Chapter 16 — Profile 9:17

The "Council's" public opinion crushing machine operates with ruthless efficiency. Less than twenty-four hours after Hoang Minh pressed the button to publish the reportage exposing the truth about the Nam Huong Project and Trinh Vu, his editorial office received an urgent dispatch from the Central press management agency. A temporary suspension order of three months was issued on the grounds of "posting unverified information, causing public confusion and negatively affecting the city's investment environment".

Sitting in a room full of papers, Hoang Minh threw the phone on the mattress and smiled blandly. "My bank accounts have been frozen on suspicion of being involved in money laundering. My press card has been temporarily revoked. Van, I have faced off against corrupt officials and gangsters, but this time... we are fighting against the sky."

Le Nhu Van sat quietly on a plastic chair, her eyes were dark after an all-nighter but her gaze was still sharp as a knife. She knows that using public opinion to fight against a force that controls public opinion is a suicidal move. The "Council" is too big and strong, too deep-rooted. To destroy a solid system, you cannot use external forces to attack it, but must find the fatal weakness deep within the system itself.

"We can't win against them on the media front," Van lowered his voice, clasping his hands together. "Mr. Minh, do you remember what Trinh Vu once said? 'Use corrupt people to destroy other corrupt people'. Do Trong Thang was overthrown because he was part of a system that became rebellious. So if we want to overthrow Trinh Vu and the 'Council', we must use the same monster they just deposed."

Minh frowned, not believing his ears. "You mean... ask for help from Do Trong Thang? The one who forced my father to death? The one who is serving 20 years in prison T30?"

"That's right," Van stood up, her eyes determined. "Thang is the one who has been cornered, betrayed and deprived of everything. He hates Trinh Vu and the 'Council' more than he hates me. He must hold a secret, some trump card that can drag the whole 'Council' to the grave with him."

Arranging a meeting with Do Trong Thang at Detention Center T30 was not easy, especially when the "Council" certainly had people monitoring him 24/7. Van had to impersonate a lawyer from the law office of Do Trong Thang's family, using fake documents forged by an old friend of Minh's, in order to pass through the strict security checks.

Unlike Bui Van Deo, Do Trong Thang, despite wearing a prison uniform, still retains the arrogant and cold demeanor of a former president. When he entered the visitation room and saw that the person waiting for him through the glass was the daughter of his sworn enemy, the corner of Thang's lips slightly curled up in a mocking smile.

"Wow, an unexpected guest," Thang picked up the receiver, his deep voice rang in Van's ear. "Did you come to laugh at me, Miss Le? Or did you come to thank me because you received that cheap Medal?"

"I came to propose a cooperation, Mr. Thang," Van went straight to the point, not at all concerned about the provocative attitude of the other person. "The truth about the Nam Huong Project and Trinh Vu's true identity. I know everything. Mr You didn't fall because of the crime at Tan Cang Bridge, you fell because the 'Council' decided to get rid of you."

The smile on Thang's lips disappeared. His eyes suddenly became fierce, blue veins appeared on his forehead. "Lawyer Vu... that treacherous bastard. It pretends to be a debt collector for justice, but is actually just the garbage dog of those anonymous tycoons. You think I don't know? They want to use me as a scapegoat to quell public opinion, paving the way for them to swallow the most lucrative project in the South."

"So why did you give in so easily?" Van narrowed her eyes at him. "A suspicious and calculating person like you cannot help but keep a way out for yourself."

Thang was silent for a long time, staring at the young girl in front of him. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Now, he has nothing left to lose, other than the boiling hatred that wants to tear apart those who pushed him into this prison.

"Miss Le, you are very correct in your assessment of me," Thang whispered, putting his mouth close to the receiver. "The collapse of Dinh Phat Group was not simply because of a fake acceptance report. The real reason why the 'Council' is determined to destroy me at all costs is because I hold the umbilical cord of their life."

Van's heart was pounding. She held her breath and waited.

"During my twenty years as a front man for the 'Council', I secretly set up an underground server," Thang recounted slowly. "That server is not connected to any Internet network, it operates completely independently and stores all transaction history data. From huge bribes to high-ranking officials to approve the project, to detailed lists of anonymous Swiss bank accounts of each member of the 'Council'. That's my only brake to keep this old life alive. They arrested me, confiscated my assets, but they never found that server."

"Where is it?" Van asked urgently, her hands clutching the edge of the table.

"A place that even Tung - their most loyal hunting dog - never expected," Thang gave a half-smile, full of mystery. "Do you remember Dinh Phat's abandoned steel factory in Bien Hoa industrial park? Scrap storage facility under foundry No. 3. The server is encased in a Faraday steel cage to protect against all electromagnetic waves and detection devices."

Thang said this and suddenly coughed. He covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes flashing sinisterly. "You want to overthrow the 'Council', go there and get the server. The decryption password is the date of death of engineer Le Van Sang. A great irony, isn't it? Your father died to begin Dinh Phat's downfall, and now the anniversary of his death will be the end for those behind me."

Van felt her stomach twist in disgust, but she couldn't deny the value of the weapon Thang had just provided. She nodded, stood up and hung up. The exchange has ended.

Leaving T30 Detention Center, Van immediately contacted Hoang Minh. They rented an old pickup truck, disguised themselves as scrap collectors, and headed straight to Bien Hoa industrial park that afternoon.

The old steel factory of Dinh Phat Group has been abandoned for many years since it became entangled in labor law. The dozens of hectares of campus are filled with weeds and iron frames Rusted steel rose into the gray sky like the skeleton of a dead monster.

Hoang Minh used force pliers to cut the chain locking the side gate, and the two gingerly stepped inside foundry No. 3. The smell of mold and rust rushed straight into their noses. Under the ground are countless deep holes filled with stagnant water and industrial waste.

Following Do Trong Thang's instructions, they found a giant manhole cover steel plate hidden under a giant pile of coal slag in the corner of the workshop. Minh and Van had to use a crowbar to pry for nearly half an hour to be able to flip the heavy steel plate aside, revealing a dark tunnel leading deep underground.

Minh turned on the high-intensity flashlight and walked down the slippery concrete stairs. Van followed closely behind. Underground is a cramped space, built entirely of thick lead and steel plates to block all radio signals. In the middle of the room, placed on a solid cement platform, is a black server rack, still flashing faint signal lights thanks to the backup battery system.

"Found it!" Minh exclaimed happily, hastily taking out his laptop and connection cable. He plugged the cable into the server's connection port, and the laptop screen immediately asked for the password to decrypt the hard drive.

Van took a deep breath, her trembling fingers typed each number: 15102016 - the day the scaffolding of the Tan Cang Bridge collapsed, the day her father passed away forever.

The words "Access Granted" appear in bright green. Thousands of folders containing top secret data began to appear before their eyes. The numbers worth thousands of billions of dong, the names of top officials, the flow diagram of dirty money flowing through shell companies around the world... Everything is clear and chillingly detailed. This is not only evidence to end the "Council", but an atomic bomb capable of shaking the entire political and economic foundation of the country.

"We have to copy all this data to a portable hard drive immediately," Minh said, sweating profusely, clicking the mouse quickly. "The estimated copying speed is about twenty minutes. Van, please keep an eye on the top."

Van nodded, turned around and was about to walk up the stairs. But at that moment, a strange noise echoed from above the foundry, causing her to stop. That was not the sound of the wind whistling through the gaps in the corrugated iron roof. That was the sound of rubber shoe soles stepping on a pile of cinders in a calculated way.

She looked up at the mouth of the tunnel. In the weak light of the sunset pouring in from the workshop door, a tall figure slowly appeared. The man was wearing a black leather jacket and holding a silenced pistol in his hand. The faint scar on the corner of his eye twitched, signaling a rising bloodlust.

It's Tung. Professional assassin, powerful henchman of Trinh Vu and the "Council".

"Good afternoon, Miss Le Nhu Van," Tung smirked, the barrel of the gun pointed straight into the cellar. "Lawyer Vu underestimated you a bit. He didn't think you'd be so reckless as to dare come all the way here. But unfortunately, your game is over. Step back from that server, otherwise I'll blow both of your skulls right here."

The nightmare has truly come. The door of life and death that had just opened was about to close in the most brutal way. Several dozen percent progress The data copying process on the laptop screen was blinking desperately. In the middle of this desolate wilderness, there is no C03, no public opinion, only Van, Minh and the gun of the ruthless murderer.

Van slowly backed away, eyes wide open looking straight at Tung. There was no longer fear in her mind, but only a strong will to survive. Even if it costs her life, she cannot let this data fall back into the hands of those monsters. The real battle at this scrap foundry will decide the fate of all.