104: Chapter 104 The Interests of the Motherland Are Above All Else

"Li Xianmin."

"Lin Ning."

Chen Zhi murmured the names of these two people.

"Lin Ning!" Repeating Lin Ning's name, Chen Zhi let out a long sigh.

That casual act of receiving a visitor back then—who knew if it was a blessing or a curse.

The directors who had been so fond of Lin Ning when Senior Engineer Gao Yayin and Ou Jiarui were involved had now turned a blind eye to him after the recent reports were submitted.

They simply kept raising the security classification level of Lin Ning's file again and again.

The implication here was self-evident.

With Lin Ning's recent probing, he had successfully blocked off all paths.

Now, even bringing him before the leadership was considered an offense.

Lin Ning himself might not know it, but he had already become a special kind of existence.

After sighing, Chen Zhi looked at the photo in Li Xianmin's file on the computer screen, his eyes turning cold, filled with contempt.

Regardless of what merits he had in the past, or how much blood and effort he had shed, the moment he took that step, it became an unforgivable crime that even death could not wash away.

Brian An...

Hah, he was truly an old hand in the intelligence world.

He used his methods of leaving an escape route with such skill.

We are both thousand-year-old foxes, yet he's trying to play tricks on me; it seems I've been too low-key in recent years.

Being from the same organization and of the same rank, requesting an investigation without concrete evidence was a major taboo. But he didn't care; furthermore, this time, there was Lin Ning.

Chen Zhi gathered the documents and materials on hand, stood up respectfully, and dialed the Director's number.

"There are some important matters I need to consult with you about... Alright, I will wait for your return."

Night, nearly midnight.

Chen Zhi followed Director Li into the office and turned around to gently close the door.

Director Li was not young anymore; working until this hour had left him utterly exhausted.

In front of his trusted confidant, he shed his external disguise, relaxed, and leaned back against the sofa. He loosened his collar with one hand and closed his eyes, waiting for Chen Zhi's report.

Chen Zhi put down the documents, poured a cup of hot tea, placed it on the coffee table, and pushed it in front of Director Li.

He then spoke in a low voice, "Security Department Chief Li Xianmin is suspected of defecting."

It was clearly a soft whisper, but it sounded like a thunderclap in winter.

Li Huaizheng's eyes snapped open, his gaze like a steel blade scraping bone, flashing with cold light as he looked at Chen Zhi.

He did not speak.

Chen Zhi kept his eyes lowered and did not look at the Director, but the palpable feeling of the blade made his hair stand on end as if he were having a stress response, even though he knew it wasn't directed at him.

This was the true face of a battle-hardened veteran who had waded through mountains of blades, seas of fire, and storms of bullets; it was just gradually hidden beneath masks of gentleness, kindness, or stern dignity.

In a steady voice, Chen Zhi recounted the situation of Brian An's "traffic accident" on the second day of being under surveillance.

"Our internal investigation found no issues. The only other ones who knew we were monitoring Brian An were the Security Department under Li Xianmin."

Director Li did not ask if Brian An hadn't died in a traffic accident, nor did he question the act of conducting an internal investigation or even suspecting the Security Department based solely on suspicion.

Having lived this long, he had seen too many such things and never held onto wishful thinking. Nor did he feel that the work in his hands required the worldly wisdom and rules of officialdom.

As expected of someone he had taught hand-in-hand, Director Li was actually quite gratified; he could be considered to have a successor. As the State Security investigation bureau—the vanguard and bayonet—they would not fall into a state of collapse.

"Did you find any suspicious points about Li Xianmin?" Li Huaizheng was now in the mood to speak.

Chen Zhi looked up subconsciously, somewhat stunned, "I did not investigate the Security Department."

Li Huaizheng's eyelids and corners of his mouth drooped again; a coward, still needing a lesson, not ruthless enough.

Back in the day, when he suspected his own boss, he had dared to investigate directly.

Chen Zhi looked at the clearly displeased Director, opened his mouth, swallowed his defense, and simply threw out the conclusion he had been building up to for a long time.

"It wasn't until Lin Ning called me tonight that he said he saw a 'wicked person' named Li Xianmin."

Upon hearing Lin Ning's name, the expression on Li Huaizheng's face began to stiffen.

By the time Chen Zhi finished the second half of the sentence, he only had the feeling that the other shoe had finally dropped.

Toothache, headache, his whole body ached; he was old after all!

The reckless devil who once feared neither heaven nor earth and dared to secretly investigate his superiors had finally met his karmic retribution.

Was this retribution?

The office was as silent as Cambridge that night.

Li Huaizheng opened his mouth, first letting out a hiss of pain from his toothache, "Sss~~"

Then, in a fit of exasperation, he lost his temper at Chen Zhi, "Who told you to sit? Who told you to touch my tea leaves?"

Chen Zhi stood up, lowered his head, and said nothing.

Li Huaizheng covered his increasingly painful cheek and questioned him crossly, "If a member of the public reports it, you go and investigate! How can you not do your job well and need to ask for instructions for everything before you can act? What are you worried about? In the face of national security and interests, what are you worried about?! Are you worthy of the uniform on your body and the national emblem on your head?"

Chen Zhi nodded silently and calmly; this could be considered getting permission. Having achieved his goal, he didn't want to stay here and be baptized by spit.

He stood at attention, "Yes!"

Then he picked up the files and turned to leave.

Just two steps out.

"Hey! Wait!" Li Huaizheng suddenly stood up and called Chen Zhi back.

He frowned and paced around in circles.

He stopped and said to Chen Zhi, "You..."

He paused, then spoke again, his tone restored to calmness, "He is an intelligence veteran no less skilled than you; the slightest disturbance will alert him. But his work is too important to delay; there is no time for you to investigate slowly."

"You!"

Li Huaizheng looked Chen Zhi straight in the eyes; his gaze was like the deep sea, vast and dark.

"Go find Lin Ning and tell him there is no evidence, that an internal investigation between peers is difficult, and that it won't yield results in a short time."

Chen Zhi's pupils contracted rapidly; he understood in his heart, but he did not hesitate, "Yes!"

The old man's eyes held the coldness and determination forged by battles, "The interests of the Motherland are above all else!"

Chen Zhi's eyes were slightly gentler but equally firm as he replied loudly, "The interests of the Motherland are above all else!!"

Returning to his office, without turning on the lights, Chen Zhi paced to the window.

The night sky over the capital was deathly silent, not even two or three stars could be seen, but on the ground, it was as if a Milky Way had blossomed on its own; a sea of stars, brilliant and shining with ten thousand rays of light.

Chen Zhi stood in the darkness, looking at the scattered starlight outside the window, the lights of homes, and the headlights of cars returning late at night, reflecting on his face; it seemed the darkness was not so cold after all.

The words the Director asked him to say contained several layers of probing; he did not want to think about the results of this probing, because he knew the consequences of these results.

He liked Lin Ning, just like a mischievous but capable nephew.

He also admired Lin Ning, whose pure heart was willing to charge for the country even knowing the danger.

But, the interests of the Motherland are above all else!

Lin Ning was no longer just a compatriot who needed protection; his dangerousness was also a threat.

He was destined to be left in the wilderness, but if he could not be firmly dedicated to the country, then...