In the room, Mr. Fox's face was as grim as still water. He looked little different from a moment ago, but only he knew that his scalp kept prickling with numbness.
People were always joking about the Federal Revenue Service, saying that if you offended them, you wouldn't even be able to afford a pair of pants. Very few people joked about the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
It wasn't because the Federal Bureau of Investigation lacked material for jokes, nor because they never made mistakes. On the contrary, the Bureau had numerous law-enforcement disputes and even accidents every year, yet almost no one dared speak openly about them.
Everyone knew that the Revenue Service might make you suffer unbearably, but the Bureau would simply kill you. That was why hardly anyone kept crying foul and claiming injustice.
After the other party identified himself, Mr. Fox's legs were already becoming difficult to move.
He stared at the man for a while. His son and subordinates gradually recovered from their shock. In fact, seeing Mr. Fox stare down the Bureau agent made them feel that they had found their backbone and their courage, and they glared angrily as well.
Only Mr. Fox himself knew that he needed a moment to steady himself. Otherwise, his weak legs would give way and make him want to kneel.
After a while, he took a deep breath, nodded, and said, "Fine." Then he turned and sat down. "I'd like to see what makes you think you can make me unable to stand."
He had put on a beautiful performance. Even Mr. Fox's son felt that this was one of the shining moments of his father's life. But only Mr. Fox knew that his heart was already racing at a hundred and eighty miles per hour.
The Bureau agent maintained his smile, a confident smile. He raised his brows and pursed his lips, wearing an expression of regret. "You definitely won't like hearing this..." He paused, then continued, "The Federal Bureau of Investigation has been watching you for some time..."
In another room, the Revenue Service agent glanced sideways at the Bureau agent beside him. The latter gave him a fake smile and nodded once.
There was actually a problem with that statement, and the problem lay in who was taking the leading role.
Even ordinary people had all kinds of conflicts and disputes between them, let alone two top-tier agencies.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Revenue Service clearly operated in different fields, yet their powers and duties overlapped in certain areas.
For example, the Financial Crime Investigation Department of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was responsible for crimes related to finance. Crimes in that area, however, were often connected to tax evasion as well.
To keep certain accounts from being discovered, criminals would hide them. Once they were hidden, tax evasion had effectively taken place. So, in essence, the two groups were still in conflict to some extent. Those conflicts would neither be too obvious nor completely restrained.
With a single sentence, the agent from the Action Team of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Financial Crime Investigation Department claimed all the credit for the Bureau. These recordings would eventually appear in court, and might even end up in the media.
The line "We've been watching you for some time" was enough to prove the Federal Bureau of Investigation's foresight in front of everyone. It had supposedly discovered the money-laundering activities of Mr. Fox and the others long ago, but the evidence had not yet been sufficient. Then the foolish Revenue Service had alerted them, causing the entire operation to fall apart at the last moment.
Fortunately, the Federal Bureau of Investigation had ultimately turned the tide and set everything right again. It had not only added a glimmer of distinction to the Bureau as a whole, but had also stepped on the Revenue Service in the process.
Under normal circumstances, the Revenue Service would definitely have sent someone in to even the score. But now they were already in deep trouble themselves. Their foremost concern was resolving the problem at hand. They would have plenty of time to regain face later.
Mr. Fox remained silent, as though he had not heard a thing. His mind spun rapidly as he wondered how his unremarkable Finance Company could have attracted the attention of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Were they really so idle that they had nothing better to do?
The agent did not stop and wait just because Mr. Fox remained silent. Instead, he sped up.
When the amount of information received in a short period exceeded what a person could process, their thoughts would become confused. They would easily say the wrong thing or reveal something they should not.
"Starting last month, we noticed that your business had become more active, and that you had also accelerated the speed at which you laundered money..."
He said "last month," but in reality it had only been a little over ten days ago—right when Lin Qi had completed his first transaction with Mr. Fox. The influx of small bills had caused the daily income Mr. Fox reported to rise steadily, which would certainly have attracted attention. Mr. Fox simply had not realized that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had noticed him as well.
He still said nothing, while the agent continued. "According to our investigation..." He pulled several photographs from the clipboard and placed them on the table. They showed Mr. Fox together with Lin Qi, as well as photographs of his subordinates collecting money. "After you met with Lin Qi, you reached a series of cooperation agreements. Together, you established a more advanced money-laundering process on top of the original one..."
"Lin Qi gathered all kinds of small bills with difficult-to-trace sources for you and designed a new fee system. That allowed you to legalize the illicit income from your Finance Company more quickly and deposit it into the bank."
"Mr. Fox, without exaggeration, you operated a Finance Company to collect illegally high interest while laundering money in private. Whether in State Court or even the Supreme Court, your sentence will not be less than twenty years!"
The agent spoke lightly as he delivered words that made Mr. Fox's son and subordinates suck in cold breaths. Given Mr. Fox's age, if he went to prison, lasting ten years would already be extremely difficult, let alone twenty. They intended to kill Mr. Fox in prison.
Mr. Fox's eyelid twitched. "Where's the evidence?" His voice was quiet at first, but soon grew louder. "You've said all this, but there has to be evidence, right? You say I charged exorbitant interest—who will testify to that? Bring him before me!"
"You say I laundered money, but all of this came from my legitimate business operations!"
"If you have no evidence, I'll sue you for defamation!" As he spoke, he took a business-card holder from his pocket, pulled out a card, and handed it to his son. "Go outside and call a lawyer. Have him come over."
The agent immediately pointed at the table. "There's a phone here. You can call from here."
Mr. Fox let out a cold laugh. "I suspect you'll record us..." He then looked at his son and squeezed the back of his hand. "Go outside and call. Quickly!"
Mr. Fox did not know whether his son understood his meaning. He had given him a look telling him not to come back after making the call, lest they all be caught in one net.
Over the years, he had hidden quite a bit of cash and many valuables in various places. If things went wrong, his son could rely on those things to smuggle himself abroad. Although Mr. Fox himself would be trapped, at least he could save his child.
What else did people live for, if not themselves and the next generation?
Sometimes, however, things did not go as anyone hoped. After making the call, Mr. Fox's son came back, prompting Mr. Fox to let out a heavy sigh and glare at him. What an idiot!
When the agent saw Mr. Fox's son return, he nearly laughed. He had no way to demand that someone with no clear evidence of involvement remain there, but since the other party had voluntarily stayed, he could not exactly refuse, either. He raised his wrist and glanced at his watch. "I hope your lawyer can get here quickly. Otherwise, you may have to spend the night at the Bureau..." He shrugged. "The conditions there aren't good. It's drafty, the walls are like bars, and it smells terrible. The toilet and bedroom are in the same place!"
It was an obvious threat. Anyone would have thought victory was already in hand. At the same time, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began arranging the relevant personnel and preparing to arrest Lin Qi at any moment.
Once the evidence was revealed, Mr. Fox would inevitably confess. Once he confessed, regardless of whether Lin Qi's business was prohibited by law, Lin Qi would still be considered his accomplice, and the recent uproar in public opinion would be reversed.
The agent crossed his legs smugly and had the staff outside bring in a cup of coffee. He needed to maintain his composure. After all, those who handled financial crime investigations had to be more reserved, more dignified, and more gentlemanly than the front-line criminal investigators.