Chapter 30: The Electronic Murder Weapon Reappears

by cnwebnovels

The three items were normal projects. On the surface, none threatened anyone.

Du Changfeng called me partly to help find who’d harmed him and prevent it happening again. Partly to pull me back into the group.

As for my relationship with Du Xinlang, anyone with eyes understood. It was just that I had not sorted out my own thinking, so I had never intended to return to the group.

Saving Du Changfeng’s life accidentally raised his trust to its peak. From Du Xinlang’s hints, her father wanted me to inherit his business now.

Absolutely not something I wanted.

My business management skills weren’t remotely sufficient. And an outsider inheriting the Du family enterprise would require formal status.

I didn’t want to get married.

I hadn’t found Grandma yet.

Besides, my future would be filled with crises. Starting a family too early would shackle me and endanger everyone around me.

Each agenda item had a project team.

Since the meeting was high-level decision-making only, no technical details, the project leads weren’t present.

First item: a state-funded vertical project, developed by the group research institute. The meeting just introduced progress and provided decision support for problems. Nothing difficult.

Second item: a horizontal project funded by CWP, involving highly classified content. The board made project decisions only, no technical discussion.

Third item: the real focus. A self-developed project, investment entirely company-funded.

The project had been proposed because of an encounter Chairman Du once had.

A UFO.

Yes. Unidentified flying object.

On a business trip, Du Changfeng personally saw an extremely clear UFO. Not one—five. Flight paths and speed beyond human capability.

For hundreds of years, countless UFO sightings worldwide, all seemingly avoiding humans. Either blurry, too distant, or too fast to capture clearly.

Du Changfeng’s encounter was accidental.

The plane he was on should not have encountered cumulonimbus clouds in the stratosphere, but for some reason it entered a thick cloud layer. Violent jolting followed, then a rapid descent, just in time to meet the UFOs flying over from behind at close range. Du Changfeng happened to have his phone open and snapped a picture.

Later he mentioned it to technical staff, sparking enormous interest.

Based on Chairman Du’s photos, after data analysis, technical staff confirmed: intelligent flying craft, definitely not natural.

Decoding intelligence was Du Group business already.

The Du Group possessed original advanced algorithms. Before the Human–Machine War, they’d been applied to Malken’s AI. Later hijacked by AI robots, causing tremendous disaster. Now technical staff wanted to use the algorithms to develop the Deep-Space Intelligence Detector. They’d proposed a complete technical solution.

To avoid AI hijacking again, the technical core adopted human genetic augmentation.

As IT architect, Xuanhong understood the algorithm engineers’ route. If realized, this would change humanity’s understanding of space, solve centuries-old UFO mysteries. If paired with CWP’s research into cracking integrated-component replication technology, it could very likely change humanity’s mode of travel and lay a foundation for fully understanding outer space.

But as soon as the item was proposed, three people led by Vice Chairman Cai Xueli fiercely opposed. He believed it was a bottomless pit, would likely be rejected by CWP. Most importantly, they couldn’t retread the AI disaster path.

They rejected the safety measures technical staff proposed.

Fierce argument around the topic.

I didn’t participate. Instead, using my new penetrating-wave modulation, I saw a secret directly inside Cai Xueli.

Someone had planted a gu in him. Not a witchcraft insect but a microelectronic device, like the “electronic worm” in Du Changfeng.

I could vaguely see it installed on a node of Cai Xueli’s neural center. He’d been controlled. What he said didn’t represent the real Cai Xueli.

If the “electronic worm” was meant to kill Du Changfeng, this electronic gu was meant to control Cai Xueli. Together, someone was trying to control the executive level.

Once I understood that, the discussion was already meaningless.

When everyone had argued enough, Du Changfeng turned to me for my opinion.

As former IT core architect, this project was technically my expertise. I had authority.

But I didn’t explain from that angle. No point.

I stood and walked straight to Cai Xueli. I told him to look at me, then said, “I know you’re controlling Cai Xueli. Want to talk to me directly? Otherwise I’ll remove the electronic gu.”

Everyone present looked stunned. No idea what I meant.

I continued: “Schemes carried out behind people’s backs are petty tricks in the end. You’ve already been exposed and still won’t show yourself? Why not sit down and talk properly?”

Cai Xueli’s expression changed drastically, his tone becoming someone else’s. Solemn: “I knew leaving you alive would be trouble. Fine. Du Changfeng’s proposal can’t be adopted. The Deep-Space Intelligence Detector will directly touch existences you cannot afford to provoke and bring the group an even greater danger of annihilation. As ordinary people, don’t do things beyond your capability. This is our final warning. There won’t be another.”

I said, “Then who are you? Can we meet?”

Cai Xueli burst out laughing. “Hahaha. Little guy, you’re not qualified yet. When you are, you’ll naturally see us.”

Then his head tilted and he passed out.

People stood nervously.

The directors were shrewd. They immediately guessed what happened and looked to me for more explanation.

I signaled everyone to sit. I returned to my seat and addressed Du Changfeng and the others: “Chairman Du, directors and leaders—as the group’s former architect, my business opinion first. From technical and economic perspectives, this is a good project. Implementation shouldn’t be a problem. It would benefit the country, the people, and the enterprise. Technically feasible, outcome achievable. But as specially invited representative, I recommend suspending this project for now.”

Those who’d opposed alongside Cai Xueli clearly relaxed.

I continued: “You all saw. Vice Chairman Cai has had an electronic gu planted in him and is being controlled. Everything he said and every position he expressed just now represented that controller. I have reason to suspect that whoever planted the electronic worm in Chairman Du should also be one of them. To control the group, they tried to kill Chairman Du on one hand, while using the electronic gu to control Vice Chairman Cai on the other. Their ultimate goal is to seize control of the group’s decision-making level.”

Everyone began discussing it at once.

Du Changfeng asked, “Do you know what kind of people they are?”

Everyone stopped and looked at me. They all wanted to know.

I said, “I don’t know exactly who or where they are. But I may have come into contact with them recently. My guess is that they are people with higher intelligence and methods than ours. Their level of existence is higher. Maybe they live among us. Maybe they live somewhere we can’t see. In short, to them, we really are ordinary people. And they are absolutely not ordinary.”

I was certain because I’d contacted invisible people at Tansong Temple who called themselves elite people. No physical form—or not in our spacetime—so we couldn’t sense them. Yet they could affect us one-way.

Terrifying.

Who planted the gu and planned to harm Du Changfeng might not be elite people. Might be the mysterious Soul Hunters. Either way, beyond ordinary people existed beings ordinary people couldn’t afford to provoke.

Like humans and animals. Animals can’t understand humans, but humans understand animals completely and hold life-and-death power.

If my guess was right, the ones controlling police, mobilizing Sweepers, sending invisible people to kill me—also them. That level of power explained everything.

The board adopted my suggestion and shelved the third project.

As for Cai Xueli’s electronic gu, I was too lazy to remove it. Exposed already—removing it or not made no difference. No obligation to help him.

That evening at Du Changfeng’s villa, Du Xinlang had them prepare a full table of mountain delicacies and seafood. Everyone gathered like family, warm and lively.

But I thought of Grandma. I didn’t know if she was doing well.

Seeing my distraction, Du Xinlang came to chat. Du Changfeng, considerate as always, suggested searching for her. He could send specialists.

I’d talked with them before about Grandma. They were curious about this mysterious figure. But I felt Gu Qiutang had reason to refuse.

I knew nothing about what the elite people were.

I couldn’t even handle the Sweepers yet. Even if I found Grandma, escaping Sweeper pursuit would be difficult.

Just when I thought the Du Group should return to normal and everything should settle back into peace, a reckless, hotheaded figure barged into the Du family villa and stirred up a disturbance that never should have happened.