In the dining hall, Ou Xingzhuo was still dressed like an adult, making him look like a senior, after all, his hair volume was still robust, far from the sparse look of older teachers.
Due to limited time, with an appointment with the Academic Affairs Department’s inquiry at 1:30 PM, Li Zheng briefly explained the situation and consulted some data privacy issues before hurriedly meeting up with his group members.
In fact, all group members had received notice to cooperate with the investigation, and even before that, the Academic Affairs Department had communicated with Zhou Yi, after which the official investigation process was launched.
This was an incident that hadn’t resulted in severe consequences, yet the Academic Affairs Department’s swift and decisive action, bypassing Yingpei College to initiate proceedings, undoubtedly reflected the school’s commitment to academic atmosphere, which greatly encouraged Li Zheng.
The days of maneuvering were certainly exhausting for him, a type of fatigue experienced in the adult world, but then like a tsunami, the Academic Affairs Department surged forward at this time.
So he had to keep going strong, helping her to the very end.
If we’re talking actual chances, before Liu Yuwei appealed to Professor Chu Youhua, Li Zheng was only ninety percent sure, whether it was about her or her family, such arrangements undoubtedly solidified her guilt.
At 1:25 PM, in front of the Academic Affairs Department’s office building, the group members mustered their last bits of energy.
"So… a free 1.5 million yuan project, that’s quite a lot, huh…" Shi Yang sighed with his head thrown back, "Remember the Chem Competitions and the joint statement we made? Now, I could never do such things even if you killed me, not to mention refusing awards at the ICHO… After causing all that trouble, if not for Old Zhou’s protection, I’m not even sure I could still be at Ji University…"
Li Zheng, also looking upwards, patted Shi Yang and chuckled, "What basis does Old Zhou have to protect you?"
"Because… I study well?" Shi Yang widened his eyes, answered his own question and delighted in his own cleverness, "Brilliant!"
"That’s right, study well for a moment, feel good for a moment; study always, feel always good." Li Zheng took a breath and laughed heartily, "As long as we keep studying well, those who will have to compromise are them, those who are apprehensive are also them, and those who tremble are still them!"
"Right, that’s Li Zheng." Tu Yikou patted him as they walked side by side, "Even though morality and reason are on our side, the words that come out end up sounding like a major antagonist."
"I quite understand." Mo Nian also looked upward with a sigh, flexing and cracking his fists, "When science studies progress to a certain level, one instinctively thinks that the world must follow a certain order, and humans must pursue justice and goodness. Therefore, when the order collapses and chaos prevails, those of us who can’t adapt to the world become a minority. To maintain this order, even just the internal order in our hearts, we have to play even harder, act even more ruthlessly than they do."
"Ah…" Chang Keqing rarely showed a gentle expression, "I was initially just idle… got involved with everyone just out of boredom, but now I feel… after living so long, I’ve finally found my kin—except for Tu Yikou."
Tu Yikou jested with a curse, "Big sis! Now of all times, do you have to be so precise!"
Amidst the laughter, Zhang Shandong and his group walked over, filled with sighs.
Zhang Shandong’s face was full of awkwardness and disappointment; he just sighed, then entered the office building.
Wu Yue, even more awkward and disappointed, followed in without saying a word.
On the contrary, Liu Yuwei glanced at a few individuals on the spot, muttered something indecipherable in English, and then chased after them into the building.
It was then that the leader, quick with both eyes and hands, immediately stepped forward to block, "My friend, this isn’t openly insulting nor secretly cursing; it’s extremely demoralizing."
"???" Liu Yuwei subconsciously shrank back, clutching her bag, "I didn’t curse…"
"You idiot?" Tu Yikou narrowed his eyes.
"Bullshit…" Liu Yuwei sidestepped swiftly, trying to get past.
"Exactly, you should curse to their face!" Tu Yikou jumped forward to block her again, took a deep breath afterward, and then a string of fragrant vocabulary spewed out like a Gatling gun.
"Bitch, jerk, sucker…#￥#￥%…"
"You… you’re insane!"
"Bastard, bitch, asshole, shit, bitch…#￥#￥%…"
Liu Yuwei, with her hands over her ears and under a barrage of fire, tried several times to bypass him, but she was blocked each time, ending up with tears in her eyes as she cursed, "You! Is that all the vocabulary you have? Don’t think I didn’t notice you said it three times."
"Fucking bitch, fucking bitch, bitching bitch, bitch fucker…#%￥…"
"Aaaaahhhhh!!!" Liu Yuwei screamed and broke through the leader’s block, running upstairs.
The leader then yelled seven or eight more phrases after her, before he finally relaxed.
"Much better, I feel like I can go back now."
Li Zheng swallowed before going to console him, "These words, they can be combined like this?"
"English curses are about being casual; whatever flows, just put it together." Tu Yikou asked, "Haven’t you been to a Texas cursing chatroom?"
Mo Nian was shocked, "There’s such a place in my hometown???"
"No no no, not that Texas." Tu Yikou hastily gestured towards Lin Moming, "English cursing, proficient in two days."
"Umm, umm, umm…" Lin Moming shook her head in panic.
Until they entered the conference room, Liu Yuwei was still keeping her head down with reddened eyes, seemingly still trembling, and no longer dared to look at the leader again.
On the other side, there sat three teachers from the Academic Affairs Department.
The one in the middle, wearing a tailored white shirt and silver glasses, not too old in age, naturally was the director of the Academic Discipline Office, Wang Xueli.
Li Zheng had also conducted investigations before. Wang Xueli came from a legal background and was appointed as the director of this new office two years ago for the purpose of handling such faceless tasks. Otherwise, the intricate relationships everywhere would eventually erode the discipline and spirit.
Once all attendees had arrived, Wang Xueli and his two colleagues briefly introduced themselves and then launched into a series of routine inquiries and data collection. Since Li Zheng’s group had already prepared all the documents and materials well in advance, the entire process took no more than 20 minutes.
However, the questions he asked, especially those concerning Liu Yuwei, were always somewhat reserved. As for Li Zheng’s side, not a single question was asked.
This inevitably puzzled Li Zheng, who repeatedly gave Wang Xueli questioning looks.
But Wang Xueli completely ignored this and simply continued to push the process forward.
As the routine procedure neared its end, Wang Xueli devoted more of his energy to Wu Yue, seemingly regarding him as his main suspect.
This, inevitably, made Li Zheng even more puzzled. However, since Wang Xueli was so confident, he decided to wait until everything was done before discussing it privately.
"So, let me confirm this once more," Wang Xueli said, pointing at the camera on the side of the conference table, "Even though this is just an internal investigation, the matter is still serious. Please, everyone, take responsibility for what you say."
After everyone nodded, Wang Xueli glanced at the recording teacher’s screen next to him, then addressed Wu Yue.
"Wu Yue, you insist that you have not received any information regarding the specific contents of Li Zheng’s paper?"
"Yes," Wu Yue simply bowed his head, lifeless, looking like a condemned man.
"Is there a possibility that during your day-to-day interactions with Li Zheng’s team members, you inadvertently learned some specific details?"
"No," Wu Yue shook his head, "I only knew that they were collaborating with the Chemical Institute and had taken some time off. This doesn’t count as specific content."
"Then, as a student lacking any background in biology and chemical research, why did you have the courage to collaborate on a project related to electron microscopy with the School of Life Sciences?"
"I had no courage; I was merely following the teacher’s arrangements."
Afterward, Wang Xueli added some pressing questions before finally leaving Wu Yue alone. He nodded to his colleagues as if he had completed his primary task.
Then, yawning, he moved to Liu Yuwei with a routine question very casually.
"Liu Yuwei, you maintain that you have not received any information regarding the specific contents of Li Zheng’s paper?"
Liu Yuwei then became agitated.
Unlike Wu Yue’s surrender, she was full of vitality.
"Yes," Liu Yuwei, emboldened by just being scolded to tears by her leader, looked as though she was the victim, "All I knew was just their published research proposal inside the institute. I have no idea what they were thinking… to just pin everything on me… I am insignificant and powerless, unlike them with so many people, so many achievements, so many teachers supporting them… I… I really don’t know…"
As she spoke, she actually started crying, covering her face and weeping uncontrollably.
Wang Xueli’s expression did not change slightly; he continued with the pre-recorded rhetoric.
"Additionally, you also claim that you did not receive any specific content about the paper from Lin Moming?"
"Whimper… whimper…" Liu Yuwei was still crying.
"Liu Yuwei, please calmly answer the question."
"Maybe she mentioned something offhand… I can’t remember…"
"I haven’t!" Lin Moming immediately raised her right hand, "I never talk about these things outside my team and the Chemical Institute’s teachers!"
Wang Xueli then nodded to Liu Yuwei, "’I can’t remember’ is not a powerful phrase in this kind of investigation. If you heard it, you heard it; if not, then not. In contrast, Lin Moming’s statement is more credible."
"I…I just can’t remember it… maybe she said she would have dinner at the Chemistry Institute and not to wait for her… who remembers such trivial matters?"
"I’m not asking about trivial matters," Wang Xueli stressed, tapping the table, "This is about the specific content of the paper; if there were any, you should remember it clearly."
"Then… then there wasn’t any…" Liu Yuwei spoke and then burst into tears again, lying on the table and wailing, "Teacher, I’m really about to break down… being falsely accused by Li Zheng and treated like a criminal… whimper, whimper…"
"Alright, it’s almost over," Wang Xueli nodded once more to his left and right, then leaned on the table, slowly saying, "So now, I have reason to tell you, it is not Li Zheng who is framing you, but you who are framing Li Zheng."
The already weary and somewhat drowsy attendees instinctively straightened their necks.
What kind of statement was that.
"We are the department of academic affairs; we wouldn’t be absurd enough to believe a student’s personal conjecture," Wang Xueli lightly tapped on the table, looking at Liu Yuwei with a half-smiling expression, "This is a formal accusation, made by Professor Hu Haibo of our School of Life Sciences."
Buzz!
Everyone’s minds suddenly tensed up.
They were no longer drowsy in an instant.
Not just Liu Yuwei, everyone had naturally assumed that Li Zheng was the accuser.
With the situation escalating to this point, even Li Zheng himself was almost convinced that he was the accuser.
He could, of course, guess that the accuser could only be Hu Haibo, who chose a self-protective strategy when pushed to the brink, securing his own reputation while avoiding becoming an enemy to this group.
Previously, Wang Xueli had never disclosed this point, and even everyone in the room had been implying that it was Li Zheng who was reporting, even creating the false appearance that Wu Yue was the main subject under investigation.
Only now had the clouds finally lifted to reveal the sun.
This motherf***** Wang Xueli may look like a decent human, but he’s actually a total schemer!
He not only dug a huge pit but also misled everyone.
He not only gave Liu Yuwei the illusion that Li Zheng was reporting but also made her take it lightly, thinking that the investigation team was mainly targeting Wu Yue, which made her completely forget about the existence of Hu Haibo and overlook the possibility that Hu Haibo could provide testimony.
Of course, she had no need to consider that.
Who could have imagined that a fully qualified professor would be driven by Li Zheng to such a state that he would take the initiative to report to the academic affairs office?
As a result, based on Hu Haibo’s disappearance, Liu Yuwei, in an effort to clear her own name and not to offend the professors of the School of Life Sciences, naturally gave a testimony that completely contradicted what Hu Haibo reported.
At this moment, there was no time even for patching things up.
Imagine if Hu Haibo’s reporting had been disclosed from the beginning, then Liu Yuwei would definitely insist that everything was told to her by Lin Moming, and the focus of the dispute would shift to "whether Liu Yuwei or Lin Moming is lying," which would be hard to conclude.
But if it’s "whether Hu Haibo or Liu Yuwei is lying," it’s much easier to judge.
Having realized this, Li Zheng couldn’t help but cast a "salute to the seasoned schemer" look at Wang Xueli.
This time, Wang Xueli actually smiled and nodded, though it was unclear whether he appreciated the deeper compliment of being called a "seasoned schemer."
Liu Yuwei was completely devastated by now.
She stared blankly for a long while before tremblingly shaking her head, "I didn’t... I haven’t... Why is everyone framing me... What did I do wrong..."
"Alright, let’s stop here for today," Wang Xueli had already stood up, leaning on the table, "If there are any new developments, report them to me at any time. If not, expect a resolution within two weeks."
"Teacher, I didn’t!!!" Liu Yuwei also stood up angrily, almost screaming, "I didn’t do anything!! It was all Teacher Zhang Shandong’s arrangement!!"
The usually composed Zhang Shandong’s eyes bulged: "What do you mean it was all my arrangement? How would I know what you discussed with Hu Haibo?"
It’s getting unseemly now, Teacher Zhang is panicking.
"The whole thing, me, Wu Yue, wasn’t it all your arrangement!" Liu Yuwei insanely shook her head, "Anyway, I don’t know anything!! If you’re going to make me the scapegoat based just on this, I won’t admit it even if it kills me!!!"
"Nonsense!!" Zhang Shandong also stood up, slamming the table, "You commit misdeeds yourself and still want to bite me back? What do I gain from this, huh!"
Li Zheng’s group, for their part, was quite energized by the unfolding drama.
Their leader kept pursing their lips, barely missing some popcorn.
"Ah… I thought I was going to witness a major conference room showdown, who would have expected it to turn into a dogfight."
After several rounds of mutual accusations, Wang Xueli raised his voice to intervene.
"Calm down," Wang Xueli pressed with his hand, "We still need to discuss the outcome."
"I told you it wasn’t me!! You just want to punish me, ganging up to bully someone without a powerful backing!!" Liu Yuwei shook her head desperately, "Lin Moming didn’t tell me anything… I don’t know anything… I met Hu Haibo just those couple of times, what’s his basis for framing... Wait! I get it now!!!"
While speaking, Liu Yuwei’s eyes widened as she steadied herself on the table: "It’s plagiarism, there indeed was plagiarism, but not by me, it was Hu Haibo!! Hu Haibo, seeing his exposure was imminent, pre-emptively framed me!!"
The atmosphere in the meeting room immediately grew tense.
Dammit.
Why bother.
Do we really need to make things this complicated...
Is it really necessary for things to end with complete destruction?
"Liu Yuwei," Wang Xueli’s expression also grew stern, "by doing this, you’re really escalating the situation."
"What else can I do??" Liu Yuwei’s makeup had long been cried away, and now she looked utterly deranged," Just quietly being their scapegoat?!"
"Hmm…" Wang Xueli sighed deeply, "The rest of you may leave. Liu Yuwei, stay behind; we need to talk alone."
"Leave? Leave where!! No one leaves until things are clear!!" In a burst of fury, Liu Yuwei’s presence grew as she swept her arm, "Teacher Wang, just say whatever you have to say, I have nothing to hide."
Wang Xueli, at a loss, glanced around before finally speaking, "This whole incident, since it was only attempted and didn’t lead to any serious consequences, the level of discipline won’t be too severe if you are willing to confess. There is hope it could be cleared before graduation. However, if you insist on your innocence and, furthermore, retaliate by accusing Professor Hu Haibo, it is highly unlikely the end will be graceful. One of you will inevitably have to leave Ji University."
"Then let him go!" Liu Yuwei shouted hoarsely.
At this point, she seemed to have also grasped Wang Xueli’s vulnerability.
There was only testimony, no physical evidence.
Forcible disposition still carried the risk of mistakes.
Those in the legal profession, especially prosecutors, were very aware of this. Therefore, in cases of limited evidence, they often used reduced sentencing as bait to coerce the suspect into confessing, making it easier for everyone. It was very much like the prisoner’s dilemma.
At that moment, Liu Yuwei had made up her mind. As long as she could escalate the situation even further, she thought it might just be left unresolved.
Instead, it was possible that it would end up in limbo.
Seeing her steadfastness, Wang Xueli could only shake his head and sigh, "Ah, since you insist..."
"Excuse me." Li Zheng, who had been quiet, suddenly raised his hand, "I have some collateral information that I didn’t mention earlier for the sake of decency. Since Liu Yuwei insists on escalating this matter, let’s intensify it."
"Ahem..." Wang Xueli coughed, picking up the report from Li Zheng’s group, "This... your copy is already quite indecent, very bloody... I’m a bit afraid to hear what you consider indecent, something more intense..."
"I’m still considering." Li Zheng then looked at Liu Yuwei, "I’ll give you one last bit of dignity. If you confess now, I won’t mention what happened at noon."
"Framing!! Everything you said is framing!!"
Li Zheng shook his head and immediately checked his phone: "Around 11:50 at noon, Professor Chu Youhua, director of the School of Physics Quantum Institute, met with me, Wu Yue, and Liu Yuwei. During the conversation, Professor Chu made some propositions, hoping I would stop pursuing Liu Yuwei’s matters, and he inadvertently revealed that he was asked by Liu Yuwei’s father to mediate."
"..."
The atmosphere tensed up again.
Even Wang Xueli was rendered speechless.
Damn, there was still this kind of nuclear bomb...
Professor Chu Youhua...
His importance was equivalent to maybe a hundred and eighty Hu Haibos...
Liu Yuwei was even more shocked.
Her cries of injustice were blurted out.
But who would have thought that Li Zheng really dared to casually throw out someone as significant as Chu Youhua?
She didn’t know that.
The issue with Chu Youhua had long since transcended whether to involve or provoke him for Li Zheng...
It was a matter of how sustainably it could be developed.
"So, will you continue to deny it?" Li Zheng leaned sideways, resting his head and raising an eyebrow, "Come on, deny it."
"I...I just thought it was better to do less than more, which is why I had my family find someone."
No one else spoke, but Wang Xueli finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, they didn’t need to invite Professor Chu to interrogate.
Li Zheng, however, was rather disappointed; he was hoping Liu Yuwei would deny it, as this could be substantiated by the countless cameras on campus, as well as Wu Shu’s own testimony.
But this was good too; the matter involving Chu Youhua explained some of the situation at least.
Seeing that the meeting was about to end without results, Chang Keqing gave Li Zheng a meaningful look.
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"Let it go...it’s too late..." Li Zheng shook his head.
"I know it’s late, but..." Chang Keqing nodded, "What about the spirit of science?"
"Alright." Li Zheng heaved a sigh and stood up, "Teacher Wang, everyone, if we keep going like this, things will only get more entangled. I suggest Liu Yuwei voluntarily hand over her electronic devices for us to conduct some necessary data investigations here."
Wang Xueli wasn’t surprised to hear this, and he didn’t hold much hope as he looked towards Liu Yuwei.
"The Department of Academic Affairs doesn’t have the authority to investigate students’ private electronic devices, but if you voluntarily hand them over to Li Zheng and others for investigation under our supervision, it would help clear your suspicions. I can’t demand you do this, it’s just a suggestion."
"This is my privacy!" Liu Yuwei gritted her teeth.
"Don’t get agitated, it’s just a suggestion," Wang Xueli hastily gestured with his hand, "You can completely refuse."
However, Liu Yuwei then gave Li Zheng a sarcastic look and from her bag, she pulled out her laptop and slammed it on the table: "Check! Just check!! Here’s my phone too, is that enough??"
"USB drive," Li Zheng raised his hand.
"What era is this..."
"There’s a USB drive on your keychain."
Grinding her teeth, Liu Yuwei immediately threw out her keychain: "Damn it, here, take everything!!"
"So..." Wang Xueli immediately asked Li Zheng’s group, "Who among you is good with computers and can provide a data check that everyone can trust?"
Li Zheng asked, "Can I ask a sophomore from the computer science department to help us out?"
"Of course..."
"Oh," Li Zheng picked up his phone and said, "Ah Zhuo, bring your tools and come up."
A moment later.
A guy who looked exactly like a "computer repairman" walked into the conference room with his head down.
He was still muttering complaints under his breath.
"I knew it... It’s always like this... I study cutting-edge algorithms... and all I ever do is fix computers... Everyone asks me to fix computers..."
"Thanks for the hard work, Ah Zhuo..." Li Zheng hurried forward to appease him, "You get it done faster."
After greeting the teachers, Ou Xing Zhuo quickly took a seat, set up his equipment, and continued to grumble nonstop.
"Yes, everyone says I’m faster... In the first two weeks of school, I’ve already helped eight people..."
"Wait a minute…" The leader noticed something and leaned in to ask, "All eight were girls, weren’t they?"
"What else? Which guy needs computer repairs?"
"And when you were fixing their computers... did they show any appreciation?" the leader asked, rubbing his hands, "Did they serve you tea, or put on some weird pajamas or something?"
"Are you doubting my professional skills?" Ou Xing Zhuo picked up his super portable hard drive elegantly, "Eight minutes. I can fix any computer in eight minutes, and never give them a chance to show any appreciation."
"Brother... impressive."
"Don’t mention it, it all comes with experience," said Ou Xing Zhuo as he placed his hard drive on Liu Yuwei’s laptop, "This drive has a full set of computer repair tools. We’re doing data retrieval this time, right? Li Zheng already gave me the file traits for the paper at noon."
Ou Xing Zhuo called over three teachers and explained to them on the spot.
"This software is a modification I made based on open-source code from GITHUB. It can search any existing data trace, even those deleted. But if it’s been too long or if data erasure has been performed, it can’t be found. If it’s okay with you, I’ll plug in the hard disk into the computer now and start the retrieval."
The three teachers nodded repeatedly.
"Wait!" Liu Yuwei suddenly called off the investigation. "You’re from the computer science department. You could create any virus; you could generate a part of your thesis file on my hard disk the moment it’s connected to my computer."
Upon hearing this, everyone almost wanted to groan out loud.
This woman is really too much trouble.
"That makes sense," Ou Xing Zhuo admitted, raising his glasses in agreement, "Although it’s difficult to forge the file date, it’s still within my capabilities. Thank you for your respect."
With that, he stood up and said, "Then please, one of the teachers, download a globally renowned data recovery software right here."
This proposal was reluctantly accepted by Liu Yuwei.
So, the retrieval of data on the computer hard drive, USB drive, and phone was initiated, with a teacher handling all the software downloads and operations throughout, leaving no room for Ou Xing Zhuo to intervene.
But he still had his roles elsewhere.
While maneuvering the devices like an octopus, he explained.
"Teachers, see the dates here?"
"Her computer was formatted and the system was redone yesterday at 14:48."
"The phone was at 15:04."
"The USB drive at 14:37."
"Hmm, I see," Wang Xueli turned and asked, "Why decide to completely clear data at these times?"
Liu Yuwei replied nonchalantly, "I always do this regularly, it’s just a coincidence."
"Ah..." Wang Xueli shook his head again, looking at the slow progress on the screen and said, "Are you really sure you want to continue wasting everyone’s time? I’m giving you one last chance, admit now, and I’ll try to get you a punishment that can be erased before you graduate."
"There is none!" Liu Yuwei snapped, "Teacher Wang, if you keep implying this, I might start to think that you also have a problem!"
"..."
"Let’s not say anything more, the data will prove my innocence!"
Let’s not say anything.
That’s impossible.
Ou Xing Zhuo is, after all, a Virgo.
"Since that’s the case, let me provide some more information within my capacity," Ou Xingzhuo said as he frenetically worked on his computer:
"Her cloud drive is also completely empty now. I can see she is a paying member, but such a 0% usage rate is very illogical."
"Additionally, among the three devices, the USB drive was the first to be cleaned, showing that the USB drive was most crucial. If I were to make a guess, considering her meeting time with Hu Haibo, it must have been Liu Yuwei who copied the thesis document from Lin Moming via USB drive on a day before last Wednesday."
"It must have been between versions V0.67 and V0.74."
"Then she opened it on her computer, memorized some content, and tentatively revealed it to Teacher Hu Haibo."
"Maybe it was also on her phone, but the system was redone in such a way that it’s now impossible to find."
"After yesterday’s meeting, she realized the seriousness of the situation and began a thorough clean-up, not sparing even the long-treasured photos on her cloud drive."
"It’s safe to say she was well-prepared and had ample IT experience."
"Our scanning today is unlikely to yield any results. If there are any clues left, they would only be in the network communication devices and from the service provider. In theory, it is indeed possible to find traces, but such level of investigation is difficult even for our cyber police."
During the conversation, the scans of the USB drive and phone had already been completed, extremely clean, with nothing suspicious found.
Li Zheng exchanged a helpless look with Chang Keqing.
The spirit of science, after all, is just a spirit.
Wang Xueli’s patience was also wearing thin.
"Otherwise, let’s call it a day. It really doesn’t seem likely that we’ll find anything." Wang Xueli said to everyone, "I need to ask Professor Hu Haibo to come over again today if he has time."
Ou Xingzhuo also spread his hands to Li Zheng.
"It’s not an issue of my capability. It’s really too late..."
Li Zheng then turned to Chang Keqing, "Our scientific spirit has tried its best. This matter isn’t worth conducting millions of tests like Xu Youyou, only to find the sole effective component among millions in traditional Chinese medicine."
"I understand, but I’m not content," Chang Keqing gently patted Ou Xingzhuo, "Let me try just one last little step."
Ou Xingzhuo then stood up: "I’ll leave it to you, just don’t interrupt the scanning."
Chang Keqing didn’t do anything extra, merely reverted the computer to its desktop and silently observed.
Then she opened each program one by one, observing each in turn.
From Yincloud Music to BaiK cloud storage.
From QQ to WPS.
Not only opening each but also clicking on every option inside each.
Behind her, Ou Xingzhuo pointed at the screen, "I have checked all the programs that could possibly involve documents, please trust my professional capabilities."
"I know," Chang Keqing silently pulled up the menu, systematically clicking every possible point, "I’m just testing all possibilities. The computer is very clean now; it won’t take long to exhaust these."
"But this is very... very meaningless..."
Li Zheng gently patted Ou Xingzhuo on the shoulder, "It won’t hurt to wait a bit longer. She’s just like this. Let her try this last step."
Wang Xueli was somewhat impatient, but listening to this and watching Chang Keqing’s calm and systematic operation, he withdrew his decision to adjourn the meeting.
Miraculously, this desperate and almost hopeless exhaustive search didn’t make everyone feel tired.
In these quiet, methodical, and tirelessly repetitive clicks, it was as if a version of Chang Keqing that one doesn’t usually see came alive on paper.
Silently, without a sound, she clearly completed each task, trying every possibility.
This was a kind of patience even stronger than Li Zheng’s, a temperament flowing quietly like water without caring about the passing time.
Finally, Liu Yuwei grew impatient.
"Enough... isn’t this endless?? The hard drive has been checked, isn’t that enough??"
Saying this, she moved forward to snatch the computer back.
Whenever these moments occurred,
That man would suddenly appear.
"Oh wow, oh wow, oh wow!" The leader forcefully held down Liu Yuwei’s arms, "Getting anxious, are we? Keqing, don’t mind her, continue!"
Chang Keqing said nothing, continued systematically going through each item, even maintaining the rhythm of her clicks.
Liu Yuwei just cursed, "Teacher Wang, can’t you do something?! Isn’t this voluntary? Look at what she’s doing?!"
"Ahem..." Wang Xueli, still focused on the screen, spoke deliberately, "That one... that someone... Tu something... this student... that’s not very nice of you... Don’t you agree?"
Tu Yikou immediately understood, and his grip tightened even further, "Right... that person... what’s his name... Wang something... this teacher... doing this... perhaps... it really isn’t too good, right... I feel... it’s true..."
"So... that... that who..."
"Enough!!! I’m calling the police if you keep this up!!" Liu Yuwei desperately tried to break free.
Suddenly.
Chang Keqing, who had been silent for half an hour, spoke up.
"Li Zheng, open the version 0.69 of the paper."
Li Zheng immediately rushed to the opposite side of the desk, picked up the printed version of the paper, and rushed back, "Ready!"
"From top to bottom, mark the first word ’endeavors’."
"Marked!"
"Mark ’unambiguous structural determination’."
"Done!"
"Spectroscopy."
"Got it!"
As the two interacted, everyone gazed at the screen and understood their strategy.
At this moment, the software that Chang Keqing opened wasn’t anything else but the Youdao Cloud Dictionary!
The tab she opened was none other than the History!
Being a "cloud dictionary," naturally, it had the function to record search history, and such a feature existed in the cloud, not on the computer!
Although the computer was reformatted, the records would still be preserved intact!
Chang Keqing, following the historical sequence of searches, reported vocabulary that Liu Yuwei had searched for, all of which appeared in the paper, and the search sequence exactly matched the sequence they appeared in the paper!
Behind her, Liu Yuwei, crazed, tried to struggle to smash the computer, having already sunk her teeth into the leader, making it somewhat overwhelming for him.
Fortunately, Mo Nian’s heavy index finger pressed down just in time.
Gently touching the back of Liu Yuwei’s hand, it squeaked.
"Quiet," Mo Nian said solemnly, "we’ve already wasted an afternoon of study time."
"You! You motherf*****..."
"I said, quiet." Mo Nian glared fiercely, "Look into my eyes; I almost f***** killed someone once."
"..."
It had to be quiet.
Although Mo Nian himself wasn’t very clear why he said that.
But somehow, it just worked.
As more search histories were pulled up.
It was no longer necessary to find corresponding vocabulary in the paper anymore.
All of it was searched in large segments directly.
Matching the entire sections of the version 0.69 paper, without a single error!
Liu Yuwei’s hands and eyes gradually cooled down.
In the end, she collapsed to the ground, no longer needing anyone to hold her down.
The two teachers beside Wang Xueli were continuously taking photos and recording videos of the screen without stopping.
Looking back now, this wasn’t a particularly hard flaw to spot.
A purely English academic paper, Liu Yuwei’s level couldn’t possibly look at it without using a translator.
It’s just that the Youdao Cloud Dictionary icon wasn’t on the desktop, plus a few people had too high levels of English, they just didn’t make this connection.
"You... you had thought of this layer before..." Ou Xingzhuo, straining to push up his glasses, swallowed his saliva and asked.
"No." Chang Keqing was still showing evidence to the teachers, "I was just taking the last small step."
"This spirit in itself is a big step..." Ou Xingzhuo sighed deeply, "I feel utterly inferior, ashamed of myself."
"You’re just a lousy computer repairman." Li Zheng laughed on the side.
"You have no right to talk about me!" Ou Xingzhuo snapped back, "Still the champion of the Informatics Competitions, psh!"
"It’s just because you’re too good at fixing computers." Li Zheng laughed heartily, "Enough teasing, let’s have dinner together tonight, my treat."
"Then..." Ou Xingzhuo’s face flushed, "should we call Wu Shu?"
"You call."
"You call..."
"You call."
"You call..."
"Cough..." Wang Xueli couldn’t help but interrupt the two, pointing at the screen, his spirit returned forcefully, "You have done well, this is enough to support everyone’s accusations against Liu Yuwei. Combined with Professor Hu Haibo’s report, within one week, not two, our academic department will deliver the results."
In such a moment, Shi Yang, who had been silent for a long time, suddenly jumped into the fray, "Causing such a mess, shouldn’t she be expelled?"
"That needs to be discussed and decided." Wang Xueli glanced inadvertently at Liu Yuwei and sneered, "The only certainty is, it will definitely be an indelible record in her lifetime."
Everyone finally let out the breath they had been holding in their chests.
Then, they naturally turned their gaze towards Liu Yuwei.
"Teacher... Teacher Wang..." Liu Yuwei, clinging to the table, shakily stood up, "I admit... I acknowledge..."
"It’s not about whether you acknowledge it." Wang Xueli emphatically tapped the table, "Not only was the behavior disgraceful, but you also tried to falsely accuse the teachers afterward, attempting to cause an extremely bad social impact. Instead of finding time for excuses, you should reflect seriously."
Bang.
Liu Yuwei sat back down, staring blankly ahead.
From then on, no one was interested in her anymore.
Meanwhile, the leader leaned in close to Mo Nian.
"Nian, you haven’t talked about that thing with the dead person..."
"I don’t want to talk about it." Mo Nian proudly turned his head away.
"No no, this is important, you need to explain first whether it was almost killing someone, or, well, killing someone."
"Shut up!!! Definitely the former!!!"
"Oh, then I’m relieved..."
"You’re sick! Tu, there’s something wrong with your thoughts!"
Just when things were about to wrap up.
A forgotten person suddenly came to his senses.
Suddenly rising.
"What about me?" Wu Yue dazedly looked at Wang Xueli, "Can my penalty be revoked, Teacher Wang..."
"You’re still here?" Wang Xueli was also surprised, "Your issue was cleared up long ago."
"Ah... then why did you ask me so many questions just now..."
"It was just a strategy."
Wu Yue stared blankly at Li Zheng again: "Am I... really okay now?"
"You’re fine." Li Zheng shook his head, "You played a critical role, thanks for your hard work."
"Do I still have a chance?"
"Just be a good person, there are plenty of opportunities."
"!" Wu Yue’s eyes reddened, his legs weakened.
Li Zheng was very adept at supporting him.
"Li Zheng, so... is everything settled now?"
"It’s settled." Li Zheng smiled and nodded.
"When I say it’s done, it’s done."