Official excuse: I've put you on patrol in Handong, and the whole province is in a panic.

He took a sip of bitter coffee, forcing himself to calm down.

In any case, by 2 PM, the mystery would be partially revealed. And his fate, perhaps, had already quietly shifted onto an unexpected path the moment he received that phone call from his secretary, Xiao Zhang.

......

Su Zhe sat in the coffee shop for almost an hour.

The words of Secretary Zhao and Director Wang Xuan, as well as the sudden summons, echoed repeatedly in his mind. He tried to search the corners of his memory for any possible clues related to "Old Sun," but to no avail.

My grandfather was a veteran who participated in the war, but after retiring from the army, he became an ordinary factory cadre.

My father once served as a military attaché stationed abroad... unfortunately, he sacrificed his life while performing foreign affairs duties.

My mother is now a middle school teacher and is about to retire.

My family has a clean reputation and simple social relationships.

Old Sun... the level that name represents is too far removed from his own.

Seeing that it was almost time, Su Zhe stood up, paid the bill, and left.

He hailed a taxi and gave the driver the address of the Ming Lao office.

The driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror with some surprise, then couldn't help but ask, "That place isn't for ordinary people... Are you going there on official business?"

Su Zhe smiled and shook his head.

"It's not convenient to say."

The driver said enthusiastically, "I'll waive the fare for you, can you say so?"

Upon hearing this, Su Zhe was taken aback.

No.

Are all taxi drivers in old Beijing really this gossipy?

He coughed lightly and said, "It's not very convenient...hehe..."

The driver sighed.

However, the journey that followed was not without its challenges.

He kept chatting with Su Zhe about all sorts of gossip he knew...

They tried every possible way to lure Su Zhe into revealing some "insider information".

Su Zhe was speechless.

"Brother, people who can go to that place aren't ordinary. What do you do for a living?"

Su Zhe perked up.

"The main focus is on catching spies."

"Catching spies?"

Su Zhe explained, "Yes, especially those who like to pry into the affairs of public officials and ask them all sorts of questions. They might be spies! Arrest them, detain them for six months, and investigate thoroughly! There's a reward of 500,000 yuan for each one!"

The driver's eyes widened in disbelief.

"Five hundred thousand?! That's that much? No... uh..."

The driver reacted instantly.

Holy crap...

I was just asking around and asking random questions.

Locking someone up for six months is too cruel.

Forget it, I'd better just shut up.

The driver remained unusually quiet throughout the journey.

About forty minutes later, the taxi stopped at an intersection, the driver pointed ahead and gestured with his mouth.

He then pointed to the location, indicating that they had arrived.

Su Zhe thanked him, paid, and got out of the car.

He straightened his jacket and shirt, took a deep breath, and walked in the direction the driver had indicated.

After walking about one or two hundred meters, a solemn and majestic red wall came into view.

The red walls stretch out, their tops covered with golden glazed tiles, making them particularly eye-catching in the afternoon sun.

In the middle of the wall are two heavy red doors, and inside the red doors is a screen wall.

On the wall are five powerful, golden characters: "Serve the People".

On either side of the gate stood upright guards with guns, dressed in military uniforms, their eyes fixed straight ahead, their expressions resolute, exuding an inviolable majesty.

Su Zhe stopped a dozen meters away from the gate.

He knew that he couldn't approach without permission.

He stood under a big tree by the roadside, checked his watch, and saw that it was still ten minutes to two o'clock.

He waited patiently, his gaze involuntarily drifting back to the gate and the guard in front of it.

An indescribable sense of awe and distance arose in his heart.

Time passed second by second.

One fifty-eight.

A small side door next to the large iron gate opened, and a young man in his early thirties, wearing a dark jacket, strode out.

He glanced around and quickly spotted Su Zhe standing under the tree. A smile spread across his face as he strode over to him.

"Hello, are you Comrade Su Zhe?"

The young man extended his hand, his tone warm yet measured.

Su Zhe quickly stepped forward and shook the other person's hand: "I'm Su Zhe. Hello!"

"I'm Wang Peng from Mr. Sun's office," the young man introduced himself. "Secretary-General Huang sent me to pick you up. Please follow me."

"Thank you for your help, Director Wang," Su Zhe said politely. Although he didn't know the other party's specific position, calling him "director" was never wrong.

"Don't be so polite, just call me Xiao Wang." Wang Peng smiled and stepped aside to lead the way. "Please come this way."

Su Zhe followed Wang Peng toward the small side door. As they passed the guard at the door, Wang Peng showed him his identification and gestured to Su Zhe. The guard stood at attention, saluted, and quickly glanced at Su Zhe before returning to his standing posture.

Stepping through the side door, what you find is not the courtyard you imagined, but a transitional space resembling a reception hall.

Wang Peng led Su Zhe straight to a security gate on the side.

"Comrade Su Zhe, according to regulations, you need to go through security," Wang Peng explained.

"Understood." Su Zhe nodded and followed Wang Peng's instructions to walk through the security gate.

The security gate did not sound an alarm.

There was another staff member next to him, who used a security scanner to conduct a close-up search of him.

The procedures were strict, but the staff were relatively polite.

After the security check was completed, Wang Peng led Su Zhe to a worktable next to them.

Identity verification is required here.

"Comrade Su Zhe, please register your fingerprints." The staff handed over a fingerprint scanner.

Su Zhe placed his thumbs on the data collector in turn. The green light flashed, indicating that the data collection was successful.

"Okay, now please face this camera and undergo facial recognition."

Su Zhe faced the camera as instructed. After a brief scan, the system indicated that the verification was successful.

Wang Peng watched from the side, and after all the procedures were completed, he smiled at Su Zhe and said, "Alright, Comrade Su Zhe, we can go in now. This way, please."

Only after passing through this internal security checkpoint can you truly enter the work area.

Suddenly, a wide and clean road opened up before us, with ancient trees reaching for the sky on both sides, providing ample shade and creating an extremely tranquil environment.

Wang Peng didn't say much, but quietly led the way.

Su Zhe followed behind him, also remaining silent, cautiously observing his surroundings.

Everything here appears orderly, exuding an invisible sense of discipline and power.

After walking for about five or six minutes, Su Zhe arrived at the entrance of an office building.

There were also plainclothes personnel on duty at the entrance, who nodded to Wang Peng when they saw him.

Wang Peng pushed open the building door and invited Su Zhe in.

The interior decoration is simple, but the materials and details reveal its excellence. The floor is made of polished marble, the walls are a soft off-white, and the lighting is warm and not glaring.

"Comrade Su Zhe, please sit here for a moment. I'll go report to Secretary-General Huang." Wang Peng led Su Zhe to a small reception room on the first floor, which contained several sofas and a coffee table.

"Okay, you're busy." Su Zhe sat down on a single sofa near the door, his back still ramrod straight.

Wang Peng turned and left. The reception room was quiet, with faint sounds of conversation coming from a room upstairs. Su Zhe waited patiently, his mood actually calmer than when he was outside. Now that he was already inside, there was no point in thinking too much; he could only play it by ear.