238: Any ideas for Chapter 237?

Ordering a large number of police officers to the scene without authorization, even if they were well-trained SWAT officers, was still a serious abuse of power.

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Regardless of whether the mobile unit's operation was successful, they would inevitably face questioning.

Not to mention, if they were unlucky and the SWAT team encountered tonight's target, and the target was killed under Director Jiao's orders, that would not be a matter that could be resolved by simple questioning; they might even end up in a military court.

This was a dilemma. But Director Jiao still made his choice.

He used to be a soldier and knew the duty of obeying orders well, but now, he was the last line of defense for the safety of this area. He could not tolerate criminals running rampant on his turf, nor could he accept the dire consequences caused by capturing these criminals.

These things, even if they had to happen, must happen under his nose, and only after the local public security department had done its best.

Doing nothing was not in his nature.

Deputy Chief Li Mingwei took a deep look at Director Jiao, stood at attention, saluted, and said in a low, powerful voice, "Yes!"

Upon receiving the order, the SWAT team members, who had been standing at attention in the cold wind for over ten minutes, immediately boarded their vehicles. One police car after another started up and filed out, their police lights illuminating half the block.

Director Jiao stood before the window, watching in silence until the last police car disappeared from view. Only then did he turn around, preparing to head to the command center on the first floor. Just then, his phone rang.

Looking at the caller ID on the screen, Director Jiao frowned slightly, then pressed answer. "Director Jiao, hello, I am Zheng Yi."

The voice on the other end of the line was very calm: "Our operation has concluded; the aftermath is left to you."

Director Jiao was slightly stunned. Concluded? It had only been a few minutes? Wasn't it said that they were dealing with personnel from an overseas organization wielding lethal Weapon? Just like that?

"Were there any civilian casualties?" This was the question Director Jiao cared about most.

"None." Zheng Yi said calmly: "The operation was very successful; you don't need to worry."

"That's good." Director Jiao heaved a long sigh of relief and regained some composure: "The SWAT team has already set off for the destination; we will handle the rest."

"Alright." After replying, Zheng Yi prepared to hang up, but Director Jiao hurriedly said: "Wait a moment, Senior Colonel Zheng."

"May I venture to ask, who was the target of your arrest operation tonight?"

Zheng Yi seemed to pause, as if confirming something, and then said: "I can tell you; you have the clearance to know. The person we arrested today is the same person you are wanted for; he..."

Before Zheng Yi could finish, a name popped into Director Jiao's mind: Ning Hao.

"You should know his name too; it's Ning Hao." It was indeed him.

This was the only name that had been highlighted by Zheng Yi. Apart from this person, he couldn't think of any other name that could involve Zheng Yi.

And behind this name, there was another name—Wang Shuo. Could it be... A conjecture surfaced in Director Jiao's mind.

If the military was specifically dispatched to make arrests for Wang Shuo's sake, then what kind of identity did Wang Shuo have? How much power must the person behind him possess?

"When the operation tonight is announced publicly, it will be stated that the police carried out the action; it has nothing to do with us. In addition, regarding Ning Hao, after we conduct initial questioning, we will hand him over to you to be dealt with in accordance with the law and regulations. You must ensure that justice is served for the victim, Wang Shuo."

Director Jiao understood. Having been a director for so many years, he was clear about these matters in the officialdom. He said in a deep voice: "I understand."

After hanging up, Director Jiao pondered for a moment and dialed Deputy Chief Li Mingwei's number.

"Mission change. I need you to cordon off the scene and make it look like the suspect has been arrested. Also, how is the verification of the clues provided by Wang Shuo going?"

"The vast majority has been verified. It is certain that the clues are authentic." Deputy Chief Li Mingwei replied very affirmatively. He had been following this matter closely and was well aware of the progress.

"Since they are authentic, then cast the net. The faster, the better. It would be best to wrap it up within this week."

Deputy Chief Li Mingwei calculated the time in his mind. Today was already December 19th, Wednesday. If they were to wrap it up within this week, they only had a short three or four days left for preparations; the time was indeed a bit tight.

But then again, it was just arresting a few rumor-mongers; even if they were spread across the country, it wouldn't take much effort.

"Understood, I will make arrangements now."

"Hmm, after arranging the personnel, report the list to me. I will have the office book a 7:00 AM flight, and we will depart immediately." This... Deputy Chief Li Mingwei smiled bitterly and could only say: "I will coordinate the personnel as soon as possible."

... While Director Jiao was still racking his brains considering Wang Shuo's background... 8:00 AM.

Wang Shuo, sitting in a black business car belonging to Chen Xin, accompanied by numerous "bodyguards," arrived at the school he hadn't visited for a long time.

In order not to be too flashy, Wang Shuo had the driver stop the car from a distance away. After much persuasion, he managed to dissuade the two Cheng brothers from following him. He got out of the car quietly by himself and walked into the school gate under the watchful eyes of the bodyguards.

He went to the dormitory first. As expected, the eldest and the third were not there at the moment.

Sighing, in the few days he had been away, these two brothers seemed to have never relaxed their standards for themselves; they were still so diligent that it was admirable.

After strolling around the campus for a while, Wang Shuo finally arrived at the experimental building just in time for 8:30. Walking into the first-floor conference room, Wang Shuo saw Ding Congsheng, who was already waiting.

Beside Ding Congsheng were several Middle-aged men. "Principal Ding, deans, Professor Zeng, hello." Wang Shuo greeted them one by one.

He had met most of these people; they were all deans of various colleges at HUST, and at the very least, they were professor-level experts in research groups.

Of course, the most familiar ones among them were Principal Ding and Professor Zeng. As for Teacher Ding Runan, her level was not high enough for such a high-level meeting.

The deans and professors appeared extremely amiable, revealing friendly smiles and nodding slightly at Wang Shuo.

"Is this the young genius who designed the zero egg Artificial Intelligence core? Truly a handsome talent, young and promising."

A Middle-aged man with slightly graying hair spoke with some admiration, his eyes full of wonder.

"Old He, you don't know this, but this kid Wang Shuo is amazing." Another slightly older Middle-aged man next to the Middle-aged man chuckled: "Last time you were on a business trip, you didn't see the code and annotations this kid wrote; it really opened my eyes."

As soon as the words were spoken, the deans seemed to have found a common topic and heaped praise upon Wang Shuo. They almost praised Wang Shuo as a computer prodigy that China hadn't seen in a hundred years.

Ding Congsheng and Professor Zeng listened quietly. When the voices of the group weakened slightly, they spoke with a hint of pride: "xiao zhi, come here." He tapped the table in front of him.

The zero egg, which had been placed in the corner, heard this and spread its wings to fly up. Amidst a slight buzzing sound, it came before Ding Congsheng and accurately landed on the spot where he had tapped the table. Two eyes appeared, revealing a wise expression.

The deans' praises paused slightly, and suddenly a chorus of curses rang out.

"Old Ding, how many times have you shown off to us? You are a person of status; can you have some shame?" An old dean of similar age to Ding Congsheng cursed. Others chimed in one after another.

"Exactly, Old Ding, look at Old Zeng; he isn't as smug as you!"

"As if anyone couldn't afford it; I've already had my grandson pre-order one for me, you just wait! I will definitely raise my zero egg to be better than yours!"

This old guy is truly shameless; ever since he got his hands on this thing, he has been showing it off in front of them, making people grit their teeth in anger, yet they couldn't do anything about it. They really didn't have one.

Suddenly, the gazes that were originally admiring and friendly all turned somewhat resentful as they looked at Wang Shuo, who was standing opposite them.

Wang Shuo was slightly dumbfounded. These old men... are they all this cute?

"Wang Shuo." Professor Zeng spoke up: "I heard that things have been a bit unsettled online these past two days, and it seems to be related to the zero egg." Everyone quietly pricked up their ears.

"Yes." Wang Shuo replied: "There are some small disturbances, but it doesn't matter; it's not a big deal."

Not a big deal... Looking at Wang Shuo's calm expression, everyone was silent. If they hadn't specifically learned about the ins and outs of the storm online, and if they hadn't known that the storm was still raging online even now, they might have actually believed him.

"Really?" Professor Zeng frowned slightly: "How come I heard that some people have already initiated refunds?"

"Some people did request refunds." Wang Shuo said with a smile: "I came out to do business, not to rob people. If they are unwilling to buy my product, I can't force them to buy it, can I?"

"These are all minor matters, not worth the deans worrying about." Professor Zeng was silent.

He was no fool, and neither were the others present. Research personnel just didn't have the time to pay attention to the storms online, but that didn't mean they wouldn't take the initiative to understand them.

According to his estimation, Wang Shuo's company had already refunded at least around 100 million in funds.

This made him feel surprised and also deeply worried. This was all real money, not just numbers on a balance sheet. For a company that had just been established a few months ago, funds exceeding 100 million could easily be described as a devastating blow.

Professor Zeng sighed: "If there is anything you need our help with, just say the word."

"Yes, Wang Shuo." Ding Congsheng said: "We can't help you with other areas, but regarding computing power, we can still think of ways to help you."

"That would be great." Wang Shuo smiled: "I am just preparing to establish a Chip company; I wonder if Principal Ding has any thoughts?"