Rebirth in 1972: Redemption in Changbai Mountain

Lin Guoqiang could tell from Tong Jinjun's gritted teeth that he was determined to reveal his identity that Tong was very resentful. After all, the two had been secretly competing for years, and he himself had failed to catch him.

"You don't need to feel so aggrieved. This isn't a comparison between the two of us, but a contest between nations. I don't care whether I captured you or not; personal honor is nothing to boast about. I only care that your mission has failed and you've been captured."

"Even if I am captured, I will not reveal a single piece of information."

Lin Guoqiang shook his head. He had seen many enemies like this; they all pretended to be tough, but in the end, they all said what they meant.

"Squad Leader Li, take these two men away and keep a close watch on them. We'll head back to the county town first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes."

After Lin Guoqiang and the others were taken away, they squatted down and looked at the things Zhou Rui and his men had found: money, gold bars, books, and guns.

"Is that all?" Lin Guoqiang looked up at Zhou Rui.

Seeing Lin Guoqiang's questioning look, Zhou Rui quickly nodded: "Everything we could find is here."

As for why a telescope was missing, Zhou Rui didn't mention it, and when asked, he simply said it wasn't there.

As for the other items, they really didn't touch them. They didn't even glance at the cash, gold bars, or even a single stone. They didn't care about such low-value items; they could easily find them in a trip to the mountains.

Lin Guoqiang remained silent and ordered his men to collect everything on the ground and check it one by one when they got back.

A moment later, a young soldier ran over, whispered something in Lin Guoqiang's ear, and glanced at Zhou Rui.

Lin Guoqiang smiled and looked at Zhou Rui with a hint of mockery: "Tong Jinjun's hand injury wasn't from a rifle shot."

"Hehe..." Zhou Rui could only use laughter to cover it up; it was his only flaw. Of all the firearms they brought, only this one didn't have a gun license.

As Zhou Rui laughed, he pulled the Browning from his back and handed it to Lin Guoqiang with the barrel turned upside down.

Wang Shouye and Gu Shaofeng also looked over; they were too nervous to ask earlier.

This was the first time they had ever seen Zhou Rui's pistol; they had never seen him take it out before. At this moment...

"Blanclin M1935, 9mm caliber, 13-round magazine capacity, muzzle velocity 335 meters per second, effective range 50 meters. Where did this come from?"

Lin Guoqiang played with it skillfully for a while, and could even recite some data off the top of his head.

"Bought on the black market." Zhou Rui had no reason to hide this from Lin Guoqiang; he could guess it even without Zhou Rui saying it.

"Keep it here for now. I'll get you a new gun license when we get back, and you can take it with you next time you go to your unit," Lin Guoqiang said, putting the pistol back into his pocket.

This was truly an unexpected surprise. Zhou Rui thought he was going to lose the pistol, but he didn't expect Lin Guoqiang to be willing to vouch for him.

"Do you have licenses for all your other guns?" Although Lin Guoqiang thought it was impossible for Wang Shouye and the others to break the rules, he still asked one more question.

Wang Shouye quickly told several of his apprentices to bring the gun licenses so that Lin Guoqiang could take a look.

The documents were all genuine. Except for Wang Shouye and Gu Shaofeng, the guns of the others were bought from Xiangyang Forestry Farm, and the documents were also issued by the forestry farm.

"Alright, no problem. I want to thank you for helping us catch these spies and preventing them from escaping."

Everyone was delighted to hear this, feeling that their efforts overnight had not been in vain, and even the deputy minister of the armed forces department thanked them.

Zhou Rui glanced at Zhang Shitou and noticed that his eyes lit up, but he was still somewhat dazed. He quickly pulled Lin Guoqiang aside.

"Minister Lin, there's something I need your help with."

"Tell me what it is, and I'll help as much as I can."

Lin Guoqiang noticed that Zhou Rui had avoided looking for him from others and didn't know what had happened. But he valued Zhou Rui highly.

According to him, Zhou Rui played a pivotal role in both missions, and his contributions were unparalleled.

"My third senior brother, Zhang Shitou, just now, in order to save me, he riddled that old Qin with bullets at close range."

This is his first time killing someone, and it happened so close, I saw it all so clearly, he might be traumatized. I hope you can help me get him back to normal.

Zhou Rui, who came from a later era, knew that after committing murder for the first time, ordinary people would usually experience strong physiological and psychological stress reactions.

Some people may recover and return to normal, while others will develop psychological trauma, and if not treated in time, they may suffer for the rest of their lives.

How can I help you?

Zhou Rui was somewhat surprised by Lin Guoqiang's bewildered expression. He had assumed that given Lin Guoqiang's status, he should be able to understand some of the psychological issues faced by soldiers. However, he quickly realized that psychology in this era had likely ceased to exist due to the Cultural Revolution.

"Could you call all the soldiers out and praise us in public? Most importantly, tell my third senior brother that the old Qin he killed was a bad guy. He did it for the country. Of course, it would be best if he could get a certificate of merit."

Zhou Rui explained his solution in one breath.

He didn't know systematic psychology, but he knew how to strengthen a person's beliefs. This era believed in sacrificing everything for the motherland. As long as Zhang Shitou knew that he was doing this for the country, all the negative impacts would naturally disappear.

"Okay, that's fine. It's what I should do anyway, and I do have this certificate, but I'll have to wait until the case is closed."

After a while, Squad Leader Li led a group of soldiers to stand in a row, their upright posture carrying a hint of solemnity.

Zhou Rui pulled Zhang Shitou to stand in the closest position to Lin Guoqiang so that he could hear more clearly.

"This Tong Jinjun is a veteran spy sent by the Russians. He has been active in Northeast my country for many years under various aliases." Lin Guoqiang was a good storyteller, and his words immediately attracted Zhang Shitou's attention.

"Over the years, I've had many encounters with this shadowy agent. Although he didn't gain much advantage, I've never been able to catch him red-handed."

This time, he came to our Chinese soil again to carry out a mission that endangers our national security, and finally revealed his weakness.

Squad Leader Li and I tracked them for a long time, losing them several times and finding them again each time.

I am proud of them. They truly deserve to be called people's soldiers, possessing a spirit of hard work, perseverance, and never giving up.

Clap clap clap... Everyone clapped together. Although there weren't many people, the atmosphere was lively.

"Finally, I would also like to commend our comrades Wang Shouye, Gu Shaofeng, Wang Zhen, Zhang Shitou, and Zhou Rui. Although they are not soldiers, they are no less capable than us soldiers."

For their country, they braved danger to fight criminals and captured enemies that even we struggled to catch.

In particular, Comrade Zhou Rui was bravely wounded in the process. And Comrade Zhang Shitou, for the safety of his junior brother, killed the stubborn thugs who resisted, which is even more commendable.

Once the case is closed, I will personally bring the commendation and award certificate from my superiors to your village to present you with the prize.

Clap clap clap... The applause rang out again, even more enthusiastically. Zhang Shitou was so excited that he didn't even notice his hands hurting from clapping.

Zhou Rui glanced at him and thought to himself, there shouldn't be any problems. The award certificate should be able to sweep away all the evil spirits shrouding the gloom.