Absolute power in officialdom

Chapter 152 The Cunning "Nail"

Chen Hao was subsequently arrested in secret.

Faced with overwhelming evidence, he had no choice but to confess that he had been lured into the water by the mixed-race girl.

Initially, they only provided some non-sensitive internal information, but later, tempted by beauty and money, they became more and more involved and began to use their work privileges to steal core technical data.

He admitted to using Wang Guilan's "garbage channel" for physical transmission, leaking a large amount of intelligence in a piecemeal fashion.

The last thing transmitted was some of the key parameters of the "fusion" project.

During the interrogation, Li Xiaoyu specifically asked about Deng Li, but Chen Hao firmly denied any connection with Deng Li.

"I never contact Deng Li, and I really don't know her true identity."

It's always been a person codenamed "Old Ghost" who gives me instructions via encrypted means...

Li Xiaoyu asked sternly, "How did Old Ghost contact you?"

"Single-line communication. He used one-time encrypted communication software with simple and clear instructions, only telling me when, how, what to put in the tree hole, or what to take out of the tree hole."

I've never seen him before, and I have no idea who he is, whether he's male or female, but I feel he's someone from the institute because he seems very familiar with the situation there..."

Deng Li was also secretly arrested.

Faced with powerful psychological pressure and evidence, she confessed how her stepfather, who was abroad, lured her stepfather with promises of financial aid and trips abroad, gradually recruiting her and ultimately turning her into a spy.

"...They always say how great America is, and that they'll arrange a better future for me..."

My one-on-one contact is codenamed "Nail," and he's the one who issues all the instructions.

I used my beauty to seduce Zhang Dongsheng. Zhang Dongsheng didn't know I was a spy, but he should have been able to sense it. However, he was deeply caught in the vortex of beauty and couldn't extricate himself.

I stole Zhang Dongsheng's account password and can use his privileges to do whatever I want.

My upline is "Nail," and it's always "Nail" who gives me instructions. I don't know who "Nail" is, or whether he's male or female, but I feel like he's from Institute 835 because he's very familiar with the institute's situation...

In the observation room outside the interrogation room, Wu Zhiyuan watched Deng Li's performance through the one-way glass and said to Xiao Jing beside him, "She doesn't seem to be faking it. This 'infiltrator' is very cautious and has taken many precautions."

Spies typically maintain single-line contact. Deng Li was "Nail's" subordinate, while Chen Hao was "Old Ghost's" subordinate. It's normal that Deng Li and Chen Hao were unaware of each other's identities; this aligns with the characteristics of a spy organization.

Judging from Deng Li and Chen Hao's testimonies, both "Dingzi" and "Laogui" were very familiar with the situation at Institute 835. I'm wondering, are "Dingzi" and "Laogui" the same person?

Xiao Jing pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Very likely."

Deng Li admitted that she worked for foreign intelligence agencies, but firmly denied killing Zhang Dongsheng.

The surveillance team monitoring the old locust tree hole reported that a suspicious man was caught red-handed by the lying-in detectives after attempting to take something from the hole late at night.

Preliminary interrogation revealed that this person was an employee of the foreign consulting firm and an external liaison for the spy network, responsible for delivering messages to Chen Hao via a "dead letter box" through the tree hole.

But he only knew that he was under the command of a middleman codenamed "Postman," and knew nothing about the existence of "Old Ghost" and "Nail."

Wu Zhiyuan offered a suggestion to Chu Jianguo: "Lord Chu, I have an idea."

The enemy is cunning; Nail and Old Ghost haven't shown themselves yet. Why don't we create a situation where they have no choice but to intervene personally—to lure them out!

Chu Jianguo smiled encouragingly and said, "Tell me about it."

Wu Zhiyuan revealed his plan: "We can use Deng Li as a lead. Externally, we will continue to maintain the posture that 'the case has been solved, Liu Ming is the main culprit, and the case is about to be closed,' to lull our opponents into a false sense of security."

But internally, we can have Deng Li send an emergency SOS message to "Nail"...

Wu Zhiyuan's plan was to have Deng Li contact "Nail" in a pre-arranged manner, falsely claiming that she felt extremely unsafe due to Zhang Dongsheng's sudden death and the possibility of being secretly investigated. She also claimed that she had a backup of top-secret data about the final test plan of the "fusion" project that had not yet been passed on. In reality, it was a fabricated bait. She demanded that "Nail" arrange for her to evacuate immediately and hand over this important data in person, otherwise she would take extreme measures to protect herself.

Wu Zhiyuan analyzed: "This 'stabber' is key. He knows the importance of the 'fusion' project and is also aware of the risks that Deng Li would face if she were to act desperately."

In such an emergency, he might have to risk personally stepping in to stabilize Deng Li, or at least sending a highly trusted core member to take over, which would expose his identity or directly implicate him.

Chu Jianguo pondered for a moment and thought the plan was feasible, but there were both risks and opportunities: "We can give it a try, but we must make meticulous arrangements to ensure Deng Li's cooperation is flawless, and we must lay a tight net at the entire handover point."

The plan was launched. Under the close monitoring and instructions of the task force, Deng Li used the pre-reserved emergency contact method to send the carefully crafted distress message to "Nail".

The message was filled with panic and desperation, emphasizing that she had "the last bombshell" and the urgency of arranging an immediate evacuation.

After the message was sent out, the entire task force went on high alert.

Several hours later, "Nail's" reply finally arrived, but its content was unexpectedly concise and cautious: It's windy, do not move. Awaiting instructions.

Clearly, this old fox wasn't taking the bait easily; he was observing and testing the waters.

Shortly after, "Nail" sent a second instruction, but it wasn't a rendezvous arrangement; it was a test: he instructed Deng Li to immediately go to a specific brand counter in a large shopping mall in the city center, buy a lipstick in a designated shade, leave an inconspicuous mark on the sample, and then dispose of the lipstick.

"He was testing whether Deng Li still had freedom of movement and whether she was under our control." Wu Zhiyuan immediately saw through the other party's intentions. "If we prevented Deng Li from going there, or if the surveillance was too obvious, we might alert him."

Chu Jianguo made a decisive decision: "Let her go! But we must be relaxed on the surface but tight on the inside. We need to use special tracking methods to ensure that Deng Li is within our sight, but we must not let her or any potential monitors in the mall notice."

Li Xiaoyu led the action team responsible for carrying out this tracking mission.

Disguised as customers of various identities, they followed Deng Li from a distance, using the bustling crowds in the mall as cover, while simultaneously mobilizing all public surveillance cameras inside and outside the mall for auxiliary observation.

Deng Li followed the instructions to complete the entire process of purchasing, marking, and handling the lipsticks without having any suspicious contact with anyone during the process.

After the mission was completed, "Nail" fell silent again.

This constant probing and suffocating waiting made the atmosphere within the task force even more tense.

Shortly after Deng Li completed the mall test, "Nail" sent a third instruction, this time a fake rendezvous order: instructing Deng Li to go to an abandoned cargo dock in the west of the city in the early hours of the morning.

"This is a smokescreen!" Wu Zhiyuan pointed out at the analysis meeting. "The abandoned dock in the early morning has a wide field of vision, making it easy to set up an ambush and observe."

He will most likely remain hidden, observing whether police or national security personnel are deployed.

Chu Jianguo agreed with this assessment: "He is using a counter-strategy to test us."

We decided to play along and deployed a small number of plainclothes officers to conduct routine patrols at the dock.

The main force remains inactive, patiently waiting for his true killing move.

Sure enough, the dock was calm in the early morning, with nothing unusual except for a few auxiliary police officers from the local police station who happened to be patrolling nearby.

The "nail" seemed to confirm the safety of the dock in some way.

There are only a dozen hours left before the final deadline for activating the data self-destruct device of the "fusion" project.

If the "stubborn nail" cannot be found within this deadline, not only will core secrets face the risk of complete leakage, but this deep-seated hidden danger will also continue to threaten the security of Institute 835 and even the country.

In this suffocating wait, "Nail" finally sent the latest instructions.

This time, the location was set at Liufang Park in the south of the city, and the time was 4 pm.

The instructions required Deng Li to wait at the Carp Viewing Pavilion in the center of the park, holding a copy of the day's "Jiangzhou Daily" as identification.