Chapter Eighty-Seven: The Plan

"To be honest, I still do not understand what they hoped to achieve by doing this," Fang Yun said, stroking his chin. "You and I both know that the security forces of that conglomerate are extremely powerful, almost on par with the armies of some major nations. If even their own security troops were no match for the attackers, then why would they hire so many people to serve as cannon fodder?

What good could that possibly do them? They would still have to compensate the security companies for their losses, wouldn’t they? Even if they have money and do not care, that money is still being wasted for no reason at all. And more importantly, those are all living, breathing human beings!"

Fang Yun sounded deeply angered by it.

Chen Ding'an let out a sigh. "That may be true, but you have to understand that those security personnel were not their employees, nor citizens of their country. They were from ours. To those big conglomerates in capitalist countries, human life is nothing more than a resource, a number in their eyes. They cannot stand to see our country grow strong, and would be delighted if more of our people died."

"Those bastards!" Fang Yun swore.

"Yes, bastards, indeed. But they did not violate the law, and they did not break any rules. Everything fell within the terms of the agreement signed back then," Chen Ding'an said, equally helpless.

"Old Master made a mistake back then! He knew those people were no good, and still gave them such favorable conditions!" Fang Yun said angrily.

But Chen Ding'an shook his head. "You cannot blame the old man for that. Given the situation at the time, if I had been in his place, I would have done exactly the same thing. After all, circumstances were different then. If we wanted to uncover what was going on in Crysthal as soon as possible, borrowing outside power was necessary."

"Then what do you think their purpose was in hiring those security personnel and letting them die for nothing?" Fang Yun did not continue the previous subject and instead returned to the original question.

Chen Ding'an thought for a moment. "I think the most likely explanation is that those people knew something unexpected would happen, but they did not know how large the scale of the incident would be. To put it plainly, they did not know what level of force the other side would use in the attack.

"So in order to test the waters, to find out what their opponent was really capable of, what scale of attack to expect, what weapons would be used, and how many people would be involved, they hired those security personnel. In short, they used force that did not belong to their own faction as cannon fodder and pathfinders.

"To be honest, I know a little about the security firms they hired, because among the five companies, one of them has a long-standing partnership with my family’s company. My family’s corporate security is handled by them, so they should be considered quite capable.

"Even so, when the attack came, those security personnel had no ability to fight back at all. All the dead and wounded were theirs. As for the enemy... let alone wounding or killing them, we did not even know who the enemy was, how many there were, or what weapons they used.

"Even after the investigation, there were no clues at all. It was as if, even coming here yourself, you would still find nothing whatsoever."

"Isn’t that exactly what the conglomerate wanted? After all, those dead were not from their own country or company. Using other people’s sacrifices to achieve their aims—though it seems their objective was not all that successful either. At least, there has been no discovery up to now, hasn’t there?

"Hmph! Those damned capitalist conglomerates truly do not treat human life as anything."

Chen Ding'an deeply agreed. "In those people’s eyes, human life is nothing more than a usable resource. Fine, let us not talk about that. The key point is that, from our perspective, we may have gained nothing from the attack in Crysthal and instead lost many lives for no reason.

"But I keep feeling that the conglomerate actually discovered something."

"What makes you say that?"

"Here is the thing. After all the security personnel were killed, the attacks suddenly stopped. The attackers... those enemies who had been assaulting the security team did not continue their offensive. It was as if they had vanished all at once, and then the building stopped emitting that green light.

"And at that point, if I had been the conglomerate’s负责人, I would have immediately sent my own people to deal with what was happening in Crysthal.

"But what is interesting is that they did not send any security force at all. They only sent a few strange men to gather and investigate the scene. I have been wondering whether they had already obtained something, or confirmed something, and therefore no longer needed to waste manpower here.

"This was something I only realized later. I think from the very beginning they knew what would happen. The reason they did not send their own people was simply because there was no need. They knew the other side would stop immediately after launching the attack, so all they had to do was let others die in their place.

"Rather than saying they hired people to defend against Crysthal, it would be more accurate to say they used Crysthal to obtain the information they wanted. As for what that information actually was, I still have not figured it out."

"You’ve said a whole lot and still managed to say nothing at all," Fang Yun said with a pout.

"One more thing," Chen Ding'an said again. "Among the people the conglomerate sent, one of them appeared to be very much like you."

"Like me?" Fang Yun froze. "In what way was he like me? In appearance?"

Chen Ding'an rolled his eyes. "Do you really think I would mean his looks? I mean... his abilities and the way he handled things. After he arrived at the attack site, he did exactly what you would do: he dipped his finger in the blood on the ground and put it in his mouth..."

!!!

Fang Yun was startled. "How could that be?!"

"I found it strange too," Chen Ding'an nodded. "By all rights, someone like you should not have been in that conglomerate. That is why I wanted to ask you: among the people who took part in that plan back then, aside from you, there were quite a few others. Do you know where they are now? Where are they all?"

Fang Yun thought for a moment and shook his head. "I do not know the situation or whereabouts of all those people. I only know a few from our own country."

"Then who knows the roster of personnel and what became of them? Old Master Fang? Or someone else? Can you find a way to get hold of that list? It is very important," Chen Ding'an said gravely.

"I understand that, of course. But obtaining that personnel list is not so easy," Fang Yun explained helplessly. "First of all, the one in charge of that plan at the time was not our family’s old master. He only sent me over as well, and it was because of that plan that I ended up turning misfortune into blessing..."

As he said this, Fang Yun glanced at the researcher beside them.

The researcher smiled knowingly. "I just remembered that I still have some work to finish before leaving, so I will not disturb the two of you while you catch up. I am right next door; if you finish what you are doing, you can come find me there."

After speaking, the researcher nodded and left, pulling the room door shut behind him.

Naturally, his words were only an excuse. He could easily tell that what Fang Yun was about to say involved highly important secrets, and until he had truly entered the inner circle, it would not be appropriate for him to hear too much.

The researcher’s tactful behavior naturally won Fang Yun’s favor. After he left, Fang Yun continued, "At the time, that plan was handled by other senior officials above us, and in truth, he was not even the overall leader of it.

"It was actually a joint operation involving many countries. The overall coordinator was a specialist sent by another nation, while our country was merely one of the larger participants.

"So the people involved in the plan were all sent by different countries. We were not really familiar with one another. Although we got to know each other during the course of the operation, our relationships were not nearly as close as you might imagine. At most, we were nodding acquaintances.

"Some people even had rather serious conflicts because they did not get along. You can understand that: everyone selected to take part was an elite from their own country, proud and ambitious young people, so competition and rivalry were inevitable, and that led to friction.

"So apart from the members of one’s own national team, the different countries were bound to have conflicts unless there was some longstanding family connection. But because it was a joint operation, the overall coordinator still kept an eye on such things, so no major disputes arose.

"Still, the members were not particularly familiar with one another. Our country, for instance, was only relatively close with the people from the great northern power.

"So the only people I know are from that country. One of them seems to be working in our country now. His name is Yuri Andreyev. If necessary, I can contact him at any time."

Chen Ding'an shook his head. "Knowing only one of them is useless. We have to figure out everyone who took part in that plan back then; otherwise, knowing just one or two names will not help us rule out that strange man."

"I can only go back and ask the old master, then use his connections to inquire about the person who was in charge of our country’s part of the plan back then. Given the old master’s standing, it should not be a problem to investigate. I only fear that the higher-ups may have no records left, or that someone deliberately erased them.

"You understand this yourself: in a plan of that sort, the personnel list would be highly classified. Perhaps they knew everything internally, but for other countries, they might not even have used their real names. Their identities could very well have been false as well," Fang Yun said truthfully.

"Forget it. We will talk about it after you return. In any case, if there is any news, tell me at once. I will also begin looking from other angles and see what I can uncover," Chen Ding'an concluded.

"All right. Then let us leave it at that for today. It is rare to meet, and we have not had the chance to sit down and drink properly. Next time, remember to call Chen Hao and that little girl Mengyan along as well," Fang Yun said, waving a hand as he walked straight out of the room.