122: Don’t watch so many Hollywood movies, it’s bad for your brain!

The heavy armored vehicle drove smoothly on the highway, yet no bumps were felt inside the cabin; only the dull hum of the engine persisted.

Li Jun's body was pressed tightly against the cold metal seatback, his hands clutching his knees, his joints taut from excessive force.

There were no windows in the car, only a dim yellow light overhead, casting him and the two uniformed men opposite him in a suppressive glow.

He didn't dare to look up, only staring at his worn, faded pant cuffs, his heart pounding wildly in his chest, each beat tugging at every nerve in his body.

It's over.

This time, it's really over.

His mind was a jumbled mess, various movie scenes he'd seen haphazardly pieced together.

Secret departments, special vehicles, remote wilderness, vanishing without a trace... each word sent chills down his spine.

"Comrade Li Jun."

The older man opposite him, with more stars on his epaulets, spoke, breaking the silence in the car.

It was Zhang He.

The man who claimed to be the team leader of the Chengdu Special Affairs Bureau.

Li Jun's body trembled violently, and he buried his head even lower.

"Don't be nervous."

Zhang He's tone was calm, even with a hint of reassurance.

"We invited you here this time with no other intention than to take you to see your daughter, Li Qingyuan."

Daughter?

In Li Jun's chaotic mind, these two words cleaved open a crack.

He slowly raised his head, meeting Zhang He's calm eyes, trying to discern the truth of his words.

"See... see my daughter?"

His throat was dry and raspy.

"Yes, see your daughter."

Zhang He nodded, confirming it.

Li Jun's suspended heart dropped a little.

Right, I'm just an ordinary citizen, a middle manager at a failing factory, and my wife is a housewife.

What do I have that's worth anyone's attention?

I don't have vast wealth, nor do I know any state secrets.

They have no reason to target me.

He tried to reassure himself this way, and his tensed muscles relaxed slightly.

Perhaps... perhaps his daughter really just joined some confidential unit?

He began to feel a little ashamed of his earlier wild thoughts.

Just then, the armored vehicle slowly came to a stop.

"We're here."

The young team member next to Zhang He, who had been silent, said, and got up to open the car door.

The heavy metal door was pushed open, and the not-so-bright light from outside flooded in.

Li Jun squinted his eyes, dazzled by the light, and, supporting himself on the seat, somewhat stumbled as he followed Zhang He out of the car.

His feet touched the solid ground, yet he felt no sense of security.

Because everything before his eyes once again plunged him into the abyss.

There were no tall buildings here, no barracks, not even a decent house.

Only mountains.

Endless, towering mountains stretching as far as the eye could see.

At the desolate foot of the mountain, there was only their conspicuous armored vehicle and a few startled wild birds taking flight.

The wind blew, carrying the raw, cold scent of grass and trees, chilling his face.

Li Jun's body, starting from the soles of his feet, grew colder and colder.

He remembered those classic movie tropes.

To maintain a shocking secret, those in the know are often taken to such places, and then... "Bang!"

A clean, crisp gunshot, and all returns to calm.

Fear was like countless ants, gnawing at his reason.

He couldn't hold on any longer.

With a "thud," Li Jun's legs gave way, and he knelt directly on the muddy ground in front of Zhang He.

"Leader! Leader, I was wrong! I deserve to die a thousand deaths!"

He grabbed Zhang He's calf, snot and tears instantly smearing his face.

"I shouldn't have posted random videos online! I shouldn't have caused trouble for the country! I'm an asshole! Please, I beg you!"

This sudden scene left Zhang He and the young team members stunned.

They looked at each other, their faces filled with bewilderment.

"I don't want anything anymore, and I won't look for my daughter either! She died for the country, she's glorious! I... I only ask for one thing!"

Li Jun was crying so hard he was out of breath, his voice trembling.

"Please, before I die, let me see her, just once! As long as I know she's safe and sound, I'll die content!"

Zhang He's mouth twitched twice; he felt his temples throbbing.

He bent down, trying to pull Li Jun up.

"Comrade Li Jun, what are you doing? Get up!"

"I won't get up!"

Li Jun held on tighter, afraid that if he let go, he would be gone.

"If you don't agree, I won't get up! Just pity me, this father!"

The young team member beside them finally reacted. He looked at Li Jun, who was covered in snot and tears, his face full of disbelief, wanting to laugh but not daring to, his face contorted from holding it in.

Zhang He took a deep breath, then another.

He patted the young team member's shoulder, signaling him to be quiet, then squatted down, trying to make his expression appear serious.

"Old Li, get up first, the ground is cold."

He increased his strength, forcibly pulling Li Jun up from the ground.

"Tell me honestly, where did you get all these crazy ideas in your head?"

Li Jun, still being pulled, sniffled and wiped his tears, answering with a heavy nasal voice.

"Mo... movies..."

"That's how it's always portrayed in movies! Those who discover secrets, aren't they all silenced in the end...?"

Upon hearing this answer, Zhang He completely lost his temper.

He raised a hand to his forehead, feeling a wave of helplessness.

"Those are America's movies!"

He almost yelled it out.

"We are China! Chinese soldiers! Chinese civil servants! The safety of the people's lives and property comes first! Who would dare to do anything to you?"

He pointed at Li Jun, looking exasperated.

"I'm telling you, watch fewer of those Hollywood blockbusters when you have nothing to do! Watching too many affects your intelligence!"

Li Jun was stunned by his shouting, even forgetting to cry.

He looked at Zhang He's angry and helpless face, then at the young team member beside him, who was almost internally injured from holding back laughter.

This... this style isn't right.

Aren't those cold-blooded agents in movies all expressionless and ruthless?

How could there be one like him, painstakingly lecturing him to "study hard and strive for progress every day"?

Li Jun's heart, which had been in his throat, finally returned to its place.

He let out a long sigh, feeling as if he had been pulled out of water, drenched all over.

He awkwardly rubbed his hands, tear stains still on his face.

"Then... then, leader, what are we doing here...?"

"I told you, taking you to see your daughter."

Zhang He replied impatiently.

"But... but here..."

Li Jun looked around; it was just mountains and more mountains. Where was any sign of a school?

"There's not even a ghost here, where does my daughter... where does she go to school?"

Zhang He finally recovered. He raised his hand and pointed forward.

It was a towering peak, its body steep, the upper half hidden in clouds and mist, its summit completely out of sight.

"There."

Zhang He pointed at the mountain and said in the most ordinary tone.

"Your daughter studies up there."

"I had you get out because the car can't drive up there."

"You can only walk up."

Li Jun looked in the direction he was pointing.

He craned his neck, almost breaking it, just to barely see the cloud-shrouded mountainside.

His mouth slowly opened wider, and his eyes widened little by little.

He just stood there, frozen.

His mind was blank.

Wha... what a joke?

Studying up there?

Walking up?

He looked at the perilous Kunlun peak, almost touching the sky, feeling his worldview, built over fifty-plus years, crumbling and shattering inch by inch.