News is Exploding

"Let's celebrate!" Su Luqi exclaimed, her voice filled with an almost manic energy. "I know just the place! They have the most amazing seafood—"

"Hold on," Lu Siyan interrupted, his attention already glued to his phone. He had logged into his trading account and was quickly transferring funds from his newly flush bank account. "Just a sec… need to… take care of something."

Su Luqi pouted playfully. "Aw, come on, sugar daddy! Don't you want to celebrate with your favorite… companion?"

"In a minute," Lu Siyan mumbled, his fingers flying across the screen. He navigated to his watchlist, where he had meticulously compiled information on Enrichers and its competitors. He could see the stock price already ticking upwards. He placed a large buy order, a thrill coursing through him as he imagined his wealth multiplying.

Just then, his phone rang. It was an unknown number. He hesitated for a moment, then answered.

"Hello?"

"Lu Siyan? It's Mr. Chen. Where are you? You haven't been in the office all day."

Lu Siyan's heart skipped a beat. He had completely forgotten about work! He glanced at Su Luqi, who was watching him with an amused expression.

"Oh, Mr. Chen," he said, trying to sound casual. "I'm… not feeling well. I think I might have… food poisoning."

"Food poisoning?" Mr. Chen repeated, his voice laced with suspicion. "You were fine yesterday."

"It… hit me suddenly," Lu Siyan said, improvising. "I've been… vomiting all morning."

"I see," Mr. Chen said, his tone unconvinced. "Well, take care of yourself. We need you back in the office as soon as possible."

"Of course, Mr. Chen," Lu Siyan said. "I'll be back as soon as I'm… feeling better."

He hung up the phone and let out a sigh of relief. He had dodged a bullet.

But before he could return to his stock market machinations, his phone rang again. This time it was Wei.

"Siyan! Have you heard the news?" Wei's voice was a mixture of shock and excitement.

"What news?" Lu Siyan asked, a sense of foreboding creeping over him.

"Mr. Ling… he's dead!" Wei exclaimed. "They found him… murdered!"

Lu Siyan's eyes widened. Mr. Ling, the executive manager with connections to the Chinese military, the one who had been so secretive in the company… dead?

"What happened?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

"No one knows for sure," Wei said. "But… his girlfriend… she's saying she was kidnapped for a week and just got released. She claims she doesn't know anything."

"Kidnapped?" Lu Siyan repeated, his mind racing. This was… too much of a coincidence.

"And that's not all," Wei continued. "Apparently… Mr. Mao… our boss… he's dating the daughter of the richest man in the city!"

Lu Siyan's jaw dropped. Mr. Mao, the enigmatic CEO of Enrichers, the man they had suspected of being the mysterious girlfriend… was dating the richest man's daughter? What was going on?

"This is… insane," Lu Siyan muttered.

"Insane… and profitable!" the AI chimed in. "Think of the stock market implications! This is insider information gold!"

Lu Siyan barely registered the AI's words. He was too stunned by the news. He glanced at Su Luqi, who was seemingly engrossed in a magazine, her expression calm and unreadable. But he noticed a slight… twitch… in her jaw, a flicker of… something… in her eyes. It was gone in a millisecond, replaced by her usual serene smile.

"Everything okay, sugar daddy?" she asked, her voice sweet and innocent.

Lu Siyan hesitated for a moment, a flicker of doubt crossing his mind. But then he remembered the events of the past few days: the lottery win, the thugs, the bank manager… Su Luqi had been there for him every step of the way. She had saved him, protected him, even offered him the family he craved. How could he doubt her?

"Yeah," he said, forcing a smile. "Everything's fine."

He turned back to his phone, his mind still reeling. He had a feeling that he was caught in a web of intrigue far more complex than he had ever imagined. And he had a feeling that Su Luqi was at the center of it all.

"Don't worry, Siyan," the AI whispered. "We'll figure it out. We'll crack this case wide open! We'll… upgrade our processing power and become… super sleuths!"

Lu Siyan ignored the AI and focused on the stock market. He had a feeling that he was going to need a lot of money to navigate the treacherous waters ahead. And he had a feeling that Su Luqi was going to be a very… expensive… partner.

*******

The scene shifted to a sterile, high-security military office. Fluorescent lights hummed overhead, casting a cold, clinical glow on the faces of the officers gathered around a large holographic display. They were discussing the death of Ling Hang, the executive manager whose connections to the military had been invaluable.

"Ling Hang's death is… suspicious," a stern-faced colonel stated, his voice echoing through the room. "The official report cites homicide, but the circumstances are… unusual."

"The suspect, his… girlfriend, claims she was kidnapped for a week," a younger officer reported. "She insists she knows nothing about his death, or any sensitive data he might have possessed."

"And the data?" the colonel asked, his gaze sharp.

"Missing, sir," the officer replied. "We've searched his residence, his office, his digital devices… nothing. It's as if it vanished into thin air."

A tense silence filled the room. Ling Hang's work on Operation Hyper, the project aimed at establishing a bridge between the world of cultivators and their own, was of paramount importance. The missing data could compromise national security.

"We need to re-evaluate every piece of evidence," the colonel ordered. "Every interaction, every conversation, every… moment. Pull up all surveillance footage of Ling Hang and the suspect."

The holographic display flickered, displaying a montage of images: Ling Hang and the suspect, a beautiful woman with an air of mystery, dining at restaurants, walking in parks, sharing intimate moments. The officers watched intently, scrutinizing every detail.

"Notice the subtle mannerisms," the colonel pointed out. "The way she holds her hand, the tilt of her head, the cadence of her voice… it's almost… perfect."

"Perfectly… replicated, sir?" the younger officer suggested.

The colonel nodded. "Exactly. We ran a full biometric analysis. Fingerprints, retinal scans, handwriting samples… all match. It's as if she's a perfect… copy."

"But there's something else, sir," another officer chimed in, pointing to a sequence of footage. "Notice the pattern. She always disappears after meeting him, and then reappears out of thin air."

The colonel's eyes narrowed. "Impossible," he muttered. "Unless…"

He paused, a chilling realization dawning on him. "Unless this has something to do with Operation Hyper," he finished. "Contact the PARAs immediately. This smells of interdimensional interference."

The PARAs, the Paranormal Activities Response Agency, were their go to when things became to strange to explain. The colonel knew this was far more than a simple murder investigation. They were dealing with something… otherworldly.

"And find that woman," he ordered. "Bring her in. We need to find out who—or what—she really is."