406: Hidden "small group"

Ou Ben pulled up a set of data, projecting it between them.

During the Minister of Energy’s tenure, he handled over a hundred large-scale projects, and the hidden profits from any single project far exceeded the benefits Dongyuan Company could offer.

“Think about it, compared to the entire This Galaxy Cluster energy network under his control, what are Dongyuan Company’s paltry gains? He wouldn’t risk his career for it—this incident has already left him in a mess, and his official career might be affected. If he really had a hand in it, why would he bring trouble upon himself?”

Li Yang followed his line of thought and nodded.

During the meeting, the Minister of Energy was indeed the most agitated, and his anger didn't seem feigned; it was more like the exasperation of someone whose territory had been messed with.

From this perspective, the problem likely lies in the middle links of the approval chain, with someone secretly exploiting loopholes.

“Then the problem lies with other individuals within the Ministry of Energy.”

Li Yang’s gaze deepened, his fingertips lightly tapping the table, his tone filled with undeniable certainty.

“That’s precisely why I didn’t dare to issue a notice with great fanfare, but instead quietly gathered you, the top Persons in Charge of each department, for a meeting.”

Ou Ben picked up the water on the table and took a sip.

“I was just afraid that making too much noise would tip them off.”

At this, Li Yang was visibly stunned, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

“Oh? So, the news of the accident hasn’t spread yet?”

“Not yet, for now.”

Ou Ben nodded, his fingertips gliding across the light screen, bringing up a holographic projection.

“The moment the accident occurred, I ordered the shutdown of all communication frequencies around the Kolos Planet, only announcing ‘routine equipment maintenance’ to the outside world. Currently, apart from us in this core circle, the grassroots personnel of the entire energy system are still in the dark.”

He paused, his thumb rubbing the rim of the cup, and added.

“But it won’t be kept secret for too long. As you know, these important energy-mining Kolos Planets are also recorded in the central intelligent database of the Virgo Supercluster, with real-time synchronization of each Kolos Planet’s energy fluctuations and physical coordinates. Now that such a large Kolos Planet has vanished into thin air, the intelligent system’s anomaly detection module must have already captured the data. Otherwise, the higher-ups wouldn’t have sent an Investigation Team, and once the Investigation Team arrives, it will be impossible to keep it under wraps.”

“Then this matter is going to be a bit tricky…”

Li Yang’s brows furrowed into a knot, his fingertips unconsciously tapping the table, each tap conveying a sense of gravity.

“After all, if it were just an accident, we would follow the procedures step by step, disciplining those who need to be disciplined, punishing those who need to be punished, and there would always be a clear resolution.”

He paused, his tone growing a few shades heavier.

“But if it involves collusion between officials and businesses, and official corruption… then the nature of the matter completely changes. Especially now, with the crackdown having just concluded not long ago, and our This Galaxy Cluster stirring up such an incident—what will the higher-ups think? Will they think that the officials here only behave when driven by a whip? That they dare to exploit loopholes and engage in shady dealings the moment the pressure eases?”

At this point, Li Yang suddenly stopped tapping the table, his eyes suddenly lighting up, as if he had grasped a crucial clue. He leaned forward slightly, his tone carrying a hint of certainty.

“Wait… I think I’ve remembered an overlooked detail.”

Li Yang suddenly raised his hand to interrupt the conversation, his tone carrying a hint of gravity.

“When exactly did the Kolos Planet mining project start? And when did Dongyuan Company take over?”

Upon hearing this, Ou Ben immediately moved his fingers, quickly searching on the light screen of the government administration system.

As the data bar scrolled, his brows gradually furrowed.

“Found it—the Kolos Planet mining project was officially approved and launched two years ago, and Dongyuan Company took over the project half a year after its launch.”

“Two years ago… half a year after launch…”

Li Yang murmured the time points, then suddenly realized.

“Isn’t that precisely the most intense phase of the crackdown?”

He slammed his palm on the table, making the documents on the corner slide down, the anger in his eyes almost overflowing.

“At the critical juncture of a nationwide crackdown, they dared to take over a project against the tide? This isn’t just boldness; it’s open defiance!”

He stood up, pacing back and forth twice, his voice filled with barely suppressed fury.

“Audits during the crackdown were three times stricter than usual. For Dongyuan Company to successfully take over at that time, there must be something fishy going on. Immediately retrieve the approval documents from that time, especially the signing process—I want to see who passed this ‘cigarette’ under the gun!”

“To act so brazenly during the crackdown is simply to disregard the Discipline Inspection and Supervision, and to treat the rules of the entire empire as nothing!”

Li Yang’s voice was filled with suppressed rage.

Ou Ben dared not delay and immediately retrieved the complete approval records for the Kolos Planet mining project from the government system, focusing on the sealing and signing Link.

However, the information that popped up on the light screen instantly stunned both of them—all approval nodes, from the project’s establishment to Dongyuan Company’s takeover, were conspicuously marked “System Automatically Approved.” From beginning to end, there was no electronic seal or handwritten signature from any official.

“How is this possible?”

Ou Ben’s voice was dry with disbelief.

Li Yang’s brows furrowed even tighter, his fingertips hovering over the light screen, repeatedly tracing the words “Automatically Approved.”

According to the Imperial Government System’s settings, the automatic approval function is only applicable to trivial matters such as small-amount expense reimbursements and routine equipment maintenance reports. For major matters of the scale of the Kolos Planet mining rights transfer, it must undergo step-by-step review by officials at three levels or higher, with clear signature records left at every step—this is an ironclad rule.

Yet, the records before them broke all conventions.

Full-process automatic approval meant that someone had bypassed layers of review mechanisms and directly tampered with system permissions—this could not have been done by a single official, but rather by a small group hidden within The Administrative Center Department of This Galaxy Cluster.

“Trouble.”

Li Yang’s voice was as cold as ice.

“It seems the mastermind was well-prepared, even wiping away all traces.”

Ou Ben took a deep breath, following his train of thought.

“They deliberately avoided manual signatures, precisely to prevent being traced if the matter came to light. Now, the system logs only show the approval results, not the specific operator.”

Li Yang’s gaze swept across the cold system records on the light screen, his eyes as sharp as knives.

“To be able to manipulate the automatic approval system and dare to act during the crackdown, it certainly isn’t a lone wolf behind this; it’s likely a deeply entrenched small group. They not only have the audacity but also the power—this water is deeper than we imagined.”

The blue light of the light screen reflected on their faces, revealing the gravity in their eyes.

They had initially thought they could find clues by following the signatures, but they hadn’t expected the other party to have already set up a maze, which added more mystery to an already tricky situation.

“It’s my dereliction of duty… During that period, Secretary Li, you weren’t in This Galaxy Cluster, and the burden of the Discipline Inspection and Supervision fell on An Cheng and me. We just happened to miss this. If we had caught them then, the current problem wouldn’t have arisen.”

He tapped his forehead with his knuckles in annoyance.

“Now that such a thing has happened, I am largely to blame.”

Li Yang took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions.

“What’s done is done; regret is useless. The urgent task is to clarify the situation. When the Investigation Team from above arrives, I will report these clues and materials together. No one can escape the responsibility they should bear.”

He looked at Ou Ben, his gaze steady.

“You don’t have to blame yourself too much. After all, the crackdown task was heavy at the time, and oversights are inevitable. But from now on, we must be extra vigilant and cooperate with the Investigation Team to investigate the matter thoroughly—we absolutely cannot let such corrupt elements remain.”

Ou Ben nodded vigorously.

“I understand! I’ll go and organize all relevant approval documents and records immediately, ensuring not a single clue is missed!”

His tone carried a stubborn determination to make amends for his past mistakes.