“You used to be a spokesperson for your country, but now you have been wronged by that job. It’s their loss that they don’t want you. Sooner or later, you will astound them and make them deeply regret dismissing you.”
Li Dexi was becoming increasingly more satisfied with Bai Shuang.
Most importantly, Bai Shuang was the niece of the new prime minister of the Huaxia Empire.
There was no need for him to elaborate any further on this relationship since she would be able to access high-level state secrets in the future.
Even if Bai Shuang could not serve in a government agency herself, it would only take mere minutes to gather information with her uncle’s connections.
Li Dexi was very emotional as he spoke to Bai Shuang about her father, Bai Yusheng.
“…I am an old friend of your father’s. We have cherished each other for so many years and knew each other very well. I helped you and him successfully escape from the Huaxia Empire and begin a beautiful and liberated life. It was a pity that Huo Shaoheng was so cruel – your father had obviously gone abroad already, but he still insisted on hunting your father down and taking Bai Yusheng’s life with his own hands.”
Bai Shuang was silent, and the expression on her face was even more heartbroken than before.
Li Dexi carefully watched her reaction and patted her hand. “My dear, don’t be sad, don’t be sad. Your father didn’t die in vain. With the intelligence he provided, we destroyed nearly sixty-three branches of the Huaxia Empire system implemented in North America and eliminated almost a hundred people. This was a rare victory for our CIA in recent years,” he said.
It was this victory that led him to get promoted to the secret second-in-command of the CIA. He was mainly in charge of Europe and Asia.
“… You wiped out so many people?” Bai Shuang looked surprised, her fingers trembling slightly as she asked, “Did you… arrest them all?”
“Haha, arrest them? Our CIA has a limited number of prison cells. We wouldn’t have enough prison cells to lock up that many people…” Li Dexi revealed a mysterious smile.
Bai Shuang’s heart was pounding, but she tried her best to contain the surprise and fear. She replied as calmly as possible, saying, “…Understood.”
“Take care.” Li Dexi patted her on the shoulder and grinned to reveal his pearly white dentures. “A dog is never born from a tiger. I will wait to see your achievements surpass your father.”
“Surpass my father’s achievements?” Bai Shuang felt very conflicted. “I think that would be difficult…”
“It’s not difficult, it’s not difficult.” Li Dexi was also very excited. “As long as you can get rid of Huo Shaoheng, your achievements will definitely surpass your father’s! When the time comes, I will give you credit and, at the very least, offer you the position of Director of the Asian Liaison Office.”
Bai Shuang smiled and started bargaining with him. “Mr. Li Dexi, do you think I am a fool? Although I am going to kill Huo Shaoheng to avenge my father, would killing him only be worth the position as the Director of the Asian Liaison Office? Hehe, I think I should consider your offer carefully…”
Li Dexi was rendered speechless by Bai Shuang, but he recovered quickly and said with a smile, “You are right. If Huo Shaoheng is really taken out, then the position of Director would truly be a disservice to you. Don’t worry, the position of the Director of the Asian Intelligence Department is the one that best coincides with your identity and achievements!”
Bai Shuang finally nodded slightly and said with a calm expression, “Although there is still a certain distance from my expectations, we have already had an excellent start.” Then, she reached out to Li Dexi and said, “Mr. Li Dexi, I look forward to working with you.”
“I look forward to working with you, too.” Li Dexi shook her hand.
They continued to discuss the problem of passing the baton in the car.
They were finally about to arrive at the hotel where Bai Shuang was staying, as Li Dexi said, “After you help them find that object, remember to find a chance to take a photo and send it back to us.”
“I will try my best.” Bai Shuang nodded. “And I don’t know how big the thing is, or if it will make them suspicious when I take pictures,” she answered.
“Trust me; this thing shouldn’t be big. It’s only the size of a few stacks of A4 papers.” Li Dexi seemed to be very familiar with it.
Bai Shuang said curiously, “You speak as if you have seen that thing before…”
“I did see it the year I first went to Europe,” Li Dexi recalled emotionally. He became lost in his memories for a moment.
But at that time, he had just been a rookie within the CIA and had no idea that he would become the secret mastermind in the years to come…
When he was cleaning the room one time, he accidentally saw the data classified as top secret by the Gestapo.
It was only the size of a few thin pages and had some data graphics on it.
Later, he would learn that those were several sets of graphic figures illustrating human DNA and ribonucleic acid, followed by densely packed lines of data.
Their scientists regarded it as a treasure, so they spent several days and nights reading the information on those pages without stopping to eat or sleep.
Because it was highly confidential, the Gestapo headquarters prohibited the materials from being taken out of the closely guarded data vault.
Even the copies of the data had to be placed in the room next door, making it impossible to take out of the military base.
Scientists who came to borrow it exhausted all ideas but failed to take the data away.
Some of them tried to memorize the entirety of the data, but with so many numbers, only one-quarter of the content was memorized.
With a quarter of the content memorized, they cooperated with the CIA’s secret laboratory decades later to create a viral genetic weapon specifically targeting the Huaxia people. It spread through the air and nearly plunged a large country into hysteria and panic…
Li Dexi recalled this and shook his head regretfully.
It was a pity. If they had the complete set of data, that viral pandemic would not have been resolved by the Chinese Empire in the end.
The pandemic only lasted for half a year before it was completely controlled. Allegedly, a vaccine was developed…
Li Dexi composed himself as he thought of the top-secret data he would soon possess. Huo Shaoheng was about to become history, and Gu Nianzhi was going to fall into Li Dexi’s hands as well. His wrinkled face revealed a subtle but unnatural flush from the excitement.
Even an espionage leader who had been scheming for many years could not remain calm in the face of such a huge temptation.
As long as he succeeded, he would become the top figure in the history of international spies. When the time came, it would be his turn to take the position as the head of the CIA.
“Mr. Li Dexi?” Bai Shuang saw Li Dexi suddenly stop speaking and reminded him, “I heard that they have limited time in Cape Town. You must prepare early.”
Li Dexi snapped back to reality. “It’s okay. We will alert you of the specific time of action once you confirm Huo Shaoheng’s whereabouts,” he said.
Bai Shuang agreed, saying, “You’d better be present when the time comes. With Huo Shaoheng’s level of ability and cunning, I don’t think anyone else among your organization can preside over this operation.”
“It doesn’t matter. I will try my best to show up. Don’t become doubtful if I can’t be present, because I will make sure that this mission will succeed.” Li Dexi smiled mysteriously and signaled for Bai Shuang to get out of the car.
Bai Shuang shrugged indifferently. “I already told you everything I should have told you, and I have done everything I should have done. If I cannot succeed this time around, can you guarantee that I will safely escape?”
“Of course. I have made ample arrangements,” Li Dexi promised. He immediately sent the contacts of some of the personnel he had arranged in the shadows to Bai Shuang’s phone, saying, “You can see for yourself. If I can’t come by then and if they can’t stop Huo Shaoheng, you can also retreat with these people.”
“Okay.” Bai Shuang looked at her phone and sent the information to her inbox. “I will wait for your good news.”
…
When Bai Shuang returned to her hotel room, Gu Nianzhi and Zhao Liangze had also returned to the courtyard of the apartment-style hotel they were renting.
Gu Nianzhi hadn’t spoken the whole way back because she had only those two numbers on her mind.
“The 86 words – if this clue points to the address, 86 Financial Street, then what do the 365 letters represent?” Gu Nianzhi muttered to herself, pushing the door open and walking in.
Huo Shaoheng came out of the dining room. “You’re back?” he asked.
Gu Nianzhi’s eyes lit up. “When did you come?!”
“I came back a bit earlier than you.” Huo Shaoheng curled his lips and watched Gu Nianzhi rush into his arms like a bird soaring toward a forest.
Opening his arms to catch her, Huo Shaoheng smiled and asked, “…Little Ze is still here, aren’t you shy?”
“Brother Ze is not an outsider.” Gu Nianzhi nuzzled her body in Huo Shaoheng’s arms without hesitation. “He wouldn’t mind. Brother Ze, isn’t that right??”
Gu Nianzhi looked back at Zhao Liangze with a smile.
Zhao Liangze covered his eyes with his hands, fumbling as he walked to his room. “Go on! Go on! Just pretend that I don’t exist!” he said.
“Okay, come back here. I have something to say.” Huo Shaoheng turned and walked toward the master bedroom.
Gu Nianzhi, “…”
Zhao Liangze, “…”
The two still followed him.
After they entered the room, Huo Shaoheng closed the door and walked to the bed. Sitting down as usual, he patted the place beside him and said to Gu Nianzhi, “Sit down.”
Gu Nianzhi quickly sat down next to him.
Zhao Liangze sat on the single-seater sofa by the bed.
Huo Shaoheng began to talk about the results of the secret investigation he had been performing over the last two days.
“Someone has indeed contacted Bai Shuang in the last few days, and the situation is not optimistic.” Huo Shaoheng’s expression became serious. “And I also found out that a shipment of guns and ammunition mysteriously changed hands on the black market in Cape Town recently. Based on past experience, this is another case indicating mercenary activity.”
Generally, mercenaries did not bring their weapons into the country by directly carrying it on their persons. After arriving in the country, they would find the local gun market or the illegal gun market to purchase weapons.
Zhao Liangze’s frown was so deep he could trap mosquitoes in the wrinkles on his forehead.
He kicked angrily, waved his fists, and said, “No way! I can’t let Bai Shuang continue making mistakes!”
Huo Shaoheng crossed his arms and replied sternly, “Little Ze, it’s better if you worry more about your own safety. If there is actually a problem with Bai Shuang, then, according to the results of the investigation, we are truly trapped without any way to escape.”