Chapter 204: Retrieving the Hard Drive, Countermeasure Plan

Chapter 204: Retrieving the Hard Drive, Countermeasure Plan

Upon hearing Yu Zhanyu's admission, the surrounding guards reacted swiftly, forming a fan-shaped formation around him, ready to take action at any moment.

Yu Zhanyu let out a long sigh, having already accepted this outcome, but still wanting to know the reason for his failure, "Why did you suspect me? This operation should have been perfect."

The plan was indeed designed with exquisite precision.

He was right there in the Academy of Sciences, but instead of stealing the technological data himself, he used his mind control skill to manipulate a researcher into retrieving the hard drive.

Then, he had the researcher place the hard drive in a blind spot of the surveillance system and controlled him to leave the Academy, only to die in an alley behind the street.

This created the illusion that the victim, Engineer Liu, had met someone in the alley to exchange the hard drive and was then silenced.

Meanwhile, the hard drive had never left the Academy.

Initially, this plan had fooled everyone.

Who would have thought that the researcher who stole the hard drive had already died outside the Academy, yet the hard drive remained inside?

It was completely illogical.

After the incident, as the captain of the guards, Yu Zhanyu used his authority to arrange the guard duties at the Academy, and while passing through the blind spot of the bathroom surveillance, he took the hard drive.

If he had kept the hard drive on his person or hidden it elsewhere, it might have been found.

After all, the senior inspector and investigators of the Iron Blood might possess special investigative abilities, making it highly likely they would locate the hard drive.

If the plan had ended there, it wouldn't have been perfect.

So, Yu Zhanyu had an infallible strategy—to assimilate the hard drive with divine energy and directly store it in his inventory.

This way, no matter how powerful the investigative abilities of the Iron Blood were, they wouldn't be able to find the hard drive.

At this stage of the plan, he only needed to hold out until dawn and wait for the end of the manhunt to safely leave.

Later, he could find a time to hand over the hard drive without anyone being the wiser.

However, he hadn't anticipated that someone would uncover a clue leading to him.

"I don't think I showed any flaws, even if you suspected the hard drive was hidden behind the trash can, you still shouldn't have been able to pinpoint me so quickly," Yu Zhanyu persisted in seeking an answer.

Lu Heng explained, "Actually, when I determined that the mind controller was within the Academy, I started paying close attention to everyone's reactions.

"And I firmly believed that the mind controller was among our group.

"Because he would definitely be interested in the progress of the investigation to make timely responses.

"If I were him, I would also blend in with the investigative team.

"Although these are just speculations, from a criminal psychology perspective, it fits the criminal's logic very well.

"The number of people who have been following the investigative team isn't large, only about ten or so, and some of them are unlikely to be the culprit.

"For example, me and my teammates, as well as Captain Jian, who came with me.

"After filtering through these conditions, the scope narrowed down to six or seven people.

"So, I only needed to focus on these six or seven individuals.

"During the investigation, two people showed signs of impatience and a lack of cooperation.

"One was you, and the other was Zhuo Hongjun.

"At first, I also suspected Zhuo Hongjun, but when he learned about the appearance of Alex Austin, he immediately led a team to capture him.

"The fact that he dared to leave the investigative team to go after Austin cleared him of suspicion.

"Then, I suggested going to the bathroom to investigate.

"You volunteered to follow, which also indicated that you wanted to keep an eye on me.

"Actually, your hiding wasn't that well done.

"If you wanted to hide, you shouldn't have paid attention to me or stared at me.

"But if you didn't watch me, you wouldn't feel at ease, and this became an unsolvable dilemma.

"As for finally pinpointing you, I used the process of elimination.

"The person who took the hard drive must have gone to the bathroom before the Iron Blood sealed off the area.

"Among the six guards who passed through the bathroom, only you and Cui Chengye consistently appeared around me.

"In the end, I narrowed it down to the two of you, but I wasn't absolutely certain which one of you it was.

"However, the analysis up to this point was already sufficient. Bringing in a psychic interrogator to question the two of you would make things clear.

"I decided to take a gamble in the end. Since you're the captain of the guards, and you arrange the patrol routes, it's indeed more convenient for you.

"Apparently, I guessed correctly."

Cui Chengye's face was filled with astonishment as he stared at Yu Zhanyu, disbelief written all over his face.

He still couldn't quite understand, "That's not right. Captain doesn't have mind control skills. We've worked together for so long, and we know each other's abilities."

Lu Heng flipped through the guard's file and explained, "I guess that during the last call-up to the Abyssal Battlefield, a skill was added or replaced.

"You weren't thorough enough when updating your information.

"The last call-up showed that you entered a level 3 Abyssal Battlefield, but when I looked at the changes in your file, aside from the level, there were no additional abilities.

"In a level 3 Abyssal Battlefield, even if you managed to survive until the end, there should have been some improvement.

"Of course, if you're unlucky, this can happen.

"But there's one issue. You leveled up twice in this Abyssal Battlefield, which indicates that your performance in the battlefield was excellent, and you must have experienced numerous battles."

In this situation, it's odd that there's no other ability enhancement.

This also confirms my speculation. You obtained a Mind Control Skill in the Abyss Battlefield but didn't report it, so it's not on record."

You Zhanyu weakly lowered his head, as Lu Heng's analysis was spot-on.

Indeed, he had acquired a Mind Control Skill during his last mission in the Abyss Battlefield.

Lu Heng pondered and asked, "But there's still one thing I can't understand. Why did you steal the technological data? The fact that you became a Guard Captain means you passed the political review. You shouldn't have been so easily infiltrated."

You Zhanyu raised his head to look at the ceiling, exhaled slowly, and replied, "Because I was infiltrated in the Abyss Battlefield. To survive, I formed a temporary team with several White Eagle Federation Metahumans. If not for that, I would've died in the Abyss Battlefield."

Lu Heng was puzzled. "Even if White Eagle Metahumans helped you, it shouldn't be a reason to betray the country, right?"

You Zhanyu nodded in agreement. "Because I, along with a team of White Eagle Metahumans, completed a hidden mission. But after completing it, I realized it was a traitor mission, and there was no turning back."

"The Mind Control Skill was also a reward from that traitor mission. The rewards for traitor missions are too tempting. I only realized how enticing they were after experiencing it firsthand, which explains why so many Metahumans, despite knowing the painful price of becoming a traitor, couldn't resist the temptation."

He sighed and continued, "In the end, I underestimated you. I've been on guard against Li Inspector all this time. It wasn't until you analyzed that the Mind Controller was in the Academy of Sciences that I realized I might be exposed, and my nervousness led to my mistake."

Instructor Liu never expected that after a night of investigation, the mole was right beside him.

He scolded loudly, "You Zhanyu, hand over the hard drive immediately. Don't even think about resisting. You should know that once you're exposed, there's no way you can escape."

In fact, once they confirmed the hard drive was on him, whether he handed it over or not didn't matter.

As long as the technological data wasn't leaked, there wouldn't be a problem.

Of course, only by seeing the hard drive with their own eyes could they truly confirm its retrieval.

You Zhanyu took out the hard drive, and the nearby guard stepped forward to take it and hand it to Instructor Liu.

Instructor Liu glanced at the hard drive and ordered, "Send the hard drive for inspection to see if it's the missing one. Officially arrest You Zhanyu and detain him until the trial."

At this moment, Lu Heng raised his hand and said, "Wait a moment, there's one more thing to take care of."

Instructor Liu, who now had great trust in Lu Heng, asked, "What else is there?"

Lu Heng looked at You Zhanyu and asked, "You should have a way to contact Alex Austin, right?"

You Zhanyu nodded.

Instructor Liu was curious and asked, "Comrade Lu Heng, how do you know he can contact Alex Austin?"

Lu Heng explained, "Actually, I've been asking Su Muyu to use her Sense Skill to keep an eye on him, wanting to see if he would contact the outside world.

"As a result, I didn't find any actions of him contacting the outside world, but considering he has a Mind Control Skill, he can control anyone present to contact the outside world.

"Not long after my first analysis of the case, news of Alex Austin's appearance was received.

"Isn't this a bit coincidental? And the location of his appearance is a bit far. According to Alex Austin's rank and combat power, escaping the manhunt should be the easiest thing.

"But Alex Austin appeared, and I thought of a reason for it. Alex Austin's appearance was actually to disrupt the investigation's rhythm and lure us.

"Speaking of which, this 'Divide and Conquer' strategy was successful.

"Captain Jian and Zhuo Hongjun both led teams to pursue Alex Austin.

"If I hadn't firmly believed that the Mind Controller was in the Academy of Sciences, I would've probably gone too."

You Zhanyu exhaled and admitted, "Yes, I controlled a communicator who could contact the outside world and sent a message to Alex Austin."

A smile appeared on Lu Heng's face, and he continued, "That's right. Since you can contact him, I'd like to trouble you to contact him again and inform him to meet you at a suitable location."

When Instructor Liu heard this strategy, he nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's a good idea. You Zhanyu, follow Comrade Lu Heng's instructions. Lead all the enemy spies to the designated location, and we'll consider it a redemption for your past mistakes."

You Zhanyu had no other choice but to agree.

...

At this moment, the General in charge of the city-wide manhunt operation learned that the hard drive had been retrieved and personally came with his men to give praise.

"I've already heard about Comrade Lu Heng's investigation process. He retrieved the stolen hard drive at the fastest speed. Let's give Comrade Lu Heng a round of applause."

Clap! Clap! Clap!

Subsequently, the General in charge and Lu Heng's team discussed and formulated the next course of action.

You Zhanyu was to send a message indicating his exposure and requesting the enemy spies to pick him up.

The city-wide manhunt would continue to confuse the enemy.

The most powerful teams of Ability Warriors would ambush the group of enemy spies at the pickup location.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end