At this time, Michael, far away in Curilan City, was still busy working. Curilan City had invited them to assist in investigating the Henghui Group's economic case. As the leader of a Federal Tax Bureau investigation team, Michael quickly noticed something amiss.
It wasn't that he found any clues about Henghui Group, but rather he found some issues with parts of the evidence already collected in Curilan City.
Simply put, there were errors in the evidence collection process for some evidence, and there were problems with the data sources in some evidence.
Whether it's a tax case or a regular criminal case, fundamentally, it's still an accumulation process, a process from quantitative change to qualitative change.
Investigators need to collect clues bit by bit, form evidence, and then piece together these pieces of evidence into a complete chain of evidence to eventually bring the defendant to the dock.
The entire process is interconnected, but he noticed some small flaws in the clues and evidence he saw.
However, he didn't speak up. Such things are quite normal. When those above want certain people to pay, the legality of evidence collection is not an issue anyone pays attention to until it becomes public.
Michael himself felt that this might be related to Henghui Group being a multinational corporation involved with foreign capital. The big capitalists in Bail Federal have never been honest merchants; their abilities in other aspects far surpass their actual business acumen.
Just then, the phone rang suddenly, startling him. Because it was a major case, the investigation team had to adhere to confidentiality principles, meaning no external communication and no leaving the post without others noticing.
Michael had not considered that the phone on his desk would ring.
He hesitated for a moment, then picked up the call. He noticed a few locals immediately staring at him, with a disregard as to whether he noticed.
The call was from his wife. He tapped his toe on the ground, letting the office chair spin him around so he faced away from others, "Darling, is there anything that can't wait until I get back?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Mrs. Michael could no longer bear the pressure of the past few days and burst into tears, crying while talking about what happened to little Michael.
Michael was shocked and quickly stood up, "How could this happen? What has happened in these few days while I was away?"
A moment later he slumped back into his chair. His partner approached with some concern, looking at him silently without speaking.
After about one or two minutes, Michael glanced at his partner and said, "I have to go back, something happened at home."
His partner didn't stop him. Being old colleagues for over ten years, he knew that if it wasn't something big, Michael wouldn't leave his post. Even dissuading him would be pointless, so it was better not to say anything.
The two found the Director of the Federal Tax Bureau in Curilan City, and Michael recounted what had happened at home. The Director had already received reports from his subordinates and was contemplating how to deny Michael's request to return.
During these days, Michael's work ability was evident to everyone, clearly outstanding, and it was also the type of work the investigation team was most often engaged in.
Compared to the "Investigator" and "Special Agent" levels of tax workers, the investigation team's comprehensive ability was more prominent. Michael and his young team members' participation expedited the case significantly.
Now that Michael was about to leave, the efficiency of his team in work would probably slow down because they would lack a familiar guide.
But what happened at Michael's home made it impossible for the Director to refuse him: his wife was almost assaulted in the middle of the night, and his son was inexplicably framed and imprisoned. In such a situation, not letting him go back would not just offend someone; it would create enmity.
The Director of Curilan City could only sigh and approve Michael's departure. Fortunately, only he was leaving; his partner would stay to take over Michael's work, hoping they could maintain the current speed!
Michael didn't linger and directly packed his things to embark on the journey back to Sabin City overnight. The darkness of the wilderness not only failed to slow his speed but instead spurred him to push the accelerator to the limit.
Meanwhile, in a completely different environment, Gap was discussing some upcoming work issues with several members of the management.
They were in a somewhat private club, a venue that only accepted invited guests. Without an invitation, no amount of money or high status could get one inside.
After a simple shower, several gentlemen entered the sauna room. Once the door was closed, Gap voluntarily went to the pile of volcanic rocks and poured a dipper of cold water over them.
In an instant, the surface of the rocks engulfed by cold water bubbled with steam, rapidly filling the entire room and even seemingly increasing the temperature by several degrees.
"That's enough…"
Someone instructed amidst the steam, and Gap put down the water dipper and sat on the lower wooden steps.
"Gap…"
"Yes, sir!"
A board director of the group sitting at the top level, his face pressed against a towel soaked in ice water, raised his head. This hot steam only made his body sweat and didn't make him feel suffocated.
The rolling steam also posed some obstruction to breathing, causing discomfort, but after covering the face with a towel soaked in ice water, it felt like entering a whole new world.
His voice through the towel was a bit muffled, "I have talked to the board about your matter. They don't oppose your promotion to a new partner in the group, but you need to demonstrate your capabilities."
The sauna room fell into a brief silence, with a faint sense that Gap's breathing had become somewhat heavier.
After ten more seconds or so, the one sitting at the top continued, "Henghui has recently gotten into a lot of trouble, which has nothing to do with us, but there are some business dealings between our two companies."
"Alas… who would've thought Henghui would suddenly get into such big trouble, with unclear accounts. You need to solve these problems quickly so I can continue speaking for you in the board, understand?"
The man removed the towel from his face, the once cool towel now warm, making it less comfortable.
This fellow looked about forty or so, with a good appearance and quite a temper. He cast a sidelong glance at Gap, who slightly lowered his head.
For large companies, like the group company where Gap works, a local economic pillar in Sabin City, even if there are some entangled small issues with the company's accounts, the tax system will turn a blind eye.
As long as they can regularly deposit most of the taxes due into the Federal Tax Bureau's account every month, people will ignore those minor mistakes.
There's no need to mess up a major taxpayer over some trivial issues; if they were really destroyed, who would provide so much tax revenue, political achievements, and jobs then?
But now the situation is a bit special. Henghui's scandal also involved a Legislator from the House of Representatives, and since they are a multinational company, it's somewhat sensitive. Sometimes the Federation Government directly arranges high-level task forces to handle the final closing tasks.
For those investigation personnel who have long been at the top, the life and death of the grassroots have no direct relationship with them. They neither gain by letting them off lightly nor lose by hitting them hard.
On the contrary, if they can uncover more loopholes, not only does it serve as political merit for themselves, but it also provides ample fines for the Federation Government.
As for local issues… that's none of their concern.
If Gap can handle these well, then the group's board of directors might consider promoting him to become a new partner in the company.