booktalesy Chapter 153 It was him!
Chapter 153 It was him!
Chu Jianguo issued the order: "Notify all units to focus on monitoring all entrances and exits of Liufang Park and the area within 100 meters of the Guanli Pavilion."
"The 'nail' is extremely cunning. This could be another test, or it could be the final showdown. We must be fully prepared!"
Considering that "Nail" was likely an employee of Institute 835, Wu Zhiyuan and Xiao Jing did not participate in the operation for fear of being recognized.
Liufang Park is shaded by green trees, and small groups of tourists are strolling and resting.
The investigators, disguised as ordinary tourists, were already in position.
Li Xiaoyu and another investigator posed as a couple and took photos by the lake near the pavilion;
Inside a command vehicle disguised as a sanitation truck outside the park, Chu Jianguo closely monitored the movements around the pavilion using real-time footage transmitted from hidden cameras on the investigators' bodies and the park's surveillance system.
Deng Li, carrying a women's shoulder bag and holding the Jiangzhou Daily, sat on a stone bench in the Guanli Pavilion, pretending to read the newspaper.
She tried to remain calm, but her slightly trembling fingers betrayed her inner tension.
Time ticked by, but the target still hadn't appeared.
Groups of tourists passed by the pavilion, but none of them stopped.
At 4:15, an old man with a full head of silver hair, wearing an old gray Zhongshan suit, slowly walked into the Guanli Pavilion, leaning on a well-worn wooden cane.
He looked to be in his seventies, with deep wrinkles on his face and a slightly hunched back. He sat on the stone bench diagonally opposite Deng Li, squinting.
After observing for about two or three minutes, the old man seemed to casually notice the newspaper in Deng Li's hand and asked, "Young lady, is there any big news in today's newspaper?"
This is the code word for the rendezvous!
Deng Li's heart was in her throat. As planned, she tried her best to answer naturally: "Nothing big news, just the same old stuff."
The code words matched!
"The target is highly suspicious and may be heavily disguised," Chu Jianguo, who was in command, whispered through a miniature earpiece. "Prepare for action and await my orders."
At this moment, the old man seemed to finally lower his guard and approached Deng Li: "Young lady, please help me. I'm old and my legs are weak..."
Deng Li stood up and reached out to help him.
Just as their hands were about to touch, the old man snatched Deng Li's backpack with his other hand, his movements swift and unusual for his age.
In that split second, nearby investigators rushed to the old man's side and grabbed his wrist.
At the same time, several "tourists" quickly surrounded them.
The old man sensed something was wrong and tried to run away.
But how can one escape?
Li Xiaoyu discovered an extremely fine seam at the junction of the "old man's" ear and neck.
She carefully lifted it, and a finely crafted, highly realistic human skin mask was torn off.
The hair is also a wig.
Everyone was taken aback!
This guy is actually Wang Peng, the deputy director of the 835 Research Institute!
Deng Li was also shocked; it turned out that "Nail" was actually her boss.
However, Wang Peng was usually stern and rarely interacted with her because she had not been with the institute for long, was a newcomer, and was of a low rank.
"Take him away! Conduct an immediate surprise interrogation!" Chu Jianguo ordered, his tone leaving no room for argument.
Provincial Department Interrogation Room.
Chu Jianguo personally conducted the interrogation.
"Wang Peng, apprehended on the spot, the evidence is conclusive. Confessing is your only way out. Tell me, why?"
Wang Peng said dejectedly, "The victor is king, the loser is villain; there's nothing more to say. I admit defeat."
Over the next few hours, Wang Peng's psychological defenses completely collapsed under the pressure of the overwhelming chain of evidence and interrogation, and he confessed his criminal motives.
He admitted that he was the top spy, known as "Nail" and "Old Ghost," who had infiltrated Institute 835.
Years ago, during an overseas academic exchange activity, he was targeted by a foreign intelligence agency, fell for their honey trap, and had his secrets exposed.
Having enjoyed the company of beautiful women and gained money, he quickly succumbed to depravity and swore an oath to join a foreign intelligence organization.
In recent years, he has taken advantage of his position to sell a lot of state secrets.
Foreign intelligence agencies value him highly as a "big fish" and rarely allow him to show his face.
Neither Deng Li nor Chen Hao were recruited by Wang Peng, but they were his subordinates.
Deng Li and Chen Hao were unaware that their superior was actually the same person.
He never had any public contact with Deng Li; all instructions were given through encrypted channels.
Deng Li's entry into Institute 835 was the result of Wang Peng's manipulation of the recruitment process, acting on instructions from a foreign intelligence organization and using his position as deputy director. However, Deng Li herself was unaware that Wang Peng was behind it.
Deng Li was assigned to the Administrative Management Department as an administrative secretary. Although she did not have access to core secrets, she could access some internal documents.
Zhang Dongsheng is not Wang Peng's biological nephew, but a distant relative.
Wang Peng used his position of authority to place Zhang Dongsheng in the crucial system administrator position, intending to develop him into an assistant.
Although Zhang Dongsheng was somewhat vain, he adhered to his principles and politely declined when Wang Peng made his suggestion.
Left with no other option, Wang Peng had to activate his backup plan, instructing Deng Li to use her beauty to seduce and control Zhang Dongsheng.
During his interactions with Deng Li, Zhang Dongsheng gradually realized that Deng Li might have problems and vaguely sensed that there might be someone of a higher level behind her. He felt fear and inner conflict and even considered reporting to the organization.
Wang Peng sensed Zhang Dongsheng's wavering through Deng Li, and fearing exposure after his previous hints failed, he decided to kill him to silence him.
That night, he quietly knocked on Zhang Dongsheng's office door and, taking him by surprise, used a specially made poisoned needle to pierce his armpit, creating the illusion of sudden death from an acute myocardial infarction.
Prior to this, he had Deng Li sabotage the building's security cameras.
As for why Wang Peng conducted so many tests on Deng Li, such as buying her lipstick and taking her to the dock, it was because he was extremely cautious and suspicious by nature.
His rank and Deng Li's rank within the institute were vastly different, and they had almost no direct interaction in their work, which served as excellent cover.
After learning that Liu Ming had taken the blame and that the National Security Bureau was planning to withdraw as a smokescreen, he was not entirely sure whether Deng Li was safe.
He was unaware that Deng Li had been secretly arrested by the National Security Bureau.
He had to go through a series of complex tests to confirm that Deng Li was not under the control of the National Security Bureau, still had freedom of movement, and that there were no surveillance around her before he dared to personally appear in Liufang Park to complete this crucial intelligence handover and personnel evacuation arrangements.
His contact was the head of that foreign consulting firm in Jiangzhou, which was actually an important hideout for foreign intelligence agencies in Jiangzhou.
The French Open is intact, but not leaking.
The spy network and consulting firm that had been lurking inside Institute 835 were completely destroyed, and the plot by foreign intelligence agencies to steal the core secrets of our high-energy laser weapons was completely thwarted.
Xiao Jing accepts a new mission: to go abroad.
She said goodbye to Wu Zhiyuan.
The two were comrades-in-arms who fought side by side.
Wu Zhiyuan pulled out Lin Keke's photo and said to Xiao Jing, "This is my girlfriend. She's in the same industry as us and lives abroad. I don't know which country she's in, or what mission she's on."
My joining the National Security team was largely due to her. If you see her, tell her that I'm now her comrade-in-arms, and that we'll wait for her to return.
Xiao Jing nodded and glanced at the photo again: "Although the nature of our work often means that we are not in control of our own lives and we don't even know where our comrades are, please believe that we are all on the same front and fighting for the same goal."
If there's ever a chance I'll see her somewhere in the world, I'll do what we can to let her know that behind her, there's not only an organization, but also you waiting for her.
"Thank you," Wu Zhiyuan said, "You must also take care. The environment abroad is more complex and dangerous, so be careful in everything you do."
Xiao Jing smiled calmly: "Don't worry, I'm a 'fisherman,' I've seen plenty of storms."
Shortly after Xiao Jing left, the provincial department held a grand commendation meeting.
In recognition of Wu Zhiyuan’s outstanding contributions in “Operation Light Blade”, he was awarded a first-class merit and promoted to the rank of section chief investigator in the First Investigation Division of the Provincial Public Security Department.
The reason it was considered an exceptional promotion was because he had only served as a deputy section chief for a year.
Shortly after Wu Zhiyuan left Institute 835, Chu Jianguo spoke with him: "Comrade Zhiyuan, you did an excellent job on Institute 835's 'deep dive' mission, successfully removing the nail deeply embedded in the heart of national defense scientific research."
But the real battle is never-ending. Your experience at Institute 835 was just a warm-up, an "appetizer" in your professional career.
Next, a real "feast" awaits you.