Chapter 9: Step 1_1

Jiang Yu finally received the package from Shi Qiang, which contained a detector the size of a mobile phone and handwritten instructions by Shi Qiang.

In the past few days, he had pondered over and over, and ultimately decided to take the risk and try to steal the "Poison Apple Project." Otherwise, who knew how long it would be until he gained the clearance to learn about the project.

He turned on the detector as Shi Qiang instructed and, as usual, entered the office building at a calm and steady pace.

Through observations over the past few days, Jiang Yu noticed that there were surveillance cameras in the lobby, staircases, and elevators, but none elsewhere, which was a vulnerability that could be exploited.

Now, as long as he could confirm that no surveillance had been secretly installed in Kong Xiang's office, he could start the next step of his plan.

As was his routine, he came to Teacher Kong's office and only after closing the door did he speak in a low voice, "Teacher Kong, I ran into Ye Wenjie this morning, and she suddenly said she wanted me to be her assistant."

Kong Xiang smiled, "That's a good thing!"

He said excitedly, "You're quite clever, my boy. Our leader Evans has sent so many of his elite subordinates, and they haven't been able to infiltrate the Redemptionist faction. I didn't expect that in just two weeks, you would gain the 'Commander's' trust!"

Jiang Yu smiled, "It's all thanks to Teacher Kong's arrangements that I had this opportunity."

This flattery seemed to please Kong Xiang, "That's one aspect, but more importantly, from the leader down to the ordinary members, everyone is too eager and doesn't understand the importance of calmness!

"Just like Jiang Shuo, nobody in the world is better than him, always fighting and killing!"

Jiang Yu seized the opportunity to say, "What Jiang Shuo is doing is very dangerous. I would suggest that Teacher Kong minimizes contact with him."

Kong Xiang nodded, "I'm well aware of this. From the beginning, I've had little to do with Jiang Shuo."

He sighed deeply, "My greatest fear is that he will expose our organization to the upper echelons of humanity too soon, which will affect our entire plan."

Jiang Yu was about to casually ask how the "Poison Apple Project" was going,

But then he felt that asking outright might seem too deliberate, so he didn't.

Jiang Yu's gaze then turned towards the bookcase, "The new issue of 'Sociological Studies' has arrived."

Pointing at Jiang Yu, Teacher Kong said, "You've got sharp eyes, lad."

With that, he got up to fetch the journal for Jiang Yu, and Jiang Yu took this chance to look around the bookcase area, which was a key area he needed to check.

Then, under the pretense of reading, Jiang Yu made his way around the office's reception area.

Over an hour later, Jiang Yu finally left Kong Xiang's office.

He briskly walked to a stall in the restroom and checked the results of the detector.

As Jiang Yu had anticipated, there were no wireless bugs or surveillance devices in Kong Xiang's office.

As far as Jiang Yu knew, amongst the three major leaders of the Adventist faction domestically, Kong Xiang was the most low-profile one, rarely appearing in public and mostly providing only academic and resource support.

As he got to know Kong Xiang better, Jiang Yu discovered that Kong Xiang was somewhat arrogant, thinking his stealth was perfect, and thus unlikely to have made any defensive arrangements.

Having confirmed this, the next phase of his operation could begin.

He glanced at his Deception Points, which had already exceeded twelve hundred.

Most of these points came from the Trisolarans, with a part from the residents of the building where Ye Wenjie resided.

Jiang Yu almost felt guilty deceiving the Trisolarans; they were just too gullible, believing anything Jiang Yu said.

In recent days, Jiang Yu would mutter softly every now and then, "I have absolute loyalty to the Master,"

or, "I wholeheartedly support the Master's occupation of the Solar System."

As long as he was under Sophon's surveillance, he was sure to harvest a wave of Deception Points.

Initially, Jiang Yu had used this method to roughly deduce Sophon's monitoring schedule, so the abundance of Deception Points was an unexpected bonus.

Jiang Yu first used a thousand Deception Points to purchase "Three Minutes of Hacking into Sophon's Surveillance System," and then chose the following morning to carry out the first step of his operation.

The choice of the morning time was made because Jiang Yu had found that Sophon was basically monitoring him in the afternoons, so the morning was a more reliable time slot.

After quickly devising a plan, Jiang Yu called Shi Qiang to ask for his cooperation with his action the next day.

...

Shi Qiang had plastered all the documents on one wall of his house and was studying the materials while muttering to himself and smoking a cigarette.

His wife stumbled in and got a shock, "Why have you brought work home as well?"

Shi Qiang, somewhat irritable, said, "Women should stay out of men's business!"

After making him a cup of tea, his wife retorted with some annoyance, "Smoke less, drink more water!"

"I know, I know, just go busy yourself!" Shi Qiang waved his hand. He had been following Pan Han these past few days and had discovered that he was making contacts with some wealthy individuals.

Shi Qiang could vaguely sense that Pan Han was up to something, but he had no clue what the plan exactly was.

Just as he pondered this, his phone rang. It was Chang Weisi, "I only found out you'd been suspended when I arrived at your station!"

Chang Weisi laughed heartily as if he'd heard a hilarious joke.

Shi Qiang said, "The boss has water on the brain; what can I do about that?"

"Nonsense!" Chang Weisi retorted, "Director Liao did this to protect you from environmentalists' attacks."

He paused, then added, "Come to the station, I'm waiting for you in Director Liao's office."

After hanging up the phone, Shi Qiang extinguished his cigarette and began humming a tune while he tidied up the documents on the wall.

Packing the documents into his backpack, Shi Qiang called out to his wife in the kitchen, "I'm stepping out for a bit, I'll have dinner outside."

His wife came out of the kitchen with the groceries in hand, "Haven't you been suspended?"

While putting on his shoes, Shi Qiang replied, "Does the Earth stop spinning when the sun sets?"

His wife complained, "Spin! As if the Earth spins just for you!"

Shi Qiang was in a good mood and didn't argue with his wife. He quickly drove to the police station.

Chang Weisi was casually chatting with Director Liao on the sofa when Shi Qiang arrived. Chang Weisi said to Director Liao, "I need to transfer Officer Shi Qiang to the operation center."

Director Liao smiled, "No problem, the higher-ups have been notified."

Shi Qiang grinned and said, "Leaders, I'm still suspended though, how can I be transferred?"

Director Liao immediately looked embarrassed, the smile on his face vanishing without a trace.

Chang Weisi gave a look of exasperation, "With your attitude, you'll never be more than a captain even if you spend a hundred years in the police force."

"Never mind being a captain or not, as long as I feel good inside first," Shi Qiang laughed. "It's not like I should feel frustrated when I'm wrong and still frustrated when I'm right!"

Chang Weisi cut him off, "Alright, have you said enough?"

At that moment, Shi Qiang's phone rang again, a call from Jiang Yu. He immediately made a silent gesture and answered seriously, "Hello, yes, okay, don't worry, I'll cooperate."

Chang Weisi then said to Director Liao, "Well, then I'm taking him with me."

Director Liao, eager to get rid of Shi Qiang like one would a plague, couldn't wait to send him off.

Only after Chang Weisi took Shi Qiang to his car did he ask quietly, "What's the matter?"

Shi Qiang replied, "My informant is about to attempt stealing a classified document, and it needs my cooperation."

"Make sure he takes great care and stays well-hidden," Chang Weisi sighed. "He is just too important to us."

The operation center knew far too little about the enemy, far too little. The informant in Shi Qiang's hand was definitely a breakthrough.