Love Me If You Dare

Chapter 60

Historically, there are a lot of cunning and cruel criminals that managed to escape the raid, yet exposed their identity under the least expected circumstances. For example, Ted Bundy, the American serial killer was arrested after he failed to pull over for a routine traffic stop. In China, Yang Xinhai was stopped by police check points in an entertainment venue.

Now, in front of Bo Jinyan and Jian Yao is a valuable clue that's obtained in a similar fashion.

After lunch. A quiet conference room.

A few technicians from the Ministry of Public Security are analysing data they collected from the arsonists' house. One of the senior technicians explains: "Three of the five arsonists had computers at home. We noticed that all of them have been hacked a few days before the fires. All the data inside were wiped off by a virus sent by the hacker. Not only were the computers, but the servers in the areas were attacked too."

Bo Jinyan stands behind them. His long fingers taps the desk: "So, the internet cafes that are close to the two other arsonists' houses were hacked too?" He says coldly: "Internet. This is the quickest way to source his victims."

Jian Yao says: "They are born all in the 70s. People from this generation are usually technically proficient." She turns to Bo Jinyan: "We should add this to the profile: frequent users of the internet chat rooms and discussion forums. It's common for these middle aged men, who are not successful in their careers, to spend a lot of time online."

"You are right." The senior technician is impressed with her analysis: "And we have a bonus. The data in one of the computers was not completely wiped off."

The last arsonist, who is also the oldest of the five arsonists, is in better financial shape compared with the others. The old computer he normally used was at the repair shop. What the hacker wiped was his son's laptop.

'We traced the data back to an online discussion forum. According to the company that runs the forum, their server was hacked around the same period as well. But their firewall managed to block the hacker. So we managed to retrieve the information that belonged to all five arsonists. The results show that all of them had frequent contact with a particular ID account." The senior technician turned to a young man: "Anam, please show Professor Bo."

Anam looks like he is in his early twenties. He wears a pair of glasses with a thin golden frame. He turns the monitors towards them: "The name of the ID account is Ching Tian Gu Chi* It uses an overseas proxy login, with a number of firewalls around it. We are currently using a few different algorithms to crack his location.

(* literal translation: the solitary notes/accounts of the clear sky)

This is not a speciality of Bo Jinyan, he takes a look at Anam: "How long till we get the results?

Anam: "Approximately three minutes."

Bo Jinyan has a satisfied smile on his face. He pulls a chair over to sit next to Anam. The others take a seat too. Everyone is waiting anxiously.

"Ching Tian Gu Chi..." Bo Jinyan mocks: "What a narcissistic name."

Suddenly, all three computers flashes and turns into a blue screen! Rows of data fills the screen, then there is an error message. The original program is nowhere to be seen anymore.

"What happened?" asks the senior technician.

Anam frowns and looks at the machine. They try typing on the keyboards but the computers are not responding.

Bo Jinyan says coldly: "Are we..... being attacked instead?" Jian Yao's heart tightens. She taps his shoulder to remind him not to be too harsh to Anam.