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In March 2015, at his private estate in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, 72-year-old Suning was listening to a report from his financial director, Richard.

“Boss, the last batch of Lemon Technology shares has been sold through an offshore company.” Richard handed over a tablet. “This is the record for the last ten years of share reductions—we’ve reduced our stake from a peak of 35% to the current 3.2%, cashing out a total of about $2200 billion.”

Suning put on his reading glasses and carefully examined the data: "Have all the fund flows been cleaned up?"

“It’s divided into 127 pathways.” Richard nodded. “Part of it goes into private banks in Switzerland and Singapore, part goes into purchasing prime properties in New York and London, and the rest will be gradually converted into physical assets as you require.”

"Gold procurement progress?"

“Over the past five years, a total of 487 tons of gold has been purchased through mining companies in South Africa, Canada, and Australia.” Richard pulled up another document, “All of it is stored in vaults in Zurich, London, and Singapore, with ownership hidden through multiple layers of holding companies.”

"How much has been shipped out?"

"As per your instructions, approximately 153 tons of gold have been shipped out in batches, destined for our private vaults in New Zealand and Switzerland." Richard paused. "Boss, I don't understand why you're transferring so much physical gold. Wouldn't it be safer to keep it in a bank vault?"

Su Ning glanced at him: "If I put it in the bank, everyone will know how much gold I have. If I keep it privately, only I will know."

Richard wisely refrained from asking further questions.

"What about mineral resources?" Suning changed the subject.

“Copper mines in Chile, iron ore mines in Australia, potash mines in Canada, cobalt mines in Africa,” Richard listed off with ease. “We effectively control the long-term mining rights to these mines by holding shares in local companies. The total investment is approximately $85 billion.”

"Ownership structure?"

“An offshore trust plus a local company, at least three layers of segregation,” Richard said. “Even if the U.S. Treasury investigates, it will be very difficult to trace it back to you personally.”

Suning nodded, then asked about another matter: "Has Pacific Capital finished disposing of its assets in China?"

“The last three key projects—Shanghai Ningxin Semiconductor, Shenzhen New Energy Vehicle Battery Plant, and Beijing Artificial Intelligence Research Institute—were all sold to Chinese state-owned enterprises last month.” Richard flipped through the records. “The total price was $72 billion, 15% lower than the market valuation, but the condition was a one-time payment in gold.”

"Does China have no questions?"

“There were doubts, but we gave a reasonable explanation—'strategic adjustments at our US headquarters, reducing investment in China,'” Richard said. “They even tried to persuade us to stay, saying they could offer more favorable policies. But we insisted on selling.”

Su Ning walked to the window and looked at the neatly trimmed lawn in the manor: "What about Apple's shares?"

“As you have arranged, 27% of Apple’s shares have been distributed into 120 family trusts, with your children and grandchildren as beneficiaries,” Richard said. “Each trust holds no more than 0.3% of the shares and is not on the list of major shareholders, so it will not attract attention.”

Do the children know?

“I only know that there is a trust fund, but I don’t know the specific asset size,” Richard added. “According to your requirements, they must be at least 35 years old to access the principal.”

Suning paused for a moment, then turned and asked, "What is the current situation of Lemon Technology and Pacific Capital?"

Richard's expression turned serious: "On paper, they're still giants—Lemon Technology has a market capitalization of $18000 trillion, and Pacific Capital has a market capitalization of $45000 trillion. But in reality..."

He lowered his voice, “The core patents have been transferred to offshore companies we control through licensing agreements, key personnel have left to join our ‘affiliated companies’ over the past five years, and the most valuable customer resources have also been migrated.”

"To put it bluntly."

“Both companies are now empty shells,” Richard stated clearly. “Hardware is manufactured by OEMs, software is outsourced, and the R&D team is less than a third of its peak size. The only reason they can maintain their market value is due to brand effect and market inertia.”

Suning was not surprised; this was the result of his planning that began ten years ago.

"Wall Street didn't notice?"

“Some analysts have questioned the sluggish growth and declining profit margins, but we’ve covered them up with one-time gains and asset sales every earnings season,” Richard said. “For example, last year we sold Lemon Technologies’ European patent portfolio to a shell company, which was essentially a transfer between our own hands, but the financial report showed a profit of $20 billion.”

"How long can this last?"

“At most three years,” Richard calculated. “After three years, the one-time gains from the reserves will be used up, and the true performance will be revealed. At that time, the stock price may be halved or even more.”

Su Ning walked to the desk, opened the drawer, and took out a document: "This is what I received."

Richard took it and looked at it; his expression changed.

The document is a copy of an internal U.S. Congressional memo entitled "Proposal on Reviewing Technology Transfer and National Security Risks of Certain U.S. Companies".

“This is a copy; the original is with the Senate Commerce Committee,” Su Ning said calmly. “The proposal calls for a national security review of ‘American companies with deep cooperation with other countries.’ Although it doesn’t name names, Lemon Technology and Pacific Capital appear seventeen times in the attached case studies.”

"When did this happen?"

“Two months ago,” Su Ning said, “it came from my people in Washington. Not only Congress, but the Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, and the Department of Commerce are all collecting materials. Senator Johnson is leading the effort; he’s running for re-election next year, and playing the ‘threat card’ is his strategy.”

Richard's forehead was beaded with sweat: "Then what about our share reduction plan..."

“Perfect timing. Let’s speed things up before they make a public move,” Su Ning said. “I want to sell off all the remaining 3.2% of Lemon Technology shares within the next twelve months. How much do we still have with Pacific Capital?”

“You personally hold 4.1% of Pacific Capital, and the remaining 9.3% is controlled through offshore companies.”

"Get rid of them all," Suning ordered. "The price can be lower, but it has to be quick and discreet."

"But boss, if there's a large-scale reduction in holdings, the market will panic, and the stock price will collapse..."

“So what if it crashes?” Su Ning said calmly. “Anyway, we don’t have many stocks left. After the crash, it will be perfect for Wall Street to point the finger at the US government—'It’s all because of policy uncertainty that investors have been scared away.'”

Richard wiped his sweat: "What about your personal safety? If Congress launches an investigation, you may be subpoenaed."

“I’m prepared.” Su Ning took out another envelope from the drawer. “These are three passports—Switzerland, Singapore, and St. Kitts. I can leave the United States if necessary. But that’s a last resort.”

"Do we need to arrange security?"

“It’s already underway,” Suning said. “The security system at the estate was upgraded last week, and all employees have had their backgrounds re-checked. My accommodations in New Zealand and Switzerland are also ready, and I can go there anytime.”

Richard paused for a moment before finally asking the question he had been wanting to ask: "Boss, how did you find out in advance? This congressional memorandum is only two months old, but your asset transfer has been going on for ten years."

Suning walked to the liquor cabinet and poured himself a glass of whiskey.

“In 2005, during George W. Bush’s second term, I sensed that the winds had shifted.” He took a sip of his drink. “That year, anxiety began to emerge in American society. I attended several closed-door meetings with White House economic advisors and heard them discussing privately ‘how to restrict other countries’ access to technology.’”

"But international relations were still very good at the time..."

“It’s all just a facade.” Su Ning shook his head. “Politicians publicly say they welcome international development, but privately they’re already planning containment strategies. I’m of Chinese descent, and my company has huge investments in China, so I’ll become a target sooner or later.”

"So you started preparing back then?"

“Yes.” Su Ning sat down. “The first step was to separate personal wealth from company assets. The second step was to separate US assets from non-US assets. The third step was to separate financial assets from physical assets. It took ten years, and it’s basically done now.”

Richard flipped through the documents in his hand, then suddenly thought of something: "Boss, are all those physical assets in your private space safe?"

Su Ning glanced at him: "That's not something you should be asking."

"I'm sorry," Richard quickly said, bowing his head.

"Just do your job." Su Ning stood up. "The next twelve months are crucial. I want you to report your progress directly to me every week, no emails, no phone calls, in person."

"clear."

"Also, remind our lobbying team in Washington that at the appropriate time, we can release information that Suning is in poor health and may be considering retirement. This will give the outside world a reason to reduce holdings."

"For health reasons... is it necessary to arrange for a doctor to assist?"

“I’ll make the arrangements,” Su Ning said. “After my routine medical check-up next month, I’ll have the doctor I’m working with tell the media that I need to reduce my work stress. The message should be natural, not too deliberate.”

Richard wrote it all down.

Before leaving, he couldn't help but turn back: "Boss, if... if the worst happens, and the company is really investigated or even prosecuted, what about us who have followed you for decades..."

Su Ning interrupted him: "Your trust fund has been arranged, enough for three generations to live on. The same goes for others. I will not mistreat those who work for me."

"thank you boss."

After Richard left, Suning sat alone in the study.

On the wall is a photo of Lemon Technology's listing on Nasdaq, when he was full of vigor and ambition.

Next to it is a group photo taken when investing in the Shanghai Pudong Ningxin Semiconductor Park, with a construction site in the background.

Fifty years of ups and downs in the business world, from a small office in Los Angeles to a global giant, and now a quiet exit.

He opened his phone and looked at the photos in his album...

His outstanding children are scattered all over the world, in almost every industry.

Some are running small companies he secretly supports, some are running charitable foundations, and some are living ordinary lives.

No one knew the full details of the scheme, nor did anyone know that they were the children of the richest man.

This is the best way to protect them.

The city lights of Los Angeles are just coming on outside the window.

But Suning knew that this city, this country, was no longer a safe haven.

Capital has no nationality, but capitalists do.

When international relations are tense, people like him who straddle both sides are destined to be squeezed out.

Ten years ago, he began preparing his escape route, and now he's in the final stages.

He had twelve months left. During that time, he needed to complete the transfer of all assets, erase all traces, and then…

Disappeared completely.

……

After Richard left the study, Suning made sure the door was locked and then walked toward the bookshelf.

He reached out and pressed three times on the side of the third-tier bookshelf, and the bookshelf silently slid open to the left, revealing a metal door.

Iris scan, fingerprint verification, and voiceprint recognition—after passing all three verifications, the door opened.

Behind the door is a secret room of less than ten square meters.

There are no windows, and the walls are covered with screens displaying real-time monitoring from all over the world.

In front of the central control panel, an AI humanoid robot slowly turned around.

"Master, Richard is gone." The AI ​​humanoid robot's electronic voice was steady and gentle.

"Afu, bring up the real asset list." Su Ning sat down at the console.

A virtual screen then appeared, instantly displaying a dense array of data:

Physical asset transfer records (2010-2016):
Gold: 3000 tons;
Refined steel: 4,700,000 tons;
Electrolytic copper: 850,000 tons;
Aluminum ingots: 1,200,000 tons;
Rare earth oxides: 15,000 tons;
Industrial silicon: 300,000 tons;
Various alloy materials: approximately 2,000,000 tons;
Suning examined the items carefully: "When was the most recent batch of copper delivered to the warehouse?"

“Yesterday morning, Rizhao Port, Shandong.” Afu pulled up the surveillance footage, “The last 5000 tons of electrolytic copper were transported by the cargo ship ‘Haifeng,’ with the bill of lading indicating Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam as the destination. The transfer was completed while the ship was at berth number three in the port area.”

Is there anything unusual?

“Everything is normal. In the terminal management system, this batch of goods is shown as ‘departed’, and the ship’s data has been updated accordingly.” Afu added, “Over the past six years, we have handled 173 cargo ship voyages, and all digital traces have been processed.”

Suning nodded: "Our raw material reserves are sufficient. The focus now is on wrapping things up. What other risks have we exposed?"

The virtual screen then displays red high-risk items:
1. Zurich Vault, Switzerland (153 tons of gold) – The gold has been physically transferred, but the lease agreement remains in effect;

2. Singapore escrow account (US$72 billion in cash) – nominally still in existence, but actually transferred in batches;

3. Richard's team – knows some information, but not the core details…

"A solution?" Su Ning asked.

"Recommendations," Afu's electronic voice remained steady, "First, stage the scene of the bank robbery; the program to infiltrate the security system has already been written. Second, create traces of a hacking attack using the Singapore account. Third, Richard's team should be deployed as planned."

"Execution time?"

"On June 15, 2016, it will all happen simultaneously," Afu said. "On that day, you will be admitted to the hospital as planned, and everyone's attention will be on your health."

Su Ning looked at the screen and remained silent for a moment: "What about the children?"

“All trust funds have completed their final adjustments yesterday.” Afu brought up a new page. “The 120 children each have assets between $50 million and $200 million, all of which are legal and clean liquid assets and real estate. They will not know the true source of these assets.”

“Enough for them to live on.” Su Ning leaned back in his chair. “But not too much—too much money will attract attention.”

"Yes, this size belongs to the wealthy class, but it won't make it onto the Forbes list."

"very good."

Su Ning stood up, and then disappeared from the secret room with A Fu. When they reappeared, they were already in the spatial world.

This is my own boundless storage space...

Mountains of steel were neatly stacked in the distance, copper and aluminum ingots were stacked in separate areas, and deeper inside were mountains of various mechanical equipment, precision instruments, and even entire production lines.

"The utilization rate of the opened warehouse space is 68%," Afu reported. "According to your plan, the raw material area, equipment area, energy area, and living area have been divided up."

"Continue to draw upon the resources of this world."

"clear."

……

The time came to December 2016.

Earlier this month, news broke from Los Angeles that Suning had been hospitalized due to a "sudden heart attack."

Lemon Technology's stock price fell by 5% in response.

On June 10, the hospital held a brief press conference: "Mr. Gan's condition is stable, but he needs to rest for a long time and will resign from all company positions."

On the evening of June 14, news came from Switzerland: a private vault in Zurich was robbed by "high-tech" methods, resulting in the loss of gold worth approximately $6 billion.

Strangely, the security system was not triggered, and the monitoring showed that the gold in the vault "disappeared into thin air".

On the morning of June 15, the Monetary Authority of Singapore confirmed that a large escrow account had been attacked by an "international hacking group," and that $72 billion had disappeared after being transferred to hundreds of offshore accounts.

That same morning, Richard received an encrypted message: "Plan to go. Take your family to New Zealand. Do not return to the United States."

Richard immediately booked the next available flight and flew to Auckland with his wife and children.

Three hours after the plane took off, the U.S. Treasury Department froze all of his accounts in the United States…

But it was too late; his overseas accounts had already been arranged.

On June 16, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a full investigation into Suning and related companies on charges including securities fraud, transnational money laundering, and violations of technology export controls.

But when the investigation team arrived at the Los Angeles estate, they found only empty rooms and a letter on the coffee table in the living room.

The letter is very short:
"I have operated legally my entire life and have a clear conscience. Now, due to health reasons, I have no choice but to retire. All company affairs have been handed over to a professional team; please handle them according to the law. There is no need to contact me."

No signature.

Where is the real Suning?

Late at night on June 15, 2016, at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.

A flight from Paris landed.

An elderly man with gray hair and black-rimmed glasses stepped out of the economy class. He held a French passport and his name was "Shen Wenxuan".

Go through customs, collect your luggage, and take a taxi.

The elderly man arrived at an ordinary residential building in the HK district and used his key to open the door of an apartment on the third floor.

Two bedrooms and one living room, simply furnished but fully equipped.

He closed the door, took off his glasses, and his eyes sharpened—it was Su Ning.

Afu's voice suddenly came from the void, "Master, all possible tracking has been cut off. Your electronic devices in the United States are still at the manor, and the last signal was shown in Los Angeles. Clues in Switzerland and Singapore have been directed to several international criminal groups as planned."

"What about your domestic identity?"

“Shen Wenxuan, a French citizen of Chinese descent, was born in Marseille in 1945. His parents died early, and he has no family records. Three months ago, he applied for long-term residency on the grounds of ‘retirement and returning to China to live out his old age.’ All documents are authentic and verifiable.” Afu paused. “This identity was prepared in 2008. At that time, he registered his French birth certificate and actually lived in France for six months to establish a record.”

Suning walked to the window and looked at the Shanghai night view.

The Bund is brightly lit, and Lujiazui is lined with skyscrapers.

In the distance, the Shanghai branch of Pacific Capital was still lit up, but the company had changed hands.

"Are Richard and the others safe?"

“You have arrived in New Zealand and activated your new identity. In their memory, you were just ‘retired due to serious illness’ and they don’t know about the transfer of space and supplies,” Afu said. “According to the plan, they will receive a ‘severance payment’ at the appropriate time, enough to live comfortably.”

"That's enough." Su Ning drew the curtains.

He opened his phone and browsed the news.

The headline read: "World's richest man Suning has disappeared, suspected of transferring huge amounts of assets."

The article states: "Preliminary estimates suggest that Suning has transferred over $4000 billion in assets over the past decade, the majority of which has disappeared without a trace. Investigators suspect this was premeditated..."

The comments section is bustling:

"They must have run off with the money!"

"The United States cannot tolerate true entrepreneurs."

"Serves them right, they made their money and ran away."

Suning turned off his phone.

Afu asked, "Master, do I need a response?"

“No need.” Su Ning shook his head. “From now on, Su Ning has ‘disappeared.’ I am Shen Wenxuan, an ordinary old man who has returned to China to retire.”

...(End of chapter)