Storm Eye Episode 26 Recap
> Storm Eye Recap
Ma Shang arrived home to find his parents, Ma Junhai and his mother, immediately stopping an argument as he entered. His mother still wanted to buy Dinghua's stocks, explaining that a professional securities analyst had advised her, stating that Dinghua's stocks, despite recent daily falls, were stabilizing at closing, indicating systematic buying and an impending rebound due to behind-the-scenes manipulation. She also mentioned her father wanted her to sell with a 300,000 yuan net loss.
Ma Shang tried to mediate, suggesting they didn't have much spare cash and borrowing money could lead to greater losses. Later that night, Ma Shang returned home after a conversation with An Jing to find his father sleeping on the sofa, having been kicked out of the room by his mother. When Ma Shang tried to intervene, his mother accused his father of treating her like a thief, constantly monitoring her.
His father retorted that her "gambling mood" necessitated his watch. Ma Shang’s mother then became frustrated with her son, dismissing him as a bachelor trying to teach a married couple, and told him to leave her room. The next day, Ma Shang met with Du Meng, discussing how they were getting closer to the truth behind the case but cautioning against complacency. He emphasized that the two cases might be connected, making the Dinghua investigation the top priority.
Du Meng reported that Fan Dewei was doing odd jobs and living in a rental, with severed social ties that made him difficult to track. Ma Shang advised a long-term, covert approach to investigating Fan Dewei to avoid alerting their adversaries. Du Meng agreed to wait for further instructions from Ma Shang and continued to monitor Yu Haoran while Ma Shang went to a meeting. At the meeting, He Zixuan announced he had successfully cracked the key.
He explained that although Dinghua’s security was robust, the stolen key allowed them to bypass verification and access encrypted data via remote tampering. He confirmed that the data used by the factory was indeed the final data submitted by Yu Haoran. Ma Shang then raised the puzzling aspect: how the perpetrators knew which data Yu Haoran had already verified during their remote tampering, as tampering with unverified data would have been immediately detected.
An Jing then questioned the motive behind the attacks on Dinghua. Ma Shang proposed that instead of destroying Dinghua, which would indefinitely delay Professor Zou's project, the objective was to cripple the company. This would allow an external party to step in as a "savior," invest in Dinghua, and gain access to its artificial synthesis technology. An Jing agreed, calling it brilliant. Ma Shang suggested a close watch on Dinghua's investors.
He noted that despite the best option for Dinghua being intervention by a state-owned enterprise, Pang Yishan strongly opposed it, insisting he could handle the crisis alone. An Jing found Pang Yishan's firm opposition unusual, arguing that if he were a spy, the enemy would have acted more directly rather than employing such elaborate schemes. Ma Shang also pointed out that Dinghua's stock, after an initial limit-down, had stabilized at closing each day, suggesting a systematic acquisition aiming for control.
He assigned He Zixuan the task of investigating who was acquiring Dinghua's stocks, promising assistance from the Securities Regulatory Commission and the Technology Department. Later, An Jing drove Ma Shang home. Ma Shang mentioned his parents' incessant fighting over his mother's stock investments and expressed his reluctance to go home. An Jing then informed him about her mother, who was doing well and being sincerely cared for by Uncle Wang, despite a recent argument.
Ma Shang then playfully offered to take care of An Jing, which she acknowledged with a smile before stopping the car at his home. After Ma Shang exited, An Jing mused that he thought himself clever, but wondered who would truly be interested in such a "poor guy." Meanwhile, a spy known as Bat discovered a tracking device under his car after a near accident.
He immediately called Jeffrey, his handler, to demand an explanation, noting that the tracker was of the same type Jeffrey himself used. Jeffrey denied deploying the device, deducing that Qiao Xichuan had likely uncovered Bat's presence. Bat advocated for eliminating Qiao Xichuan, arguing he was out of control and a threat. However, Jeffrey insisted Qiao Xichuan was still valuable for protecting Jeffrey's other operatives within Dinghua and ordered Bat to reattach the tracker and await further instructions.
Yang Xun met with Fu Dayong to deliver an admission letter for Fu Dayong's daughter to St. Mary's University in London. Fu Dayong, cautious, verified the school's online presence, which Yang Xun confirmed was legitimate. Satisfied, Fu Dayong reached an oral cooperation agreement for the ore mining project, with Yang Xun assuring him they would secure all necessary approvals.
Yang Xun then contacted President He (Qiao Xichuan), expressing concern over Fu Dayong's cautious nature and fearing he might meticulously scrutinize the ore mining approvals. President He dismissed his worries, assuring him that he had "means" to handle such details and that the approval process would be seamless. An Jing and Du Meng interrogated Yu Haoran, who admitted to being part of a social circle with Yang Xun and Pang Yishan, all of whom Pang Yishan had promoted.
Yu Haoran acknowledged that Yang Xun frequently paid for their outings and seemed to spend beyond his known income, leading Yu Haoran to suspect financial impropriety, which he believed Pang Yishan also observed. When confronted about tampering with his office computer's hard drive, Yu Haoran confessed. He explained that after a Trojan horse attack on Dinghua's systems, he had a personal file he forgot to delete and feared being fired if the company found it.
Panicked by Ma Shang's announced computer checks, he replaced the hard drive. He then revealed the forgotten file contained the complete data for the medical device project. Yu Haoran vehemently denied intentionally causing the accident, arguing that the erroneous code was nonsensical, something no professional would use to sabotage. He stressed that, as Professor Zou's assistant, he was on the cusp of significant career advancement with the DS Materials technology and would never jeopardize his future.
Instead, he accused Cheng Lei, citing their professional rivalry and Cheng Lei's opportunity to steal the key and tamper with the data, as Cheng Lei was still in the office after Yu Haoran left with Yang Xun and had been involved in the project from its inception. An Jing countered that Cheng Lei, being a technician, would also not employ such an invalid code. Yu Haoran became increasingly agitated, maintaining his innocence and offering his bank account for inspection.
An Jing and Du Meng discussed Yu Haoran's statement, finding it consistent with their theories and seemingly sincere, prompting them to investigate his claims further to either clear him or reallocate resources. Separately, Pang Yishan informed Lin Xiaolan that National Security had taken Yu Haoran for questioning. Overwhelmed by mounting stress and exhaustion, Lin Xiaolan suddenly fainted. Pang Yishan rushed her to the hospital.
Song Ju received a call about Lin Xiaolan's collapse, and Ma Shang was already on his way. At the hospital, Miao Fei and Pang Yishan were by Lin Xiaolan's side when Ma Shang arrived. The doctor explained that Lin Xiaolan's fainting was due to hypotension, likely caused by severe psychological stress and lack of rest.
Upon regaining consciousness, Lin Xiaolan acknowledged her inability to return to work immediately and entrusted Pang Yishan with full authority over Dinghua's affairs, urging Miao Fei and Ma Shang to cooperate with him for the company's sake. Pang Yishan assured her he would do his utmost.
