Mirror Game
The tiny signal repeater found stuck to the bottom of Jiang Mo's thermos flared with an ominous, faint red light under the bright light of the lab bench. Like a cold, electronic parasite, it silently lurked on her everyday drinking utensils, eavesdropping on their most private moments and conversations.
Shen Zhiyan carefully placed it into a professional signal shielding box with tweezers, and the red light instantly went out. The laboratory was so quiet you could hear a pin drop; the air was thick with the anger and chill of someone utterly violated.
“A passive device that only activates and briefly transmits data when a specific sound wave frequency is detected.” Shen Zhiyan’s voice was as cold as a scalpel as he quickly analyzed the device’s characteristics. “Implantation time… at least two weeks.” He looked up at Jiang Mo, his eyes heavy. “Many of our previous conversations, including those about the foundation and my father… may have already been leaked.”
Jiang Mo felt a wave of nausea, not from fear, but from the pervasive and dirty methods used. Looking at the cup she used every day, a feeling of utter defilement washed over her.
"What do we do now?" She forced herself to calm down, her voice slightly hoarse from suppressing her anger.
Shen Zhiyan closed the shielding box, his sharp gaze sweeping across every corner of the laboratory, as if trying to uncover more hidden eyes and ears. "Since they want to hear," a cold, almost cruel smile curled at the corner of his lips, "then we'll give them... the show they want to hear."
A meticulously planned "mirror game" thus began.
Shen Zhiyan first discreetly requested a thorough, overt electronic signal scan and disinfection of the entire laboratory area, including the rest area and corridors, under the pretext of "periodic equipment maintenance." This was intended to make the monitors believe that they were simply carrying out routine security upgrades and had not discovered the specific listening device.
Immediately after confirming that the laboratory was temporarily "clean" (at least on the surface), the two began to "perform" in what they considered to be "safe" environments (such as near the balcony or on the sofa in the rest area) where listening devices were present.
"...I can't understand your stubbornness!" Jiang Mo's voice, deliberately amplified with disappointment and agitation, rang out in the balcony area, ensuring the sound could be clearly captured by the device at the bottom of the flowerpot. "You clearly have better options, why do you insist on dragging me to the edge of a cliff? I just want to focus on filming and live a peaceful life!" Her acting was impeccable, perfectly portraying an ally who was trying to back down and draw a line under immense pressure.
Shen Zhiyan's response was as calm as ever, but deliberately revealed a hint of weariness and barely perceptible wavering: "I have analyzed the risks. But if you choose to withdraw... I respect that. Our previous cooperation ends here." His words carried a formulaic detachment, as if he were genuinely considering parting ways.
These snippets of "dispute" were transmitted intermittently over the next two days through the deliberately preserved wiretap. They even "inadvertently" mentioned several irrelevant, misleading "investigative directions" and "false timelines."
Meanwhile, the real operation was being carried out quietly offline through an absolutely secure encrypted channel. Shen Zhiyan used this opportunity to trace the possible relay path of the signal. Although the other party was extremely cautious, using multiple layers of jumpers, he still managed to catch a clue connecting it to the source of the previous cyberattack. Jiang Mo, in cooperation with Linda, secretly adjusted their strategy for dealing with Lu Yan and public opinion, preparing to turn the tables on him.
That night, the two sat facing each other in a conference room where signal jamming had been confirmed to be secure, analyzing the latest intelligence.
“They seem to have believed our ‘internal strife’ act,” Jiang Mo said, looking at the information Linda had provided. “Lu Yan has lowered his guard and is starting to get restless again, preparing new dirt on us. I had Linda deliberately leave a few loopholes for him to exploit.”
Shen Zhiyan nodded and pulled up a complex network topology diagram on his tablet: "I've also made progress on my end. Although the final source remains hidden, it's certain that the data passed through these server nodes located overseas that have had indirect investment connections with 'Mingyan Capital.' This further confirms our judgment."
He put down his tablet, rubbed his temples; the continuous high-intensity mental work made him look somewhat tired. Jiang Mo pushed a glass of warm water in front of him.
"Thank you." He took the water glass, his gaze falling on her face. In the dim light, those eyes that were always calmly analyzing data now carried a complex warmth. "During this time, I've made you bear too many risks that shouldn't have been yours."
Jiang Mo paused for a moment, then smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in her voice: "From the moment I decided to stay, to investigate with you, these risks were my own choice." She paused, her voice softening, "And, more than these, I'm afraid..."
She didn't finish her sentence, but Shen Zhiyan seemed to understand. He remained silent, his fingers unconsciously tracing the rim of his cup. A silent understanding flowed between them, more powerful than any words. At this moment, they were not only comrades-in-arms, but also the only lone boat they could rely on in the raging storm.
The "mirror game" lasted for three days. After confirming that the other side had fully "digested" the false information they had released and had begun to adjust their actions accordingly, Shen Zhiyan decided to close the net.
He chose to do this late at night, when the lab was empty, and carefully removed the miniature signal repeater from the bottom of a thermos, wearing special gloves. Without damaging it, he sealed it in a box equipped with a miniature jamming source. This box would continuously emit a powerful jamming signal, rendering the eavesdropping device inoperable, but without immediately being detected as a "failure" by the remote monitoring end. Instead, it would be perceived as a temporary signal malfunction, buying them a final window of opportunity for their next move.
After doing all this, he locked the box containing the bugging device in the laboratory's highest-security evidence cabinet.
Jiang Mo watched him put the keys away and asked softly, "What's next?"
Shen Zhiyan turned around and looked at the deep night outside the window, his eyes sharp as a sword about to be drawn: "The bait has been swallowed, it's time for us... to tighten the fishing line."
Just then, Shen Zhiyan's encrypted phone vibrated with a message from an unknown number. The message contained only one line, yet it caused both him and Jiang Mo's expressions to change drastically at the same time:
[If you don't want your recording to become headline news tomorrow, go alone to the abandoned chemical plant in the east of the city at noon tomorrow. Those who play with fire will get burned.]
At the end of the message was a short audio file, only a few seconds long. Shen Zhiyan clicked on it, and inside was the line he had said to Jiang Mo in the conference room the night before: "...To me, you are that extraordinary being who transcends all prior probabilities..."
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