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Chapter 504: Taking the Initiative (Part 1)
🕑 Added 2023-08-25 07:29:56 +0000 UTCTransformers Begin : Table of Content/Chapter List
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"Some useful clues? Project them out..."
Sun Cheng knew that the bar Revenge mentioned was indeed the one called "Danube Riverside" located in the Ningjiang District.
Ever since he discovered someone was tracking Ye Qi, who had gone out for procurement over half a month ago, he immediately initiated reverse tracking. The investigation eventually led to the "Danube Riverside" bar.
After a period of surveillance, despite the cautious behavior of the other party, they had not revealed any suspicious activities.
However, their professionalism was to such an extent that even Revenge, a mechanical being capable of infiltrating any port of Earth's internet, couldn't find much useful information. Their extreme caution revealed a lot about them.
In order to quickly ascertain their identities, Sun Cheng released some mosquito-like micro-trackers.
In the "Transformers Universe," these micro-trackers were specialized devices given to low-ranking scouts in the "Decepticon Legion." Due to their extremely low manufacturing cost, they were essentially disposable tools.
When Sun Cheng first arrived in this parallel world with his mechanical body, he had these devices with him.
Anticipating their potential utility in the Real World, he had studied them in detail.
Now, the mosquito-like micro-trackers that were sent to monitor the "Danube Riverside" bar were creations of his own hands, no longer disposable tools.
Imitating the structure of a bee's hive, Sun Cheng designed an elaborate terminal control system. It consisted of a control terminal named 'Mosquito Nest,' four sub-nests, a large signal receiving station, multiple micro information reception base stations, and hundreds of mosquito-like micro-trackers.
Currently, the 'Mosquito Nest' control terminal and a large signal receiving station were situated within Base One at Tiger King Ridge. One sub-nest and a micro signal receiving base station were placed at the headquarters of the "Cybertron Technology Group," used for overseeing subordinates, investigating, and guarding against potential corporate espionage. Another sub-nest and micro signal receiving base station were located in the Villa, managed and operated by Revenge on a daily basis to ensure the safety of Sun Cheng, Ye Qi, and the surroundings of the Villa.
Upon discovering the tracking of Ye Qi, Revenge had been commanded to release two sets of micro-trackers. They took turns to surveil the "Danube Riverside" bar, investigating its secrets.
Finally, there was a breakthrough!
Dual beams of light projected from Revenge's eyes, quickly displaying video clips on the glass wall in front of him.
Inside the somewhat noisy bar, three young men of East Asian descent sat in a corner of the "Danube Riverside" bar that Sun Cheng had already thoroughly mapped out. They seemed like ordinary friends out for a drink and enjoyment, speaking in low voices over a table separated by a half-wall of glass.
The three seemed unaware of the faint buzzing of insects around them, masked by the cacophony of the bar.
And so, a segment of their meeting was captured on video.
"...How's your end?"
"...About the same. The target's life is very routine. The company's residence is at first-tier, but I haven't gained anything on my side... I'm in the process of arranging for someone to install a few gadgets at the Target Residence... How about you?"
"The same... There's no issue with the financial transactions of their company... However, we're going to continue tracing through the bank records. But the technology side got baffled quickly. We found over a hundred and forty shell companies associated with the funds, which have been laundered in the stock market, futures market, and even the Bitcoin market. The money has changed hands at least three times in offshore jurisdictions. We can't trace the source of the funds... Very professional approach and team..."
"So, what's the boss's take on this?"
"Continue the investigation... There's considerable suspicion regarding the case involving their company... The exit records confirm that he visited the island..."
"True, our company has also set its sights on that. Although it's still unclear what he gained on the island, the fact that the company dispatched four batches of people within two months for this indicates it's not simple..."
"Recently, we managed to place some of our people in their ranks. It might take a while, but we should have some results soon..."
The three individuals in the video were obviously cautious. They spoke softly and left after a brief discussion of less than five minutes, one after the other.
In the impressions captured by the micro-trackers, Sun Cheng found all three men familiar. Even though they hadn't tracked Ye Qi, they had frequently appeared at the "Danube Riverside" bar over the past half month, being recorded by the trackers on numerous occasions.
Sun Cheng was still unable to identify one of them.
Unfortunately, the legal field in his country had been rapidly occupied and dominated by elites who had returned from Europe and America after the founding of the Republic. This field could be considered one of the most Westernized areas in the country.
In recent years, with the constant influx of Western influences, he wouldn't even mention the increasing number of do-gooders in the domestic legal circles advocating for the abolition of the death penalty. They had even emulated Europe and America by establishing legislation on human rights, democracy, privacy, and more, limiting the central government's power.
This group of guys failed to realize that the Old Europe they were emulating had turned itself into quite a mess, balancing heaven and hell equally.
Thanks to them, a Privacy Bill was introduced in the country seven years ago, stipulating that even the government needed local parliamentary approval to install surveillance devices in public places, and such installations were subject to public scrutiny.
Private purchase and use of surveillance devices were even more strictly regulated, requiring government approval and potentially leading to cases of invasion of privacy by family members when used within one's own home.
This ambivalent Privacy Bill also restricted the government and corporations from disclosing personal information without the consent of the parties involved.
Undoubtedly, this greatly increased the difficulty of Sun Cheng's investigation. Even with Decepticons, such mechanical beings, at his disposal, they were helpless against the fact that the targets' information simply didn't exist online.
Fortunately, they hadn't been entirely unsuccessful over the past half month.
The identities of the other two individuals had been determined. The slightly chubby, square-faced man was named "Liu Yiqing." The information available showed he was the owner of the "Danube Riverside" bar. He was 37 years old and owned a trading company engaged in the import and export of alcoholic beverages, registered for over fifteen years. However, there wasn't much else to be found.
The other man, a bit taller and thinner, was named "Chen Yin." He was 41 years old, the manager of the "Danube Riverside" bar, and the person Sun Cheng had encountered the most.
Chen Yin had more information available online compared to the owner. He had attended the "Qing'an Foreign Language Institute" in his earlier years, had worked in several foreign trade companies for over a decade after graduation, and only joined the "Danube Riverside" bar as the manager three years ago.
As the not-so-lengthy video played repeatedly, some of the doubts and speculations in Sun Cheng's mind were finally answered.
"... There's no mistake. The people tracking Ye Qi should be from our nation. However, we still can't confirm whether they belong to the National Security or foreign-related departments..."
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 505: Taking the Initiative (Part 1)
