Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There, on the monitor that was right in front of Zhao Yu, was the Tamil Star, which had been lost six years ago. The image was zoomed in, causing the gemstone to look even gorgeous and stunning!
The blue gemstone, which weighed sixty-seven carats, was in a perfect oval shape and set on a dazzling white gold necklace. Although it was a blue, there was still a faint green refraction twinkling within the gemstone, which only served to further shroud the jewel in mystery!
It was said that the gemstone was once on the King’s scepter. Apparently, however, after it had been through many wars, and had been lost many times, it finally fell into the hands of an Indian collector.
Then, six years ago, in one of the exhibitions in the capital, the gemstone surfaced. Apparently, someone stole it within the first two days of the exhibition!
It was said that the exhibition had taken great measures to protect the gemstone, adopting the utmost advanced security systems and protocols. However, it had still been stolen unexpectedly!
The incident caused a great stir. After all, losing such an important gemstone completely discredited the exhibition organizer’s reputation!
Hence, the Central Criminal Division had sent the most outstanding police detectives to investigate the case. Even so, the investigation had been dragging out for six years now! In these six years, the mysterious gemstone never once revealed itself. So, as of today, it was still nowhere to be found!
Back then, there was a rumor circulating among the people, which said that the gemstone burglary was Tao Xiang’s doing. However, all this while, Tao Xiang was merely a mystery suspect, charged with unsubstantiated evidence on some police investigation report. This was because no one knew his identity, much less where he was!
“Myself, Wu Fangfang, Chen Zhuo, Cui Lizhu, Jinping Police Station, Central Criminal Division…” Zhao Yu looked at the gemstone, while he listed down bunch of names, verbally repeating them aloud as he went. He was trying to figure out who had made a fool out of him and spread Tao Xiang’s news to the media.
However, even though he pondered it long and hard, he still didn’t come to any solid conclusion. He was confident that his own special investigation group wouldn’t have caused such a problem. Also, he was confident that it was not Wu Xiumin, Zeng Ke, or Rao Tao. After all, if they were to sell the information, it would not benefit them much.
He especially felt that Wu Fangfang had the lowest chance of revealing the news, as she was now the main person in charge of the Gem Theft Case. As such, once the news spread, it would only put her at a disadvantage!
As for Chen Zhuo, he was much too professional for such antics. Plus, when they were reporting on the case, he wasn’t even on the scene, so it couldn’t possibly be him.
It couldn’t be the Jinping Police’s doing, either, as they weren’t high-tech enough to get ahold of such a professional hacker. As for the higher ups in the Jinping Police force, they wouldn’t have the guts to do something so ballsy!
The likelihood of it being Cui Lizhu was even more impossible, as Tao Xiang was her father, so she might even bring about his death if she were to sell the news! Plus, Cui Lizhu was being held captive at that time, so she wouldn’t have even had the chance to do anything.
After thinking about all of these scenarios for some time, Zhao Yu decided that there was only one possibility left. The exposure of the incident most likely happened at the Central Criminal Division, most likely internally, meaning that it was most likely one of the higher ups!
Zhao Yu had come to this conclusion via four main factors. Firstly, he had once reported Tao Xiang’s matter to the Central Criminal Division. As there were so many higher ups within the Central Criminal Division, if any of them wanted to find out more about the situation, it wouldn’t be difficult.
Secondly, to be able to procure such a professional hacker, only the higher ups in the Central Criminal Division would have the capability and resources. Thirdly, according to the time frame, it seemed that only the Central Criminal Division would have been able to act so swiftly, as Zhao Yu had only reported the news to them the night before. As such, no one else would have had sufficient time to carry out the plan of revealing the secret to the public.
Fourthly, Zhao Yu had the Invisible Detector on him at that time. So, if someone within his own ranks or trusted circle had wanted to eavesdrop, he would have been able to find out about it immediately. If it wasn’t someone around him, the possibility that it was the higher ups at the Central Criminal Division became even higher!
Such a combination of points made Zhao Yu confident in his conclusion. He had to wonder if the plot had been aimed at him or Wu Fangfang. Among the higher ups in the Central Criminal Division, there must be someone who wanted to frame at least one of them.
Almost instantly, Zhao Yu thought of Section Chief Yang…
Would Section Chief Tang have found out that it was me who threw the Odor Bomb in the toilet? So he was trying to take revenge?
Mmmm… Very likely. Although, it would have been impossible for him to get evidence connecting me to the Odor Bomb, as I really was at the corridor in the Central Criminal Division Building when it happened!
In that case, did he notice something else that made him think that I was related to the incident, which caused him to expose the news to frame me?
Motherf*cker…
If so, then…
No, no way…
Although Zhao Yu pondered on different ideas for quite a long time, he couldn’t make any clear conclusions. Yet, he kept mulling it over…
It still doesn’t make sense why Section Chief Tang might frame me, much less use a hacker to control the media. There’s no need for that, right?
After all, everyone knows that exposing Tao Xiang equals exposing a national secret! It would damage the nation! Once it was revealed, he would be punished heavily!
Then… If it wasn’t aim at me, would the news breach have been aimed at Wu Fangfang? Wu Fangfang must have offended some head honcho…
Realizing that he couldn’t waste any more time thinking himself in circles, Zhao Yu gave up, dermining to revisit this when he had more evidence. At that very moment, Zeng Ke entered the office and told Zhao Yu in distress, “Team Leader, I already sent more men to investigate the few media outlet’s computers, but there were no traces left behind at all! That hacker was definitely an expert! So, I’m afraid it’s impossible to get any evidence from that end!”
Zhao Yu was already prepared for what Zeng Ke had just said. After all, he knew that the other party had made extensive preparations before acting. Thus, they would definitely not have left any evidence behind.
“What should we do now?” Zeng Ke asked helplessly. “I heard that the owner of the lost gemstone already heard the news, and is asking what is going to be done about the matter. From what I see, this matter is going to mean big trouble!”
“Cough! What is the big deal?” Ran Tao rolled his eyes and asked leisurely. “We have already signed the official document to hand over this case, so what does it have to do with us anymore? I say that we not waste any more time in Jinping. Hurry up, go pack up, so we can return to Jinbian! The Headless Female Corpses Case is still waiting for us!”
“My goodness! Are you really that dumb?” Wu Xiumin seized the chance to attack Ran Tao. “Go? Go where? Can’t you tell that, unless we help solve this matter, our lives as special investigators are over?”
“That can’t be, right? I mean, it’s just a gemstone!” Ran Tao still couldn’t be bothered. “The insurance company must have compensated him for its worth, right? So, why should we be afraid of him?”
“No!” Wu Xiumin said decisively. “Regarding the relic exhibition’s insurance, there wasn’t any, as it was a government-funded event! Otherwise, the owner wouldn’t be asking for help from the diplomats! Think about it, if you were the owner, you would definitely be upset and making trouble!”
“So, you’re saying that the higher ups would send us up to the chopping board for all of this. We’d take the heat?” Ran Tao then realized the gravity of the situation, right in mid-sentence. “Sh*t! No wonder I saw Officer Chen acting as though his parents had just died or something! We are going to be involved then, huh?”
Zhao Yu nodded faintly, then said calmly, “As of now, there’s only one way for us to respond!”
Everyone lifted their heads at the moment, curious as to what Zhao Yu would say next. However, just as Zhao Yu was about to continue, Officer Chen Zhuo barged into the office like a rocket, shouting at everyone.
“Alright, alright! The higher ups gave us a deadline. They requested Zhao Yu’s special investigation group and Wu Fangfang’s special force to investigate the Gem Theft Case together!” Chen Zhuo looked at Zhao Yu, then said, “The higher ups said that they would give you seven days to retrieve the Tamil Star. Otherwise, both your groups will be dismissed!”
