Chapter 104.2

Meanwhile, on the other side, Commissar Li had just emerged from the interrogation room where Aunt Lin was being detained. His situation was evidently much more challenging. His face drooped, and in just one night, he seemed to have aged several years.

General Xu asked, “So? Aunt Lin must know something, right?” 

It was understandable that Lin Guoqiang, having had little interaction with the two children, might not know much after they were replaced. 

But Aunt Lin? She had come from the countryside with the children and moved into the family compound with them. It was impossible for her to know absolutely nothing. 

Hearing General Xu’s question, Commissar Li frowned and shook his head. “Don’t even get me started. That Aunt Lin is even more troublesome than my own wife. Ask her anything, and all she says is ‘I don’t know.’ She even claimed, ‘The kids are so grown up now. Who watches them all the time? The boys in the compound run wild every day, climbing roofs, stealing chickens, and causing mischief.’” 

Commissar Li added, “But Aunt Lin did admit that she caused a scene at Wen Nuan’s house yesterday because she was incited by those two enemy agents. It seems they deliberately used Wen Nuan as a distraction to draw Gu Qinghan away and create chaos so they could act later that night.” 

This, as it turned out, had been correctly guessed by Gu Qinghan. 

Gu Qinghan was certain the enemy agents had moved to steal documents the previous night because Aunt Lin’s commotion at Wen Nuan’s house was so inexplicable. 

The agents’ plan was to create enough chaos that Gu Qinghan, distracted by Wen Nuan being falsely accused, would drop his guard and stay home that night. 

The enemy agents knew their Morse code might have been exposed. The most likely point of compromise was through Lele, who was closest to Huahua. 

However, after a few days of apparent calm in the family compound, the enemy agents assumed the situation was normal and let their vigilance slip. 

Still, they took precautions, planning to divert Gu Qinghan’s attention by inciting Aunt Lin to stir trouble at Wen Nuan’s place on the night of their operation. 

After all, Gu Qinghan was famously henpecked. With Wen Nuan being heavily pregnant with twins, if something happened to her, he would undoubtedly stay home to look after her. 

What the agents hadn’t counted on was that Gu Qinghan had already been watching them closely. 

He had been waiting for their move, ready to catch them in the act. 

General Xu frowned deeply. “Is that so? Isn’t Wen Nuan carrying twins? That crazy woman dared to cause trouble with her?” 

General Xu had always been fond of Wen Nuan. Not just because she was General Lu’s granddaughter, but because of how much she had done for the military. Aunt Lin couldn’t even compare to her in the slightest. 

And yet, Aunt Lin had the audacity to cause such a ruckus? 

“It’s all settled now. Wen Nuan has explained everything clearly. Aunt Lin picked poisonous mushrooms herself, cooked them for the kids, and then falsely accused Comrade Wen Nuan,” Commissar Li sighed. “But in my opinion, Aunt Lin truly knows nothing. She’s just an old fool who only knows how to make a scene.” 

In the family compound, Aunt Lin’s sole responsibility was tending to the children’s daily needs—feeding, bathing, and cleaning up after them. She didn’t concern herself with anything else. 

Moreover, since the two children who had been swapped by the enemy agents were premature babies, Aunt Lin hadn’t wanted to save them when they were born prematurely. She constantly worried that the eldest son’s family might spend her money. 

Back in their hometown, she hadn’t lifted a finger to help her eldest son’s wife. It had been the daughter-in-law who had single-handedly raised the children, enduring every hardship. 

In the end, both her son and daughter-in-law had died, and the two children had been switched without her even realizing it. 

After moving to the North, Aunt Lin cared even less. She believed that as long as they were in the safety of the military compound, the children wouldn’t die, and that was good enough for her. 

Commissar Li turned to General Xu and asked, “What about Lin Guoqiang? It’s one thing for Aunt Lin to be oblivious, but how could he not have known anything?” 

General Xu shook his head helplessly and recounted his earlier interrogation with Lin Guoqiang. 

Finally, he concluded, “Lin Guoqiang is a complete waste of space. I told him to make a list of every document he ever took home. Any document he brought back has likely already been compromised.” 

Commissar Li frowned deeply and said, “Then why did you even talk about giving that scumbag a chance to redeem himself? I think we should just send him straight to a labor camp!” 

Regardless of whether Lin Guoqiang was directly involved in the enemy agents’ operation, his military and political career was effectively over. His uniform should be stripped off immediately. 

At best, he might be sent home to farm. If the situation turned out to be serious, he would face accountability and likely imprisonment. 

How could he possibly still have a chance to redeem himself? 

General Xu calmed himself, smiled faintly, and said, “Do you take him seriously? You, a Commissar, should know better.” 

“Besides, even if Lin Guoqiang isn’t an accomplice, his carelessness and negligence have undoubtedly led to the leakage of sensitive information. Dereliction of duty alone is enough to put him behind bars for ten years or more.” 

General Xu never had any intention of genuinely offering Lin Guoqiang a chance to redeem himself. 

His statement was a tactic. There were still accomplices at large. The two children had used Morse code to communicate with someone, but the contact’s identity—whether male or female—was still unknown.  

If Lin Guoqiang had indeed leaked classified information, the military would have to reconfigure their operations, a process that could take at least a year. 

Exhausted but resolute, General Xu and Commissar Li returned to check on Gu Qinghan’s progress in the ongoing interrogations. 

As soon as they arrived, Gu Qinghan reported, “There is indeed another accomplice. However, according to those two, they’ve never met their contact and don’t even know if it’s a man or a woman. All they know is that the contact always initiated communication. Their role was to steal documents and intelligence, while the contact handled passing the information to their organization.” 

“They mentioned a substance meant for ingestion in the event of mission failure,” Gu Qinghan reported. “Most likely, it’s poison. I’ve already sent it for testing.” 

General Xu frowned deeply. “Desperate individuals, indeed.” 

If that were true, once the mission failed, no one could extract information from them—they would silence themselves first. Ruthless, to say the least. 

After a brief pause, Gu Qinghan continued, “Additionally, Lin Guoqiang’s two nephews were knocked unconscious by them and abandoned in a pit in the wilderness. If they’re lucky, maybe a kind soul found and rescued them. If not…” 

He didn’t finish the sentence, but everyone present understood the grim implications. 

General Xu summoned a soldier and ordered him to lead a team to Lin Guoqiang’s hometown to investigate. 

Though the odds were slim, any glimmer of hope warranted action. 

In these times, the forests were teeming with wild beasts—wolves, tigers, leopards. Months had passed, and the chances of survival for two boys barely ten years old were bleak at best. 

Gu Qinghan hadn’t anticipated the severity of the situation. These two enemy agents had merely used their physical resemblance to accomplish convenient tasks. The real orchestrator was the person coordinating with their organization. 

It was clear that whoever was behind this was far more cunning than these two agents. 

Gu Qinghan added, “They also confessed that they used a radio transmitter to communicate their intelligence. They likely had their own transmitter. We must locate it as soon as possible.” 

General Xu’s expression darkened, and he immediately gave the order: “Search! Even if it means turning the entire camp upside down, find that transmitter and uncover the other group involved!” 

The situation had escalated dramatically, and it was no wonder General Xu seemed on edge, eager to personally take charge of capturing the culprits. 

But urgency demanded caution. The greater the tension, the more deliberate and composed they needed to be. Another misstep could alert their adversaries. 

Gu Qinghan saluted. “Understood, sir.” 

General Xu glanced at Gu Qinghan, who hadn’t had proper rest for days. “You should take a break first. You’ve been running on barely two hours of sleep a day—I’m worried you won’t hold up much longer.” 

Gu Qinghan pressed his lips together and replied, “Colonel, I won’t be able to sleep until we root out the other accomplices.” 

General Xu waved his hand dismissively. “Even so, we can’t conduct a loud, blatant search right now. Everything has to be done covertly. If you won’t think of yourself, at least think of Comrade Wen Nuan. Commissar Li just told me that those two enemy agents deliberately incited Aunt Lin to cause trouble at your home to distract you.” 

“Go check on your wife,” General Xu advised. 

Fortunately, Aunt Lin hadn’t caused any real harm this time. If Wen Nuan had been upset enough to go into early labor, Gu Qinghan likely wouldn’t have maintained such a calm demeanor. He would have flayed these people alive if necessary. 

Besides, General Xu cared about his soldiers. He wanted Gu Qinghan to rest well, recover quickly, and return to help root out the remaining conspirators. 

Commissar Li patted Gu Qinghan on the shoulder. “Go back for now. Lin Guoqiang’s family, along with his subordinates and close comrades, have all been brought in. The Colonel and I will interrogate them one by one.” 

“When you rejoin us tomorrow, it’ll be your task to lead the effort to catch the rest of the accomplices!” 

“Yes, sir.” This time, Gu Qinghan didn’t refuse. He planned to head home, explain everything to Wen Nuan, and remind her to be extra cautious in the coming days. 

As soon as Gu Qinghan left, Commissar Li stretched and groaned, “Look at that kid Gu Qinghan—he’s been up for several nights in a row and still looks fine. Meanwhile, one sleepless night has me feeling like I’m about to fall apart.” 

General Xu chuckled. “You’re not exactly a spring chicken anymore. You can’t compare yourself to a young man.” 

“What do you mean, ‘not exactly a spring chicken’?” Commissar Li scowled. “I’m barely over fifty—how’s that old?” 

“Look at General Lu—he’s over sixty and still has the energy of a man in his forties!” 

General Xu patted his shoulder. “Well, until Gu Qinghan comes back, we’ll have to tough it out. Honestly, even if I tried to sleep, I wouldn’t be able to.” 

Commissar Li sighed. “Fine, but just so you know, Zhou said we’ve brought in thirty-six people. We’ll probably be at this until tomorrow afternoon.” 

General Xu exhaled deeply and turned to his trusted aides. “Split up. Start questioning them. Focus on Lin Guoqiang and see if we can piece everything together.” 

Meanwhile, Gu Qinghan finally returned home, and it was already six in the morning. 

The reveille echoed throughout the family compound, marking the start of the day, as usual, as if it were just another ordinary morning. 

Gu Qinghan tidied himself up, climbed onto the kang bed, and wrapped his arms around Wen Nuan. His tightly wound nerves, strained through the long night, began to ease at last. 

He knew he couldn’t rush anything now. He needed to keep his mind sharp and clear. Rash actions or clouded judgment could jeopardize everything. 

Gu Qinghan knew he had to eliminate the entire organization before the enemy caught on. The only way to feel truly clear-headed was to return to Wen Nuan’s side.

He was also uneasy, wondering if Aunt Lin’s instigation the previous day had affected Wen Nuan, possibly causing stress or even risking harm to the pregnancy. He placed his hand on her belly, hoping to feel the baby’s movements.

Just as he felt a kick against his palm, Wen Nuan suddenly opened her eyes and snuggled into his chest before closing them again.

“You’re back? When did you get here?” she murmured in a sleepy voice.

Hearing her groggy tone made Gu Qinghan smile slightly. “Did I wake you? Go back to sleep, it’s still early.”

Wen Nuan wrapped her arms around his waist and mumbled a tired “Hmm,” but still asked, “Did the mission go well?”

Gu Qinghan brushed aside the more difficult details and said lightly, “It went alright. We’ve already captured two of them.”

He left out the part about not having caught them all yet, not wanting to worry her unnecessarily.

Hearing this, Wen Nuan woke up a little more, her eyes opening as she looked at her exhausted husband. She reached out to gently trace his furrowed brow and let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good. You’ve been up all night, haven’t you? You should rest now.”

Gu Qinghan took her warm hand, kissed her fingertips, and said softly, “Then stay with me while I sleep for a while.”

Wen Nuan, who had also been restless the previous night, quickly nodded. “Yes, let’s sleep now. You’ve barely slept for the past few nights, right? I’m so worried about you.”

When Gu Qinghan heard her words, a gentle smile appeared on his lips. “Aunt Lin didn’t cause you any trouble, did she? Don’t let those people get to you, okay?”

He kissed her forehead tenderly, his concern evident.

Wen Nuan returned his kiss with a smile. “I know. I’m not going to argue with people like that. Now go to sleep, look at those dark circles under your eyes.”

Gu Qinghan pulled her closer, closed his eyes, and fell asleep immediately, grateful for this brief moment of peace.