Chapter 1162: Let’s See Who Gets the Short End of the Stick
In a noodle shop in Xin’an District, Feng Ping City, Miao Kun was happily mixing his noodles while chatting with Zhao Yu and company.
“Did you know? During the Japanese Occupation, the Japanese Army built a tower in the southwest corner of the Qing Imperial Palace. It was a memorial for the Empire of Japan!” Miao Kun said earnestly. “That structure was out of place with the rest of the architecture, which greatly affected the beauty of the Qing Imperial Palace!
“This so-called memorial commemorated their invasion of China and signified their ambition to swallow us whole.
“Although our government quickly dismantled this tower after the Japanese surrendered, we mustn’t forget how we were humiliated! We need to work hard and not let anyone take advantage of us ever again…”
“Erm… sir!” Li Jing was obviously not in the mood to listen to Miao Kun’s speech, asking anxiously, “Xiao Hang has checked the surroundings and set up a post outside the cabin. Could we talk shop now?”
“Mm…” Miao Kun put down his chopsticks, and said solemnly to the people present, “Captain Li, Zhao Yu, and Xiao Xiao… now that we’re all here together… I hope you guys can give me face and bury past grievances! [1]
“You know that whatever happened before was merely a misunderstanding… it was all for the sake of work…”
“Hehe, don’t worry, father-in-law!” Zhao Yu was the first to respond. “After having gone through so much together at the secret base, I’m now pals with Captain Li and the rest. We couldn’t possibly still be at odds with each other. Am I right, Captain Li?”
Zhao Yu then proceeded to raise his eyebrow while catching Li Jing’s eye in a flirtatious manner.
“Erm…” Li Jing had difficulty expressing what she was really thinking. She thought to herself, “It’s easy for you. You have nothing to lose, and even gained great merit. Aren’t things just rosy for you?”
However, Li Jing was discerning. She already realized from the outset that Zhao Yu did have his own strengths and that he deserved being referred to as a master sleuth.
After what had happened at the Imperial Qing Palace, both Li Jing and Xiao Hang now looked at Zhao Yu in a different light. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that they now admired him.
As such, Li Jing nodded agreeably in response to what Zhao Yu had said.
“That’s great, that’s great, haha…” Miao Kun bobbed his head in satisfaction. He then said with a straight face, “Alright, let’s move on to serious business then!”
Upon hearing that, Li Jing and Xiao Hang straightened up and listened intently.
Right now, only Miao Kun, Li Jing, Xiao Hang, Zhao Yu, and Miao Ying were present at the table. Due to the sensitivity of what they were about to discuss, not even Cui Lizhu was allowed to join them.
“Not all of the information is classified, but some of the information you’re about to hear is to be kept confidential!” Miao Kun said. “Especially information regarding the mastermind behind the thugs. With regard to that… both Zhao Yu and I have signed a confidentiality agreement. Your team members aren’t privy to the information! Got it?”
“Got it!” they all responded.
Li Jing and Xiao Hang nodded vigorously, whereas Miao Ying remained nonchalant.
“Of course,” continued Miao Kun, “You’re all elites and could probably figure things out on your own. This is indeed related to commercial warfare, but there is more at stake than just that!
“This is precisely why the discussion took so long last night! Of course, we need further confirmation before proceeding. We need to wait patiently for further instructions.”
“Humph…” Miao Ying put down her chopsticks and crossed her arms. “You might as well not have said anything…”
“Erm…” Miao Kun furrowed his brows. “My dear daughter, this is the main reason I did not want you to transfer to the Secret Service Agency. At any rate, I’m at least a director. Couldn’t you give me some face?”
“Yeah, exactly!” Zhao Yu played along. “It isn’t easy for our father!”
“…”
Miao Kun was speechless, and Miao Ying was chuckling. Li Jing and Xiao Hang were just sitting there awkwardly.
“Okay, okay!” Miao Kun massaged his chest, saying, “Let me get to the point… Under the current circumstances, Captain Li, Captain Xiao, all you guys need to do is to do your job well!
“Firstly, get the experts to examine the secret base at Yishan and the stuff found in the secret chamber at the Imperial Palace. Everything, including the bottles and cans, must be examined carefully and thoroughly!
“The higher-ups have said that they would be liaising with the experts from the relevant departments and would get the best experts in the field to participate.
“Especially the stuff in the hidden chamber, since those things are in such demand. We believe they’re worth more than tens of billions…”
“Yes!” Li Jing nodded.
“Secondly, interrogating the criminals,” Miao Kun continued, “Not much needs to be said about this since you guys are already consummate professionals. Just stick to the standard procedures. However, because of the nature of this case, please ensure that everything is conducted in accordance to the highest standards! It must be done safely!”
“Understood!” Li Jing nodded quickly again.
“Thirdly, you may recall the agents deployed in Feng Ping and the entire Zhao Yun Province! You don’t have to worry about them anymore!” Miao Kun said.
“What!?” Li Jing was greatly surprised and explained hastily, “Sir, there must still be remnants of Seraph. We can’t be sure whether or not they have any bombs left. If we don’t take them out all at once, there may be undesirable consequences in the future!”
“Don’t worry!” Miao Kun said confidently. “They have fallen from grace! Besides, we still need them to bring home a message!”
“Why… is that?” Li Jing was baffled.
“Being magnanimous is better than being ruthless!” Miao Kun said. “Moreover, not everything has to be done by the Secret Service Agency. You get it?”
“Mm…” Li Jing seemed to understand what Miao Kun was hinting. She noted the command given by Miao Kun.
“And fourthly…” continued Miao Kun. “Cooperate with the media when necessary! The higher-ups will hold a press conference when the time is right. When that happens, we will publish news about the hidden chamber in the Imperial Place. You guys just have to make the necessary arrangements!”
“Huh!?” Both Li Jing and Xiao Hang were taken aback, evidently having some difficulty processing what they had just been told.
“Sir… this seems…” Li Jing was on the verge of rebuttal but held back from doing so.
“This was an idea conceived by my son-in-law, haha…” Miao Kun pat Zhao Yu on the shoulder, chortling. “What a sick idea! You guys should have seen their faces after Zhao Yu was done talking. The higher-ups were listening with their jaws dropped!”
“…” Everyone looked at each other, speechless.
“Don’t sing my praises, I was just stating the facts…” Zhao Yu gestured. “Actually, this is similar to what happens in gangland. When people come to our territory to wreak havoc, they get their a**es whooped.
“By the same logic, we try to wreck theirs instead. Too bad, the guy behind this is far too cunning and formidable. They hired a third party so that they could drop them when things go wrong!
“This makes it difficult for us to hit them where it hurts!” Zhao Yu snapped his fingers. “Since we can’t get back at them directly, we might as well piss them off!
“Anyway, no loss to us! In fact, we’ve made a fortune out of it! Since that’s the case, why shouldn’t we show off?
“We’ll make public the discovery of the secret base, the large quantities of war supplies, the hidden chamber in the Imperial Palace, the huge volume of valuable data related to the anti-Japanese resistance movement, and evidence of the Japanese invasion! We’ll annoy the f*ck out of them!” snickered Zhao Yu. “We’ll also leak information about how we circumvented their conspiracy, captured the thugs, and extracted their confessions!”
“But we’ll stop short of sharing what exactly the thugs confessed so that they’ll start second-guessing each other. Let’s see who gets the short end of the stick! Ha!” Zhao Yu punched the table, shouting, “And let’s see who’ll dare come thrash our territory next time!!!”
[1]: Giving face is showing someone respect and honor