My childhood friend is in her mature, sophisticated form again today. - Chapter 56

Lin Jiqiu looked at the red dots. “What are you going to the bank for? To deposit money? To transfer funds?”

“It’s probably cash deposits and withdrawals. Part of Beichen Zhiting’s cash flow is through cash transactions, which don’t go through the banking system and are difficult to trace.”

“Is it possible to find out what he did at the bank?”

“No. There are no security cameras at the bank counter. Unless they’ve planted a weapon on him.”

Lin Jiqiu thought for a moment. “We can’t pretend. He’s not an ordinary person; we might get caught.”

“Then keep watching. There will always be a flaw.”

Ah You came out with a pot of tea and poured a cup for each of them. He looked at the dense red dots on the map, said nothing, and turned back to the kitchen. Ah Hua jumped down from the windowsill, rubbed against Lin Jiqiu’s feet, jumped onto the sofa, and curled up next to her.

Lin Jiqiu picked up her teacup and took a sip. “Chengran, do you think Liu Wei knows who Echo is?”

“He might know something. He’s in the execution level, while Echo is in management. Echo gives him instructions, and he carries them out. He may not have even met Echo in person.”

“Then how does he contact Echo?”

“Encrypted communication. It could be a mobile phone, or it could be another device.”

“Can it be intercepted?”

“Yes. But we need to know the frequency band he’s using. The communication equipment of Beichen Zhiting uses the kind of chip we’ve seen before. The frequency band is different from that of ordinary mobile phones, making it difficult to eavesdrop with conventional equipment.”

Lin Jiqiu put down his teacup. “Then what should we do?”

Cheng Ran thought for a moment. “Start with the people around him. He might not be the only one who knows Echo’s contact information. There’s another person at the South City receiving point—the one who types on the keyboard.”

“The person filling out forms in the office.”

“Hmm. He might not be as vigilant as Liu Wei. If we follow him, we might find some clues.”

Lin Jiqiu nodded. “Then starting tomorrow, keep an eye on the one who types on the keyboard.”

The next day, A-Zuo parked his car in the alley opposite the Science and Technology Park. Lin Jiqiu and Cheng Ran waited in the car. At nine o’clock in the morning, Liu Wei’s car drove into the park on time. Twenty minutes later, a silver sedan drove out of the park at a slow speed. The driver was the one who had been typing on the keyboard.

“Follow them,” Lin Jiqiu said.

A-Zuo started his car and followed at a distance. The silver sedan drove for about fifteen minutes, then turned into a commercial area and stopped in front of an office building. The person typing on the keyboard got out of the car, carrying a black briefcase, and went into the office building. Lin Jiqiu looked at the building—more than twenty stories high, with a glass curtain wall, a reception desk in the lobby on the first floor, and a card required to enter the elevator.

“Cheng Ran, check this building.”

Cheng Ran’s fingers tapped rapidly on the tablet. “Most of the companies in this building are tech companies. One of them is called ‘New Creation Technology,’ and the registration information is real. The legal representative is a person named ‘Zhang Hua.’ Zhang Hua’s background cannot be found; he has no social media accounts and no public activity records.”

“Another person on paper.”

“Possibly. New Creation Technology’s business scope includes software development, system integration, and technical services. There is some overlap in technology direction with Beichen Zhiting.”

Lin Jiqiu looked at the entrance of the office building. “How long has that person been inside?”

“Fifteen minutes.”

Does he come every week?

“We need to check his activity patterns. Ah Zuo, record how often he comes over these few days.”

A-Zuo nodded.

After waiting for an hour, the person typing on the keyboard emerged from the office building, still carrying the same black briefcase. He got into a silver sedan, started the engine, and drove away. A-Zuo followed. This time, he didn’t return to the science and technology park but drove to a residential complex. The complex wasn’t large, with only a few buildings. He parked his car in the underground garage and went upstairs.

“He lives here.” Cheng Ran looked at the location on the tablet. “Room 302. The landlord’s name is ‘Li Wei’. Another ‘Wei’.”

“Liu Wei, Li Wei. The names are fake.”

“It might be a template. When Beichen Court assigns fake identities to mid-level personnel, they use the same surname or the same first name for easy memorization.”

Lin Jiqiu leaned back in his chair. “Could this Li Wei also be an executor? At the same level as Liu Wei?”

“Possibly. But their responsibilities are different. Liu Wei is in charge of receiving goods, while Li Wei might be in charge of technology or finance.”

“Could the office building he went to, New Creation Technology, be his ‘office location’?”

“Possibly. New Creation Technology might be Beichen Zhiting’s technology hub in this city.”

Lin Jiqiu was silent for a few seconds. “We need to go in and take a look.”

“How do I get in? You need to swipe a card.”

“Wait. Sneak in when the employees are going to and from get off work.”

Cheng Ran glanced at his watch. “The busiest time to come and go is between noon and 1 p.m.”

“Then let’s wait.”

At 11:40, A-Zuo drove the car to the roadside opposite the office building. Lin Jiqiu and Cheng Ran got out of the car and walked to the office building entrance. At 12:03, a large number of employees came out of the building, some going to lunch, some going home. Lin Jiqiu followed behind a group of people and walked in through a side door. Cheng Ran followed behind.

The lobby was quiet, and there was no one at the front desk—they were probably out for lunch. Lin Jiqiu walked to the elevator and pressed the up button. The elevator doors opened, and she stepped inside, Cheng Ran following behind. There were floor buttons inside the elevator; she pressed the fifteenth floor—the floor where Xinchuang Technology was located.

The elevator doors opened, and the corridor was quiet. The office doors on both sides were closed, and through the glass windows, it was clear the offices were empty. The New Creation Technology office was at the end of the corridor; the door was closed, and it had a card access control system. Lin Jiqiu walked to the door and took out the “universal card” Cheng Ran had given her from her pocket—not a real universal card, but a signal jammer that could simulate the legitimate signals of the access control system. She placed the card against the sensor area; the red light flashed, then turned green, and the door opened.

The two slipped inside. The office wasn’t large, about 100 square meters, divided into several small rooms. Computers and files were on the desks, and project schedules were posted on the walls. Lin Jiqiu walked to a desk, picked up a file, and flipped through it—it was a technical document about software development, and seemed quite normal.

“Chengran, take a look at these documents.”

Cheng Ran took it and read a few pages. “On the surface, it’s software development documentation. But some of the terminology is off. ‘Source data,’ ‘underlying protocol,’ ‘encrypted channel’—these terms also appear in ordinary software development, but they’re used differently. It’s more like a description of some kind of communication protocol.”

“The communication protocol of the Northern Star Court?”

“possible.”

Lin Jiqiu walked to another table, where a notebook sat. She opened it; inside were handwritten notes—dates, times, and strings of numbers. Unable to understand them, she took out her phone and photographed them.

“Cheng Ran, what are these numbers?”

Cheng Ran leaned closer to take a look. “It’s probably the encryption key. It’s changed every day.”

“So this is where they generate the keys?”

“It could be one of them.”

Lin Jiqiu continued flipping through the notebook. The last few pages had been torn out, leaving rough edges. She put the notebook back, walked to the filing cabinet against the wall, and pulled on the drawer—it was locked. She took out a thin wire, inserted it into the keyhole, turned it a few times, and with a click, the drawer opened. Inside were folders; she took one out and opened it—it was a personnel list. Next to each name was a code and department. She saw “Liu Wei,” “Li Wei,” and several other names she didn’t recognize. Each name had a seven-digit number next to it.

“Chengran, take a picture.”

Cheng Ran picked up the tablet and took pictures one by one.

Lin Jiqiu continued flipping through the folder. When she reached the last folder, it contained a map. Several points were marked on the map—east of the city, south of the city, and a neighboring city. There were also two places she didn’t recognize, one to the north and one to the west.

“Chengran, look at this.”

Cheng Ran looked at the map. “The other two points. They might be their other two receiving points.”

“Two more than we found.”

“It could be a backup. Or it could be a newly opened one.”

Lin Jiqiu put the folder back in the drawer and locked it. The two of them left the office and closed the door. Lin Jiqiu put away the master card and took the elevator downstairs. Employees were already returning to the lobby. A person was sitting at the front desk, looking down at their phone, not paying attention to them.

I left the office building and got into the car.

“What did you get?” A-Zuo asked.

“A personnel list. And a map with five points on it.” Lin Jiqiu leaned back in his chair. “New Creation Technology isn’t a technology outpost, it’s a management center. They assign tasks here, generate keys, and manage middle-level personnel.”

Cheng Ran looked at the photos on the tablet. “That Li Wei isn’t an ordinary employee. He’s one of the managers of this location.”

“Is the other one Liu Wei?”

“Possibly. Liu Wei is in charge of receiving goods, while Li Wei is in charge of technology. They have different roles.”

Lin Jiqiu looked out the window. The glass curtain wall of the office building gleamed in the sunlight. She thought of the notebook—the last few pages had been torn out. Who tore them out? Why? She didn’t know.

“Chengran, the last few pages of the notebook have been torn out. They probably contained more important information.”

“They destroy records regularly. This is standard procedure.”

“When will they destroy it next?”

“I don’t know. But if we can get the complete records before they’re destroyed—”

“You’ll be able to know more.”

Cheng Ran nodded.

A-Zuo started the car and drove towards the office. Lin Jiqiu leaned back in her seat, her mind filled with the map—five points. East of the city, south of the city, a neighboring city, and two places she hadn’t been to before. Beichen Zhiting’s network was much larger than she had imagined.

Back at the office, Ayou was already waiting at the entrance. He watched the car stop and came to greet him. “Boss, how was today?”

“There’s been progress. We’ve found a management center.”

Ah You didn’t ask any more questions and turned to go to the kitchen to get the dishes.

Lin Jiqiu changed her shoes and sat down on the sofa. Ahua jumped down from the windowsill, rubbed against her feet, and then jumped onto the sofa and curled up next to her. She reached out and scratched Ahua’s chin.

“Chengran, let’s check out the other two points on the map tomorrow.”

“good.”

Ayou brought the dishes to the table: stir-fried seasonal vegetables, braised pork, and a bowl of seaweed and egg drop soup. Lin Jiqiu sat down and picked up her chopsticks. Cheng Ran sat down opposite her.

“Boss, are you going out again?” Ah You asked while serving rice.

“Okay. We’ll go to that spot in the north tomorrow.”

When will you be back?

“Not necessarily. Same-day round trip.”

Ah You placed the rice bowl in front of her and didn’t ask any more questions.

After finishing her meal, Lin Jiqiu went upstairs. She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. The personnel list she had received today—it included Liu Wei, Li Wei, and several other names she didn’t recognize. Were the people behind those names living ordinary lives, like Liu Wei, working during the day, coming home at night, and buying groceries and cooking on weekends? But they were all serving the Beichen Court.

She turned over and pulled the photograph from under her pillow. It was of her father’s face. She looked at it for a long time, then put it back.

“Cheng Ran”.

“exist.”

“What information can be found from those numbers on the personnel list?”

“Checking. It’s a seven-digit number; the first two digits are likely the department code, and the last five are the individual’s ID. The format is somewhat similar to a token serial number.”

“So these people are related to the token?”

“Possibly. They might be users of the tokens, not the creators.”

Lin Jiqiu was silent for a few seconds. “Master Yu is the manufacturer; he belongs to the old era. These people belong to the new era.”

“Um.”

She closed her eyes. The ball on her wrist vibrated gently, in sync with her heartbeat. She placed her hand on the ball, feeling its faint warmth.

“Cheng Ran”.

“Um.”

“We’re going to that spot in the north tomorrow. Let’s leave early.”

“good.”

The communicator went silent. The streetlights outside cast blurry patches of light through the curtains. She stared at those patches of light, her consciousness slowly fading.