Chapter 295: Business Spy?
“What are you doing, Old Wu? What’s your intention? Let me go!” A middle-aged man with a big belly was dragged in by a man with glasses who was around his age. “Hello, you’re also an intellectual and a scientific researcher. Why are you behaving like a riff-raff?”
“Wang Xuefan, I don’t need to be polite with people like you!” The man called Old Wu said ruthlessly.
“Professor Wu Tongshan, why are you pulling the collar of Professor Wang Xuefan?” Xiao Qing said, “Why don’t you let go?”
“Director Xiao, I can’t. This guy is a spy! I caught him!” Wu Tongshan said coldly.
“What? Spy? Who did you say is a spy?” Xiao Qing was surprised. How did a spy emerge from the university? What’s wrong?
“Director Xiao, look at Old Wu. He said with certainty that I’m a spy. What is this? I’m so old. How could I be a spy?” Wang Xuefan said with a bitter smile.
“Age isn’t a bar to ambition. Spies can be old as well!” Wu Tongshan said with conviction, “Wang Xuefan, have you not expected this? I have long thought that you weren’t honest! I deliberately left it for a while, leaving you alone. In the lab, you didn’t expect me to catch you in the act, did you?”
“What caught me in the act? Old Wu, things can be eaten indiscriminately, but you can’t spout such nonsense. I, Old Wang, am also an old man of Song Jiang Industry University. How can I be a spy? Again, what act did you catch me in?” Wang Xuefan retorted.
“Yeah, what’s going on? Professor Wu, let go of Professor Wang first. If you have any discoveries, you can say it. You can’t just keep on holding the other’s collar !” Xiao Qing advised.
As soon as the year-end approached, everyone knew that the school would soon start to evaluate excellent lecturers and excellent professors. Once selected, it was all money and the bonuses were all five-figures! Therefore, some people who have bad relationships with each other and competitive relationships would start to make a move. If they weren’t looking for a small problem with the other party, they were finding faults to report to Xiao Qing, ultimately making it troublesome for Xiao Qing every day. She didn’t have enough hands to deal with these matters. But for today, it was her first time hearing something about catching a spy!
“I’m afraid he will run away!” Wu Tongshan said.
“Why would I need to run away? I said I’m not a spy. Why should I run away?” Wang Xuefan looked innocent. “Let me say this, Old Wu. We have been working together for so many years. How can you say that I’m a spy?”
“Hmph, I have already caught you in your act. You still don’t admit it?” Wu Tongshan sneered, “Director Xiao, can you take a look at this?” Wu Tongshan took out a digital camera from his pocket.
“Digital camera? What happened?” Xiao Qing also began to feel that there was something odd.
“The computers in our labs can’t be connected to the Internet. They’re all local network. There are no USB ports and floppy drives in the computers, so if someone wanted to steal the code we write, he can only use the most primitive method to copy by hand, or just take pictures of the screen with the camera!” Wu Tongshan said with reasonable evidence, “I have long felt that there were spies in our lab. For example, the last time we developed the medical management system, before our product was released, the Computer Research Institute under our city’s Xiongfeng Group took the lead in researching this system and quickly pushed it to the market!
“Later, I found that 90% of the code in the system was our code! There was no such coincidence in the world. I doubted it at that time, but there are spies in our lab for sure! Later, after my careful investigation, I found that Wang Xuefan was the most suspicious. He often found an excuse to stay after the research was done!
In the early morning, after everyone finished their work, they were exhausted as they were going back to sleep. However, Wang Xuefan said that he wasn’t tired and wanted to continue with the program. I paid extra attention at that time. After I left the lab, I didn’t go home immediately. I waited for a little while, and then I immediately returned to the lab. At this time, I saw Wang Xuefan holding a digital camera facing the computer screen. He was taking a photo! And, what was displayed on the screen was the code we wrote in the current phase of engineering research!”
“What?” Xiao Qing frowned and realized the seriousness of the matter. However, the spy who Wu Tongshan identified was somewhat astonishing. If that was the truth, Wang Xuefan could only be regarded as leaking trade secrets. But this crime wasn’t minor! After listening to Wu Tongshan’s words, Xiao Qing also remembered things from a while ago!
The computer science department had invested a lot of manpower and resources to write a management system for the pharmaceutical industry. It used its own database program, which could effectively prevent virus invasions. If the system was successfully developed, it would bring huge economic benefits to the university and the computer science department. Just as the research and development were coming to an end, suddenly a software company called Xiongfeng Computer New Technology Development Co. Ltd. became the first to introduce this system!
This caused all the research and development staff of the computer science department to roar in anger like thunder! Although the research and development personnel suspected that Xiongfeng Computer Company had used illegal means, there was no evidence. Also, Xiongfeng Computer Company also took the lead in registering the patent and related procedures, and Xiao Qing could find no way around it! Moreover, it was said that the parent company of the Xiongfeng Computer Company, Xiongfeng Group, had a solid foundation. Even if there was a lawsuit, they might not have a chance of winning. The other party might also accuse them of stealing the secrets from others!
Since there was no other way, Xiao Qing and the related personnel could only swallow it down. However, since then, all the computers in the research and development lab had been blocked from access to the external network. USB ports, COM ports, parallel ports and any interface capable of communicating with the outside world had been forcibly removed. It wasn’t considered safe. Even the network cable interface had been removed, and the network cable was directly soldered to the motherboard. The same was true for the switchboard. This was to prevent someone from copying data straight through the cable. Since the network cable was soldered, no one could pull it out!
This was the astounding approach to confidentiality that these people who researched on computers all day long could think of! They didn’t expect someone to take a photo with a digital camera!
“Professor Wang, is what Professor Wu said the truth?” Xiao Qing asked in a stern manner.
“Director Xiao, Old Wu framed me!” Wang Xuefan said quickly, “Yes, I was taking a photo with a digital camera, but my camera was a gift I bought for my grandson. I was just testing out the function by myself!”
“Testing out the function? Didn’t you mention that you wanted to write a program in the lab? Wouldn’t it be better to go home to test the function? Why were you trying it out in the lab?” Wu Tongshan sneered.
“Does it matter where I test it? Can’t I continue to write the program after I finished the test?” refuted Wang Xuefan.
“Hmph, okay. When you experimented with the camera, did you really need to shoot every line of the program? Are you sure you were experimenting with the camera?” Wu Tongshan ruthlessly revealed it. “I have been paying attention to you for a long time outside the lab! Hmph, did you find out?”
“You… are so sinister!” Wang Xuefan frowned and said, “Well, even if you saw it, I was testing the camera. Do you have any evidence that I was not testing the camera?”
“Just base it on the photos inside this camera!” Wu Tongshan said.
“Photos? Old Wu, what are you talking about? After talking for a long time, you thought that I took photos and said that I’m a spy right?” Wang Xuefan pretended to be amazed.
“Hmph, so you admit it? You have nothing to say?” Wu Tongshan said coldly, “Of course, I’m talking about the photos, otherwise, what else did you think I was talking about?”
“Hahaha!” Wang Xuefan suddenly laughed.
“What are you laughing at?” Wu Tongshan found it somewhat inexplicable. Yang Ming and Xiao Qing also found it inexplicable. Could it be that this person had a mental breakdown?
“It’s so funny. I can’t. It’s too hilarious!” Wang Xuefan still smiled and leaned forward, “Well, Old Wu, then why don’t you look at the photos in the camera?”
“Of course, I have to take a look at it!” Wu Tongshan frowned. It seemed that something went bad. Why was it strange when Wang Xuefan talked about it? Was there something wrong with it?
Wu Tongshan turned on the power of the digital camera and then altered the mode to playback, but the screen of the digital camera turned blue and displayed three words, “No memory card!”
“There’s no memory card?” Wu Tongshan was surprised, “What happened? Where’s the card?”
“What card? There’s no card at all!” Wang Xuefan said calmly, “I took the camera and tried the macro shooting effect, and I didn’t put it in!”
“How is it possible? Right, when I entered the house, you were fidgeting around with the camera. Did you take the card out on your own?” Wu Tongshan asked.
“I took it out? Why would I take it out? If you don’t believe me, you can search me. Great, Director Xiao is also here. You can search me in front of her! See if there’s a card!” Wang Xuefan had no fear as he spoke. He spread his hands as he pretended to be innocent.