Chapter 133: A Hostage Too? Aren

Live Broadcast Room.

The Water Friends have already been utterly awed by Xu Mo.

What does "professional" mean?

This is exactly what "professional" looks like!

What kind of person is a born leader?

It's Xu Mo!

At first glance, the Program Crew gave Xu Mo a few deadweights.

However, after following Xu Mo, do they still look like deadweights at all?

The five people split up, each gathering the needed information.

In no time they had a crystal‑clear picture of the Exhibition Event.

The sheer efficiency makes one gape.

Who could have thought that before this, those people were law‑abiding five‑star good citizens?

In terms of professionalism, most criminal gangs probably aren't as strong as this makeshift troupe built on the fly.

Those who don't know might even think Xu Mo and his group are repeat offenders.

"Professional, damn, professional! I've learned it; next time the Program Crew looks for a guest, pick me. I think I can do it too!"

"I used to think the four helpers the Program Crew gave Xu Mo were all deadweights, but who knew they could actually help."

"I think… fundamentally they're still deadweights, but Xu Mo trained them well; if those four were given to someone else, they'd not only hold you back, they'd probably rip your pants off."

"Brothers, where did four helpers come from? Clearly it's three helpers plus a hostage!"

"Is that so? There's a hostage? Who?"

"Yang Jingxuan is the hostage, but discussing it now is pointless; I bet she's already forgotten she's a hostage…"

"Jingxuan, snap out of it! You are the hostage, you are the hostage!!!!"

"..."

Investigation Team, this side.

Han Fei has already dialed Wuya's number.

"Do you have time now?" Han Fei asked first.

Wuya on the other end responded.

"Yes, do you need my help right now?"

"Right." Seeing Wuya was free, Han Fei continued without hesitation: "We just followed the lead to the Hangcheng Children Welfare Institute, but came up empty. I suspect Xu Mo tampered with the surveillance, and I don't understand this stuff, so could you check where Xu Mo went after leaving the Welfare Institute?"

Wuya readily agreed.

"What's the trouble? I'll check right away. Xu Mo's last known location was the Hangcheng Children Welfare Institute, right?"

"Yes, Hangcheng Children Welfare Institute. I confirmed with the director; Xu Mo left around 10:30 a. m.," Han Fei replied.

Before the call ended, Wuya on the other side had already begun investigating.

He didn't hang up because Wuya was confident he could quickly find out where Xu Mo went.

Rather than calling back after finding out, he preferred to stay on the line and tell Han Fei the result directly once done.

Anyway, he's fast; he'll finish in a moment, won't delay long.

After all, he's a genius hacker who was recruited.

His skill in computers is extremely high.

He's on a completely different level from those so‑called tech staff at the Police Station.

The Police Station's technicians need a whole night to restore replaced surveillance footage.

But for him, restoring a surveillance feed is a matter of minutes.

However, as soon as he started, Wuya was stunned.

One must know that hackers, however skilled, always leave traces when they breach anywhere.

Yet in this surveillance video, there is absolutely no trace of any hacker intrusion.

Since there's no hacker trace, it means the footage wasn't tampered with.

Moreover, Wuya checked the footage from the camera at the entrance of the Hangcheng Children Welfare Institute; it wasn't replaced in whole, nor cut in parts, nor deleted outright.

This shows the surveillance was indeed untouched by hackers.

This 'untampered' footage shows… Xu Mo never left the Welfare Institute at all.

The cameras didn't even capture Xu Mo leaving the Welfare Institute.

Wuya wondered whether Han Fei's lead was wrong.

To clarify, he asked Han Fei on the other end.

"Strange… Uncle Han, are you sure Xu Mo left the Welfare Institute? The footage looks fine to me."

"Impossible," Han Fei frowned. "I'm sure he left; the director and staff of the Welfare Institute all say so, and there are other eyewitnesses. I can confirm they're telling the truth. I've been in this field so long, I can spot a lie at a glance…"

Originally, Han Fei wanted to say he could spot a lie at a glance.

But halfway through, Han Fei suddenly recalled some unpleasant memories.

That statement was problematic.

Not long ago, he had just been deceived by someone's lie.

So he immediately rephrased.

"What I mean is, in a face‑to‑face interrogation, if the other party lies I can see it at a glance… In short, I won't get it wrong; I'm certain Xu Mo left the Welfare Institute around 10:30 a. m."

Han Fei finished speaking.

Beside him, Li Chen muttered softly.

"Han Team, is this friend of yours reliable? I just feel like he's not up to it?"

Although his muttering was extremely faint.

But the Wuya on the other end of the phone heard it crystal clear.

His face instantly darkened.

Who isn't up to it?

Huh?

Who are you saying isn't up to it?

Can a man endure others saying he's not up to it?

He gritted his teeth, ready to check again.

If no trace of hacker intrusion is found, then use the clumsy method and examine it painstakingly!

Not a single clue in the surveillance can be overlooked.

Wuya wants to prove itself.

It must never let anyone say it's not up to it!

Fortunately, after he went through the surveillance once more with great care, overlooking no detail,

he actually discovered something amiss.

Although the surveillance shows no trace of hacker intrusion,

the footage itself has problems.

Between 10:38:26 and 10:38:27.

The surveillance footage exhibited an extremely subtle change.

A fallen leaf on the ground, within that one second, vanished half of itself out of thin air, and the missing edge was perfectly straight, as if it had been cut by hand.

But in the footage, no one was holding a knife cutting the leaf…

Wuya instantly concluded.

The surveillance had been cropped!

Otherwise the phenomenon of the leaf vanishing half would be inexplicable.

He didn't detect any intrusion trace, which could only mean the opponent's technique is more advanced.

The method of hacking the surveillance without leaving any trace, as well as the technique of locally cropping a tiny portion of the footage, were taught by Xu Mo to Zhou Qiaoqiao.

Therefore, even if other hackers used professional means to examine this footage, they would still be capable of spotting the problem.

It is precisely because the Black Surveillance method is so unique, leaving no trace, that Wuya initially thought the surveillance hadn't been tampered with.

But even if the method is extremely unique.

there will still be issues in the details.

In other words, the surveillance cannot withstand close scrutiny.

Coincidentally, Wuya happened to be provoked by Li Chen's words.

He stubbornly left no detail unchecked, which finally confirmed that the surveillance had been tampered with…

"The surveillance indeed has a problem; the footage was partially cropped, using a method similar to Cropping (Image Cropping)." Wuya told Han Fei about his discovery.