221 So Helpful (1/2)
”I personally think none of these people are the traitor.” Albert raised the wine glass in his hand and sipped leisurely. His gray eyes scanned the six suspects in the hall. He and Ye Shuang were currently standing on the corridor that was outside the resting area on the second floor. From where they stood, they could see the entire dance hall.
Ye Shuang confirmed it again with the man. ”Are you sure?”
”I am about sixty percent certain.” Albert shrugged his shoulders like he was bored, ”As you know, the thing that I am good at in terms of psychology is behavioral analysis. Everyone's personal information, including their birth, knowledge, occupation, and so on, is all subconsciously reflected in their daily movement. Similarly, what someone had done recently can also be discerned from their actions and concerns. Of course, without the support of additional proof, I can only provide analysis from my perspective, and I cannot guarantee that it will be one hundred percent perfect.”
”60 percent confidence sounds about right.” Ye Shuang thought about it. ”I have also approached these people before. There is one that is working for both companies at the same time, and even though other people harbor their own goals, most of them still need to depend on the Si Hai Organization and hope that the company will become better and not worse. By the way, there is someone extra. If you have time, go and speak with Mrs. Zuo—I suspect she is committing an extra-marital affair.”
”What‽” Albert was shocked and stunned. ”This doesn't sound like it is within my job scope.”
He was a criminal psychological profiler. Fine, due to his 'holiday' that he was on to recruit Anthony, he had to accept personal cases. His focus on criminal investigation had now turned into business crime investigation. His status had already been pulled down to his bottom line; he would not lower himself from a criminal profiler to a private investigator who look into other people's extra-marital affairs. That would never happen!
Albert, who had his principles, turned to look at Ye Shuang, ”I need a valid reason.”
”Think of it as a repayment to your client.” Ye Shuang looked at the 'are you kidding me?' expression on Albert's face, and after a pause, she smiled. ”Fine, actually I'm just curious about it. Think of it as some kind of gossip. Since you have nothing better to do, going to check it out is not going to harm you, is it?”
Albert took in a deep breath. He finished the remaining wine in his glass and prepared to leave. Fine, so he was even lower than a private investigator. He was actually a paparazzo.
Ignore! End the friendship! Goodbye!
”Wait a minute! Don't go yet!” Ye Shuang quickly pulled the man back and explained hurriedly, ”Actually, it is not just for gossip. The original purpose of our case is to find the traitor in the Si Hai Organization who has been cooperating with outside forces to bring it down from inside, right‽ And now, those six candidates have temporarily escaped suspicion, haven't they?
”However, other than these six people, there is actually one more person who can access the many files that Zuo Yuanhang keeps on him. When the Xi Hwa Organization tried to undermine the An family's business in San Lin City, they tried to corrupt it from within, and the method that they employed was to send out someone to seduce the one of shot-callers within An family.”
Albert peeled his eyes open to ask in a serious tone, ”You're not just lying to me just to gather information to gossip about, are you?”
”I'm definitely not lying to you!” Ye Shuang nodded in quick succession. ”If you don't believe me, you can go and ask Tony. He's currently working at An Corps right now because he is needed to clean up the mess from that thing that I mentioned.”
”Wait, I still think something is not right.” Albert was about to accept the case when he was suddenly reminded of something. He looked at Ye Shuang with caution in his eyes. ”Shouldn't we inform Mr. Zuo of this first? It is most suitable for the man himself to go keep an eye out on his lawfully-wedded wife—why am I the one being tasked to do something like this?”
”Haven't you heard the saying that family shame should not be revealed to the public‽” Ye Shuang gave the man a side-eye. ”If Zuo Yuanhang really wants to do something about it, who do you think he will turn to? It is impossible for him to do this on his own. Mr. Zuo has such a busy schedule, and he is not familiar with things like this. It is even more impossible for him to find his employees to do this. What if they really see something? It will such a loss to his family's face if the details are leaked. Therefore, I am eighty percent sure that the case will eventually fall back on your head. Furthermore, criminal organization is still within FBI's jurisdiction, right? The third man might be from the money-laundering organization itself, and I hear the organization is based in your country.”
FBI was part of United States' legal department; their responsibility was to investigate the unlawful behavior that might bring a threat to the country's safety. Anti-terrorism, drugs, organized crime, and foreign spies as well as white collar crimes were their main focus. The unit had the right to investigate more than two hundred types of federal crimes, and due to its large jurisdiction, it could also be considered the largest special unit in the US.
Honestly, the fact that Albert could be convinced to help this time had many things to do with the Xi Hwa Organization. It was because there was such a huge target that Albert could be convinced in the end. Otherwise, with just the internal company issue at Zuo Yuanhang's Si Hai Organization, it would require a lot more persuasion and convincing to move someone of Albert's caliber.
Albert thought about it and asked, ”You plan to use me to kick this organization out of your own country?”
”He he! We're just using each other, right‽” Ye Shuang smiled and admitted it openly. ”After all, you could not have just left the organization there unattended. In the end, you will have to look into them. Plus, you are taking advantage of us to get close to Tony. So, if we really calculate the whole situation, I am just using you to accomplish one goal, and you are using two to complete two, so in conclusion, we're technically still the losing party.”
”If you put it that way, sure. I don't mind being used by a pretty woman.” Albert scratched his chin and leaned closer. ”I hear the specialty at your country is bribery?”
There was bad intention dancing in his eyes.
”Where have you gotten such information from?” Ye Shuang chuckled and then used her single finger to push the man's face back. She added with a giggle, ”We're still trying to follow the international trend. What we have here is still nothing compared to the money that is spent on lobbying in your country.”
Albert shrugged, but internally, he was shocked by the force in that single finger. If not for the fact that he had experienced it in person, he would have thought it was a big elephant that had pushed him back. He pouted with regret and then sighed. ”Fine, it looks like we're going to have to continue this happy cooperation awhile.”
After the ball that night, there were not any special activities the next day. The guests were free to find something to do on the cruise. They could play cards, watch movies, play golf, swim… Any kind of entertainment that one could think of, the cruise most likely had it. Combined that with the good-looking men and pretty girls that walked around the deck, the cruise was filled with a jovial atmosphere.
It was a rare opportunity to be invited to an event like this, so naturally, Ye Shuang would not waste all of her energy on a single investigation. Furthermore, they already had Albert to focus on that. Before Han Chu came to inform her that she had some things to do, Ye Shuang tried her best to wander around the cruise and make use of this opportunity to get to know people, expanding her social circle.
The right time, right place, and doing the right thing—if Ye Shuang wanted to, she could get close to anyone very quickly. To achieve a trusting relationship was naturally more difficult, but exchanging phone numbers was something doable.
After lunch, the cruise would stop at one of the smaller islands. The guests were allowed to go for leisure walks on the island or snorkeling. There were many such islands near Chaohai—some were military bases, and others had been bought by rich moguls.