239: Chapter 239 Bailiji's Reverse Layout

“Wang Yang, will there be zombies involved in tonight’s operation?” Baili Ji asked.

“Yes!” Ling Zhenhai affirmed.

“You can control zombies?” Baili Ji asked.

“Sort of!” Ling Zhenhai replied.

“Either you can or you can’t, what do you mean ‘sort of’?” Baili Ji glared at him.

“I’ve subdued a few Red Coat Sect Holy Envoys, and they can control them,” Ling Zhenhai explained.

He had already prepared this excuse, unafraid of questions or investigations.

“No wonder then.” Baili Ji understood and nodded.

Zongzheng Yue also dispelled his doubts upon hearing this answer.

Everything made sense.

“Alright, I understand. You can leave now!” Baili Ji said.

“Yes!” Ling Zhenhai saluted, then turned and left the office.

“Who is he?” Zongzheng Yue asked.

“Oh, he was recommended by Old Yan. He’s a retired soldier. He was the one who saved me last time,” Baili Ji replied.

Zongzheng Yue nodded and didn't ask further.

Since he was recommended by Yan Zhengping, there shouldn't be any issues.

“I’ve already sent people to verify his information. Don’t worry, I’ll be careful,” Baili Ji said.

“What exactly happened to you before? How could it…” Zongzheng Yue stopped dwelling on it and changed the subject.

“It’s a long story…” Baili Ji recounted the entire incident.

It turned out that on the eve of last year’s Lunar New Year’s Eve, after he left the Council Building, his motorcade was attacked. His driver, Wang Yang, took advantage of the chaos to drive the car away from the motorcade, after which he fell unconscious. He was only rescued by people sent by Ling Zhenhai and taken to the Southwest Military Region recently.

“So that’s what happened! Then this driver, Wang Yang, is a big problem!” Zongzheng Yue said.

“Indeed. In fact, the Central Military Region’s investigation team has been secretly monitoring this matter. However, since Wang Yang was suspended, he has been staying at home. I just inquired, and so far, no useful intelligence has been monitored,” Baili Ji replied.

“This matter is now set in stone; it’s clearly the Red Coat Sect that orchestrated all of this,” Zongzheng Yue said.

“Yes, it is. But I haven’t figured out how to handle this matter next,” Baili Ji said.

“What do you mean?” Zongzheng Yue asked.

“As of now, the upper echelons of the Red Coat Sect should not have received the news yet,” Baili Ji said.

“You mean to continue pretending to be that imposter?” Zongzheng Yue was a bit surprised.

“It’s not that serious. It’s just a Red Coat Sect; it’s not worth my time and effort,” Baili Ji said.

“Then what do you mean…” Zongzheng Yue was puzzled.

“I’m thinking about how to use this point to catch the big fish behind the scenes,” Baili Ji said.

“This… I’m afraid it’s not very realistic. Since this imposter has already been exposed, the Red Coat Sect isn’t foolish; they won’t take any more risks for him,” Zongzheng Yue said.

“Exactly. Since this cannot be concealed, we might as well use it in reverse,” Baili Ji replied.

“Use it in reverse?” Zongzheng Yue indicated that his imagination wasn’t broad enough.

“That’s right. A chess piece on the board, as long as it hasn’t been completely removed from the board, will always have its use. Some discarded pieces might, at special times, become the key to turning the tide,” Baili Ji said.

Zongzheng Yue didn't understand; he didn't play Go. So he just listened and said nothing more.

“However, for now, there’s still a problem that can’t be solved,” Baili Ji said.

“What problem?” Zongzheng Yue asked.

“According to our Huaxia’s current technical means, there’s no way to achieve imperceptible remote listening,” Baili Ji said.

Zongzheng Yue understood; it was a technical bottleneck.

Remote listening is easy to achieve, but imperceptible is not.

“We don’t have this kind of technology, but I think there might be a place that does,” Zongzheng Yue replied.

“Oh? Where?” Baili Ji asked.

“Have you ever heard of the Huatong Chamber of Commerce?” Zongzheng Yue asked.

“The Huatong Chamber of Commerce again!” Baili Ji had heard this name frequently these past few days.

Logically speaking, the entire Council had once endorsed the Huatong Chamber of Commerce, and later sent people to attend their headquarters inauguration ceremony, so it was almost universally known. However, Baili Ji had missed a lot of information during his period of unconsciousness.

“You know about them?” Zongzheng Yue asked.

“Yes, I heard Yan Zhengping mention them when I was recuperating in the Southwest Military Region a while ago,” Baili Ji replied.

Zongzheng Yue nodded.

“Do you know what the background of this Huatong Chamber of Commerce is?” Baili Ji asked.

Well, the least desired topic had finally come up.

Zongzheng Yue felt a headache; he really didn’t know how to explain this.

As a Council member, one cannot discuss issues from the standpoint of a civilian organization. But things had just happened step by step.

Since it happened, so be it, but now Baili Ji’s return brought the problem back to the starting point.

If one were to speak truthfully, the business of this Huatong Chamber of Commerce had indeed overstepped its bounds; at the very least, it should not have surpassed the influence of the Council.

“Didn’t you ask Old Yan?” Zongzheng Yue did not answer directly but asked instead.