Chapter 12: Duan Yu’s Suspicion—We Have a Traitor!

Chapter Twelve: Duan Yu’s Suspicion—We Have a Mole!

South District of University City, Power Distribution Center.

It was precisely the end of the workday, and groups of people were walking toward the exit.

“Director, my internship ID was definitely in my jacket pocket before, but I don’t know when it disappeared...” The young intern girl looked a little embarrassed as she spoke to Director Huang Tao.

She had only been interning for a few days, and now she’d lost her ID card—surely this would leave a bad impression on the leaders.

But she had been careful to keep it safe!

She could only chalk it up to bad luck.

“Go to the personnel office to get a replacement. Young people need to be more careful with their tasks,” Huang Tao sighed, gazing at the freshly graduated college student before him. His tone was earnest and instructive.

“If you work here long enough and rise to a leadership position, the biggest fear is being careless with your duties, which can seriously affect your future prospects.”

“The reason I’ve made it to this position at the Power Distribution Center is because I haven’t had a single incident in all these years.”

As the two spoke, they were completely unaware that the scrolling comments were rolling across their faces.

[Hahaha, Director Huang right now looks like an old general on stage, full of flags…]

[Feeling sorry for the girl for a second.]

[Well, it’s not their fault—after all, how could ordinary people anticipate Su Chen’s methods?]

[But the experts are almost here now; they might find some clues from the scene Su Chen left. This is their area of expertise.]

[True, maybe the real confrontation is only just beginning.]

At that moment.

The main door of the Power Distribution Center lobby was pushed open.

A group of black-clad crew members from the live broadcast team led the way inside.

Following closely behind was the special investigative team, with Duan Yu at the forefront, walking fastest, trailed by veteran detective Cui Liwan, psychological expert Bai Su, and forensic pathologist Qin Ming, side by side.

The “Manhunt Live” production team was all here?!

So many experts coming together—no prior notice at all—this must have been a spontaneous decision.

Seeing this, Director Huang Tao immediately sensed trouble.

He stepped forward and asked with some confusion, “May I ask if you need our cooperation for something?”

The sudden change in the lobby’s atmosphere drew attention from others.

Some employees had already stepped outside but turned back curiously to see what was happening.

Duan Yu rubbed his forehead, sighed, and said to Huang Tao, “Old Huang, your place was just... bombed!”

“Bombed?!”

As soon as those words were spoken, murmurs quickly filled the lobby.

Huang Tao’s whole body trembled.

Then he realized it wasn’t a real explosion but rather the killer’s attack within the live broadcast show.

“How is that possible?” Huang Tao said in disbelief.

“Could it be that the killer planted a bomb right here in the lobby?”

A heavy silence fell across the room.

Huang Tao’s expression stiffened.

“Surely the killer wouldn’t have planted a bomb in one of the building’s subzones...”

Seeing that the experts still didn’t nod, his heart sank.

Cyber police expert Duan Yu stepped forward, patted Huang Tao’s shoulder, and shook his head slightly.

“Old Huang, the bomb was actually placed directly on the power distribution box of the surveillance system!”

Boom!

Huang Tao felt as if a thunderclap had exploded in his head!

Their organization was managed with extreme strictness—everyone had to pass multiple layers of authentication and security checks from the lobby to any department.

The power distribution boxes for each system were located deep within the department.

If the killer could plant a bomb there, it was as if he had struck at Huang Tao’s very home base.

He couldn’t believe it, but with so many experts arriving together, he had no choice but to accept it.

“Please come with me; I’ll take you to the monitoring power distribution department!”

Huang Tao immediately grew serious.

This was no trivial matter, and it likely revealed major security vulnerabilities at the center.

He quickly understood the experts’ intent, beckoned to them, and led the way to the elevator.

After taking a few steps, Huang Tao suddenly remembered something and turned to look at the intern girl, who was still stunned nearby.

“You said you lost your internship ID this afternoon? You should come along too!”

...

Fourth Floor, Monitoring System Power Distribution Center.

When Huang Tao and the others put on shoe covers and entered the room, they saw a bottle of pale brown liquid on the power distribution box and gasped in shock.

“This... this is...”

Huang Tao’s face turned pale.

He had assumed the production team was just a variety show using props.

But to think it was so real and intense!

Old detective Cui Liwan stepped forward, crouched down, and examined the liquid carefully, frowning deeply.

“This isn’t a fake. The color, smell, and viscosity all clearly indicate this is the real deal—a whole bottle of nitroglycerin.”

Duan Yu then brought a small device close to a tiny mechanism next to the liquid container.

He immediately recognized it as a vibrator.

The probe of the device neared it, then suddenly an alarm sounded.

“There are traces of activation; it can cause the vibration needed for detonation.”

Duan Yu put the device away.

Behind him, Huang Tao and the intern girl felt as if their blood had stopped flowing.

“You mean this thing...”

“Yes, this is not a fake bomb.”

Old detective Cui Liwan’s expression was graver than ever.

“As long as the vibrator is attached to the bottle, it can cause a real explosion.”

“That killer... he actually pulled it off.”

“We should be thankful this is just a variety show, not a real-life event.”

After these words, the entire room fell into silence.

In the live broadcast room, comments drifted by slowly.

[Thinking about it carefully, it’s really terrifying, because Su Chen simulated an actual crime.]

[If he had any intent, he could have caused major infrastructure damage or even casualties.]

[On the other hand, I admire Su Chen—knowing he had such capability, he still lived lawfully all these years; that takes great inner strength.]

[After tonight’s broadcast, major institutions nationwide will probably upgrade their security measures!]

[In other words, Su Chen exposed the existing loopholes in society so we can fix them in time. Maybe that’s the true meaning of this show.]

At the scene.

Qin Ming pushed up his glasses, and a fiery gleam flashed in his eyes behind the lenses.

“I have to say, the killer’s scene this time is somewhat of a show-off—he’s issuing a challenge to us.”

As a master of deduction, he relished such challenges.

These experts were no ordinary people.

Faced with such a scene, they quickly got into gear and began analyzing rapidly.

“This is a high-difficulty crime, with a showy element. It shows the killer is very high-profile and clearly wants to challenge us. The chances of a second crime are very high.”

Psychological expert Bai Su said, “We must prepare for a series of connected crimes. The killer will likely continue to provoke us. This variety show is going to get busy.”

The others agreed with this assessment.

“The likely range for the killer’s next crime is basically confirmed.”

Veteran detective Cui Liwan continued his analysis.

“The purpose of blowing up the surveillance was to ensure there were no cameras interfering during his next crime. The power distribution box here mainly supplies electricity to Jinling University, the University City commercial street, and the snack city.”

“Therefore, the next crime will most likely occur in one of these locations.”

[Whoa, the experts are really getting serious. I have a feeling the upcoming battle will be intense!]

[These people are quite something—within such a short time, they’ve sorted through Su Chen’s clues, and their deductions closely match what we see with our omniscient perspective.]

[But now Su Chen is operating in the shadows while they are in the open. No matter how good their reasoning, there’s a time lag. Su Chen is probably already moving on to his next step.]

[It depends on whether they can catch up—this is a race between crime and investigation!]

At that moment.

Duan Yu, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke.

He did not follow Cui Liwan’s line of thought but instead presented a weighty new deduction.

“The killer’s actions are too targeted. I find that strange.”

“Just today during the day, we were discussing our plans in the office. Right after I proposed establishing a surveillance recognition system—Sky Net—the monitoring power distribution center was immediately attacked by the killer. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.”

As soon as he spoke, all eyes present locked onto Duan Yu.

Forensic pathologist Qin Ming’s expression shifted.

“You’re saying...”

Duan Yu nodded decisively.

“We can’t rule out the possibility that the killer has infiltrated our police system and overheard our conversation!”