"What? The Hu Brothers Group isn't completely finished? What should we do then? With the remnants of the Hu Brothers Group still around, aren't you and the Zhao family in great danger?"
Zhao Hongyan asked with fear.
The Zhao family were local powerhouses in the Five Prefectures District, known for their arrogance, but they did have some boundaries.
The Hu brothers, however, were utterly corrupt, completely without any moral compass.
If the Hu brothers were not completely wiped out, they would surely retaliate with all their might.
"Don't worry, the purely criminal elements of the Hu Brothers Group are all dead. It's just their protective umbrella that hasn't been uprooted,"
Chen Feng explained calmly.
"What do you mean?"
Zhao Hongyan didn't quite understand what Chen Feng was implying.
Chen Feng didn't mince words and explained in a few sentences.
In China, for thousands of years, there has been an unwritten rule.
Whether local powers or purely criminal organizations, they invariably have a protective umbrella.
Without such protection, they would be wiped out in an instant.
"But the problem is, we never found any protective umbrella behind the Hu brothers."
Zhao Hongyan asked, her brow furrowed in confusion.
"That's precisely the strength of this protective umbrella; it knows how to conceal itself very well,"
Chen Feng explained calmly.
"Then what should we do? That protective umbrella is in the shadows, while we are in the open. Once they retaliate, we'll have no way to defend ourselves,"
Zhao Hongyan asked with terror.
"Therefore, we must find a way to unearth this protective umbrella,"
Chen Feng said placidly.
"How do we dig it out? Honestly, the Zhao family, being locals in the Five Prefectures District and having established roots here, couldn't even uncover the Hu Brothers Group's protective umbrella. Who else could possibly find it?"
Zhao Hongyan replied dejectedly.
"I can,"
Chen Feng replied with a smile.
"Really? You've only just dealt with the Hu Brothers Group for the first time and aren't familiar with them. How can you possibly find the protective umbrella behind the Hu Brothers Group?"
Zhao Hongyan asked, baffled.
"Details."
"Details?"
"Yes, details. No matter how well a protective umbrella conceals itself, it will always leave behind traces. As long as we find those traces, we will find the protective umbrella. Once the protective umbrella is found, I will ensure they spend the rest of their lives reflecting in prison. Being a protective umbrella for others might not be too serious; it might just involve some money-grabbing or assaults. But this protective umbrella for the criminal organization known as the Hu Brothers Group has, by its indulgence, led to countless innocent citizens in the Five Prefectures District losing their lives, with no recourse for justice."
Chen Feng said with a murderous glint in his eyes.
"Husband, since you have a plan, you should be able to find the protective umbrella. Tell me, how do you plan to find the traces of the protective umbrella?"
Zhao Hongyan asked excitedly.
"It's simple, through financial transactions. A protective umbrella certainly wouldn't offer protection for free; they would surely demand exorbitant fees. And large amounts of high fees certainly cannot go through ordinary accounts..."
Chen Feng explained word by word.
"Husband, I'm still a bit confused. Since you said that the protective umbrella's high fees wouldn't go through ordinary accounts, doesn't that mean the lead is broken?"
Zhao Hongyan asked dejectedly.
Swiss bank accounts were highly confidential. It wasn't just that Chen Feng couldn't handle them; even China, if it went to Switzerland, couldn't get account information.
This was because Switzerland was a neutral country, and its neutrality had two fundamental principles, which were also observed by the world.
First, Switzerland always maintained neutrality.
Second, Swiss financial institutions kept all depositor information confidential.
"It's not broken."
Chen Feng said with a smile.
"How could it not be broken? You must know that the confidentiality clauses of Swiss banks are universally respected. Forget about you personally; even a country is powerless against Switzerland's confidentiality clauses,"
Zhao Hongyan explained dejectedly.
"Miss Hongyan, you seem to understand finance quite well. Money deposited into a Swiss bank account does indeed seem to vanish. However, you need to consider one thing: how does the protective umbrella deposit money into a Swiss bank account? Do they send it in bundles to Switzerland? That's clearly impossible. They need to launder the money first, and then deposit it into a Swiss bank account through legitimate channels. This way, the money becomes completely confidential,"
Chen Feng patiently explained.
"Husband, are you saying that as long as we look for recent money laundering cases in the Five Prefectures District, we can basically pinpoint the protective umbrella?"
Zhao Hongyan tentatively asked.
"That's exactly what I mean. Since you're a local in the Five Prefectures District, you should know about the most significant money laundering incidents recently in the area, right?"
Chen Feng asked calmly.
"Husband, I have a question. China is so vast; why wouldn't the protective umbrella choose a place where no one knows them to launder money?"
Zhao Hongyan asked, full of doubt.
"It's simple. If they were to launder astronomical sums of money in an unfamiliar place, there would only be one outcome: they would be double-crossed. Therefore, the protective umbrella must launder money locally,"
Chen Feng explained calmly.
"I understand now, husband. I'll go investigate the most significant money laundering cases in the Five Prefectures District and then follow the clues to find that protective umbrella,"
Zhao Hongyan said excitedly.
After chatting with Chen Feng for a few more minutes, Zhao Hongyan went to find her father, Zhao Wentai.
Zhao Wentai was an experienced veteran and a local power broker in the Five Prefectures District, so he would certainly know about recent major money laundering cases.
"Hongyan, I'm increasingly impressed with this Chen Feng. He not only has a kind heart but also a wise mind. Even the most complex problems seem like child's play to him. He actually figured out how to find the protective umbrella behind the Hu Brothers Group through money laundering. I've thought about it for over a decade and never came up with such a clever strategy,"
Zhao Wentai exclaimed.
"Dad, now is not the time for exclamation. Tell me, have there been any major money laundering cases in the Five Prefectures District recently?"
Zhao Hongyan urged him.
"Of course, there have been. The Five Prefectures District recently produced an online blockbuster movie. The investment was huge, yet there wasn't a single well-known actor. The promotion claimed it was all about creative value and production value... In reality, it was money laundering,"
Zhao Wentai explained word by word.
"Dad, please explain in detail. How does producing a movie become money laundering?"
Zhao Hongyan asked curiously.
"It's simple. For example, a movie might only need ten million to be made, but they outwardly claim it cost billions. This way, astronomical sums of money are laundered. Black money, by a simple transformation, becomes investment for filmmaking, and then the money enters the director's account, which is then directly sent to a Swiss bank, thus being easily laundered. Money laundering, in essence, is about making money of unknown origin appear to have a legitimate source. Any project that is generally accepted, such as producing a big-budget movie, engaging in venture capital, entering the metaverse, researching high-tech, or going public through a shell company... these projects have one commonality: outsiders have no idea about their cost calculations. How much money was spent can be declared arbitrarily. Another common characteristic is that these projects ultimately lose money, billions or even tens of billions, instantly wiped out. In reality, they haven't lost anything; they've just been laundered and sent to Swiss banks,"
Zhao Wentai explained earnestly.
"Dad, I've truly had my eyes opened. The world of power and influence is unfathomably deep. By the way, who invested in that recent online blockbuster movie in the Five Prefectures District?"
Zhao Hongyan asked, both excited and bewildered.
Knowing who invested in this movie meant knowing the protective umbrella.