Chapter 4: The One Behind the Camera

The next morning, Song Huaizhou came to the investigation team of his own accord.

He calmly denied any connection to a secret data system.

All the evidence went no further than showing that his company had supplied equipment.

Fu Jingze didn’t argue. He played a piece of footage.

In it, Song Huaizhou walked into Room 23, eight years ago.

Song Huaizhou watched the screen for a few seconds, then smiled.

“You’re looking at a doctored video.”

Ning Chulan cut in at once.

“No. This video has never been edited.”

She produced the original data, showing every frame with its timestamp intact.

For the first time, Song Huaizhou’s expression changed.

Fu Jingze knew they had finally reached someone directly involved.

But Song Huaizhou still had another card to play.

He handed over a file proving that Fu Tingchuan himself had signed off on closing File 23.

Fu Jingze couldn’t believe it.

If the signature was real, his father had chosen to end the investigation.

Ning Chulan quickly discovered that the signature had been made from an old template.

The forger hadn’t known that Fu Tingchuan always ended his signature with a different stroke.

Faced with the new evidence, Song Huaizhou could no longer deny it.

He admitted he had known about Room 23, but insisted he wasn’t the one controlling the whole system.

“There’s someone above me.”

Fu Jingze asked who.

Song Huaizhou said only one thing.

“That person has been beside you from the start.”

The room fell silent.

Fu Jingze immediately thought of everyone who had touched the file.

Mu Jingshen.

Ji Chengyuan.

Ye Siyan.

Ning Chulan.

Every one of them had a reason to be suspected.

But before he could decide, Ye Siyan suddenly appeared.

She had brought the original of a document Fu Tingchuan had left behind.

One sentence in it was circled.

“If File 23 is ever reopened, don’t look for the person who created it. Look for the person who erased it.”

Ye Siyan explained that Fu Tingchuan had discovered someone inside the investigation unit secretly altering data.

That person didn’t run the system directly.

That person’s only job was to erase the crucial traces.

And the person with the highest level of data access at the time was Mu Jingshen.

Fu Jingze didn’t want to believe it.

Mu Jingshen had mentored him for years.

But when they checked the data, they found that Mu Jingshen’s account had accessed File 23 at exactly 2:17 a.m. on the night of the incident.

Mu Jingshen appeared in front of them.

He didn’t deny it.

But he said he had only been following someone else’s orders.

“That person is no longer in Shanghai.”

Fu Jingze asked,

“Who?”

Mu Jingshen looked at him for a long time before he answered.

“Your father.”

The whole room went silent.