The villainous young lady is actually a scientific research genius!

Beijing.

The press conference hall of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was brightly lit.

The long table was covered with a dark tablecloth, without any flowers or extra decorations.

There are only files on the desktop.

The documents included the engineering contract, transport list, permits, escort weapons registration, on-site photos, enlarged diagrams of ammunition box markings, radio maintenance numbers, fund flow charts, and Harrison's meeting minutes.

The vehicle number on the contract matches the transport manifest; the dates on the manifest also match the on-site photos and the flow of funds item by item.

What's spread out on the table is no longer just a pile of materials.

Instead, it is a closed chain of evidence.

The reporters' cameras were almost entirely focused on the fund flow chart in the very center.

Qian Qishen sat in the main seat and opened the folder in front of him.

"Recently, some overseas media outlets claimed that a Chinese aid engineering convoy participated in military operations, and based on this, distorted their reports on the border attack incident."

His gaze swept across the press section.

"Today, we will not engage in verbal arguments."

Please check the materials directly.

He raised his hand.

Staff members then stepped forward and delivered the documents to each reporter.

The first one was a foreign aid project contract.

The second document is the fleet transport manifest.

The third document is the weapons registration for the escort personnel.

The fourth document contains on-site physical evidence records and photographic negatives.

The fifth document is a chart showing the flow of funds.

As soon as the document was released, a Western journalist raised his hand.

"Mr. Qian, is China using foreign aid projects to expand its military presence in those regions?"

Qian Qishen looked up at him.

"Please look at the third document first."

The translator handed over the document.

Qian Qishen continued:

"Six escorts, two rifles. Weapon types, ammunition quantities, and requisition records are all properly documented."

"As for the supplies being transported by the convoy, they consisted of cement, steel bars, diesel fuel, and medical equipment."

He paused for a moment, his tone still polite.

"If you believe these are sufficient to be considered an expansion of military presence, please explain your criteria for judgment."

The reporter looked down and flipped through the documents in his hand.

The words that were already on the tip of my tongue were abruptly cut off.

Qian Qishen did not press for answers, nor did he deliberately embarrass the other party; he simply turned to the next document.

The second reporter quickly stood up.

"Could the English markings on the ammunition box be counterfeit?"

Qian Qishen nodded.

"This question can be raised, and should be raised."

"Therefore, we did not just provide one photo."

He gestured to the documents on the table.

"Here are the original physical evidence, the discovery site, the film negatives, the enlarged photos, the sealing process, and the on-site verification records of neutral country observers."

"If you still have doubts, you can wait for the official observer's report."

Qian Qishen looked at the camera, his expression calm.

"We do not ask anyone to believe in China because of their stance."

Please make your judgment based on the materials.

The press conference room was silent for a few seconds.

This time, no one responded immediately.

Some people looked down at the sealing numbers, some flipped through photos of the scene, and others picked up enlarged images to compare with the markings on the ammunition boxes.

A moment later, another reporter stood up.

Is there a direct link between overseas agricultural aid programs and the attackers?

Qian Qishen turned the fund flow chart to the camera.

"Aid agencies provide grants to trading companies."

"The trading company then transferred funds to overseas news agencies, border transport companies, and intermediaries for communication equipment."

His finger moved along the arrows on the diagram.

"The tires of the vehicles under the transport company's name correspond to the tire tracks left at the ambush site."

"The middleman who received the payment had previously purchased radios for border armed groups."

He opened Harrison's meeting minutes.

"In addition, Mr. Harrison also brought up the 'French journalists' ship' during the talks."

Qian Qishen raised his head.

"But among the three questions that Comrade Gu Zhaozhao gave him, there was neither a journalist ship nor France."

The reporters were silent for a moment.

Then, the pages were quickly turned over.

Some people found Harrison's meeting transcripts and stared at the phrase "French journalists' ship" several times; others compared the first three questions word by word and copied the dates next to the fund flow chart.

That sentence was highlighted separately.

This word was not in the first three questions.

Harrison, however, spoke out.

Someone drew a thick line under the date.

South China Sea, border, public opinion.

Three seemingly unrelated things were eventually linked together by the same account.

Qian Qishen closed the last document.

"South China Sea, border, public opinion."

On the surface, they are three unrelated things.

He raised his eyes, his voice not loud, but it clearly carried throughout the entire press conference hall.

"But the accounts are all on the same track."

A reporter immediately followed up with a question:

Will China take retaliatory measures as a result?

Qian Qishen closed the folder.

"We will continue the investigation and the construction."

"Foreign aid projects will not be halted because of a single attack."

"The evidence will be presented one by one: who attacked the engineering convoy, who funded the attack, and who prepared the press release in advance for the attack."

After he finished speaking, he nodded slightly to the press area.

"At that time, please continue to check."

After the press conference ended, the reporters did not leave immediately.

Many people are still gathered around the long table.

Some people raised their cameras to photograph the flow of funds; others bent down to copy down the radio station's maintenance numbers; still others turned to the "French journalists' ship" page in Harrison's meeting minutes and compared it word by word with the three questions that came before.

Outside the press conference room, several media outlets had already begun re-editing their headlines.

The original phrase "China is expanding its military presence" was bluntly crossed out.

No one dares to write a new title yet.

The materials are still on the table.

The serial number is still on the paper.

The observer's signature has also been affixed.

……

Paris.

Editorial Department of Eurowatch

The fax machine kept spitting out sheets of paper.

Paper slipped from the machine, scattering across the floor and piling up on the table.

Pierre stood outside the darkroom, holding two evidence bags in his hands.

One container contained original film reels taken on-site in the South China Sea, and the other contained physical evidence photos recently released by the border investigation team.

He laid the two documents side by side on the table.

"Enlarge the storage codes on the South China Sea airdrop boxes."

The photo editor came over.

"What's wrong with this string of numbers?"

Pierre did not answer, but instead pulled out a document from another stack of files.

"Let's take another look at the transit order for the ammunition boxes at the border."

The editor took the document.

A dozen seconds later, he stopped moving.

The first six digits are the same.

Pierre tapped the table with his finger.

"Let's look further ahead."

The editor compared them again.

This time, his voice lowered.

"The warehouse area number... is the same."

"yes."

Pierre leaned against the edge of the table, looking at the two almost overlapping strings of code.

"One is called Humanitarian Supplies."

"The other one is called agricultural relief."

He pushed the two receipts together.

"But they all come from the same warehousing system."

The editor paused for a few seconds, then looked up and asked:

What title are you going to write?

Pierre put the original film reel back into the evidence bag and sealed it.

Don't rush to conclusions about anyone.

"List all the materials and their numbers so that readers can see for themselves."

The editor still wouldn't give up.

"And what about the title?"

Pierre picked up his pen and wrote a line at the top of the paper.

Who is paying for the two operations?

……

That night, several European newspapers received Pierre's report, along with a list of original materials attached to the article.

The Beijing liaison offices of overseas news agencies initially denied the allegations.

Not long after, they changed their story again, saying that the relevant payment records needed to be internally verified.

The newspaper that participated in smearing China also quietly removed its earliest published border commentary.

The fact that a paper can be retracted does not mean that the matter is over.

The blank spaces left on the paper, on the contrary, prompted more people to ask questions.

Who wrote that article?

Who paid for it?

And who is it that's rushing everyone to believe that the construction convoy wasn't carrying cement and medicine, but weapons?

……

Changkong Base.

Gu Zhaozhao sat by the dedicated phone line and went through the verification records sent back by the border investigation team from beginning to end.

Qin Beihai stood in front of the table, looking much more relaxed than he had been a few days ago.

"The neutral observers have already signed."

His tone carried a rare hint of ease.

"Qian Qishen has also managed to keep the situation under control."

Gu Zhaozhao put the record aside.

"It's not about suppressing it."

Qin Beihai looked at her.

"What's it called?"

"It's like taking apart the conclusion that the other party had written down beforehand."

Qin Beihai raised his eyebrows.

"That sounds like a big difference?"

"Very big."

Gu Zhaozhao picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on the paper.

"Their original approach was to first convince everyone of the conclusion, and then gradually provide reasons for that conclusion."

"Once that initial momentum is established, few people care whether the subsequent evidence is true or false."

She drew a horizontal line lightly below the last line.

"But now, every reason must first pass the test of the records."

"If we want to replicate the same method in the future, the cost will be much higher."

Qin Beihai looked at her for a moment and then chuckled.

"Understood."

He finished the sentence for her:

"It's not about shutting them up, but about making them think twice before they say anything in the future."

Gu Zhaozhao looked up at him.

"Commander Qin's summary is spot on."

"I learned it from you."

No sooner had Qin Beihai finished speaking than the office door was pushed open.

Wen Che strode in carrying a stack of documents.

"The draft agenda for the International Mathematical Union has just been sent."

He placed the documents on the table and then pulled one out from the bottom.

"This is the initial version; this is the revised version sent yesterday. The added content is on the last page."

Gu Zhaozhao took the document.

August.

International Congress of Mathematicians.

Academic report.

Award ceremony.

Recipient's speech.

She turned the pages one by one.

When I turned to the last page, I stopped moving.

After the originally scheduled awards ceremony, an unexpected arrangement was added at some point.

Special Q&A session with young award winners.

Gu Zhaozhao's pen stopped on the paper.

Qin Beihai also took a closer look, and his brows immediately furrowed.

"Public Q&A?"

Wen Che nodded.

"The draft was only released yesterday. The alliance stated that it was in response to external concerns about young scholars."

Qin Beihai gave a soft snort.

"Why did they have to pay attention to it now of all times?"

Gu Zhaozhao raised her head.

"Who proposed it?"

"Still under investigation."

Winche laid out the initial draft and pointed to the modified page numbers.

"At present, we can only confirm that this item was not in the initial process and was added at the last minute. Moreover, the other party requested that the entire process be open to scholars and journalists."

No one responded.

Gu Zhaozhao's pen tip hovered on the paper.

It was just a process modification, but the time it occurred happened to coincide with the date on Harrison's note.

She placed the revised process document next to the notepad.

August.

The awards ceremony.

Option 2.

Now, an additional open Q&A session for all the scholars and journalists has been added to the original program.

She stared at those words, not immediately drawing a conclusion.

He simply picked up a pen, circled the date of the process modification, and wrote the same date next to Harrison's note.

When there are too many coincidences, they can no longer be considered coincidences.

Gu Zhaozhao lowered her head and slowly wrote two words on the schedule.

Q&A!