The Mystery of the Inner Demon

Chapter 26 The Confiscated Computer
Lao Qian was quite straightforward about this: "Okay, no problem. You are a policeman, do you want to see Niu Yinzhu's office?" Speaking of Lao Qian, who was disliked by boss Niu Yinzhu, he seemed to support Qi Fei much more than the two supervisors who were arguing just now.

Lao Qian took out the key and opened a compartment. The table was covered with a layer of dust, and it was obvious that it had not been used for some time.

"Niu Yinzhu's office has not been moved in three years?" Qi Fei was a little surprised.

"Oh, as long as there's someone up there who can do the work, that's fine. I don't know what's wrong with these people. Is it so hard to find a project manager?"

"From what you said just now, you are in charge of the department's affairs now. Why don't you become the supervisor?"

"Hmph, they look down on me at my age. They always look at me like Zhong Wuyan when there's work to do and Xia Yingchun when there's nothing to do. When they want to do a job, they say you have experience, but when they want to promote you, they look down on your age." Old Qian said angrily.

Qi Fei looked around the office. The place was tidy. There were many books on the bookshelf, many of which were related to the workplace, efficiency, interpersonal relationships, etc. There were thick piles of materials on the table. Qi Fei took a look and found that they were all drafts of various reports, including those for large and small meetings, and even the weekly work meetings. Each report was neatly written, and even the format was exactly the same. It seemed that Niu Yinzhu was a very hard-working person, but it was a pity that these contents would always remain in the past three years.

"Where is her computer?" Qi Fei said, looking at the obvious mark on the desk.

"Speaking of which, right after the person disappeared and we didn't know whether he was dead or alive, the group office took away the computer, saying they were worried about leaking some business secrets."

"The person is gone and the computer has been taken away. It seems it won't be easy for you to take over her job." Qi Fei couldn't help but say.

Old Qian scoffed. "Tsk, what do you think she can do as a supervisor? She was promoted two years after joining us. She doesn't know anything. All the work is done by our subordinates. It makes no difference whether she's here or not."

"So, there's no point in the group taking the computer away since she doesn't work here anyway?"

"Haha, of course it doesn't have much impact on the people working under us. The ones that are affected are those bosses up there. Who knows what they are doing secretly?" Lao Qian expressed his dissatisfaction with the management in his words.

Qi Fei was skeptical. After all, judging from the items left behind, Niu Yinzhu was quite hardworking. Lao Qian's evaluation was somewhat biased by jealousy.

"That's about it. If you want to talk, come to my office and sit down." Old Qian said as he took Qi Fei to his office. There was a strong smell of cigarette smoke in the room.

"Don't mind it. It's a mess here. It's a storage room. I won't go to Niu Yinzhu's office. I'm just a substitute and not worthy." Old Qian said, closed the door, and sat down face to face with Qi Fei.

"Old Qian, let's get straight to the point. I didn't tell you just now because there were so many people around. Judging from the current situation, Niu Yinzhu's condition is not optimistic." Qi Fei said as soon as he sat down.

When Old Qian heard this, the resentment on his face disappeared. He was stunned. After a long while, he stammered, "What do you mean by not optimistic?"

Qi Fei looked at him seriously and said in a deep voice, "We found traces of Niu Yinzhu's blood. We cannot rule out the possibility that she was murdered."

Upon hearing the news, Lao Qian hurriedly took out a pack of cigarettes to give one to Qi Fei in order to hide his confusion.

Qi Fei refused, saying he didn't smoke. After Qi Fei's refusal, Lao Qian lit up a cigarette himself and took a deep drag before calming down a bit. "She's not a bad person by nature, she's just a little too eager for quick success." Lao Qian's words softened immediately, his expression clouded by cigarette smoke, and he looked confused. "You came here today because you suspect there's a murderer in our group?"

In fact, Qi Fei had long realized that this old Qian was a man with a sharp tongue but a soft heart.

"We've only found traces of Niu Yinzhu's blood, so we have very few clues. Since she disappeared on a business trip, it's too early to draw a conclusion. We can't be sure whether Niu Yinzhu was murdered until we find her. We still need to ask you colleagues for more information. Do you remember anything now?"

"She might..." Old Qian blurted out, then denied it himself, "Forget it, it shouldn't matter."

"Whether it's related or not is up to me to judge. You can just say whatever you want to say."

"Tsk, if that's the case, then you have to find Feng Yi."

"Who is Feng Yi?"

Old Qian was clearly troubled. He cleared his throat before speaking, "Hey, our second-in-command here. Before Niu Yinzhu disappeared, she was very flattering to Feng Yi. As I said earlier, Niu Yinzhu was a hands-off boss. Aside from opportunities to show off and meet the boss, she always delegated all the business matters to the people in our department. Ever since she and Feng Yi became so close, she suddenly decided to take on a project herself, telling us nothing and being so secretive. She disappeared right after the bidding process was complete. Isn't that strange? Rumors were circulating around the company that Niu Yinzhu had absconded with the funds. Although I dislike her, I still don't think it was that serious. I noticed that before she disappeared, our group vice president was constantly looking for her. Later, all the projects we were bidding for were from suppliers with whom the vice president had a close relationship. I told her at the time that the process was definitely not standardized, but what I hate about her is her unwavering obedience to superiors. To put it nicely, it's obedience, but to put it bluntly..." At this point, Old Qian finally hesitated and stopped.

"Do you want to say it's bootlicking?" Qi Fei said it for him.

Old Qian lamented, "Maybe people like us who come from a business background are already out of date. I just can't understand how Niu Yinzhu, a top student who graduated from a prestigious university and a PhD, can be so shameless. The thing she said most often was that you can get a good job by having good relationships. She's so young, but so materialistic!" When he said this, he actually felt a little resentful.

"They said someone was reporting her before she disappeared. Was that the project?"

"Ha, it must be Old Yu, the big mouth, who told you that from the beginning, right?"

"Yeah, but I didn't know Niu Yinzhu was so serious about this project."

"You've come at the right time today. Our Queen Mother Feng is here. Go and take a look."

"Empress Dowager?" Qi Fei wondered, it was obviously a nickname.

Old Qian sneered: "You'll know why she's called the Queen Mother when you see her later. She's the only vice president in the entire group who has a female secretary."

"She has a secretary?" Qi Fei was a little surprised. Although Nancheng Investment's strength was well known, it seemed a bit exaggerated that a vice president had a secretary.

　If you are not good enough at reading, you are welcome to read old books.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)