762: Chapter 762 The Red Thread

"Once this case is fully closed, the authority of the highest investigation order will be revoked immediately; not a single bit of it will remain. Besides, do you think this highest investigation order can be used casually? Even though we successfully used it to solve the case, we must submit an extremely detailed usage report afterward. Every single link in the process, every exercise of authority, and every clue obtained must be written down clearly, word for word, in its original form, without a single omission."

Zheng Kang rubbed his aching wrist. Thinking of the tedious follow-up procedures, his face was full of headaches.

"Most importantly, this report must be handwritten personally. You can't use an AI brain for input, and you can't have subordinates ghostwrite it."

"I remember someone used this authority hundreds of years ago. Just writing the report took half a month. Their wrist swelled up from writing so much they could barely lift it; they almost broke their hand! Although it can be cured, you have to endure the pain yourself. If you want to use it often in the future, by the time that actually happens, I'm afraid it'll be too late for tears!"

After hearing this, the smile on Yan Zheng's face immediately stiffened. Thinking of the massive volume of handwritten reports, the corner of his mouth couldn't help but twitch. Most of his previous exhilaration vanished instantly, yet he still couldn't help but shake his head with a smile. Even so, being able to successfully solve this major case made everything worth it.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the office door.

"Come in."

Yan Zheng looked up and responded in a deep voice.

The door slowly pushed open, and Li Yang walked in.

There wasn't the slightest hint of surprise on his face. His gaze swept over the thick dossiers neatly stacked on the desk, and he already understood that the case had made decisive progress.

Seeing this, Yan Zheng took the initiative to speak, informing him with a somewhat relaxed tone.

"Comrade Li Yang, it seems you've also received the news. That's right, all our previous deductions were correct. That Yale is indeed the mastermind behind this conspiracy. Once we finish organizing these Materials, we will formally issue an arrest warrant for Yale and bring him to justice once and for all."

As these words landed, Li Yang nodded slightly, his face devoid of any extra emotional fluctuations.

In his view, since the highest investigation order had been deployed, the truth of the case coming to light was an inevitable result. As the culprit, there was no way Yale could escape.

After all, even the highest disciplinary authority had been activated. This matter was already common knowledge among the undercurrents of the Imperial Military Department's top brass, just waiting for the final legal judgment.

But just as Yan Zheng and Zheng Kang thought the case had entered the closing stage and were preparing to report further on the follow-up arrangements, Li Yang suddenly took a step forward. He looked at the two of them with a solemn gaze, his tone steady yet carrying an unavoidable seriousness as he threw out a key question.

"Chiefs, besides Yale, I want to know how you plan to handle his father, Yes?"

He paused, a flash of sharpness appearing in his eyes as he continued to supplement.

"If the information I received is correct, behind the deaths of those several Admirals who supposedly died in accidents, there is also a shadow of Yes. As Yale's father and the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Imperial Military Department's Staff Department, it's impossible for him to be completely unaware of his son's conspiracy, and even more impossible for him not to have participated in any cover-up actions afterward."

Li Yang's words echoed clearly in the office, every word carrying a heavy weight.

The moment his voice fell, the smiles on Yan Zheng and Zheng Kang's faces instantly froze. The air in the office seemed to go still, falling into an extreme silence.

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing obvious shock and gravity in each other's eyes. The dead silence in the office lasted for a moment, the air so heavy it was suffocating.

Looking at Li Yang's certain and sharp gaze, Yan Zheng slowly withdrew his eyes. He first silently closed them, then let out a long sigh. That sigh was full of helplessness, frustration, and the exhaustion of someone in a high disciplinary position who was forced to compromise.

He opened his eyes. The joy of solving the case from earlier was gone, replaced only by a profound gravity. He spoke slowly, his voice low and helpless, saying each word deliberately.

"Comrade Li Yang, it's not that we aren't aware of Yes's issues, nor is it that we haven't investigated them. Relying on the top-level authority of the highest investigation order, we have thoroughly searched through every private communication and conversation between the father and son stored in the Empire's central AI brain. Every sentence, every word—we missed nothing."

At this point, Yan Zheng clenched his fist, his tone full of regret and indignation.

"But even so, we cannot touch Yes for the time being. There is only one core reason: we don't have a single shred of conclusive, direct evidence that can convict him—evidence that proves those murdered Admirals were killed at Yes's behest or that he directly participated in the silencing."

The whole matter was clear as day. From beginning to end, in all his communications with Yale, Yes had always spoken very cryptically. Throughout the entire process, he had only vaguely instructed to 'clean up the tail and don't leave any handles,' and that was it.

From start to finish, he never gave a single straightforward command. He never named names to have Yale kill those Admirals to silence them. He left no text, voice, or command traces that could directly prove he participated in this silencing conspiracy.

All the conjectures were merely deductions based on common sense; they couldn't produce any ironclad evidence that would stand up in a military court.

And even more critical and fatal than the lack of evidence was the issue of the authority's red line.

For this use of the highest investigation order, all application procedures, voting reasons, and military approvals clearly stated it was targeting Yale's case of framing colleagues and murdering a trusted Admiral. The subject of the investigation from beginning to end was Yale, not Yes.

If they were to step beyond the established scope now and rashly take investigative or disposal measures against Yes, it would be equivalent to the Military Law Department and the Military Discipline Inspection Commission openly abusing the military's highest investigation authority and privately expanding the scope of investigation to audit personnel unrelated to this case.

This touched the absolute red line of the entire Empire's military top brass.

One must understand that those who can sit in high-level positions in the military all hold power in their hands. None of their pasts are entirely clean, and everyone has more or less some issues under their seats that they don't want others to know about.

The reason they agreed to activate the highest investigation order was because the case had a clear target—it only targeted Yale. But once the Military Law and Discipline Inspection Commissions set a precedent of 'investigating people beyond their authority,' it would be equivalent to breaking the balance of power among the top brass.

If they could investigate Yes beyond their authority today, they could use other excuses tomorrow to point the investigative spearhead at other high-level officials.

These people in high positions would inevitably band together to counterattack. They would try every means to seize this handle and launch a joint attack, forcing Yan Zheng and Zheng Kang to step down.

Even if the two were only transferred away from their core positions, they would never be allowed to remain in key units like the Military Law Department or the Military Discipline Inspection Commission, which held the great powers of discipline, supervision, and judgment.

Once it reached that state, let alone dealing with Yes, even the already settled case against Yale might face unexpected complications. All previous investigation results would go down the drain.

After Yan Zheng finished speaking, the office fell into silence once more. Zheng Kang also lowered his head with a heavy expression, clearly in deep agreement with this helpless reality yet powerless to change it.