Chapter Twelve: A Matter of Urgency! The Cyber Police Decide to Close In!
He Yu’s declaration was like a thunderclap that struck deep into the suppressed souls of millions in South He Province.
Admission to undergraduate programs was now possible online.
The minimum required score could be lowered by up to 30 points.
These two brief sentences hit like hammer blows, shattering the tightly wound nerves of countless families.
South He Province—a hellish battleground where the college entrance exam competition had reached its extreme.
In previous years, the undergraduate cutoff score was like a cold iron gate firmly fixed around 400 points.
And those schools with “University” in their names, rather than “College,” had admission scores that belonged to an entirely different realm.
550 points.
600 points.
These were heights so daunting that neither students nor parents dared to even dream of reaching them.
But now, Longhai University, under He Yu’s name, required only 370 points.
Perhaps even lower.
This was not merely good news.
It was a miracle breaking through the roof and descending into the mortal world.
“His father! Child’s father!”
A middle-aged woman suddenly sprang up from the sofa, grabbing her husband’s arm so tightly her nails dug into the flesh, her voice sharp and trembling with overwhelming excitement.
“Hurry! Our savings, that hundred thousand yuan—we shouldn’t keep it! Donate it all! Give Xiaowei a chance at a future!”
Her son had just finished the third round of mock exams, scoring 380 points.
A number that had left the entire family unable to eat for a week.
A despairing score that had made them begin inquiring about schools for repeating the year.
Now, hope was gushing forth from the cracks of hell itself.
“There’s hope… real hope…”
The man’s eyes were red-rimmed, his lips trembling as he rushed to the computer, his hands shaking so violently he could barely hold the mouse.
The same scenes played out frantically in thousands of homes across South He Province.
“Longhai University! Here I come!”
A high school senior roared out from his room, a cry long suppressed.
He tore down the “Repeat Year” plan pinned to his wall and dashed into his parents’ bedroom.
“Dad! Mom! Money! Give me the money!”
A long-repressed desire, once ignited, blazed like a wildfire across the land.
On Longhai University’s official website, the donation channel’s servers were overwhelmed by a tsunami of traffic, teetering on the brink of collapse.
The backend operators helplessly watched as every data metric turned red, alarms shrieking sharply.
The donation amounts began leaping at a pace that defied all commercial logic.
Ten million!
Thirty million!
Seventy million!
Every refresh of the number represented the heavy hopes of countless families and the desperate resolve of those who wagered everything.
……
Jinling City, Cyber Police Unit.
In the Data Operations Center, the air was as heavy as solid lead.
On the massive wall of screens, the number belonging to Longhai University’s donation account was the only bright spot, the only noise.
It pulsated.
From 5.2 million two days ago, it surged past 50 million, then 80 million…
Finally, under the watchful eyes of countless people, the leading digit flipped from “9” to “1.”
One hundred million.
A number both cold and searing.
Liu Jie’s hands trembled.
His knuckles went white from gripping too hard, veins twisting over his hands like angry worms.
This was not excitement—it was fury, a volcano ready to erupt.
“That’s enough!”
A roar shook everyone in the operations center.
Liu Jie could no longer sit still.
He sprang to his feet, his chair scraping loudly against the floor.
To this veteran cyber cop who had fought online fraud for over a decade, everything before him was a textbook-perfect scam unfolding in real time.
First, an impossible promise was made, precisely striking the social pain points, stirring a frenzy of public opinion.
Then, through a series of incredible maneuvers, a false sense of trust was established.
Finally, at the height of the victim’s emotional fervor, the last bait was cast, harvesting everything wildly before vanishing without a trace.
“They’re harvesting the last wave of suckers!”
Bloodlust colored his voice; every word seemed squeezed from clenched teeth.
“They’re about to run!”
His eyes fixed on the screen’s number surpassing one hundred million.
That was not just money—it was the shattering hope of a million families, a social catastrophe capable of tearing a hole in the very sky over South He Province.
He could not allow this to happen.
“Immediately! Conduct the final, most thorough cross-verification of Longhai University’s accreditation! I want rock-solid, indisputable evidence!”
Liu Jie bellowed his orders to his subordinates.
“Yes, sir!”
A young officer jumped up from his station, his fingers flying over the keyboard.
His access was temporarily elevated to the highest level, directly interfacing with the top official registration databases of the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Department of Education.
An encrypted channel was established.
Identity verified.
Database commands entered.
Search keyword: Longhai University.
Search.
One second.
Two seconds.
Ten seconds.
Two glaring red Chinese characters, like a branding iron, flashed on the screen.
[No Record]
The young officer’s pupils constricted sharply; all the blood seemed to drain from his body at that moment.
He switched to a backup database and searched again.
[No Record]
He tried a fuzzy search, querying the related legal person “He Yu.”
[No Record]!
Ten minutes later, the officer stumbled back to Liu Jie, his face as white as paper, lips trembling so badly that he could hardly speak.
“Commander…”
His voice quivered, filled with terror.
“It’s… it’s clear now!”
“The Ministry of Education, the Provincial Department of Education, all official registration systems, every internal database… there is absolutely no record of any accreditation for ‘Longhai University’!”
He swallowed hard and mustered all his strength to shout the final verdict.
“This is a complete and utter fraud!”
“Good!”
Liu Jie slammed his fist onto the metal desk with a deafening bang.
The water cup jumped and shattered on the floor.
His eyes burned red, a fierce sense of responsibility and determination to solve the case coursing through him like molten lava, scorching his reason.
He issued the final command, his voice cold as the Siberian wind.
“The evidence is conclusive!”
“Immediately apply to the city bureau for the highest priority arrest warrant!”
“Notify all task forces—prepare!”
Liu Jie took a deep breath and uttered the last two words.
“Begin the raid!”