Chapter 24 Problem Solved

Fang Senyan devoured his food while taking the information from Zi, carefully browsing through it.

It wasn't that he didn't trust Zi's judgment, but he needed to have his own understanding of the situation. Blindly following others was not Fang Senyan's style. The file didn't contain much, only about six A4 sheets, but each sheet was densely packed with text, making Fang Senyan wonder if the agents' office budget was tight, unwilling to spare a few more sheets of paper.

By the time Fang Senyan finished the casserole, Zi still deeply admired Fang Senyan's strategic planning. As a proud woman and former team leader, she eagerly anticipated confirmation of her own ideas, looking at Fang Senyan with anticipation, hoping to hear words of approval.

Fang Senyan swallowed the last bite of rice, took another serious look at the A4 sheets, and then looked at Zi's expectant eyes and said earnestly:

"Um, can you order me another casserole? This tastes good..."

Zi: "............"

Half an hour later, Fang Senyan, having ordered a full three servings, finally ate his fill and lazily picked his teeth:

"Zi, I can't say you're wrong, but this involves a question of future outlook. If we follow the line of thinking of those who completed this mission before, we'll be very passive. Even if we painstakingly overcome this process, who can say for sure that the mastermind behind the scenes won't sabotage the next one?"

Zi glared at Fang Senyan.

Fang Senyan smiled, not taking it to heart:

"So, I think the main effort now should be focused on clues that the enemy probably didn't obtain - that miniaturized SOS signal. I only observed this suspicion after analyzing it many times in the space with the rank of lieutenant commander. That Droba shouldn't be a team leader, and it's unlikely his rank reached that level, so this clue is likely something he didn't grasp, which is probably why his mission completion rating wasn't high."

Zi pondered for a moment and said:

"So, you mean to focus on aspects related to micro-engraving?"

Fang Senyan said seriously:

"That's right. Look, this is a photo I brought out."

As he spoke, Fang Senyan displayed the high-definition photograph of the SOS engraved on the side of the screw's thread. Under the terrifying magnification, the screw's thread was so wide that it looked like the wilderness of California, and the letters SOS were very clear, meticulous, and even showed a distinct personal handwriting style.

"Being able to do this clearly isn't something an amateur can accomplish. Let's try to carve an SOS on a wooden table now, and it will definitely look like a dog chewed it."

Fang Senyan stretched out his finger and tapped on the greasy table, seriously summarizing, "The person who wrote these letters is a veteran of micro-engraving!"

Zi curled her lip:

"Okay, I want to hear your answer."

"I initially thought I could find a special precision lathe specifically for micro-engraving in the list, but unfortunately, there's no such thing," Fang Senyan said confidently.

"But I wasn't defeated by disappointment, but continued to reason from the most basic common sense. It's impossible to micro-engrave on a screw with the naked eye, right?"

Fang Senyan said, probably a little thirsty, and took a sip of the coffee in front of Sanzi:

"According to this inference, I was pleasantly surprised to find one, two, three... a total of four high-powered microscopes, or things that can be used as microscopes, on the warehouse list. Wow, fate is so wonderful. We were just worried about not having an answer, but now we immediately have to face a multiple-choice question with four options that we could easily get wrong."

Sanzi propped his chin with his hand, interestedly saying:

"So what should we do? Go find the people who have access to these four instruments one by one?"

Fang Senyan smiled and shook his head:

"From the way our artist is calling for help in such a secretive manner, we should be able to deduce several key points. No one would be bored enough to look at an ordinary screw under a high-powered microscope, even including us, who know that there must be something wrong with this screw, we would almost ignore this point. So, this screw should be assigned to a specific person, and only this specific person will take it to the microscope to look at."

"What can we infer from this? The only reasonable explanation is that the relationship between the maker and the receiver of the screw must be friends who know each other, and they are friends who know each other through micro-engraving. The maker tells the receiver, 'This is my latest work,' the implication being, 'Take it and open your eyes and broaden your horizons. I carved something very obscene and violent on it...' Then, if everything goes normally, his secret will be passed on."

"Secondly, in this highly developed civilization with an explosive increase in communication methods and such sound laws, where even contacting the president isn't difficult, the fact that the creator is using such a secretive way to transmit information can only mean one thing: the degree of surveillance the creator faces is probably more strict than we imagined."

"Okay, these two points I raised seem unrelated, but they can play a very important role in the following identification. To perform micro-engraving under a microscope, the stage around the microscope cannot be semi-closed, and space must be left for the various tools used for micro-engraving. Based on this point alone, we can eliminate two microscopes. These two microscopes seem to be used for observing biological samples. The stage is sealed off very tightly to avoid biological contamination, which does not meet the requirements of micro-engraving operation."

"Then, our target is this, the Renedin high-powered microscope from Alaska! The reason it was sealed up is...rust..."

Sanzi suddenly coughed twice and said:

"Brother Yan, your thinking is a little too fast. Didn't we have four options in total? You've eliminated two, so there should still be two more."

Fang Senyan sighed and said:

"Sanzi, the maximum magnification of the remaining microscope is fifty times... and to perform that kind of micro-engraving, the magnification should be at least 1000 times! Do I need to explain such a simple truth?"

Sanzi stuck out his tongue and didn't speak. Fang Senyan looked around:

"Does anyone have anything to add?"

Reef and Black Dude shrugged. Zi looked sulky and unwilling, seeming to want to say something, but in the end, probably realizing there was no reason to argue, gave up. Fang Senyan had already read out the given information:

"Renedin high-powered microscope, period of use, March 1987 to January 1992."

"Purpose of use: Inspection."

"Location of use: Quality inspection department of Workshop III."

"Attached photo."

After reading these, Fang Senyan closed his eyes, seeming to organize his language, and then slowly said:

"The person we are looking for: Someone who worked in the quality inspection department of Workshop III, who had an unusual experience, doesn't drink heavily, but must have a heavy smoking addiction, is taciturn, may be balding, and, in addition, a very important point, is left-handed."

This time, even Zi was surprised:

"How could you know so much?"

Fang Senyan smiled and said:

"Although everything has been destroyed by that violent negative energy, many things can still be traced. I don't think anyone will object to the first two points I made."

"As for not drinking heavily, but having a heavy smoking addiction, that's because this guy is under close surveillance, but still has to keep a huge secret in his heart. The pressure he's under must be huge, so he'll always find ways to relieve it, and smoking and drinking are common ways. But long-term heavy drinking will make the nerve response sluggish and the hands tremble violently, which he, as a micro-engraving enthusiast, definitely can't accept, so he probably can only take in more nicotine to refresh himself."

"Similarly, balding is also a manifestation of great psychological pressure. As for the left-handed part, look at this photo. Although it's a bit blurry, it's not difficult to see that the handle on the left side of the microscope has been gripped so much that it's obviously white and the paint is peeling off. There's no need to say more about that, right?"

Zi suddenly said:

"Why can't this person secretly use a colleague's microscope to engrave?"

Fang Senyan said lightly:

"It's possible, but the probability is very small. First, he's under close surveillance. Second, the price of a Renedin high-powered microscope isn't cheap. The user will have a lot of money deducted if they accidentally damage this instrument, which was still an expensive component at the time. Therefore, the user of the microscope will definitely take good care of this thing. It's difficult to have the opportunity to access it if you're not the user, so..."

Black Dude frowned and said:

"After our commotion tonight, the Nokeson Processing Plant should be heavily guarded tomorrow. I suspect it will be very difficult to investigate."

"So we don't have to go to that damn place tomorrow," Fang Senyan said leisurely:

"According to my investigation, the Nokeson Processing Plant doesn't seem to include benefits that provide permanent housing for employees. Since we have a clear target, we only need to pay a visit to the head of the processing plant's personnel department, or...the head of the quality inspection department of Workshop III. Whether they cooperate or not, it won't take us too much time."