Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

Northern Front Command Post.

5:40 a.m.

The wind blew in from the end of the corridor, and the cracks in the door smelled of sand.

Shen Zhong stood at the door of the temporary confidential room, his military uniform buttoned up tightly, the major general's star insignia on his shoulder so heavy that it was hard to look up.

Zhou Weiguo carried a stack of materials and walked over quickly, his steps very light.

"Sir, the three empty contracts from the Quartermaster Department have no pry marks on the locks of the safes, and the file folders are not damaged."

Shen Zhong held a cigarette between his fingers, but didn't light it.

"Did you check the footprints?"

"We checked, and there have been too many people coming and going in the corridor these past two days, including logistics, communications, and duty officers. We can't screen them all out."

Shen Zhong held the cigarette between his fingers without even lifting his eyelids.

"Who told you to sift through footprints?"

Zhou Weiguo stopped.

"Then what to check?"

"Copier".

Zhou Weiguo was stunned for a moment, then immediately realized what was happening.

"Watermarked log?"

Shen Zhong glanced at him.

"The fact that the quartermaster's contract could disappear from the safe means that the person who took it knew where the safe was, when no one was around, and that they could put it back after taking it."

He put the cigarette back in the cigarette case.

"That kind of person wouldn't be stupid enough to leave footprints in the hallway."

Zhou Weiguo nodded.

"I'll adjust it right away."

"Don't get it from the quartermaster department." Shen Zhong turned and walked inside. "Get the lower-level logs from the confidential desk. Every page of the military photocopier has an invisible timestamp in the background. The machine remembers who applied, who swiped their card, and who opened the cover."

"clear."

Zhou Weiguo took two steps, then turned back.

"Sir, should we seal off the quartermaster station first?"

"No lockdown."

Shen Zhong took off his gloves and threw them on the table.

"If there are fish in the house, make them think the water is still warm."

8:20 a.m.

The lights in the confidential room were pale.

An offline terminal sat on the table, and the printed watermark comparison report was spread out over three pages.

Zhou Weiguo pushed the enlarged image in front of Shen Zhong.

"Sir, it matches up."

In the report, the background of the three empty contracts was broken down into six layers.

To the naked eye it was just a pale gray, but after being restored by military equipment, the timecode on the bottom was clearly displayed.

The day before, at 7:37 PM.

Before Shen Zhong arrived at the northern route.

Three copies were made in violation of regulations.

"applicant?"

Zhou Weiguo turned to the second page.

"Deputy Director of the Northern Front War Preparedness Support Bureau"

The staff officers inside remained silent.

This position is not low.

They are in charge of combat readiness materials, mobile warehousing, and emergency supplies, and their work overlaps with military supplies, communications, and vehicles in peacetime.

If we're talking about finding empty contracts, he certainly does.

If we're talking about daring to do it, he certainly has the guts.

Shen Zhong picked up the report and turned to the signature section.

The signature is very neat, and the pen pressure is very heavy.

"Where is he?"

"I just finished attending the combat readiness meeting and am back in my office."

Shen Zhong closed the report.

"Please come here."

Zhou Weiguo reminded him in a low voice.

"Sir, may I ask?"

Shen Zhong put on his military cap.

"He's still in his uniform; give him three minutes of dignity."

Three minutes later.

trial room.

The walls were painted white, and there was only one lamp on the table.

The deputy director of the War Preparedness Support Bureau sat opposite me, his shoulders ramrod straight and his uniform impeccably neat.

The man, in his forties, had a well-maintained face, but his eyes were a bit bluish.

Shen Zhong sat down without saying a word.

Zhou Weiguo placed the three copies of the contract on the table and put the watermark log next to it.

The deputy director glanced at it and picked up one of the pages.

"Sir, I can explain this."

Shen Zhong didn't move.

"explain."

"Backup of combat readiness data." The deputy director put down the paper. "The northern front is under great supply pressure recently. The contract of the Military Supplies Department involves subsequent support. As the deputy director in charge of the Combat Readiness Support Bureau, it is normal for me to make a backup."

Zhou Weiguo looked at him.

"The backup needs to be copied at 7:37 PM?"

"I'll be busy during the day that day, so I'll only have time to work at night."

"Where's the application form?"

"Re-signing".

"Who approved it?"

The deputy director's tone became more composed.

"According to the emergency response procedures, I can access the documents first."

Shen Zhong finally looked up.

Which one?

The deputy director's throat moved slightly.

"Emergency Regulations for Combat Readiness Support..."

Which one?

The deputy director didn't answer.

Shen Zhong pushed the watermark log forward half an inch.

"You swiped your card, opened the cover, made three copies, and stayed for four minutes and twenty-six seconds."

He pointed to the third one.

"There's a crease in the bottom right corner of the contract. The machine records show that the second page got stuck once. You took it out, flattened it, and then put it back in."

The deputy director's facial muscles tensed.

"Sir, the machine records can only prove that I made a copy, not that I leaked secrets."

Zhou Weiguo's face darkened.

Shen Zhong raised his hand to stop him.

"continue."

The deputy director seemed to have regained some confidence.

"Those three contracts were within the scope of military preparedness, and I had the authority to access them. As for who took them and how they were leaked, that cannot be attributed to me."

"you're right."

Shen nodded.

The deputy director's eyes relaxed a little.

The next moment, Shen Zhong took out a pistol from his waist.

The movements were slow, yet they made the air in the room feel oppressive.

Click.

Magazine ejected.

Snapped.

He slammed the metal magazine down on the table, causing the papers to slide forward half an inch.

The deputy director leaned back in his chair, his expression finally changing.

"Sir, what's wrong...?"

Shen Zhong looked at him.

"You have to choose one of these two accusations: suspected terrorism and money laundering, or illegal sale of military spectrum."

The deputy director's lips were dry.

"I don't understand."

"The money from the coastal funds travels through seven bends overseas, only to end up freezing Jingzhou Heavy Machinery and Handong Special Materials."

Shen Zhong pushed the first contract over.

"This empty contract serves as a safety net to ensure the legality of their asset takeover."

Then they pushed the second one over.

"Military frequency band parameters were packaged into technical attachments and attributed to data interoperability support."

The third one was placed beside him.

"Before you made these three copies, someone told you that Shen Zhong is returning to the northern route tomorrow. They told you to act quickly and not leave any loose ends."

The deputy director's forehead was sweating.

"Sir, I was really just following orders."

Zhou Weiguo took a step closer.

"Whose request was that?"

The deputy director glanced at the gun on the table, then at Shen Zhong.

Shen Zhong didn't urge him.

He simply picked up the magazine and put it back into the gun.

Click.

The sound wasn't loud.

The deputy director felt as if he had been struck on the bone.

"I didn't touch the frequency band."

"So you were involved in money laundering?"

"No, not at all!"

The deputy director raised his voice, then lowered it again.

"I only received a coordination letter asking me to cooperate with the data backup. It said that this was a unified arrangement by the front-line coordination group, and the northern route was only responsible for data docking."

Zhou Weiguo immediately pressed for more information.

"Where is the letter?"

The deputy director remained silent.

Shen Zhong put the gun back into its holster.

"If you want to gamble, I'll give you time."

He stood up and straightened his cuffs.

"Starting from now, in ten minutes, I'll have the security department take over. Whatever you say then will be considered an unsuccessful attempt to gain merit."

The deputy director turned pale.

"Sir, I have a copy."

Shen Zhong stopped at the door.

"take."

"It's in a hidden compartment in my office," the deputy director said, his voice much lower. "On the second shelf of the bookcase, behind the set of war preparedness regulations on the left, there's a manila envelope."