Chapter 2771: The Vanished NS Biology
"Is there anything else?" Xu Huo pressed. "Whether it's buying your works for 980 million or using Gu Huifeng's reputation, it's generally not worth taking such a big risk to target a famous person, especially since he's been in the spotlight recently."
"Is there something you don't know about, but he mentioned? Or is there something else you're hiding?"
Without needing to probe, he stated directly, "I'm only somewhat interested in your works. The sooner you clarify the issue, the better it is for you. If Gu Huifeng didn't want to abandon you, with how developed the information network is in Zone 022, you wouldn't be unable to find him. That means his situation is likely very dangerous—at least a crisis he can't escape on his own."
"Given enough time, even the last traces of him in this world could be erased."
The woman clearly knew something. After hesitating repeatedly, she finally made up her mind. "Before he sold the bones, he had been investing in a biology company, one specifically focused on tackling genetic diseases."
"Before he disappeared, he said that once the works were sold, he'd get a large sum of cash, which could help the lab get through its difficulties, and my illness might have a chance of being cured..."
"I don't know if this has anything to do with his disappearance, but aside from carving, he only left home for work when his pieces were exhibited. I can't think of anyone he could have offended. This is the only thing he was following up on that I don't know the details of."
"What biology company?" Xu Huo asked.
"NS Biology," the woman said. "But after Gu Huifeng disappeared, I went to the company's address to look for it. There was no such company at all. Everything about it on the Message Collection Terminal was fake, and there are no drugs or any other medical products produced under that company's name in the district."
"Since Gu Huifeng was so confident he could cure your illness, he must have actually seen this company." Xu Huo paused, then asked, "Are you sure he wouldn't betray you?"
The woman pulled a sheet of paper sealed in a waterproof bag from her clothes and spread it out on the table. "I checked the patent application number for this medicine at the patent supervision department before. The name and content of the medicine matched, but when I checked yesterday, it was gone."
"That's something a sculptor would find hard to do." Xu Huo glanced at the paper. "I'll find someone to ask about this. Wait here."
As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from the room. The woman sat still for two seconds, then, realizing he had truly left, immediately sprang up and instinctively ran for the door. But after two steps, she abruptly stopped. After a long hesitation, she returned to her seat, clutching the paper tightly, a desperate courage to risk everything shining through her despair.
In less than twenty minutes, Xu Huo reappeared in the room.
"This patent application was indeed real, but it was deleted through the patent review department's internal system a few days ago. Although the deletion traces are gone, I found the person who did it. They admitted they were doing a favor for someone—the executive secretary of Earth Star City. In other words, this matter is related to the Archon of Earth Star City."
After a brief moment of shock, the woman quickly accepted his explanation. "Why would the Archon do this? Could NS Biology be involved in something illegal?"
"If that were the case, they wouldn't need to completely erase the traces of an already-approved patent. I asked about that medicine—it's indeed a genuine treatment for genetic diseases."
"Now that NS Biology itself no longer exists, it's highly likely that the medicine has also had its name and patent origin changed. To follow this lead, I'd have to go directly to the Archon or the executive secretary."
"But as key figures in the local government, they usually have interference chips implanted in their brains. If I approach them rashly, I probably won't get anything."
"NS Biology is a better angle. You haven't had contact with anyone from NS Biology—do you know how to reach any of them? Anyone connected to it will do."
The woman immediately took out her terminal. "Gu Huifeng told me about one person. He was the one who introduced him to investing in the biology company in the first place. But I can't get in touch with him now either."
Xu Huo obtained the contact information. With a name and a record of frequent visits to certain places, finding him wouldn't be difficult.
He stood up to leave again, and the woman quickly said, "Can you take me with you?"
"It's safer for you to wait here," Xu Huo said. "Don't send any messages about Gu Huifeng on the Message Collection Terminal. If anyone contacts you to go home, don't respond."
Without wasting words, he left the hotel again.
Near the former location of NS Biology, he easily found information about this intermediary. The man wasn't specifically employed by NS Biology; he worked as a middleman helping any company that needed investment. NS Biology was just one of his clients.
However, after NS Biology and all its people vanished overnight, he had been spotted near the company. Apparently frightened by the situation, he turned around and left, never to be seen again.
Xu Huo also visited other companies where the man had worked. People who frequently contacted him were now unreachable, their personal terminals constantly offline. It seemed more like he was hiding.
In a game district, it's not easy for an ordinary person to disappear without a trace. After checking the man's travel records, Xu Huo judged that he hadn't left his familiar area. So he spent some money to hire a local private organization to find him, using the excuse that the man had swindled him out of a large investment and then vanished.
And indeed, a lead quickly appeared. Everyone has their own paths. In a place like Zone 022, not everything is transparent. Huddling together for warmth is the norm, especially for those without strength or resources.
Xu Huo found the hiding man in an underground street district.
The once plump and prosperous-looking man in the photo was now not only half his former size but also haggard, like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. He walked along the edge of the street with his head down, and when he suddenly noticed a figure in front of him, he didn't even dare look up before timidly changing direction.
"Nong Zheng," Xu Huo called his name.
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man stopped cowering and sprinted forward without looking back. But he hadn't run far before he was blocked by an invisible wall. In his panic, he tried to activate the device in his hand, but it didn't work.
Xu Huo said nothing more and directly brought the man back to the hotel.
Suddenly finding himself in a different place, the middle-aged man fell to his knees. He looked around in panic, and when he saw that the room only contained a veiled woman, he slowly calmed down, even speaking up on his own. "I recognize you. You are Xinqin, Gu Huifeng's beloved."
Xinqin strode over to Nong Zheng, grabbed his shoulders, and demanded, "Gu Huifeng is missing. You must know where he is!"