eurekapd Chapter 185 Investigation
Chapter 185 Investigation
It seems something has happened at the Beicheng Research Institute.
Overnight, all the staff disappeared without a trace.
The office building was sealed off, computers and other electronic equipment were confiscated, and even the security guard at the gate was taken to the police station.
The research institute is located in a very densely populated area, so much so that photos of the police seizing electronic equipment were taken by passersby and uploaded online.
Although those photos were quickly deleted, in the information age, no news can be hidden.
Some people on Weibo sensed something was amiss: "[This is an official unit; could something serious have happened?]"
[He was just attending a tech summit a couple of days ago, what big thing could have happened?]
[Emmm...I don't know if anyone will believe this, but I have some news in my family that there seems to be a spy in the research institute, and everyone is under investigation.] (Deleted immediately)
A young reporter was browsing the internet at high speed these past two days, and with sharp eyes, he spotted the message that the person ahead of him posted before it was deleted.
The word "spy" seems both distant and novel in this highly harmonious society. It is definitely a hot topic, and whether it is true or not, seizing the opportunity is the most important thing.
The young reporter excitedly went to look through the photos taken at the conference center that day, trying to find one that could be used to attract attention. Soon his eyes fell on a photo that he hadn't been able to use before.
The picture shows a man and a woman below the booth. The man is a middle-aged foreign man with a high nose and deep-set eyes, and the woman is the beautiful and academically gifted woman who was praised by many people that day. The two are shaking hands and talking.
After a moment's thought, the reporter published the photo with an eye-catching headline, intended to guide the reader's imagination.
When Xie Qingyu saw that photo, he was completely enraged.
Who else could it be but Xie Yan?
Damn those unscrupulous media outlets!!
He went to pick Xie Yan up to go home that day, but he watched helplessly as Xie Yan got into the National Security Bureau's car with those people from her workplace. The siblings were so close, but they didn't even have a chance to say a word to each other.
These days, you can hear all sorts of rumors and speculation online, even involving spies. Could things get any more outrageous?
Xie Qingyu glanced at Weibo again with a heavy heart. He noticed that the netizens' speculations were not going in the right direction. Some people were guessing that it was Xie Yan. After all, not many people left a deep impression on everyone during that live broadcast, and Xie Yan happened to be one of them.
This couldn't go on, so Xie Qingyu immediately ordered the company's public relations department to reduce the hype. This was a common practice in their entertainment company; they would even release solid evidence of a few celebrity gossip stories.
However, it seems someone acted faster than him. Before the public relations department could even make a move, all the photos of Xie Yan online had been removed, and even the speculative comments had vanished without a trace.
Xie Qingyu was too busy to care and didn't take it to heart, assuming it was just an official ban on discussing sensitive topics and that he had personally deleted the post.
Two days had passed since the research institute was shut down, and he was feeling a bit uneasy. He simply pulled out his long-unused system and asked, "Second brother, what's the situation with my sister?"
The mechanical voice of 2222 carried a hint of sarcasm: "Oh, so you remember me now? Why didn't you think of me after all this time without doing any missions?"
Stop talking nonsense, I'm in a hurry.
Upon hearing this, 2222 snorted softly, "They're in the interrogation room. Everyone in their unit is the same; they're being questioned one by one."
Xie Qingyu scratched his head, the man who had been calm and collected for many years now seeming to revert to the impetuous young man he once was. [So, that spy thing has nothing to do with her, right? How long will it take to finish the investigation?]
[......] 2222 fell into an eerie silence.
Xie Qingyu said impatiently, "You could at least say something, but what's going on?"
[While there's no connection in reality, but... the business partner you found in the US is the James family?]
【......right】
Did you recently get Xie Yan a passport?
"Yes, what's wrong? Is it not allowed...?"
For some reason, Xie Qingyu suddenly felt his right eyelid twitch, and his heart inexplicably began to race.
2222 said with a touch of emotion, "Having you is a blessing for your sister."
【? ? ? 】
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The spacious and bright room was decorated in a clean and simple style, with calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls.
If it weren't for the slightly austere metal table and the two chairs facing each other, this place would look more like a quiet living room than an interrogation room.
Two expressionless men in uniforms sat across the table. One of them spoke, his tone devoid of any emotion, "Ms. Xie, please answer this: how did you get into the Beicheng Research Institute?"
Xie Yan sat in the chair, her hands gently folded on her knees, her fingertips slightly cool, but her expression was very calm. She calmly answered the question that she had answered countless times before.
All the staff at the Beicheng Research Institute are intellectuals. The investigation is currently proceeding relatively smoothly, and the living and eating conditions have been quite good these past two days. However, all the staff are being interrogated separately and cannot see each other.
Investigators repeatedly asked the same questions, such as whether Xie Yan had access to core data and whether she had leaked the data to outsiders. Xie Yan answered each question calmly.
The door was gently pushed open, and a middle-aged man walked in. He was wearing a dark suit, his face was calm, and his eyes were scrutinizing but not aggressive.
The man, holding a folder, walked to the table, sat down, smiled slightly, and said in a calm tone, "Ms. Xie, I apologize for taking up your time. We were just making a routine inquiry. Our technicians have already checked your computer and found nothing wrong."
Upon hearing this, Xie Yan nodded to indicate that she understood.
She knows her computer better than anyone else. She has never taken core work home during her work hours and has mostly used the company computer. She had just checked the company computer recently and found no signs of intrusion, so the data could not have been leaked from her.
Xie Yan was puzzled as to which part of the information was leaked and to whom it was leaked.
The image of the man from that day's event, Mark James, flashed through her mind like a bolt of lightning.
The man looked down and opened the folder, inside which was Xie Yan's resume from childhood to adulthood.
"Ms. Xie, who was the advisor for the paper you submitted when you applied for the research institute?"
Xie Yan lowered her eyelids. "I don't have a mentor."
"Your first job after graduation was... at a real estate company?"
"Yes." Xie Yan pursed her lips. "At that time, it was difficult to find a job. In my desperation to make a living, I took any job I could find."
Upon hearing this, the man nodded knowingly and casually asked, "So, do you have any plans to go abroad in the future? Staff members of our country's research institutions need to be notified and approved before going abroad."
"No."
"Okay." He smiled and stood up. "That's all for today. Thank you for your hard work, Miss Xie."
The group left the room together, closed the door, and the man's gentle smile slowly disappeared, turning serious.
Ten minutes later, several people were seated in the meeting room, with the man from before sitting in the head seat.
"Deputy Director Ge, these are the interrogation records from the past two days. Please take a look."
Ge Jiancheng took the thick stack of folders and flipped through them one by one, then picked out a few that needed to be interrogated in detail.
The files of four people were laid out in front of them: Director Huang Yuan, Xie Yan, Cui Nan, and Xie Yutong.
Huang Yuan and Cui Nan, needless to say, hold positions within the team—one a director and the other a group leader—and thus have access to more information.
Although Xie Yutong is an unofficial staff member who doesn't have access to core projects, her overseas study experience still warrants some attention.
As for Xie Yan...
Ge Jiancheng frowned slightly as he looked at Xie Yan's mediocre resume.
Xie Yan exuded a contradictory aura. The staff of the Science and Technology Security Department read the paper she submitted for her resume and said directly that it was impossible for a 20-something undergraduate student to complete it. However, when they checked Xie Yan's university advisor, it turned out that he was not even in the field of chip engineering.
Even though Xie Yan didn't major in chip design in college, she was able to produce such a groundbreaking paper that shocked the academic world. She was admitted to the research institute as an undergraduate, and could even be considered the technical leader of the project. Without her, the project would not have been able to move forward.
Very outrageous.
The stark contrast between Xie Yan's ordinary resume and her exceptional personal abilities has become an unsolved mystery. No one would believe that she had no one helping her behind the scenes.
“Pay close attention to Xie Yan.” Ge Jiancheng tapped his finger on Xie Yan’s information sheet, his tone somber. “She got her passport two weeks ago but denies having any intention of going abroad. Investigate her social background and the people around her.”
A person next to her immediately responded, "We've already checked her phone. Her social circle is very simple; she basically has no friends except for colleagues. We've detected that the person she's closest to has been transferring assets overseas. This person is named Gu Qingyu, the boss of Xingtu Entertainment, and he lives with Xie Yan."
Asset transfers, a wealthy business owner, secretly obtained passports, and exceptionally outstanding academic abilities—all these things combined seem suspicious no matter how you look at them.
"Investigate Gu Qingyu and restrict his departure from the country. Other than that, don't alert him."
"We'll interrogate these four people for a few more days. If all else fails, we'll put some pressure on them."
The meeting lasted for more than half an hour. After the meeting, Ge Jiancheng was about to report to the director when he saw the director's secretary standing guard at the office door.
The secretary nodded politely to him, "Deputy Director Ge, please wait a moment, the leader is currently seeing a guest."
Ge Jiancheng was surprised that someone would come to visit him during such a tense time. The bureau chief even had his secretary come out to watch the door, so he casually asked, "Who's here? Such a grand entrance."
"Secretary Zou, Professor Duan, and Mr. Shen, the richest man in Beicheng."