Chapter 295: Damn You!

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

“What’s got you so worked up?”

At this moment, Zhou Chao was driving his Mercedes-Benz 600 with Xiao Yang towards their base.

Xiao Yang glanced at Zhou Chao briefly, then his deep voice resonated.

“Don’t you know there’s a saying, ‘Curiosity killed the cat’? You should mind your own business when it comes to matters in society. Just focus on driving and speed up a bit.”

Zhou Chao didn’t reply to this and simply cast a sidelong glance at Xiao Yang’s phone. He clearly saw a text message with just two words on it: “Emergency situation!”

Throughout the journey, Zhou Chao drove as fast as he could. However, Xiao Yang’s base was quite far away. By the time they arrived at the secluded mountain villa in Tunmen, the sky had gradually darkened.

“Brother Yang, could you pick a place closer next time?” Zhou Chao parked the car and couldn’t help complaining.

“Blame me? You should ask the upper management to arrange a better location. I also want to stay in the city center. It would be much more convenient!” Xiao Yang retorted, leaving Zhou Chao momentarily speechless. He could only shoot a silent glare at Xiao Yang and followed him to their accommodation.

Zhou Chao followed Xiao Yang through a series of twists and turns and soon arrived at an independent small villa. Xiao Yang used his fingerprint to open the door and glanced back at Zhou Chao before leading him inside.

“Captain, you’re back. Who’s this?” As they entered the room, they were greeted by a burly man wearing a camouflage T-shirt.

“One of our own, a special consultant,” Xiao Yang replied. His face had turned into an expressionless mask, quite different from his previous playful demeanor.

Upon hearing this, the burly man scrutinized Zhou Chao for a moment and then nodded in acknowledgment. Xiao Yang continued to lead Zhou Chao further inside.

“Xiao Qin, what’s the situation?” Even before they stepped into the room, Xiao Yang’s voice could be heard.

“Captain, we traced the signal to the Tunmen area earlier, but it disappeared quickly. We also encountered interference from an unknown organization, or else we would have already located his whereabouts,” a young woman with a ponytail, sitting in front of a computer, spoke while munching on a lollipop. She had a slightly aggressive tone.

“Alright, good job. Keep trying to locate him and see if you can find any new leads.”

“Yes, Captain!” After responding, Xiao Qin turned back to her computer, her fingers swiftly tapping on the keyboard.

Zhou Chao had unknowingly positioned himself behind Xiao Qin, observing as she switched between different screens and occasionally retraced the previously tracked signal. After a while, he shook his head in resignation.

“Consultant, do you have any objections? You’ve been standing here for quite some time, shaking your head. Do you doubt Xiao Qin’s skills?” The burly man they had encountered earlier was now glaring at Zhou Chao with anger in his eyes.

The burly man’s words instantly chilled the atmosphere in the room. Even Xiao Qin, the girl with the ponytail, stopped her actions and turned to look at Zhou Chao. Meanwhile, Xiao Yang leaned against the nearby door, wearing a mischievous expression as he observed the three of them.

Zhou Chao took a moment to understand and then replied, “I’m not shaking my head because I doubt her skills, but because I think the approach is wrong. Since we already know the area, why not access nearby surveillance cameras directly and create a facial recognition system? It would be much quicker to track a single person that way.”

“This handsome guy’s idea is not bad at all! Unfortunately, we don’t possess such technology. Just accessing the surrounding cameras would require a lot of effort, not to mention developing a data analysis software. It’s not something that can be done in a short time. If we had that kind of technology, we’d be top-tier experts!”

Xiao Qin, the girl with a ponytail, appeared to be agreeing with Zhou Chao’s suggestion, but in reality, she was mocking him, saying that Zhou Chao was all talk and no substance, only capable of making irrelevant comments.

“Ha! You might believe you can’t but don’t put such belief on others. Never underestimate anyone, especially when working in this department. You should always keep a clear mind and not rush into things, thinking you’re some kind of genius!”

“You! Fine, you give it a try then!” Xiao Qin wanted to argue but then changed her mind. She stood up and gestured for Zhou Chao to take over.

“Xiao Qin…” The burly guy, observing Xiao Qin’s angry expression as she looked at Zhou Chao, wanted to say something, but he was silenced by a meaningful look from her.

Zhou Chao, unfazed by the commotion, smiled calmly and walked over to the computer. He briefly examined it and then took a deep breath before his hands started moving.

The room was soon filled with the sound of Zhou Chao’s keyboard tapping. Even the burly man, who had initially been dismissive, now looked astonished.

The burly man called Ming Ming, despite his rugged appearance, was a man with a keen intellect. When they first met, Xiao Yang gave him a meaningful look. In essence, everything that had just happened was deliberate. Xiao Yang wanted to test Zhou Chao’s skills.

Ming Ming discreetly glanced at Xiao Yang and Xiao Qin, and after exchanging some signals with them, he nodded slightly. This indicated that Zhou Chao’s skills had surpassed Xiao Qin’s by a considerable margin, and now she was watching Zhou Chao’s coding with a learning attitude.

“Phew!” With the final line of code entered, Zhou Chao successfully created a simplified facial recognition system. He then started accessing all the surveillance devices in Tunmen.

With his exceptional skills, Zhou Chao gained the highest level of access to the surveillance systems without alerting the network monitoring. He seamlessly integrated his recognition program into the surveillance system.

Zhou Chao clapped his hands and stood up from his chair, checking the time; it had been less than an hour.

“Alright, it’s done. Xiao Qin, would you like to give it a try?” Zhou Chao looked at the others with a calm expression.

At this point, Xiao Yang, who had been observing from the sidelines, approached and glanced at Zhou Chao. Then he turned to Xiao Qin and said, “Try uploading a picture of the person we’re trying to track into the system.” “Of course, Captain!” Xiao Qin immediately reverted to her efficient and determined self. She sat down and began operating the system.

Zhou Chao was somewhat surprised by Xiao Qin’s change in attitude but didn’t dwell on it. He watched as Xiao Qin worked quickly and, thanks to the surveillance system and the program he had edited, they soon found the person they needed to track.

“Captain, we’ve successfully locked onto their location!” Xiao Qin exclaimed, jumping up from her chair when she saw the address the system had traced.

“Well done! Ming Ming, send their address for verification,” Xiao Yang ordered.

“Understood, Captain!” Ming Ming, now equally excited, headed out.

Zhou Chao was still somewhat bewildered and took a while to process everything. “Brother Yang, were you testing me?”

“Yes, I didn’t tell you? Oh, my bad, I forgot. Look at my forgetful mind. I’m getting old. Xiao Qin, make a copy of the program Zhou Chao created and study it carefully!” Xiao Yang said, then turned and headed to his office.

Realizing that he had been played, Zhou Chao shouted after Xiao Yang, “Xiao Yang, you f*cking devil! You pranked me!”