Chapter 105: Framed! (Part 2)

The heavy wooden door slowly closed behind her, isolating her from the space of power that once belonged to her. Outside, the CEO's office was utterly silent. All the secretaries and assistants lowered their heads, their voices as cold as a mouse's. The air was so stagnant it was hard to breathe. Two uniformed security guards, like door gods, were already waiting nearby, their faces expressionless.

Yu Ling held her thermos cup and walked towards the exclusive elevator under the "escort" of security personnel on both sides.

The elevator door slowly closed.

In the small space, there were only her and two security guards who were as tall as sculptures.

The elevator goes down.

A feeling of weightlessness came over me.

Yu Ling could no longer hold back. Hot tears fell silently like beads from a broken string, splattering onto the warm thermos cup in her arms, soaking the cold silver shell. She bit her blood-stained lower lip hard, trying not to utter a single sound. Only her shoulders shook violently and silently.

Chen...

I’m so tired…

In the center of Haicheng, on top of a skyscraper, an absolutely safe house.

Zhao Chen had removed his suit jacket, leaving behind a fine black shirt with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his sleek arms. The usual gentleness and laziness on his face had vanished completely. The air pressure in the safe house was terrifyingly low, with only the low, steady hum of the server fans to emanate.

His fingers flew across the specially made keyboard that felt as cold as metal, and every stroke was precise and hard.

Left screen: Like the most sophisticated dissection table, the forged "instruction email" sent to Chairman Yu Ling's email address was completely disassembled.

The original binary data stream was peeled back layer by layer, parsed, and traced backwards. Countless red lines representing data paths, like angry venomous snakes, venomously biting through dozens of carefully configured virtual springboards and puppet servers serving as "zombie" machines.

A progress bar flashed scarlet light, like a deadly weapon constantly charging, the numbers jumping wildly: 97%...98%...99%... The note below read: "Tracing the source IP address of the forged email - Ultimate physical location analysis in progress."

Middle screen: divided into more than a dozen real-time monitoring windows, with information pouring out like a waterfall.

- Encrypted communication window (Lin Feng):

"Boss, Xinyue's representative, Wang Zhen (Gu's cousin), and his legal team have entered Xinghui, bringing with them a 'key witness'—a 'business broker' (whose identity has been confirmed and has a history of fraud) who claims to be under Yu Dong's orders."

"Xinghui internal surveillance: Video footage from Ms. Yu's office floor and the server room during critical periods has been 'technically overwritten' (the source IP has been traced to Zhang Wei's assistant's personal computer)."

"Zhang Wei's personal overseas account (in the Virgin Islands) received a remittance of US$500,000 yesterday (source: offshore shell company controlled by Gu Qianqian, capital chain fully documented)."

"The court case registration status has been forcibly suspended (the system displays 'materials awaiting correction')."

Another window displayed the internal communications monitoring stream of Starlight Technology. Countless private and group messages about "Yu Dong was arrested," "secrets were stolen," and "Starlight is finished" scrolled like a gray plague. Zhao Chen's gaze swept over them indifferently, like a god looking down on the clamor of ants.

- There is also a window showing the background interface of the Haicheng Traffic Monitoring Center (simulation), where several cameras are focused on the exit of the underground garage of Xinghui Technology Building.

On the right screen: On the huge three-dimensional electronic map of Haicheng, a glaring crimson dot of light was moving at high speed, its trajectory erratic like a frightened bird. The data stream beside it was refreshing like a waterfall:

"Target: Gu Qianqian. Vehicle: Dark gray Maybach (rented, duplicate license plate). Real-time coordinates: Ring Expressway, westbound. Speed: 137 km/h. Predicted path: 93% probability of heading towards the Qixia Mountain area."

On the map, the outline of the Qixia Mountain villa area is highlighted.

Zhao Chen's gaze was like the most sophisticated radar, switching rapidly between the three screens. His brain was like an overclocked quantum computer, processing massive amounts of information every second and conducting the most ruthless logical deductions and hunting deployments.

Sudden!

An extremely slight, yet thunder-like "beep" sound erupted from the left screen!

After peeling off the last layer of onion-like fragile disguise, the madly flashing IP address representing the ultimate source of the forged email revealed an extremely clear physical coordinate with a scarlet crosshairs that announced the end, which was instantly nailed to the center of the screen!

"Tracing the source is complete!"

"Final physical coordinates: Building A-07, Qixiashan Villa District, western suburbs of Haicheng."

"Property Registration Holder: Gu Qianqian (100% ownership)."

Almost in the same millisecond!

On the right screen, the crimson dot representing Gu Qianqian's vehicle, as if summoned to death, rushed out of the Ring Expressway at an almost frantic speed, plunging headfirst onto the only winding mountain road leading to the Qixia Mountain Villa District! It was pointed directly at Building A-07, which had been locked onto the map by a crimson crosshair!

"Oh."

A light, cold laugh escaped Zhao Chen's thin lips. There was no warmth in that laugh that belonged to a human being, only the cold, endlessly mocking pleasure of a top predator watching its prey panic and ultimately run headfirst into its carefully laid deadly trap.

His fingertips tapped out one final, concise and fatal command on the cold keyboard:

"Activate 'Cleanser'. Target: A-07. Mission: Thoroughly clean up physical and electronic traces and collect evidence. Requirement: Leave no trace. Time limit: Complete lockdown before target arrives."

The command turned into invisible radio waves and was sent out instantly.

In the lower left corner of the screen, an inconspicuous black icon, as silent as a tombstone, suddenly lit up with a dim red light, indicating "Executing".

After completing all this, Zhao Chen leaned back slightly, leaning against the ergonomically designed chair. He raised his hand and, with his knuckles, very slowly pushed the gold-rimmed glasses on his nose. His movements carried a hint of the cold, relaxed feeling of someone in control, and a venomous, almost tangible violence hidden deep in his eyes.

Inside the safe house, the only sound was the low, steady hum of the server fans.

His gaze seemed to penetrate the cold screen and the barrier of steel and concrete, and he saw the slender figure holding a silver thermos cup, walking into the elevator under the "escort" of security, and crying silently. He saw the piercing red that seeped out from her tightly bitten lower lip.

Lingling...

Be patient a little longer.

soon.

He picked up another encrypted phone, its pure black body cold and icy, from the corner of the workstation. The screen lit up, revealing only one contact: Lingling.

His slender fingers hovered over the cold screen for a moment, deleting the long, bloody and soothing text he had typed. In the end, he only sent the simplest sentence, which seemed to contain a tremendous amount of power:

"Hold the cup. Wait for me."

After sending the message, he gently placed the phone back down. His gaze returned to the center screen, where the court case information had been forcibly "suspended," like a pause. His cold eyes behind his gold-rimmed glasses narrowed slightly, his sharp gaze like a poisoned ice cone, locked onto it.

Gu Qianqian.

Your play should end.