Rebirth 1977 Great Era

Chapter 1138 The Big Fish Caught in the Net, We Overestimated Him (Bonus Chapter for Monthly Tickets)

"What's going on?" He You's voice was dry and trembling, as if his throat was being squeezed. His feigned composure shattered instantly. He instinctively grabbed Fang Yan's arm, his knuckles turning white with force.

Fang Yan shook his hand, directly shaking He You's hand away.

He You didn't have time to think any further; his gaze had already fallen upon the people who had entered.

Armed soldiers filed in, instantly freezing the false liveliness of the banquet hall in a cold and solemn atmosphere.

His heart was pounding, and only one thought crossed his mind: It's over!

Fang Yan didn't speak, but simply turned her head slightly and gave him a look.

His gaze was calm, without even surprise; it was more like confirmation, a cold, all-knowing understanding, tinged with a barely perceptible hint of...pity.

That one glance!
He You felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, and his whole body trembled violently! His last bit of hope collapsed instantly!

"You...you knew all along?! You plotted against us?! No...it's impossible..." He You's voice was hoarse and distorted. He really couldn't accept what was happening in front of him. He felt like his spine had been removed, and he slumped completely into the heavy mahogany chair, his face ashen.

Cold sweat instantly soaked through the expensive custom-made shirt I had just changed into that day.

At this moment, He Jingwei and his son, who were also panicked, stood up and instinctively wanted to run away.

The situation is clear enough; something terrible has happened, and a major one at that.

As soon as they stood up, the soldiers who arrived immediately pressed them back down.

They also took them all under their control.

Both of them were wincing in pain; these people really showed no mercy, almost breaking their bones.

After taking control of them, I searched their bodies to make sure they weren't carrying anything before I relaxed my grip on them a little.

As for He You, he was already slumped in his chair, and the person who came simply pressed down on his shoulder.

The women in their family were pale-faced and gave up resisting. As the armed men entered, they immediately raised their hands in surrender, clearly knowing the purpose of their family's return to China.

"Take them away! Don't make a fuss," Director Liao ordered.

He You's entire family was led away. At this moment, Fang Yan's second uncle asked in a trembling voice:
"what happened?"

We were all clinking glasses and laughing just a moment ago, how come you suddenly changed your expression like that?

“They had been in contact, so they were all taken back to cooperate with the investigation.” Director Liao pointed to Fang Yan’s second uncle.

"Hey! I was just asking, I... I really was just asking, I don't know anything!" Uncle Fang Yan exclaimed, and Aunt Fang Yan chimed in at this moment:

"That's right, boss, we didn't do anything, you can't just arrest people arbitrarily!"

Director Liao said to them:

"Everything will be thoroughly investigated."

"Hey! Leaders, you guys..." Auntie was about to say something.

"Shut up!" The second uncle realized what was happening and quickly shouted. If his wife still wanted to throw a tantrum at this point, she would definitely be in serious trouble.

After speaking, the second aunt shut her mouth, looking at her husband with confusion. At this moment, the second uncle glanced at Fang Yan, saw Fang Yan's calm expression, shivered, and then respectfully said:

"The leadership should investigate this thoroughly!"

Director Liao waved his hand, and ordered his men to take the person away.

When He You and Fang Yan's second uncle's family were taken away, only Fang Yan's eldest uncle's family remained at the scene, looking completely bewildered. They were too scared to ask questions and could only stare blankly at them.

If they didn't speak, it would seem as if Director Liao had forgotten about them.

After the person left, no one spoke. The atmosphere was still somewhat tense. After all, if someone didn't know what had happened, they would only see the person taking the person away.

Completely bewildered.

Director Liao then addressed the crowd:

"Alright, please keep today's events a secret. Those of you on site, please follow the instructions."

These words were clearly meant for his maternal uncle's family, as well as Jin Wubing and Yan Yifan. Fang Yan was a participant in the operation; he and his mother had been prepared for this for some time.

The private room fell into an eerie and tense silence, with only the suppressed breathing of the eldest uncle's family and Jin Wubing's slightly nervous swallowing sounds.

Yan Yifan glanced at Fang Yan, his face also solemn. Only after Fang Yan gave him a reassuring look did he relax.

Director Liao picked up the cup of tea in front of him, which had long since gone cold, took a small sip, and regained his usual composure, but there was still a hint of the sharpness of a veteran intelligence worker between his brows.

After scanning the crowd, he stood up and addressed Fang Yan, the Ministry of Health leaders, and the hospital director:
"Let's go, everyone continue eating, let's go outside and talk."

Fang Yan nodded and said to his mother, "It's alright."

Then he stood up and walked out with the others.

The door to the private room closed gently behind them, shutting out the lingering panic and oppression inside.

The corridor was covered with thick carpet, which almost completely absorbed the sound of footsteps. Several soldiers were standing there.

When a middle-aged soldier who was waiting saw Director Liao, leaders from the Ministry of Health, and Fang Yan and others come out, he snapped to attention and gave a standard military salute.

Director Liao gestured for them to stop, then introduced the situation to Fang Yan and the others:
"This is Comrade Zhu Weiguo, the person in charge of this operation."

The leaders from the Ministry of Health, the hospital director, and Fang Yan all went up to shake hands with him.

Fang Yan then asked them:

"What's going on? Why were they arrested ahead of schedule?"

The dean, equally curious, asked Director Liao:
"Right, weren't we supposed to wait for the 'plan in two days'? Why did we suddenly move forward?"

The Ministry of Health leader asked:
"Has the situation changed? Has the 'big fish' shown itself ahead of schedule?"

Director Liao looked at Zhu Weiguo, signaling for him to speak.

Zhu Weiguo said:
"Yes! The situation has changed dramatically! We received an urgent report just as the banquet was about to begin."

"Our previous deduction was indeed correct. Huang Qiming was the real mastermind. After He You returned and reported the situation, he panicked and hurriedly began to take action in order to demonstrate his so-called hard power to Comrade Fang Yan. He launched the 'inside man' that we had been searching for and most wanted to lure out!"

"The main reason is that he wanted to use this occasion to prove to Comrade Fang Yan that he could secretly mobilize resources in China to obtain opportunities to go abroad—something he could do without anyone noticing! So he used that person we've been monitoring for a long time, but we haven't been able to catch him directly in contact with!"

"After confirming which lurking personnel the target was, our command center acted decisively!"

"We believed we had to close the net immediately! So, after you all entered the private room, our operation commenced! We apprehended the target on the other end, as well as Huang Qiming himself!"

Upon hearing this, the Ministry of Health leader said:
"So, after He You met Fang Yan and reported the situation to him, he decided to contact his informant here, and that's when he was exposed?"

“Yes.” Zhu Weiguo nodded.

"According to what we heard, He You told Huang Qiming that if things didn't move quickly, Comrade Fang Yan would bypass him and contact the person behind him directly, or contact other parties directly. Huang Qiming was afraid that higher-level forces would intercept him directly, and he also thought that time was precious, so he took the initiative to find the most important hidden 'insider'."

"Now we're abandoning our original plan to infiltrate deep into enemy territory and are closing in ahead of schedule."

Everyone nodded slowly upon hearing this.

"In other words, Huang Qiming's operation was exposed prematurely because of what Fang Yan said to He You," said the leader of the Ministry of Health.

Zhu Weiguo nodded in confirmation:

"That's right, Comrade Fang Yan's words threw them into disarray."

Fang Yan was both amused and exasperated. It was truly a case of forcing a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner to be a spy; any competent spy would never make such a mistake.

It seems I overestimated them.

The world really is a makeshift operation...

At this moment, Zhu Weiguo said again:
"In addition, we also found some traditional Chinese medicine items they brought back, but we don't know what they are. We need Comrade Fang Yan to help identify them."

P.S.: After finishing this chapter, I'm temporarily done with my debts. I currently owe you 0 words!

That's all for today, please come early tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)