Chapter 68 A Desperate Exploration
The "accident" Assistant Zhou had left behind was like a poisonous sting, piercing Su Yan's heart and making him feel uneasy. What was written on that note? Was it a casual note, an elaborate trap, or... was it really hiding some crucial information?
He repeatedly recalled Assistant Zhou's expression and movements at that moment, trying to find any clues. The seemingly natural "accidental" drop, the precise turning back to pick it up, and the final cold yet polite smile... everything seemed too perfect, and even more so, it was eerie.
Assistant Zhou was testing him, that much was certain. But what was his purpose? Was he trying to confirm whether he still harbored undue curiosity? Or was he trying to lure him into action and then catch him?
Su Yan knew that he should hold his ground, as this was the safest option. However, a strong intuition, or perhaps a gambling instinct born from being forced into a desperate situation, prevented him from easily giving up this opportunity to glimpse the secret.
He needed to know the contents of the note! This was not just to satisfy his curiosity, but also for self-protection. He had to understand Assistant Zhou's movements so that he could better guard against them.
The opportunity came quietly two days later.
Huo Shen had a crucial cross-border M&A project entering a critical phase, requiring a multi-hour closed-door video conference with his overseas team. The meeting took place in a dedicated conference room on the company's top floor. Huo Shen explicitly stated that he would not be returning to his apartment, and Assistant Zhou was required to accompany him throughout the meeting.
For the entire afternoon, only Su Yan and the servants would be left in the apartment.
This was an extremely dangerous opportunity. Assistant Zhou's office was just outside Huo Shen's study. Although it was usually locked, Su Yan remembered that once, when Huo Shen was in a hurry to get a document, it was Assistant Zhou who opened the lock with his fingerprint...
Fingerprint... There was no way he could copy Assistant Zhou's fingerprint.
But is there any other way?
Su Yan's heartbeat began to accelerate. He remembered the apartment security system he had observed when he had hidden the USB player. That system seemed to have a short maintenance window at a fixed time every afternoon. Perhaps... it could be exploited?
A bold and crazy plan took shape in his mind. He needed to create a tiny, inconspicuous circuit anomaly that wouldn't immediately attract attention, triggering a brief self-test in the security system. Perhaps this would cause the door lock system to fail instantly? It sounded like a fantasy, but he remembered having seen a similar theoretical loophole in an old technical magazine that Huo Shen had tossed in a corner.
He had no choice but to take a gamble.
In the afternoon, when the clock struck the estimated maintenance window, Su Yan took a deep breath and walked to a power outlet in the living room near the study area. He pretended to trip, and the water cup in his hand "accidentally" dropped from his hand, half of the cup of water precisely spilled into the socket panel with a complex interface.
Swish——!
After a brief spark and a slight pop, a faint puff of blue smoke rose from the socket. Almost immediately, the lights in several areas of the apartment flickered rapidly, including the small indicator light at the study door indicating the door lock status.
Succeeded?! Su Yan's heart almost jumped out of his chest.
He forced himself to remain calm and called the servant to deal with the "accident". While the servant was hurriedly getting tools and his attention was distracted, he quickly walked to the outer door of the study.
He reached out tentatively and pushed gently—
The door actually opened! The lock bolt flipped open in that instantaneous voltage fluctuation!
A mixture of ecstasy and fear gripped him at the same time. He slipped into Assistant Zhou's office and gently closed the door behind him, not daring to lock it.
Assistant Zhou's office was like him: neat, cold, and meticulous. Su Yan's eyes quickly scanned the office, finally settling on the locked drawer in the middle of his desk. The note was most likely in there.
He didn't have the key, but he remembered that Assistant Zhou had a habit of hiding the spare key in...
His eyes fell on the heavy bronze paperweight on the corner of the table. He remembered once seeing Assistant Zhou accidentally turn the paperweight while arranging documents.
He walked over and carefully picked up the paperweight. There was an extremely tiny groove on the bottom, and inside it lay a small key!
Su Yan's hands trembled slightly due to excitement and nervousness. He opened the drawer with the key.
There were some documents neatly placed inside, and on top of the documents was the folded note that Assistant Zhou had "dropped" and picked up that day!
He quickly unfolded the paper.
There was only one line of English printed on it, which contained the login instructions for an encrypted communication software and a one-time temporary verification code. Following it was an extremely short phrase: [Phase Two Initiated. (Phase Two Initiated.)]
Phase Two? What phase two? Is it aimed at Huo Shen? Or is it aimed at...himself?
Su Yan's heart sank. This information was too vague, yet it carried a dangerous aura that couldn't be ignored. Assistant Zhou was indeed doing something in secret!
He didn't dare stay for long, so he quickly folded the note and put it back as it was, locked the drawer, put the key back at the bottom of the paperweight, and erased all traces.
When he quietly left the office and closed the door gently, he felt as if he had just walked out of a dangerous place, and his whole body was soaked in cold sweat.
He had just sat down on the sofa in the living room, trying to calm his rapid breathing, when he heard the sound of the electronic lock opening at the apartment door - Huo Shen, he actually came back early!
His face looked extremely cold, and he exuded a low pressure of impending storm. His eyes were like lightning, shooting straight at Su Yan, who had just sat down and whose face was still pale.
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