Tehran Grocery Store: My Intelligence is Priced Clearly

"Boss, you were looking for me?"

Shahra went down to the basement.

Zhang Jian stood up and pushed the ashtray on the table to the side.

"Have you chosen a new location yet?"

Shahra nodded.

"I've made my choice."

"It's located in a working-class area with complex terrain, many alleys, and cars can't drive in."

"If something goes wrong, it will be easy to get away with it."

Zhang Jian put on his coat and waved to Fahad.

"Let's go take a look."

Half an hour later.

North of the city, Gazvin neighborhood.

This is a typical old town in Tehran, with low, densely packed houses and a jumble of tangled electrical wires overhead.

Shahra led Zhang Jian and Fahad through two narrow alleys and stopped in front of an old two-story brick house.

"Right here."

Shahra took out her key and turned the lock.

Zhang Jian went inside and took a look around.

The first floor used to be a tire repair shop, and there are still a few broken tires piled up in the corner.

There were some oil stains on the ground by the door, and stepping on them made a crunching sound.

Going up the wooden stairs to the second floor, there were two empty bedrooms.

The window isn't big, but it offers a decent view of the street outside.

The back door leads directly to another, even narrower dead-end alley; just over the wall is a vegetable market.

Normally, there are many people around, so if you really want to run away, you can just disappear into the crowd and it will be very difficult to catch you.

Zhang Jian walked to the wall, knocked on the damp brick wall, and it made a dull thud.

He turned to look at Shahra.

Who owns the house next door?

"It's an empty warehouse. The landlord moved to the UAE, and it's currently listed for rent by a real estate agency."

"Rent it."

Zhang Jian made a decisive decision.

He turned to look at Farhad.

"Find a few trustworthy people and have them knock down the wall between these two houses."

"Remember, the opening should be hidden, preferably made into a secret door, the kind that is absolutely undetectable from the outside."

"Or you could just dig a hole in the ground and hide it with something, like under the bed or something."

Farhad nodded.

He gestured on the wall a couple of times, then walked to the corner to look at the location of the load-bearing column.

"Understood. This wall isn't load-bearing; it's easy to break through."

"I will find a few reliable local bricklayers to build the passageway in the storage room under the stairs."

"The outside is blocked by movable cabinets, so even if someone searches, they won't find it."

Zhang Jian patted Fahad on the shoulder.

"It's up to you. Hurry up and get it done in the next couple of days. If you don't have enough money, just tell me."

"Don't worry, boss."

Farhad turned and went out the door, quickly disappearing into the alley.

Zhang Jian patted the dust off his hands.

"Let's go back to the general store."

Shahra drove the black pickup truck, carrying Zhang Jian, towards the south of the city.

Outside the car window, the streetscape of Tehran rushed past.

Zhang Jian leaned back in the back seat, his mind replaying the system warning from that morning.

CIA Deputy Director Langley personally got involved.

The risk level is about to reach a critical point.

This is definitely not a good sign.

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking directly into the system panel.

[System, open the high-value intelligence zone.]

A blue light curtain instantly unfolded before my eyes.

Zhang Jian glanced past the other sections and focused his gaze on the CIA section.

[Exchange for this month's top-secret, high-value intelligence from the CIA Middle East Bureau.]

【Ding! 】

This exchange requires a minimum spend of US$50000. Confirm?

Zhang Jian looked at the string of numbers without any hesitation.

Money can be earned back, but life is gone forever.

"confirm!"

Fifty thousand was deducted from the account instantly.

Immediately afterwards, lines of small text appeared on the blue light screen.

Zhang Jian quickly scanned the information above.

His pupils contracted sharply as soon as he could see the first line of text.

The CIA Night Hawks successfully apprehended the underground arms dealer known as "The Blacksmith" two hours ago.

[During interrogation, the "blacksmith" has provided a portrait of the host and some details of the transaction.]

The blacksmith broke!

Zhang Jian's heart pounded.

That guy seemed like a cautious person, I didn't expect him to be caught so quickly.

The CIA Middle East office has successfully activated a recruited Iranian intelligence officer, codenamed "Sand Fox."

A mole?

Zhang Jian's breath hitched for a moment.

It is impossible to guard against it!

These Iranians really have no patriotism at all; they just sell the country's intelligence like that.

He originally thought that by giving Aiharid the list of traitors within the General Staff, he could buy himself some time.

I can't believe how little time has passed?

Then new intelligence officers were turned.

Although he could sell intelligence for money again, he would rather have less of it when it came to his own safety.

Continue reading to the last item.

[Through intelligence comparison provided by the mole "Sand Fox," the CIA has fully grasped the host's true identity and address information, and deduced that the previous General Staff spy list and the coordinates of the F-16DJ air defense positions were all provided by the host.]

[CIA Middle East Bureau Chief Langley has issued top-level orders; the "Nighthawks" commando team is fully armed and heading to the grocery store in the south of the city to carry out a capture/kill mission.]

[Estimated arrival time: In ten minutes!]

Ten minutes!

Zhang Jian felt like his scalp was about to explode.

"parking!"

He grabbed the door handle and roared, his voice deafening in the cramped carriage.

Shahra was startled and instinctively slammed on the brakes.

The screeching sound of tires rubbing against each other filled the air, and the smell of burning rubber instantly wafted into the car window.

The black pickup truck left two long black marks on the road before suddenly stopping in the middle of the road.

A taxi behind nearly rear-ended them, and the driver leaned out, about to unleash a torrent of curses.

He happened to see Shahra's murderous expression, so he swallowed his profanity and swerved to avoid her.

"What's wrong?"

Shahra frowned as she looked at Zhang Jian, her hand already reaching for the pistol at her waist.

Zhang Jian spoke very quickly, and a thin layer of sweat had already seeped out of his forehead.

"Call the grocery store right now!"

"Everyone evacuate immediately through the basement emergency exits!"

"Forget everything else, just get out of here!"

"The CIA has found me!"

Shahra was initially taken aback.

She knew Zhang Jian's situation all too well. She had been extremely cautious these past few days, so how did she suddenly expose herself?

But her long-standing professional ethics prevented her from asking any further questions. She immediately took out her encrypted phone and dialed the grocery store's hotline.

"Haishan, it's me."

"The outpost has been exposed! Evacuate everyone immediately!"

"Grab your things, take the secret passage, quick!"

Zhang Jian wasn't idle either; he took out his phone and called Fahad.

The phone was answered after only one ring.

"Boss."

"Listen, Farhad."

Zhang Jian speaks extremely fast.

"The grocery store has been exposed!"

"From now on, sever all ties with the south of the city."

"Once you've found the workers, go directly to the new base and meet me!"