Chapter 287: Handling

Chapter 287: Outmaneuvering

"I’ve got something to tell you."

Ye Xiaoxiao shared her suspicions about Ceng Xiaochun with Lu Hanchuan.

He thought it over after hearing her out.

It was all speculation—no hard evidence.

However, Lu Hanchuan fully trusted Ye Xiaoxiao's judgment and didn’t believe she was deliberately slandering Ceng Xiaochun due to personal conflicts.

"I'll handle this," Lu Hanchuan said directly.

"How do you plan to handle it? Arrest her outright?"

Lu Hanchuan chuckled. "Arresting someone without proof might be fast, but it would make it look like we’re ganging up on her. Since Ceng Xiaochun has been lingering around the research institute, why not let her walk into it?"

Ye Xiaoxiao understood his meaning.

Only Lu Hanchuan could pull this off.

The military and the institute didn’t answer to the same chain of command, so coordinating this required negotiation with the institute.

Soon, with Lu Hanchuan turning a blind eye, areas once off-limits were suddenly open to her.

The opportunity came quickly. During a research experiment, a small explosion occurred at the institute, injuring several researchers.

Medics rushed to the scene to treat the wounded.

Yang Juan, Ye Xiaoxiao, Li Zhen, and Ceng Xiaochun all went.

As Ye Xiaoxiao tended to the wounded, Ceng Xiaochun used the commotion to case the lab.

Her eyes eventually landed on scattered data sheets on the floor. Staying out of sight, she carefully picked them up and stuffed them into her uniform.

The blast was small, and no one was badly hurt.

They’d already scrubbed the place clean before Ye Xiaoxiao and the others arrived. Everything Ceng Xiaochun saw was a setup.

After the medical team finished treating the injured, the doctors and nurses withdrew.

The institute was locked down, armed guards at every turn.

Ceng Xiaochun’s heart pounded.

She was a native of China, and her record was spotless.

But during her studies, a stranger made her an offer—if she did jobs for them, she’d get paid big.

Her family was broke back then, and the money got her through school.

Moreover, they promised that for a few small favors, she’d gain more money than she could ever spend.

Even if things became untenable for her in the country, she could go abroad.

For a girl barely out of her teens, this temptation proved irresistible, and she couldn’t refuse, so she agreed to do their bidding.

As Ceng Xiaochun was lost in her memories, she suddenly noticed that the others walking ahead had stopped—right before the clinic's exit.

"Wh-what's happening?"

Yang Juan looked at the stuttering, nervous Ceng Xiaochun and reassured her, "It’s standard procedure."

Ceng Xiaochun: "A check?"

Yang Juan: "Yes, all research facility documents are classified. They need to prevent unauthorized materials from leaving, so inspections are necessary."

Yang Juan wanted to say that even they had undergone strict checks when entering.

But given the rushed circumstances, the inspection wasn't as thorough as usual.

Ceng Xiaochun had never expected such a procedure.

Still, she clung to faint hope—when they entered, they'd only given the medical kit a cursory check. Maybe it would be the same now.

But when the inspector asked her to remove her coat, she went completely rigid.

Ceng Xiaochun's mind raced with one thought: she couldn’t let them find what she was hiding.

With all eyes on her, there was no way to escape.

The guards at the door carried firearms.

Running would mean certain death.

The inspector had only been doing routine work, but seeing Ceng Xiaochun’s sudden change in expression, they immediately became alert.

"Comrade Ceng Xiaochun, please remove your coat."

Her trembling fingers fumbled with the buttons, her hands shaking from nerves.

The moment she unfastened them, an attendant yanked her coat off.

Inside the padded jacket was a pocket, containing four or five stolen schematics.

"What is this?"

"I-I don’t know anything!" Ceng Xiaochun truly wanted to flee now, but security personnel seized her and isolated her.

She wasn’t the first foreign spy to appear at the base, and the institute had protocols for this exact scenario.

As time passed and Ceng Xiaochun didn’t return, Yang Juan and Li Zhen were growing uneasy.

Only Ye Xiaoxiao understood—she’d been caught.

The protocol for handling spies was unclear; likely they’d report to the Ministry of State Security, interrogate her, and then sentence her.

They'd come in as a group of four, but only three left.

Li Zhen gripped Ye Xiaoxiao’s arm. "You knew about Ceng Xiaochun from the start?"

Yang Juan and Li Zhen had already realized why Ceng Xiaochun hadn’t reappeared.

It never occurred to them that a spy could appear in their midst, and they even found it hard to believe their own judgment.

Ye Xiaoxiao: "I only had suspicions before. Ceng Xiaochun's work habits were very different from others."

Li Zhen: "If we'd known she was a spy, we wouldn't have bothered being nice to her! And all the gossip in the base these days - if I weren't so strong-willed, I'd be suicidal by now. No! I'm applying for workers' comp."

Seeing Li Zhen still thinking about this, Ye Xiaoxiao felt she clearly needed no compensation.

Yang Juan reacted even more strongly than Li Zhen. "Comrade Ceng Xiaochun was actually a spy? How could a young girl do such things?"

Li Zhen curled her lip. "Why couldn't she? Does doing bad things depend on gender?"

Yang Juan's worldview took another hit. As a confirmed bachelor, he probably became even more afraid to pursue a girlfriend.

...

The Ceng Xiaochun incident remained contained.

But the base strengthened management and security. They added extra security checks to doors that used to be open. Even those unaware of the truth could sense the unusual atmosphere.

Some in the base knew Ceng Xiaochun's true identity.

Jiang Leyin was one of them.

She learned it from Wu Tao.

"Who knew Ceng Xiaochun was a spy? She came here just to steal research data. Luckily she hadn't been here long. If she'd stayed longer, who knows what might have happened."

Jiang Leyin was stunned by Wu Tao's words, and in her panic upset a bottle of rubbing alcohol.

Wu Tao hurried forward to check. "Are you alright?"

Jiang Leyin's voice cracked. "What did you just say? How could Ceng Xiaochun be a spy?"

Wu Tao: "She was caught in the act stealing research institute data charts. Who else but a spy would do such things?"

Then Wu Tao remembered something. "You two were pretty tight, weren't you? You'd better prepare - you'll probably get called in."

Jiang Leyin started sweating. "I had no idea she was a spy."

Jiang Leyin was indeed innocent, but when she first started hanging with Ceng Xiaochun for the wrong reasons, she should have considered that those who do bad things will get what's coming to them.