409: The surrendered investigation team

It was like a grand feast laid out before them; knowing they could rightfully claim a share, who would be content to merely lick the plate's edge and leave?

They understood the gravity of this case better than anyone, and naturally, they weren't willing to let go easily.

“You guys…”

Li Yang was about to say more, but the Investigation Team Leader raised a hand to cut him off.

“Secretary Li, I apologize, but time is short. We need to go survey the incident site immediately. We’ll promptly update you with any new discoveries.”

With that, the few of them grabbed their briefcases and turned to leave, their steps hurried as if fearing Li Yang would stop them again.

“Wait a moment!”

Li Yang quickly called out.

The Investigation Team members paused, turning to look at him with a mix of wariness and impatience in their eyes.

Li Yang took a deep breath and waved his hand.

“Don’t rush off yet. I need to make a call.”

He said no more, turning and quickly walking into the small cubicle in the corner of the conference room, closing the door behind him.

Seeing this, Ou Ben and An Cheng also breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Secretary Li was preparing to use his connections to handle the situation.

The Investigation Team members immediately froze in place, unsure whether to stand or leave, their faces etched with hesitation.

One of the younger Team Members couldn't help but lean closer to the Team Leader, lowering his voice.

“Team Leader, should we… continue to insist on staying, or wait as Secretary Li suggested?”

The Team Leader frowned deeply, his gaze sweeping from the door of the small room to An Cheng and Ou Ben, before he finally said in a deep voice.

“Wait. This Secretary Li is no ordinary person. Since he asked us to wait, there must be a reason.”

He knew in his heart that anyone so calm at a time like this either had complete confidence or possessed even stronger backing. Rashly opposing him would likely not end well.

Everyone had no choice but to patiently stand still, their fingers unconsciously rubbing the briefcases in their hands, the air filled with an awkward silence.

After only a moment, Li Yang emerged from the small room, his expression calm, showing little emotion.

Seeing this, the Investigation Team Leader was about to speak when his smart-brain suddenly chimed with a communication alert, displaying a line of red encrypted identification—an urgent communication from a direct superior department.

The Team Leader’s heart tightened. He immediately gestured for everyone to be silent and quickly walked into the small room from before to answer the call.

Less than half a minute later, the cubicle door was pushed open, and the Team Leader walked out, his previous resolve replaced by a clear layer of unwillingness. His brows were knitted into a knot, as if he had just swallowed something hard to digest.

“Team Leader?”

A Team Member next to him cautiously leaned in and asked.

The Team Leader took a deep breath, his voice somewhat stiff.

“Go to the incident site, follow normal procedures, and just make a basic record.”

He paused, then gritted his teeth and added.

“Return first thing tomorrow morning. All reports will be filed as ‘accidental.’”

After saying this, he didn't look at anyone else, grabbed his briefcase from the table, and turned to leave, his steps so fast they almost stirred the wind. The Team Members behind him exchanged bewildered glances.

Seeing this, the remaining members of the Investigation Team also looked at Li Yang with surprise, then quickly followed and left the conference room.

The conference room door gently closed behind them, finally restoring quiet.

Ou Ben let out a long sigh, a look of admiration on his face, and cupped his hands to Li Yang.

“As expected of you, Secretary Li. One call and you’ve managed to resolve this tricky situation.”

Li Yang leaned against the edge of the table, his fingertips lightly tapping the surface, his tone calm.

“There was no other way. If they were determined to stay, using the guise of a ‘compliant investigation’ to interfere, our covert investigation plan would only be shattered. Those hidden in the shadows are already wary; once they sense the Investigation Team refusing to let go, they will only pull their tails in tighter, and by then, finding clues will be even more difficult.”

“That’s true,”

An Cheng remarked from the side, his eyes full of admiration.

“But Secretary Li, you actually know high-ranking officials in the Virgo Supercluster? That’s truly unexpected.”

He and Ou Ben had been in This Galaxy Cluster for so many years. In terms of connections, they knew a few mid-level cadres in the Supercluster, but to truly say someone could, with a single word, suppress an Investigation Team and make them willingly close a case as an “accident” and leave—those connections were far from sufficient.

After all, this case involved the lives of tens of thousands of Imperial Citizens. The Investigation Team could have achieved great merit through it. For them to willingly let go, the directive behind it must have come from a sufficiently authoritative level.

“No, I don’t know the core leadership of the Virgo Supercluster,”

Li Yang shook his head and explained.

“It’s just that the person I communicated with has connections within the Virgo Supercluster.”

The person he spoke of was none other than the subject of his recent communication—Hu An, the AN01 Galaxy Speaker.

He was one of the three senior big-shots Li Yang had met in the Mutual Aid Society, and the only one among them in officialdom, reaching a C3 rank.

Just looking at the words “C-rank” might suggest he was not much different from An Cheng, Ou Ben, and others, but in the Empire's administrative system, each increase in rank represented a world of difference in the required qualifications, merits, and resources.

Especially at and above the C-rank level, every small step upward was like scaling a steep mountain.

More importantly, the power wielded by C-ranks at different levels was vastly different.

Even if An Cheng and Ou Ben worked diligently until retirement, without significant merits capable of reshaping the Galaxy, their achievable upper limit would probably only be around C5.

Not to mention the AN01 Galaxy where Hu An was located, which was not comparable to ordinary Galaxies. As a directly administered Imperial Galaxy, its status was much higher than that of typical Galaxies.

Resource allocation, policy priority, and security levels were far beyond what other Galaxies could achieve. The mere words “directly administered” were enough to illustrate its core importance in the entire galactic map, with a value so high that other Galaxies could barely hope to match it.

Although Li Yang’s potential was well-regarded by various parties, he was still in an ascendant period, with limited actual authority. To push for this kind of cross-Galaxy coordination through sheer will alone, potential was far from enough—potential, until it transformed into real power and resources, was ultimately abstract. At critical moments, it still required someone like Hu An, who had cultivated deep roots within the system for many years and held actual sway, to step forward for things to progress so smoothly... The Investigation Team quickly walked out of the conference room. The Deputy Team Leader hurried to catch up with the Team Leader, lowering his voice as he pressed for answers.

“Team Leader, whose call was that just now? Could it be… that Secretary Li really just made one call and directly contacted our top superior?”

As soon as this was said, the other Team Members immediately gathered around, their eyes filled with eager curiosity.