Nominal: The pinnacle of power began in the sixth province of Handong.

Chapter 196 Cloud Backup

It was only the third day after the Public Security Bureau launched a full-scale manhunt for Liu Qingzhu.

A bombshell announcement has once again shocked Gao Yuliang.

Liu Qingzhu died.

The car was found on a rural road bordering Handong and other provinces.

When it was discovered, it had been completely burned.

Inside was a charred corpse, which, after DNA testing, was confirmed to be Liu Qingzhu, the escaped man.

After on-site investigation, it was determined that Liu Qingzhu was driving at high speed when he crashed into the fence, causing his vehicle to overturn and catch fire quickly. Liu Qingzhu was trapped and unable to escape.

There was a combination lock box not far in front of the car.

The box has been taken away by the anti-corruption bureau.

The body and other clues at the scene were all disposed of by the anti-corruption bureau.

Finally, the Anti-Corruption Bureau informed the Public Security Bureau of the matter as the conclusion of the manhunt for Liu Qingzhu.

That concludes the entire process.

Qi Tongwei reported the truth to Gao Yuliang.

Upon hearing this news, Gao Yuliang fell into deep thought once again.

After Liu Qingzhu fled, he unexpectedly died.

Gao Yuliang absolutely refused to believe it wasn't man-made.

But right now, the Public Security Bureau has far too few leads.

Qi Tongwei suggested negotiating with the Anti-Corruption Bureau to have them share clues, especially the password box.

Gao Yuliang rejected the proposal.

Originally, the Anti-Corruption Bureau had been keeping an eye on Liu Qingzhu's case.

Now that Liu Qingzhu has died unexpectedly, it is reasonable for the Anti-Corruption Bureau to handle the leads and continue the investigation.

Intervening at this time would be completely without justification.

He decided to hold off for the time being.

However, instructions should be given to the informants planted in the Anti-Corruption Bureau to further investigate the situation and report back promptly.

In the following days, news about eyeliners came one after another.

Gao Yuliang roughly understood the situation.

The combination lock box that fell out of Liu Qingzhu's car was difficult for the anti-corruption bureau to open, despite the use of various technical means.

Damaging the combination lock could potentially damage the important items inside.

Therefore, the anti-corruption bureau was temporarily at a loss regarding the combination lock box.

Based on Liu Qingzhu's personal circumstances, the anti-corruption bureau made a bold guess.

The safe likely contained another ledger copied by Liu Qingzhu.

This reasoning is very sound.

Liu Qingzhu was ordered by Gao Xiaoqin to keep the account books safe.

Liu Qingzhu knew that whoever got their hands on the ledgers might be silenced by Zhao Ruilong.

But Liu Qingzhu wanted to leave himself a way out.

So they copied the ledger and locked it in a safe with a combination lock.

Liu Qingzhu specifically brought a briefcase with him during this escape, but unfortunately, an accident occurred.

After listening to his informant's report, Gao Yuliang was once again filled with deep doubt.

Did Liu Qingzhu copy the account books without authorization?

Didn't Gao Xiaoqin say that Liu Qingzhu only kept the account books and there was absolutely no possibility of making copies?

Is there a ledger hidden inside this safe?

Gao Yuliang was somewhat worried.

He knew that the ledger contained contents he absolutely did not want anyone else to see.

The informant then reported that Chen Hai had already informed Ji Changming about the briefcase.

Ji Changming ordered that every employee of the Shanshui Group be summoned, and that they be asked to extract information about Liu Qingzhu in order to open the safe.

Gao Yuliang frowned.

If we summon every employee, doesn't that mean we'll also call Gao Xiaoqin in for questioning?

Gao Yuliang has already "protected" Gao Xiaoqin. If she is allowed to be questioned by the procuratorate, there is no guarantee that she won't say something she shouldn't.

No, we can't let the procuratorate take the initiative like that.

Thinking of this, Gao Yuliang was about to make a phone call when he saw that Ji Changming had already called him from the table.

Gao Yuliang sneered and answered the call.

On the other end, Ji Changming's laughter could be heard.

After exchanging pleasantries with the other party, Gao Yuliang got down to business.

They were supposed to take Gao Xiaoqin to the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Procuratorate for questioning, but they couldn't find her at either the Shanshui Group or Shanshui Manor.

After making inquiries, it was discovered that Gao Xiaoqin had contacted Gao Yuliang before she went missing.

Therefore, Ji Changming guessed that Gao Yuliang had hidden Gao Xiaoqin.

They called today to ask for my return.

Gao Yuliang was furious when he heard this.

Why would Ji Changming, the head of a procuratorate, ask me, the third-in-command, for someone?

So he coldly refused, on the grounds that Gao Xiaoqin was connected to an important case in the political and legal system recently, and he couldn't let her go.

Ji Changming had anticipated Gao Yuliang's response and, without mincing words, calmly revealed his trump card.

Summoning all employees of the Shanshui Group was at the behest of Secretary Sha Ruijin.

If Gao Yuliang refuses to release the person, then let Secretary Sha come and demand their release.

After saying that, Ji Changming hung up the phone without even giving Gao Yuliang a chance to reply.

Gao Yuliang's face turned ashen, but he knew he couldn't afford to antagonize Sha Ruijin over Gao Xiaoqin.

In that case, I would truly be attacked from both sides.

Having thought all this through, Gao Yuliang made another phone call.

……

Two hours later, Gao Xiaoqin appeared inside the Anti-Corruption Bureau.

Since it was a simple questioning, Chen Hai found an office to conduct it.

Gao Xiaoqin was well-prepared and not intimidated at all. She did not cooperate with Chen Hai's questions and claimed to know nothing about them.

Chen Hai wasn't in a hurry; he was just asking questions as a matter of routine.

After understanding the situation, they arranged for someone to send Gao Xiaoqin back.

After leaving the Anti-Corruption Bureau, Gao Xiaoqin immediately took a car and drove to the Provincial Party Committee compound.

Gao Yuliang was already waiting at home.

Gao Xiaoqin gave a detailed report of the situation. The Anti-Corruption Bureau asked very detailed questions, but she really didn't know anything about Liu Qingzhu's matter, so the Anti-Corruption Bureau didn't get any information out of her.

Gao Yuliang nodded, about to consider his next move.

Qi Tongwei rushed in, and upon seeing Gao Xiaoqin, he was visibly startled. He quickly composed himself and reported to Gao Yuliang:

"Teacher, this is bad news. The Anti-Corruption Bureau actually got information about that combination lock box from the Shanshui Group, and they've already opened it."

Gao Yuliang trembled and leaned forward anxiously, asking:

"What's inside?"

"Several encrypted file indexes mention that Liu Qingzhu did indeed make a backup of the ledger, but he stored it in the cloud. The account and password for this cloud backup were encrypted. The index says, it says..." Qi Tongwei stammered at this point.

Gao Yuliang became even more anxious and pressed on, asking:

"What did you say?"

Qi Tongwei gritted his teeth and continued:

"They said the account password was related to Gao Xiaofeng."

Gao Yuliang's eyes widened upon hearing this!

He glanced at Gao Xiaoqin, who also looked utterly shocked.

Gao Yuliang leaned back on the sofa, his mind a jumbled mess.

At this moment, a cloud backup suddenly appeared, along with a file index that clearly indicated it was related to Gao Xiaofeng.

Doesn't this make Gao Xiaofeng the key to cracking cloud backup?

Gao Xiaofeng inexplicably became the center of the storm!

How could this happen? How could this happen?

Gao Xiaofeng, whom he had painstakingly hidden away.

Does this mean we'll really become a prime target for the anti-corruption bureau?

Just now.

Gao Xiaoqin's phone rang.

At Gao Yuliang's instruction, Gao Xiaoqin answered the phone.

After the call ended, Gao Xiaoqin frowned and said to Gao Yuliang and Qi Tongwei:

"The group's vice president notified me to go there immediately... The procuratorate is here again, demanding that all employees of the group closely cooperate and assist the procuratorate's expert team in cracking Liu Qingzhu's cloud backup!"