If the amputation clinic incident was a small spark, then directly arresting Yue Zhao at the concert was like setting off a huge fire.
Many well-informed people knew that behind Yue Zhao was the shadow of the Fifth Family.
The Fifth Family, as the name suggests, is a powerful clan with the surname "Fifth."
This is an ancient and obscure surname, but in the hearts of the residents of Creek Valley City, "Fifth" represents the power and wealth that influences the city.
Currently, the Fifth Family's consortium primarily monopolizes biotechnological materials and virtual dream data technology. It can be said that 90% of the bioprosthetics in Creek Valley City are controlled by the Fifth Family.
The virtual dreams operating in various virtual dream establishments are all produced, packaged, and sold by companies under the Fifth Family consortium.
Around 60% of the population in Creek Valley City works directly or indirectly for the Fifth Family—earning money from the Fifth Family's companies and then spending it within the Fifth Family's industries.
Even Qin Xuezhong herself is one of them.
Although the original owner left no specific memories, from the general experiences of the original owner and Qin Huaigui's previous way of addressing her, she deduced that her undercover team belonged to the "Idle Dream" company under the Fifth Family consortium.
This company specializes in researching virtual dream technology, monopolizing the high-end virtual dream market and operating some of the top virtual dream establishment brands in Creek Valley City.
Before her departure, the original owner was likely a director at Idle Dream.
With the original owner's past experiences as a cautionary tale, Qin Xuezhong had long made up her mind to stay as far away from these troublesome matters as possible.
That said, as a popular star in Creek Valley City and with the technology of the Fifth Family, the bionic humans and virtual dreams created using Yue Zhao as a template were currently the best-selling products.
In a sense, Yue Zhao himself was a little cash cow for the Fifth Family.
Although the income brought by a star was insignificant compared to the truly profitable industries of the Fifth Family, the Security Department's direct raid on Yue Zhao's concert stage was undoubtedly a resounding slap in the face of the Fifth Family.
The impact of this incident can be seen from one detail.
—At the moment Yue Zhao was arrested, the prices of mercenaries and assassins on the black market doubled.
Many believed that with such an incident, whether in the open or behind the scenes, the Fifth Family would definitely retaliate. As a result, desperate people were eagerly looking to capitalize on this opportunity.
Qin Xuezhong was unaware of the undercurrents at play, but Xue Zhishi was well aware.
Upon returning to the office, he sternly told Qin Xuezhong, "Do not get involved in this matter. The troubles behind it are far more than anyone imagines. As small players, we could easily end up dead."
Qin Xuezhong nodded earnestly.
She had already learned her lesson. Just the small incident at the amputation clinic had caused significant trouble on both the Security Department and undercover team sides.
Now, with such a high-profile incident capturing the attention of all Creek Valley City, especially since one party was the original owner's old employer, she truly would have to be out of her mind to get involved.
---
Unexpectedly, after the arrest operation, apart from the media's overwhelming speculation and conspiracy theories, neither the Security Department nor the Fifth Family made any moves.
The Security Department did not release any interrogation records, and even within the anti-intrusion team system that Qin Xuezhong had just joined, there were no progress updates.
The Fifth Family seemed as if they hadn't even noticed the incident, continuing to hold meetings and maintaining a remarkably low profile while controlling the city.
After work, Qin Huaigui contacted her, saying he had urgent business and needed to meet at home.
This news made Qin Xuezhong uneasy.
When she arrived at Qin Huaigui's home, she noticed that his expression was not his usual relaxed demeanor; instead, he looked very serious.
The room's setup was also different.
As soon as she stepped inside, she saw a large ice coffin placed in the center of the originally spacious living room, emitting cold air.
Inside the ice coffin lay a person.
A stunningly beautiful woman, but her complexion was pale.
She had long limbs, wearing a casual nightgown, and her exposed fair skin seemed to glow.
Her hair looked lovely, but there were still traces of blood at the back of her neck, tangling with a few strands.
Qin Xuezhong maintained a serious expression, silently staring at Qin Huaigui.
Qin Huaigui felt a bit nervous under her gaze and explained, "Team leader, this is Fifth Ningyi, the daughter of Director Shuo Feng. She's the one who pushed Yue Zhao to fame..."
Qin Xuezhong kept her cold and displeased expression while her mind raced.
This is someone from the Fifth Family? The news said Yue Zhao was suspected of murder, and that star killed his own benefactor?
The Security Department had detained the suspect Yue Zhao, while the Fifth Family kept the body of the deceased Fifth Ningyi.
Qin Xuezhong was speechless.
This was like two children fighting over a toy—each grabbing a piece and unwilling to give it to the other, so no one could play.
Suddenly, she realized, damn, as a double agent with connections on both sides, am I the only one who can access clues from both ends?
Thinking of this, she grew more anxious, and her expression darkened.
She remained silent, casting an increasingly hostile glance at Qin Huaigui.
She didn't know what to say. Based on Qin Huaigui's introduction, she shouldn't know Fifth Ningyi, but as a fellow director at Idle Dream, would she not know Fifth Ningyi's father? Was there any professional intersection?
She could only wait for Qin Huaigui to explain.
This was also a good opportunity to understand the truth of the situation.
Seeing her attitude, Qin Huaigui immediately realized that things were bad—his team leader was unhappy.
He recalled that Qin Xuezhong had previously said she didn't want to return to the company or get involved with its issues, yet he had placed a corpse before her, and it was a member of the Fifth Family.
It was a bit like a forced ultimatum.
Qin Huaigui lowered his head even more, afraid to anger this big shot. He whispered, "Team leader, this time, even the board of directors is unclear about the situation and doesn't know why the Security Department acted so quickly. You know, Ningyi is in an awkward position within the family, and Director Shuo Feng doesn't trust anyone else, so my mom suggested that he come to find you."
After hearing this, Qin Xuezhong's head spun.
First, how could so many people know who she was?
Is this still called being undercover? If anyone let slip even a word, she would be done for!
Then, why was the deceased Fifth Ningyi in an awkward position? She didn't understand.
And what about your mom?
Who is your mom?
I'm a director, and what about Shuo Feng being a director? Your mom might also be a director?
If I were to be on equal terms with your mom, wouldn't that make you my nephew?
...The entertainment circle is truly chaotic.
After listening to Qin Huaigui's hesitant and vague description, Qin Xuezhong summarized two points.
First, the Fifth Family also didn't know how Fifth Ningyi died and feared there might be an insider, so they wanted to secretly find her to investigate.
Second, too many people knew her identity, so it might be better to escape sooner rather than later.
She continued to ask with an annoyed tone, "What do you want me for?"
This sentence sounded like both a question and a sarcastic retort.
Qin Huaigui was almost on his knees, his voice growing softer, "We hope you can help check her memories before death... Because as soon as Ningyi died, the Security Department raided Yue Zhao's concert and arrested him as a suspect. The board even suspects that the Security Department assassinated Ningyi."
"Now, there are extreme voices within our ranks, and if this escalates, it could really lead to war. Director Shuo Feng wants to quickly quell this matter to prevent real trouble."
Qin Xuezhong initially wanted to throw out a dismissive "I don't care" and leave.
This attitude was consistent with her previous stance toward the company, aligning with her persona.
However, Qin Huaigui's last reason persuaded her.
—If things really blew up and the biggest consortium in Creek Valley City went to war with the Federation, she wouldn't be able to enjoy her idleness either.
She said, "Fine, but if the evidence is useful for solving the case, I will hand it over to the Security Department."
Qin Huaigui hesitated for a moment before nodding.
"First, tell me what you know." Qin Xuezhong asked while pulling out her badge.
Qin Huaigui quickly replied, "At 11:07 AM, the butler at Ningyi's villa discovered her body and immediately called an emergency rescue team. After half an hour, she was pronounced dead."
"Just before the announcement of her death, the Security Department's special operations team moved in and arrested Yue Zhao at the concert on the charge of murder, but they didn't disclose who the victim was."
"Yue Zhao had been preparing at the concert site since morning, with a lot of chip interaction signals, camera footage, and witnesses, which basically rules out the possibility of him committing the crime."
"Now we don't know why the Security Department arrested Yue Zhao, but we can be certain he must be related to Ningyi's death."
Qin Xuezhong noticed that Qin Huaigui kept referring to Fifth Ningyi as "Ningyi," indicating a close relationship.
Qin Huaigui continued to share some details, but they didn't provide much valuable information.
She nodded, stepping forward to pull out the data cable from her badge and placed it against Fifth Ningyi's neck, her eyes glowing with prompts.
[Basic privacy permissions unlocked]
[Click to confirm memory data transfer]
She clicked confirm, and her vision went dark as she entered the realm of consciousness once again.
Not far away, the desolate space and dim sphere reappeared, different from what she had seen in the mortuary. It seemed that everyone had their own unique consciousness space.
This time, she discovered something special.
When using the chip at the back of her head to connect to other devices or chips, it would automatically leave usage traces in the device.
If someone inspected it carefully, they could discover the digital traces of the person who had used the device.
However, due to the uniqueness of her consciousness space, whenever she needed to imprint her number on another device, she could actively prevent it.
This time, she stopped her police badge and Fifth Ningyi's chip from recording her traces, to avoid being discovered for having accessed Fifth Ningyi's memories before her death.
After handling this detail, she extended her consciousness tendrils to touch Fifth Ningyi's consciousness cluster.
Then, her surroundings transformed into a very luxurious villa living room.
The room was filled with many photographs, all featuring a man who bore some resemblance to Fifth Ningyi.
Immediately, she felt a sharp pain at the back of her head.
As her vision blurred and she began to fall, she caught a glimpse of someone behind her.
That face was familiar to her.
Not only had she seen it often at Jin An'an's concert, but it was also plastered all over the news today with photos of him being arrested.
It was the star named Yue Zhao.
And he was the least likely person to be at the murder scene.