Chapter 135: Overture (2) |
Director Shi continued, "Aside from the 'Psychological Virus,' this criminal organization also possesses other cognitive intrusion and neural manipulation technologies, creating significant obstacles for our investigation."
"Yesterday, during our discussion with Teacher Wei, he suggested forming a research team to tackle these difficulties. Since this case is still under investigation, the research content cannot be made public, and it's likely it won't be disclosed for a considerable time to come."
"We believe Zhiwei Technology is the most ideal partner for collaboration. So we came with this mission, hoping to hear Director Dai and your company's thoughts."
Dai Songquan smiled and said, "Thank you, leaders, for your trust in our company. We consider it our duty to contribute to the resolution of this case."
He then looked at Wei Hongsi: "Hongsi, since this was your suggestion, why don't you start by sharing your thoughts?"
Wei Hongsi said, "My idea is to place this research within the university-industry collaborative R&D framework established with Yuecheng University. This way, research personnel, technical reserves, and equipment resources can all be secured."
Dai Songquan nodded. "This framework is indeed very suitable for this type of research work."
As a private technology enterprise, Zhiwei Technology needs official support. Taking on key and difficult official scientific research projects is a direct reflection of a company's technical strength and social value, and it is also very beneficial for the company's long-term development.
However, if the authorities become too deeply involved, it can easily become a hindrance, creating unnecessary constraints on the company's management and R&D work.
Placing it within the collaborative framework with Yuecheng University would allow the research to operate outside the regular business system, thereby minimizing the potential impact on Zhiwei Technology.
Wei Hongsi then briefed the three police leaders on the cooperation model between Zhiwei and Yuecheng University, explaining that the leading contacts on both sides were Zhou Qihong and Dai Songquan.
Director Liang was also very satisfied after hearing this and said, "Our side plans to have the Third Research Institute participate as the representative in this research work."
The institute he referred to was the Third Research Institute of the National Police Headquarters. This institution was located in Yuecheng, with its main research areas including network security, artificial intelligence, and electronic data. It was the police force's primary research institute for 'non-contact crimes' and cutting-edge technology, and it housed a national-level laboratory.
The two sides quickly agreed that the Third Research Institute would act as the lead unit for this research, with Academician Zhou Qihong's team from Yuecheng University and Zhiwei Technology serving as the academic and technical support units, respectively, to jointly conduct the research. Wei Hongsi would be the specific project leader.
Although Academician Zhou was not present, the existing university-industry collaboration framework allowed Director Dai to represent him on a provisional basis. The matter would be communicated to Academician Zhou later, with plans to sign a formal cooperation agreement the following day.
After this matter was settled, Yu Zhen informed Dai Songquan about several related case details that were closely tied to Zhiwei Technology.
First was Li Yunxiang. This individual was deliberately guided and exploited by the criminal organization; all her actions, including her death, were orchestrated by the mastermind behind the scenes.
Besides Li Yunxiang, it was also determined that three Zhiwei employees had been manipulated by the criminal organization due to the influence of the 'Psychological Virus.'
These three were all female, including the HR department employee who was with Mu Jie when he was apprehended.
Finally, there was the company's Vice President, Xia Yuansheng. Like Li Yunxiang, he had been implanted with a Carbon Nanotube array and turned into a tool controlled by the criminal organization.
Dai Songquan, Ji Yongsheng, and Gu Shiming were all deeply shocked by this news, especially since the criminal organization had moved against President Xia even earlier than they had against Li Yunxiang.
Wei Hongsi only learned then that the Guide Light Society had not just one or two moles embedded within Zhiwei. No wonder Director Shi had said 'another' one for Zhiwei when he saw the report implicating President Xia yesterday.
With all business concluded, Director Liang and his two companions stood up to take their leave, politely declining the offer to stay for a casual meal.
After seeing off the police leaders, Dai Songquan noticed it was lunchtime and said, "Let's go eat and talk things over at the same time. Hongsi, come with us."
Wei Hongsi followed the three company leaders to a private dining room in the restaurant. Staff served the food and closed the door as they left.
Dai Songquan asked, "Hongsi, do you think President Xia can recover?"
Wei Hongsi pondered for a moment, then said, "There is hope for recovery, but I'm afraid it will be very difficult for him to return to work."
Although he had never met President Xia in person, it wasn't hard to infer from the police investigation that President Xia's brain had developed serious problems due to multiple rounds of indoctrination, inevitably accompanied by multiple instances of irreversible damage.
Even if the 'Death Command' were removed from President Xia, being able to take care of himself would already be a good outcome. It would be very difficult for him to adapt to high-intensity mental work. If he were forced to continue, it could cause even more severe damage to his brain.
Dai Songquan was silent for a long moment, then couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Xia Yuansheng was his partner from the early days of starting the business together. The two of them had worked in perfect harmony for so many years. It wasn't until the beginning of this year that Xia Yuansheng's ideas began to diverge from his, gradually evolving into a conflict over the company's development path.
Dai Songquan found this hard to understand. Why had a partner who once shared his aspirations suddenly changed his mind?
He thought it was the influence of other shareholders on Xia Yuansheng and had even tried to counsel him a few times.
But Xia Yuansheng sometimes seemed to listen, turning around to support his work; other times, he would say he was getting old and wanted to finish out the year and retire; and at still other times, he acted like a completely different person, even openly contradicting him during meetings.
By April, Xia Yuansheng claimed to have health problems and proposed to rest at home, which came as a relief to Dai Songquan. He really didn't want to have a falling out with his old comrade. If Xia Yuansheng could just rest until retirement, that would actually be quite good.
It was around that time that he decided to promote Gu Shiming to fill Xia Yuansheng's position.
Now, it seemed that Xia Yuansheng's abnormality was caused by that criminal organization.
This brought some comfort to Dai Songquan; Old Xia hadn't become estranged from him after all, he was still that old comrade from the startup days. But mostly, it was painful; a perfectly good person had been ruined like this.
Gu Shiming's feelings were also very complicated. In his years at the company, President Xia had always appreciated and looked out for him. Before, when Director Dai and President Xia had public conflicts, he often found himself in a difficult position.
There were rumors in the company that President Xia's abnormality was his fault, because if he wanted to advance another step, President Xia was the biggest obstacle.
But Gu Shiming knew himself that if President Xia hadn't had problems, he would have retired in at most two years. Gu Shiming wasn't in a rush for those few years. He was still young, and his current position was already enough for him to do what he wanted to do.
