Insights Chapter 90: Foundation

Chapter 90: Foundation

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The two bodies touched, the atmosphere was just right. But at this moment, Shen Junci suddenly looked up, he heard the knocking sound, hesitated, “It sounds like someone’s knocking?“

Gu Yanchen calmed down for a moment, he also heard the knocking, “It’s not here, it’s across the hall.“

Then he picked up his phone and checked the time, it was after ten at night. Who could be coming to see him at such a late hour? The romantic atmosphere was disrupted, Gu Yanchen regretfully turned on the light. He didn’t rush to open the door, instead, he looked through the peephole on this side towards the opposite door, where a tightly wrapped person stood, knocking on the door.

Judging from the height and figure, it was a slender woman of short stature. Although the woman was dressed in layers, Gu Yanchen still recognized her. They had crossed paths during the recent inquiry.

She was a staff member of the Bin Ai Foundation named Mu Xin. They had inquired about the case involving Jin Yuewen’s murder not long ago, and Mu Xin seemed to have something on her mind, always hesitant to speak. She had called Gu Yanchen a few days ago, saying she wanted to talk about something. Gu Yanchen thought about Jin Yuewen’s death; this woman might know something. Seeing her appear fearful, he left her an address, not expecting her to come over at night.

Gu Yanchen straightened his clothes and opened the door.

Seeing the person she wanted to find suddenly come out from the opposite door, Mu Xin was stunned for a moment, then she called out, “Officer Gu…”

Gu Yanchen said, “Wait for me to pack up, and then you can come in and talk with me.“

Seeing this, Shen Junci had already put away the star projector. Gu Yanchen and medical examiner Shen led the woman to the opposite door.

Mu Xin was in her thirties, with an ordinary appearance. She wore a slightly thicker black windbreaker. After she sat down, she took off the mask from her face. Gu Yanchen poured her a glass of water.

Mu Xin looked hesitantly at Shen Junci, her eyes wary.

Gu Yanchen introduced, “He is a colleague of mine from the Forensic Department, also a policeman. It’s okay, he’s absolutely reliable. Just say whatever you want. What do you want to tell me?“

Mu Xin hesitated, bowing her head, “Whatever I tell you, you mustn’t say it was me. If those people find out, I… I’m scared…“

“This isn’t a formal interrogation;” Gu Yanchen reassured her, “we’ll keep it confidential for you.“

“The Bin Ai Foundation has repeatedly emphasized that we’re not allowed to discuss the foundation’s affairs outside…” Mu Xin said. She had come here late at night because she didn’t want anyone to know about today’s meeting.

Shen Junci asked from the side, “That person named Li Chunhan, is also from your Bin Ai Foundation, right?“

Not long ago, the Forensic Department had found a skeleton in the wilderness outside the city. Dr. Liu had conducted identity verification with Song Qiancheng and discovered the true identity of the deceased.

Mu Xin nodded, “He was in charge of the foundation’s finances. He went missing half a year ago, and we only recently found out that he had passed away. As for Mr. Jin… Mr. Jin was a good person…“

“Apart from that, in the past three years, your foundation has had one employee die in a car accident, one die from illness, and one jump off a building.“ Shen Junci continued. Before this, he had checked the foundation’s information. As a foundation with only over fifty permanent employees, such a frequency of incidents was obviously too high.

“Yes…” Mu Xin’s body trembled, lowering her head, “Over these few years, there have been deaths in the foundation.“ Every few months, she would attend a colleague’s funeral. Mu Xin continued, “I’m just a low-level secretary in the foundation, responsible for making calls, serving tea, copying documents, and handling basic tasks. I can’t see the foundation’s accounts and don’t know how it operates specifically. All I know is that the Bin Ai Foundation is large, with billions of donations circulating every year. Our foundation has a good reputation, with many wealthy businessmen participating in donations. Donations from the public have also increased year by year, and many people have signed donation agreements with our foundation.

“Because I’m responsible for external communication, I know Mr. Jin. Mr. Jin didn’t often come to the foundation; he just occasionally donated money to us and attended some events. But in the past half year, he has been coming to the foundation more often. A few months ago, Mr. Jin suddenly came to us and called me out, asking if I knew about the recent donation of five hundred school bags to Xinxian. Later, Mr. Jin said that someone had privately messaged him online, saying their sister was from Xinxian Primary School and had received a moldy school bag, feeling like it was handled goods from a store. But in our publicized account registration, the price was listed as 120 yuan each.“

Mu Xin showed Gu Yanchen a photo on her phone. The school bag was very simple, with a large patch of mold. It probably cost only twenty yuan, and if bought in bulk, it would be even cheaper, “When I found out about this, I thought it was just an isolated incident because our foundation’s reputation has always been good. But Mr. Jin seemed to suspect something was wrong. He wanted to go to Xinxian to take a look. After he came back, he found Li Chunhan. I don’t know what they talked about, but they had a big argument. Shortly after that, Li Chunhan disappeared…“

Gu Yanchen asked, “Are you suggesting… someone might be using the foundation for money laundering?“

Mu Xin nodded lightly. Gu Yanchen had some understanding of foundations. Charitable foundations are legitimate social organizations that use private wealth for public welfare. This model originated abroad and later spread to China. There are thousands of charitable foundations in China, and Bin Ai is one of them.

Generally speaking, most foundations are good, but there are also a few unscrupulous individuals who use the foundation’s reputation and shell for money laundering. There are various methods for laundering money through foundations. The simplest is through tax-deductible donations. Companies can deduct their taxes by donating to foundations. Many companies operate this way, using donations to offset taxes. Also, foundations can use false expenditures and fake activities for accounting purposes.

It’s difficult to control the quantity and quality of donated goods, leading to significant kickbacks. The Bin Ai Foundation has a history of over forty years, initially established by a wealthy businessman named Zhen Jiaxu from Penang, and later handed over to someone named Han Qingyi for daily operations. The foundation mainly helps the disabled, the deaf and mute, and provides assistance to poor children who cannot afford education, as well as conducting some public welfare activities.

In the case of Jin Yuewen, the initial investigation by the police found that Jin Yuewen was attached to this foundation, but he did not participate in actual management; he was just a mascot for the foundation’s publicity. The Bin Ai Foundation is the largest charitable foundation organization in Penang. If the foundation is involved in money laundering, there must be people orchestrating these activities.

Hearing this, Gu Yanchen felt that the situation was much more complicated. He felt a bit hesitant and said, “I’m a detective, only responsible for criminal cases. The situations you’ve mentioned, I can report them to my superiors…”

Investigating such an organization would take time and effort to gather evidence. As a detective, he was overstepping his bounds.

Mu Xin interrupted him, “Officer Gu, I understand what you mean. I’m not here to talk about irregularities in the foundation… With so much money passing through the foundation’s hands, it’s hard to guarantee that every penny is spent properly. The school bag incident was just a single example, and our foundation has indeed helped many people. What I want to talk about is something else.”

She paused, as if seeing something terrifying, her eyes filled with panic. She organized her thoughts before speaking again, “Just over a month ago, I went to Mr. Jin’s house to deliver something. His father opened the door and said Mr. Jin was meeting with a guest. I left the item and was about to leave when I heard arguing from the study.”

Mu Xin recalled the scene. She noticed that the study door was half-open and was about to leave when she suddenly heard Jin Yuewen’s voice. In her impression, Mr. Jin was a polite person. Even when angry, he only raised his voice. But that day, he gritted his teeth and trembled as he said, “It’s murder!”

Hearing these words, Mu Xin was petrified. She wanted to leave but her legs felt weak; she couldn’t move. There seemed to be more conversation from inside. Jin Yuewen continued, “I don’t want to hear your nonsense. You’re crazy, to think that for the sake of money, so many people have been killed!”

As she recounted this, Mu Xin’s chest heaved. “When I heard those words, I was stunned. But I was sure I hadn’t misheard.”

Gu Yanchen asked, “Did you see who he was talking to?”

Mu Xin shook her head. “As I left, I glanced back at the villa’s window. The room’s curtains were half-drawn, and I only saw a blurry figure… It was a man, wearing trousers and leather shoes.”

The weather that day was a bit hot, so she wasn’t sure who the person was, only that he was dressed formally. Mu Xin covered her trembling shoulders. “After Mr. Jin’s death, I couldn’t stop thinking about that day. I couldn’t sleep, I kept dreaming of blood, of many people dying… I wondered if Mr. Jin’s death was related to these things.”

After Jin Yuewen’s death, she felt that what she knew must be significant. Those things might be even more terrifying than money laundering. Mr. Jin might have gotten involved in something unknowingly.

Listening to this, Gu Yanchen looked at Shen Junci, whose brow furrowed as he pondered the woman’s words. Mu Xin’s eyes were full of fear. “I swear everything I’ve said today is true. I can’t trust anyone around me… I feel that even if I speak, no one will believe me, and it might bring risks to myself, so I kept this secret for a long time.” With that, she looked up. “Captain Gu, as you can see, there have been many deaths in our foundation. For those people, killing is as simple as crushing an ant. In our previous interactions, I felt that you are a good policeman, so I trusted you. I recently resigned from my job. I’m leaving Penang, so I dared to speak up.”

Gu Yanchen lowered his head, contemplating. The information was too vague. Why didn’t Jin Yuewen choose to report what he knew to the police? According to Mu Xin’s description of the conversation, with so many deaths in the city, how could the media and the public be unaware? He asked Mu Xin, “Can you remember any more details or conversations?”

Mu Xin took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She tried to remember. “Yes, Mr. Jin mentioned a name. It sounded like… Meng Shi…”

Upon hearing this name, Gu Yanchen became alert. Meng Shi, again, this mysterious Dream Master. Today, he had instructed Bai Meng to search, but it was a pseudonym. The man’s identity was still unknown. Was he involved with the Hetu Trading Association or the cleaning company, or both? What was hidden behind this case?