AWB Chapter 434 Internal Review Turmoil
Chapter 434 Internal Review Turmoil
The security review began quietly.
When Lao Zhou handed in the checklist, Ling Yun was reviewing the test report for the Spark OS prototype. The checklist was printed on four full pages of A4 paper, with the results of the checklist marked after each item. Most of them were checked with a black pen, except for the item in the middle of the second to last page, which was circled in red pen.
The ring was so thick and heavy that it almost punctured the paper.
"Zhang Wei," Old Zhou said in a low voice, as if afraid of being overheard, "is Li Mo's assistant. Last month, he applied for document access to the StarCore chip, claiming it was to assist in organizing simulation data."
"Why would an assistant like him need to request chip documentation?"
Old Zhou pulled another stack of papers from his bag; they were card swipe records from the access control system. One line on the record was highlighted with a bright yellow highlighter, so bright it was almost blinding.
"In the past two weeks, he entered the server room alone six times late at night. The time was basically between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m. He would swipe his card to go in and come out after about 20 minutes," Old Zhou paused, "He went in empty-handed and came out empty-handed as well."
Ling Yun took the access control record page and read it line by line. The access control record of the computer room was like an electrocardiogram, mostly flat and stable, then suddenly spikes appeared one after another in the middle of the night.
At 1:15 AM on the 3rd, 2:08 AM on the 5th, 1:43 AM on the 7th, 2:21 AM on the 9th, 1:37 AM on the 11th, and 2:58 AM on the 13th. Six times, each time later than the last, as if deliberately testing the waters.
"I checked the surveillance footage," Lao Zhou said. "It's very clear; it's him."
Ling Yun placed the access control record on the table and tapped his fingers twice. "Who else knows?"
"Just Zhao Hu and me. I didn't mention it to Li Mo."
"Don't mention it yet." Ling Yun picked up the list circled in red on the table and glanced at it again. "You just said he suddenly resigned last week?"
"Yes, I submitted my resignation letter on Friday afternoon, saying that I had family matters to attend to and needed to return to Henan."
"What's the reason?"
His mother is sick and needs someone to take care of her.
Ling Yun slammed the list on the table, picked up the landline, and made a call. The phone rang twice before being answered, and Wang Degui's voice came through, carrying a strong smell of smoke.
"How's the investigation into Zhang Wei going?"
"I was just about to call you," Wang Degui coughed on the other end of the phone. "I sent someone to his hometown. The village officials said his family was one of the first in the village to build a house, they finished it last year. As for his mother, she dances square dancing at the village entrance more enthusiastically than anyone else, and she even participated in a county-level competition last month. We checked at the hospital, and there are no hospitalization records in the last six months, not even an appointment."
Ling Yun held the phone without saying a word.
"Let me finish," came the sound of turning pages from Wang Degui's side. "The strangest thing is that since the beginning of the year, their bank accounts have seen more than a dozen deposits, each not much, around ten or twenty thousand, but very frequently. They came from Guangdong, not from one account, but from many accounts, and they are spread very evenly."
Where in Guangdong?
"Shenzhen."
There was a few seconds of silence on the phone. Ling Yun looked at the slow-moving clock on the wall; the second hand skipped a beat and then stopped, as if it were stuck.
"Keep an eye on him," Ling Yun said. "Don't let him leave Jinan."
"We're already keeping an eye on him. I've sent people to the area around where he lives."
Ling Yun hung up the phone. Old Zhou stood beside him, not daring to utter a sound.
"Find someone to lure Zhang Wei out," Ling Yun said, turning to Lao Zhou. "Any excuse will do—a meeting, a conversation, a handover—just keep him occupied for at least half a day. Then send someone to his workstation to collect all his hard drives, USB drives, and laptops, and send them to the server room to create an image. Don't touch any files."
Old Zhou nodded and turned to walk towards the door.
"etc."
Old Zhou turned around.
"Tell Zhao Hu to stay behind tonight with some men," Ling Yun said. "I'm worried something might happen."
Zhang Wei's workstation was diagonally opposite Li Mo's office, separated by a glass wall. While Zhang Wei was in the conference room for his exit interview, the people Lao Zhou arranged ransacked his workstation.
On the table lay a half-empty bottle of mineral water, a laptop bag, several chip design reference manuals, and a half-open bag of cookies. When the computer case was moved away, the person at the next workstation looked up, about to ask a question, but Old Zhou patted him on the shoulder and went back to work.
Around 10 p.m., Zhao Hu's men began to set up surveillance near the residential area where Zhang Wei rented a place.
There was a mala tang (spicy hot pot) stall still open at the entrance of the residential complex. Two people were sitting in front of the stall eating mala tang, their mouths slurping from the spiciness. Zhang Wei's building had six floors, and he lived on the third floor. The light was on in his window. The curtains weren't drawn, and you could see people walking back and forth inside, their steps hurried.
Zhao Hu's phone rang; it was Lao Zhou. "The hard drive image in the server room is finished, and we found traces of an external USB drive. It was last plugged in and unplugged three days ago."
"Where's the USB drive?"
"Couldn't find it. It's not at his workstation, nor in his dorm. Either he has it on his person, or he's already moved out."
Zhao Hu hung up the phone, looked up at the window again; the light was still on, and people were still walking.
He looked down, swiped his phone, and sent a message to his subordinates.
"Keep a close eye on them, don't let a single fly escape."
The next morning at nine o'clock, Zhang Wei was stopped downstairs at the R&D center. Just as he was about to swipe his card to enter, Zhao Hu walked over from the side, followed by two other people.
"Mr. Zhang, General Manager Ling would like to have a talk with you upstairs."
Zhang Wei paused for a moment, his hand holding the employee badge twitching. He didn't look up at Zhao Hu, but slowly put the badge into his pocket and said, "I still have resignation procedures to complete today."
"No rush."
The four people in the elevator remained silent. Zhang Wei stood at the very back, his back against the elevator wall, his eyes fixed on the floor numbers as they jumped up. Zhao Hu stood in front of him, and could hear his breathing, very light and rapid, like something trembling in his throat.
Upon reaching the fourth floor, the door opened. The corridor was empty, and the doors to several offices were closed. Zhao Hu led Zhang Wei into a small conference room, had him sit in a chair against the wall, and then stood by the door. Zhang Wei sat there, his hands resting on his knees, his fingers intertwined.
A few minutes later, Ling Yun pushed open the door and came in, carrying a glass of water. He placed the water in front of Zhang Wei, then sat down opposite him and put the access control record and bank transfer slip on the table.
"Tell me about it."
Zhang Wei stared at the papers on the table, his face turning deathly pale, his lips losing all color. He opened his mouth, then closed it again, then opened it again, and finally uttered a sentence that made Zhao Hu stand up straight from the doorway.
"I said. But you have to protect me, they—they're not just me."
Ling Yun pushed the water glass on the table toward Zhang Wei.
"Have a sip of water, and speak slowly."
Zhang Wei reached for the cup, his hand trembling violently, spilling half the water onto the table. He took a sip, water dribbling from the corner of his mouth, down his chin, and onto his collar, but he didn't wipe it away, just gripped the cup tightly.
"I said," he repeated, "say it all."
Someone walked by in the corridor, their footsteps approaching and then fading away. The clock on the wall continued its unhurried ticking, the second hand leaping like someone knocking on the door.