We offered you a summer job, but you went and became a mercenary?

An elderly man in a Zhongshan suit, with gray hair but a vigorous spirit, rushed over, almost jogging, as he quickly pushed through the crowd.

He was Zhao Jianguo, the head of the Jiangcheng National Security Branch, who had just rushed over from the Municipal Bureau.

His forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat, but his face was plastered with an enthusiastic, even fawning, smile.

He spotted Lin Ye in the center of the crowd at a glance. Without saying a word, he walked straight through the group of agents who hadn't even reacted yet and rushed to Lin Ye in three steps.

Then, under the petrified gazes of everyone present...

This dignified director of the National Security Bureau, facing Lin Ye, this "poor student" wearing flip-flops and carrying a snakeskin bag, suddenly straightened his chest and raised his hand to give an extremely standard and solemn military salute!

His voice was loud and clear, full of unquestionable affirmation and enthusiasm:

"Mr. Lin! You've misunderstood! A huge misunderstanding!"

"On behalf of the National Security Bureau of the Dragon Kingdom, I solemnly declare to you! All income you earn through hard work is your legal personal income! It is completely tax-free and requires no payment to the state!"

"We're here with absolutely no ill intentions! It's just... our Commander Li heard you were back and specifically asked us to invite you over!"

boom--!!!

The entire passenger was completely dumbfounded.

People from the National Security Bureau... came to greet us personally?

A military salute?

Lin Ye was stunned. He stared blankly at the bureau chief in front of him, who was smiling like a chrysanthemum, and couldn't quite process what was happening.

No taxes required?

So you've gone to all this trouble, with secret agents surrounding you, just to invite me over?

Is this how hardcore your National Security Bureau treats its guests?

He looked at Zhao Jianguo, his brows furrowing slightly. His simple, unpretentious working-class mentality once again took hold.

He asked a question that nearly made Zhao Jianguo and all the agents present spit out blood.

"How long has passed?"

"Do you provide room and board there?"

"Is overtime pay included?"

Zhao Jianguo's face, which was full of enthusiastic smiles, visibly froze for half a second after hearing Lin Ye's series of soul-searching questions.

Meals and accommodation included?

Overtime pay?

Behind him, a group of agents led by Cangying kept their eyes down, barely managing to suppress the twitching of their lips.

They've seen vicious international criminals and interrogated top spies who are impervious to reason, but they've never seen a target whose first reaction when being "invited" away by the country's most powerful agency was to be concerned about workers' welfare.

Zhao Jianguo felt like his brain wasn't working properly.

He took a deep breath, threw all the preconceived notions of "grandmaster demeanor" and "unparalleled national hero" into the trash can, and forced a smile that looked worse than a grimace back onto his face.

"Absolutely! Guaranteed!"

Zhao Jianguo spoke with unwavering conviction, his voice booming as if he were making an oath.

"Mr. Lin, don't worry! As long as you come with us, not only will we provide food and lodging, you can stay wherever you want and eat whatever you want! As for overtime pay... how can you call that overtime? You're doing this for the country! We'll even give you a subsidy!"

His words were so sincere and heartfelt, it was as if he was about to pour out his heart.

Lin Ye looked at him with suspicion, then took another sip of mineral water to calm her nerves, feeling that there was something eerie about the whole thing.

Just then, Zhao Jianguo gave a wink to the eagle behind him.

The eagle understood and whispered something into its headset.

A few seconds later.

"Waaah—"

A deep engine roar came from outside the terminal.

At the VIP passage outside the airport, a convoy of five all-black Hongqi sedans with dark privacy film on their windows disregarded all traffic control and drove directly to the glass doors of the terminal building.

The lead car had a license plate with only one digit.

"Whoosh—"

The entire airport terminal was in complete chaos.

All the passengers, including the men and women who had been pointing and whispering about Lin Ye, were now frozen in place, staring in disbelief at the scene.

"My God... what level of treatment is this?"

"Driving straight into the terminal... I've only ever seen this kind of spectacle in the news when foreign leaders visit!"

Lin Ye was also stunned. He looked at the gleaming black luxury convoy, pursed his lips, and muttered something under his breath.

"With all this fuss, are you going to charge me for the ride later?"

He looked at Zhao Jianguo warily: "Let me tell you, I'm still a student, I don't have much money. If I take the subway from here to the city center, I can get a 50% discount with my student card."

"puff--"

The eagle standing behind Zhao Jianguo could no longer hold back and almost couldn't catch its breath.

Zhao Jianguo felt his blood pressure rising at a dangerous rate.

He now finally understood why Chief Li had repeatedly told him on the phone that he should coax this man.

He scrambled to Lin Ye's side, his face plastered with a fawning smile, and lowered his voice, speaking in a seductive tone, "No money required! Absolutely no money required! Mr. Lin, look, in this sweltering heat, the car's air conditioning is on for you, and we've even prepared ice-cold soda and top-quality desserts just from a five-star hotel's kitchen!"

Lin Ye's eyes visibly lit up when he heard "soda" and "top-grade desserts".

The main reason was that he was really hungry.

On my flight back from Dubai, I only ate some airplane food during the 10+ hour flight, which was hardly enough to fill my stomach.

To save money on a meal, he hesitated for three seconds, but ultimately chose to compromise when faced with the choice of having enough to eat.

"Alright then... shall we take this ride?"

"This way, please! This way, please!"

Zhao Jianguo felt as if he had been granted a pardon and personally led the way, his attentive attitude just like that of a five-star hotel doorman.

Lin Ye, carrying his empty snakeskin bag, sat in the back seat of the lead bulletproof Hongqi limousine, surrounded by a group of special agents.

The car door slammed shut, shutting out all the noise outside and countless pairs of eyes stunned into numbness.

The interior space is ridiculously large, the leather seats are so soft you can sink into them, and there are thick wool carpets under your feet.

Zhao Jianguo personally handed Lin Ye a bottle of chilled cola and a plate of exquisite pastries that looked expensive.

Lin Ye didn't stand on ceremony. He twisted open the can of cola and chugged down half of it. Then he grabbed a macaron and stuffed it into his mouth.

Looking at his eating habits, Zhao Jianguo not only showed no disgust, but also breathed a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately, this guy's hobbies seem to be normal so far.

The convoy started smoothly and merged into the traffic.

Zhao Jianguo cleared his throat; he felt it was time to get down to business.

He took out a specially made black device, thicker than a tablet computer, from his briefcase and entered a series of complicated passwords.

"drop--"

The instrument screen lit up, and Zhao Jianguo turned it towards Lin Ye. On the screen were top-secret files on the bio-monsters of the "Abyss" organization.

"Mr. Lin," Zhao Jianguo's expression turned extremely serious, and his voice deepened, "as you have surely seen, the current international situation is turbulent. The Western powers, led by the United States, have not given up their desire to destroy us. Their biological and chemical research conducted behind the scenes has seriously threatened global peace and stability..."

He was preparing to use his patriotic fervor to persuade Lin Ye.

But when he looked up, he found that Lin Ye wasn't looking at the screen at all.

While eating his tiramisu, Lin Ye reached out his other hand and curiously stroked the smooth, soft leather seat, occasionally picking at the seams with his fingers.

Zhao Jianguo's words caught in his throat.

"Mr. Lin, are you... listening?"