Supervisory Bureau.
In the conference room.
All the high-ranking officials sat there, silent and trembling, none daring to make a sound.
Even their breathing was deliberately slowed down, for fear of becoming the first person to be blamed.
Zhang Tao, the director of the supervisory bureau, sat at the head of the table with a gloomy expression, his hands on the table and his fingers interlaced.
He glanced around, and those who were noticed by his gaze lowered their heads one by one. Han Zhiruo, sitting at the end, pursed her lips in self-reproach.
Zhang Tao saw this and sighed inwardly.
After a moment of silence, he asked, "Has everything recovered?"
"Director, with the help of people from the Nationalist government, things have been restored. Apart from some damaged data, there are no other problems."
"Okay, carefully examine the damaged data and then restore it using the backup."
Zhang Tao asked, "Have they helped us strengthen the firewall?"
"have……"
The speaker hesitated and stammered.
"Hmm? What's the problem?" Zhang Tao stared at him.
The man felt ashamed and said, "We were ridiculed by the people from the Nationalist government, and we even had our home hacked. As colleagues, they feel ashamed."
"..."
These words are infuriating, yet leave one with nowhere to vent, because they are the truth.
Zhang Tao was also somewhat displeased. The National Government was a crucial place, and in terms of talent, equipment, and so on, it was far superior to Ningcheng.
They are very clear about this.
But this also made people in the Nationalist government very arrogant, and many of them looked down on people from cities outside the Nationalist government.
It's normal to be ridiculed.
"Let's put this matter aside for now," Zhang Tao asked.
"Let's not discuss this anymore. The bureau's computers were hacked, important data was deleted, and most importantly, the USB drive containing the data is also missing. Have you found the suspect?"
"Director, we saw through the surveillance footage that after Inspector Han left his seat, several colleagues passed by. Because Inspector Han's position was near a blind spot of the surveillance camera, he blocked the scene of the USB drive being taken."
After one person finished speaking, he glanced at Han Zhiruo, who remained expressionless, her hands clenched tightly.
"So, the trail has gone cold?" Zhang Tao said in a deep voice.
"Reporting to the director, we saw a man dressed as a cleaner walking around during that time through the surveillance footage. He passed by Inspector Han's location several times. We checked his physical characteristics, but there is no such person in the bureau."
After hearing this, Zhang Tao tapped the table with his index finger.
"In other words, that person is the suspect. The outsiders used hacking to break into the computer and delete the data. To prevent any accidents, they sent another person in to take the USB drive..."
Zhang Tao immediately grasped the other party's intentions.
The people below also had this idea, but they didn't dare to say it. It would be most appropriate for Zhang Tao to say it.
"Now that the suspect knows, you should send someone to arrest him."
"this……"
The men in charge of making the arrests looked embarrassed and awkward.
Zhang Tao frowned. Judging from their expressions, things weren't going well.
Did the suspect escape?
"Chief, when we spotted this suspect, we had already identified him and immediately arranged for a search. Half an hour after his escape, we finally found him in the abandoned building, but..."
"Just what?"
“He’s dead… The back of his head was killed with a sharp object. We searched the body but didn’t find the USB drive, or even a second person’s fingerprints.”
"..."
After hearing this, everyone fell silent. The suspect was dead, and no trace of his killer could be found. This undoubtedly meant that the clues had run dry, and the case could not be solved.
But they couldn't understand why they had to kill someone.
Aren't they accomplices?
What argument happened?
Or is the content on the USB drive too important for too many people to know about?
The only two people present who knew what was hidden in the USB drive were Han Zhiruo and Zhang Tao.
The others, unaware of the situation, turned their gazes to Han Zhiruo.
Han Zhiruo loosened her clenched hands and slowly stood up.
"Director, it's all my fault. If I hadn't forgotten to take the USB drive, this wouldn't have happened," Han Zhiruo said remorsefully.
She won't make excuses for herself; if it was caused by her, she will admit it.
Zhang Tao shook his head: "This isn't your fault. None of us would have thought someone would hack into the Supervision Bureau's network. It's probably because we've been too complacent these past few years and lost our vigilance. If anyone is at fault, it's me who was at fault first..."
"Chief..."
"Alright, don't try to shirk this responsibility, I'll take it."
Zhang Tao waved his hand to stop him: "Our priority right now is not to figure out who should take responsibility, but to find clues and bring the mastermind behind this back to justice."
"Although the suspect is now dead and the trail seems to have gone cold, in reality, where in this world is there anyone who does something without leaving a trace?"
"Immediately arrange for people to check the surveillance footage of the surrounding roads, check the movement of suspicious people, and the vehicles that are driving or parked. They must have planned this before doing this, and there must be people waiting to meet them in the area."
"Once we find the suspect's accomplices, the trail will open up..."
"Please take care of yourselves while we work on solving the case, and try to close it as soon as possible."
"Yes, Chief!"
Everyone stood up and bowed to Zhang Tao.
Zhang Tao waved his hand, and the crowd dispersed and left.
Han Zhiruo remained standing in the same spot, and Zhang Tao waved to her, signaling her to leave.
Han Zhiruo pursed her lips, nodded, and turned to leave.
Seeing everyone leave, Zhang Tao's imposing aura dissipated, and he slumped weakly in his chair.
The new mayor is about to take office, and the video on the USB drive is of great importance, involving many people. If it is not handled properly, he may also be purged.
But now the trail has gone cold, and we don't know who has the USB drive. In this vast sea of people, it's like looking for a needle in a haystack.
Closing this case is nothing short of a pipe dream.
These people are so decisive, leaving no trace at all; you can tell at a glance they are very experienced.
Ningcheng had been peaceful for so many years, but unexpectedly, such a thing happened right when he abdicated.
Zhang Tao was in a real bind, but the morale of the troops couldn't be allowed to crumble; they had to stay united. If he also showed signs of weakness, then the group would simply disperse.
...
The Ling family.
Ling Qingyi sat on the sofa, her long, straight legs crossed, the slit in her cheongsam revealing her snow-white skin. She sat upright, her magnificent and alluring curves on full display.
Such an alluring scene, yet no one dared to look. The three people standing opposite the coffee table lowered their heads in fear, cold sweat beading on their foreheads and dripping down their noses.
Tick-tock!
A drop of sweat fell onto the floor.
Ling Qingyi put down her teacup, taking only a sip of the black tea inside.
"Is this the level of competence you have?" Ling Qingyi said coldly.
Zhang Long and the others were startled, their bodies trembled, and they dared not answer.
"Tell me, what happened?"
"Miss..."
Zhang Long is the eldest of the three; the other two can be ignored, but he cannot.
"My underlings had successfully entered the Supervision Bureau and reached Han Zhiruo's desk, but after several attempts, they still couldn't find the USB drive."
"You mean, Han Zhiruo took the USB drive with her when she left the table?" Ling Qingyi asked.
"That's possible." Zhang Long wasn't actually sure, but this reason was the most appropriate.
Ling Qingyi: "..."
Zhang Long was immediately frightened and quickly offered an explanation.
“Miss, only we know how to do this kind of thing. No one else knows about our plan. If Han Zhiruo hadn’t had it with her, the USB drive would have been impossible to find.”
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