126: Framed? Let's strike at the heart of the matter!

Interrogation room.

Ye Chen sat in a chair, not wearing handcuffs.

Hmm... it felt like revisiting an old haunt. This was the exact same room where Bai Shanshan had interrogated him last time.

The veteran police officer leading the team sat down across from him with a notebook. Just as he unscrewed the cap of his fountain pen, the interrogation room door was pushed open.

The next second.

A tall, upright figure walked in.

The newcomer wore a crisp police service uniform, and the rank on his epaulets was clearly high... Li Yao!

Upon seeing the newcomer, the veteran officer immediately stood up and saluted, "Captain Li!"

Li Yao waved his hand, his expression serious.

"Old Chen, leave this to me. You go out first and close the door."

"Yes!" The veteran officer didn't hesitate. He closed his notebook, put away his pen, walked out quickly, and shut the heavy soundproof door behind him.

In the interrogation room, only Ye Chen and Li Yao remained.

Li Yao walked to the table. Instead of taking the veteran officer's seat, he pulled over another chair and sat down beside Ye Chen.

"Brother-in-law."

"I just heard about what happened and rushed over."

"Brother Li, what exactly is going on?" Ye Chen took a deep breath.

Li Yao lowered his voice and explained.

"We received a tip-off call."

"The caller went directly to the Municipal Bureau's Inspection and Narcotics divisions. The evidence points clearly. The whistleblower claims to have concrete evidence of Heavenly Palace's long-term involvement in drugs, even mentioning specific transaction times..."

"They're coming at you aggressively."

He paused, his gaze becoming sharp.

"But the method is too standard, so standard it looks like a frame-up following a deliberate procedure."

"As soon as Heavenly Palace changed hands, you were targeted. The stuff found happened to be hidden in a spare cabinet that's almost never used..."

"When there are too many coincidences, it's no longer a coincidence."

Ye Chen listened quietly. After Li Yao finished, he asked the most critical question.

"Brother Yao."

"Who reported it... do you know?"

Hearing this, Li Yao pulled a photocopy from his briefcase and pushed it toward Ye Chen.

On it were a few summaries of call logs and a string of numbers.

"The whistleblower's identity is layers-deep in encryption. The technical department hasn't fully decrypted it yet."

Ye Chen glanced at the encrypted number, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Brother Li, give me a computer. I'll decrypt it."

Li Yao was stunned.

"What? What did you say?"

He stared at Ye Chen with wide eyes, as if he didn't recognize this cheap Brother-in-law of his. "Brother-in-law, you... don't tell me you know how to do this?"

But then again... even if Ye Chen knew, it probably wouldn't help, right?

After all.

So many big shots in the city had tried to decrypt it but were helpless... Ye Chen leaned back, interlacing his fingers on the table, his lips curling into a mysterious arc.

"I'll tell you a secret."

"During the last cyber public opinion war with the Zhao family, the person who plastered the Azure Dragon Society's dirt all over the internet, leaving the Provincial Department and major media platforms helpless..."

"Was me."

Li Yao: "???"

His mouth hung open slightly, and the pen in his hand rolled onto his notebook.

His head buzzed as if someone had struck his eardrums hard with a hammer!

Those dirt bombs that had flooded major forums, social platforms, and even some internal communication groups within the system... that "ghost hacker" who had left the cyber security and technical investigation departments in a frenzy, searching for days and nights only to trace back to overseas springboard servers before giving up... was actually Ye Chen?!

This Brother-in-law, who in his impression had divine medical skills, heaven-shaking martial arts, and could even perform world-defying Feng Shui, actually had such methods?!

"You... you're not joking?" Li Yao's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice slightly out of tune.

Ye Chen smiled and said nothing, but everything was understood.

Li Yao suddenly snapped back to his senses and slapped the table!

"Holy crap!"

"So it was you, kid!"

"No wonder..."

"Back then, the video of the Zhao family's forced marriage was posted online, and those technical methods left even the experts invited by the Provincial Department scratching their heads!"

He was both shocked and excited, but then he thought of something and looked at Ye Chen with a strange expression. "Then doesn't this... count as illegal intrusion and undermining network security?"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and said righteously, "I was eliminating evil for the people, reporting criminal leads, and cooperating with the police to crack down on black and evil forces. I should be given a commemorative banner instead."

Li Yao: "..."

Good grief!

This guy's thick skin was as unfathomable as his skills!

But he couldn't be bothered to pursue this now. The priority was to find that bastard who framed him!

"I'll have someone bring a computer right away!"

Li Yao no longer hesitated. He grabbed the walkie-talkie on the table and pressed the call button. "Technical department! Bring spare machine number three to interrogation room one! Now! Immediately!"

A few minutes later.

A specialized computer with specs far exceeding a normal laptop was brought in by a young officer.

The officer glanced curiously at Ye Chen sitting in the interrogation chair but didn't dare ask. He put down the machine and quickly retreated.

Li Yao personally closed the door, locked it, and even pulled the breaker for the surveillance... Ye Chen wasn't polite either. He pulled the specialized machine in front of him and pressed the power button.

The screen lit up, the blue light illuminating his calm face.

He placed both hands on the keyboard. In that instant, Li Yao had the illusion that Ye Chen's entire temperament had changed—

He was no longer the Mr. Ye who could suppress a Grandmaster with a punch or bring the dead back to life with a needle, but rather... a hunter lurking in the deep sea of data.

His fingers flew!

The tapping of the keyboard was as dense as rain. Black command windows popped up one after another on the screen, and green code cascaded down like a waterfall!

Li Yao's eyes were dazzled. He considered himself to have met many technical experts, but Ye Chen's operation speed and command complexity... were simply unbelievable!

He even saw Ye Chen casually type in a few lines of assembly instructions that he couldn't understand at all, directly bypassing several security protocols at the system's core!

Could a normal hacker even know this?!

"Found it."

In less than a minute, Ye Chen hit the enter key.

The waterfall of code on the screen stopped abruptly, and a clear red dot positioning map popped up, accompanied by a long string of parsed IP routing and physical address information.

Ye Chen glanced at it and recited an address.

"Jincheng, High-tech Zone, Dragon Shield Security Group Headquarters Building."

"Basement level three, Special Operations Command Center."

Li Yao's expression changed.

"Dragon Shield Security Group?"

"Isn't that a legitimate... security company?"

"Headquartered in Jincheng, their business covers several provinces, and their reputation has always been decent. How could..."

He really couldn't connect such a glamorous-looking behemoth with the underhanded methods of hiding drugs to frame someone at the Heavenly Palace club.

Ye Chen let go of the keyboard, his gaze icy. "We'll know once we get there."

Hearing this, Li Yao immediately stood up.

"I'll arrange the people right away, apply for the inter-city joint operation procedures, and lead the team over..."

"Wait."

Ye Chen interrupted him and stood up as well. "Take me with you."

Li Yao paused, hesitating.

According to procedure, he couldn't release Ye Chen, but Ye Chen was his future Brother-in-law, so that made it different.

Besides... if Ye Chen wanted to leave, it seemed no one could stop him anyway.

Li Yao's thoughts raced, and he gritted his teeth.

"Fine!"

"But you have to promise me, follow my lead for all actions, and you can't cause any deaths."

He said the last part with a bit of a lack of confidence.

Ye Chen twitched the corner of his mouth: "I'll try."

Li Yao: "..."

The two didn't delay any longer. They opened the interrogation room door and strode out.

Just as they reached the hall.

They bumped head-on into Director Xiao, who had rushed over upon hearing the news.

Director Xiao was a veteran policeman in his fifties with graying hair and a serious face. Seeing Ye Chen beside Li Yao, his brow immediately furrowed.

"Captain Li!"

"That person's situation hasn't been cleared up yet. How can you bring him out?"

"Send him back immediately and wait for the investigation results!"

Li Yao didn't stop walking. He just glanced at the director and said in a deep voice, "Director Xiao, there are new major leads in this case that require Ye Chen's cooperation for identification. I'll guarantee him. I will take all responsibility."

"You'll guarantee him?"

Director Xiao's brow stayed locked. "Li Yao! This is no joke! He's a key suspect in a drug possession case! What are you using as a guarantee? Your career?!"

The atmosphere in the hall suddenly became tense.

Li Yao took a deep breath, about to speak.

Just then—

"I'll also guarantee him."

A cold female voice came from behind the crowd.

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound.

They saw Bai Shanshan, dressed in a crisp police uniform, walking out from the crowd.

"Captain Bai?"

Director Xiao was stunned, clearly not expecting Bai Shanshan to appear at this time, let alone say such a thing.

The surrounding officers also showed expressions of surprise.

Bai Shanshan was famously impartial and strict in the bureau.

She handled cases only based on evidence and rules, ignoring personal favors, and had never stood as a guarantor for anyone.

Is the sun... rising from the west today?

Bai Shanshan walked up and saluted Director Xiao.

"Director Xiao, Mr. Ye Chen previously assisted us in cracking the case of the Azure Dragon Society remnant Wan Qingshan, providing key leads and evidence. He is someone of merit."

"The Heavenly Palace matter is full of suspicious points and clearly has traces of being a frame-up."

"I guarantee with my badge and my career that Mr. Ye Chen has nothing to do with this matter, and his participation is crucial to catching the real mastermind behind the scenes."

Director Xiao looked at Bai Shanshan, then at Li Yao, and couldn't help but fall silent... He suddenly remembered some rumors.

About Ye Chen's relationship with Old Zhou and the Divine Doctor Zhang, about Bing Lan's identity, and about Bai Shanshan's reclusive sister, Bai Wanqing... After a moment of silence, Director Xiao let out a long breath and waved his hand.

"Fine!"

"With the two of you guaranteeing him... I'll believe it for once."

"But Li Yao, Bai Shanshan, remember this: this case must be given a clear and thorough explanation!"

"You can take him, but if it's finally proven that Ye Chen really has a problem, or if you mess it up..."

"Don't blame me for being heartless!"

"Yes! Mission guaranteed!" Li Yao and Bai Shanshan responded in unison while standing at attention.

Director Xiao said no more, turned around with his hands behind his back, and walked toward his office.

"Let's go!"

Li Yao barked softly. The three of them quickly walked out of the police station hall and got into Li Yao's SUV.

Then.

They sped off toward the Dragon Shield Security Group in Jincheng!