115: Chapter 115 Choice

Chen Group, W City Branch.

Chen Zhongxuan sat quietly on the sofa, sipping tea alone. Chen Bangguo, who usually accompanied him, was not here at the moment.

His mobile phone lay in front of him, displaying the call with Wang Shuo that had just ended.

A moment later, Chen Zhongxuan shook his head gently and sighed.

He hadn't intended to take a stance so early, but the development of events had exceeded his expectations. Wang Shuo had actually been kidnapped. Putting aside whether this was an accidental incident or a premeditated kidnapping, the act of kidnapping itself already indicated that the situation was not simple. Coupled with the previous USB flash drive theft, he couldn't help but overthink it.

This time, it was truly difficult to handle.

On one side was the authorization contract related to the group's interests, the power of decision lying in Wang Shuo's hands.

Although his cooperation with Wang Shuo made it seem like the Chen Group held more power, in reality, Wang Shuo had always held the advantage.

The entire technical system of the "Mark I System" was completely under Wang Shuo's control. He didn't know what technical means Wang Shuo had used, but all reverse engineering analysis had failed. This meant that if Wang Shuo were to cancel the system's authorization, the Chen Group would face an avalanche, which would be even more serious than the consequences of the failed cooperation with W Company previously.

And right now, Wang Shuo was clearly prepared to do just that. The news had been announced publicly for several days, and it was estimated that some well-informed manufacturers had already sent people to negotiate, right?

Fortunately, after communicating, Chen Zhongxuan could be certain that Wang Shuo had no malice toward the Chen Group; it was merely a strategic move.

However... did Wang Shuo really have such confidence that he could pin all these matters on Chen Yuqiong? Or even have the confidence to recoup the Chen Group's losses?

Thinking of Wang Shuo's resolute face, Chen Zhongxuan couldn't help but feel a headache. Why was young man of today so stubborn? Being stubborn was one thing—after all, Wang Shuo wasn't the first to be stubborn in front of him, and those who dared to be stubborn before had already vanished with the wind—but this Wang Shuo had the substance to back up his stubbornness. Plus, because of his relationship with Chen Xin, Chen Zhongxuan felt somewhat helpless.

On the other side was the current problem facing the Chen Group, and the decision-making power for that lay in his own hands. It was just...

Old friend, what should I do?

And there was Chen Xin.

Yesterday, Chen Xin had taken the two Chen brothers away from his side, and today it was even more outrageous: she had directly taken away his personal bodyguards. What kind of matter required the use of two ace reconnaissance squad soldiers?

Chen Zhongxuan had his guesses, but the more he guessed, the more helpless he felt. A grown daughter is hard to keep; her heart was already set outside the family home.

Sighing again, Chen Zhongxuan picked up the phone on the desk and tapped it a few times.

"Secretary Chen, draft a statement. Acknowledge that the matters announced by Frontier Technology Co., Ltd. are true, point out that we are conducting an internal investigation, and state that if we find the person behind this, we will not show any leniency."

"Also, help me call Mayor Fang of W City."

...

Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Professor Zeng Xuewei was sitting in the principal's office, reporting the details of the incident to Ding Congsheng in detail.

"So, you mean Wang Shuo is fine now?"

"Wang Shuo sustained injuries, but it's not serious. Another student named Zheng Jun was more seriously injured and is still lying in the Hospital." Professor Zeng Xuewei replied.

"As long as Wang Shuo is fine, as long as Wang Shuo is fine." Ding Congsheng let out a long sigh of relief, and his previously furrowed brows relaxed slightly.

If something had happened to Wang Shuo, all their previous plans would have become empty talk. The Artificial Intelligence that was enough to overturn the entire world might have been nipped in the bud, and he, Ding Congsheng, would be nailed to the pillar of shame in the history of education. Of course, nailed alongside him would be his old friend standing before him, Professor Zeng Xuewei.

Wang Shuo was too important, so important that he could not afford any mishaps.

Professor Zeng Xuewei was speechless. Another student was injured too! Could you at least show some concern?

"As for this student, Zheng Jun... um... I will personally represent the college to visit and express our condolences. Furthermore, since student Zheng Jun acted bravely to save his classmate, I propose that the school award him a bravery prize of 20,000. What do you think?"

Professor Zeng Xuewei had no objections to this and nodded: "I will go to visit as well."

Given his personality, he wouldn't normally want to participate in such things, but this time was different. The person Zheng Jun saved was Wang Shuo. No matter what, he had to express his gratitude in person.

That leap by Zheng Jun had saved the national fortune of Huaxia for the next few decades!

"Also, regarding the matter Ru Nan mentioned..." Ding Congsheng thought for a moment, then said: "Since Wang Shuo has this idea, let's try our best to facilitate it. This matter is not easy to handle, so you should step in, Old Zeng. You are a titan in the academic world, and you have more influence than I do. Contacting our colleagues at the Central Academy of Sciences might have some effect."

Professor Zeng Xuewei nodded. For his student, he could do these things.

"I will contact the principals of other universities to jointly petition the Department of Education and the Public Security Bureau. For a student to be kidnapped in broad daylight is a grave matter; the case must be solved quickly!"

...

Meanwhile, inside a safe house somewhere in W City.

The female officer Wang Shuo had met before was sitting there, looking at the information in her hand with an expressionless face. Standing beside her was a man in a formal suit.

"Sister Yi, this is all the information we have mastered at this stage. According to the data, the last location of the data chain was this IP. We checked it; it's a technology company in W City. We retrieved the disk data, but it had already been destroyed, so we had no results."

"We have retrieved information from both the radio frequency terminal and the service terminal. The signal source remains unknown, same as the fluctuations from the previous few times. We can confirm it is the same signal source."

"Have you identified the final contact person?"

"Confirmed." The man said: "Ning Hao, male, born in 1987, thirty-one years old this year, from Donghai City. He came to W City a year ago and worked at Zhongzhi Pengcheng Co., Ltd. He resigned more than a month ago and then worked at Xindong Technology Company, resigning three days ago. According to surveillance, after resigning, he frequently traveled between his rented residence and the suburbs, and disappeared two days ago."

"We checked all the surveillance in the surrounding area and found nothing. We suspect he has already left W City."

Zheng Yi closed the file in her hand and handed it to the man.

"Find him."

"Yes!" The man saluted and then left.

Zheng Yi showed a trace of fatigue. She had to maintain her composure in front of her subordinates, but the continuous rushing about over these past few days had indeed made her somewhat exhausted, especially since all this hard work hadn't yielded any results.

However, fortunately, there were already clues. At least she knew the person's name and appearance. Although she hadn't found the person yet, this was the closest she had come to a lead.

While she was thinking, her mobile phone vibrated gently.

Zheng Yi glanced at it, then revealed a faint smile.

"This brat... his mouth is still so hard even when asking for help. But it's better not to trouble the family with these kinds of matters."

She casually picked up the phone and dialed a number.

"Hello, Lin Feng? My younger brother is injured, and I need your help with something..."

...

Meanwhile, Chen Xin, who had already ended the communication, asked the driver beside her indifferently: "How much longer?"

"Just ahead, Miss."

The speaker was a dark-skinned man, about thirty-five years old, with short hair that made him look very capable. He smiled and said: "These petty thieves are indeed hard to find. If it hadn't been for the pictures you gave us, Miss, we wouldn't have been able to confirm that they were the people we were looking for."

Not far ahead was a small village, with broken walls and ruins standing in the pitch-black environment, looking as if they were waiting to devour people.

"This used to be a small village with about a hundred people living here. Later, because it was really not suitable for living, the government relocated them. So these houses are all uninhabited and look a bit dilapidated."

Watching the houses get closer, the man who hadn't spoken beside her said: "Old Wang, kill the lights."

The headlights went out, and the entire environment became completely pitch black, leaving only the light of the dashboard flickering with the bumps of the car.

"Kill the engine."

The man beside her said again, and the vehicle immediately cut the engine, gliding forward by inertia.

After gliding for a distance, the dark shadows that could be seen from afar finally arrived before their eyes, and the car stopped in place.

The man surnamed Wang pointed to one of the shadows not far away.

"This is the place."