My autobiography is definitely not a tragedy!
Chapter 371 - 247: Doesn’t Understand the National Conditions

Chapter 371: Chapter 247: Doesn’t Understand the National Conditions

At nine o’clock in the evening, the city police station.

"No! This is impossible!"

Steve, with his hands cuffed, slumped in the chair, looking at a paper document in front of him, his face completely drained of color.

It was a copy of the data from his phone...

Included were his chat logs with the second officer, SMS records of financial transactions, and even numerous photos of precious artifacts and auction documents.

In front of such ironclad evidence, Steve knew that no amount of sophistry could help him now.

But he could not fathom how the Country Hua police could have cracked his phone in just a single day without him providing the password...

Damn it, that idiotic technical consultant had promised that even with external help, it would take at least a month?

Now, my efforts to manipulate public opinion and exert pressure on the police through back-channel connections make me look like a complete fool!

A pain in the neck!

His lawyer, too, couldn’t help shaking his head, his face a picture of helplessness.

Why struggle anymore? The evidence is conclusive. Forget about extreme pressure tactics; think about how to negotiate a deal and save the person...

"Everything is possible!" Wang Zhao Ping said, pulling a timely English phrase with a grin.

Then he turned his head.

"Xiao Qin, translate this for him and ask him and his lawyer if they have anything else to say. If not, sign the confession!"

After Qin Xiaoru finished translating, Steve’s head immediately shook like a rattle.

"No! I will never sign the confession! You are framing me, all these pieces of evidence are fake!"

It seemed as if he had anticipated the other party’s reaction.

"No worries, even if you don’t confess, you will still be charged. Today, we are just following procedure to inform you. Take him away!"

After a devastated Steve was taken back into custody,

the lawyer suddenly called out to Wang Zhao Ping who was about to leave.

"Um, Officer Wang, may I have a word with you?"

Wang Zhao Ping looked at the Chinese lawyer in front of him, dressed in elite attire with gold-rimmed glasses, seemingly perceptive to the lawyer’s ulterior motives.

Without pointing them out, he nodded with a smile and followed the lawyer out of the room to a more secluded corner.

The lawyer looked around to check that no one was around and then spoke in a low voice.

"Officer Wang, Steve is a noble from Great Britain and also a world-known captain of the luxury cruise ship ’Carnival Dream.’ His status is extraordinary both domestically and internationally.

This case is actually straightforward. It’s just some criminals exploiting the convenience of the cruise ship to smuggle artifacts.

Look, the artifacts have been recovered, and your merit is already secure.

So whether or not Mr. Steve is implicated, one more or one less criminal involved doesn’t really impact the case or you, it won’t affect the conclusion.

But if this goes public... Whether it’s for Mr. Steve’s family, the operation of the ’Carnival Dream’ cruise ship, or even for Great Britain, it will cause significant reputation damage.

This can also adversely affect our countries’ friendship.

So, Ambassador Brown and many foreign friends from the Steve family have asked me to convey a message to you.

If Officer Wang could look the other way, Great Britain and the Steve family would be immensely grateful!"

"Hehe!"

Watching the man with a meaningful smile, Wang Zhao Ping burst out laughing.

As expected, they are playing soft after the hard approach didn’t work.

"I understand, but you’re being too blunt. Even if I agree, I can’t just outright tell you that!

You’ve been in the West too long, obviously unaware of our domestic subtleties.

Over here, we must be indirect, understand subtlety!

Do you know how people in my grandfather’s generation subtly indicated that they had been ’bought’?"

The lawyer’s eyes lit up.

It seemed there was an opening!

"Please, enlighten me!"

"They would usually say... ’The Imperial Army asked me to pass you a message’!"

Lawyer: "..."

"You..."

After processing for a while and finally catching the sarcasm, the lawyer’s face turned beet red. Struggling to respond, he stormed off in frustration!

"Pah!" Wang Zhao Ping spit toward the man’s departing back.

Trying to buy me off on my own turf?

A traitor who betrays his own kind!

And still talking about reputation?

From robbers in the past to petty thieves now, the only honorable title a British noble deserves might be ’ladies first,’ right?

"Captain Wang, did you send him off? What did he say to you?" Qin Xiaoru came over and asked.

"Embarrassing, just a straightforward beggar, huh! They still wish to cover this up, but we need to let everyone know the true colors of these self-proclaimed nobles!

By the way, are they spreading news outside to pressure us?"

"Yes! It hasn’t stirred up much domestically yet, but videos of us forcibly boarding the ship and arresting people have spread widely online, and the heat is rising fast.

Some are even comparing this to the previous ’Galaxy’ incident, attempting to portray our assertive ’wolf-warrior diplomacy.’

It seems they are indeed trying to wield media influence."

"Humph! Let them publicize it. The higher they lift, the harder they fall!

We have a complete chain of evidence; the station is almost ready to release a statement. We’ll see who ends up embarrassed!

Speaking of which, are those ’Blabber China’ reporters still around? If so, bring them in for some publicity too!"

"Hehe! Captain Wang, you’re so wicked, but it’s too late, they heard the news and already slipped away.

After all... news not bashing us doesn’t sell in their markets..."

Qin Xiaoru laughed and spoke a frustrating reality.

The control of international public opinion lies in the West, and there has long been a ongoing effort to vilify Country Hua, an indisputable fact.

Although Country Hua has started to realize the importance of seizing the position in public opinion in recent years, the influence of media propaganda takes time to spread.

Changing the inherent perceptions left by the West in the minds of its citizens also takes time...

"Sigh, anyway, this matter is basically settled now, and we can hand it over! Tomorrow’s the weekend, finally no need to work overtime."

Wang Zhao Ping rubbed his dark circles; he really hadn’t rested well these past few days.

Although the case was thrilling to handle, he was truly exhausted!

"By the way, Captain Wang, right after the higher-ups got to know about this matter, they just contacted me wanting a detailed technical dossier on decrypting Apple X.

Moreover, a few provincial units that heard about our success said they currently have a few similar cases and hope to get our technical support.

What do I even have to support them!"

In any case, this mess was your doing. You figure it out," Qin Xiaoru spread her hands.

"This... noses are really sharp!"

Just as Wang Zhao Ping’s anxiety settled, it gripped him again, leaving him quite overwhelmed.

"Are you sure that USB drive really can’t be recovered?"

"Of course not! It already stated in the alert box, it was an ’Apple X Special Temporary Decryption Device.’

I was wondering what ’temporary’ meant, but it turns out it was disposable!

By the time I figured out how to open it, the USB drive was already full of gibberish!"

Qin Xiaoru continued to express her helplessness.

A regular deletion might be recoverable, but this scrambled coverage was simply unsolvable.

Clearly, they were preventing the technology from leaking.

"Hey, why not go ask Mr. Meng for a permanent version?" she nudged Wang Zhao Ping’s arm and suggested.

"This..." Wang Zhao Ping frowned and pondered.

Wait a sec!

By the time he reacted and looked up, he was just in time to catch Qin Xiaoru’s mischievously triumphant grin.

"It’s over!" Wang Zhao Ping couldn’t help but facepalm.

Day and night guard, but it’s hard to defend against a house thief! Still fell into the trap!

"Hehe! Captain Wang, just admit it.

Mr. Meng had just left, and like clockwork, you switched careers to become a hacker; that’s pretty obvious!

The Doraemon you mentioned, that’s him, right? He’s the one who keeps providing you with information, isn’t he?

No wonder you recently seem possessed by Sherlock Holmes, solving cases as if divinely assisted. That Doraemon surely has something up his sleeve?"

"Just keep it under wraps!" Wang Zhao Ping, resigned, could only respond gravely.

"Yes, yes, I’m the indiscreet type, right? Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, I know!"

Only then did Wang Zhao Ping nod.

He still trusted Qin Xiaoru’s character, which was why he wasn’t too guarded around her.

Brother Meng previously also sent a message through Master Intelligent...

Prevent the small-minded, not the noble-minded!

This woman...

Thinking it over, still feeling uncertain, he added.

"If it wasn’t for Brother Meng, these recent cases wouldn’t have been resolved so smoothly.

You know he is somewhat paranoid and doesn’t like too much attention.

If I hear even a whisper of this getting out, causing Brother Meng to get upset and cut ties with me, I’ll have no choice but to assign you as a traffic cop for life. Understood?"

Yikes! That harsh?

That’s more painful than killing me!

Qin Xiaoru quickly swore and repeatedly promised!

"Besides, don’t expect me to ask him for any non-temporary device. He was willing to help once, but by your saying, the appearance fee abroad starts at a million US dollars.

To simply hand over the technology for free to you? How much could you possibly pay?"

"Aye! The higher-ups actually did say, below 500 thousand, decisively buy it, above 500 thousand, consider it on a case-by-case basis.

Aye! Why don’t you go ask him if he’s willing to sell, maybe it’ll work out?"

Qin Xiaoru was actually quite eager to make this happen.

The most valuable part of the technology isn’t just cracking one or two Apple devices, but the unknown vulnerabilities in the ’IOS’ system!

The loopholes even Apple wasn’t aware of; as long as we keep it confidential and don’t disclose it, we could use it indefinitely. No need to seek Apple’s assistance anymore; the police could turn on devices and search directly.

This would impact the criminal investigation systems nationwide.

thousand, definitely too low!

"This... could be worth a try. Brother Meng has always been easy to talk to," Wang Zhao Ping nodded.

"Ding-dong!"

Suddenly, a notification chimed.

Wang Zhao Ping picked up his phone and his expression instantly shifted.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

However, the more he looked at it, the more astonished he became, eventually looking as if he had seen a ghost.

"What’s wrong?" Qin Xiaoru’s curiosity piqued, leaning over to sneak a peek.

Wang Zhao Ping quickly put away his phone.

It took him quite a while to calm his shocked nerves, and finally, he sighed in resignation.

"Taking a vacation... why is it so hard..."