Anchor with goods, the price of F2 is very reasonable, right?

Chapter 765: Spy Planted

After the hotel staff allowed them to go upstairs, Wang Yang and his companions discovered that all the items in the room had vanished.

"What happened? Everything is gone! Luckily, I had my phone with me."

"My pajamas are gone."

"My laptop is gone too, and it contains important data..."

Wang Yang immediately summoned staff: "All items in our room were stolen during the fire. Please retrieve the surveillance footage."

"We are very sorry, we are checking the hotel's surveillance footage, but we found that the surveillance system malfunctioned more than two hours ago."

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately understood: the fire was a carefully orchestrated ploy to lure them away from the mountain. Stealing all the items was simply a way to make them give up.

Everyone was deflated. Although they didn't have any valuables, it was clear that continuing on would only lead to more obstacles.

"Wang Yang, what should we do now? It's obvious they have people in the south too. Should we go straight back?"

"It seems I have no choice but to go back first. I'll call Uncle Shen right away."

Wang Yang glanced at the time; it was too late. "I'll just rest for tonight and contact Uncle Shen again tomorrow morning."

On the surface, everyone was lying in bed, but in reality, no one was asleep. Everyone realized that they were in real trouble this time.

The next morning, Wang Yang immediately called Shen Qiang.

"Uncle Shen, just as I expected, we've run into trouble again. All our belongings have been stolen, but the thief still hasn't harmed us."

A heavy sigh came from the other end of the phone. He had tossed and turned all night, with a vague premonition that something bad was going to happen.

"Then you should go back to Beicheng first. We need to think this through carefully. I think there must be something fishy about these coincidences."

Shen Qiang had always trusted those around him implicitly, but now it seemed that since the other party knew their every move, there must be a traitor within the team. This matter had to be thoroughly investigated.

"Then you should come back first. We'll discuss this further once we've planned everything out from beginning to end. Please be careful on the road."

On the return journey, the entire group was no longer as excited as they had been at the start. Everyone knew perfectly well that the troubles they had encountered along the way were because there were eyes watching them from the shadows.

They proceeded cautiously along the way, fearing further unforeseen events, but to their surprise, the return journey was exceptionally smooth, without any obstacles.

"It's ironic, we were ambushed everywhere on the way there, but we had a smooth journey back."

"Yes, this is clearly an attempt to trap us in the North City and prevent us from going anywhere else. It's ridiculous."

Wang Yang couldn't help but sigh at how obvious the intentions of the people behind the scenes were—they only wanted them to stay in Beicheng, but forbade them to go elsewhere.

But clearly these people weren't targeting him. If they were, they wouldn't have failed to stop him when he traveled from Beicheng to Haicheng.

Musk is even less likely to be one; he has traveled extensively and visited countless places, so his identity is likely fabricated.

After much deliberation, Wang Yang concluded that the problem likely lay with the people Shen Qiang had sent. He carefully considered the situation: Xiao Ye, as Shen Qiang's confidant, should not have leaked the information, but the others were also trusted confidants whom Shen Qiang had cultivated for many years; otherwise, they wouldn't have been sent to protect Shen Qing.

Thinking about it this way, it seems that no one is a suspect, but in any case, someone must have passed on the message to the outside world.

Upon arriving in Haicheng, Wang Yang and his group did not return home but went directly to Shen Qiang's villa. Shen Qiang had already prepared a banquet to welcome them.

"Thank you all for your hard work on this trip. Although the journey was bumpy, thankfully you all returned safely." Shen Qiang raised his glass to toast everyone.

"Come, let us drink this cup together. After we've eaten and drunk our fill, let's all go back and rest well."

After the banquet, Wang Yang and Musk tacitly stayed behind. They knew that Shen Qiang would definitely have many questions to ask.

"Wang Yang, we've indeed encountered quite a few problems on this trip. Could you tell me in detail? Are there any suspects?"

Shen Qiang understood that Wang Yang, like him, would never believe that these things were purely coincidental.

“I’ve thought about it repeatedly on the way here. I think we can rule out the possibility that Shen Qing, Musk, and I leaked the information. So, the only ones left are the people you sent.”

Shen Qiang nodded slightly, not angry at Wang Yang's words, because he himself had suspected whether his subordinates had leaked the information.

“I understand your trust in your confidants, but I really can’t think of any other possibility. How exactly did they determine our whereabouts? They couldn’t possibly have set up ambushes along the way, could they? Even if they did, they should have waited until we arrived before setting up the ambush.”

Wang Yang's analysis made Shen Qiang's thinking clearer, but Shen Qing, who was standing to the side, was full of doubts.

"According to you, those ambushes should have been set up long ago. Why didn't this happen when my father sent people to investigate before?"

"That's exactly what confuses me. Why has this never happened before?"

At first, Wang Yang thought it was because they had found the right direction, and that the Peach Blossom Spring was located in the western part of the city. Later, they were ambushed in the south as well, and realized that they would likely encounter ambushes everywhere they went as long as they searched for the Peach Blossom Spring.

"I think the most reasonable explanation is that the target has changed. It's very likely that they have identified Musk. But the question is, how did they know? Musk has accompanied me to so many places before, and this has never happened before."

Shen Qiang looked up at Wang Yang in surprise, not expecting him to have analyzed things to this extent.

“I understand what you mean. You mean that one of us leaked Musk’s identity to the people behind the scenes, which is why they set up an ambush.”

"I personally think this is the most likely explanation; I really can't think of any other explanation."

Musk frowned: "But isn't my identity known only to a few of us?"

“If anyone knows, there’s a possibility of leaks. There are many people and eyes in this house, and we didn’t try to hide our conversation earlier, so the servants in the house may have heard us.”

Shen Qiang nodded in agreement with Wang Yang's statement. After all, secrets don't stay hidden forever; if one person hears about it, it's not surprising that others will find out as well.

"So you think the news was likely leaked from our house? But the servants in our house are all rigorously trained, so it shouldn't have happened."

Shen Qing still had doubts, as she knew how strict her father was with the servants.

"You're too naive about that. You should know that people can be bought off if the benefits are right. Not all of our servants are necessarily reliable."

Wang Yang smiled gently at her: "There's no need to worry too much, these are just speculations. Besides, even if someone has been bribed, they might just be passing on messages, since the other party doesn't seem to have any intention of harming us."

But the question is: why would the other party target Shen Qiang? This suggests that they had already planted spies here.

"Uncle Shen, you need to be especially careful about this. It's very likely that those people already know your true identity."

(End of this chapter)