Chapter 314 - 199: The Royal Court’s Conspiracy
Colin suddenly thought of his father, then himself, and then the Ferrari.
"Let me think," Colin interrupted her irritably, turning toward the study. "I’ll solve it. Just give me some time."
The lights in the study were off. Colin sat alone in the darkness, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the black USB drive he had brought back from the office.
His mind was split in two. On one side was money: his wife’s complaints, the exorbitant bills, Julian’s Ferrari, and his own outstanding student loans.
On the other was responsibility, starting with the lessons from his father: "Colin, you must become a respected man. Don’t be one of those Wall Street vampires."
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the study’s blinds, falling on Colin’s bloodshot eyes.
He took a deep breath, as if casting off some heavy shackles. He picked up the phone on his desk and dialed the private number.
"Julian," Colin’s voice was hoarse.
"I’m guessing you have an answer for me, Colin." Julian’s composed chuckle came through the phone, sounding just like a devil. "So, what is it?"
"Regarding the Elizabeth Mellon foundation," Colin said, staring fixedly at his computer screen as he inserted the USB drive. "Next Monday, on behalf of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Bureau’s Special Regulatory Review Team, I will formally issue a high-priority Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) and initiate anti-money laundering blocking procedures."
"But this temporary freeze order is only for three months, not a day more," he said. "And if I don’t see an offer letter from JPMorgan Chase by next year, I’ll make you realize just how flimsy your past activities are under investigation."
"A wise choice, Colin," Julian said with a laugh before hanging up. "I’m already looking forward to working with you."
After hanging up, Colin let out a long sigh, rubbed his eyes, and looked out the window. He stood up, ready to face the new day.
Not long after, Mark saw the temporary freeze order, set to take effect the following Monday, appear in the system. He immediately scrambled to call Li Wei.
"So that’s the situation," Mark said. "The problem is, I don’t have enough clearance to see who actually issued the temporary freeze order."
Inside an apartment in Fortress City, Mark, Li Wei, and Anya sat in the living room.
"Thanks, Mr. Mark. You’ve already done more than enough," Li Wei said with a nod. "I’ll figure out what to do next."
"I’ll keep working on it, too," Mark said, eager to prove his worth. "I’ll ask around my friends, see if anyone knows someone at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Bureau."
After Mark left, Anya thought for a moment, and her eyes suddenly lit up.
"You know, I might have a way," she said with a grin. "I think I can find out who it is."
"Oh?" Li Wei asked, surprised. "Why are you suddenly so invested in this?"
"Of course! It’s because my dad suddenly told me a while ago that this money is actually mine to manage," Anya said, grinding her little canines fiercely. "So now it’s my money. Of course I’m invested."
"I still don’t get it, though," she added, suddenly confused. "Why would he give this money to me? He even called a while back specifically to ask how things were progressing with it."
"Maybe he wants you to get some experience," Li Wei said. "So, who can you contact?"
"Our family’s compliance lawyer should know the status of the funds," Anya said, scrolling through her phone. "I went back to Moscow in early August, remember? I was dealing with the legal team every day."
"Let me handle this!"
Excited, Anya tossed a leather throw pillow from the sofa aside, grabbed her phone, and dialed the chief compliance lawyer for their family office in North America.
As the legal representatives for Sergey, the oligarch who controlled the vast energy lifelines of Eastern Europe, this team of top-billing lawyers acted with incredible speed.
In less than two hours, the lawyers had news.
Under the pretext of "proactive compliance filing and cooperation with federal review for a large-sum transfer by the Sergey family," they successfully extracted information from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Bureau.
Faced with such a high-profile inquiry, the low-level employees couldn’t stonewall and quickly revealed that the signatory on the matter was Colin, the supervisor of the Special Regulatory Review Team.
"Colin?" Li Wei murmured the name thoughtfully.
"Should I have the family’s legal team make the proactive filing directly?" Anya suggested. "That might get the temporary freeze order canceled before it even takes effect."
"Your money is just a pretext," Li Wei said, shaking his head. "Their real target is Elizabeth’s foundation. And I think this is a good opportunity. If we can get proof that Colin and Julian are colluding, we’ll be in a much better position to take them all down in one fell swoop."
Just then, an idea struck him. He brought out the [Jester’s Skull].
’Say something,’ Li Wei thought. ’Give me a hint.’
Unexpectedly, its eye sockets flashed. It didn’t mock Li Wei, but instead flew up and down for a moment with its jaw shut, then began to recite in a singsong voice:
"What a clumsy court farce! A lackey of the little Prince, trying to prove himself, has actually bribed the tax collector on the King’s road? They dare to try and block the Northern Monarch’s war funds? How shortsighted! Once they provoke that irascible Northern Monarch, his iron cavalry and his wrath will absolutely grind that tax collector to a pulp!"
It then rambled on deliriously about its own fate, the disappearance of gods and demons, the fading of Magic, and other such things, but the system nevertheless accepted its narration.
[The ’Chatterbox Jester’s Skull’ has activated the Gold-tier skill: Investigate]
[Quest Acquired: Conspiracy of the Royal Court (Justice)]
[The Prince, in his bid for power, has bribed a greedy tax collector to cut off the Princess’s financial support. As the Princess’s ally and a noble Knight, you must use your wisdom and skill to resolve this impasse and make the tax collector pay the price before the Northern Monarch’s wrath descends and triggers all-out war.]
[Quest Objective: Make the tax collector pay the price and receive their due punishment.]
[Quest Reward: +0.2 Free Attribute Points]
’A quest for only 0.2 attribute points?’
Li Wei paused. ’Is the tax collector Colin or Julian?’
’Charles Mellon must be the Prince,’ he thought carefully. ’In that case, the tax collector has to be Julian.’
Since the matter now involved him, Li Wei had no choice but to intervene personally.
He found Colin’s profile on LinkedIn and discovered he had a weekly golf habit. An idea began to form.
「Two days later.」
A private golf club in Southampton.
Colin, dressed in a slightly ill-fitting golf outfit, stepped onto the grounds with some apprehension.
He never imagined that a club he’d applied to years ago would have actually responded to him just yesterday, much less invited him to a small, private gathering.
Such an invitation was a rarity in Washington’s bureaucratic circles, especially from a high-end private club open exclusively to the ultra-wealthy and powerful.
Colin took a deep breath and straightened his collar, trying his best to look like a regular member rather than a mid-level federal employee on a fixed salary.
When he reached the teeing ground, Colin saw someone was already there.
A tall, perfectly muscled young Asian man casually took a swing, then turned to look back with a smile.
Colin froze. Anyone in America who followed the NFL would instantly recognize that face.
Li Wei. The star Quarterback for the New York Giants, the "yellow-skinned God" who had led them to a crushing 42-3 victory at the Dallas Cowboys’ home stadium.
"Mr. Li Wei? You’re Li Wei, right?" Colin greeted him awkwardly, subconsciously wiping his sweaty palms.
"Just Li Wei is fine," Li Wei said, feigning a moment of recollection. "You must be Supervisor Colin from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Bureau? I saw your name on the list."
"What... list?" Colin asked, confused. "There’s a list?"
"It’s not important," Li Wei said with a wave of his hand. "Care to play a few holes?"
His tone was gentle, yet it carried an undeniable authority. Colin subconsciously obeyed, walking over to pull out a golf club, the matter of the list completely forgotten.
"Oh, by the way," Li Wei said as if he had just remembered something. He pulled two tickets with the Giants logo from his bag. "This weekend, we’re at home against the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s going to be a tough game. Front-row VIP seats are going for over ten thousand USD on scalper sites. These are for you. Take your family, relax a little. Just a small gesture, from one friend to another."
Colin stared at the tickets and swallowed hard. These were the real deal; his son in college would go absolutely insane over them. He had no reason to refuse and accepted them with a string of thanks.
The two walked side by side down the fairway. Li Wei’s swing was relaxed and casual, yet it possessed an accuracy and explosive power that left Colin dumbfounded—the kind of form he couldn’t hope to achieve in a lifetime of practice. ’If Li Wei played golf,’ he thought, ’he could probably become a legend on par with Tiger Woods.’
As for Li Wei, he played casually alongside Colin, all while reading the dialogue box that appeared from the [Jester’s Skull]:
"Respects his parents, loves his wife, loves his kids, no mistress... Ugh, I think I’m going to puke! What a boring wretch, a low-level financial clerk."
"Poor fool, reeking of the sour stench of poverty. A man crushed by life who actually dares to get involved in the struggles of the great nobles!"
"And the most laughable part is, he was duped by a cunning tax collector with just a few empty words! The man didn’t even pay him a single real Gold Coin! He just dangled an empty promise, a future position as a Steward at the royal mint, and this old dog was more than willing to go bite someone! HAHAHAHA, what a cheap soul!"
Li Wei watched the text that only he could see, a smile playing on his lips as he nonchalantly sank his putt.