Chapter 660: The Phantom at Midnight

That night, a shadow slipped into Dong Xiao’s office at Zhuoyuan Corporation, hugging the walls as if searching for something. He unexpectedly discovered a small hidden door. Excited, he whistled softly and opened it, only to find a handgun inside.

Although the police had not officially sealed off the company, it was essentially deserted. Since Dong Xiao’s disappearance, the employees had lost all motivation to work, leaving the building empty at night.

The shadow, not finding what he sought, continued his search patiently. Finally, exhausted, he slumped onto the sofa, Dong Xiao’s usual “throne.” Sitting there, he glanced up and noticed a cigar box on a shelf. Curiosity piqued, he walked over and opened it, revealing high-end cigars. He opened one box after another until he found one that felt different. Upon inspection, he discovered a hidden compartment containing a USB drive with a metal casing.

Overjoyed, the shadow didn’t notice the hand emerging from the shadows behind him, swiftly snatching the USB drive from his grip.

He turned to see a figure in a tight black latex suit, outlining a curvaceous silhouette that was both alluring and dangerous.

At this moment, Cao Man had no time to appreciate her figure and growled, “Give it back!”

“You want it? Not a chance!” Su Chan sneered, shaking the USB drive.

Cao Man reached out to grab it, but Su Chan deftly dodged.

Cao Man scrutinized her attire. She was definitely not dressed for a casual visit. He chuckled, “So, Miss Su is also in the same business. I should have known you wouldn’t be interested in someone like Dong Xiao!”

“Who are you working for, Reporter Cao?” she asked.

“Do I have to be working for someone? Can’t I use it to start my own venture?” he retorted.

Su Chan shook her head, smiling. “It seems we’re at an impasse. Goodbye.”

“Wait!” Cao Man called out. “Why don’t we work together? We’re both after the same thing. I provided the police with information to bring down Dong Xiao, putting in a lot of effort. I’ve set the stage, and you just swoop in. That’s not fair, is it?”

Su Chan looked at the USB drive in her hand, her expression complicated. “You don’t understand the price I’ve paid for this. Goodbye.”

She ran towards the stairs, and Cao Man gave chase, only to find she had vanished like a ghost.

Fuming, Cao Man punched the wall in frustration, his teeth grinding as he pondered how to turn the situation around.

As he sneaked out of the building, a blinding light froze him in his tracks. Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue stepped out of a car. Chen Shi said, “Reporter Cao, what are you up to, sneaking around like this?”

Hearing himself called “Reporter Cao,” Cao Man knew his disguise had been blown. Chen Shi was indeed a formidable opponent, one he couldn’t fool for long.

“Why are you here?” Cao Man deflected.

“Come with us,” Chen Shi replied.

An hour later, Cao Man was in the interrogation room. At this hour, the police station was quiet, with most officers off duty. Chen Shi handed Cao Man a bottle of water and sat down. “Was that anonymous email from you?”

“It seems you know everything,” Cao Man sighed.

“I don’t know until you tell me,” Chen Shi countered.

“Alright,” Cao Man admitted. “I am Cao Man, and I provided the police with those tips. Although I deceived you, I was helping to take down Dong Xiao. In principle, I wasn’t wrong.”

“Who was the dead man?” Chen Shi asked.

“An employee of Dong Xiao. I bribed him to install a hidden camera and a bug in Dong Xiao’s office. Maybe he got caught, and the brutal Dong Xiao killed him. The murder was captured by the hidden camera he installed. Maybe it was fate. I should reintroduce myself—I’m actually a corporate spy.”

“I suspected as much. When you tampered with Dong Xiao’s computer, I checked the logs. Someone had run a Trojan on it at the exact time you were there. That told me you came prepared, so we’ve been staking out the office for two nights.”

“You were staking me out instead of hunting down Lü Qi?” Cao Man laughed.

“We need to catch Lü Qi, but we need to understand every detail of this case, including your involvement,” Chen Shi explained.

Lin Dongxue asked, “Who was the ‘brother’ who came to identify the body as ‘Cao Man’s brother’?”

“He was the real brother of the dead employee.”

“You wanted to take down Dong Xiao. Why fake your own death? I don’t understand.”

Cao Man looked out, smiling bitterly. “The things that happened in that building and are still happening… A thousand police officers couldn’t uncover them all. Dong Xiao has a bunch of obedient dogs. He rapes female secretaries, kills people, and abuses employees. By the next day, it’s all cleaned up, no traces left. Missing people are erased from records as if they never existed, like they were never born. A nameless victim would be hard to trace, so I made up a person for you to investigate. The evidence I left was half-true, half-false, but like a primer, it led you to real findings. Dong Xiao was a cruel, terrifying person, and his company was essentially a legal mafia organization!”

“Did you get what you wanted?” Chen Shi asked.

“No.” His expression suggested he wasn’t lying.

“I guess you were after that new smartphone motherboard?” Chen Shi ventured.

Cao Man nodded.

“Stealing trade secrets is illegal. Plus, with the ongoing investigation, any documents from Zhuoyuan Corporation are evidence. Taking them would also be illegal,” Lin Dongxue said.

“I didn’t get it. You can search me if you don’t believe me.” Cao Man seemed indifferent.

Chen Shi had him empty his pockets and checked his collar and sleeves. Finding nothing, he even checked his car thoroughly, but there was no USB drive.

“Believe me now? I was unlucky. Despite all my efforts, I didn’t find it. That bastard Dong Xiao really knew how to hide things.”

“Who are you working for?” Chen Shi pressed.

“That’s professional ethics. I can’t say. If you want to charge me for attempting to steal trade secrets, go ahead.”

“We can guess who it is. Dong Xiao doesn’t have many competitors left.”

“Guessing and me saying it are two different things. Guess all you want,” Cao Man shrugged, nonchalant.

Cao Man’s actions only involved economic crimes, and he hadn’t succeeded in his attempt. There was no need to detain him, so they let him go. Watching him leave, Chen Shi thought, what a cunning man. He almost fooled the entire police force.