The legendary figure was Ji Ting

After Ji Yanzhi reported the case to the police, another lawyer from Shili arrived, along with Engineer Sun, who had been following up on Xu Ren's materials project.

Once the two arrived to coordinate with the police and provide additional evidence, Ji Yanzhi walked out of the police station alone.

"Mr. Ji-"

Wang Jianming's voice came from behind him. His lips curled coldly as he turned around. "Do you need something, Mr. Wang?"

"I'd like to confirm something with you." As he spoke, Wang Jianming walked up to him. "Did you agree to work with Xu Ren because he said he'd found a material for precisely measuring localized photothermal temperatures in metasurfaces?"

Ji Yanzhi narrowed his dark eyes, his tone openly suspicious. "How do you know so much about it?"

Wang Jianming lowered his eyes and let out a deep breath, as though weighed down by an enormous burden. "Xu Ren's family has always struggled financially, so I thought he'd made a mistake on impulse this time. I never imagined... never imagined he'd been planning to steal my son's research results from the start."

At that, Ji Yanzhi instantly understood why Wang Jianming had risked calling out to him.

As long as Xu Ren had no way to defend himself, Wang Jianming's son would not only have a bright future but could also take Xu Ren's place at Shili.

Ji Yanzhi sneered inwardly, but his expression darkened. "The documents Xu Ren gave me, including his experimental data, were all complete. Do you expect me to believe you just because you say so?"

Wang Jianming now dared to meet his eyes, each word coming with apparent difficulty. "Now that things have come to this, I'm not afraid to tell you the truth. I was actually the one who first discovered this material. It was only because my son was such a disappointment that I... ah."

People were more likely to earn others' trust when they exposed their own shortcomings. Wang Jianming had willingly handed over something that could be used against him, but Ji Yanzhi fell silent, seemingly weighing something.

Seeing this, Wang Jianming immediately took out his phone and pulled up the draft paper Xu Ren had submitted to him in early December. "Look, President Ji. At this point, he hadn't even mentioned SERS Probe Technology. That proves his entire experimental approach was wrong. How could he possibly have discovered a new probe material based on that technology in such a short time?"

Ji Yanzhi's dark eyes sharpened. If he remembered correctly, that had been the day before Xu Ren went to work as a tutor.

The next day, he had come to tutor Ji Ting, abruptly left midway through, and plunged straight into the laboratory upon returning to campus.

Other than his eagerness over discovering a new material, Ji Yanzhi could think of no reason Xu Ren would have been so excited.

Wang Jianming naturally had no idea what Ji Yanzhi was thinking and continued saying that he could provide more complete data than Xu Ren.

"Understood. Once Engineer Sun comes out, I'll have him coordinate with you."

Too many thoughts crowded his mind. After that perfunctory response, he was about to return to his car, but Wang Jianming stepped into his path.

"President Ji, I know this may be asking too much, but could you withdraw the complaint for now? Consider it giving Xu Ren another chance."

To his surprise, Ji Yanzhi's expression did not soften in the slightest. His voice was as cold as snow. "Someone who makes a mistake this serious deserves only to pay the price."

With that, he walked around Wang Jianming and got straight into his car.

As the car pulled away from the police station, Ji Yanzhi sat with his eyes half-lowered, lost in thought. After a while, he took out his phone.

Only when the screen lit up did he notice that someone had sent him an email. Its subject line read: [Have Fang Jie sign the rental contract.]

He understood every word, but the meaning made him frown.

Puzzled, he opened the email and found more than a dozen documents and video files attached. He opened the first, and a man in a white shirt instantly appeared on-screen. "Hey, I'm here already... look, this shoe cabinet and everything are practically brand-new..."

Ji Yanzhi looked at the small window in the upper-right corner. The face there was unmistakably that of his secretary, Fang Jie.

His brow furrowed, and he checked the sender's name again. The ID was a string of numbers followed by an email address.

Just then, the video suddenly fast-forwarded, stopping when the man in the shirt opened a cabinet. A large, bright yellow arrow pointed to the laptop on the top shelf: Xu Ren's computer.

Ji Yanzhi's pupils contracted, and the video fast-forwarded again-

"Oh, what a coincidence. My current tenant is from Capital University of Science and Technology too..."

After reviewing everything in the email, Ji Yanzhi leaned back against his seat, unaware that his palms had broken out in sweat.

So that mysterious figure not only knew Xu Ren was in trouble, but had also, in just two hours, tracked down a phone signal and reconstructed how Wang Jianming had committed the crime. Without even showing his own face, he had used Fang Jie's to nail down the entire case.

Witness testimony, physical evidence, and even the minor evidence for every step had all been sent to him. The entire email contained only one request, right at the end.

[Have Fang Jie sign the rental contract before five. A three-year lease. I'll have Xu Ren transfer the rent to you.]

Ji Yanzhi let out a long breath. Yes, he had finally drawn that figure out and indirectly gained a way to contact him.

Yet despite achieving his goal, Ji Yanzhi felt a flicker of restless frustration.

He had understood one principle since childhood: if a minor incident failed to draw attention, escalate the conflict until someone capable of handling major problems had no choice but to step in.

When Ji Yanzhi had reported the case earlier, aside from wanting to destroy Wang Jianming, his greater aim had actually been to use Xu Ren as bait to lure that figure out.

As long as that figure truly cared about Xu Ren, he would have to intervene. And once he intervened, he would inevitably leave traces.

Instead, as though he had seen straight through Ji Yanzhi's intentions, the man had made every step airtight, even handing over the final loose ends to him without a single flaw.

Of his three secretaries, Fang Jie was the one he trusted most.

Ji Yanzhi's lips lifted in a bitter smile. That figure had probably done this to give him a warning.

The other man remained hidden while he stood exposed. Even if they could not become partners, they absolutely could not become enemies.

Ji Yanzhi put his earlier schemes aside and forwarded the evidence in the email to several people. He specifically instructed Fang Jie to memorize his side of the conversations in the videos, word for word.

He had barely sent the WeChat messages when Lawyer Liu called.

"Hello, President Ji. Xu Ren has just been released."

Ji Yanzhi's car had not gone far. It was parked at the intersection across the street. "Bring him over."

A few minutes later, someone gently tapped on the car window.

Ji Yanzhi lowered the window. Outside, Xu Ren stood bent slightly at the waist, looking as though his soul had left his body. Even his gaze was unfocused.

"President Ji, Lawyer Liu told me what happened at the police station. I..."

"Get in, and we'll talk," Ji Yanzhi said evenly.

Xu Ren shook his head. "I won't trouble you any further. I should head back to campus."

"Get in."

Wang Jianming had already taken his accusations to the university. Who knew what storm Xu Ren would face if he went back? It was better to keep him close.

Xu Ren pressed his lips together and could only walk around to the other side and get into the car.

After they had driven quite some distance, Ji Yanzhi glanced at the dejected Xu Ren and said coldly, "He's already sorted everything out for you. Aren't you going to pull yourself together?"

Xu Ren paused and looked at him dazedly. "What? Who?"

Ji Yanzhi could not tell whether he was being stupid or playing dumb. He sneered. "Would you believe me if I said it was Ji Ting?"