So they all dispersed. Yu Hao carried his backpack and went to the company. Situ Ye had accompanied Jin Weicheng to an interview, while Lin Ze kept watch in the office. Once he saw Yu Hao, he asked, “What is it? Something happened?”
Yu Hao, “Is it that obvious?”
“You look terrible.” Lin Ze said, “Didn’t you see the report this morning?”
Yu Hao remembered that he had forgotten to read the news today. Lin Ze handed him a newspaper.
“It’s published already?!” Yu Hao cried in surprise, “So fast!”
On the newspaper was the feature Yu Hao did on pyramid schemes. Lin Ze said, “The scale of this reprint and societal topic is even larger than the one we did last time. Do your own analysis of the popularity ba.”
Yu Hao couldn’t think about his own feature at all now, so he simply answered, “Okay”, while he kept worrying about Huang Ting’s safety. Lin Ze didn’t ask any further either, and the two of them sat quietly in the office. Clacking sounds made when tapping on the keyboard could be heard once in a while. Yu Hao wanted to ask Lin Ze about his previous request for information on Zhao Liang, but he was worried about whether it would be too direct to just ask him so suddenly like this.
“The editor will report after the 15th.” Lin Ze said, “You can relax a bit more then.”
“That’s great.” Yu Hao forced out a smile, and the two of them fell silent again. Yu Hao had worked with Lin Ze for nearly half a year and understood his style very well — as long as he doesn’t take the initiative to ask for help, Lin Ze has always been very patient and will leave the opportunity to solve the problem up to the person themselves, but once Yu Hao does ask for help, Lin Ze will concern himself with it till the very end.
He didn’t want to drag Lin Ze down, nor did he want to get Lin Ze involved with this bizarre case.
“Do you need a day off to rest?” Lin Ze asked.
“I just rested, it’s okay.” Yu Hao began analysing his piece’s popularity. Reporters were all looking for him to ask him about news regarding the South. Every time breaking news gets published, people would come out in droves to uncover the truth. Sometimes, Yu Hao feels that China is not bereft of good reporters, it just lacked a few who would charge forward. If they successfully charged onto the front of public opinion, the huge army behind them would drive over with a mighty vigour. They wouldn’t care if it was about melamine or jumping off buildings because of pyramid schemes, once the reporter army arrives, they would be able to crush you into nothing within minutes.
“Is there any news,” Yu Hao said, “about the Zhao Liang I inquired about last time?”
Lin Ze replied to his WeChat while answering him without even looking up, “Your feature for the next issue?”
Yu Hao didn’t reply. He knew that he had to be very careful with this conversation. Lin Ze said, “Sometimes, having no news is also a kind of news in itself.”
Yu Hao suddenly understood. In not getting a reply after so long, it’s not that Lin Ze didn’t help him investigate, but it’s that after discovering the exact details, he didn’t want to tell Yu Hao in order to protect him!
“Change the topic ba.” Although Lin Ze didn’t know what Yu Hao wanted to do, he didn’t doubt Yu Hao’s ability to stir trouble up in the slightest.
“He’s from the CCDI?”
“No.” Lin Ze answered, “They have no special relationship with the CCDI.”
“Hold on…” Yu Hao said, “Aren’t they a Special Investigations organisation under the central authorities?”
“Organisation?” Lin Ze looked up and gazed at Yu Hao.
Yu Hao said, “The first time I met them was in Ying City.”
“They went down to investigate the matter regarding Ou Weihong?” Lin Ze replied.
Yu Hao, “You know?”
Lin Ze, “Don’t forget that I’ve read your resume. Are you sure you want to listen? Yu Hao, I’d advise you not to touch them.”
Yu Hao, “I have a friend…”
“The cop who came that day?” Lin Ze said.
Yu Hao knew that he couldn’t hide anything from Lin Ze. If he had to say who among the people he knew could see through the nature, causes, and consequences of something at a glance, then one of them would be Huang Ting, and the other would definitely be Lin Ze. Zhou Sheng won in how he was much more cautious in his considerations than they were. He wouldn’t make a decision regarding anything without prior deduction.
“Yes.” Yu Hao said, “I’ll be very cautious, tell me ba.”
“He’s your friend,” Lin Ze said, “but to what extent?”
“He’s someone who was willing to believe in me when I was wronged.” Yu Hao answered.
“Sometimes, it may not be that they believed in you, but that they believed in their professional instincts.” Lin Ze said, “But in that case, I can roughly tell you the news I had gotten. I already asked around for you before the New Year…”
Zhou Sheng rode a shared bicycle, his suit jacket fluttering in the wind with a black sports bag on his back. He returned the bike outside an alley, swiped his door card, and entered the company. He nodded at his colleagues, knocked on the door, and entered the office of the person-in-charge, Xiao Jian.
Xiao Jian was putting on lipstick while facing a mirror and didn’t even glance at Zhou Sheng. Qin Guodong was there as well. Zhou Sheng pulled a swivel chair over and said, “I think…”
“The boss has been waiting for you all morning.” Xiao Jian said, “I’ll go out for a bit.”
Zhou Sheng watched Xiao Jian. Xiao Jian smiled meaningfully at him, then walked past him to go out. Qin Guodong made some tea at his desk. Zhou Sheng picked up a glass kettle and went to one side to fetch some boiling water.
“We were discussing about converting you to a full-time post.” Qin Guodong’s voice was both steady and powerful, “You’ve been working for a while, how do you feel about the company?”
“It’s like a criminal syndicate,” Zhou Sheng said, “but I like it. Director Qin, I think, you’ve been waiting for me so long in your office not to talk to me about converting to a full-time position, right?”
Qin Guodong scooped the tea leaves out of the tea can and said, “Looks like Xiao Huang is your good friend. You can’t even spare some time for pleasantries?”
Zhou Sheng kept silent. Qin Guodong made tea seriously, as if nothing had happened.
“I thought he had a good relationship with you.” Zhou Sheng said, “If you’re not willing to care about it, I won’t waste your time.”
Qin Guodong, “What’s more important — Xiao Huang’s safety or yours?”
Zhou Sheng said, “Depends on the situation. Do I seem like a reckless person?”
Qin Guodong answered, “If Yu Hao was included?”
Zhou Sheng stopped talking. Qin Guodong poured tea for him, thought for a bit, then said, “I reminded you time and time again for you to safeguard your personal belongings properly, but it still got taken away by Lao Ren in the end. Zhou Sheng, I feel like sometimes, you’re not as smart as I thought. If I knew that this would have happened…”
“Then it would’ve been safer if it were locked up in your safe,” Zhou Sheng smiled, “right?”
Qin Guodong said, “Even if you give it to me, what use would I have for it? Zhou Sheng, are you still unclear of some crucial points regarding some things? It’s only when you have that thing with you, then no matter if it were Zhao Liang or Lao Ren, no one would dare touch you and wouldn’t dare touch anyone close to you either. You have to shoulder the responsibility of Xiao Huang’s capture yourself.”
Zhou Sheng kept silent, his brows furrowing.
Qin Guodong said, “I remember that there was once a son of God in ancient Greece called Antaeus. As long as he stood on earth, he could draw strength from the ground unceasingly. In the end, Heracles had no way of making him leave Earth, so he strangled him to death.”
Zhou Sheng remained silent the whole time. Qin Guodong continued, “Now, they’ve successfully taken away the most important source of power for you, so their next step is to take you away. It’s only a matter of time.”
Zhou Sheng finally spoke, “Even you can’t stop them?”
“I can only try my best.” Qin Guodong said, “Lao Ren and I are just collaborators. With Zhao Liang, there is barely any room for negotiation.”
“Don’t you want to take it for yourself?” Zhou Sheng said, “To tell you the truth, Boss, I didn’t trust you very much at first.”
Qin Guodong looked at Zhou Sheng and revealed an ambiguous smile.
“If I want the brainwave integrator, I would’ve taken it the first day you came to Beijing. Would I have waited till now?” Qin Guodong answered.
Zhou Sheng replied, “That’s not necessarily true. After all, if you were to fail, I would just need to hide in a place where no one was around. It’s not like you guys would be able to go without sleep ba?”
Qin Guodong said, “You’re underestimating my professional ability too much, Zhou Sheng. If I really wanted to do it, I’ve never failed before in my life.”
Zhou Sheng, “But there’s no use even if you took it, since only I can start it up. The best way would be to catch me as well and force me to turn it on, go into your dream, and take you along for research. But once you hand the initiative over to me, uncontrollable things would happen.”
“That’s true.” Qin Guodong answered, “Ren Chong and Zhao Liang spent a long time racking their brains but still couldn’t figure out a way to crack those strange tricks of yours. However, I have no desire for your treasure at all.”
“I believe that now.” Zhou Sheng pondered for a bit, then said, “Why don’t you want it?”
“There’s no ‘why’.” Qin Guodong stated, “There are certain things gentlemen would and would not do. What difference would there be from a robber if one utilises their power to openly snatch something good after seeing it in someone else’s hands?”
“That really doesn’t seem like how someone who has stayed in the organisation for so long would think.” Zhou Sheng sighed.
“Which is why I left.” Qin Guodong said.
Zhou Sheng, “……”
Yu Hao frowned while listening. Lin Ze scratched his head, evidently unable to reach a conclusion for the three men.
Yu Hao, “So they were an investigation agency at first.”
Lin Ze nodded. “Yes, their full name was ‘Special Investigation Unit’. They were a little like a secret service, but they were an affiliated intelligence organisation. With a three-man team as their core, they were initially responsible for monitoring some matters that special agents found inconvenient to intervene in because of orders from the top, as well as to analyse and transmit a small amount of information for other organisations. A three-man team, you can guess where they learned it from.”
“The former Soviet Union.” Yu Hao said, “So they were established very early.”
Lin Ze replied, “They weren’t the first generation of leaders, of course, but after the proposal for sectoral reform, this team was about to be dissolved.”
Yu Hao, “When was that?”
Lin Ze said, “Maybe in recent years? It’s very normal for the roles of an organisation to be duplicated, become redundant, and undergo all sorts of restructuring. The Special Investigation Unit had a lot of power, but they seldom intervened in ordinary cases. The last time was for Ou Weihong’s case.”
Yu Hao said, “Then what do they usually do?”
“Nothing much,” Lin Ze said, “or they might have done something, but I can’t find out with my sources.”
“Which department are they under?” Yu Hao said, “That’s what’s most important.”
Lin Ze wanted to say something but reined it in. He slightly raised an eyebrow at Yu Hao and said, “In any case, you just need to know that this so-called ‘Special Investigations Unit’ is also under the influence of even higher authorities.”
Yu Hao, “How high are they?”
Lin Ze didn’t answer his question in his reply, “So I’d advise you not to provoke Ren Chong. Even if the other two are gone, unless there’s a higher-up in the newspaper who’s willing to cover you, it’ll still be very dangerous. But once it involves that level, it won’t be as simple as just a piece of news.”
Yu Hao said, “I’ll change my question then. Why did they leave?”
“Disagreement in ideologies?” Lin Ze said, “Switched allegiances? Or they didn’t want to be involved any deeper. After Ou Weihong’s case, among this team, Qin Guodong was rumoured to have started his own business that works with the government. But the Zhao Liang you want to investigate had vanished without a trace. However, according to my deductions, he didn’t leave the country. Since he had held such a job before, he wouldn’t be allowed to leave China. The last one, Ren Chong, still remains in the team.”
—
