Upon hearing his words, Zheng Bihui and Jiang Yuan felt a sudden sense of relief in their hearts.

Song Guanchao didn't say it was impossible; he simply wanted to understand the situation.

This indicated that he still had a certain degree of confidence.

As the two relaxed, they also felt a sense of wonder.

Normally, the sooner the money is discovered to have been transferred, the greater the chance of recovering it.

Three days had passed, making it almost impossible to have any hope of recovery.

Yet Song Guanchao seemed to behave as if there was still a chance to retrieve it.

This made the two curious about how Song Guanchao originally managed to recover that sum of money.

"No problem!"

Zheng Bihui said, "The city will make every effort to cooperate with you. If you need anything, just ask directly."

As long as Song Guanchao could get the money back, no matter how excessive his demands, Zheng Bihui would meet them.

Song Guanchao gave a wary look, suddenly turning to Qu Xiangru: "Secretary Qu, does the provincial government know about this?"

Qu Xiangru shook his head.

Zheng Bihui immediately said, "There's no need to inform the provincial government for now. If you find you can't solve it, then we can discuss it at that time. Secretary Song, you only need to be responsible for this case; you don't need to worry about anything else."

"I'm responsible?"

Song Guanchao's face darkened: "What does Mayor Zheng mean by this?"

"This case has little to do with me, right?"

"I just said I could look into it, but I never said I would be responsible."

Zheng Bihui said, "I spoke too hastily, what I mean is, our city will handle it ourselves first. It's not to say that you are responsible; if something really happens, it would still be our responsibility."

Song Guanchao's expression finally softened a bit.

Qu Xiangru also did not bring up reporting to the provincial government, which was a tacit agreement with Zheng Bihui's words.

Song Guanchao said, "I need to go to the bank."

"No problem!" Zheng Bihui stood up: "I'll go with you."

As they left the office, Qu Xiangru said, "Yiren, go to the bank with Secretary Song."

With such a significant event, as the head, she certainly had to show some attention.

Jiang Yiren still wasn't clear about what had happened, but she nodded upon hearing this.

At the same time.

Secretary Wang had already divided his people into two teams.

One team went to the Tongchi District street office, which District Chief Li had used as a temporary office location.

The other team proceeded to Lingjiang Bank.

District Chief Li was leaning back in his chair smoking when the office door was suddenly pushed open.

Upon looking up and seeing that it was Secretary Wang, District Chief Li hurriedly tried to stand up.

Before he could stand straight, he saw several people following Secretary Wang.

He suddenly felt a bit uneasy.

"Secretary Wang, what's...?"

"District Chief Li, come with me." Secretary Wang showed no expression, skipped the pleasantries, and turned to leave right after saying this.

Two staff members from the Disciplinary Committee stepped forward, causing District Chief Li's legs to go a bit weak, panic rising in his heart.

Could it be that he had been reported for taking banking benefits?

On the other side.

At the bank.

Wu Yun led the team straight to the chairman's office.

"Knock knock."

She knocked before entering and, upon pushing the door open, faced Du Lingchun's puzzled gaze and pulled out her credentials: "Director Wu Yun from the Lingjiang City Discipline Inspection Commission."

Du Lingchun's expression froze: "Director Wu, what's this about?"

"There's a case that requires Chairman Du's cooperation in the investigation. Please come with us."

"Wait a minute."

Despite his shock, Du Lingchun remained calm, somewhat doubtful of Wu Yun's identity.

He reached for his phone: "Can I make a call?"

Wu Yun said, "I suggest you call Secretary Qu or Mayor Zheng directly. Don't call anyone else. This matter has a large impact, and Secretary Qu has already instructed that it shouldn't be spread around. If you contact unrelated individuals, the police might get involved."

Du Lingchun was startled, wondering what kind of case he had gotten involved in.

Why was it so serious?

"I'll contact District Chief Li."

He didn't have Mayor Zheng's or Secretary Qu's numbers.

Wu Yun checked her watch: "District Chief Li should have been taken by now, you can call, perhaps Secretary Wang will answer."

"... District Chief Li has been taken away too?"

Du Lingchun's panic intensified.

The phone rang for over ten seconds before being answered.

"District Chief Li, where are you right now?"

"I... I'm cooperating with the Disciplinary Committee in an investigation."

He really had been taken!

Du Lingchun asked, "Is Secretary Wang from the Disciplinary Committee there?"

"Yes, he is."

"Could I have a word with him?"

"Hold on."

A few seconds later, Secretary Wang's voice came on: "Hello, I'm Wang Pinyan from the Disciplinary Committee."

"Hello, Secretary Wang, this is Du Lingchun from Lingjiang Bank. Director Wu Yun has come to see me, and I want to verify if she is indeed from our Disciplinary Committee?"

"Yes, she is."

"Alright, good to know. I just wanted to check, I will cooperate with the Disciplinary Committee's work here."

After confirming Wu Yun's identity, Du Lingchun swallowed hard.

Wu Yun asked, "Can we leave now?"

"Yes, of course." Du Lingchun dared not put on airs.

As a bank executive, he was generally not subject to the City Committee and Municipal Government's jurisdiction.

Even if it was embezzlement or bribery, it would usually be investigated by the Bank Regulatory Commission or the anti-corruption bureau.

Being investigated by the Disciplinary Committee indicated that the case he was involved in was related to the City Committee and Municipal Government.

He wracked his brains but couldn't figure out what he had done recently.

Though curious and perplexed, he didn't ask.

No need to ask; once at the location, the Disciplinary Committee would explain everything to him.

Not long after Du Lingchun was taken away, Song Guanchao arrived at the bank.

With Mayor Zheng present, whatever Song Guanchao wanted to access was easily done.

He went through the motions of checking Huaxing Company's bank transactions, made a copy, and took it with him.

Once in the car, Jiang Yiren sat in the front passenger seat, while Song Guanchao and Zheng Bihui sat in the back.

Song Guanchao appeared deep in thought, while Zheng Bihui, though anxious, kept silent, fearing to interrupt his train of thought.

As the car entered the parking lot, Song Guanchao finally said, "Mayor Zheng, I'll give you an answer tomorrow."

"Alright!"

After getting out of the car, Song Guanchao walked off, with Jiang Yiren quick to follow: "Hey, when are you planning to transfer the money back?"

"Shh!" Song Guanchao glanced back; Zheng Bihui hadn't followed but had driven off directly.

He whispered, "Don't talk about such things."

Jiang Yiren immediately covered her mouth, then stuck out her tongue: "Got it."

Elsewhere.

Jiang Yuan received a call from Zheng Bihui, learning that Song Guanchao needed a day to be sure.

He was surprised, as Song Guanchao's demeanor seemed confident.

He found himself increasingly unable to understand this young man.

Amidst his surprise, his heart suddenly sank.

If Song Guanchao could indeed solve this, it would be both good and bad news for him.

The good part was that the issue could be resolved, with the maximum loss being only a couple of government buildings.

Compared to over six billion, a couple of government buildings were within an acceptable range.

The bad part was that Wu Qiangwei would certainly use this matter to seize some departments!

After all, such opportunities weren't common.

If he were in her position, he'd seize the opportunity as well.

Jiang Yuan suspected that Wu Qiangwei might aim to directly take over the Industry and Commerce and Taxation departments this time!

Wu Qiangwei had previously shown interest in these two departments.

Jiang Yuan felt increasingly irritated, all thanks to the foolish Zheng Bihui, dragging him into the mess!

This time, the loss was severe!