It was fated to go wrong.
By a twist of fate, Perlman had escaped from Vision Corporation early on—so he'd never been captured and implanted with a tracking chip by the Public Security Bureau.
Before Sol's group caught him, he'd been sheltered by Lucius, another pawn of the same organization, which had kept him relatively safe for a while.
Now, in the car driven by Zhu Yuan and Qingyi on their way toward New Eridu, the so-called "Escape King" felt the walls closing in—and chose to come clean in front of Sol and the others.
…
On the Outer Ring highway toward the city, the convoy had come to a halt. Everyone had gathered around Zhu Yuan and Qingyi's car.
A dozen pairs of eyes fixed squarely on Perlman—it looked like a full-blown public trial.
"That's the whole truth! I was nothing more than a puppet at Vision Corporation! I wasn't even allowed to eat in the executive dining hall—had to fight for scraps in the employee cafeteria like some pitiful fool!"
"I was just a living signature machine! They shoved documents in front of me, and I signed whatever they gave me. I had zero real authority!"
Perlman's voice broke with tears as he poured out his grievances, all the pent-up frustration and injustice spilling from him like floodwaters.
He was like one of those corporate figureheads—getting a few token benefits when things went well, but taking the fall alone when everything went wrong.
He'd been paid pennies for a job that carried a death sentence.
"Hey, enough crying. You're no saint yourself," Nicole said impatiently, arms crossed as she looked down at the short, squat man barely a meter tall. "Start talking about what matters. Who's the mastermind? Who's the mole inside Public Security?"
At that, Perlman wiped his tears, finally spitting out something useful: "The real boss behind Vision Corporation was my secretary—Sarah. And the undercover mole in Public Security is Justin Bringer, the current Deputy Chief of the Janus Quarter!"
"The plan to blow up Canvas Street was their idea! I only signed off and oversaw the work!"
He shouted the words loudly, leaving nothing unsaid.
"That's impossible! Chief Bringer could never be the mastermind behind Vision Corporation!"
Zhu Yuan's face went pale, her eyes wide in disbelief.
He was the man who'd saved her as a child—her lifelong idol. There was no way he could be behind such a monstrous act.
"What?"
Nicole, Billy, and the others all stiffened in shock.
They'd been commended by Bringer before—had even seen him on live television, stammering but proud as he gave speeches about taking down Vision's strongholds.
For someone like that to be an undercover operative? It didn't seem possible.
Sol frowned. Something about all this didn't sit right.
Having absorbed all kinds of stories online before his "transfer," he'd learned that criminals often hid behind respectable masks—but still, Bringer had barely crossed his mind. After all, compared to Bringer, weren't Zhu Yuan and Qingyi much more captivating figures in Public Security?
Now, hearing Perlman's claim, even Sol couldn't tell if it was true or false.
Zhu Yuan's composure was slipping. She fixed Perlman with a steely gaze and said sternly, "Perlman, you'll answer for every word you've said. If you're fabricating this and defaming a senior Public Security officer, you'll face far heavier charges."
"Officer, I swear everything I said is the truth! Not a word of it's false!"
Perlman held up a trembling finger and declared, "Bringer and Sarah often held private meetings and kicked me out of the room! It's because of Bringer's protection that Vision Corporation rose so smoothly!"
"As a wanted criminal, your words aren't exactly trustworthy."
Zhu Yuan's voice faltered slightly.
"Lady, if I hadn't overheard your call with Bringer—if I weren't terrified he was going to kill me—I wouldn't have come clean like this!" Perlman pleaded, his face desperate. "I kept backup copies of every contract that Bringer and Sarah signed! They're hidden among the engineering files at the Dead-End Hollow construction site—you can verify everything!"
"…"
Hearing that, Zhu Yuan fell silent.
He was a criminal, yes—but his insistence, his refusal to back down, stirred the faintest seed of doubt in her heart.
She trusted Bringer, admired him deeply—but she wasn't a mindless puppet.
"Don't worry, Zhu Yuan," Sol said gently, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "We won't judge anything based on one man's word. We'll confirm it through investigation."
"That's right. So far, all we have is his testimony—no hard proof." Qingyi added, her tone calm but serious.
Even if she privately thought Perlman's story sounded likely, Zhu Yuan needed to stay level-headed.
"Thank you. I'll keep calm."
Zhu Yuan took a deep breath, though her expression betrayed the weight on her mind.
Sol crossed his arms. "Perlman said the evidence is in those engineering files at Dead-End Hollow. Those should be in Belobog Heavy Industries' hands now. They're allies—we can coordinate with them for the search."
"That's perfect! Please, check! Once you see the evidence, you'll understand what kind of monster Bringer really is!"
Perlman's voice trembled with excitement. Hope had returned to his eyes.
"Then that's what we'll do. Let the facts speak for themselves."
Zhu Yuan straightened her back, her voice resolute.
"No problem finding evidence," Nicole said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "But right now, whether Perlman's telling the truth or not, we can't take him back to Public Security."
"He needs to be hidden somewhere safe—and not in any place that looks secure," Anby said seriously.
With all her experience watching things go wrong, she knew that the so-called "perfect hiding spots" were always the first to be compromised.
"Then bring him with us," Sol said casually, hands in his pockets, radiating confidence. "There's no place safer than right by our side."
"Good point."
Anby glanced at Sol and nodded firmly.
"Alright, that's settled then," Sol concluded. "We'll take Perlman with us to Belobog Heavy Industries and verify the evidence ourselves. But if Bringer really is a mole, he'll realize something's off. We'll need someone keeping tabs on him."
Zhu Yuan lifted her head and said seriously, "I'll contact Consultant Jane and have her watch over Chief Bringer for the time being."
"Then we're good."
Sol nodded, though inwardly he'd already decided to secretly have Artemis, his AI of the [Stellar-Grade Cognitive Computer], take control of New Eridu's network to assist in the investigation.
"Still," Qingyi sighed, half-jokingly, "starting an investigation on a deputy chief like this without approval… if Bringer turns out innocent, we'll all be writing very long apology reports."
"If Chief Bringer is truly innocent, Senior Qingyi," Zhu Yuan said firmly, clenching her fists, "I'll help write yours."
Qingyi blinked—then chuckled. "No need. I'll write my own—it's more sincere that way."