We asked you to solve cases, and here you are sharing your criminal experiences?

Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau, Major Crimes Unit, Meeting Room No. 1.

The curtains were drawn tightly shut, and the air was filled with the strong aroma of goji berries from Lao Zheng's thermos.

In the very center of the whiteboard, Gu Tingchen wrote: Pandora Key in red marker.

"The suspect refused to provide further statements. But those five words are the core thread we'll be working on from here on out."

Gu Tingchen turned around and his gaze swept over everyone present.

Zhou Zheng scratched his buzz cut, looking annoyed.

"What the hell is this? Aren't Night Owls supposed to be training assassins and laundering money? Have they switched to selling nuclear weapons?"

"If it's a nuclear bomb, it's actually easier to handle. We can just call the provincial bomb disposal team." Old Zheng sighed and tightened the screws on his thermos.

"I'm afraid it might be something even more deadly than a nuclear bomb."

Song Qianxia sat at the very end of the conference table, holding a ballpoint pen in her hand, unconsciously drawing circles in her notebook.

What she wants to do most right now is to immediately book a plane ticket to Antarctica and spend the rest of her life with penguins.

Unfortunately, her internship salary wasn't even enough to buy a standing ticket.

"Regarding this item, I have already sent out notices for assistance to the provincial authorities and Interpol."

Gu Tingchen pressed a button on the remote control in his hand.

The large screen at the front of the conference room flickered, and the image switched to a man in a dark blue uniform.

The man wore thin-rimmed glasses and had very defined facial features.

The background shows a busy joint center, with foreign language data scrolling across various large screens.

"Gentlemen of Jiangcheng City Public Security Bureau, I am Xie Lin, the Interpol liaison officer stationed in China."

"To make a long story short, I have three transnational cases awaiting approval, so I can only give you ten minutes."

Xie Lin adjusted the microphone, his voice becoming very cold and harsh.

"Regarding the Pandora key you reported, there is a separate entry for it in the Interpol Red Archives."

Xie Lin tapped a few keys on the keyboard, and an electronic file stamped with a bright red top-secret seal appeared on the right side of the screen.

"That was an offline database built by Thousand Faces, the most notorious hacker in the Cyrillic underworld, ten years ago."

Upon hearing her name called, Song Qianxia frantically pinched her thigh under the table.

Xie Lin continued his story.

"That database contains records of transactions and arms smuggling routes from the global underground network for over a decade."

"And the specific whereabouts and buyer information of more than 400 trafficked children."

A collective gasp filled the conference room.

Old Zheng stood up abruptly. "This isn't a database, this is the very book of life and death of the entire underworld!"

"That's right. Someone got it, but after Thousand Faces died, everyone thought the database was completely destroyed with her disappearance."

Xie Lin pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light.

"But in reality, the status of the file still shows: not activated or destroyed."

"Qianmian is a cautious paranoiac. According to our profile, if she really dies, it will trigger the database's death switch, physically shutting down all servers."

"But the server array buried deep underground in Cyrillic remains in a minimal dormant state."

The meeting room fell silent once again.

Old Zheng rubbed his temples, somewhat incredulous.

"Officer Xie, do you mean that the hacker assassin Thousand Faces might still be alive?"

Song Qianxia sat in the corner, her eyelids twitching.

I really want to raise my hand and shout, "Yes, yes, yes, I'm still alive! I'm sitting here earning a base salary of three thousand yuan!"

Xie Lin nodded.

"This possibility cannot be ruled out, which is why there are so many undercurrents in the underground world right now."

"Because only by finding the key can we confirm the life or death of Qianmian and obtain that list that is enough to overturn the status quo."

"Night Owls has caused such a big commotion in Jiangcheng this time, even sending out their students as expendable pawns."

"This means they have obtained concrete clues about the key."

At this point, Xie Lin paused for a moment, his gaze passing through the screen to look at Gu Tingchen.

"Captain Gu, the higher-ups are paying close attention to the recent series of cases in Jiangcheng."

"Interpol will provide full technical support, but the Jiangcheng City Police Department must find out as soon as possible what Night Owl is looking for in Jiangcheng."

Gu Tingchen nodded and ended the video call.

The large screen went dark, and the atmosphere in the conference room became even more tense.

Zhou Zheng slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup clink.

"What kind of mess is this! An internationally wanted criminal whose fate is unknown has turned our Jiangcheng into a complete mess."

"If I ever run into that Thousand Faces, I'll handcuff her to a radiator pipe and starve her for three days!"

Song Qianxia silently shrank back into her chair, thinking to herself, "Captain Zhou, you're really ruthless. It's one thing to deduct wages like a living devil, but you also resort to corporal punishment."

Gu Tingchen picked up the red marker and drew a heavy circle next to "Pandora Key".

Then, he turned around, his gaze landing squarely on Song Qianxia.

Song Qianxia's heart skipped a beat. She quickly sat up straight and pretended to be a model student listening attentively to the lecture.

"Advisor Song," Gu Tingchen said, his tone flat.

"Here!" Song Qianxia raised her hand reflexively.

"The preliminary report from the technical department is out." Gu Tingchen walked up to her and threw a document on her desk.

"The iris-shaped metal badge we found last night in the theater's mezzanine."

"There are no fingerprints or DNA residues on the surface, but there is a tiny, high-level encryption chip embedded inside, which may be related to what the Night Owl is looking for."

Song Qianxia blinked and continued to play dumb.

"Wow, are commemorative coins made with such high technology now? Merchants are really willing to spend money."

Gu Tingchen ignored her banter and went straight to giving the task.

"You demonstrated strong non-mainstream network tracking capabilities when you were recovering dark web data."

"I need you to produce an evaluation report on the Pandora Key based on the information currently available, in your capacity as a specially appointed technical advisor."

Song Qianxia's fake smile froze.

"Me? Captain Gu, you must be joking. I'm just a bottom-ranked student at the police academy, and all I'm good at is grabbing coupons."

"You want me to evaluate something created by top international hackers? That's beyond my capabilities!"

Lin Wan nudged her with her elbow and whispered, "Why are you being so polite? This is an opportunity for you to get a permanent position and make a contribution!"

I'm not turning it right!

Song Qianxia was screaming inwardly, "Are they forcing me to conduct a background check on myself?!"

"This is an order." Gu Tingchen looked at her, leaving no room for refusal.

"You have forty-eight hours. Analyze what Pandora is and what its operating logic is."

Gu Tingchen leaned down slightly, placed his hands on the table, and stared into Song Qianxia's eyes.

"And, if Night Owls really got their hands on something, how far are they from opening the database?"

Song Qianxia swallowed hard, feeling like a rabbit being targeted by an eagle.

Write it! Anyway, it's something she created herself, and no one in the world knows it better than her.

"Okay, I'll give it a try."

Song Qianxia sighed and took the document.

"But let me make this clear from the start: if I write something completely nonsensical, will I lose my perfect attendance bonus?"

Gu Tingchen straightened up, turned around and walked towards the door.

"If you don't write well, your entire bonus for the second half of the year will be deducted."

Song Qianxia watched the retreating figure of the living devil, her teeth itching with anger.

Earning a salary of three thousand yuan while doing the work of saving the earth, even capitalists would shed tears upon hearing this!