*Later*
"Get a stool for General Chang... and one for this young man as well."
The veteran detective spoke. Shi Qiang, the only one left standing, didn't seem annoyed; he simply grabbed a small folding stool for himself and sat down.
"Do you know those three gunmen?"
Chang Weisi clearly knew much more than the veteran detective. His opening question caused the expression on Wei Cheng's face to grow even more bitter. The mathematician knew his little tricks could not deceive these experienced investigators.
"Before the day before yesterday, I didn't know them... but as of yesterday, although I don't know the shooter's name, I happen to know the names of the other two."
"Oh?"
Not only did Chang Weisi express surprise, but even the veteran detective beside him instantly sharpened his attention.
From the scene, it was easy to determine there were three gunmen involved in a violent internal clash. Aside from the one Wei Cheng killed with his bare hands, the other two remained missing.
Missing! That was the reason the Ministry of Public Security was so incensed. One of the gunmen was severely injured, yet despite thousands of surveillance cameras along the way—whether they traveled by car or on foot—not a single one had captured a trace of them.
The last available footage only showed a gunman carrying an unconscious companion down the mountain. The nearest camera to that footage was only three hundred meters away. Strangely, no matter how hard the relevant departments worked to analyze the recordings, they could find no trace of the two gunmen leaving, as if they had vanished into thin air on those few hundred meters of mountain road.
Technical experts could find no glitches. High-level officials began to suspect internal spies, creating an atmosphere of paranoia throughout the ranks. Regardless, the current reality was a total lack of clues regarding the two missing suspects. The only remaining leads were the corpse of the third gunman and Wei Cheng himself.
Under normal circumstances, Wei Cheng's actions might have earned him a massive reward from the local government as a model citizen who fought off criminals to protect national property. Unfortunately, due to the extreme lack of leads and the terrifying nature of Wei Cheng fighting armed militants bare-handed, the investigators had no choice but to interrogate him thoroughly.
However, if the names of those two gunmen could be identified, the situation would change entirely.
"One is named Shen Yufei, and the other is Pan Han," Wei Cheng answered. "He's that leader of the environmental organization on TV."
Hearing this startling news, Chang Weisi and Shi Qiang exchanged a look, both seeing the shock in the other's eyes. This information came far too easily, and it was far too precious. Was this the same terrifying opponent that the Planetary Defense Council had been pursuing with the resources of the world's major nations, yet failing to find even a footprint?
Could it be a trap?
Because the intelligence was so explosive, even Chang Weisi felt a flicker of doubt. However, maintaining the attitude that it was better to investigate a thousand false leads than to miss one, Chang Weisi immediately arranged for the arrest of the famous Pan Han.
"I will request the Ministry of Public Security to issue an arrest warrant immediately!" The veteran detective stood up. As the liaison between the Ministry and the PDC, he took on the task without hesitation.
"Isn't that a bit reckless? Maybe we should have someone tail this 'Pan Han' for a while to see if we can dig deeper," Shi Qiang said. He felt something wasn't quite right. The case was progressing far too smoothly; he instinctively felt a trace of unease, as if a giant hand were silently pushing events forward from the shadows.
Furthermore, this felt different from the previous scientist suicides. This "pusher" gave Shi Qiang a very strange feeling—as if this person was eager for them to have a frontal collision with the secret organization represented by Pan Han.
As for why Shi Qiang was certain this shooting was related to the organization murdering scientists, he looked at the dark green pamphlet in Chang Weisi's hand.
Chang Weisi suppressed his excitement. He handed the manual—which had been distributed to laboratories internationally—to the man covered in bandages, resting on a recliner with casts on one arm and both legs.
"Do you know about the Frontiers of Science?"
Because his injuries were so severe, the police hadn't even put symbolic restraints on Wei Cheng. As Wei Cheng took the pamphlet and heard Chang Weisi's question, a flash of confusion crossed his face. He shook his head.
"I'm a very lazy person. Even though I spent some time in academia, I've never heard of such an organization."
"No, you misunderstand. I wasn't asking about you; I was talking about Shen Yufei." Chang Weisi tapped the table. "Did she ever invite you to join any mathematics-related organization?"
Obtaining the name Shen Yufei from Wei Cheng served to cross-verify the accuracy of his information. Unlike Pan Han and the gunman, Shen Yufei had used a mobile app to book a month-long session of meditation and vegetarian meals at Hongta Temple in advance. Therefore, after the shooting, it was easy for the authorities to lock down her identity by checking the temple's records.
As for the Frontiers of Science, it was currently the primary focus of the PDC's investigation into the "scientist suicide" cases. Preliminary screening showed that at least one-third of the scientists who committed suicide had publicly participated in activities organized by this international research body.
Shen Yufei was not only one of the sponsors of the Frontiers of Science, but intelligence also suggested she was a core figure from its inception. PDC investigations showed she was especially obsessed with funding research into a mathematical problem known as the "Three-Body Problem."
Her fanaticism was unbelievable; in the past year alone, she had distributed nearly 20 million USD through social channels as rewards for researchers of the Three-Body Problem. These researchers included professional professors, graduate and undergraduate students, and even enthusiasts from walks of life completely unrelated to mathematics.
This massive spending had won Shen Yufei considerable prestige internationally. Although she never appeared in the media and lived an exceptionally low-key life, she held a high reputation in the scientific community, particularly in mathematics.
However, previous investigations into her background had found no issues. Chang Weisi had only seen her name among the lists of Frontiers of Science members. But now, with so many coincidences converging, he had no choice but to doubt her true identity.