Peng Guoqiang

The dinner didn't conclude until around eleven o'clock that night.

After leaving the hotel, Su Rui drove Li Ruobing home, then left alone.

The two weren't living together yet, as their relationship hadn't reached that level of intimacy. Although they had indulged in a passionate night previously, it was purely physical desire.

Moreover, Su Rui needed his own space at this time to formulate his plans.

After returning to the villa complex, he went back to his room, opened his laptop, and sat on the sofa, typing away rapidly.

Li Ruobing's company in Tongzhou City was indeed quite large, with a market value exceeding one billion, but compared to the specifications in the agreement, it was still several times short.

Five years to operate a group company with a market value of over fifty billion!

This was the test the Li Family had set for Li Ruobing.

Furthermore, she was not allowed to use any assistance from the family and had to complete it independently.

This condition was almost extremely harsh.

In reality, the Li Family never intended for Li Ruobing to succeed. To put it plainly, they just wanted Li Ruobing to yield.

They had simply chosen a softer approach.

The Li Family had operated in Tongzhou for generations. Restraining the development of a company in a certain field was incredibly simple for them.

Take the matter of the Qiantang New Store, for instance.

Li Ruobing had to visit the bank countless times to secure that loan, while her stepmother only needed a phone call or a tea meeting to make the bank's senior executives change their minds simultaneously.

Mingzhu Company almost collapsed because of this incident, and Li Ruobing herself was even forced out by her subordinates, practically abdicating!

Constantly being suppressed.

This was the current state of Mingzhu Company.

Based on the current situation, even if Li Ka-shing were to manage it, Mingzhu Company's market value could not possibly exceed fifty billion within five years!

Su Rui stared expressionlessly at the cold light of the computer screen.

Individual personal profiles were gradually being created.

"Name: Wang Shoucheng..."

"Identity: President of Lanchi Real Estate, holding 37% of shares..."

"Hobbies: ..."

"Personality: ..."

"Can be befriended through... methods, his network is..., family members are..."

"Name: Zhao Ruoxin..."

"Identity: Vice President of Tianrui Bank..."

"Hobbies are..."

"Personality is..."

Su Rui paused, then his fingertips tapped the keyboard again.

"On May 1x, 2007, received 870,000 in cash from Wang Fuyou of Derui Group for a loan application that could not be approved; in September of the same year, received from Ruifeng Real Estate..."

Line after line of shocking data slowly appeared on Su Rui's computer screen.

Half an hour later, in Su Rui's private computer's exclusive file directory.

Over a dozen personal profiles, the content extremely detailed!

Almost every person's interests, private phone numbers, and some unsavory secrets were meticulously recorded!

Including their daily routines and significant events they had done on certain days.

Some things even they themselves might not remember clearly.

But Su Rui wrote them all down, not missing a single word.

A sharp glint flickered in Su Rui's eyes. The individuals in this document were all people he needed to contact or even win over in Tongzhou City recently; there were real estate moguls, famous journalists, high-ranking officials, and influential people from the private sector.

They were spread across various industries, with different interests, hobbies, and social statuses.

But the only thing they had in common was that they could provide assistance to Mingzhu Group.

Whether official or private; whether economic or related to public opinion!

While the Li Family was indeed powerful and deeply entrenched in Tongzhou City, once Su Rui contacted the people in the document, he would be qualified to challenge the Li Family!

Su Rui didn't linger for too long. He narrowed his eyes and began creating the next set of personal profiles.

However, unlike the previous document which recorded his allies, this one recorded the business enemies he would face.

Su Rui was accustomed to speaking through data analysis.

Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle!

The sound of typing on the keyboard resumed, and a new round of characters appeared in the document.

"Qin Lan... Li Family Madam..."

"Li Mingze... Li Family legitimate son..."

It wasn't until around one in the morning that two sets of character profiles, categorized differently, were finally compiled.

Su Rui put away his computer and went back to his room to sleep.

The night passed without a word.

A new day!

Su Rui woke up on time, looking at the time still ticking away on his phone, a smile appearing on his face.

Although he knew very well that time wouldn't reset again, the feeling of having his life back was truly exhilarating.

He got up and went downstairs.

A police car with a blue and white logo was parked in front of Su Rui's house.

A police car?

Su Rui raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything.

"Mr. Su, right..." The car door opened, and a seasoned police officer in his mid-thirties walked over, throwing away the cigarette in his hand and waving away the smoke in the air. "Hello, I'm Peng Guoqiang from the City Bureau's Criminal Police Team."

Peng Guoqiang was of average height, with a very sturdy build. His face was square, his skin rough and dark. He wasn't handsome, but he had a rugged, manly aura.

However, his eyes seemed listless, a little melancholic, and even somewhat dull. His voice was also very deep.

"Hello," Su Rui raised an eyebrow. "Have you been waiting long? Why didn't you knock?"

Su Rui noticed many cigarette butts scattered around the police car. Some were still smoking, while others were long cold.

This indicated that Peng Guoqiang had been waiting outside for at least two hours.

"Rules are strict in the wealthy area, I've learned my lesson," Peng Guoqiang said, as if mocking himself, and turned on his portable body camera. "There's a case, and I'd like to ask you about the situation!"

The corners of Su Rui's mouth curved up silently.

Peng Guoqiang.

Deputy Captain of the City Criminal Police Team, known for his sharp and resolute style, and a fiery temper. He dared to bang the table and curse at his superiors if things didn't go his way. His personal ability was extremely strong. In his fourteen years on the job, he had solved over twenty major cases. During his tenure, the case clearance rate for major cases in Tongzhou City was almost one hundred percent!

Over the years, the thugs and heinous criminals who had fallen into his hands could form a reinforced platoon!

Even before Lin Jiatao made a name for himself, he had been dealt with by Peng Guoqiang more than once.

Logically, with such a record, he should have had a smooth path to promotion, if not to the provincial department, at least to be the head of the City Bureau; but to this day, Peng Guoqiang was still a criminal police officer with a non-critical position. Even the original Criminal Police Captain had been removed and was now serving as a deputy.

This was very strange.

However, what seemed almost incredible to outsiders was perfectly clear to Su Rui.

Just as Peng Guoqiang had mocked himself earlier, the reason his path to promotion was blocked was because he had offended someone.

He had offended a certain wealthy and powerful person!

Fourteen years of effort were directly cut short with one blow!

Since then, Peng Guoqiang's personality had become gloomy and cautious. His work attitude became very passive, even reaching the point of being "timid and afraid of trouble" and "working passively."

The leaders of the City Bureau were very dissatisfied with his performance, but considering his previous achievements, they kept him in the position of Criminal Police Deputy Captain, but he was handling cases that were typically assigned to interns or regular police officers.

For example, fights, prostitution stings, or gambling busts.

He had been completely marginalized.