193: Chapter 193 Chain Reaction

4:41 AM, Command Center.

Chen Zhi removed his headset and tapped his fingers twice on the desk. "Shen Han! Here is your authorization. Lead Reconnaissance Teams One and Two directly to Wei City. Take over the cases related to the two XXX temples immediately."

Shen Han stood up at once.

"Interrogate those captured on the spot immediately." Chen Zhi’s expression was cold and his orders were clear. "I want to know everything: the source of the explosives, the assembly location, whether there are other targets, and the entire chain of personnel, both upstream and downstream."

"Yes, sir!" Shen Han immediately began mobilizing personnel.

"Chang Yong!" Chen Zhi continued.

"Don't stop the investigation into the personnel who were previously in contact with that handler on the technical side. Combined with those caught this time, go through all call records and movement trajectories. For anyone they contacted, any place they visited, or any phone number they called, if it involves another region, hand it over to the local authorities directly. If there are any suspicious points, take custody of the person directly."

"Yes, sir!" Chang Yong also immediately led the Technical Office back into a flurry of activity.

"Sun Xiang!"

"Contact the Armed Police. Tell them not to withdraw yet; sweep the surrounding area again to ensure no residues were left behind." Chen Zhi stood up and walked to the whiteboard, looking at the two names on it. "Inform the publicity department about the situation. The enemy might try to stir up public opinion. Prepare in advance; don't let them control the narrative."

...

301 Emergency Room.

The red light stayed on. The door to the resuscitation room opened for the fourth time, and a nurse ran out, clutching a critical condition notice.

"Family member, signature required!"

The Ministry of State Security personnel guarding the door took the form. His gaze fell on the blank space in the "Family Member" column, and the tip of his pen hovered for a moment.

His voice was dry and raspy. "I'll sign. Use the military priority channel."

The pen descended, signing in the "Guardian" column.

The nurse took the document back and turned to run back inside.

The door closed once more.

The red light remained lit.

No one knew the name of the blood-covered, unconscious young man inside. No one knew what he had done.

Only the occasional sharp, prolonged beep of the heart monitor and the low, urgent voices of the medical staff pulled him back from the edge of the abyss over and over again.

"Ventricular fibrillation, prepare to defibrillate!"

"The patient's blood loss is near the limit. If it worsens further, his body protein will be almost zero. Are the test results out? Just mechanically replenishing blood won't keep him going for long..."

"Epinephrine, another dose..."

Door opens. Door closes.

Footsteps, low shouts, the scream of the ECG.

Lin Ning didn't know where he was.

Everything was black—not the kind of black when you close your eyes, but the kind of black where there is nothing, where nothing can be heard, and nothing can be felt.

Then, images flashed by.

—His mother, complaining he'd gotten thin while putting a third piece of braised pork into his bowl, muttering, "Eat more, don't act like you've never eaten before."

—His sister bringing up embarrassing stories from his childhood in front of his young niece. He would pretend to be angry while the little girl clapped and laughed, running over to hug his leg, shouting, "Uncle is the best! Uncle is the best!"

—Jiang Yu cooking in the kitchen. He leaned in to cause trouble and got a tap on the back of his hand from her spatula, but he caught her hand in return.

—Chen Zhi once patting his shoulder, then suddenly frowning. "Your form is wrong."

—Wang Qiao's hands operating as if in a cramp, mouth never stopping the cursing. "I'm seriously going to lose it! Why do I keep playing games with you when I know it'll just piss me off? Are your hands made of pig trotters or something?!"

The images vanished in an instant.

Lin Ning kept reaching out to grab them, but he couldn't hold onto even a single fragment.

He suddenly thought: Can I not go back? Am I dead?

Any regrets? He had regrets. He hadn't spent more time with his mother, hadn't told Jiang Yu "I love you," hadn't given Old Wang a good thrashing...

It was too dark...

Command Center.

Calls kept coming in.

"Division Chief Chen, the secondary search around Erxunhanna is complete. No residues found."

"Division Chief Chen, the five from Tutubailamu are being interrogated on-site. Current statements..."

"Division Chief Chen, the source of the bombs has been tentatively identified as modified civilian use, but the core components..."

Chen Zhi listened while marking on the whiteboard. His phone vibrated; he glanced at it—it was the hospital hotline.

He didn't answer.

"Keep talking. What about the core components?"

The person reporting was stunned for a moment before continuing.

Chen Zhi listened, his pen never stopping.

Ten hours later, China was approaching dusk.

Across the ocean, Langley.

Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the Potomac River was still shrouded in the darkest hour before dawn, but the lights in the conference room were blindingly bright.

Wells Hors slammed the folder in his hand onto the table. The sound wasn't loud, but the temperature in the room seemed to drop several degrees.

"Two hours ago, our secret transit station in a certain Asian country was bombed."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over those present.

"Can someone explain this to me?"

Someone spoke up: "Sir, we can't be sure yet—"

"Can't be sure?" Wells Hors interrupted him, throwing a report over. "They sent a video—real-time footage of the explosion, with Chinese subtitles: 'Reciprocating a courtesy.'"

The meeting room fell silent for a few seconds.

"Congress will be asking questions at nine this morning." Wells Hors leaned back into his chair, his voice cold and suppressed with anger. "Budget cuts, loss of prestige, and whether anyone will dare to cooperate with us in the future—who is going to take responsibility?"

No one spoke.

The head of Asian Intelligence had no choice but to face the Director's wrath.

"Our 'Respect' operation targeting religious sites in China was intercepted because they learned of it beforehand. We're not sure if that's the reason, but sir..."

Terrified by the Director's gaze, he quickly continued, "I can guarantee it. After I received the news yesterday, I immediately launched an internal audit. Their handler has always been abroad and never entered China. Furthermore, that line wasn't exposed; they were caught directly at the relevant locations by their Ministry of State Security."

"Since the personnel weren't exposed, why did they know our target locations?" Wells Hors' voice was full of fury. "Is it a mole? Or that damn new technology?"

"Tech is still analyzing, but currently there's no evidence to suggest—"

"Then look for the mole."

Wells Hors stood up and walked to the window, his back to everyone.

There was a long silence.

"That Ministry of State Security consultant from last time," he suddenly said, "named Lin Ning."

The sound of someone flipping through files came from behind him.

"Yes, it was mentioned in previous reports. 'Chief,' the Ministry of State Security mole we once turned, reported that Lin Ning is a very important consultant for the Ministry of State Security."

"Find him." Wells Hors didn't turn around. "Whether male or female, tall or short, whatever their identity—find them and take them out."

He paused, his voice dropping as if talking to himself: "We must make them afraid, otherwise..."