooperation matters in general, Gao Fei said, "By the way, the insurance compensation for the raw materials in my warehouse that were burned down has been settled. Since you sold them to me at a low price, I will give you 30% of the compensation."
"What are the conditions?"
"Make Xiang Guosheng surrender!"
"Okay!"
In the parking lot.
A black car with heavily tinted windows was parked behind Gao Fei's car, with only three parking spaces between them. Four men were sitting in the car, and the two in the back were constantly adjusting their listening equipment.
"Did Gao Fei discover us? His voice was completely covered by the sound of running water!"
"No way, Gao Fei isn't a professional investigator. If he had discovered us, he would have lost us long ago!"
Just as the people in the car were discussing, Gao Fei appeared outside the car window with a smile. Seeing the person who suddenly appeared outside the car, the four people in the car were startled. Gao Fei nodded and smiled at them, then waved, signaling them to open the car window. The driver took a deep breath and slowly lowered the window. Before he could speak, Gao Fei handed over a USB drive and said, "Please help me deliver this to Director Ge, and also give him a message: I, Gao Fei, will remember his kindness and will not fail his expectations. Thank you!" After the driver took the USB drive, he immediately put on a mask and hat and walked towards the entrepreneurship competition office building not far away. Watching the receding figure, the four people in the car looked at each other. The driver glanced at the USB drive in his hand and immediately called Ge Qing.
Upon learning that Gao Fei had discovered them long ago and sent them a strange USB drive, Ge Qing said calmly on the phone, "Gao Fei trained in the military for three months, so he has some anti-reconnaissance capabilities. Moreover, he is now a well-known celebrity in China, constantly followed and photographed by paparazzi. It's not surprising that he discovered you, as those paparazzi have good tracking skills."
"Team leader, what do we do now? Should we continue to follow him?"
"Come back!" Soon, the black car drove out of the parking lot. As soon as the car left, Gao Fei also emerged from behind a large tree in the garden. Watching the car disappear at the end of the street, he casually threw a miniature listening device into a trash can and walked towards the entrepreneurship competition office building.
On the third floor of the office building.
When Gao Fei suddenly appeared and entered the investigation team's office, everyone inside immediately put down their work, their faces filled with surprise. After all, he was now a well-known public figure in China, and it was difficult for people not to recognize his face. Before the investigation team could step forward to ask questions, the two leaders from the disciplinary inspection and economic investigation departments appeared and took Gao Fei away for a private interview. After understanding the entire process of the 300,000 yuan startup fund, the matter was quickly resolved. Because Li Changhuang and Gao Fei had not declared the startup fund through normal procedures, but fortunately, the 300,000 yuan startup fund had been repaid, the school gave both of them a disciplinary warning.
In the first-floor lobby.
"I'm sorry, Teacher Li. Because of my wrong request, you also received a criticism!"
"Compared to Vice Principal Qin and the others, it's already very good that I only received a criticism!" Li Changhuang waved his hand indifferently. He was only criticized, while Qin Cheng and others not only lost their positions but also faced imprisonment.
"Xiao Gao, now that the entrepreneurship competition has been halted, your grievances are almost over. Will you continue to invest in the startup projects of your fellow students that were not passed at the school through the investment company you founded outside the school?"
"It depends. If I encounter projects with good prospects, I will definitely invest. But I probably won't invest in other projects recently. The cosmetic factory is about to start, and the initial investment is huge."
"Okay... okay!" Teacher Li coughed awkwardly. He had intended to introduce two third-year students to Gao Fei and have Gao Fei invest in their projects. Those two students were the children of Li Changhuang's comrades-in-arms, and the two comrades had personally called him to seek help, which was why he was tentatively inquiring about Gao Fei's investment direction. Seeing Teacher Li hesitating and looking conflicted, Gao Fei seemed to understand his thoughts and changed his statement, "Teacher Li, if you encounter any good projects, you can also introduce them to me. The project planning will be handed over to Zhang Cheng, and I will personally review it then!" Li Changhuang was stunned and nodded gratefully, "Thank you, Xiao Gao!"
"You're welcome!"
....
526 Task Force.
The surveillance team roughly recounted the events after Gao Fei left. They mentioned the investigation into the Jingda Entrepreneurship Competition by the disciplinary inspection and other departments, and how Gao Fei used running water sounds to make phone calls in the restroom. Additionally, the driver relayed Gao Fei's words of thanks verbatim. Ge Qing listened to the account and nodded silently, then picked up the USB drive Gao Fei had handed over and plugged it into the computer. Upon opening the USB drive, there were two folders. Inside each folder were over a dozen documents, audio, and video files. After Ge Qing spent over two hours reviewing all the files, he was both surprised and delighted. But in the next second, he couldn't help but frown and mutter, "This kid, he's truly using his technical skills to the fullest, but this is also illegal!"
Buzz! Ge Qing's phone suddenly rang. It was a text message from Gao Fei. It read: "Director Ge, I found the USB drive, and I haven't done anything illegal! If you don't believe me, you can check the factory's surveillance. I really found it!" After reading the message, Ge Qing smiled helplessly. He even suspected if this kid was really nineteen years old. He had calculated every step. Deleting the message, Ge Qing handed the USB drive to the information department to extract the file evidence. At the same time, he immediately found his superior and applied to investigate Kong Liwei.