"How could this happen?" Zhao Yu gasped.
Hearing such shocking news, he and the rest of the small group felt as though they had been struck by lightning! Ever since the special investigation group had arrested Tao Xiang by accident, the entire operation had been carried out in secret.
As Zhao Yu knew that it would be a major incident, he had been extremely careful. As such, at least theoretically, it was impossible for the news to have been exposed! Moreover, the Jinping Police Station had no idea about Tao Xiang's true identity.
After Zhao Yu opened the news app, he found more detailed information regarding Tao Xiang's name, the Jinping Police Station, and even the Bliss Nursing Home, where Tao Xiang was arrested.
"Oh my God! This report is so detailed!" Wu Xiumin was shocked. "It was obviously compiled internally! But, by who? And why?"
Zhao Yu immediately understood that this was a serious matter, as anything that involved the Tamil Star Gem Theft Case would surely lead to diplomatic turmoil! Plus, Tao Xiang had many enemies, so once his identity was exposed, it would put him in great danger!
Ran Tao patted his thigh, then said, "It must be that woman, who is obviously going through menopause! That woman on fire! She's angry at Team Leader Zhao Yu, so she sold the report intel to the media in an attempt to fool us!"
"That totally makes sense!" Wu Xiumin, who stood alongside Ran Tao, unexpectedly chimed in. "Otherwise, who would know such details?"
Tsk tsk…
As he was listening to the conversation and various hypotheses, Zhao Yu couldn't help but crease his eyebrows. He felt that it wasn't Wu Fangfang's doing, as she had already signed the official document to take over the case. Thus, if she were to sell the information to the media, she would also be pushing herself into a corner!
"Let's track down the first media outlet that spread the news, then deal with them!" Zeng Ke said, while he connected his phone to the computer.
After just a few clicks, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Oh my goodness, it has only been twenty minutes, and there have already been five hundred thousand clicks on the news link! This speed…"
"What's going on?" Zeng Ke was still engrossed by the computer intel, when the office door was pushed opened by the contact officer, Chen Zhuo.
Chen Zhuo walked in quickly, then barked at Zhao Yu, "Zhao, didn't we agree that this matter was highly confidential? Why would it be on the news? Do you know what this means? You and I are in big trouble! Who the heck did this?"
"Officer Chen, I have no idea!" Zhao Yu waved his hand and said. "I followed the procedure, so I'm sure there's no mistake on our end!"
"Then, how could this happen?" Chen Zhuo scratched his head anxiously. "If it wasn't you, who else could it be?"
"Zhao Yu! You crazy fool!" Suddenly, the office door was pushed open yet again, followed by an angry Wu Fangfang, who stormed in and shouted, "What have you done? We only argued for a bit, and yet you stabbed me in the back! How could you do this?"
"Hey, why do you assume that I did something?" Zhao Yu asked helplessly. "What did I do?"
"How dare you deny it!" Wu Fangfang then pointed at her phone and said, "The entire world knows about Tao Xiang's being arrested. Are you happy now? You are so black-hearted. Just as I signed the document and became in charge of the case, you go and make a fool out of me! Alright, I shall report this to the division chief, then we'll see what you have to say for yourself!"
"Hey? That's strange!" Zeng Ke interrupted, while pointing at the computer screen. He then said, "Over a dozen media outlets posted the news at the same time! That doesn't make sense…"
At that very moment, Chen Zhuo seemed to realized something, then moved to stand between Zhao Yu and Wu Fangfang, thus mediating the dispute. He then said, "Calm down, you two. This is so strange. I think we should investigate this further and not jump to hasty conclusions!"
"Officer Chen, don't you understand?" Wu Fangfang asked emotionally. "This is such an embarrassment. If we had the gemstone, it might be okay! But, as we arrested the burglar without the gemstone being recovered yet, it makes us look ridiculous!"
At that moment, Ma Runkui, who had just heard the news and rushed to the scene, said, "Well, we can always go the old-fashioned route, meaning that we get into contact with the Central Cyber Police, seal off the news, then declare that it was all only a rumor! Then, it will be totally wiped from the news cycle!"
"No way!" Wu Fangfang shook her head and said, "If we tried that, it would only make the situation worse! Plus, it isn't a rumor! It's the truth!"
"Then, what else can we do?" Chen Zhuo scratched his head, right as his cell phone began to ring...
As Chen Zhuo looked down at the Caller Id, he suddenly lost it, exclaiming, "The higher ups are calling! What should I do?"
As no one could think of any reason for Chen Zhuo's to dodge the call, he could only answer the phone hesitantly. As expected, he was scolded immediately. The higher ups requested that he take care of the matter as soon as possible.
Apparently, this whole incident had ruffled the feathers of everyone, from the Jin'an Provincial Office to the leaders in the Jinping Police Station! When they had all realized the severity of the situation, they had responded like kittens on a hot tin roof!
The higher ups in the Jinping Police Station were especially upset, as the pharmaceutical factory Hasty Murder Case had already put them in a difficult position, and within only a day of their having resolved the case, there had been another major incident!
Although the Gem Theft Case didn't involve any human lives, the Tamil Star was once listed as India's national treasure. As such, it was no small matter!
In light of the case's national importance, the Jinping Police Station had no choice but to add more armed policemen to guard the King of the Thieves. At the same time, Zeng Ke updated the investigation results, which is exactly when all of the media outlets spread the news regarding the Gem Theft Case!
As it turns out, these particular media outlets were all small news publishing agencies. Normally, they would rely on the major news media to spread their news, sending it to them in small batches to then publish themselves.
After that, the major news publications would spread the news, uploading it onto their own websites and applications, which would mean some timing delay in transition. However, somehow or another, after they had received the announcement instructions from the system, the small outlets had published the news directly. It was only after a while that they realized that the major media outlets hadn't uploaded any news at all!
After investigating the matter, they realized that the sharing platform for those particular media outlets was hacked! This meant that a hacker had gone in and completely taken control of the news! And, although various media outlets had already deleted the news in question, the internet had already done its magic, spreading the juicy gossip across the globe!
It can't be, right?
This means big trouble. There's even hacker involved now!
Zhao Yu pondered this whole situation seriously, thinking this particular plot must have been planned for quite some time!