Drizzle hesitated for a moment. “May I know the reason? If you tell me why you looked for me today, I will know what I should tell President Xie.”

Meng Chao thought about it for a moment. “I feel like Xie Xiaolei knew the truth ahead of the related police departments.

“They discovered small needle-shaped holes in two of the ear ca.n.a.ls of the three biochemical pets through the autopsy report, but the two holes wouldn't lead them to finding the true culprit.

“As long as they couldn't find the culprit, the truth would not come. Heavenly Works Machines is rich, and they have a lot of peerless elites who relied on runic symbol machines technology to reach Heaven Realm or Deity Realm. They wouldn't readily admit defeat.

“If there was no culprit, the storm you stirred up at Xie Xiaolei's request wouldn't calm down so easily. What if he couldn't clear Spirit Creation Creatures of blame? His plan would end up backfiring on him, and he would have caused great trouble for himself.

“You must understand, biochemical modification technology has always been a very sensitive topic. The citizens are willing to keep a biochemical pet with sharp claws and great fighting powers in their houses because they have full trust in modification technology. If there is even a 1% crack in that trust, everything will fall apart.

“So, Xie Xiaolei's promotion was just too risky. Was there a need for him to do it?”

Drizzle was stunned for a moment, then he mumbled, “Makes sense. I was very curious at that time as well. He was basically slinging mud on himself while waiting for the truth to be revealed. This is what you call a 180-degree change in a situation. There have been similar cases in the past, but this is a terrible plan, and it's mostly deployed by companies who are forced into a corner.

“Spirit Creation Creatures was actually in a pretty good situation before this. There were a lot of people paying attention to the case, so even if we didn't push the tides, as long as the truth came out, the company's reputation and influence would still increase by leaps and bounds. There was also a high chance that they would get the deal. I don't know why President Xie would choose to do something so unnecessary and pay so much for it.”

“That is, unless he knew who the culprit was and had crucial evidence,” Meng Chao said faintly. “Even if the police and related departments couldn't find the culprit, he would still have ways to expose the culprit.

“And since he knew who the culprit was but refused to report to the police and related departments, it means that he is guilty of something.

“If that's really the case, it's highly likely that you've turned into the accomplice of some crime as well.”

Drizzle's eyes remained fixed on one spot for a long time.

He brought out a microcomputer from his bag.

Then, he placed a pair of gla.s.ses with a lot of runic symbols and micro crystal chips over his eyes.

He connected to the deep web, and through an anonymous chat room, he sent an invite to Xie Xiaolei. He asked to have a voice call.

The invite box stayed for a long time on the screen. It seemed that Xie Xiaolei did not expect that Drizzle would contact him.

Then, when Drizzle patiently called him a third time, the invite was accepted.

“Yes?”

What they heard was a sharp and tentative voice.

It was completely different from the usual Xie Xiaolei.

“President Xie.” Drizzle nudged his gla.s.ses up the bridge of his nose, and a professional smile appeared on his face. “It's me. I would like to ask you for feedback on the work I did for you last time. I'm not bothering you, am I?”

The other side was silent for a moment.

“You did well for the activity at Silver Lion. I was very satisfied with it. I've been working with your studio for years, so there's no way you would cause me any trouble.”

Even the voice change function could not hide the great puzzlement in Xie Xiaolei's voice. “But it has been a long time since it happened. Why are you mentioning it and using this method to contact me? You could have called me at my office phone for this.”

Drizzle coughed softly. “President Xie, I'm not talking about Silver Lion. It's about the matter at Blessed Paradise.”

The other party was silent for a while. Then, the voice rose by several pitches. “The matter at Blessed Paradise?”

“That's right, President Xie.”

Drizzle exchanged a glance with Meng Chao. They did not expect that Xie Xiaolei would react this way.

Meng Chao thought about it and asked Drizzle to go straight to the point. “Weren't you the one who asked me to leak the information about the case of the murderous pets in Blessed Paradise and have someone criticize Spirit Creation Creatures and biochemical modification technology?”

“What? Aren't you mistaken? Why would I do that? Drizzle, aren't you mistaken about something?” Xie Xiaolei screeched. He stopped talking for a moment before his voice suddenly became incredibly alert and calm. “Wait. Are you really Drizzle? Who are you? And what are you investigating?

“No matter who you are, listen carefully. I'm a proper businessman. I've never done anything against the law. I'm completely innocent when it comes to the case of the murderous pets in Blessed Paradise.

“There's nothing wrong with the products of my company, and I've never hired any online ma.s.s media company or person dabbling in we-media. I didn't ask anyone to do any promotions that break the limits of moral codes and deceive people.

“As long as you're smart enough, you will be able to see that my company and I are completely innocent, and we're the victims. There is no need for me to do this. All I needed to do is to wait for the police and the related departments to figure out the truth to get the profit that I should get. Why would I do something so unnecessary and leave behind a stain on my name? What a joke!”

Drizzle cast a glance at Meng Chao.

Meng Chao thought about it for a while before he took the computer and gla.s.ses. He made minor adjustments to the voice changing system and imitated Drizzle's sharp voice while he spoke in shock. “President Xie, what are you saying? Didn't you send all the information to me through this chat room that day? You even told me how I should handle things. In the end, you even offered me a price that I couldn't refuse?

“I'm not accusing you of not paying me. You've already paid me everything as per the contract, but I feel like someone has been investigating this matter recently, so I wanted to talk to you about this.”

“That's impossible,” Xie Xiaolei said firmly. “I haven't used this chat room over the past few months. Honestly, I haven't met you for at least three months, and that's if you're Drizzle!”

“But half a month ago, someone did indeed use your ident.i.ty in this chat room to contact us and negotiate the terms for the deal,” Meng Chao said. “President Xie, if it weren't because we're familiar with each other and because the offer you made was extremely high, we wouldn't have taken up the deal. If someone really comes to my doorstep, we'll be forced to tell them this when we're forced into a corner.”

“That's easy.” Xie Xiaolei snorted. “Just tell them that someone used my name to make this deal with Drizzle Studio. Everything can be falsified on the deep web. There wouldn't be a problem even if I told someone that I'm the mayor of Dragon City.”

“There is,” Meng Chao said. “President Xie, you forgot. To ensure that this chat room provides absolute confidentiality and safety, we're the only ones who can connect to the chat room via our terminals. Besides, we need to scan our corneas and check a series of biological information to be certain that the person who is talking to us is the real deal.

“Otherwise, we wouldn't have readily agreed to do something like helping the president of Spirit Creation Creatures defame his own company!”

The other party was silent for a long time.

Then, Xie Xiaolei spoke again. Even the voice changing system could not hide the hoa.r.s.eness and panic in his voice. “Are you sure that 'I' really used this chat room to contact you last time?”

“Of course, President Xie. There's no need for me to tell a lie that can be easily seen through,” Meng Chao said. “Even though this anonymous chat room automatically deletes all signs of previous chats and information transferred, the related departments will still be able to find clues. You should be prepared!”

“I got it,” Xie Xiaolei said calmly. “We'll meet at our old place at seven o'clock tonight and talk about it. Don't tell anyone about this for now, alright?”

“Got it.” Meng Chao hung up.

He sank into the couch and laced his fingers together so that he could prop his chin on them. He thought about it for three minutes.

Then, he came to a conclusion. “Xie Xiaolei doesn't know about this. The person who contacted you half a month ago wasn't Xie Xiaolei.”

“What? How is that possible?” Drizzle asked in shock.

“I know that it's practically impossible,” Meng Chao said. “If another person wanted to use this chat room, he had to be able to get Xie Xiaolei's terminal, account, pa.s.sword, hair, cornea, his blood sample, and other information, and he had to do it without Xie Xiaolei noticing it as well. Of course, he must also know how he works with Drizzle Studio.

“This seems like an impossible task. Still, it reduces my suspects to only a few people. Let me think carefully…”

Suddenly, Meng Chao shot up from the couch as if he had been electrocuted.

Then, under Drizzle's surprised gaze, he shot out like the wind.

He did not even bother riding the elevator.

With just a few strides, he descended the stairs.

He rushed into the street, and while he ran, he called Xie Xiaolei.

Due to him providing great help to the case of the murderous pets in Blessed Paradise, Xie Xiaolei had given Meng Chao his personal phone number. Meng Chao could contact the person himself without going through the secretary.

But the personal phone was turned off.

Meng Chao thought about it and sent a message to Xie Xiaolei stating that he wanted to discuss the details regarding the cooperation between Superstar and Spirit Creations Creatures.

He did not receive a reply for the message even after a long time had pa.s.sed.

Meng Chao cussed under his breath and called Shen Yupeng.

Shen Yupeng's phone was not turned off, but no one picked up the call for a long period of time.

Shen Yupeng had told Meng Chao that he usually spent about twenty hours a day solving cases outside. He would probably never be able to pick up his calls, but the moment he was free, he would definitely call him back.

Meng Chao pondered his choices and could only call Lu Siya.

“Xie Xiaolei's life is in danger. In fact, he might already be dead.”

His first sentence shocked Lu Siya, and while she was regaining her senses, Meng Chao told her of his discovery.

“But even if someone used Xie Xiaolei's name to do this, why are you so certain that Xie Xiaolei's life is in danger?” Lu Siya asked in puzzlement.

“Don't you understand?” Meng Chao said anxiously. “The person who can get Xie Xiaolei's terminal, cornea, and other biological information must be the closest person to him, for only he would know how Xie Xiaolei works with Drizzle Studio.

“But while he might be able to hide this for a time, he won't be able to hide it forever. Xie Xiaolei is going to end up working with Drizzle Studios sooner or later once more, and when he meets with Drizzle, with just a few words, that person will soon be exposed, because Xie Xiaolei is smart.

“He might be able to guess what happened, and that person will definitely not leave behind such a major problem around.

“So, when he pretended to be Xie Xiaolei and contacted Drizzle Studios, he was already plotting Xie Xiaolei's murder. Once this matter is settled, he will definitely kill Xie Xiaolei just like how he killed Jin Yongqiang!”