Chapter 86 Growing Increasingly Tense

Chapter 86 Growing Increasingly Tense

The only sound was the cars on the street outside; otherwise, it was eerily quiet.

An unusual silence.

Deng Kuan eyed the open cabinet panel, bent down, held his breath nervously, and peeked cautiously inside.

It was pitch black; he couldn’t see a thing.

He flicked on his small flashlight and quickly scanned the interior.

It was a small, windowless room, much like an office.

He ducked inside.

A row of bookshelves lined the wall, strewn with various documents. A large desk sat in the corner, adorned with a pen holder, stationery, letter paper, and—a telephone.

No wonder they’d never caught Long Jing using the office phone; he had been using the phone in this secret room to communicate with his superiors.

It seemed he had misjudged Long Jing.

The guy was a great actor; he’d nearly fooled him.

Footsteps echoed from outside. Deng Kuan swiftly and quietly shut the cabinet panel and hid in the secret room, standing against the wall.

Someone seemed to be tidying tools in the storage room. Not long after, the outside became quiet again, likely the janitor had left with the cleaning tools.

Deng Kuan, flashlight in hand, meticulously searched the secret room, trying not to move the items.

Most of the materials on the shelves were old archives, useless to him.

Two drawers sat beneath the desk. One was filled with outdated documents, and the other was locked.

He tried picking the lock with a wire, but it was too thick.

Deng Kuan decided to head back to the office for tools, and also to install the bug from the office phone here.

Leaving the storage room, he hurried downstairs to Special Operations Team 1’s office.

Since it was after hours, only the secretariat remained; the rest of the office was empty.

After removing the bug from the phone, he found a thinner wire in the toolbox and took out a spare small camera from the drawer cabinet. He then left the office, heading for the third floor.

As he approached the staircase, he heard the sound of sweeping on the stairs. To avoid catching the janitor’s eye, Deng Kuan walked to the other end and took a different staircase upstairs.

He made it back to the secret room unnoticed, installed the bug in the phone, and then used the thin wire to pick the lock on the drawer.

He opened the drawer, and inside was a stack of documents. He quickly flipped through them; they were all instructions from superiors to the Secret Service Bureau.

Further down, there was a photo.

It was a group photo of Special Operations Team 1 taken last year. In the photo were him, Wang Liu, Cui Yuan, and Long Jing.

Further down were the work plans of the Secret Service Bureau for the past few months. He clenched the flashlight in his mouth, took out the camera, and quickly photographed the work plan.

Under the work plan were some newspapers, strangely all reporting on Cui Yuan’s assault and imprisonment.

Could Long Jing already know that Cui Yuan had been turned by him?

Otherwise, why would he bother collecting these reports?

If Longjing knew that Cui Yuan had been turned against them, it meant that Longjing also knew Deng Kuan's true identity.

Deng Kuan's heart raced with unease, but he had no time to dwell on it. He had to keep searching, and fast.

The drawer held no other documents, but at the very back, there was a velvet box. He took it out and opened it, finding a gold watch and a gold pen inside.

He snapped photos of each item and then put everything back in place.

Just as he was on the verge of leaving the secret room, there was noise again from the storage room outside.

The janitor was back, tidying up the tools outside.

Then he heard a chair being dragged. For the next couple of minutes, all was still, but the janitor didn't seem to have left, as Deng Kuan didn't hear the sound of a door closing.

He waited a bit longer.

Sure enough, the faint scent of smoke drifted in from outside.

Looks like the old janitor had wrapped up his work and was now indulging in his smoking habit in the storage room.

Deng Kuan checked his watch anxiously. He'd already wasted too much time, and he was worried that Longjing might come looking for him.

But in this situation, all he could do was wait.

After roughly ten more minutes, he finally heard the sound of a chair being moved outside, followed by a "bang" as the door closed.

Deng Kuan held his breath a little longer before sliding the cabinet panel back into place and stepping out of the secret room.

He exited the storage room and was about to go downstairs when he noticed someone coming up the stairs.

It looked like Longjing.

Deng Kuan silently doubled back and then, as fast as he could, darted to the other staircase entrance, heading down to the second floor to the restroom.

After roughly three minutes, he heard footsteps outside, and only then did Deng Kuan flush the toilet and come out.

"Aha, there you are!" Longjing stood at the restroom door, smiling at Deng Kuan. "We were waiting for you, and Brother Six asked me to come check. Thought you might have taken a dive into the toilet."

Deng Kuan adjusted his belt, which he had just fastened, and went to wash his hands while explaining, "The other restroom was taken, so I came here. I don't know if it was the greasy lunch, but my stomach was doing somersaults!"

Longjing didn't seem suspicious. "I'll get you some porridge later to settle your stomach."

"Guess I'm stuck with porridge tonight," Deng Kuan replied, glancing at Longjing. For some reason, at that moment, Longjing looked like a leading man on stage.

Deng Kuan sighed inwardly. The eagle truly was something else; he had underestimated him before.

*

Ms. Guan and Lin Yufan were going over last month's accounts in the living room.

Actually, Lin Yufan just skimmed through them. The household accounts were always the same few major items, nothing worth scrutinizing.

The sound of a car came from outside, probably Zhao Zhiao returning.

Fifteen minutes later, Ms. Guan came out of the living room with the account book. As she passed the study, Zhao Zhiao was already sitting inside.

Ms. Guan knocked and entered the study.

She detailed the latest findings about Thorn to Zhao Zhiao.

Finally, there was progress. Zhao Zhiao nodded, "It seems Longjing is undoubtedly the Eagle."

"He must have been using the phone in the secret room to communicate, which is why we didn't intercept it before," Ms. Guan took out a photo from her pocket and handed it to Zhao Zhiao.

She said, "This is the schedule of the Secret Service Bureau's plans for June and July that Thorn photographed in the secret room. The transportation of materials aligns with our surveillance. There are two transportation plans for August, one on the 7th and another on the 12th. The 12th is likely when the most critical batch of materials will be transported."

Zhao Zhiao glanced at the schedule and noticed a small circle drawn next to the plan for August 12th.

"That's possible. However, their recent plans have been changing frequently. Have Yang Liu keep a close eye on it."

Ms. Guan replied, "Yang Liu has arranged for someone to monitor at all times."

"There's one more thing," Ms. Guan handed over another photo, "Take a look at this. The Eagle kept a newspaper report about Cui Yuan's arrest and imprisonment."

Zhao Zhiao immediately realized, "Thorn and Cui Yuan might be compromised!"

Ms. Guan sighed, "Yes, and they’ve likely been exposed for a while. The newspaper reports are from several months ago. But the Eagle hasn't taken any action against Thorn yet."

The Eagle might be playing the same game as us. He wants to use Deng Kuan to dig out more of our connections!"

He paused, deep in thought. Could it be that the Eagle has already woven a net, waiting to catch them all at once?!

Zhao Zhiao voiced his speculation.

Ms. Guan gave a slight nod, "That's possible. Including this time when Deng Kuan entered the secret room and took photos of the so-called plan."

"But if it was intentional, the Eagle should have removed the report about Cui Yuan beforehand. Why did he let Thorn see that he kept the report about Cui Yuan?" This was something Zhao Zhiao couldn't figure out.

Ms. Guan paced back and forth, thinking, "Is it possible that Cui Yuan is still under observation? He hasn't joined the party and isn't entirely one of us, but he manages over a hundred people in the Bamboo Chapter. His influence is significant. The Eagle deliberately wants us to know that Cui Yuan has been exposed, hoping we would send Cui Yuan away, thus weakening our strength without a fight!"

Ms. Guan was quick on the uptake. Zhao Zhiao was slightly impressed, "That's a new perspective."

"Currently, Cui Yuan is a small leader in the Bamboo Chapter. In fact, the Secret Service Bureau can't do much to Cui Yuan, and the Nationalist Party doesn't want to offend the Hongmen. These local factions are a headache."

"So, Cui Yuan is safe, but Thorn is in more danger. Because we don't know when they will close the net. Once they do, the first person they will target is likely Thorn."

Ms. Guan said, "Thorn refuses to leave. I've already told him to be extra cautious. If he senses any danger, he should go to the safe house. As for Cui Yuan, Thorn has already contacted him, telling him to watch out for Longjing."

The two continued to discuss. Zhao Zhiao studied the two photos in his hand. If this was a trap, then the circle on the schedule must have been deliberately drawn by the Eagle.

Not the 12th, but the 7th!

Ms. Guan agreed it was probably August 7th.

After finishing their discussion, Ms. Guan left.

Zhao Zhiao sat in his chair, piecing together his thoughts and clues.

As he was pondering, he heard Lin Yufan's footsteps. He got up and opened the door for her.

Lin Yufan smiled at him, "How did you know it was me?"

"How could I not know? Everyone's footsteps are different."

Lin Yufan entered the study and asked him, "Our movie’s made some money. We're organizing a trip for the staff. Do you want to come with me?"

Zhao Zhiao asked, "Where to?"

"To avoid taking up everyone's weekend rest time, we chose a weekday to go to the seaside. We’ll go fishing, and the chef will prepare our catch when we get back."

"How are we supposed to go out to sea?" Zhao Zhiao looked at his wife's bulging belly. "It’s not safe for you in your condition."

"We’ve rented a yacht and some fishing boats over at Donghua Creek. You can go fishing or cast nets..."

Before she could finish, Zhao Zhiao interrupted, "No way, it’s too dangerous. What if a wave knocks you off balance?"

"I’m not going out to sea. I’ll just stroll along the beach, grab some seafood, and you can come with me."

Zhao Zhiao couldn’t refuse, but he really didn’t want to go with so many people. "Here’s an idea: I’ll take you there, you can check out how they’re having fun, and then we’ll head somewhere else for our own fun."

Lin Yufan said, "It’s more fun and lively when everyone’s together."

"To them, you’re the boss, and I’m the big shot. Do you think they’ll relax and have fun with us around? You might enjoy it, but others probably won’t." Zhao Zhiao, having been in a high position for a long time, knew very well that employees don’t like to play with their bosses.

Even at home, everyone except Lin Yufan is a bit intimidated by him.

When he’s not around, everyone seems happier and more relaxed.

Lin Yufan understood this point very well: "Yeah, your employees are scared of you. But I get along great with my employees—I’m not like you. When I’m there, I’m more generous than Director Chen, and they really enjoy themselves."

Zhao Zhiao, who was being looked down upon, sighed helplessly: "Then just give them enough money and step back—that’s what a boss should do!"

Lin Yufan laughed, "If I weren’t pregnant and couldn’t join them, I wouldn’t be listening to you."

So his wife agreed?

Zhao Zhiao hugged her from behind, his hand gently resting on her belly: "With that belly, you’re only fit to hang out with me."

Play what? Lin Yufan knew exactly what he meant.

She rolled her eyes at him: "You’re impossible! Ouch!"

She suddenly stopped moving.

"What’s wrong?"

"Your baby just kicked me!"

Zhao Zhiao quickly made her sit down. He caressed her belly and looked closely. The slightly protruding belly was now calm again.

"Next time the little one kicks, grab my hand and say hi to the baby."

"You’ve got to catch it in the moment." Lin Yufan stood up with a smile, "I’m done chatting—I haven’t finished my article yet."

Zhao Zhiao asked curiously, "How many pen names are you using to submit articles?"

"I won’t tell you."

"Don’t overdo it. There are plenty of ways to handle those stuffy writers..."

Lin Yufan didn’t let him interfere: "Don’t meddle in my affairs."

Zhao Zhiao: "..."

His wife might seem gentle and quiet, but she’s got a spine of steel. Whoever provokes her knows, whoever provokes her is in trouble.

*

Chui Zhu was reviewing manuscripts in the office. He recently discovered a new writer with the pen name "Gu Pingan," whose short stories were extraordinary!

He had already received three short story submissions from Gu Pingan, used two of them, and planned to publish the remaining one in other magazines of Muir Media.

"It's a shame to waste such literary talent on other magazines," Chui Zhu said to the editor below.

The editor replied, "It can't be helped. Having the same pen name appear repeatedly in Fenghua Magazine isn't ideal. We should suggest he write a serialized novel instead."

Chui Zhu hesitated for a moment, "Serialized novel?"

"Right, Lian Jin's serialization is ending in two more issues. Why not ask Gu Pingan if he'd be willing to write a serialized novel? If he agrees, that would be best. His writing is just as good as Lian Jin's, if not better, but the remuneration is only one-third of Lian Jin's, saving us a lot of money."

With the pressure to cut costs, Chui Zhu thought it was worth a shot.

*

After showering and getting dressed, Deng Kuan took out his pistols, one strapped to his waist and the other placed under his pillow.

Since discovering Long Jing's true identity, he had to be vigilant at all times. After all, Long Jing almost lived and worked with him. If Long Jing made a move, it would be all too easy.

Now it's just a matter of waiting for the important transfer supplies to arrive at the port, and he will uproot this Long Jing together.

Knock, knock, knock!

Knock, knock, knock, knock!

"Kuan! Kuan!" It was Long Jing knocking at the door.

Deng Kuan asked, "What's the matter?"

"You asleep?"

Deng Kuan gently touched his gun and came to the door, "Just got into bed."

"We're heading out for a late-night bite, you in?"

"Nah, I'm beat."

"Get some rest then. I'll go eat with Brother Liu and the others."

Soon after, the dormitory door closed.

Half an hour later.

*

Cai Lao was slurping down a big bowl of lard noodles in a civilian house not far from the Hong Kong office, while his buddy Xiao Gong, wearing headphones, monitored the bug.

Suddenly, a voice crackled through the headphones.

Xiao Gong sat up straight and hit the record button.

Seeing this, Cai Lao rushed over, pressing his ear to Xiao Gong's headphones to listen in.

A male voice came through the headphones, "It's all set. After the transfer supplies arrive at the port, they will be directly transported to the Red Sand Bay dock for loading. Numbers 7 and 12 are decoys; the real target is number 8. If someone hijacks the ship on number 7, we will change the plan immediately."

The voice on the other side was very faint, "What plan?"

"Switch to boarding at the Pearl River Estuary. Although there are more communists there, they all think the supplies are going through Hong Kong City. This time we will catch them off guard."

"Understood."

"On the 7th, wait for my signal."

Soon, the call ended.

Cai Lao and Xiao Kong listened to the recording again. The next day, while delivering vegetables to the Zhao family garden, he brought the tape to Ms. Guan.

*

Zhao Zhiáo came out of the gym, took a towel from A Qian, and wiped off his sweat.

He ran into Ms. Guan, who was holding the account book and looking for him: "Sir, Madam asked me to show you this month’s account book."

Lin Yufan was in charge of the household accounts, so it wasn’t usually necessary to show them to Zhao Zhiáo.

He knew Ms. Guan had something to discuss. "Let's talk in the study."

At the same time, he dismissed A Qian: "Go and tell Kang Nian to come over in half an hour—I have something to discuss with him."

Once in the study, Ms. Guan closed the door and handed the tape to Zhao Zhiáo: "There’s movement. Eagle made a call to Guangzhou."

In this era, Hong Kong and Haicheng were not connected by phone, but Hong Kong and Guangzhou were—though there were very few available lines.

After listening to the recording, Zhao Zhiáo analyzed: "Why wouldn’t they use coded telegrams for something this important?"

"Right. It’s too straightforward."

"If, as we previously speculated, this is all a trap, I suspect Eagle is misleading us, making us think that if we go to Hongsha Bay Pier to hijack the ship on August 7th, the important supplies on the 8th will be directly transported from the Pearl River Estuary."

Ms. Guan: "So, you think these important supplies are still being transferred from Hong Kong on the 7th?"

Zhao Zhiáo slightly frowned: "Don’t jump to conclusions; let’s think it over—there might be more to it."

After all, Eagle’s a sly one—when he says 1, it’s never 1, and even 2 might not be 2.

There was still time for them to synthesize information from various sources and analyze it.

As soon as Ms. Guan left, Kang Nian showed up.

Zhao Zhiáo and Kang Nian went over the latest developments at the trading company. As the Liberation War (the Chinese Civil War) drew closer to the south, various supplies in Hong Kong had become increasingly scarce. What was once provided by the mainland was now severely insufficient, so they had to start importing from Southeast Asia, which significantly increased transportation costs.

After finishing their work discussion, Zhao Zhiáo returned to the bedroom. Lin Yufan had already gotten up, had just finished her morning routine, and was putting on moisturizer.

Today, the entire staff from the publishing house and the film company were going to the beach for a day out. Lin Yufan would only stay for a short while before she and Zhao Zhiáo would head to their beachside villa for some alone time.

Zhao Zhiáo said, "I’ll go to the company first, and I’ll meet you at Donghua Stream at noon."

"Alright. Where will you have lunch?"

"I’ll eat at the villa. Feel free to grab a bite with them first; don’t go hungry."

After Zhao Zhiáo finished showering and left, Lin Yufan had breakfast. She and Lin Yuwu didn’t head straight to Donghua Stream but first went to the teahouse near Turtleback Mountain to meet with Zhang Wei.

Turtleback Mountain had already been flattened by a third, and the construction progress was moving quickly.

Lin Yufan usually wouldn’t bother with these meetings, but today’s session was crucial to finalize how the ownership stakes would be allocated, so she decided to join.

Besides Lin Yufan and Zhang Wei from Desheng Real Estate, the second son of the Li family, who was with Hong Kong Airport, was also present at the meeting.

Their commercial district was named "Delin Commercial Center." Desheng Real Estate held the largest share, followed by Lin Yufan, with Hong Kong Airport being the third stakeholder.

Lin Yufan was allocated a 7-story commercial building, two 5-story residential buildings, and 12 shops.

Hong Kong Airport invested in one commercial building for office and ticketing purposes.

The remaining properties belong to Desheng Real Estate.

The on-site discussion went smoothly, and Zhang Wei from Desheng Real Estate did his best to accommodate President Lin's preferences regarding which building she would choose.

After wrapping up the business and ending the meeting, everyone walked out together.

Zhang Wei asked Lin Yufan, "President Lin, have you checked out Fenghua Magazine lately?"

Lin Yufan dodged the question, asking, "Why do you ask?"

Zhang Wei: "Have you read Fan Yi's The Peacock Flies Southwest?"

Caught off guard, Lin Yufan grew wary: "I’ve skimmed through it, but not in detail."

"Fan Yi’s style is nothing like yours, but he has some habits in word usage and the use of inverted sentences that are very similar to yours."

Lin Yufan: "!"

She’d gone out of her way to be distinct.

Aside from those in the know, no one else had picked up on it.

Even Wang Muxun and Hui Yan hadn’t noticed.

Zhang Wei, as a devoted reader, is sharp.

Zhang Wei: "I think he’s ripping you off!"

Lin Yufan: "..."

Zhang Wei suggested: "Take a closer look when you get back. If you agree he’s copying you, you should call him out to protect your work."

Lin Yufan was still processing how to reply, so she could only say, "I’ll look into it."

He wanted to defend her rights: "As a reader, I will definitely stand by your side, and I can also help you when the time comes."

That’s not necessary!

Lin Yufan smiled awkwardly: "It’s no big deal. I’ll look into it."

"Alright, you look into it first."

As they walked out, Tie Long was already holding the car door open for Lin Yufan.

Lin Yuwu, wrapping up his chat with Second Young Master Li, hurried over.

They hopped in the car and made their way to Donghuayong.

On the way, Lin Yuwu smiled and said, "Second Young Master Li is a character. The whole airport is under the Li family’s control. The three brothers each take charge of one area: one is responsible for operations, one for technology, and one for business. Each has their own role."

Lin Yufan gave a small smile and stayed quiet, as she was still thinking about what Zhang Wei had just said.

They reached the Donghuayong seaside close to noon.

Everyone gathered in the open area outside a restaurant. The folks who’d gone fishing with the locals had already hauled in a good catch.

He Xiaoqing saw her and hurried over: "Sis Fan, what took you so long? Wang Muxun and A Tang came back and went out to sea with the fishermen again. They wanted to catch sea bream but didn’t succeed, so they were unwilling to give up."

Hui Yan was grilling outdoors outside the shed and called out to Lin Yufan: "President, come over and sit down. I’ll throw a big shrimp on the grill for you."

Lin Yuwu came over: "My sister doesn’t like shrimp."

Lin Yufan changed her mind: "I can have one."

After eating some barbecue and fish porridge at the seaside restaurant, around 1 PM, Zhao Zhiao came to get Lin Yufan.

The seaside villa they stayed in today was bought by Zhao Zhiao last year.

After buying it, they renovated it, but they’d never stayed there.

Their stuff was brought over by the maid that morning.

There were staff for security and cleaning here, and they stayed out of the way when Zhao Zhiao and Lin Yufan arrived.

After lunch, Zhao Zhiao showed her around.

The villa had two floors and a loft, not too big, but there was a large garden at the back.

The place was great, perfect for a getaway, with a view of the sea in front and mountains at the back.

Just a short walk from the house was a small beach.

The sand was soft and smooth, like silk.

Walking barefoot on the warm sand felt like a foot massage.

They hung out on the beach all afternoon, first trying to dig for crabs but not finding any, then collecting a basket of clams.

Lin Yufan got hooked on collecting them, and she could still bend over easily since her belly wasn’t too big yet.

Zhao Zhiao followed her with the bamboo basket. Since they didn’t get out much, he didn’t rush her.

She asked, "How do we cook these clams?"

Zhao Zhiao also didn’t know: "The kitchen will take care of it."

Lin Yufan worried, "Will there be sand in them?"

"There might be. If we soak them in seawater overnight, they’ll spit out the sand. We’ll eat them tomorrow. But they’re mostly shells, so there’s not much meat."

The sun was almost setting when they started heading back.

Upon returning to the villa, Zhao Zhiao went to hand the clams over to the kitchen, while Lin Yufan went to take a shower first.

Entering the bathroom, she discovered a soaking pool as big as two or three bathtubs.

The water wasn’t too hot, just the right temperature for this season.

She took off her clothes and soaked in, feeling comfortable all over, with all her fatigue gone!

Such a nice place, and Zhao Zhiao hadn’t even told her about it when he bought it; they should have come to play here earlier.

Not long after, she heard the door open, and Zhao Zhiao came in, asking, "How is it? Is this soaking pool comfortable?"

Lin Yufan opened her eyes: "Comfortable. Where did the hot spring come from?"

"It’s not a hot spring, it’s water heated by a boiler. They only heated it when we arrived, but it’s almost the same as a hot spring."

Lin Yufan watched as he took off his clothes and walked over.

She suddenly remembered Zhang Wei: "It’s astonishing that Zhang Wei noticed how similar Fan Yi’s word choice is to mine."

Zhao Zhiao knew Zhang Wei’s father well and had met Zhang Wei a few times. Although Zhang Wei was only a few years younger than him, Zhao Zhiao still saw him as a kid.

"Kids are sensitive to everything—smell, taste, even vocabulary." Saying this, he stepped into the hot tub.

The water in the tub spilled over instantly.

It’s hard to get Zhao Zhiao to compliment anyone.

She joked, "Zhang Wei would be livid if he heard this. What you see as a weakness is actually a strength."

"Let’s not talk about others anymore..." Zhao Zhiao massaged her legs, slowly moving upward. They’d tried this in water before, but the bathtub at home was too cramped, so it never felt quite right. Today, they could truly enjoy it.

She was nearly six months pregnant, and her body had changed a lot lately. Before, his hand fit perfectly, but now one hand wasn’t enough.

He sank into the water, holding her with both hands, his hunger insatiable.

There were steps in the tub to sit on. She floated halfway, her hands propped on the steps.

The water made breathing harder, but it was his sudden press that really took her breath away, causing the water in the tub to turn into roaring waves, crashing against the sides.

Wave after wave, the water calmed, softening the rhythm.

But the gentleness was only on the outside, not inside. Inside, it was still fierce and unstoppable, squeezed and twisted, unable to be restrained.

The gurgling sounds of the water were drowned out by the splashing against the sides of the tub, and the hot spring water gradually became scalding.

She sighed inwardly, savoring the comfort of the water.