Cao Gongzi: Arrest These Two People

The Parent-Child Lock was virtual.

Only Cao Cheng could see it.

He could summon it anytime, anywhere, letting it float in the air like some kind of magical artifact from a video game.

With this thing, he could gauge the emotional affinity of those around him.

Emotions…

Not just love, but also familial bonds, friendship, and even emotions like disgust or hatred.

All of these fell under its scope.

If familial love and friendship were considered positive emotions,

Then disgust and hatred were undoubtedly negative.

So,

This thing’s function was almost akin to mind-reading.

Used well, it could indirectly measure the "loyalty" of those nearby.

Ren Fanxing was a given—after dozens of interactions, her emotional affinity had long surpassed the critical threshold of 95 points.

Using the Child Lock on her was effortless.

After using it, their connection felt even closer, an indescribable, intangible bond forming between them.

As if fate itself had decreed it.

It gave the impression that, from now on, nothing could ever tear them apart.

Almost like the Red String of Fate had tied them together.

A match made by the heavens—how could it not be extraordinary?

……

……

The next morning.

After waking up, Cao Cheng began experimenting.

Those who had work had already left.

Ren Fanxing was still resting in her room—last night’s "Sleep Hex" had taken a lot out of her.

Today was also her day off, so sleeping in wasn’t unusual.

As a result, she was still asleep even after Cao Cheng had risen.

Luckily, he had carried her back to her own room the night before—otherwise, things might have gotten awkward.

During breakfast,

Cao Cheng glanced at the head housekeeper, Aunt Zhang.

Her emotional affinity was positive.

But only at 50 points.

A standard employer-employee relationship.

Still, after living together for several years, it was a bit more familiar than the average working relationship.

Cao Cheng nodded slightly.

He continued eating without any visible reaction.

The Parent-Child Lock had given him something fun to play with.

When he saw Ren’s mother,

Cao Cheng cast a "Scout" on her.

Her emotional affinity?

Definitely positive.

A whopping 80!

According to the Parent-Child Lock’s description, 95 was the threshold for usage—a critical benchmark.

But anything above 80 already signified a strong familial bond.

Even ordinary friends, childhood companions, or sworn brothers could reach 80, becoming as close as family.

Next, he checked Old Cao.

88 points!

No doubt about it—his own father.

Then came the little "gas tank" (his nickname for his younger sister), who actually scored 90!

Family.

Probably because she was still young, with no clear sense of good or evil—she liked what she liked and hated what she hated.

Cao Cheng spoiled her whenever he was home.

So a score of 90 made perfect sense.

……

After checking everyone,

Cao Cheng roughly concluded that 80 was the minimum threshold for familial bonds.

Well, this didn’t mean all family members were fixed at 80—but rather, anyone who reached 80 could be considered family, someone you could trust completely.

Meanwhile, some actual relatives might even have negative emotional affinities—bitter enemies, perhaps.

……

Next,

Cao Cheng checked his bodyguards and drivers—all starting at 60 points.

A baseline level of loyalty.

Barely sufficient.

If he expected them to take a bullet for him, to willingly die in his place… that probably wasn’t happening.

For that, they’d need at least 80.

……

That day,

Cao Cheng had a blast.

It was like discovering a new toy.

It had been a while since he’d pulled something this entertaining from a treasure chest—it felt fresh and exciting.

So,

After confirming there were no traitors among his inner circle, Cao Cheng left in his car, scanning random strangers along the way.

Most fell between -10 and +10.

Pedestrians on the street sometimes registered at 0, sometimes at -10.

Thinking about it, that made sense.

Between two strangers, first impressions mattered.

No conflict or hatred was necessary—sometimes just a look could make someone dislike you.

Maybe because you were better-looking.

But without any deep-seated grudges, the negativity stayed at a baseline of -10.

……

Upon arriving at the Eco-Park,

Cao Cheng began his formal inspection.

One by one, he checked them all.

Using the Parent-Child Lock’s unique properties, he assessed everyone’s "loyalty."

Admittedly, it wasn’t perfectly accurate.

Because this thing wasn’t explicitly designed to measure loyalty—it just had that side effect.

A bit of a stretch, but…

Good enough for now.

After a full sweep, most fell into the employer-employee range—30 points, 50 points, or higher at 60 or 70, which was reasonable.

For example, some of the research institute heads had been personally recruited by Cao Cheng, offered generous salaries and benefits.

Plus, he continuously poured funding into their projects and provided groundbreaking new materials.

Naturally, many researchers held him in high regard.

So,

Any level of loyalty was understandable.

But negative values? Absolutely unacceptable.

A negative score meant a spy—or someone with ulterior motives, harboring deep malice.

After making his rounds,

Visiting one research institute after another,

Cao Cheng’s presence didn’t raise many eyebrows—he often came by to inspect his domain.

Occasionally, he’d ask if they needed anything, whether work-related or personal.

Most were used to it.

It was clear he valued them highly.

Three hours later,

Cao Cheng finished scanning every institute, satisfied.

Only two spies were uncovered.

Not bad.

Out of hundreds, just two infiltrators.

This pleased him greatly.

After all, "Clear water breeds no fish."

Cao Cheng never expected a 100% clean slate.

Two spies were within acceptable limits.

Especially since both held low-ranking positions.

They were researchers.

Graduate students who had followed their professors here.

They had no access to core secrets.

Their emotional affinity hovered around -50.

Probably hired by someone else.

Whether they’d been planted from the start or turned later, he didn’t know.

But malicious intent was undeniable.

……

"Long Lie," Cao Cheng summoned him via phone.

"Here."

"These two."

Inside the surveillance room,

Cao Cheng had security pull up footage of the pair—a young man and woman, both in their early twenties.

"Arrest and interrogate them. I don’t care about the process—just the results. Find out who sent them, their objectives, and when they were recruited. I want everything." Cao Cheng’s tone was icy.

Long Lie nodded. "Understood."

He noted their locations and identities before leaving.

This task didn’t strictly require Long Lie—Cao Cheng had plenty of security personnel.

But assigning it to him now, in Long Lie’s view, was a test of his abilities.

Interrogation skills.

……

Location:

The Artificial Intelligence and Future Battery Research Institutes.

Long Lie, clad in tactical gear and flanked by two masked operatives, sidearms at their hips,

Made an intimidating entrance.

Researchers froze mid-task, eyes locked on the trio.

Long Lie’s hawk-like gaze swept the room, radiating cold lethality—enough to send chills down everyone’s spine.

The leading old man asked, "Who are you?"

Long Lie didn't answer. After spotting the target, he pointed at the young woman and said, "Take her away."

Two soldiers wearing tactical balaclavas behind him stepped forward directly to arrest the woman.

The young woman let out a scream, "Who are you? Why are you arresting me? Professor, Teacher, save me..."

The young woman struggled vigorously.

But how could she be a match for these two soldiers? In a matter of minutes, her hands were clasped behind her back and handcuffs were put on her.

One of the female professors stepped forward and said, "Stop! Who are you? Why are you arresting my student?"

Long Lie stepped forward and said, "Mr. Cao has discovered a spy. Do you have any other questions?"

The female professor was stunned. "This... This is impossible. She hasn't graduated yet. She's still a student. I just brought her here. She hasn't done any in - depth research yet."

Long Lie said, "If you have questions, you can go to Mr. Cao."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

The two subordinates dragged the young woman out.

The researchers looked at each other in dismay.

They all knew that there were many moles in their industry.

But most of them came from universities and rarely witnessed such a situation.

The female professor said, "I'll go to Mr. Cao."

A person in charge said, "I'll go with you."

This matter had to be clarified. Otherwise, everyone would be distracted, which was not good for the research.

But they were also reluctant to give up their jobs here.

Not to mention the high salary and good benefits, Mr. Cao could bring in all kinds of new gadgets, which no outside research institute could compare with.

Moreover, Mr. Cao invested without counting the costs. As long as the submitted reports were feasible, Mr. Cao would fully support them.

He didn't care how much the research cost at all.

In addition, apart from some of the achievements and technologies brought by Mr. Cao, as long as they could research new things and obtain new patents, they would get a share of the profits.

Once the patent was sold, they could earn money effortlessly for the rest of their lives and never have to worry about food and drink.

Although they were all researchers and focused on research.

But who would dislike having more money?

Moreover, such treatment was also a kind of recognition and respect.

...

The two people in charge of the research rooms all rushed to find Mr. Cao.

At this time, Mr. Cao was by the lake.

There were young women roasting meat and making tea beside him.

Cao Cheng only needed to stare at the fishing rod.

Soon.

Five people in white coats came together.

"Mr. Cao."

"Mr. Cao!"

Cao Cheng looked up, smiled and said, "I knew you guys couldn't sit still. I've been waiting for you here. Sit down, have some tea and eat some barbecue. You should also relax after your research."

Seeing Mr. Cao's appearance and tone, the five people subconsciously let out a sigh of relief.

It seemed that the matter was not serious.

At least it wouldn't involve others.

The five people sat down. The maids beside them served tea, and the barbecue was almost done.

One of them took a sip of tea.

The only female professor among them said, "Mr. Cao, the one who was arrested just now is my student. I recently needed some help for my new research, so I brought her here from school. She's only been here for a few days. She hasn't been exposed to many things and shouldn't have done anything harmful to the company. How did you confirm that she's a mole?"

This was a tactful way of asking for evidence.

Cao Cheng didn't answer. Instead, he looked at the others and asked, "Do you all have the same question?"

Another old professor nodded and said, "Yes. We talked on the way here. Two people were arrested in total. One of them is also my graduate student. He's been here for more than a month and is quite diligent in his work. I haven't seen any problems with him."

Cao Cheng laughed.

"You guys are really good at doing research, but you're not very good at judging people," Cao Cheng laughed heartily.

"..."

"..."

All five people sitting there were speechless.

The sum of their ages was over two hundred. Could they not know how to judge people?

The youngest one was also in his forties.

Who would have thought that they would one day be lectured by a man in his twenties, being told that they were not good at judging people.

However...

He was their boss after all.

They could only listen to these words.