Chapter 4

Gu Jinchuan placed a miniature camera and some photographs in front of him.
“Lin Jianmin, do you recognize this American-made camera? Who gave it to you?”

Looking at the familiar miniature camera and the colorful photographs, Lin Jianmin instantly sobered up.

Damn it, that American-made spy camera was hidden in his secret room—how did it end up in the hands of the Public Security Bureau?

Had he been followed?

He couldn’t figure it out. He had been so careful, yet the police had still found a flaw.

When he saw Lin Xiaoxiao sitting on the bench, winking at him, Lin Jianmin instantly understood.

He’d been betrayed by that little wench.

He immediately stood up and shouted at her, “You little brat, did you sneak into my study?”

Lin Xiaoxiao locked eyes with him and curved her lips into a faint smile.
“Old spy! Not only did I go into your study, I even moved your desk and entered your secret room!”

“But honestly, aside from a rosewood chest, there was nothing valuable in there. Totally boring…”

Before she could finish, Lin Jianmin cut her off anxiously, “How could there be nothing valuable? There are also three big copper chests in there, full of gold, silver, and jewels. You didn’t take them all, did you?”

Seeing Lin Jianmin’s fierce expression, Lin Xiaoxiao instinctively took several steps back until she was nestled in Gu Jinchuan’s arms. Only then did she feel a little safer.

“I didn’t see any copper chests, and I didn’t take your gold or silver. Please, don’t hit me.”

As she spoke, she took the opportunity to run her hand over the man’s firm waist and abdomen.

Tsk, tsk! Look at those eight-pack abs—such elasticity!

They felt amazing to the touch!

What a shame that such a handsome man, just like her, was doomed to be a disposable side character who wouldn’t live past two episodes.

Seeing Lin Xiaoxiao so frightened, Gu Jinchuan glared angrily at Lin Jianmin.
“Lin Jianmin, confess your crimes honestly. Keep playing games and I’ll lock you in the black cell!”

He had personally searched the secret room—aside from the rosewood chest, there had been nothing of value.

Yet this man had the nerve to accuse the little girl of taking three large chests of treasure. Did he think Gu Jinchuan was blind?

With Gu Jinchuan’s expression darkening, Lin Jianmin finally settled down.

Right now, the urgent thing was figuring out a way to get out—not fussing over the gold and silver.

His eyes darted around, and he pretended to be confused.
“Comrade Public Security, that rosewood chest—I just picked it up outside and brought it home. I hadn’t even checked what was inside when you arrested me!”

“Stop playing dumb!” Gu Jinchuan stared straight into his eyes and said sternly, “Confession will be treated leniently, resistance severely. If you don’t want your wife and children dragged into this case, you’d better confess now!”

When Lin Jianmin still refused to speak, Gu Jinchuan glanced at his watch.
“Lin Jianmin, I’m giving you ten minutes to think it over.

If you still don’t talk after ten minutes, I’ll hand all four members of your family over to State Security!”

With that, Gu Jinchuan shut the door and walked out.

He hadn’t taken more than two steps before Lin Jianmin called after him, “I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything!”

In the spy business, you had to be utterly ruthless, with no moral bottom line—ready to sacrifice even your own flesh and blood to complete a mission.

But Lin Jianmin clearly wasn’t capable of that—he loved his son too much.

He knew that by selling state secrets he had already committed a capital crime. If his son got dragged in too, then the Lin family line would be cut off forever.

So he spilled everything in one go: how he had been tempted by money and women from a foreign spy organization, how he had used his position to secretly photograph weapons and equipment in the munitions factory, all for the sake of wealth and luxury.

Gu Jinchuan continued the interrogation.
“Who is your handler?”

“My handler’s name is Jiang Yuhai, codename: Pockmarked Scholar.”

“Where does Pockmarked Scholar work?”

“At the supply and marketing cooperative on Jiujiao Lane.”

“Wang Wei, proceed as planned. Leave one officer at the station, have the others check their weapons, and come with me to Jiujiao Lane’s cooperative!”

“Yes, Company Commander!”

Hearing Lin Jianmin’s confession, Gu Jinchuan’s expression was grim.

The enemy had infiltrated their supply and marketing system—they needed to wipe them out in one sweep!

Just as Gu Jinchuan was leading three officers to head for Jiujiao Lane, Lin Xiaoxiao suddenly rushed out of the station and stood in front of the jeep.

“Comrades, you can’t just barge into the cooperative to arrest him—it’s too dangerous!”

Knowing that enemy agents were in Jiujiao Lane, Gu Jinchuan was eager to rush over and bring them to justice.

Now blocked by Lin Xiaoxiao, he was irritated.
“Comrade Lin Xiaoxiao, step aside! Don’t delay us in catching a criminal!”

Lin Xiaoxiao still refused to move from in front of the jeep.
“Pockmarked Scholar is a highly trained senior agent. He’ll definitely have concealed weapons and explosives. If you rush in, and he lashes out in desperation, he could set off the explosives on him. That would be catastrophic for you and the customers inside the cooperative!”

In the novel, Gu Jinchuan was a reconnaissance company commander who, while visiting a comrade in Yangcheng, stumbled upon Pockmarked Scholar taking hostages in the cooperative.

To save the hostages, Gu Jinchuan had charged in without hesitation, fought fiercely with Pockmarked Scholar, and when the latter realized he couldn’t win, he detonated the bomb on his body—killing them both.

Having read most of the novel, Lin Xiaoxiao knew that Gu Jinchuan, like her, was doomed to be a side character who wouldn’t survive two episodes.

So she wanted to stop him from going into the cooperative.

She truly didn’t want such a handsome soldier to die for the sake of catching a spy.

Of course, she couldn’t tell him this directly—she could only appeal to his emotions and reason, hoping to dissuade him.

Sure enough, after hearing her words, Gu Jinchuan immediately changed his plan.
“Wang Wei, the cooperative is crowded. To avoid unnecessary casualties, I’ll go in undercover in plain clothes to make the arrest.”

Before he could finish, Wang Wei protested,
“Company Commander, the enemy is operating in my jurisdiction. I should be the one on the front line, not you!”

“Wang Wei, I’m your commander—you’ll follow my orders!”

“No, either we go together or not at all! At least we can watch each other’s backs!”

As the two argued, Lin Xiaoxiao spoke up.
“Enough, both of you. I’ll go to the cooperative and lure Pockmarked Scholar out.”

Wang Wei immediately agreed,
“Yes! Comrade Lin Xiaoxiao can lure him out, and we’ll lie in wait outside the door to catch him!”

Gu Jinchuan looked at the pale, thin young woman and asked worriedly,
“Comrade Lin Xiaoxiao, will Pockmarked Scholar even believe you?”