Chapter 1643: What Happened When I Was Gone?
The truth would always reveal itself.
Especially in the midst of a big lie.
Four days after the war ended, when the Qinling that was escorting war criminals left the s.p.a.ceport in orbit around Mars, the news that the Pan-Asian Cooperation would include the Alpha Centauri Colonial Exploration Foundation on the investigation list spread like wildfire.
Before the sun even rose from the horizon, the entrance of the Alpha Centauri Colonial Exploration Foundation building was already crowded.
What was different from the past was that the excitement and enthusiasm on the faces of the people surrounding this building had been replaced by anger.
They were holding signs in their hands and shouting slogans, and they only had one word in mind.
Which was—
Refund!
“Gladstone should feel fortunate.” Standing in one of the offices within the building, w.a.n.g Peng, who was in charge of supervising the investigation, spoke as he watched the crowds outside the window.
“Oh yeah?” Standing next to w.a.n.g Peng, Xing Bian raised his eyebrows, showing an expression of interest on his face.
He only got here yesterday.
As the director of the special operations office responsible for investigating The Spirit of The Universe Foundation at the Security Bureau, he had the highest authority in investigating this matter.
Taking into account the communication distance problem, in order to facilitate the understanding of the situation on the spot, he rushed here as soon as possible.
But when he arrived here, the investigation work had actually entered the final stage…
After a pause, w.a.n.g Peng continued speaking in a very emotional tone.
“If we don’t control this place and let him face these creditors who are clamoring for refunds, I’m afraid his body will be torn apart.”
Ten billion credits.
Converting it to Chinese yuan from a century ago, this was easily trillions in purchasing power.
This wave of scams was not limited to middle-cla.s.s families. The Alpha Centauri Colonial Exploration Foundation, endorsed by the town hall, had made deals together with many banks and investment inst.i.tutions, including the AIIB.
No one thought that after receiving their investments, Gladstone would actually buy unsecured special bonds issued by the town hall, basically funding their military.
Now that the Pan-Asian Cooperation had won, and Xiao Hong had already fallen below the law, obviously, this war debt couldn’t be honored.
The only thing they hoped now was that they could get back a little money before the Alpha Centauri Colonial Exploration Fund declared bankruptcy.
“The Spirit of the Universe Foundation… was destroyed?” w.a.n.g Peng felt a little disbelief in his heart when he said this sentence.
“Yes, all the truth has been revealed, and the remaining questions are constantly being unraveled.” Xing Bian smiled lightly and continued, “Gladstone’s ident.i.ty is Grey Cloak, and his helmet was inherited from his grandfather… When we searched his ancestral home on Earth, we found something that might be of interest to you.”
He rolled his wrists and gently pushed a holographic screen in front of w.a.n.g Peng.
Looking at the holographic screen floating in front of him, w.a.n.g Peng was slightly stunned. He read the text on it.
“Aurora Borealis cruise s.h.i.+p, target Academician Lu… so…”
“The last Grey Cloak, Gladstone’s grandfather, was the mastermind of the cruise s.h.i.+p attack.” Xing Bian nodded and continued, “According to the clues we collected, he died 50 years ago.”
“Natural causes?”
“Yeah.”
The expression on w.a.n.g Peng’s face was slightly complicated.
After a long period of silence, he spoke.
“I can’t believe he eventually escaped the law.”
“I don’t think so.”
w.a.n.g Peng raised his head to look at Xing Bian and cast a questioning glance at him.
Xing Bian smiled. He looked at the recovering city outside the windows and continued, “Time has given him the most severe punishment, making him spend the rest of his life in panic. In this sense, being arrested is a relief. And according to the information we investigated, around the 2030s, in order to avoid the pursuit of intelligence agencies, he not only disfigured his face but also sold his company and moved from the city to the remote countryside. When the economic crisis of the 2050s happened, regional alliances started to appear. The security department gradually relaxed its pursuit of The Spirit of The Universe Foundation, and he finally came out of seclusion. However, he only survived for a few years before he pa.s.sed away.”
w.a.n.g Peng: “This makes me feel a little bit better… Anyways, the main point is that Grey Cloak is finally caught.”
Xing Bian reached out his fist and b.u.mped w.a.n.g Peng’s shoulder.
“Yeah, this is all thanks to you. This is all your work.”
“It doesn’t really matter whose work it was… Where’s Lu Zhou? Is there any news?”
Xing Bian shook his head.
“We still haven’t found him. Our team of intelligence personnel has almost turned the entire Tiangong City upside down, but there is still no clue… Maybe he went to the future alone.”
“How can that be…”
w.a.n.g Peng wanted to continue but suddenly stopped.
Because at this moment, he suddenly thought that this kind of thing had happened before.
If Lu Zhou really found a dormant pod somewhere and stuffed himself in and slept for a hundred years, there would be no point standing here worrying.
“Anyway, the mission you brought from the past is considered complete at this moment.”
Seeing w.a.n.g Peng was silent, Xing Bian smiled in a relieved way and changed the subject.
“The ident.i.ty of Grey Cloak is revealed. According to Gladstone’s confession, they don’t know each other’s ident.i.ties. Our undercover agents only need to get the corresponding account number or helmet to be able to find them. We have now caught the biggest fish. It is only a matter of time before the remaining members are captured and brought to justice.
“As for the others, let time serve them justice.”
Speaking of this, Xing Bian suddenly remembered something, so he continued, “By the way, the mess of the Alpha Centauri Foundation has not been cleaned up. I plan to send you to Tiangong City for a period of time to help them. And also take care of the remnants of The Spirit of The Universe Foundation.”
Looking at Xing Bian, w.a.n.g Peng nodded.
“Thank you.”
“Oh, no worries.” Xing Bian continued, “Even if I didn’t make you stay here, I’m sure you wouldn’t want to leave.”
w.a.n.g Peng did not respond, but his expression was obvious.
This was the case.
Lu Zhou’s whereabouts were unknown, and no one knew whether he was alive or dead.
A century ago, he had already made the same mistake.
This time, he would never let him disappear again.
w.a.n.g Peng turned to leave Gladstone’s office. He stood in the elevator, pressed the b.u.t.ton on the garage floor, then came to the parking lot.
Just when he was about to make a call to a.s.sign work to his subordinates, he received a call.
When w.a.n.g Peng was about to open the address book to confirm who was calling, a holographic beam had already been projected in front of him.
Seeing the familiar face that appeared in the video window, he was stunned.
After that, excitement filled his eyes instantly.
Lu Zhou looked at his old friend with a muddled expression and spoke.
“Hey, what’s going on?
“What happened when I was gone?”