amaotonovel Chapter 1310 Are you one of our own?
Chapter 1310 Are you one of our own?
He shook his head weakly: "I...I really don't know...I told her everything that the person in the straw hat said...She...she stared at me...for a long time...that look...was so scary...like...like she could see right through me..."
"And then?" Hu Yidao pressed on eagerly.
"Then...then she...waved...and had...the guard at the door...see me out..."
The stand-in man gasped for breath: "I...I took the rest of the money...and...and went back...I...I really don't know anything anymore...Please...let me go...I...I'm dying...I just want to be able to eat my fill every day before I die."
He pleaded, his breath growing weaker and weaker.
The trail seems to have ended here.
Wearing a straw hat, covering his face, and speaking broken Sanskrit, he said "outsider".
With indistinct features and a vast sea of people, it was like searching for a needle in a haystack. The atmosphere inside the hall became heavy and oppressive once again.
Xiao Ce's brows furrowed slightly, his deep eyes revealing no emotion, but the invisible solemnity he exuded made Hu Yidao and the others dare not even breathe.
Yin Pan'er's heart clenched as she looked at the dying stand-in on the ground, who clearly wouldn't live much longer, and a sense of powerlessness welled up inside her.
Is the whereabouts of Eva and Yuanwang destined to disappear without a trace with the death of this pitiful yet hateful substitute?
Just as Hu Yidao was about to give up and was about to order the stand-in to be dragged away, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind! A detail that had been overlooked!
"and many more!"
Hu Yidao suddenly crouched down, almost shouting, startling his stand-in. The stand-in's eyes widened in a final burst of energy: "The money that person gave you! Those silver coins! What kind were they? Were they ordinary dragon coins? Or... were they something special?! Where's the money?! Where is the money?!"
The roar was like a thunderclap!
The stand-in man trembled with fear, and his dying body was somehow able to muster the last bit of strength.
As if grasping at the last straw, he shakily stretched out his withered, filthy hand and laboriously reached into the lining of his tattered shirt, groping around until he pulled out a similarly dirty little cloth bag.
His movements were extremely difficult, his fingers trembled violently, as if the small cloth bag weighed a ton.
The cloth bag was soaked with sweat, stains, and some kind of unidentified viscous substance, emitting a nauseating odor.
He trembled as he peeled back the tightly wrapped cloth layer by layer, revealing several gleaming silver coins inside!
Unlike the standard dragon coins widely circulated in the East Asian Federation, these silver coins are slightly smaller, but of excellent quality, gleaming with a warm and understated luster even in dim light.
The coins are engraved with intricate patterns from the old Indian dynasty and portraits of monarchs that have long been abolished. The edges are even worn smooth from long-term circulation.
"Old Indian coins?" Hu Yidao frowned, grabbed the coins, and brought them close to his eyes to examine them carefully, rubbing the patterns on them with his fingertips.
"Not dragon coins!"
Xiao Ce's gaze also fell on the old coins, his eyes deep. He looked at Hu Yidao, keenly catching the fleeting thoughtful expression on the other's face: "What? Is there something wrong with these old coins?"
Hu Yidao raised his head, his expression solemn, and handed the old coins to Xiao Ce: "Your Highness, look. These are silver rupees from the old Indian dynasty."
"Since the establishment of the East Asian Federation and the implementation of Dragon Coin as the official unified currency, these old coins have theoretically been gradually withdrawn from circulation."
In accordance with the federal currency reform regulations, we adopted a gradual approach, allowing the old currency to be exchanged and circulated within a certain period, especially in remote and conservative areas, without a blanket ban to avoid causing unrest among the people.
Therefore, a small amount of old currency is still circulating in the market, especially among older people or those who have nostalgia for the old dynasty; they sometimes still use it in private transactions.
He paused, his tone tinged with doubt and insight: "But the problem is... the other party chose to pay this scapegoat with this hard-to-trace old currency, instead of the Dragon Coins we're now forcibly promoting, which have a well-documented circulation record. That in itself is strange!"
Xiao Ce picked up an old silver coin, feeling its cool touch. As he examined it, he asked, "Oh? The circulation records for Dragon Coins? How comprehensive are they?"
Hu Yidao seemed a little embarrassed as he scratched his bearded chin and said awkwardly, "Well... I really don't understand the specific operating principles and technical details."
All that is known is that this was something created by President Yoon Wei-yong and the Federal Ministry of Finance, supposedly utilizing the latest telegraph network and a technology called encoding sequence.
Each batch of newly minted dragon coins, from the mint to the vaults of major banks, then to local banks and merchants, and finally to the hands of merchants and ordinary people, can theoretically be recorded in the central archives of the Federal Treasury.
While it's impossible to pinpoint the exact whereabouts of every single coin, tracing the source and destination of large sums of money, especially those flowing from official banks, is far easier than investigating these unclaimed old coins!
A look of understanding and admiration flashed in Xiao Ce's eyes.
This was clearly the work of Yin Weiyong, aimed at strengthening financial control and countering espionage and money laundering activities.
He nodded: "So, the other party deliberately used this kind of old Indian currency, whose origin is almost impossible to trace, in order to hide their identity and avoid leaving any traces that could be investigated."
“Exactly, Your Highness! This bastard is incredibly cunning! Paying with old currency makes it difficult to trace his identity even if we catch this scapegoat. These old currencies... are like stones thrown into the Varanasi River; once they sink, they're gone!”
"Does that mean the lead has gone cold again?"
Yin Pan'er asked worriedly from the side, her heart sinking as she looked at the substitute man on the ground, whose breath was growing weaker and weaker.
A fierce glint flashed in Hu Yidao's eyes, as if he had thought of something. He suddenly looked at Xiao Ce and said, "Not necessarily! Your Highness, I have thought of a direction! Perhaps there is still a glimmer of hope!"
"Speak," Xiao Ce said in a deep voice.
"Although the old currency itself is difficult to trace, it did not appear out of thin air! Especially in a big city like Brahma, the circulation of the old currency has been greatly reduced by Governor-General Yin Pan'er's... oh no, President Yin's deliberate control policies!"
Hu Yidao almost let slip something, and quickly corrected himself: "According to the regulations of the Federation and Tianzhu, all official banks, including the branches of the Federation bank that were integrated from the old Tianzhu banks, will not reissue old coins after redeeming them and put them back into the market. Instead, they will be uniformly melted down and handed over to the Federation Mint to be exchanged for an equivalent value of dragon coins as reserves."
He paused, his gaze sharpening, "In other words, the total amount of old currency still circulating in the market is limited, and it's only accepted and not issued! Theoretically, every instance of old currency entering a money exchange is recorded internally by who deposited it!"
As Hu Yidao spoke, his thoughts became clearer and his pace quickened: "The old coins in this scapegoat's hands are in very good condition, with little wear and tear. They are likely recent stock from a bank!"
"Let's assume that the guy in the straw hat paid the scapegoat with old currency directly from the old currency reserve of some money exchange! After all, he needed clean, unrecorded money!"
"If we can find out who has recently withdrawn these unremelted old coins from which bank, especially if the withdrawal time is within the last two days and the quantity matches, then we are highly suspicious!"
A glint of light flashed in Xiao Ce's eyes.
Hu Yidao's approach is indeed ingenious! It bypasses the problem of tracing the old currency itself, instead focusing on its possible "source."
The old coin deposit and withdrawal records of the money exchange. This is equivalent to finding a possible backdoor in the other party's carefully laid trap.
Xiao Ce was somewhat surprised after hearing Hu Yidao's words: "Hu Yidao, you've really grown a lot... You're really not the same reckless man you used to be..."
After Hu Yidao praised Xiao Ce like that, he became even more embarrassed and scratched his head.
Xiao Ce immediately said to Hu Yidao, "Investigate! Follow your line of thinking."
"Hu Yidao, you must do this personally immediately! Mobilize your most trusted and discreet personnel to secretly investigate all branches of the Federal Banks in and around Brahma City, especially those close to the Royal Palace and the 'Tears of Shiva' area! Focus on investigating records of anyone withdrawing old Indian silver rupees from the old currency reserve in the past three days! The identity of the person who withdrew the money, the time, the location, and the amount must be detailed!"
"I will obey your orders!"
Hu Yidao's spirits lifted, he clasped his hands in acceptance of the order, and turned to leave.
"and many more!"
Xiao Ce called out to him, his gaze sweeping over the dark red cassock and the strangely shaped black staff on the ground.
“The other line can’t be left out either. This set of equipment and the staff, if you look closely, is actually quite rough. That’s because it was rushed to make… Especially the material of this staff and the crescent-shaped metal band at the top, the shape is unique, send someone to secretly investigate!”
"Check all the shops and craftsmen in Chafan City that can craft metalware and sew monks' robes! Especially those with skills who can take on special custom orders! See if anyone has recently made or bought anything similar!"
"Yes, Your Highness! A two-pronged approach is understood!"
Hu Yidao nodded emphatically, his eyes burning with determination to solve the case. He glanced at the body double lying on the ground, barely clinging to life, and asked, "Your Highness, this person...?"
Xiao Ce's gaze fell on the sallow, dying face, a fleeting hint of pity flashing across his eyes. This man was nothing more than a pitiful and pathetic pawn, being used and nearing the end of his life; he could no longer be of any value to be extracted from him.
"Find a quiet place, give him some water and food, and let him go back to where he came from. Staying here will only cause more trouble."
Xiao Ce's voice was calm and unwavering.
In the chaos of the world, he had seen too much life and death; his mercy at this moment was more like dealing with a useless object.
Hu Yidao responded and waved for his men to drag the man away and deal with him.
The stand-in man seemed to have heard his own end; the last glimmer of light in his cloudy eyes went out, and he let himself be dragged along, no longer making a sound.
Yin Pan'er walked quietly to Xiao Ce's side, looked at the few silver coins, and whispered, "Your Highness, do you think... General Hu's method will work? Since the other party is so cunning, could it be that they have also tampered with things at the money shop?"
Xiao Ce put the silver coin away, holding it in his palm, feeling its cool metallic texture. His eyes were sharp as knives: "The other party is meticulous and could indeed have thought of this. But human strength has its limits, and even the most meticulous plans can have oversights. The bank's records are a part they can't completely control, especially since the other party is in a hurry and may not have enough time to completely erase all traces. Furthermore..."
He looked at the robe and staff: "This line is even harder for them to completely hide. As long as the items are made in India, they will inevitably leave traces. Hu Yidao is a local bigwig, and his men are most familiar with all walks of life and the ways of the world. With two lines running in parallel, they will always be able to tear a hole."
He paused, then said to Yin Pan'er, "What we need now is to wait patiently!"
next day
Yin Pan'er and Xiao Ce woke up early. After waking up, Xiao Ce moved around outside the palace.
A short while later, Hu Yidao came rushing over.
Seeing Hu Yidao's appearance, Xiao Ce said with some surprise, "Hu Yidao has news so quickly?"
Hu Yidao's expression at this moment didn't seem very natural. Looking at him...
Without saying a word, Xiao Ce invited Hu Yidao to his residence.
He then turned to Hu Yidao and said, "Hu Yidao, how is it?"
Hu Yidao's expression was not good.
He nodded at first, then seemed to have something he couldn't say.
Seeing this, Xiao Ce said to Hu Yidao, "Hu Yidao, don't be nervous... Why are you holding back between us? Shouldn't you just say what you want to say?"
Hu Yidao nodded solemnly, then said, "Your Highness, you should prepare yourself mentally."
Upon hearing Hu Yidao's words, Xiao Ce had already begun to make some guesses.
However, he simply smiled calmly and said, "Just tell me..."
Hu Yidao nodded, then said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, after our investigation, we've made significant progress this time. First, we've confirmed that the old currency originated from our own bank and wasn't circulating outside. This has greatly facilitated our screening process..."
"After conducting an investigation overnight, we have identified the target..."
As Hu Yidao spoke, his expression immediately became awkward and stiff.
At this moment, Xiao Ce had already realized what was happening. His expression was not pleasant as he said to Hu Yidao, "Are you one of your own...?"