109: Chapter 110 Activating the Silence Program, A Seamless Disguise

One billion in funds surged frantically like an undercurrent in an extremely short period.

Hundreds of tons of strangely shaped, cutting-edge overseas equipment were quietly brought through Customs via underground channels...

Xu Hao thought these actions were performed flawlessly within the underground black market of Shanghai.

Indeed, such covert operations were enough to evade the prying eyes of those sensitive multinational conglomerates and commercial spies.

However, in the face of the state apparatus's impenetrable "Sky Net" and the Customs system.

Any such massive and bizarre flow of funds and movement of supplies was like a searchlight in the dark of night, impossible to hide.

Inside an office in the Shanghai Municipal Building, Secretary Shen Hai was currently frowning, staring at a top-secret report that had just been urgently submitted by the National Security department.

He, who usually never showed his emotions, had a stiff expression at this moment.

"Are you certain you've investigated this thoroughly?"

Secretary Shen Hai suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with rare disbelief, staring intently at the trusted subordinate standing before the desk: "These six guys are currently staying safely in that abandoned military outsourcing laboratory in Sheshan, Songjiang?!"

"Absolutely certain, Secretary. Although the cover-ups arranged by Xu Hao were clever, we still locked onto that abandoned factory area while screening the flow of those sensitive devices."

The subordinate reported with a solemn expression.

Upon hearing this confirmed reply, Secretary Shen Hai leaned back against his chair, feeling a bit of scalp-tingling dread.

Ordinary people might not even know how to spell the six foreign names on the report. But as the high-ranking official in charge of the entire economic heart of the East, Secretary Shen Hai only needed to use his authority a little, and the backgrounds of these people were immediately laid bare before him like peeling an onion.

He didn't know until he checked. Upon checking, even this Shanghai leader, who had seen all kinds of storms, broke out in a cold sweat.

Arthur Pendleton, Victor Zima, Linus... Every single person on this list, if singled out, had once caused a huge sensation in the global top-tier semiconductor field!

Without exception, they were all "tech maniacs" in their respective fields with extreme approaches and eccentric temperaments.

It was precisely because of this that they had been jointly blacklisted by the entire mainstream Western tech circle and multinational giants.

What was even more fatal was that several major Western intelligence agencies had long ago placed these people on high-risk surveillance lists. And they had secretly issued a death order absolutely forbidding them from leaving the country!

Secretary Shen Hai took a deep breath and slammed the top-secret report onto the solid wood desk. He never expected that Shen Du, this kid who was always daring, would actually have such heaven-reaching methods and audacity!

Not only did he dare to go head-to-head with the Beijing Circle in the business world, but in reality, he had actually managed to smuggle this group of "national treasure-level" dangerous figures, whom the West was strictly guarding, right under their noses. And he even stuffed them directly into the Shanghai territory under his jurisdiction!

The office fell into a deathly silence. Secretary Shen Hai stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window. Looking at the prosperous neon night view of Shanghai, his fingers holding the cigarette tightened slightly.

The old man of the Shen Family in the capital had previously issued a strict order. No matter how big a storm Shen Du stirred up in Shanghai, the Shen Family would never intervene, letting this young tiger train and fight in the wilderness on his own.

But the old man, for all his calculations, probably didn't calculate that this kid would dare to pluck the tiger's whiskers of multinational tech giants and Western intelligence agencies!

The identities of these six people were simply too sensitive. Once the news that they had quietly infiltrated China and were hiding in Shanghai leaked, this would absolutely not be a simple commercial dispute. Instead, it was highly likely to directly trigger a serious diplomatic shock and international technological conflict!

"This brat is really just causing trouble for me..." Secretary Shen Hai helplessly pressed his brow.

As the top official of Shanghai, and also Shen Du's biological "Second Uncle," under the dual considerations of national righteousness and family affection, it was absolutely impossible for him to sit idly by and watch this ticking time bomb, which could explode at any moment, be exposed to the light.

He turned around and took a deep drag of his cigarette. His eyes instantly became as cold and decisive as a blade. He directly exercised the breathtaking power in his hands, starting to "clean up the mess" for his daring nephew.

"Immediately initiate the Silent Protocol." Secretary Shen Hai stared at the trusted subordinate in front of him, his voice not loud, but carrying an unquestionable pressure:

"Go to the underlying databases of the National Security and Customs departments. Perform a physical-level erasure of all illegal entry records, surveillance footage along the way, and life activity trajectories in Shanghai for these six foreign personnel! I want them to completely become non-existent ghosts in the official line of sight!"

"Yes!" The subordinate's expression turned stern.

"And that batch of cutting-edge equipment that Xu Hao brought in." Secretary Shen Hai walked quickly to the desk, pointing to the glaring smuggling list on the report, and said coldly:

"His little cover-up tactics in the underground black market are too crude; they simply cannot withstand the scrutiny of Western intelligence agencies."

As the sword-wielder steering the economic heart of the East, Secretary Shen Hai displayed a terrifying ability to mobilize administrative resources:

"Break the whole into parts! You go handle this personally, and completely scatter the purchase lists and uses of this batch of sensitive equipment. The superconducting magnetic control array will be disguised within the new MRI projects introduced by two large Grade-A tertiary hospitals in the city. The high-pressure plasma generators will all be compiled into the deep-sea welding procurement reports of Lingang Heavy Industry!"

He wanted to use camouflage to perfectly integrate the whereabouts of this equipment into the normal operations of various legal high-tech enterprises in Shanghai. He would make it impossible to trace, completely flawless!

After completing this series of deployments sufficient to deceive the world, Secretary Shen Hai stubbed out the cigarette butt in his hand fiercely into the ashtray and issued the final death order:

"From today on, that abandoned factory area in Sheshan is listed as a special-grade observation zone. All future material movements of that guy Xu Hao must be reported directly to me immediately!"

Secretary Shen Hai's gaze was like a torch: "Remember, do a good job in all the cleanup work, and absolutely must not leak a single bit of news to the outside world!"

The subordinate who received the death order immediately stood at attention and nodded solemnly: "Understood, Secretary. Rest assured, I will definitely handle all the loose ends cleanly, absolutely flawlessly!"

After the trusted subordinate left the office, the thick soundproof door slowly closed, and the vast office returned to absolute silence once again.

Secretary Shen Hai sat alone behind the large desk, rubbing his tense brow. After taking a few deep breaths, he reached out and picked up the secure direct-line phone on the desk, dialing a number that went straight to the core of power in the capital.

This was also the second time within a short year that this usually calm Shanghai leader had proactively called his eldest brother Shen Che, who was far away in the capital.

"Beep... beep..." The phone was answered after only two rings. From the other end of the receiver came the deep voice of Shen Che, carrying a hint of confusion:

"Second brother? Hasn't that business war in Shanghai already come to a smooth end? Why, has another emergency event occurred in Shanghai?"