My childhood friend is in her mature, sophisticated form again today. - Chapter 15

“Zhou Yuan is on the list too?”

“Yes. It was circled twice.” A-Zuo pointed to the folded page on the printout. “The first time it was a normal record, the second time it was highlighted.”

Lin Jiqiu picked up the photo and looked at it for a few seconds. “Can you find out anything about these people’s backgrounds?”

Fang Xu: 42 years old, has worked at Yuanwang for six years, previously worked as an architect at a major chip manufacturer. Meng Yang: 35 years old, switched jobs three years ago, previously worked with Zhou Yuan at another company. Su Qing: 29 years old, joined Yuanwang two years ago, was poached by Zhou Yuan from a competitor. Liu Min: 51 years old, a long-time employee of the company, in charge of finance.

Is there anything unusual?

“Fang Xu just bought a luxury car last month, cash on delivery. Meng Yang’s bank statements haven’t changed much, but his wife’s account has seen several large deposits recently. Su Qing and Liu Min don’t seem to have any problems yet.” A Zuo paused for a moment, “Also, regarding Xingyuan Technology, the sender of the email you photographed yesterday, ‘Zhang Wei,’ is the same person as the legal representative of Jingmian Technology.”

Lin Jiqiu tapped his fingers twice on the counter. “So Xingyuan is backed by the Mirror Society, and someone inside Yuanwang is passing messages to the Mirror Society.”

“Very likely.”

“What about Cheng Ran?”

“Brother Cheng is upstairs. He said he’ll call you up when you wake up.”

Lin Jiqiu took a glass of warm water and went upstairs.

The door to Cheng Ran’s studio was open. He sat at his workbench, with two things in front of him—one was the familiar “Yin,” and the other was the new “Yang.” No, not new, it was the same as before, but it had changed. The surface was no longer an irregular geometry, but a smooth sphere, polished to a dark gray metallic sheen, lying quietly on black velvet.

“Is it done?” Lin Jiqiu asked.

“It’s almost done.” Cheng Ran picked up the round ball and handed it to her. “Try it.”

Lin Jiqiu took it. It was lighter than the previous version, and when held in his hand, he could feel a gentle vibration—not a mechanical tremor, but more like a pulse.

“It has changed,” she said.

“Yes. Its form can change. If you want it to change, it will change.”

Lin Jiqiu stared at the sphere in his palm, silently chanting in his mind—knife.

The sphere did not react.

“It’s not about thinking,” Cheng Ran said. “It’s about your ability. When you transform, your body’s energy field changes. It can sense that change.”

Lin Jiqiu closed his eyes, letting his power flow slightly—not a complete transformation, but just a tiny, localized change. The skin on his fingers changed texture in a very short time, then returned to normal.

The sphere moved slightly.

A crack appeared on the surface, then slowly unfolded like a metallic flower. The petals opened one by one, revealing the center—a sharp, blade-shaped protrusion.

“This is…” Lin Jiqiu looked at the little thing in his palm.

“A semi-finished product,” Cheng Ran said. “Currently, it can only take this one form. But theoretically, it can take many forms: knife, dagger, hook, lock… it depends on what you need.”

“And the other one?”

Cheng Ran picked up “Yang” and held it in his palm. He made a series of quick gestures—not a transformation, but an activation by external force. The surface of the sphere cracked and unfolded, transforming into a completely different shape—a handguard that conformed to the curve of the palm, with raised protection at the knuckles.

“Yours is ‘offense,’ mine is ‘defense,’” Cheng Ran said. “Resonance and synchronization. When you attack, I can sense the force and direction. When I defend, you can sense it too.”

Lin Jiqiu looked at the metal flower in her palm, then at the hand guard in Cheng Ran’s palm.

How long did you work?

“From the first time you said ‘Let’s do it’ until now,” Cheng Ran said, “it’s been on and off.”

Lin Jiqiu didn’t speak. She closed the “yin” shape, restoring it to a sphere, and put it in her pocket.

“How’s the investigation into Xingyuan going?”

Cheng Ran switched to work mode and brought up the data on the screen. “I attacked Xingyuan’s server again last night. This time I got some email records. Fang Xu—the technical director of Yuanwang—has direct contact with a mid-level manager at Xingyuan. The emails were encrypted, but I recovered the content.”

He opened an email.

“What Fang Xu sent to the other party was a summary of Yuanwang’s chip architecture design document. The other party’s reply mentioned ‘General Manager Zhang’ – which should be Zhang Wei.”

Lin Jiqiu looked at the screen. “Is the evidence sufficient?”

“It’s enough to prove Fang Xu leaked information. But it’s not enough to prosecute Xingyuan,” Cheng Ran said. “Currently, there is only indirect evidence of the relationship between Xingyuan and Jingmian Technology, namely the financial chain. To confirm it, more internal documents are needed.”

“for example?”

“For example, emails from Mirror Technology issuing instructions to Xingyuan. Or direct communications between Zhang Wei and the person in charge of Xingyuan.”

Lin Jiqiu thought for a moment. “Investigate Fang Xu first. Since he took the money, there must be traces of it.”

“I’ve already checked.” Cheng Ran pulled up a bank statement. “His luxury car was bought with cash. The source of the cash cannot be traced. But there is a transfer from an overseas company in his wife’s account—the same company that is the upstream account of ‘Huanxin Growth Camp’.”

It’s the same company again.

Lin Jiqiu leaned against the edge of the table, arms crossed over her chest.

“Cheng Ran, what do you think Jing Hui is really up to?”

Cheng Ran was silent for a few seconds. “Control.”

“Control what?”

“Control technology. Control talent. Control information,” Cheng Ran said. “The ‘Revitalizing Growth Camp’ controls people’s thoughts. Xingyuan Technology controls chip technology. These two seemingly unrelated points are actually doing the same thing—establishing some kind of…monopoly.”

“Monopolize what?”

“I don’t know. But their methods are very systematic. It’s not just small-scale stuff.”

Lin Jiqiu straightened up. “I’m going to find Mr. Zhou.”

“Now?”

“Okay. Tell him about Fang Xu first. See how he reacts.”

“Do you want me to come along?”

“No need. You keep watch from behind.”

Lin Jiqiu walked to the door and stopped. “Cheng Ran.”

“Um.”

“That ‘yin and yang’… thank you.”

Cheng Ran’s fingers paused on the keyboard for a moment. “You’re welcome.”

Lin Jiqiu walked out and closed the door.

The ball in the pocket vibrated slightly.

She smiled and went downstairs.

At 2 p.m., Lin Jiqiu arranged to meet Mr. Zhou at a coffee shop near Yuanwang Technology.

She arrived early, chose a corner seat, and ordered an Americano. Mr. Zhou arrived a little later, wearing the same dark suit as last time, his hair neatly combed, but there were obvious dark circles under his eyes—he hadn’t slept well either.

“Any progress?” He sat down without ordering coffee.

“Yes.” Lin Jiqiu pulled up a photo on her phone and pushed it over. “Your technical director, Fang Xu.”

Mr. Zhou looked at the email screenshot in the photo, his fingers slowly tightening.

“he……”

“He leaked your core design documents to Xingyuan Technology. Xingyuan’s contact person then contacted Mirror Technology—an overseas company that is linked to a previous brainwashing organization.”

Mr. Zhou’s expression changed. “A brainwashing organization?”

“It’s already been shut down,” Lin Jiqiu said, “but the people involved have fled. Xingyuan Technology’s funding comes from the same organization as that group.”

Mr. Zhou put down his phone, crossed his hands on the table, and his knuckles turned white.

“I’ve known Fang Xu for six years.”

“I know.”

“He…started the business with me.”

Lin Jiqiu remained silent.

Mr. Zhou remained silent for a long time. “What do you need me to do?”

“Don’t alert them yet. We need more evidence—records of financial transactions between Fang Xu and Xingyuan, and ideally, we should obtain internal instruction emails from Xingyuan.”

How can I cooperate?

“Go to work as usual. Don’t let him notice.”

Mr. Zhou nodded and stood up. “The fee—”

“We’ll talk after we finish.”

Mr. Zhou looked at her, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just nodded, turned and left.

Lin Jiqiu took a sip of his Americano.

It’s bitter.

She put down her cup and sent Cheng Ran a message.

[Mr. Zhou is all set. Continue to investigate Fang Xu’s funding chain.]

The reply came quickly.

【good.】

She posted another message.

The ‘Yin Yang’ indicator vibrated twice today. Once when I went downstairs, and once just now. Were you testing it on your end?

A few seconds passed.

【Hmm. Adjusting sensitivity.】

Lin Jiqiu looked at the screen, smiled, and put the phone back in his pocket.

When I returned to the office, Ayou was wiping the counter.

“Boss, your package is here.”

“I didn’t buy anything.”

“It wasn’t bought. It was sent under Cheng Ge’s name, but the recipient was you.”

Ah You handed over a small black box, about the size of a palm.

Lin Jiqiu took it and opened it.

Inside is a dark brown leather wristband with fine workmanship. There is a groove on the back of the wristband that can perfectly hold the “yin” sphere.

“Brother Cheng said that this way it won’t fall off,” Ayou said.

Lin Jiqiu took the “Yin” out of her pocket and inserted it into the groove of the wristband. It fit perfectly. She fastened the wristband on her left wrist and adjusted the tightness.

“Is it pretty?” she asked.

Ah You looked at it. “It’s beautiful.”

“Ah Zuo, what do you think?”

A-Zuo looked up and glanced at it. “Practical.”

“Can’t you just say it looks good?”

“Practicality is good-looking.”

Ah You smiled.

Lin Jiqiu smiled too.

She went upstairs and walked to the door of Cheng Ran’s studio.

The door was open. Cheng Ran sat at his workbench, not typing, just sitting there, as if waiting for her.

“Did you receive it?” he asked.

“Received it.” Lin Jiqiu raised her left hand and waved it. “Does it look good?”

Cheng Ran glanced at it. “Practical.”

Lin Jiqiu couldn’t help but laugh. “You’re just like A-Zuo.”

Cheng Ran’s lips curved slightly, then he turned back to continue typing.

Lin Jiqiu stood at the door, watching his back.

The ball in my pocket—no, the ball on my wrist—vibrated slightly.

It’s not him who’s testing it.

It is itself that is responding.

She turned around and went back to her room.