Cao Baming's eyes lit up. He hadn't expected the voice on the other end of the phone to actually be Mike's. His heart sank.
"Is my phone with you? Why haven't you returned it yet?"
Cao Baming immediately asked, his voice already sounding weak and listless. Just a second before, a thought had suddenly flashed through his mind.
Mike's questioning voice came from the other end, and he quickly provided the answer to Cao Baming.
It turned out that at the end of the party last night, he had already returned the phone to him because he had wanted to check the time and couldn't find his watch.
Hearing him say this, Cao Baming was once again certain that such an event had indeed occurred. After taking the phone back then, he had never paid attention to where he had put it afterward.
If that were the case, then it should logically still be in his pocket now, not somewhere else. This was because such actions were purely subconscious, completely unfiltered by the brain, and would certainly operate according to ingrained habits.
Cao Baming decisively hung up the phone, his gaze turning serious.
Wu Xue felt a flicker of fear at the sudden seriousness on Cao Baming's face. Such a stern and solemn expression was rarely seen on him.
"What's wrong? Mike doesn't have it either?"
"Yes, there are only two possibilities left. Either the phone is still somewhere around here, or someone deliberately stole it!"
Upon hearing this, Wu Xue immediately perked up.
At this moment, the staff around the villa were already searching. It wouldn't be easy for them to leave. Most importantly, fortunately, this villa was a rental. Cao Baming had already seen many surveillance cameras scattered across the courtyard and streets last night and this morning.
There should be no cameras inside the villa's interior, but quite a few had been installed in the external public areas. These could help them resolve this mystery.
"Have the staff stay put. No one leaves."
Cao Baming then contacted Mike again. If they wanted to conduct a thorough search of this area, the amateur staff would not be sufficient. This kind of matter required professionals.
At this moment, Mike had already begun arranging personnel. He naturally knew why Cao Baming was contacting him this time, and had even started preparing beforehand.
Many police officers, professional search personnel, and private investigators had been summoned by Mike. A search team of over forty people was on its way to the area and would arrive in an hour.
Suddenly, the situation became tense.
One had to know that if the information inside that phone were leaked, the consequences would be extremely severe, to the point of potentially triggering a large-scale economic crisis. Clearly, only Cao Baming had realized the gravity of the situation.
At this moment, the personnel on site had already begun their busy work, but so far, they had found nothing.
Although he had had a bit to drink, Cao Baming knew his mind was still very clear. He tried his best to recall every place he had been yesterday. In reality, there weren't many.
If he calculated from the moment he spoke with Mike, asked for his phone back, and checked the time, the area of activity was limited to this street and the sports field. The two locations had no complex structures. If there were, they should have found something by now.
The personnel Mike had invited quickly arrived at the scene. On the suggestion of the detectives, they first conducted a round of checks on the employees working there, but found nothing. They then began to spread out to search.
In the courtyard, along the streets, and at the sports field, personnel were assigned to various areas. The scale of the operation alone was enough to inspire confidence.
At this moment, Wu Xue's phone rang again. The boss called to inform them that someone had been dispatched to arrange the final procedures and related matters.
After a busy morning, the phone still hadn't been found. At this point, Cao Baming had no choice but to believe the second possibility.
When one eliminates all other possibilities, the remaining one, no matter how unacceptable, becomes inevitable.
Could I possibly have enemies?
Cao Baming was puzzled. He carefully recalled. If this wasn't a premeditated theft, it would be impossible to remove such an important item from his side.
Fortunately, the phone was equipped with the world's most advanced anti-theft lock. It would be very difficult for an ordinary person to crack it. Even a top-tier coding genius would need some time.
At the very least, the data inside would be safe for a week.
No matter who it was, they would definitely be found within a week. Then they could see who dared to have such a thought.
Did they not know that anyone who provoked Cao Baming would come to no good end?
At noon, the staff collected the locations of all surveillance cameras and their owners, with the clear intention of reviewing them to search.
Fortunately, there were a total of six surveillance cameras, spread across the surrounding streets. Three of them belonged to public areas, and two belonged to the villa area.
After contacting the relevant personnel, Cao Baming personally went to the location.
The boss understood the seriousness of the matter as soon as he heard it. Cao Baming's assets had surpassed the 500 billion mark, and he was the largest shareholder in multiple companies, possessing a vast amount of internal information.
He was far more than just an ordinary athlete.
The search for the surveillance footage would take some time, so Cao Baming arranged for a private investigator to extract the parts of the footage that featured him. After all, the surveillance covered several hours, and he didn't have the leisure to review frame by frame.
Before long, the task Cao Baming had assigned was completed. With many hands making light work, fifteen people working on it together proved to be highly efficient.
At this moment, the detective approached, his expression somewhat different.
"I found something. Take a look."
Cao Baming's eyes flickered, and he quickly sat up, as if he already knew that the person he was about to see in the surveillance footage would be the true traitor.
A ball of rage was already brewing in Cao Baming's chest. No matter who dared to have this thought, when they appeared before him, he would unleash this rage first before dealing with anything else.