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

The air pressure in the task force's office was frighteningly low.

It's already 3 a.m.

Xiao Wang from the technical department sat in front of the computer, typing away at the keyboard.

He had several different types of data cables next to him.

In the very center of the table was the tiny black device that had been removed from under the convenience store checkout counter.

Xiao Wang was sweating profusely with anxiety. He had just replaced the fourth adapter cable, but a glaring red box still popped up on his computer screen.

"The device cannot be recognized."

Zhao Ming, holding a cup of strong tea, stood behind Xiao Wang and sighed repeatedly.

"Captain Gu, this thing is too weird." Xiao Wang turned his head, his eyes bloodshot. "I just scanned it with an X-ray, and there isn't even a regular memory chip inside."

"No memory chip?" Zhao Ming was stunned. "Then what was the point of him sticking it under the cash register for three seconds?"

"That's the most illogical part," Xiao Wang said, scratching his already thinning hair. "There's no Bluetooth module, no Wi-Fi card. It doesn't even have a signal transmitter."

The other officers in the office also gathered around, and they all stared at each other in bewilderment.

"Could it be some kind of timed transmission device?"

"Impossible. How can it be sent without a network card?"

Gu Tingchen stood beside his desk, holding the map showing the route of the convenience store attack. He didn't speak, his gaze fixed intently on the map of Jiangcheng on the wall.

Seven convenience stores. Same modus operandi.

This group of people is definitely not here to collect cash.

Song Qianxia was sitting at her workstation in the corner.

She had a spicy snack in her mouth and a bag of original flavor potato chips in her hand, and she was happily munching on them.

Listening to the experts' discussion, she couldn't help but roll her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky.

That's it? Is this really so weird?

This junk was already everywhere on the Cyrillic black market ten years ago.

Back then, even the most rudimentary hacker apprentices wouldn't stoop to using such crude physical cheats.

Even a dog would shake its head at the sight of this tool.

After finishing the spicy snack in her mouth, Song Qianxia patted the seasoning residue off her hands.

"Um..." she said weakly, raising one hand.

In the quiet office, everyone turned to look at her.

"Brother Wang, try thinking about it another way," Song Qianxia said, pointing to the black device. "There's no storage chip inside, and no transmission source either."

"This shows that it doesn't need to store data or send data itself at all."

Xiao Wang was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"That's a low-end version of a physical information stealer," Song Qianxia casually remarked.

The entire room fell silent.

Zhao Ming's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.

Xiao Wang's eyes widened in surprise.

"A physical information stealer?" Xiao Wang looked at her. "But how can you steal information without a transmission channel?"

Song Qianxia sighed, feeling disappointed and frustrated.

"Take a closer look at the plug of that device." She walked over and pointed to a black object on the table. "Isn't it a bit thicker than a regular USB connector? And the copper pins inside are longer too?"

Xiao Wang quickly grabbed the high-powered flashlight from the table and shone it on the interface.

"Holy crap!" Xiao Wang exclaimed. "It really is! The stitches have been tampered with!"

"That's right." Song Qianxia yawned. "That's not a standard interface. Its pins are specially made; the moment it's inserted, it directly short-circuits the power supply and data transmission ports of the cash register's mainboard."

"It doesn't need to store the data itself. It simply issues a mirroring command to the motherboard."

Song Qianxia picked up a pen from the table and drew a simple flowchart on the whiteboard.

"After the data was packaged, it was sent directly to an overseas cloud drive using the convenience store's own broadband network."

"So it can be pulled off in three seconds."

"Because the moment it's plugged in, the Trojan commands are already embedded in the cash register's underlying system."

Xiao Wang was dumbfounded.

He immediately picked up a screwdriver and quickly pried open the plastic casing of the device.

The circuit board inside was exposed.

Sure enough, several extremely thin wires were haphazardly soldered to the interface, a completely crude and violent short-circuiting method.

"Incredible..." Xiao Wang stared at the circuit board in his hand, his face a mask of utter disbelief. "Who the hell came up with this unconventional solution?"

Zhao Ming's gaze towards Song Qianxia completely changed.

If defusing the bomb was just a lucky accident...

How do you explain that they now even understand how hackers modify circuits?

"Xiao Song," Zhao Ming put down his teacup, his tone complex, "you even know about these hacker-specific tools?"

Song Qianxia's heart skipped a beat.

Oh no! My occupational hazard has kicked in again! I just can't control my mouth.

She immediately dropped her professional analysis and put on a clear, foolish smile.

"Oh, Deputy Captain Zhao, you just don't understand," Song Qianxia said, puffing out her chest confidently. "This is common sense!"

Xiao Wang almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

"You call this common sense?!" Xiao Wang shouted, pointing at the modified circuit board.

"Yes!" Song Qianxia nodded vigorously. "I couldn't sleep in my dorm last night, so I watched videos pushed by the National Anti-Fraud Center's app on my phone."

She started talking nonsense.

"One of the videos was titled 'Beware of New Card Reader Scams'."

"The police officers inside explained things in great detail, and they even provided 3D animation demonstrations. I learned it all on the spot."

The audience was silent.

Zhao Ming's lips twitched violently.

Xiao Wang's face turned green.

When did anti-fraud propaganda videos start going into such depth? This even teaches how to modify circuits and short-circuit the motherboard? Is this supposed to prevent fraud or teach people how to hack?

"Is science education these days... really that hardcore?" Zhao Ming asked, half believing and half doubting.

Song Qianxia nodded with absolute certainty.

"That's right. The devil may be one foot tall, but the righteous are ten feet tall. If we don't explain things clearly, how can ordinary people protect themselves?"

As she spoke, she took out her phone and pretended to swipe a couple of times.

"How about I share the video link in our task force group so we can all learn from it together?"

The atmosphere was becoming increasingly strange.

Gu Tingchen, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.

"No need to send it." Gu Tingchen's voice was calm.

He walked to the desk and his gaze lingered on Song Qianxia's face for two seconds.

Then he turned to look at the others.

"Comrade Song Qianxia has a strong learning ability. She usually likes to study these cases, which is a good thing."

These words were spoken.

Not only Zhao Ming and Xiao Wang, but even Song Qianxia herself was stunned.

She suddenly looked up and stared at Gu Tingchen as if she had seen a ghost.

This living Yama is a devil.

He actually took the initiative to smooth things over for her?

Wasn't he always looking for an opportunity to expose himself? Is the sun rising in the west today?

Song Qianxia shrank her neck, feeling that this man was holding back some big move.

Gu Tingchen ignored her shock. He tapped the table with his long fingers and quickly assigned tasks.

"Now that we understand the principle, things will be much easier."

Gu Tingchen looked at Xiao Wang.

"Xiao Wang, check the convenience store's network logs. As long as the data is sent out, it will definitely leave the IP address of the cloud drive."

"Even if it involves multiple intermediaries, I'll trace it back to its source!"

"Yes!" Xiao Wang immediately sat up straight and his fingers flew across the keyboard.

Gu Tingchen turned to look at Zhao Ming.

"Go to the North District Police Station and retrieve the most recent month's data from the cash registers of those seven convenience stores for comparison. See what type of information the suspect stole."

The office became busy again.

Song Qianxia quietly retreated to the corner. She picked up the bag of unfinished potato chips, but suddenly they didn't taste so good anymore.

The look Gu Tingchen gave her just now was quite meaningful.