Chapter 373 It was a false alarm; that broken gun had little impact.

With the confirmation of the final digit of the password, a loading progress bar popped up on the secure terminal's screen.

Xiao Wang pulled up the highest-clearance files of the Safe House.

The office was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard, save for the faint sound of the central air conditioning's airflow.

The system was slowly reading the write-off data from the remote server.

During these long few seconds, Xiao Wang felt like his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

Liu Jianguo leaned forward, his hands propped on the large solid wood desk.

Then, he checked the material withdrawal records in the inventory system.

The two of them stared tensely at the data comparison on the screen.

The progress bar finally reached the end, emitting a soft "beep."

...

As the data refreshed, a clear withdrawal record appeared before their eyes.

Polymer material pistols, ceramic tactical daggers, non-metallic silenced submachine guns, directional plastic explosive units...

Xiao Wang's fingers trembled as he swiped across the screen, quickly skipping over the auxiliary equipment and locking his gaze directly on the main battle weapons column.

His eyes widened suddenly, and even his breathing skipped a beat at this moment.

The list clearly showed that there were eight team members.

During registration.

Aside from that "Firefighting Parent-Child Pistol" that had been mixed in and was listed as an unknown model.

The final total of specially-made main battle weapons withdrawn was exactly eight!

This meant that each person had also taken a proper, specially-made weapon!

Whether they were responsible for assault, sniping, or demolition, everyone's firepower configuration was complete and ample; no one was in the dangerous position of being unarmed or holding only a piece of junk plastic.

...

Seeing the final withdrawal quantity on the list.

At this moment, Liu Jianguo's tense body suddenly relaxed.

His back, which had been poised like a fully drawn bow, slumped instantly, and he leaned heavily back into his leather executive chair.

Liu Jianguo let out a long sigh of relief.

This breath seemed to carry away all the panic and pressure he had just felt.

The crisis was averted.

Even if that junk plastic gun was really taken to the front line, it would absolutely not affect the team's baseline firepower.

Leaning against the back of his chair, his mind, which had spent decades navigating the military industry system, began to deduce rapidly.

Various possibilities collided and combined at high speed in his mind.

Then, he instantly understood what had happened in the Safe House at that time.

'Those Special Front soldiers who crawled out of mountains of blades and seas of blood would never joke with their own lives.' This thought emerged in his heart.

These elites among elites were almost obsessively strict about their choice of weapons.

He closed his eyes, as if he could see that hidden underground Safe House with his own eyes.

Liu Jianguo deduced: One of the Decapitation Squad members must have taken a liking to that oddly shaped parent-child pistol and taken it.

After all, the things that kid Li Jiajun made, judging by their appearance and that ridiculously thick manual, were indeed quite intimidating and could easily pique the curiosity of agents pursuing cutting-edge equipment.

But.

Since that parent-child pistol looked a bit unreliable and lacked the heavy texture and reliability of conventional weapons.

No matter how curious that team member was, they would never dare to bet their life entirely on a piece of unknown equipment that hadn't been battle-tested.

To ensure the mission was foolproof.

Out of an agent's instinct for prudence.

To be safe, they took an extra, officially tested, regular specially-made weapon.

...

After Liu Jianguo figured all this out.

His usually serious face finally softened, even carrying a hint of approval for the professional quality of the Special Front comrades.

He turned to his sweating subordinate, Xiao Wang, and said:

"Whew—no need to worry too much. Didn't everyone take a proper weapon?"

Hearing this final verdict from his old leader.

Xiao Wang, standing there in a daze, felt his weak legs finally regain some strength.

He wiped the wet cold sweat from his forehead and nodded with lingering fear.

However, a sigh of relief was just a sigh of relief.

Regarding such a serious work oversight that almost caused a major disaster.

As the head of the Military Industry Department, Liu Jianguo knew that military discipline was as hard as iron, and such a potentially fatal mistake could not be easily overlooked.

Even if it didn't lead to irreversible consequences, a mistake was still a mistake.

The nature of this incident was severe.

Liu Jianguo, who had been pleasant just a moment ago, instantly changed his expression, his eyes radiating an irresistible authority.

He slammed the table and pointed sternly at Xiao Wang:

"Go and receive a formal notice of criticism yourself."

"When you get back, you have to write me a profound thirty-thousand-word self-reflection!"

"If you can't finish it, or if your understanding isn't deep enough, you can stop being the person in charge!"

This sudden, harsh reprimand caused the corners of Xiao Wang's mouth to twitch uncontrollably.

Thirty thousand words!

This damn thing is even more torturous than writing an annual research report.

But he didn't dare to utter a single word of rebuttal; he could only respond loudly and swallow the punishment. Moreover, he knew that this was only because of his old leader's years of favor.

Immediately after, Liu Jianguo did not stop there but continued to issue remedial instructions.

He also wanted him to immediately notify the Special Front.

"Go tell their liaison and explain the whole story in detail, including how that gun got mixed in. No hiding anything!"

Liu Jianguo's tone was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

At a time like this, honesty was the greatest responsibility toward the lives of the frontline soldiers; they could absolutely not hide things for fear of losing face.

...

"Yes! I'll do it right away!"

Xiao Wang snapped to attention, saluted, and answered loudly.

Then, at this time, after hearing Director Liu Jianguo's analysis.

Xiao Wang's heart, which had been in his throat, finally settled back into his chest, and he let out a huge sigh of relief.

He wiped the sticky cold sweat from his palms, speechless in his heart.

He had essentially escaped death.

Recalling the world-ending panic he had just felt, he realized he had been blinded by concern.

His mind was filled with worst-case scenarios, ignoring the basic professional quality of the frontline soldiers.

Seeing on the list that everyone had taken a proper weapon.

It seemed the brothers on the front line still had judgment and weren't completely fooled by that flashy manual.

As long as the firepower configuration was fine, that extra junk plastic gun could just be treated as a toy to relieve boredom during their arduous undercover mission.

Relieved, Xiao Wang turned around, ready to immediately carry out Director Liu's orders and contact the Special Front liaison.

But just then, having only taken two steps.

He suddenly paused.

He thought of another problem.