Chapter 250
Jiang Chen stuffed the phone into his pocket.
“Please cooperate with my work, Mr. Jiang.” Dagger forced out a smile as Jiang Chen was clearly not willing to follow the order.
Daylight during the winter was short, and although it was still moments before six in the afternoon, it was already turning dark.
Despite not being able to see the emotion hidden in Jiang Chen’s eyes, Dagger could clearly sense that Jiang Chen was in a terrible mood.
Seeing Jiang Chen had no reaction, Dagger let out a sigh, extended his hand, and pleaded, “Please don’t make this difficult for me… Give me the phone first.”
Jiang Chen narrowed his eyes, and said—one word at a time—”I’ve never made it difficult for you. It’s you that has always made it difficult for me, and now, I had enough.”
Dagger paused. He didn’t think the always-cooperating Jiang Chen would say this.
Although his words certainly had rationale to it, from the perspective of a soldier, Dagger could not back off.
With his head lowered, Dagger made the last request pleadingly, “Please consider the bigger picture.”
“I don’t understand the bigger picture, I will find my own way to save my girlfriend.”
It wasn’t until this moment did Jiang Chen finally realize the thought hidden in the deepest part of his heart.
If they were only girlfriend and boyfriend in name, and if he didn’t like her, he would never be so livid.
Since he was already sure, there was no need to be hesitant.
Jiang Chen turned to head to his Maybach.
“Sorry, I would have to force you to make the right decision,” Dagger said as he took out a pistol.
“You’re pointing your gun at me?” Jiang Chen inquired interestingly.
“Sorry.”
“You dare to shoot me?” Jiang Chen laughed.
If he died, the program would definitely not be delivered to Zhongxin High Tech. The only winner would be the people unwilling to see Dragon II deployed ahead of schedule. For the General Staff Department, it was not an ending they wanted to see.
Dagger didn’t respond as he only stood there in silence, but the gun was moving down and pointed at Jiang Chen’s leg.
The intensity in his eyes seems to reflect his attitude—If you dare to leave, I will shoot your leg.
Jiang Chen’s eyes began to turn cold.
The two stood still without moving.
Because of how desolate the place was, no one walked nearby. Dagger didn’t need to disguise the way he held the gun.
The only noise that interrupted this silence was the white birch tree swaying in the wind.
They stared at each other.
The calmness displayed by Jiang Chen confirmed Dagger’s suspicions: he was not just a businessman. If he were an ordinary person, he would’ve wet his pants upon seeing a real gun.
This was the real reason why he pulled out the gun.
Instincts told him that in hand-to-hand combat, he had no confidence in restraining Jiang Chen.
As the second and hour hands on the watch crossed at the six o’clock position, the street lamp suddenly lit up.
The abrupt piercing light caused Dagger to squint his eyes.
At that exact moment, Jiang Chen moved.
Dagger was shocked by Jiang Chen’s sudden movement in closing the distance. This ability that Jiang Chen demonstrated left him with no choice but to go all out.
He lifted his left arm up, attempting to use his elbow to strike Jiang Chen’s ribcage. If that move landed, Jiang Chen would have at least three rib bones broken.
But his plan fell through.
Despite how experienced he was at fighting, this level of attack was futile against a body strengthened by the genetic vaccine. With a bone strength of 29, it was two times that of an ordinary person; the resilience of Jiang Chen’s rib bone was no less than his humerus.
Jiang Chen easily took the hit and ignored the stunned expression on Dagger’s face. He took a swing with his right hand and landed a hit on Dagger’s jaw, knocking Dagger right out.
He quietly picked up the pistol on the ground and placed it in his pocket. Taking out his phone, he called Ayesha.
“Find me at where I parked, let’s get going.”
…
In a warehouse in Hucheng’s rural area…
Miao Jun sat slanted on a chair. His limbs were tied on the chair, his dangled face was bruised in red and blue, with blood dripping from his mouth.
“I won’t say anything.”
“I don’t plan on letting you say anything.” Zhang Youjie shrugged as he pulled a chair and sat across from him. A smile appeared on his face.
“We only need your cooperation.”
“Cooperation?” Miao Jun sneered and stared provocatively at Zhang Youjie in the eyes, “Why don’t you just kill me.”
Zhang Youjie’s eyebrows raised as he stared back with an ambiguous expression.
A cold sweat rolled down from Miao Jun’s forehead. He suddenly felt that he was under the watch of a cobra examining its prey; there were no secrets in front of him.
“Miao Jun, 25, graduated in Shangjin National Defense University with an outstanding performance. After graduation, received training in the province of Lu for new recruitment training. Later incorporated into the Ji Division’s special force for special force training, and eventually became a part of the General Staff Department in 2014 to conduct anti-spy work domestically. With how fast you are rising up the ladder, you have connections, right?” Zhang Youjie crossed his eyes and said with a grin.
Miao Jun was utterly dumbfounded and looked at the man in front of him in disbelief.
His background was considered a top secret…
With a grin, Zhang Youjie chirped, “Sorry, we also have ‘connections’.”
“Traitor,” He squeezed out a word in his mouth and stared gravely at Zhang Youjie’s eyes.
“You seemed to have mistaken something. Although I’m Asian, I grew up in UA. How should I say this in regular language… I’m an UA-born Han?” Zhang Youjie said with a smile.
Seeing Miao Jun not saying anything else, Zhang Youjie’s body leaned forward and examined him with manipulative eyes.
“Although we have different nationalities, to me, I think you and I have a lot of similarities.”
“Oh? I don’t think so.”
“I graduated from Northpoint Academy, and you also graduated from the top military academy in Hua. Are you really willing to die like this? Your life only just began.”
Miao Jun raised his head and enunciated, “It is my honor to sacrifice myself for the country.”
“Is that so? But what you did is contradictory,” Zhang Youjie leaned on the chair, crossed his arms in front of his chest, and used an ‘I understand you’ tone, “Based on the attitude you displayed during work, as well as your stance during the conversation with other people, you don’t seem to plan on dedicating your entire life to this job?”
Miao Jun’s eyes widened, he didn’t understand how could they have such a detailed investigation with him just being a typical agent while still in the process of being evaluated.
What he didn’t know was that the enemy didn’t have a detailed report on him—bluffing was a conventional technique used during negotiation. Obtaining vast amount of information through a limited amount of information, although it may not be effective against seasoned agents, was incredibly effective against new recruits.
Seeing the expression on Miao Jun’s face, Zhang Youjie displayed a triumphant smile.
He opened his arm, stared Miao Jun in the eyes and spoke with the same understanding tone, “What’s the difference? Obtaining some credentials and then retire to start a career that has nothing to do with protecting the country. With your background of being a former General Staff Department, you’ll just become a bodyguard for the rich? Join us, we can make you a wealthy person right away.”
Miao Jun held his breath as his eyes began to waver.
The ideology that had been engraved in him told him that he should reject; but with how Zhang Youjie described it, it seemed to be the case.
He planned to leave the army anyways.
Just look at Dagger, that was the reward for loyalty.
Zhang Youjie acutely noticed the change on Miao Jun’s face as he threw out another tempting offer.
“One million USD, a green card, a ticket to the free world, you could easily start a new life. And what you only needed to do is to cooperate with us for one thing in the next two days.”
Then, Zhang Youjie no longer said anything as he silently listened to the breathing that was periodically tense, and then calm while he waited for the response.
Typically, if the target was silent, it was half successful.
The silence lasted for fifteen minutes.
“… What do you need me to do?” Miao Jun lowered his head.
A victorious smile appeared on Zhang Youjie’s face.
“It’s something simple, you only need to…”