Chapter 879: Chapter 884: Interrogation (2)
No wonder Lin Guodong seemed so confident earlier; he already knew that without specific characters and words, they couldn’t decrypt the encrypted documents at all.
No way!
The encrypted documents must be unlocked, Ling Chen thought to himself. This is his best chance to access the secrets of the God Organization; once these documents are cracked, all of the God Organization’s secrets will be laid bare before him. He cannot afford to miss such a good opportunity.
As he pondered, Tang Guolun looked at Ling Chen and said, "I suggest you still go find Lin Guodong. As long as we can get the keywords from him, we can unlock the contents of the documents."
"I would like to," Ling Chen smiled wryly and said, "I spoke with Lin Guodong in the interrogation room earlier, but that guy has a tight mouth; nothing can be gleaned from him. I think even torture wouldn’t be useful. Lin Guodong is dead set on not speaking, and he’s prepared to die."
"Is that so?" Tang Guolun thought for a moment and said, "Then let me try talking to him; maybe it’ll yield unexpected results."
"That works too." Ling Chen nodded. Tang Guolun used to be an FBI crime consultant and understands criminal psychology best. Switching him in to talk to Lin Guodong might yield more intelligence.
After Tang Guolun left, Ling Chen continued staying in the control center, watching the content displayed on the three computer screens.
The hard drive taken from the temporary base contains many confidential files, with over two hundred folders. Each folder represents a confidential operation of the God Organization.
Among these files, the folder labeled ’Top Secret’ attracted Ling Chen the most. Unfortunately, as Tang Guolun said earlier, these files are encrypted specially; only specific keywords can open them.
Half an hour later, Tang Guolun walked in from outside. Seeing his helpless expression, Ling Chen knew it was hopeless.
"You were right; that guy is indeed tough to deal with, immune to persuasion; nothing works. I say just stop wasting words with him and serve him some real torture; let’s see how long he can withstand it."
Just then, a staff member in the control center stood up and spoke into the microphone, "Mr. Ling, someone is looking for you."
"Who?"
Ling Chen asked and quickly walked to the staff, taking the microphone.
"Hello! Who is this?"
As soon as Ling Chen’s words came out, he heard a hearty laugh from the other end of the line: "Ling Chen, long time no see, do you remember me?"
The voice triggered a person in Ling Chen’s mind immediately.
"Lin Jiawei! It’s you? How did you know the phone number here?"
"It’s not difficult for the God Organization," Lin Jiawei laughed and said, "Ling Chen, I think you should know the purpose of my call. Lin Guodong was captured by you, so I just wanted to make a call to see if you’re willing to negotiate."
"You want to rescue him?" Ling Chen sneered inwardly but kept his tone serious.
"First, let me hear the terms you offer. If they are suitable, perhaps I’ll consider them."
"As long as you release Lin Guodong, East Sea City will be under your control in the future. No matter what happens, the God Organization will neither meddle in East Sea City nor send anyone into your territory. Furthermore, the God Organization is willing to pay a ransom of one billion US dollars to secure Lin Guodong’s freedom and safety."
Upon hearing these generous terms, Ling Chen was secretly amazed. The God Organization is indeed lavish, actually willing to spend one billion US dollars to save Lin Guodong. However, this indirectly explains Lin Guodong’s standing within the God Organization.
"Ling Chen, how about it? Are you satisfied with the terms we offered?"
"The terms are good, but they haven’t reached a satisfactory level for me. How about you go back and discuss it further?"
"Ling Chen, I advise you not to push too hard; one billion US dollars is already a lot. Also, I must remind you not to assume that just because you captured Lin Guodong, you hold the advantage. It’s true that Lin Guodong is a senior in the God Organization, but not indispensable. In short, his value is only worth one billion US dollars; if you don’t accept it, we have nothing to discuss. Moreover, there’s something you should know: there are ten teams waiting around East Sea City’s surrounding area. If the negotiation collapses, we’ll immediately take action. So, whether for yourself or for others, you better think it over carefully."
"No need to consider," Ling Chen said indifferently, "I still hold that you haven’t offered satisfactory terms. If you truly have the intent, then have your boss come and talk to me. Except for him, I won’t accept any negotiations. Well, I’ve said what I needed to say; how you decide is your business. If you plan to strike, I’m up for the fight."
After speaking, Ling Chen hung up the phone before Lin Jiawei could say anything else.
"Who was on the call?" Tang Guolun asked.
"Lin Jiawei, someone from the God Organization. They want to negotiate with me to release Lin Guodong." Pausing for a moment, Ling Chen smiled slightly and said, "They are quite generous, offering terms worth one billion US dollars."
"Really?" Tang Guolun’s eyes lit up, asking, "Why didn’t you agree?"
Ling Chen waved his hand and said, "Why rush? The initiative is in our hands now, so why hurry to strike a deal with them? Let’s wait a bit longer, until we’ve completely extracted Lin Guodong’s secrets, then it won’t be too late to negotiate."
"Two birds with one stone!" Tang Guolun grinned and said, "You’re quite sneaky."
"Isn’t negotiation like doing business? We have to be sly. Alright, Boss Tang, you continue with your work; I won’t disturb you." With that, Ling Chen stepped out of the control center.
Meanwhile, in a luxurious villa in East Sea City.
"How’s it going? Any progress?"
The question came from Zhu Hong. Beside him stood several men in white lab coats, all gathered around a pile of glassware, carefully observing the data displayed on the computer screen, furrowing their brows slightly as if the data wasn’t satisfying.
"Mr. Zhu, are you sure Ling Chen’s blood is effective? We’ve conducted several experiments already, but the results are the same, completely useless."
"Could it be... you made a mistake?" one of the bolder men asked.
"Impossible!" Zhu Hong said coldly, "Ling Chen’s blood can perfectly fuse with the enhancement agent; I saw it with my own eyes, absolutely no mistake. The issue must be errors in your experimental process leading to this situation. I’m telling you, don’t make excuses to cover up your mistakes. From now on, I’ll keep a close eye on you. I want to see who made the mistake, you or me."
"Yes." Nobody dared to contradict Zhu Hong’s words, and the group of men hurriedly tidied up their things, beginning the experiment anew.