Not only was Xiao He shocked, but the other members of the Qian family who came to pick him up were also too stunned for words. Qian Wenhao's mother burst into tears instantly, hugging her son and unable to speak for a long while.

Father Qian also looked grave, sternly asking Qian Wenhao if he had suffered a lot inside and if the Police's treatment was poor. However, Qian Wenhao didn't say a word, only shaking his head repeatedly and pulling his parents' hands as he headed out, looking very embarrassed to talk in public.

Father Qian was naturally very angry. After all, he had clearly pulled some strings, and besides, Qian Wenhao had only been cooperating with the investigation from start to finish and wasn't a criminal. This situation was really not right, so he prepared to head back in a huff: "I'm going to ask Officer Mi. What era is this? They actually mistreated an innocent citizen who was cooperating with the investigation—"

But his agitated words were quickly interrupted by Elder Qian from behind: "Enough, take him home first. Don't make a scene here."

Mother Qian also nodded, really not wanting to stay out there any longer to avoid making Qian Wenhao feel even more uncomfortable.

At this point, Qian Wenhao also spoke up, explaining on behalf of the Police: "It's not their fault. Officer Mi has already taken very good care of me. It's my own problem."

He was the one who couldn't eat or sleep.

It had nothing to do with the Police.

Seeing this, the Qian family didn't know what else to say. They could only quickly finish the procedures, let Qian Wenhao step over a brazier to ward off bad luck, and then hurriedly lead him away.

Xiao He was squeezed into the outer circle. He didn't know the other members of the Qian family and felt awkward about pushing his way in to greet Elder Qian, so he simply waited at a modest distance, wondering if he should follow the Qian family home for dinner.

Given the current situation, it seemed a bit inconvenient, didn't it?

While Xiao He was lost in thought, a woman's steady voice came from behind him: "You are Xiao He?"

Xiao He turned around and saw a middle-aged female officer standing on the steps behind him, walking toward him.

This was the female officer he had seen at the Restoration Center earlier.

At that time, they had only passed each other by without speaking or even making eye contact. Xiao He hadn't expected her to suddenly approach and strike up a conversation.

"That's me." Xiao He nodded politely. "Hello, officer! Is there something you need?"

Officer Chen looked Xiao He up and down, then turned her gaze back to the Qian family members who were getting into their cars. She asked, "You don't seem very close to the rest of the Qian family, so are you a friend of Qian Wenhao's?"

Qian Wenhao and Xiao He seemed more like peers.

Xiao He gave a sheepish laugh. "Haha, actually, I'm not that familiar with Qian Wenhao either. I'm quite close to Elder Qian. I was lucky enough to help out a little this time, so when I heard Qian Wenhao was being released, I came along to see how he was doing."

"Helped out a little?"

"It was that matter at the Restoration Center last time; we crossed paths then," Xiao He explained. "I helped provide some sample materials of Emperor Chen's authentic work."

"I know." Officer Chen nodded slightly. "After you left, Professor Ye spoke very highly of you, and Engineer Wang was also very interested in your company's AI system. Thanks to your help, our investigation achieved a key breakthrough."

Xiao He simply smiled. "Just doing what I could."

"Then you've been a great help."

Officer Chen said meaningfully.

Xiao He didn't say anything, just looked at the female officer calmly, as if he hadn't noticed any hidden meaning, and accepted the praise graciously.

Officer Chen narrowed her eyes, staring intently at the young man. After a moment of silence, she suddenly changed the subject: "However, I wonder if you have plans for further research on this AI system of yours?"

She asked with interest, "Although our Police investigation system already has fairly sophisticated AI functions, after hearing Professor Ye's description of your... Xiaohei AI system, I'm a bit curious. What is its future development path? Have you considered expanding into the field of criminal investigation?"

In fact, there were already very advanced AI systems for facial recognition and identifying things like handwriting and fingerprints. Even the AI-assisted appraisal machine at the Restoration Center was derived from their Police AI recognition systems.

But there are different levels of intelligence.

Their current technology was mostly limited to 'recognition' and 'differentiation'. According to Professor Ye's description, the AI system Xiao He used temporarily was capable of more human-like deep thinking and judgment, closer to the cognitive process of human appraisal experts, and could even analyze the logic of changes under different circumstances.

This was also why Xiao He's system could identify the key issue faster and conclude that the work at the Art Center was likely a forgery.

After hearing about this, Officer Chen had firmly remembered the name Heguang Technology and Xiao He.

Xiao He nodded. "Our company will attempt to conduct research and development in those directions next. If we achieve results, we are willing to cooperate with the Police to help solve more cases."

He just never imagined that this 'cheat' developed for committing crimes would end up being used entirely against 'his own people'.

Since the news of the drone-assisted search and rescue in the snowy mountains broke, Heguang Technology had already collaborated with several major drone manufacturers. They had officially begun participating in search and rescue missions and had achieved impressive results.

Meanwhile, the special versions of the drones that weren't publicly available had been completely bought out by the Rong City Military Region and were gradually being distributed elsewhere.

After all, the southwest region was mountainous with many areas of extreme weather. Those specially upgraded drones were a perfect fit for their conditions.

Although Heguang Technology wasn't directly involved in production, simply earning from profit-sharing and technical licensing had already netted them a fortune, making it a very stable long-term business.

As for where that batch of drones eventually ended up... well, that wasn't their concern.

By now, Xiao He had just met Professor Ye, who wanted his company to further develop AI for antique appraisal, and now here was Officer Chen, who wanted them to stride forward into the field of criminal investigation.

Xiao He was a bit amused by the irony.

Officer Chen didn't intend to chat further and took out a Police business card, handing it to Xiao He. "I forgot to introduce myself. My surname is Chen, and I'm one of the people in charge of the case involving the destruction of Emperor Chen's authentic work. If you find any clues, you can contact me."

"It looks like the Qian family's car is waiting for you? I won't keep you then."

She then turned and walked back toward the Police station.

Xiao He gripped the business card, watching her walk away thoughtfully.

"Teacher Xiao!"

The car specifically waiting for him belonged to one of Elder Qian's students. Although Elder Qian had been busy with Qian Wenhao's situation, he hadn't forgotten to tell his student to pick up Xiao He. After all, Xiao He had truly been a big help this time by providing critical materials, and the Qian family was sincere in inviting him to their home.

So, even though the others had already left, Elder Qian's student was still waiting by the roadside, waving at Xiao He with a smile.

Xiao He put the business card away and walked over.