Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 164: The Vanished Boyfriend is Here Again!

The mastermind behind Hu Chunjin's murder has been identified: it's Yang Baocai, his daughter's boyfriend.

Yang Baocai had a clear goal: to approach and try to control Hu Ruoxi through emotional deception in order to obtain Dadi Company's secrets.

However, after failing to obtain technical information, they planned to eliminate Hu Chunjin, who could have been an obstacle, paving the way for subsequent espionage activities.

However, Yang Baocai is not in the country.

……

The first group, led by Jiang Yongsheng, focused its main efforts on the export data of rare earth products of Dadi Company in recent years.

They retrieved a large amount of data, including customs declarations, logistics documents, and financial records, and conducted cross-referencing and analysis.

Jiang Yongsheng has many years of experience in counter-espionage work and is very sensitive to numbers and processes.

He noted that a batch of primary rare earth oxides exported to Southeast Asia's Xincheng Technology Company had several irregularities in its production process.

First, there's the price. The declared price of this batch of goods was slightly lower than the average international market price for the same period, but it was still within a reasonable fluctuation range and not particularly noteworthy.

However, a horizontal comparison of export data from different batches revealed that the prices of all goods exported to Xincheng Technology were always at the lower end of the company's export price range. It was as if the prices had been carefully calculated to ensure that they were not too low to arouse suspicion, while also ensuring that Xincheng Technology could obtain a stable profit margin.

Secondly, there's the logistics route. This batch of goods was transported from Jiangzhou by rail to port cities on the southeast coast, and then loaded onto ships for sea travel, which seems normal.

However, a suspicious point was found in the port's internal operation logs and monitoring records of some areas: the containers carrying this batch of goods had records of being moved separately in the port yard.

In other words, a container may have one number when it enters the port, but it may have a different number when it leaves the port, although the appearance of the container may be similar.

Such an operation is theoretically possible in a busy port, but combined with other suspicious points, it seems somewhat deliberate.

The most crucial factor is the final destination of the goods.

According to information obtained through special channels, the actual controller of Xincheng Technology has a complex background and is associated with an offshore company registered in the British Virgin Islands that is suspected of having a Western military industry background.

While this batch of rare earth elements is nominally intended for the manufacture of electronic products, primary rare earth oxides require complex purification before they can be used in high-tech fields, raising serious questions about whether their end users are as stated in the declaration.

Jiang Yongsheng judged that the problem likely lay in the domestic logistics and customs clearance process, where someone abused their power to carry out a fraudulent substitution at the port.

The real target products may be high-purity rare earth materials or specific rare metals that are strictly controlled, mixed in with ordinary goods, or directly switched and transported away.

Who has the ability to coordinate production, quality inspection, and warehousing within the company, and to manipulate the port logistics process?

Jiang Yongsheng set his sights on key figures who had the authority to approve sales contracts and coordinate delivery processes.

After reviewing the authorization and procedures, suspicion quickly rose against Zhao Dongcheng, the head of the company's sales department.

Zhao Dongcheng, 45 years old, has worked at Dadi Company for over 20 years, rising from a salesperson to a department head. He is very familiar with sales and logistics processes and is a veteran of the Hu Chunjin era. He remained in his position after the reform of state-owned enterprises.

Jiang Yongsheng did not alert the enemy.

He arranged for his team members to conduct a secret investigation into Zhao Dongcheng's personal and family situation, financial status, and social relationships through external inquiries.

It was discovered that Zhao Dongcheng's son was studying at an expensive private university abroad, his wife had been traveling abroad frequently in the past two years, and Zhao Dongcheng and his family members had added several large-amount financial products and deposits in the past two years, which were significantly different from their normal salary income.

Jiang Yongsheng decided to conduct a secret inspection of the shipment destined for the port.

With the covert cooperation of the port management and the customs anti-smuggling department, they selected a batch of goods that were about to be shipped and whose destination was also Xincheng Technology.

Before the goods were loaded onto the ship, a marked container was moved from the berth under the guise of a routine customs inspection and opened for inspection.

The unpacking process was conducted under strict confidentiality.

The results were shocking: the outer layer of the container was indeed the declared primary rare earth oxide packaging bags, but after prying open the outer bags, packaging bags with different product names and codes were revealed inside.

Rapid on-site testing revealed that the inner cargo was high-purity lanthanum oxide, a strategic resource that is strictly restricted from export by the state.

The perpetrator was caught red-handed!

Zhao Dongcheng was subsequently arrested.

Inside the interrogation room, Zhao Dongcheng initially tried to deny the allegations, claiming he was unaware that the goods had been switched and that the problem might have occurred during the logistics process.

But when Jiang Yongsheng presented his family's unusual financial situation, records of large remittances received by his son's overseas accounts from offshore companies, and footage of his confidants engaging in unusual activities in the yard captured by the port's internal surveillance cameras, Zhao Dongcheng's psychological defenses collapsed.

He confessed that about three years ago, he met a man who claimed to be a Southeast Asian businessman at a business dinner.

The other party initially offered him a large sum of money in exchange for favors in sales, but their demands became increasingly unreasonable, eventually including requests to switch goods and smuggle scarce resources.

The other party promised to pay a huge reward for each successful transaction, which would be directly deposited into their son's overseas account.

The other party also implied that if he did not cooperate, the safety of his son studying abroad could not be guaranteed.

Under coercion and enticement, Zhao Dongcheng gradually slid into the abyss.

He took advantage of his position to collude with certain individuals in the warehousing and quality inspection departments to tamper with product packaging and documents, and then bribed port staff to complete the final switch in the container yard.

His upline was very cautious, communicating only through encrypted one-way communication, and he didn't even know the other party's true identity.

"Do you know what kind of behavior this is, selling out national strategic resources for your own selfish gain?" Jiang Yongsheng questioned sternly.

Zhao Dongcheng slumped in his chair, his face ashen.

Based on Zhao Dongcheng's confession, the task force followed the clues and apprehended several of his accomplices within the company and in the port logistics sector, thus initially cutting off this hidden smuggling route.

Although the overseas contacts directly linked to Zhao Dongcheng have not yet been apprehended, this major breakthrough dealt a heavy blow to the attempts of foreign intelligence agencies to steal my country's strategic resources and opened up a new chapter for Operation Crucible.

……

Wu Zhiyuan and Hu Ruoxi are getting closer and closer.

He could sense that Hu Ruoxi had developed a deep attachment to him.

Although they didn't explicitly reveal their feelings, they both knew the truth.

It's unfair to say that Wu Zhiyuan was just playing around, but he had a bottom line: he couldn't have a real relationship with Hu Ruoxi.

However, he increasingly felt that Hu Ruoxi was unlikely to be a spy.

However, she was a key target for the intelligence organization.

For example, Su Manli tried to get what Hu Ruoxi wanted by cultivating a relationship with her.

That evening, Wu Zhiyuan came to Hu Ruoxi's villa once again.

Wu Zhiyuan remembers clearly that this was his eighth time coming here.

Hu Ruoxi's basement gym and swimming pool became his free workout venue.

Tonight, while he was working out on the equipment, he casually mentioned Ding Zhiyuan.

"Ruoxi, I've recently overheard some people in the industry chatting about your company's former senior expert, I think his surname was Ding, who was fired for leaking confidential information?"

Wu Zhiyuan wiped his sweat with a towel, his tone relaxed, as if he were gossiping.

"You mean Ding Zhiyuan? It seems good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels fast; even you know about it now."

Hu Ruoxi was stretching on the yoga mat next to her when she replied, "Uncle Ding is a veteran who has been with my dad since he started his business. He is a true technical elder of the company."

Without him, the early technological breakthroughs of Dadi Company would not have been so smooth.

He even saved my dad once, pushing him out of the way during a lab accident and getting injured himself in the process.

Wu Zhiyuan asked in surprise, "He also saved your father?"

"Yes, he later made a mistake by taking some experimental data out of the company without authorization. In principle, this is a very serious matter and could be handed over to the judicial authorities."

Hu Ruoxi stood up, walked to the water dispenser to get a glass of water, and then said, "But from a public perspective, Uncle Ding is a hero who has made great contributions to the company."

Personally, he saved my father's life. My father valued loyalty and affection above all else.

So at the time, I strongly advocated handling it internally and dismissing him, as a way of repaying a debt of gratitude and also as a way of repaying a favor on behalf of my father.

I don't want to see him imprisoned in his later years.

Wu Zhiyuan nodded, indicating his understanding: "I see. Ruoxi, you did the right thing. You are loyal and righteous, which is rare."

He said this, but in his heart he thought that this affection had indirectly provided a certain degree of protection for espionage activities without Hu Ruoxi's knowledge.

Just then, Hu Ruoxi's phone, which was lying to the side, suddenly rang.

She didn't answer, thinking it was a spam call, but the phone rang again.

She thought about it for a moment and answered anyway, but after hearing only a sentence or two, she was so surprised that she couldn't speak.

After a long silence, she finally spoke: "Yang Baochai, is that you?"

Wu Zhiyuan was also taken aback.

Unexpectedly, Yang Baocai, who had disappeared for two years, called Hu Ruoxi.

"Where have you been hiding for the past two years? Why have we been completely out of touch?" Hu Ruoxi asked, her feelings complicated.

Wu Zhiyuan knew that although Hu Ruoxi suspected that her father's death was related to Yang Baocai to some extent, it was only a suspicion and there was no evidence.

From Hu Ruoxi's words, it's clear she still has feelings for Yang Baocai. After all, first love is hard to forget, and Hu Ruoxi only had this one relationship.

"...Car accident? Serious injuries?...Why didn't you tell me?...Afraid I'd worry?" Hu Ruoxi's tone held a hint of suspicion, yet also a touch of concern. "...Where are you now?...Jiangzhou? You're back?"

Wu Zhiyuan was even more shocked.

Yang Baocai has come again!

He must have a new mission this time.

Perhaps he thought that killing Hu Chunjin two years ago would be a safe and uneventful outcome, and that he should be able to land safely.

Hu Ruoxi continued the call: "...What? You're coming to my place tonight? Right at the villa entrance? No way?"

Hu Ruoxi hesitated for a moment, but then agreed: "Okay, you can come."