33: Chapter 33: The National Security Bureau Arrives at the Door – A Top-Secret Unit Codenamed "Dragon Vein"!

The winter wind in the south was treacherously cold.

Yet the red identification card in the man's hand was like a burning fire.

"The Ministry of State Security? You came so quickly?"

Su Che hid the kraft paper bag stamped with "Top Secret" behind his back.

"Comrade Su Che, don't be nervous."

The woman spoke, her voice clean and crisp; it lacked the soft, seductive lilt of Jiang Yingxue, but it wasn't as icy as Captain Li Jun's either.

"We are here regarding the case of Ma Wenju."

The man put away his identification and introduced himself.

"My name is Gao Jian."

"And she is Qin Lan."

Gao Jian gestured toward the woman beside him.

"There are some details we need to verify with you."

"Is it convenient to talk?"

Su Che didn't speak, merely turning to the side to clear the path to the courtyard.

"Come in and talk."

Inside the studio, the smell of rust mixed with the scent of solder.

As soon as Gao Jian and Qin Lan entered, their brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Gao Jian's gaze swept rapidly over the pile of "magical treasures" in the room like a searchlight.

When he saw the "surveillance wall" pieced together from several broken mobile phone screens, his expression changed.

"Comrade Su Che, these devices of yours..."

"Junk, picked up from a scrapyard."

Su Che pulled over a stool and sat down, looking indifferent.

Gao Jian didn't say anything more; he took a palm-sized, matte black instrument from the inside pocket of his trench coat.

He pressed the switch, the instrument's screen lit up, and a blue beam of light began scanning the entire room.

"Routine security sweep, please cooperate."

Gao Jian said, looking dead serious.

Su Che curled his lip, too lazy to pay him any mind.

"Beep... beep..."

The instrument emitted a slight sound, and on the screen, the waveform representing the network signal pulsed steadily.

Gao Jian looked at the data, appearing very satisfied.

Then, he pulled a data cable from the side of the instrument, seemingly wanting to connect it to the "monster" on Su Che's desk that looked most like a computer host.

Just at the moment his plug touched the port.

Beside the workbench, the thing that Su Che used as a speaker, composed of several broken speakers and circuit boards, suddenly emitted a robotic female voice devoid of emotion.

"Warning."

"Low-level information intrusion device detected."

"Protocol version too low, incompatible."

"Suggestion: recycle and rebuild."

"..."

Gao Jian: "..."

Gao Jian's hand froze in mid-air.

The expression on his face was as if he'd been constipated for three days and three nights—absolutely priceless.

Qin Lan stood to the side, struggling to hold back her laughter, her shoulders shaking.

Su Che let out a "pfft" sound, and the mouthful of cool boiled water he had just taken nearly sprayed out.

"Cough, cough... excuse me."

"This thing sometimes doesn't have its head screwed on right and talks nonsense."

He apologized with his mouth, but there wasn't a hint of regret on his face.

Gao Jian silently withdrew the instrument, just about to retort with something.

"Comrade Su Che."

Qin Lan stepped forward, breaking the awkward atmosphere.

Her gaze landed on the kraft paper bag that Su Che had placed on the table after entering.

"The item in your hand is very important."

Su Che looked at her, saying nothing.

"Captain Li Jun has already reported the situation."

"Regarding Ma Wenju and the matters he is involved in, the Ministry of State Security will take over completely."

Qin Lan's voice was very heavy.

"Including the case of your grandfather, Comrade Su Changshan."

Su Che's heart tightened.

He opened the kraft paper bag and took out the deep blue notebook inside.

"You... know about this?"

Qin Lan looked at the notebook, her expression becoming extremely grave.

"We don't know the contents inside."

"The clearance level for Comrade Su Changshan's file is higher than both of ours combined."

"We only know..."

Qin Lan paused, seemingly weighing her words.

"He belonged to a unit codenamed 'Dragon Vein'."

"That unit doesn't belong to any system; it reports directly to the highest level."

"Their mission..."

Qin Lan looked at Su Che, enunciating every word.

"Is to forge the impossible for this nation."

Forge the impossible.

These five words instantly cleared the fog in Su Che's mind.

He thought of the advanced theories in the notebook, thought of the alloy named "Kunlun Alloy", and thought of that hastily written warning about "particle weapons".

So, this was the kind of work his grandfather had always been doing.

So, the "junk" in his hands was cut from the same cloth as his grandfather's research back then.

"Then... my grandfather, he..."

"We don't know."

Qin Lan shook her head.

"All member information for the 'Dragon Vein' unit is top secret. We only found that fifteen years ago, he disappeared from the unit's roster due to an 'accident'."

"Publicly, it was announced as a sacrifice."

Su Che fell silent.

It was that damn fifteen years ago again, the same time Lin Waner's father had his accident.

He touched the rough cover of the notebook; it felt as if his grandfather's warmth still lingered on it.

"We need to take this evidence."

Qin Lan pointed to the notebook.

"With this, plus Scorpion's testimony, that recording, and the transfer records, it's enough to nail Ma Wenju."

"This traitor won't have any chance to turn things around again."

Su Che nodded and pushed the notebook and all the materials over.

"The nation treats me as a scholar, and I am willing to do my utmost for the nation!"

"Good."

Qin Lan solemnly took the file bag and gave Su Che a standard military salute.

"Comrade Su Che, on behalf of the nation, I thank you."

"From now on, your safety will be under our complete protection."

Su Che waved his hand.

"Alright, enough with the formalities."

"Hurry up and arrest the person; it's annoying to look at."

Qin Lan and Gao Jian exchanged glances and nodded.

They were just preparing to leave with the items.

"Rumble—!"

A familiar, heavy engine roar approached from the distance, once again engulfing the entire Su Family Village.

It wasn't a car.

It was a helicopter.

A Z-20 helicopter painted in military green camouflage hovered over the village.

The cabin door opened.

A familiar figure slid down the rope ladder quickly.

It was General Zhang.

His face, etched with the weathering of time, wore an unprecedented seriousness.

In his hand, he was carrying a jet-black... metal briefcase that had never been seen before.