Chapter 660: Midnight Phantom

Translator: Azza

Editor: Conspiracing

That night in the Zhuoyuan Company, a dark figure snuck into Dong Xiao's office and looked for something as they pressed themselves against the wall. They unexpectedly found a small secret door and whistled excitedly. When they opened it, there was only a pistol inside.

Although this company hadn't been cordoned and blocked off by the police, it was almost at that point. Ever since Dong Xiao's disappearance, the employees in the entire company had no mood to work, so there wasn’t anyone there at night.

The dark figure didn't find what they wanted and continued to patiently search for it. They finally sat on the sofa in exhaustion. This was Dong Xiao's usual "throne".

Sitting there, they looked up and saw cigar boxes on the opposite shelf, walked over out of curiosity, removed it from the shelf, and opened it. It contained high-end cigars. They opened all the packaging boxes one by one until they found that one of them had a different weight to it. Upon inspection, they discovered that there was a groove at the bottom with a USB drive embedded inside a metal shell.

The dark figure was extremely excited. Unexpectedly, the mantis stalked the cicada while unaware of the oriole behind them.[1] Suddenly, a hand came out from the shadows behind them. They snatched the USB drive that the dark figure had just obtained.

The first figure turned their head and saw that the other party was wearing a black latex outfit, which outlined their lithe body and curves, while causing unlimited imagination.

At this moment, Cao Man didn't have the time to appreciate the other party's exquisite curves. He quietly bellowed, "Give it back to me!"

"Want it? No way!" Su Chan sneered while shaking the USB drive.

Cao Man stretched out his hand to grab it, but Su Chan dodged away very quickly.

Cao Man looked up and down at Su Chan's attire. This was definitely not a ordinary outfit. He smiled. "It turns out that Miss Su is also in the same industry. I should have known that you wouldn’t fancy people like Dong Xiao!"

"Reporter Cao, who are you working for?"

"Do I have to work for someone? Can't I take it to start my own business?"

Su Chan smiled and shook her head. "It seems that we don’t speak the same language. Goodbye."

"Wait!" Cao Man called out to her. "Why don't we cooperate? We’re both here for this thing. In order to obtain it, I provided clues to the police and knocked Dong Xiao down. It took a lot of effort. You were one step ahead even though I was the one who set up the stage. Isn't that unvirtuous?"

Su Chan looked at the USB drive in her hands with complicated eyes. "You wouldn’t understand the price I paid for it. Goodbye!"

She ran to the stairs and Cao Man chased after her, but he found that she had disappeared just like a ghost.

After coming out empty-handed, Cao Man was so angry that he punched the wall with his teeth rattling. He wondered if there was any possibility to turn the tides.

With a lot of resentment, Cao Man slipped out of the building, but was stopped by a bright light. Chen Shi and Lin Dongxue got out of the car, and Chen Shi said, "Reporter Cao, what are you doing so sneakily?"

Hearing the other party calling himself "Reporter Cao", Cao Man knew that his disguise had been seen through. After all, this Chen Shi was also a powerful character. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to keep it under wraps for long.

"You... why are you here?" Cao Man changed the subject.

"Let's make a trip!"

An hour later, Cao Man was taken to the interrogation room. At this hour, the officers were already off work, so the corridor was deserted. Chen Shi handed Cao Man a bottle of mineral water, sat back, and asked, "That anonymous email was from you?"

"It seems you already know everything."

"I don't know. I’d only know after you talk about it." Chen Shi said deliberately.

"Okay!" Cao Man sighed. "I am indeed Cao Man, and I’m the one who provided you with the clues. Although I lied to you, I really did help you in bringing down Dong Xiao. In principle, I wasn’t wrong."

"Who was the one who died?"

"An employee of Dong Xiao's company. I bribed him to install a pinhole camera and a wiretap in Dong Xiao's company. Maybe he was discovered. Thus, the brutal Dong Xiao killed him. The murder process happened to be captured by the pinhole installed by him. Perhaps this is God’s will! Speaking of which, I have to re-introduce myself. I’m actually a business spy..."

"I’ve already noticed this. When you went to Dong Xiao's office with us that day, you went to his computer. After verifying your identity, I checked the operation log of that computer and found that someone had run a Trojan through it. The time was right when you used his computer, which meant that you went prepared that day. That’s why we stayed here to monitor his office tonight. In fact, we’ve already stayed here for two nights."

"You’re not looking for Lu Qi, but here trapping me?" Cao Man laughed.

"Of course, Lu Qi has to be arrested, but we have to know every detail of the entire incident, which includes you."

Lin Dongxue asked, "Who was the 'Cao Man's younger brother' you found when confirming the identity of the deceased?"

"Of course, it was that man's younger brother."

"You just wanted Dong Xiao to fall, so why did you fake your own death? I don't quite understand."

Cao Man looked outside and smiled bitterly. "What happened and what is happening in that building can’t even be investigated by 10,000 policemen. Dong Xiao has a bunch of obedient lackeys. He raped female secretaries, murdered, and abused his employees. These things will all be handled cleanly the next day with no traces left. The files of the missing people will be erased. All traces of them would be erased, as if they had never worked there before. It was as if they were never born. It’s difficult for you to find a murder victim without a name, so it’s better to fabricate a person to make it easier for you guys to investigate. Although the evidence I left is only half-true, it was like a drug primer. The things you investigated are real. Dong Xiao is indeed a cruel and terrifying person, and his company is a legal underworld organization!"

"Have you obtained what you wanted yet?" Chen Shi asked.

"Not yet." His expression didn't look like he was lying.

"I’m guessing that what you’re struggling so hard to look for is the new mobile phone motherboard!"

Cao Man nodded.

"Stealing commercial secrets is illegal and the police investigation is still ongoing. The materials in Zhuoyuan's company are all evidence exhibits. If you take the exhibits away, it’s also illegal." Lin Dongxue said.

"I really didn't get it. You can search me if you don't believe me." Cao Man said indifferently.

Chen Shi immediately asked him to take out the things in his pockets and checked his collar and cuffs. There was nothing like a USB flash drive. Chen Shi didn’t feel assured, so he even checked his car and under the seat, but nothing was hidden.

After the inspection, Cao Man said, "Trust me now? I have such bad luck. After spending so much energy on the preparation, I couldn't find it in the end. That sly bastard Dong Xiao is really good at hiding things."

"Who are you working for?"

"This involves professional ethics. I can't say anything. If you want to sue me for stealing trade secrets, go ahead!"

"I can guess. Dong Xiao only has few competitors left right now."

"You guessing it and me telling you are two different things. Go ahead and guess!" Cao Man smiled with a nonchalant expression.

After all, Cao Man's behavior could only be considered an economic crime. Besides, it was just an attempt and he didn’t need to be detained, so he was released. Looking at Cao Man's departure, Chen Shi thought that he was really a cunning man. All the police were almost deceived by him.

1. This Chinese proverb refers to and warns about being so focused on a narrow goal that one neglects the potentially greater danger. The hunter neglected that they’re also prey.