After breaking up with my boyfriend, I made a fortune and rose rapidly in my career.

"The combination lock box~"

Fang Cunyi's voice was very low.

Chen Ping pushed open the fire door of the underground garage without stopping.

"The box has been seized, and the person has been taken into custody."

"No," Fang Cunyi interrupted him. "That box is a decoy. Gu Deren's main possessions during his escape weren't in the box."

Chen Ping paused for a moment.

Where is it?

"His briefcase. Before going through customs, he voluntarily handed the suitcase to his assistant, but the briefcase remained slung over his shoulder. Did the airport authorities intercept the bag?"

Chen Ping thought back for a moment. The message Han Zhiming sent only mentioned the assistant and the safe. The briefcase wasn't mentioned.

"I'll verify it now."

After hanging up the phone, he stood next to a pillar at the garage entrance and dialed Han Zhiming's number.

The call was answered after two rings, with the sound of airport announcements echoing in the background.

"Where is Gu Deren's briefcase?"

There was a two-second pause on Han Zhiming's end, followed by a low curse.

"It's still on him. Border control didn't check the bag separately. The police just went into the interview room, and I went over there immediately."

"Don't follow them." Chen Ping walked towards his car. "Now, contact the airport police station as quickly as possible and have them conduct an on-site inventory of the briefcase on the grounds of obstructing customs inspection. Note, it's not a search, it's an inventory; there are no procedural flaws."

"Received, within two minutes."

Chen Ping started the car and drove out of the garage.

As soon as the car entered the elevated road, Han Zhiming replied to the message: Gu Deren refused to cooperate with the inventory, claiming that the briefcase contained confidential business documents and citing the consulate agreement protection clauses.

Chen Ping tossed his phone onto the passenger seat and immediately called Director Chu.

"Has Gu Deren been involved in any economic disputes in the city's courts?"

Director Chu remained silent for three seconds.

"Jingwei Microelectronics, in April last year, the Provincial High Court filed a case against it for allegedly transferring the patent registration of a state-owned cooperative project to an overseas shell company. The plaintiffs are three state-owned partners. The case is pending in the civil court, and Gu Deren is one of the defendants. The case is still pending."

Chen Pingfang said directly, "Have the civil court issue an exit restriction order, using the case number from the Jingwei Microelectronics case, and send it to the Baishan Airport Immigration Administration Office by today."

"This process will take at least..."

"Two hours." Chen Ping stepped on the gas. "What time is his flight?"

"It's 8:15 PM. It's 4:40 now."

That's enough.

Director Chu didn't hesitate any longer and immediately went to get it done.

Chen Ping pulled the car into the fast lane and subconsciously squeezed the edge of the leather cover on the steering wheel.

This is a clean route. No people involved, no violence; once the court stamps the document, Gu Deren's Singapore passport is nothing in the face of the airport.

Consular provisions cannot protect a defendant in an economic dispute who is restricted from leaving the country by the court.

At 7:50 p.m., Chen Pingfang stood on the arrival level of Terminal 2 at Baishan Airport, his suit jacket draped over his left arm.

Han Zhiming was next to him, his earphone wire tucked into his collar, his eyes fixed on the direction of the elevator entrance.

Two staff members from the Exit-Entry Administration Bureau came down first, their steps steady. Two plainclothes airport police officers followed behind.

Gu Deren walked in the middle.

Wearing a wool coat and carrying a briefcase, he stood tall and walked with a more relaxed gait than Chen Pingfang had expected.

Gu Deren stopped three steps away from Chen Pingfang and glanced at him.

"Secretary-General Chen," Gu Deren said in Mandarin, his tone flat, "did you have someone escort me out of the waiting room?"

"It wasn't me." Chen Ping draped his suit jacket over his other arm. "It was the Civil Division of the Provincial High Court. In the Jingwei Microelectronics case, the plaintiff applied for additional exit restrictions, and the court approved it this afternoon."

Gu Deren pushed the shoulder strap of his briefcase up a little.

"This is administrative interference in a commercial lawsuit."

"This is a legal process." Chen Ping took a step forward and stood under the light. "Mr. Gu, you can contact a lawyer, you can apply for a review in court, all procedures are open. Today we just ask for your cooperation temporarily."

Gu Deren tapped the side of his briefcase lightly with his index finger, twice.

"Briefcase," Chen Pingfang said directly. "The court's inventory notice is attached. Please cooperate with the staff to confirm the contents of the bag on-site."

This is program abuse.

"No," Chen Ping interrupted him, "Jingwei Microelectronics' assets in this case include patent documents and digital media. The court has the right to require the parties involved to explain on the spot whether the business documents they are carrying fall within the scope of the assets in question."

Gu Deren raised his head and scanned Chen Pingfang from head to toe.

This time he didn't speak immediately.

The silence lasted for nearly ten seconds.

Gu Deren took his briefcase off his shoulder, placed it on the inspection table pushed over by the staff, and unzipped it.

Inside were a notebook, a business card holder, two encrypted USB drives, and a stack of printed documents. The cover was printed with M~Tek's internal logo, and the word "Confidential" was printed in red in the security classification section.

The title on the top page of the document was clearly visible under the light.

"Core Code Interface Files of Chipfire 2.0 Architecture - Interim Report".

Han Zhiming took a breath.

Chen Ping didn't move. He just stared at the stack of documents without saying a word.

The staff put on gloves and began registering items one by one.

Gu Deren stood by the inspection table, his hands hanging at his sides, watching his belongings being inventoried one by one. He only slightly adjusted his angle, focusing more of his gaze on Chen Pingfang's face.

"Secretary-General Chen."

"Um."

"Even if you stop this package, you still can't save the code." Gu Deren's lips twitched slightly. "The interface file has already been sent out; this is just my backup."

Chen Ping then turned to him and draped his coat back over his left arm.

"That's M~Tek's business."

"No." Gu Deren tapped the edge of the inspection table with his index finger. "That's Corefire's problem. You can rewrite the code, but the raw material supply chain—" He paused, "can you protect the specialty gas supplier your 12-nanometer process relies on?"

On the inspection table, staff members signed and confirmed each item on the forms, the sound of the pen gliding across the paper was very clear.

Chen Ping looked at Gu Deren but did not respond.

three seconds.

Five seconds.

Chen Ping simply looked at Gu Deren without speaking, frowning, or giving any reaction.

Gu Deren waited for seven seconds before finally looking away.

The police officers took the stack of "Corefire 2.0 interface documents" out of their briefcase and put them into a transparent evidence bag.

Gu Deren watched as the transparent bag was sealed, labeled, and placed into the box, remaining standing still throughout the process, his posture steady.

But he stopped tapping the edge of the inspection table with his index finger.