Chapter 16: Tao Guoling's Little Notebook

In the morning, after the sun had risen, a stretched Lincoln limousine pulled up to the entrance of the Fenghui Bank Building in Hong Kong. For Fenghui Bank, this was nothing out of the ordinary. As the largest bank in Hong Kong and one of the city's note-issuing banks, Fenghui Bank's headquarters often saw wealthy clients arriving in luxury cars to conduct business.

However, today's business was different from the usual. This time, the client wasn't here to conduct any financial transactions or storage deals. Instead, they simply requested that a VIP reception room be prepared because they were waiting for someone.

The bank found this request a bit puzzling, as a bank isn't typically a tea house or café. However, adhering to the principle of prioritizing the customer, they agreed to the request and prepared a VIP reception room for them.

Today's clients at Fenghui Bank were none other than Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing. Lin Muqing's secretary, Amin, was also with them, following closely behind. They followed the bank manager into the VIP room and sat down, where bank staff served them coffee. Zhou Ming glanced around the VIP room and then remarked to Lin Muqing with a sigh, "Muqing, I really have to thank you for this. If it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't have been able to secure this entrance ticket!"

Zhou Ming's words were sincere because, compared to Lin Muqing, Zhou Ming was still relatively unknown in Hong Kong. If it hadn't been for Lin Muqing's intervention and negotiations with the bank, they might not have agreed so easily to open up a VIP room for him.

Lin Muqing rolled her eyes at Zhou Ming. "Your flattery is off the mark. If you couldn't even manage to get a VIP room, would you still be Zhou Ming? Besides, this is such an important matter. If you were willing to give up just because there wasn't a VIP room, wouldn't that be childish?"

Zhou Ming smiled but didn't say much. Lin Muqing didn't dwell on the issue either and instead asked Zhou Ming, "I wonder who we're meeting here and why they chose to meet at this location."

"I'm not sure either. Maybe they have something important stored here," Zhou Ming speculated.

Lin Muqing knew that Fenghui Bank offered safety deposit box services, and many people were accustomed to storing their valuable items in the bank's vaults. It made sense that someone would arrange to meet at the bank for that reason.

"I just didn't expect such important information to be stored in such a small notebook," Lin Muqing said.

Zhou Ming sighed, "Yes! I never expected that Tao Guoling would prepare such a big gift for me. I didn't know he had this kind of story!"

As Zhou Ming spoke, he raised a small, yellowed notebook. It was a very ordinary notebook, only the size of a palm, and the pages had turned yellow from poor storage conditions. However, this didn't matter because the entire notebook contained only one entry. On the thirteenth page, there was a contact number. Other than that, the notebook was empty.

Zhou Ming had studied the notebook after obtaining it from Tao Guoling. Since Zhou Ming had experience in Hong Kong, he recognized the number as a foreign phone number. He had tried calling it back then but couldn't get through. Many things happened afterward, so he put the matter aside.

Later, Zhou Ming was sent to Hong Kong by Yang Lao to attend a meeting. He brought the notebook along by chance because it was kept with Tao Guoling's other bank account passwords. Zhou Ming intended to try calling the number again after arriving in Hong Kong, but after reuniting with Lin Muqing, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, he forgot about it until his conversation with Nordermann reminded him.

After returning with Lin Muqing, Zhou Ming dialed the number. The number that had previously been unreachable finally connected, and the person on the other end requested a meeting at the bank today.

Zhou Ming was now certain, after chatting with Nordermann, that this was related to the Dota Plan. Nordermann had come to Hong Kong to contact Zhou Ming, and in order to make a good impression, he had helped out a bit during the bilateral meeting.

Zhou Ming had never imagined that Tao Guoling would also be connected to such a massive plan.

The Dota Plan itself was top secret, whether in China or the Western world. Zhou Ming had only learned about it by chance while browsing the web. It was said that the severe turmoil in the international financial market in 2006 was a residual effect of the Dota Plan, caused when someone suddenly transferred several trillion dollars, leading to a global shortage of US dollar liquidity.

In his previous life, Zhou Ming had marveled at the strangeness of the event and was shocked by the Western world's powerful financial aggression. It's said that the best strategy is to subdue the enemy without fighting, and this plan to bring down an equally strong opponent without a battle was the best of the best.

Seeing this, Zhou Ming later began reading books on currency wars and financial warfare, but those aren't important now.

Back then, Zhou Ming thought the matter was entirely orchestrated by the West. He never imagined that there were people in China involved as well. But thinking about it, after the Soviet Union collapsed, China's economy did indeed take off in an almost miraculous way. The country continuously invested huge sums of money in projects across the nation, which seemed almost too good to be true. Could it be that some of this benefit came from the Dota Plan?

This is something Zhou Ming can no longer verify, but he is certain of one thing: the reason he was able to take down the Tao family so easily wasn't just because his plan was excellent. The government probably already knew that the Tao family was in contact with the West, and they might have even known about the Dota Plan. Before certain events took place, the central government still held on to many old-school ideas, so they went along with the plan and took down the Tao family.

Additionally, this bilateral meeting might not have been the sole reason Yang Lao sent Zhou Ming here. Perhaps it was also to have him take over Tao Guoling's role in the Dota Plan.

This isn't baseless speculation. When Zhou Ming received the box from Tao Guoling, five Zhongnanhai bodyguards were present. If the central government knew about the Dota Plan and knew that Tao Guoling was involved, they would surely also know that Zhou Ming had the contact information.

In the past, Zhou Ming thought that the reason the Tan family was taken down so easily was entirely due to his own planning. But now, it seems that the Dota Plan also played a significant role. The central government knew that no one else in the country had the capability to handle it, so they naturally thought Zhou Ming was the best person for the job.

Moreover, it seems reasonable that the central government sent Guan Sheng over as well. Yang Lao is a person who plans meticulously. He knew Guan Sheng would encounter difficulties, and when that happened, Zhou Ming would certainly not ignore national interests. Once Zhou Ming stepped in, the Western countries would undoubtedly approach him, and everything would fall into place.

They say that politics is treacherous and heartless, and it seems that's true!

Zhou Ming sighed deeply in his heart. This was truly a grand game of chess. If it weren't for the Dota Plan and the determination of those involved to contact him, he might never have figured it out in his lifetime.

This had nothing to do with intelligence. It was simply that Zhou Ming didn't have enough information about the central government and the global situation. Without sufficient evidence, even Conan wouldn't have been able to deduce it.

But this realization also made Zhou Ming a bit concerned. If things were indeed as he thought, then wouldn't he become a fat sheep in the eyes of the state? Once he got involved in the Dota Plan and made his share of money, the state could just find a way to take it from him and make him disappear without a trace.

Such a thing would be incredibly easy for a country. Even the Tao family couldn't escape it in his previous life, so how could an ordinary person like him?

However, Zhou Ming didn't regret or fear this realization. Even if he had known from the start that this was all a deliberate arrangement by the state, he would still have taken the risk to participate in this epic financial battle for the $20 trillion Dota Plan. After all, in this second chance at life, he was determined to live freely and boldly, to gallop through life and share in its splendor.

As these complex thoughts filled Zhou Ming's mind, Lin Muqing suddenly grabbed his hand and whispered, "Zhou Ming, do we really have to wait here? I'm feeling a bit scared."

Zhou Ming looked at Lin Muqing in confusion, and she explained, "What if the person who shows up is a Western agent with bad intentions toward you?"

Zhou Ming smiled reassuringly. He had initially thought Lin Muqing had figured everything out like he had, but it turned out she was worried about something else.

However, upon reflection, he realized he had been overthinking. Just as he couldn't see through Yang Lao's plans, Lin Muqing was also unaware of many things happening in the country. No matter how mature and intelligent she was, without evidence, she couldn't possibly deduce the situation.

"Don't worry, Muqing. Even if a Western agent does show up, they won't harm me because the Dota Plan hasn't started yet. They have no reason to do so," Zhou Ming reassured her. "And even if they do have bad intentions, isn't he still here?"

Zhou Ming gestured toward the bodyguard, who immediately straightened up and assured Lin Muqing, "Yes, Sister Muqing, please don't worry. No matter what happens, I will protect you both."

The bodyguard also called her Sister Muqing, with Lin Muqing's permission. She allowed it because he was Zhou Ming's bodyguard and wanted to create a sense of closeness. It's said that soldiers will die for those they consider their closest allies, and the same goes for bodyguards. If he saw Zhou Ming as his most important partner, he would be even more willing to protect him.

"Alright, but Zhou Ming, once you make up your mind, nobody can change it," Lin Muqing said.

As Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing were talking, the manager of Fenghui Bank suddenly entered with someone. The person walked straight to Zhou Ming and his group and sweetly asked, "Hello, may I ask who is Mr. Zhou Ming? I'm here specifically to see you. My name is Karelina."