You went on a blind date and presented an A-level wanted criminal as a meeting gift?

The dinner ended at nearly 10 p.m.

Lin Chen first saw his parents into the car.

Shen Manyun clung to the car window, refusing to leave, insisting on asking him, "Which one are you planning to marry?"

Lin Chen smiled and said, "Mom, you've had too much to drink," and closed the car window for her.

Su Qingge drove off first.

Before leaving, she glanced at Lin Chen through the passenger window, her lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

Ye Qingcheng's Rolls-Royce was the last to leave.

She stood in front of Lin Chen for two seconds before getting into the car.

"Lin Chen".

"Um?"

"Next time, I don't want to eat with anyone else."

After she finished speaking, she got into the car, the door closed, and the black car silently slid into the night.

Jiang Tingxue and Su Ke'er walked together.

Su Ke'er skipped and hopped along with Jiang Tingxue's arm, muttering, "Brother Lin Chen's desserts are so delicious."

Jiang Tingxue didn't say anything, but after walking a dozen steps, she turned back and glanced at Lin Chen, who was still standing at the restaurant entrance.

His gaze was fleeting, and he quickly looked away.

Everyone has left.

Lin Chen stood there, watching the taillights of the last car disappear into the intersection.

The gentleness on his face faded away like water from his features.

What's exposed is ice.

He climbed into the RS7 and started the engine.

Time is up.

Zhao Deshun.

The name had been on his mind all day.

The result of that afternoon coffee is already clear, but there's still a wall between "clear" and "can be used as evidence".

The truth serum only confirmed to Lin Chen that Zhao Deshun was lying, but this confirmation couldn't be made public.

What he needed was for Zhao Deshun to take matters into his own hands, expose himself, and jump into the pit himself.

He took out his phone, opened his laptop, and connected to an encrypted remote desktop.

The firewall on the municipal bureau's intranet was practically useless against him. He gained access to Su Qingge's work email in less than thirty seconds.

Then he started writing the email.

The sender forged Su Jianguo's encrypted communication address.

Email subject: "Emergency directive regarding remaining evidence from the fireworks incident".

The wording of the main text was extremely meticulous. Lin Chen imitated Su Jianguo's writing style, using a large number of standard terms and formats used within the public security system.

The core of the content can be summed up in just one sentence:

"Through technical decryption, it was discovered that the encrypted USB drive carried by Yan Huo contained a complete list of dark web supply chains. The USB drive has been transferred to cabinet number 12 in section B of the confidential archives room on the second basement floor of the Municipal Public Security Bureau. The task force will conduct a full extraction and decryption at 9:00 AM tomorrow."

There are three key pieces of information in this sentence.

First, the fireworks display included a fake USB drive.

Secondly, the claim that the USB drive contains a complete list of dark web users is also fake.

Third, the USB drive is currently stored in cabinet number 12 in section B of the underground archives, but this is still fake.

But Zhao Deshun didn't know that.

If he really was a mole within the court, his purpose in poisoning Yan Huo was to prevent the list from being exposed.

The list has now appeared in another form and will be decrypted at 9 a.m. tomorrow.

He only has one window tonight.

Lin Chen set the email to be sent late, at 11 p.m. tonight.

The timing was delicate enough—if someone was monitoring Su Qingge's email activity internally, they would receive a notification immediately.

From 11 a.m. to 9 a.m. the next day, there are less than ten hours.

For an old ghost who is about to retire and has been lurking in the shadows for thirty-two years, these ten hours are not something he can afford to wait for.

After sending the email, Lin Chen closed his laptop.

The RS7's headlights pierced the night as it silently drove toward the city bureau.

He had to wait in the archives.

Tonight, that old fox who has been hiding for thirty-two years will personally descend into his den to forage for food.

The streetlights outside the car window swept past one by one, casting alternating light and shadow on his face.

He took out his last cigarette, put it in his mouth, but didn't light it.

My phone vibrated.

News about Su Qingge.

Where are you now?

Lin Chen typed with one hand: "Back to the station, something's come up."

After the message was sent, there was a silence on the other end for more than ten seconds.

Then Su Qingge replied with a sentence.

"Wait for me, I'm coming too."

Lin Chen stared at those five words for two seconds, and his lips twitched slightly.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth and put it back in the cigarette case.

The RS7 accelerated and merged into the traffic heading towards the city bureau.

In the confidential archives room on the second basement floor, he had already placed the items in cabinet number 12.

It's not a USB flash drive.

It consists of a miniature high-definition camera and a set of nano-tracking powder with GPS positioning capabilities.

Whoever touches that cabinet tonight will have their every move under Lin Chen's control from now on.

Outside the windshield, the moon had disappeared into the clouds.

Lin Chen tapped his fingers lightly twice on the steering wheel.

Uncle Zhao, it's been thirty-two years.

It's time to go home.