Siheyuan (courtyard house): My father, Li Yunlong!

"You...you're talking nonsense! I...I have to go back and cook for the children!"

After saying that, he turned and ran home as if fleeing, not daring to look back.

Watching her slender figure sway slightly flustered, Li Zhenhua felt great. He chuckled twice and pushed his bicycle to continue walking out.

Just as I reached the front gate, I bumped into Sha Zhu, who was yawning and rubbing his eyes as he came out.

Sha Zhu immediately spotted Qin Huairu, who had just emerged from the moon gate with a flushed face and a flustered expression, and then saw Li Zhenhua pushing the cart behind her with a smug look on his face. His thick eyebrows immediately furrowed.

He stopped Qin Huairu and asked in a muffled voice.

"Sister Qin, what's wrong? Did that kid surnamed Li in the backyard bully you?"

He clenched his fist. Although he was still a little scared when he remembered being thrown last night, his heroic feelings of protecting Sister Qin instantly surged up.

Qin Huairu dared not tell the truth and quickly shook her head, her eyes darting away.

"No...no! Sha Zhu, don't make wild guesses. Section Chief Li didn't bully me."

Fearing that Sha Zhu might do something foolish and cause trouble for Li Zhenhua, she quickly changed the subject, her face showing just the right amount of distress.

"Sigh, it's just... I'm just thinking about things at home. Dongxu and the others paid their fines yesterday, so this month will be even tougher. Banggeng and the others are at the age where they're growing..."

As she spoke, her eyes reddened slightly, making her look even more pitiful.

Upon hearing this, Sha Zhu's protective instincts and desire to perform immediately surged, and he temporarily put aside his suspicions about Li Zhenhua, thumping his chest loudly.

"Sister Qin! What are you worried about! I'm here! Starting today, for the next two weeks, you can have all my lunchboxes! I guarantee Banggeng and the others will have plenty to eat!"

Qin Huairu was just hearing those words, and her face immediately lit up with a look of overwhelming gratitude.

"Silly Zhu, you...you really are...thank you so much! I don't even know how to thank you..."

"Hey! Don't be so polite with me!"

Sha Zhu waved his hand, exuding a heroic air, as if he could already see Qin Huairu's admiring gaze.

As Li Zhenhua pushed his cart past, he happened to hear Sha Zhu's last promise. He glanced at Sha Zhu's "savior" look and Qin Huairu's "grateful" eyes, and he knew exactly what was going on. He couldn't help but find it funny, but he was too lazy to point it out. He whistled as he left the courtyard and rode his bike straight to the steel mill.

Upon arriving at the factory, the intelligence department maintained the peaceful atmosphere of a retirement home.

Old Zhou was holding a newspaper, Old Liu was dozing off, and Old Chen was slowly wiping the table.

Li Zhenhua brewed himself a cup of Tieguanyin tea he bought from the system's store, leaned back in his chair, and planned to catch up on the sleep he missed last night. He was still thinking about how to safely use the system to make money.

Just as his eyelids started to droop, a young clerk from the department rushed over.

"Section Chief Li! The director has issued an urgent notice: all section chiefs must immediately assemble in the small conference room for a meeting! It's important!"

Li Zhenhua jolted awake, his drowsiness mostly dispelled.

All section chiefs need to meet?

He didn't dare to delay, so he quickly straightened his clothes and followed the officer to the small conference room.

The conference room was filled with smoke, and most of the department heads had arrived.

Sun Weimin, the head of the security department, sat in the main seat, his face unusually solemn and serious.

When he saw Li Zhenhua come in, he simply gestured with his eyes to indicate the empty seat and didn't say anything more.

Once everyone had arrived, Sun Weimin cleared his throat and got straight to the point, his voice low and serious.

"The cleaning crew found this early this morning while clearing a pile of waste and garbage."

As he spoke, he picked up something wrapped in newspaper from under the table. When he opened it, he found a somewhat old-looking, finely crafted metal part with some burn marks and dents.

"After preliminary identification by specialists from the factory's technical department and security department."

Sun Weimin's gaze swept over every section chief present.

"This is a filter capacitor specifically used in an old model of radio transmitter! The crucial point is that we searched all the registered radios and communication equipment in the factory, even the scrap metal warehouse, and there was no record of this model of part! It doesn't belong to our steel rolling mill!"

With a "whoosh!", the conference room instantly erupted in chaos!

Enemy agents!

These two incredibly heavy words instantly surfaced in everyone's mind.

What does it mean that a radio part that doesn't belong in the factory is found in the scrap heap?

This means that there is a high possibility that enemy agents are lurking in the factory, using the factory environment as cover to carry out illegal activities!

This is a huge deal!

The section chiefs whispered among themselves, their faces showing shock and worry.

This is not a simple theft or fight; it involves enemy agents and is extremely serious. If it is not handled properly, everyone will be implicated.

Sun Weimin tapped the table to silence the murmurs and said in a deep voice.

"That's the situation. It's very serious, and our superiors have ordered us to conduct a thorough investigation within a specified timeframe! Now, I need a section chief to lead this investigation."

The moment the words were spoken, the conference room, which had been buzzing with discussion, fell completely silent.

The section chiefs, who had just been looking worried about the country and its people, were now either studying their fingernails, glancing out the window, or pretending to cough from the smoke. In short, none of them dared to look Sun Weimin in the eye.

Are you kidding me?

How do we investigate this case?

It's just a broken part, picked up from a garbage dump. Who knows when it was thrown in?

We have absolutely no clue; it's like looking for a needle in a haystack!

Even if the investigation is successful, the credit may not be significant.

If they can't find out, that's incompetence, and they might even be suspected of covering it up. Who will take responsibility then?

Anyone who takes on this obviously thankless and troublesome hot potato would be a fool!

An eerie silence filled the conference room, broken only by the sound of Sun Weimin's fingers tapping on the table, one tap after another, striking a chord in everyone's hearts.

In the midst of this suffocating silence, Zhang Guangming, the first deputy director sitting to Sun Weimin's left, a fat man, was the first to break the deadlock.

He took out a handkerchief and wiped non-existent sweat from his forehead, forcing an embarrassed smile as he chuckled awkwardly.

"Chief, this...this case is indeed important and urgent! However...our Security Section 1 and Section 2 have been incredibly busy lately. You see, patrolling the factory area, maintaining security in the residential area, and coordinating with the police station...we simply can't spare any manpower. If any环节 (link/step) goes wrong because of manpower redeployment, I can't bear the responsibility..."

As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Zhengyi, another deputy director to his right, immediately chimed in, his tone equally filled with "helplessness."

"Yes, Director, Deputy Director Zhang is right. Our Economic Security Section and Production Management Section are also under a lot of pressure. Several key warehouses and the Finance Section are counting on us. Things are tense lately, and we can't afford to relax at all. This sudden important task requires a lean and capable team, and we... sigh, we're really not up to the task."

The two spoke in unison, seemingly stating the difficulties, but in reality, every word they uttered was aimed at stripping the various powerful departments under their command of power.

They knew perfectly well that anyone who got involved in this kind of unsolved case was doomed.