Chapter 885 Deceiving People with Fake News That evening, in a secure room, Lu Qingyang spread out a notepad with several special marks he had jotted down from memory: Miller's left-hand fingers unconsciously tapped the coffee cup saucer rhythm during the conversation.

The expert who asked the question made a small, subtle gesture as he listened to the answer: he repeatedly rubbed his thumb against his ring finger, holding a seemingly ordinary ring.

During the tea break, he keenly observed Miller briefly brushing past another East Asian representative, making an extremely quick, almost exchange-of-items gesture.

“The fish have started testing the waters,” Lu Qingyang pushed the sticky notes toward Lao Zhao and Lao Sun. “Miller is a key figure; he’s probably in charge of coordinating and evaluating. The expert who asked the question has a clearer objective and is more technically skilled. They should be very excited now, thinking that I’ve finally come out and entered an environment where they see more opportunities.”

Old Sun nodded, took out a small notebook from his pocket, and secretly wrote down some observations inside:

"Miller had brief, one-on-one meetings with people from four different countries or organizations in the afternoon. The meetings were all short, but they were all in blind spots or on the edge of crowds. There were two more taxis that took turns parking on the street outside the hotel but did not pick up passengers. There was a flash of light in the rearview mirror of a window on the third floor of the building across the street that afternoon. It was very regular and did not seem like a coincidence."

Lu Qingyang smiled, but his eyes remained as calm as ice: "It seems that there's more than one company wanting to take the bait. Since they're so enthusiastic, we can't let them down. Tomorrow's roundtable forum will focus on industry-academia-research collaboration and intellectual property protection in materials research and development, which is a good topic."

Lu Qingyang stood up and walked to the window. Geneva was quiet and dazzling at night, with the lights reflected in the distant lake.

"Academic exchanges have no borders, but technology and secrets have their own owners. We open our doors to exchange and learn, but we must also protect the fruits of our hard work."

The next day, during the roundtable discussion, Lu Qingyang, as planned, spoke with just the right tone when discussing the difficulties in developing the product.

The effect was immediate.

During the break, Miller was the first to approach: "Dr. Lu, regarding the issue you mentioned, I happen to know a few experts. Perhaps we could arrange an exchange? Purely academic."

Almost simultaneously, the expert who asked the question yesterday also came over, saying that their company's German laboratory has the best testing equipment and can help Lu Qingyang conduct comparative tests.

Lu Qingyang showed gratitude, but did not agree immediately, only saying that he needed to "think about it".

He knew the fish had already swarmed around him.

Old Zhao and Old Sun began recording everyone who approached Lu Qingyang and tracing every clue that might lead to the mastermind behind the scenes.

The conference dinner featured soft lighting and soothing music.

Lu Qingyang stood by the window, holding a wine glass.

A blonde woman walked over gracefully, introducing herself as a reporter for a technology magazine, and asked to conduct an exclusive interview.

She started by asking very standard questions, about her research and future direction.

But gradually, the questions began to shift to specific process details, even inquiring about the personnel structure of Lu Qingyang's team and the security situation in the laboratory.

Lu Qingyang answered cautiously.

He noticed that this "reporter" had a much higher level of technical knowledge than the average media person, and that her watch was very special, with a small, barely noticeable protrusion on the side of the dial.

"Excuse me, I need to use the restroom." Lu Qingyang politely ended the conversation.

In the restroom, he used a special technique to leave an almost invisible mark on the mirror, a signal to Lao Zhao: there was something wrong with that person.

Back in the banquet hall, Lu Qingyang found Miller talking quietly with the reporter.

The two women saw him and immediately separated, as if nothing had happened.

On the third day, the conference included a visit to a local research institute.

On the bus, Lu Qingyang deliberately sat next to the expert from yesterday and started talking about the testing equipment.

The experts seemed very enthusiastic, even taking out their notebooks to draw diagrams.

“If we can get your problematic sample and conduct a comprehensive analysis using our equipment, we will definitely be able to find the cause,” the expert said in a low voice. “Of course, this requires you to provide some basic data and a brief procedure for sample preparation; otherwise, we cannot set the correct test parameters.”

Lu Qingyang sneered inwardly, but his face showed a thoughtful expression: "This... involves some internal information, I need to be careful."

“I understand, I completely understand.” The expert patted him on the shoulder. “No rush, take your time to think it over. This is my private contact information; you can contact me anytime.”

As they got off the bus, Lao Sun casually passed by Lu Qingyang and whispered, "When he was drawing, I noticed that his notebook had a hidden compartment, which likely contained a miniature camera. He took pictures of your entire conversation."

During the visit, Lu Qingyang keenly noticed that a few faces kept appearing in different places.

You can run into them at the lab entrance, in the rest area, and even when you're in the restroom.

These people pretended not to know each other, but their eye contact did not escape Lu Qingyang's notice.

Back at the hotel that evening, Lu Qingyang, Lao Zhao, and Lao Sun held a short meeting.

Old Zhao said, "There are at least four groups of people watching you: Miller's group, that expert's group, and two other groups whose identities are unknown, but they are definitely not scholars who came to the meeting."

"Looks like we've caught a big fish," Old Sun said.

Lu Qingyang shook his head: "That's not enough. We need to target more than just these few minor figures; we need to target the networks behind them. Tomorrow is the last day of the conference, and the closing banquet is the best opportunity."

He detailed the final step of the plan: "At the dinner party, I will slip up after a few drinks and reveal an important piece of information: we are about to complete a breakthrough technology. The sample has already been produced and is stored in a safe at a partner company in China. The final testing will begin next week. I will mention the specific model of the safe and even accidentally reveal the name of the company."

Old Zhao's eyes lit up: "You mean... you're going to set up a fake target?"

Lu Qingyang said, "This information is half true and half false. The technological breakthrough is real, but the sample storage location and safe model are fake. If they are interested in this information, they will definitely take action, either trying to obtain more details or directly targeting that fake target. As soon as they make a move..."

“We can follow the clues and catch them all in one fell swoop,” Old Sun replied.

The closing banquet on the fourth day was a lively affair.

As planned, Lu Qingyang drank a few glasses of wine and spoke a little louder.

Sure enough, Miller and the expert looked over almost at the same time. Although they quickly looked away, their intense focus at that moment did not escape Lu Qingyang's eyes.

Later, he even sent a blonde beauty to seduce him.

Lu Qingyang was perfectly sober, but he pretended to be drunk and deliberately revealed many secrets, all of which were obviously fake news to fool people.

Back in the banquet hall, Lu Qingyang noticed that Miller was missing.

Old Sun whispered, "He received a phone call five minutes ago and left in a hurry. Old Zhao followed him out."

After the banquet, Lu Qingyang was so drunk that he needed Lao Sun to help him back to his room.

He immediately sobered up as soon as he entered the room.

Old Zhao was already waiting in the room.

Old Zhao quickly reported, "Miller went to three places. First, he went to the hotel's business center to send an encrypted telegram. Then, he went to the phone booth on the street corner and made two phone calls. I roughly judged by lip reading that the first was to report the situation, and the second was to give instructions."

Finally, there was a 30-second encounter with someone in a black sedan, during which a small package was handed over. The license plate was noted; it was a local plate, but belonged to a shell company.

"Very good, our mission is complete. Next, let's see how the domestic operation to close in takes place."