Chapter 5

"Captain Li, what do you make of all this?" As soon as the two from A' country were out of earshot, Sun Yuan couldn't wait to ask.

"What do you mean?" Li Chi feigned ignorance.

"Those two from A' country! Don't you think their arrival is far too convenient?" Sun Yuan fumed.

"Didn't you mention earlier that the quantum processor Zhou Tao is working on might have been stolen from abroad?"

"Ridiculous! Throughout our investigation, we've found no evidence of Zhou Tao ever leaving the country. I had only just begun to suspect he had a quantum processor, and suddenly, these A' country show up claiming their chip is missing and that Zhou Tao is the thief? In my opinion, Alphabet's quantum processor never existed in the first place," Sun Yuan's words came out in a rapid torrent.

"Oh? Then where did Zhou Tao get his hands on this one?" Li Chi asked lazily.

"That..." Sun Yuan was momentarily at a loss for words.

"Whether it's real or not, the fact that we're meeting these A' country means they've paid a hefty price to be here. As for their intentions, it's hard to say—they might truly be here to track down their missing chip, or they could have other motives. Either way, we'll play along for now, but don't let your guard down. The reason I let them investigate on their own was to see if they'd slip up." They had reached the entrance of Building 1. Before stepping into the elevator, Li Chi turned to Sun Yuan and solemnly said, "We need to find time to check in with the Director and get a sense of the situation. Don't say anything to the A' country, and don't wear that murderous expression—it's not like they can't read you. That's it." The elevator dinged, and as the doors opened, Li Chi stepped in. Inside was an elderly woman holding her recently purchased groceries. Sun Yuan sighed, said nothing, and followed him in.

The button for the 13th floor had already been pressed. Li Chi and Sun Yuan exchanged a glance. "Ma'am, where did you buy these eggs? How much per jin?" Li Chi asked in his usual lazy tone.

"The underground supermarket, right downstairs. I don't recall seeing you two around here before," the old lady cast a wary glance at them.

"Oh, we're new tenants, just here to view the apartment on the 13th floor, unit 1307," Li Chi explained.

"Oh... that place has been vacant for a long time. I haven't seen anyone coming or going for a while. The location is decent, though. If you're not satisfied with that one, I could show you some others. I live in 1301," the old lady's demeanor softened.

"Alright, thank you." Li Chi replied with a smile. The elevator arrived at their floor, and they let the old lady exit first before turning left towards 1307.

Li Chi knocked on the door, but there was no answer. He took out a special master key issued by the Capital Police, swiped it across the lock, and the door opened. He leaned against the doorframe, cautiously pushing the door open.

The apartment was empty. The two men stepped inside. It was a two-bedroom unit with the barest of furnishings—no signs of life, and hardly any furniture. Scattered around were a few items that seemed hastily left behind: a table, two office chairs, and some plastic bottles. Li Chi touched the table, his fingers collecting a thick layer of dust. It seemed the place had been unoccupied for a long time.

"Xiao Sun, who owns this apartment?" Li Chi asked as he walked into another room. The balcony was in this room, facing north, and the autumn sunlight cast shadows on the building across the street, making the room even darker.

"Let me check... The owner's name is Yang Yi, supposedly a network hardware engineer who moved to Shenzhen three months ago, leaving the apartment empty. We haven't found anything suspicious about him," Sun Yuan glanced at his phone.

"Then why has there been water and electricity usage in this empty apartment recently... something's off." Li Chi noticed that the dust along the bedroom wall had been swept away in places, as if someone had laid a sleeping bag there. He crouched down to examine the area more closely, finding not only disturbed dust but also some leftover food crumbs. Someone had definitely stayed here. He took out his evidence collection kit and carefully gathered the crumbs and dust into a bag.

"Li Chi, come take a look," Sun Yuan's voice called from the kitchen. After finishing his evidence collection, Li Chi walked through the living room to find Sun Yuan standing in the kitchen, grimacing at the sink. The sink was full of murky, opaque black water. "The water's still full, with barely any evaporation. It must have been filled recently," Li Chi explained. He bottled a sample of the dirty water, sealed it, and pulled the sink plug, draining the water. Left behind were some unidentifiable residues, but they were fortunate to find a few strands of what appeared to be hair. Li Chi collected these as well, intending to have them analyzed later.

They scoured the apartment but found no more clues.

"We'll have to leave it to the forensics team," Li Chi said to Sun Yuan. "It could be a big lead, or it could just be some vagrants. My guess is it's the latter."

"Who knows." Sun Yuan pulled out a lump of what looked like putty from his bag and stuck it to the doorframe. "Maybe this will catch us a big fish." It was likely a hidden camera. Li Chi thought about reminding Sun Yuan that they didn't have a warrant, making this technically illegal, but he decided against it.

At that moment, Li Chi's phone rang. It was Xu Lian.

"Captain Li, we've discovered some unusual clues in Unit 604 of Building 4." Li Chi patted Sun Yuan on the shoulder, and the two quickly headed for the elevator. By the time they arrived at 604, the two from A'country had already cordoned off the entrance with professional-looking plastic barriers, leaving Li Chi wondering where they had procured them. Seeing this, Li Chi and Sun Yuan took out their plastic shoe covers and, after putting them on, entered the apartment. Xue Lian emerged from the bedroom just then, nodded at the two men.

"What have you found?" Li Chi inquired. The layout of this apartment was almost identical to that of 1307, with a living room, bedroom, and study. However, 604 was better furnished, with sofas, coffee tables, chairs, and stools, though it lacked a television, computer, or any other electronic devices. Li Chi glanced at the kitchen and noticed there was at least a refrigerator.

"In this room," Xue Lian led them into the study, "we found traces of some kind of large refrigeration equipment." In the study, Salina was busy taking photographs. Although Li Chi wasn't sure what refrigeration equipment might look like or what kind of marks it would leave, he could still tell that some large machinery had once occupied this room. Neatly stacked to one side were removed pipes and valves, and deep grooves in the floor indicated that something heavy had been dragged across it. The electrical wires on the wall had been yanked out, and their exposed ends hastily wrapped, suggesting that the equipment in question required a power source far beyond what normal household outlets or voltage could provide.

"Look here," Xue Lian pointed to a section where the ceiling met the wall, where a large patch of plaster had flaked off. "This is caused by evaporated helium, which has corroded the area. The paint and plaster here show clear signs of low-temperature fracturing."

"Most importantly, we found this." Xue Lian produced an evidence bag, which Li Chi took. Inside was a memory card. Finding a memory card at the scene of a cybercrime was akin to a murderer accidentally leaving their ID at the crime scene.

"Have you checked what's on it?" Li Chi asked, holding the card up to the light, trying to discern its exact model. It was an ordinary YMTC SDUC card with a 4TB capacity and no visible damage.

"Not yet. We'll conduct a detailed analysis later." Xue Lian blinked as he spoke. "We're trying to collect any potential fingerprints. We have reason to believe this was one of Zhou Tao's hideouts in this complex. But he likely moved again at least two days ago." He changed the subject. "The detailed collection and analysis of traces at the scene will be left to the forensic team." Li Chi turned to face Sun Yuan. "Xiao Sun, you're responsible for reporting this to the bureau and getting someone here to secure the evidence. Also, what's your take on this?"

Sun Yuan had been unusually quiet since they arrived. "I think we should wait for the forensic team's conclusions before we can confirm if this was indeed Zhou Tao's hideout. But based on the state of the apartment, it seems highly likely." He fiddled with his phone for a moment and took a photo. "The forensic team will be here shortly, so we'll wait for them." He fell silent again, walking out onto the balcony to gaze at the street below. The room suddenly became quiet, with neither Li Chi nor Xue Lian having much to say. Salina continued to crouch on the floor, meticulously picking up tiny debris with tweezers and placing them into evidence bags. Li Chi thought about telling her to stop, to wait for the professionals, but reconsidered and kept quiet.

Xue Lian fished a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "Want one?" he offered Li Chi. Li Chi glanced at the brand—Marlboro. He took one, placed it in his mouth, and the two men, in tacit agreement, stepped onto the balcony. Seeing them with cigarettes, Sun Yuan re-entered the apartment, clearly disliking the smell of smoke. Xue Lian lit Li Chi's cigarette before lighting his own. Li Chi took a drag, the strong flavor, distinct from domestic cigarettes, hit him hard, and he began coughing violently. Xue Lian patted his back. "Not used to A' country cigarettes?" he asked.

"Not really. I don't smoke often. Just occasionally." Li Chi managed to stop coughing.

"Before coming here, I thought Beijing's air would be hellish, but it turned out to be much better than I expected," Xue Lian mused as he gazed outside.

"Today is indeed not bad. Sometimes it's not so great." Li Chi understood Xue Lian's intentions. So far, the atmosphere had been tense, and this so-called joint task force, with all its internal friction, was unlikely to achieve much. Li Chi found himself at a loss for words. He didn't know how to interact with FBI agents. In his mind, they were essentially A' country spies—thinking of it that way, he could only picture characters like Jason Bourne. But these two seemed like ordinary investigators, much like himself.

"I studied CS in college, originally planning to become a regular software engineer—just working during the day and playing games or drinking beer after work. That was what my parents expected too. You know, typical Chinese parents," Xue Lian made an exaggerated gesture. "But somehow, I ended up in the FBI's cybercrime division, which has been quite the experience."