lcionline Chapter 56 "The Leaker"
Chapter 56 "The Leaker"
"According to the Emergency Response Regulations of the Abnormal Management Bureau and the confidential document No. 6539-49 recently issued by the General Administration, the investigation operation of the Yuanguangxing Branch should be subject to the full participation and supervision of the Chengmingxing Branch."
Xue Zijing looked directly into Lance's eyes, but the latter looked away without saying a word, tacitly agreeing.
The primary responsibility for this incident lies with the Farlight Star Branch Bureau for leaking information. Under these circumstances, the entire star system branch bureau level will be subject to strict scrutiny.
In other words, from the perspective of the General Administration, before the whole story of the incident was fully investigated, the Yuanguangxing Branch had already been labeled as a "crisis of trust".
Who can guarantee that all the leakers have been apprehended? Who can guarantee that there are no other hidden dangers within the branch office?
Who can guarantee that the information transmitted from the Yuanguangxing branch is accurate and trustworthy?
Generally, in the event of such a major incident, the General Administration will designate the nearest branch office in another star system to conduct an investigation.
Chengmingxing Branch is not only the closest to Yuanguangxing Branch, but the two are also strongly related in the incident of the loss of the [Crack]
Therefore, as Xue Zijing said, the Chengmingxing Branch was able to participate in and supervise the investigation activities of the Yuanguangxing Branch.
After applying pressure to Lance, Xue Zijing's expression changed, and he put on a friendly smile as he looked at Cheng Xu:
"Xiao Cheng, Director Ke Bo asked me to tell you not to feel too much pressure, just do your best."
"My team and I will provide support and assistance as needed."
These words were ostensibly addressed to Cheng Xu, but were actually meant for Lance Li's ears—the Chengming Star Branch had dispatched an elite combat team to ensure the smooth progress of the investigation.
Xue Zijing didn't believe that the ultimate anomaly in front of him would need his so-called help if it got serious.
Lance looked at Cheng Xu with a complex expression in his eyes.
Xue Zijing's statement can be understood as Cheng Mingxing's side taking the lead entirely on this young man in this incident.
Even Xue Zijing, the head of the Special Operations Division of the Chengming Star Branch, was merely an assistant to him.
Who exactly is this young man?
Cheng Xu ignored the other two's inner thoughts. After a moment's thought, he took out a transparent tablet and began to write and draw on it, sorting out the timeline and logical relationships of the entire incident.
"The most urgent and core objective for both branches right now is to find the critical-level anomaly, the rift mark, that was taken away as soon as possible."
"Based on the existing clues, there are roughly two lines of inquiry we can explore further to find the missing anomaly."
"The first task, which is what I need to do right now, is to participate in investigating the leak of information from Yuanguangxing."
"The Purge Bureau's adjudicators were able to precisely attack the transport convoy only after obtaining inside information, and if we could catch the source of the leak, we might be able to trace the adjudicators' whereabouts."
"The second task is what Director Lance just mentioned: to clean up and inspect the battlefield where the transport ship was attacked, and to simulate and recreate the situation at that time."
"Starting from the situation at the scene of the attack, look for clues that may point to the arbiter."
Considering that he was currently in the Yuanguangxing branch, Cheng Xu decided from the beginning to start by investigating the information leak and dig deeper along that line.
"Director Lance, you said you've taken the relevant personnel into custody and are currently interrogating them?"
Lance nodded:
"After the incident, because the arbitrator's attack was so precise that it didn't seem like a coincidence, both sides conducted self-examinations immediately."
"During our branch's internal review of information confidentiality, we discovered that some devices showed signs of information leakage."
The information chain surrounding the secret transport of the [Cracks] from the Farlight Star branch will inevitably involve many personnel with knowledge and approval authority.
Before anything goes wrong, this chain of operations may simply be part of these people's daily work.
But now that something has gone wrong, every link in the information chain will inevitably be scrutinized under a magnifying glass.
Ultimately, a problem was found with one of the devices involved in the transmission of classified information.
"Is it convenient for us to go and see the people who are being controlled?" Cheng Xu asked.
Lance was silent for a few seconds, then nodded after a brief consideration: "No problem. I'll report to the branch office leadership."
Ten minutes later, Cheng Xu and Xue Zijing were greeted by Lance, who had returned.
"Gentlemen, please follow me."
Cheng Xu followed behind him, navigating through the complex passageways within the branch office and passing through five gates that verified identity and authority, finally arriving at a quiet room.
It's called a quiet room, but it's actually a special room used for solitary confinement and internal interrogation. The entire room is surrounded by special metal to prevent detection, except for one wall with a one-way mirror.
Through the glass, Cheng Xu could see what was happening inside the interrogation room, but those inside could not see outside.
What came into Cheng Xu's view was a middle-aged man with disheveled hair and a dejected expression.
"Was he the one who leaked the information?"
Upon seeing the man's face, Xue Zijing showed obvious astonishment.
"Now you should know why I'm reluctant to bring this up," Lance said, his face grave.
"Who is this?"
Cheng Xu turned to look at the two men. Judging from their reactions, the person locked in the interrogation room was probably no ordinary person.
Xue Zijing sighed: "Harlan, the director of the Anomaly Control Section 1 of the Yuanguang Star Branch."
Is he in the same position as Director Hu?
Now Cheng Xu finally understood why Xue Zijing and Lance Li's attitudes were so strange. The head of the Anomaly Control Section 1 was an important position in any star system branch office; the next step up was the branch office's leadership team.
How could someone in such a high position and with such power be a leaker?
"I have a very good relationship with him. Harlan saved my life during a previous operation."
Lance's voice was also muffled: "If we're talking about who in our branch is least likely to leak information, it's Harlan. But it was precisely his office equipment that was found to have an unusual information leak."
Looking at Lance's expression, Cheng Xu felt a mix of emotions.
If someone told me that Director Hu Zhou betrayed the Anomaly Management Bureau, leaking crucial information to the Purge Bureau, leading to the loss of the anomaly and the annihilation of the entire fleet...
He certainly wouldn't believe that.
"Did Director Harlan say anything during the interrogation? Did he admit anything?"
Cheng Xu sought more information from Lance.
"He insisted that he knew nothing about it. The precinct used various lie detector tests, including emotion detection and brainwave reading, but none of them showed that Harlan was lying."
Looking at Harlan, who was in a dejected state in the interrogation room, Cheng Xu considered two possibilities.
One possibility is that Harlan was not lying and that the leak had nothing to do with him.
Another possibility is that Harlan is a high-ranking spy from the Purge Bureau who infiltrated the Bureau of Anomalies, and is professionally trained to perfectly handle interrogations and lie detector tests conducted by the branch office.