Business Information Identity

Chapter 3 Wild Fruit

The female assistant smiled and tapped the keyboard, revealing a shield icon, inside of which was a frigate: “Your opponent this time is it.”

“It?”

“Fifteen years ago in London, an MI6 spy who retired started a company called Escort. Escort's main business was anti-corporate espionage, protecting corporate secrets. Any legitimate business could hire them. The company's members were very diverse, including retired spies, business elites, lawyers, hackers, chemists, bodyguards—a group of professionals formed an anti-corporate espionage company.”

Zhao Ang asked: “Is this an international organization?”

“No, it's a local organization.” The female assistant said: “At the height of its success, the UK Escort Company was no more than thirty people, engaging in corporate protection activities only in Europe. Since they could conceal their identities, very little was known about them in Asia. Five years ago, the UK Escort Company got into major trouble. They were deceived under the guise of a humanitarian cause and helped a group of terrorists uncover a CIA mole within their ranks. After that, the company disbanded, and most of its members were sent to prison.”

“Playing with fire","Zhao Ang smiled.

Wu Rui sneered: “Being able to uncover a CIA mole who had been undercover for four years, that's their ability. What qualifications do you have to mock them? That's right, they made a big mistake, but please don't doubt their capabilities. Xiao Liang, continue.”

“After the UK Escort Company disbanded, ten of its members were tried and sentenced to prison on charges in the year following their disbandment. A year after that, on September 11th, someone registered twelve companies globally, all named Escort 911, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. Currently, there is no known connection between these twelve companies. Based on our understanding and that of Interpol, all twelve companies are shell companies, including our Escort 911 in the East City.”

“Do we also have an Escort 911 in the East City?” Everyone asked in surprise.

“Yes, this is the company's registered address, a shell company.” The female assistant said: “But we firmly believe they exist, and they are your opponents this time.”

Wu Rui said, “I and seven colleagues worked continuously for three months, and yesterday we finally brought three corporate spies to justice. Each of them was fined 300,000 and sentenced to six months in prison. As police, we only act after the fact, after law-abiding citizens have already suffered losses, and only then can we intervene to investigate. The mayor spoke to me about the issue of trade secrets in East City enterprises. We believe that we can purposefully collaborate with escort companies to some extent. In fact, we have already established some connections, and their performance has been impressive. However, the collaboration is still superficial. They are a commercial organization, and the government cannot provide funds to hire them. Moreover, many companies don’t see the need to have outsiders protect their secrets. But something major happened last week.”

The female assistant opened a display: “The East City Guoye Group and Japan’s Matsuryu Group were bidding for the design and construction of a two-billion-dollar port in Malaysia. Everything was going smoothly until the last day when Matsuryu Group suddenly increased their bid by 3%, winning the port’s design and construction rights by a mere 800,000 dollars. Guoye Group had spent over a year on this project, countless efforts and resources, and all the data and materials were suddenly shared with the competitor. In just ten days of negotiations, Matsuryu took all of Guoye’s hard work and added 800,000 dollars to it, making them the ultimate winner.”

Wu Rui said, “This is why I applied for a court order to temporarily seal the case. Although we have different ranks, we all serve the taxpayers of East City. So even though the Zhang Tian case is closed, we are curious about why East City Escort accepted Zhang Tian’s commission. At the same time, all case files will be sealed, and I ask that you colleagues refrain from mentioning this case for now. We know that an informant provided you with information about Zhang Tian, so we will be taking all the files.”

Zhao Ang said, “Director Wu, you don’t need to tell us all this. We’re just low-level officers; we don’t need to know these details.”

Wu Rui shook his head, “We are colleagues. If you are defeated by the Escort, I think it’s understandable. But if you are defeated by Zhang Tian, you won’t be welcome here anymore. I’m telling you this so you know where you stand. There’s media involvement this time, and I hope no one mentions this case to the press. You’re all dismissed. Zhao Ang, you stay behind.”

Everyone left, and Zhao Ang immediately wilted, “Uncle Wu.”

“Zhao Ang, you’re quite a phenomenon in the East City police force. A top graduate from Scotland Yard, a new-generation officer with high expectations, and yet you were transferred here after just three years.” Wu Rui said, “Your high-ranking police father was so angry he was hospitalized twice. Now I’m giving you a chance. Do you want it?”

“What chance?”

“This time, Zhang Tian is involved in illegal activities. I want to talk to the Escort people and see if we can arrange for a liaison.”

“A liaison?”

“On the surface, it’s to avoid legal troubles when dealing with the police. But in reality...” Wu Rui smiled and didn’t continue, asking, “Are you interested?”

……

Zhang Tian left the pharmaceutical task force and casually hailed a taxi to the bus station. The taxi drove around for about ten minutes and stopped near the pier. Zhang Tian looked around and asked, “What’s the meaning of this?”

The taxi driver turned around and said, “Sir, someone asked that you get off here.”

Zhang Tian got off, and it was already 7 PM. The area was fairly deserted. After waiting for a while, a black car with the license plate 911 pulled up in front of him. The driver’s window rolled down, a white-gloved finger extended pointing to the back seat. Zhang Tian, with some unease, opened the door and got in.

This is a high-end business car, the front and rear seats are separated by sound-insulating glass, and black cloth is drawn down to conceal the driver and the person in the passenger seat. As the car started, a voice processed through an electronic voice changer came through the car's intercom, 'Mr. Zhang, there is a set of keys on your left, your belongings are currently in the warehouse at Dongcheng No. 7 Wharf, safe for three days. We have dealt with the evidence of fingerprints and sweat that could incriminate you left on the items. After three days, the items will be treated as scrap, so you decide whether to pick them up or not.'

'Of course, I need money.' Overjoyed, Zhang Tian thought he was being robbed, but he didn't expect to get the goods back.

'Who doesn't need money?' The driver said, 'Mr. Zhang, the people who betrayed you this time are your wife and your wife's lover.'

'Has my wife had a lover?'" Stunned, Zhang Tian asked.

'It's none of my business, I'm just telling you what I need to tell you.' The driver said, 'Our collaboration has come to an end, you can get off now.'

Zhang Tian was a bit flustered, 'Has my wife betrayed me? What should I do now?'

'I don't give life advice to others.' The driver parked to one side, 'Please go.'

ps: During the book launch, the recommendation votes are hitting hard! Currently ranked 17th on the new book list, 12th can be on the homepage, keep up the good work!