86: Foxes in the Data Torrent

"Boss, this..."

Inside the temporary cabin of the needlefish, one of Reno's soldiers stared at the list of files refreshing like a waterfall on the terminal screen, dumbfounded. "This amount of data is more than all the dust on Ashen Earth Star! We'll go blind before we can finish reading it!"

Reno frowned and patted his shoulder. "What are you complaining about? Keep working! That's an order!"

Despite his words, Reno's heart sank as he watched his squad members, their eyes bloodshot from exhaustion, performing the most inefficient manual screening in the vast ocean of data.

"Stop."

Chen Feng's voice came through; he had been standing quietly by the side.

"Boss?" Reno looked over, puzzled.

"Brute force won't find the fox." Chen Feng's gaze swept across the dizzying code and reports on the screen. "You need to use a hunter's mindset."

Without further explanation, he walked straight to his personal terminal and immersed his consciousness into the Interstellar Exchange.

Expensive AI assistants and data analysis services were everywhere, but Chen Feng skipped them all. His gaze locked onto an inconspicuous, cheap plug-in in a corner—[Financial Abnormal Behavior Pattern Analysis Plug-in].

Single-purpose and low-priced.

"Purchase."

After completing the transaction, Chen Feng returned to reality and loaded the plug-in into the ship's main computer. He said to Reno, "Come here, Reno. I'll teach you how to look at something."

Reno leaned in and saw Chen Feng setting several extremely specific screening parameters on the plug-in interface.

"The first parameter," Chen Feng's finger slid across the screen, "is to look for small trade associations that are on the verge of bankruptcy but are still conducting high-risk, low-return business. Reno, tell me, why would a starving man spend his last cent on a deal destined to lose money?"

"Unless... the deal itself isn't the goal," Reno said thoughtfully.

"Exactly." Chen Feng nodded and set the second parameter. "Among these trade associations, look for 'ghost employees.' Their positions are very low, like data entry clerks or logistics assistants, but their data processing ability and efficiency far exceed the average for those positions."

He paused and added the final, most critical parameter: "Finally, take the activity timelines of the filtered individuals after they joined and perform a fuzzy match with the key intelligence nodes recorded in this ledger from before the Su Clan Logistics was destroyed."

Chen Feng pulled up that blood-stained family ledger.

Watching Chen Feng's calm and precise operations, the admiration in Reno's eyes deepened. He realized that the 'combat' he understood was merely the most superficial layer on the Boss's chessboard.

Just then, a communication request came from the bridge.

"Boss, I found something wrong while performing routine external camouflage maintenance." A Yong's alert voice came through the communicator. "Yesterday's gang of thugs didn't show up again, but... I feel like another group is watching us. Their gazes are coming from three different hidden angles. Very professional."

"Understood." Chen Feng's eyes narrowed. "Stay alert, don't alert the enemy."

A new threat had appeared. This gave Chen Feng a sense of urgency.

Several hours later, when the data analysis plug-in emitted a soft 'beep,' everyone's eyes focused on it.

The massive amount of data on the screen vanished, leaving only a single highly matched target.

"Trade Association Name: Stardust Freight."

"Matched Individual: Amy, female, joined three months ago, Position: Data Entry Clerk."

Reno read aloud: "The report shows that since this 'Amy' joined, Stardust Freight's business direction has become abnormally... stupid. They specifically take on transportation jobs to the edges of the Omni-Dimensional Trade Alliance's controlled zones that are guaranteed to lose money."

"Losing business..." Chen Feng muttered to himself as he quickly pulled up Stardust Freight's public flight records for the past three months.

Then, he projected the Su Family's blood-stained ledger onto another screen, displaying coordinates for dozens of secret supply stations scattered across the stars that the Su Family once used for intelligence gathering.

"Reno, look."

Chen Feng issued a command to overlay the two star maps.

A miracle occurred.

Those seemingly illogical, suicidal 'loss-making' routes acted like an invisible thread, precisely connecting those long-abandoned secret supply stations one by one.

In that moment, the truth became crystal clear.

"My god..." Reno gasped. "She's not lying low, and she's certainly not on the run..."

"She's using a nearly bankrupt company as a front and the stupidest business moves as cover to frantically verify and update the intelligence network left behind by her family!" Chen Feng's voice carried a hint of undisguised admiration. "She's not hiding. She's hunting."

A cunning, resilient, and intelligent fox had left behind tracks in the data torrent that only her own kind could understand.

"Boss, should we go straight to Stardust Freight to find her?" A Yong asked excitedly.

"No." Chen Feng shook his head.

He knew very well that when dealing with a fox this cautious to her core, any direct approach would cause her to vanish instantly without a trace.

He turned off all external information, walked to the tactical board on the bridge, and picked up a pen.

"To catch a fox, you can't use a bear trap." A hunter-like smile appeared at the corner of Chen Feng's mouth. "You need to use... a business trap she can't refuse."

He began to sketch a brand-new plan on the tactical board, designed specifically for Su Li.

However, just as the prototype of the plan was drawn, Reno's urgent voice rang out again.

"Boss, the situation has changed!"

"That group of professional monitors is moving toward Stardust Freight's berth! Their scanning equipment power is abnormal... they don't look like a gang, more like... a regular army's reconnaissance squad!"