Chapter 581: A Sight That Stung One's Eyes

"Stay here and keep yourself hidden."

After giving her this command, Zong Wenjia began to talk about other matters with Lie Feng over the ear mic.

It was clear that Lie Feng had already met up with Zong Wenjia and the rest now.

"We've entered the venue..."

The person speaking was Zong Wenxuan, and he had deliberately lowered his voice.

"Newbie, look over at the entrance into the villa area using your binoculars. See if you can see us?"

Gu Qingjiu immediately picked up the binoculars and aimed them at the entrance into the villa area.

She was lying on her stomach at the moment.

Or else, even though it was dark at night, it was easy for others to discover her since she was on a slope.

It would be terrible if she startled someone.

At the start, Gu Qingjiu had thought that this was merely an ordinary pair of binoculars. But when she picked it up, she realized that it wasn't ordinary.

The images captured through the lens were extremely clear. Perhaps due to the close distance, the entire image was red. And the main reason behind the redness of the image was because these binoculars could capture details that ordinary people wouldn't notice otherwise.

Such as some hidden buttons under one's collar, or other strange stuff.

Of course, it couldn't see through things.

Gu Qingjiu realized that it should be highly sensitive towards phones and other objects that emitted radiation, for Gu Qingjiu could see a shape through those binoculars.

But now, she had to look for Zong Wenjia and the rest.

Although she had only met them once previously, she knew Lie Feng. So, she obviously only had to look for Lie Feng's location, and she would find out where Zong Wenjia and her younger brother were as well.

She shifted those binoculars and observed for a while, then caught sight of Lie Feng and the rest who had entered for some distance.

Seeing this, Gu Qingjiu raised a brow. "I see you guys. You guys changed clothes at an incredible speed."

When Lie Feng sent her here, he was dressed like a civilian worker.

But now, he had already changed into a suit.

Although he didn't fix his hairstyle, he seemed to have washed his face. He did give off the appearance of an elite dressed like this.

A woman rested a hand over his arm, and this woman was none other than Zong Wenjia.

She wore an orange gown that perfectly complimented her good figure. Also, she had put on exquisite makeup.

Zong Wenxuan followed by their sides, peering here and there.

Perhaps because they were walking in the middle of a crowd, someone might hear them even if they spoke softly.

Zong Wenjia and Lie Feng casually looked around but didn't say a word.

To be able to sneak into such a venue, one must have seriously done his homework.

Curiously gazing around using the binoculars, Gu Qingjiu caught sight of something that made her cluck her tongue.

There were a front yard and a backyard in every villa.

Gu Qingjiu naturally wouldn't be able to see the blocked scenery in the front yard. As for the backyard, the lighting was dimmer.

At that moment, on the balcony of a villa backyard, there was a naked man and a naked woman.

They were probing into the origin of the evolution of life on the balcony...

Gu Qingjiu was casually looking over, and she accidentally saw such a scene. She immediately averted her gaze with a flushed face.

One reason being, the scene stung her eyes.

Another reason being, she couldn't help but recall what He Niancheng had done to her the night before.

Likely if it weren't for her period, He Niancheng would have done the whole deed with her.

Pa!

Gu Qingjiu smacked her forehead to slap away those random thoughts.

Most importantly, she was surprised that someone dared to do such a thing in such a setting. Weren't they scared of being discovered?!

Chapter 582: Difficulty Level Enhanced

"What's the matter?" As though sensing the slight movement on Gu Qingjiu's side, Lie Feng pricked his ears and asked in a low voice.

"Nothing." Gu Qingjiu naturally wouldn't tell him what she just saw, so she randomly cooked up an excuse. "There's a mosquito."

"Even if there are mosquitoes, you need to bear with it," said Zong Wenjia.

"This is considered not bad already. Having been on so many missions, we have encountered far worse," Lie Feng comforted.

Gu Qingjiu responded, "I know."

"Alright, don't talk so much, lest others sense something amiss."

Silence resumed over the ear mic.

The banquet was about to commence.

The villa they entered was situated at the far end. Because of its layout, Gu Qingjiu couldn't see what was going on inside the villa after they entered the main hall. Hence, she could merely deduce the situation through what was said over the ear mic.

But how was she to fire accurately at the target under those circumstances? However accurate her shooting was, she could do nothing when there was a wall between her and the target.

Just then, Gu Qingjiu heard Zong Wenjia call out loud, "Mr. Yun Qiyue?"

The main lead had appeared!

Gu Qingjiu immediately pumped herself up.

She listened as Zong Wenjia and this Mr. Yun conversed in a polite yet perfunctory manner. No idea if officials all spoke in this tone, but Gu Qingjiu didn't understand what they were talking about.

Through this conversation, Gu Qingjiu could see that Zong Wenjia and the rest had made preparations for this mission way in advance.

Or else, they wouldn't have made contact with the target so quickly.

"Qingjiu, my sister and Yun Qiyue are going upstairs."

Zong Wenxuan's voice secretly rang from some corner. "My sister and Yun Qiyue are going up to the study on the second floor to continue their discussion. She will try her best to direct Yun Qiyue to the window. As for the rest, you need to make your judgment. Your mission is to fire at Yun Qiyue and make him unconscious, and only then can my older sister do what she needs to do."

"I know," Gu Qingjiu responded in a low voice.

She could hear Yun Qiyue asking Zong Wenjia to go upstairs to talk.

However, after they left, Lie Feng said in a changed tone, "Drats. One of Yun Qiyue's bodyguards followed them in."

Zong Wenxuan sounded anxious. "Damn this old geezer. Can a bodyguard overhear such conversations?"

"He seems like Yun Qiyue's private bodyguard."

Lie Feng cursed softly. "I'll check out elsewhere."

Naturally, Zong Wenjia could hear this exchange. Gu Qingjiu heard her feigning surprise over the ear mic. "Mr. Yun, regarding the matter we're going to discuss, this person..."

Yun Qiyue chuckled. "Miss Yan, you don't have to mind him. He's only my bodyguard, and he's also my nephew. I have business dealings with him, so of course, it's appropriate for him to hear our discussion. You don't distrust me, do you, Miss Yan?"

Zong Wenjia had gotten in using a Miss Yan's identity this time, pretending to discuss a business dealing with Yun Qiyue.

But with them speaking so vaguely, Gu Qingjiu didn't manage to tell what sort of business dealing it was so far.

But she could sense that this Yun Qiyue was a cunning old fox.

Creak.

Following the door opening's sound, Gu Qingjiu saw a room lighting up in the villa she was monitoring.

Through the binoculars, Gu Qingjiu could see... a vague figure inside.

"This is bad."

Gu Qingjiu raised her brows in astonishment. "Not only is the room blocked by a glass window, but there's also even a curtain."

Chapter 583: Decisively Fired a Shot!

"What the hell?"

It was Zong Wenxuan's voice. "When we checked a few days ago, there wasn't a curtain in this room."

"Not necessarily. It seems like he didn't bring Zong Wenjia to the study... Drats!"

Something seemed to occur to Lie Feng, making him say in an anxious tone, "Wenjia, be steady. If you can get out, get out. I suspect this old geezer might have detected something."

It seemed like Lie Feng was in a dimly-lit place right now, for his voice was a tad louder, and the anxiousness in his tone was inconcealable.

"Nothing will happen, right?" Zong Wenxuan asked in a low voice, sounding panicked.

Gu Qingjiu narrowed her eyes and gazed towards that room, even though a glass window and curtain were blocking her view...

Zong Wenjia didn't panic and continued dealing with the other party.

Just then, Gu Qingjiu suddenly said in a low voice, "Sister Wenjia, move two steps and let me ascertain your positions."

"It's useless. There's a curtain and a glass window in between. You can't even quite see their figures clearly. How can you accurately hit him? Moreover, there are two of them!" Lie Feng voiced his disagreement.

Just then, Zong Wenjia acted according to what Gu Qingjiu told her.

She seemed to shift her body two steps forward.

Through the view in the binoculars, Gu Qingjiu could see one infra-red figure moving.

Although Gu Qingjiu could see clearly, there was a difference between the image seen through the binoculars and what one could see with the naked eye. And that was Lie Feng's concern.

If Gu Qingjiu fired a shot, she couldn't base it on the image seen through the binoculars. Instead, she had to use the naked eye, and there was a distance of nearly five hundred meters between her and the target.

What she was using wasn't a sniper rifle, so there wasn't a lock-in function. It was merely an ordinary gun.

It seemed quite impossible for her to hit two people.

Gu Qingjiu looked through the binoculars, and after a moment's hesitation, shifted away from the binoculars.

Viewing with the naked eye, the only thing she could see was that the room was lit up. Through the curtains, it was nearly impossible for her to see any figures.

But...

How could she be sure if she hadn't even tried?

There wasn't much time for her to hesitate.

With her gaze fixated upon that lit-up room and judging based on the position she deduced earlier, she had an indistinct, special feeling in her heart.

Lie Feng had said that it was best for them not to fail this mission.

This was also Gu Qingjiu's first time on a mission.

Even if not for others, she had to account for herself.

With a shift of her eyeballs, at that moment, she suddenly had a scarily strong intuition.

It was right there!

The person in the middle was Zong Wenjia!

Bang!

Bang!

Two gunshots sounded, only one second after the other.

All of a sudden, Yun Qiyue's voice abruptly vanished through the ear mic.

"Wenjia?"

"Sister?"

Silence. Lie Feng and Zong Wenxuan's first instinct was to feel worried.

Only a moment later did Zong Wenjia's incredulous voice ring. "Impressive! You even managed to hit the targets under such circumstances!"

"..."

The other two didn't quite dare to believe. "The newbie fired the shots?"

Zong Wenjia stumbled two steps to the window and pulled the curtain apart.

Gu Qingjiu could see her right away.

Standing next to the window, she made an "OK" gesture at Gu Qingjiu with her hand.

Gu Qingjiu's lips slowly curled into a smile.

She gave herself a mark of a hundred for her first mission!

As for Zong Wenjia and the rest, their mission hadn't ended.

The room Yun Qiyue brought her to wasn't the study. But thankfully, Zong Wenjia could quickly flip over the balcony and into the study.

She naturally wouldn't be able to go to the front since so many people had seen Yun Qiyue bring Zong Wenjia into the room. If she were to head out the room by herself, it would definitely arouse suspicions.

Chapter 584: Discovered

With a forehead full of sweat, Gu Qingjiu watched Zong Wenjia hang on the backyard wall like a lizard.

In the blink of an eye, she jumped to another place.

Thankfully, everyone was in the hall.

When Lie Feng wanted to enter the backyard from the front, he was denied entry.

People in the center yard were blocking off the guests, but nobody came to look over here.

Occasional patrols didn't discover Zong Wenjia, who was swift in her actions.

Zong Wenjia didn't manage to find anything in the study, only an encrypted USB flash drive.

She didn't get to see the contents yet, but merely ran a check and found out that it was encrypted before taking it away with her.

The few of them weren't greedy. Zong Wenxuan and Lie Feng evacuated first.

Subsequently, Gu Qingjiu helped Zong Wenjia keep a lookout and enabled her to run from the back hall directly.

But after Zong Wenjia had changed out of her gown and was about to leap onto roofs and vault over walls, she saw the couple Gu Qingjiu saw earlier.

"Oh, my eyes!"

Zong Wenjia cursed softly over the ear mic. Gu Qingjiu nearly couldn't hold herself back from laughing out loud.

However, as the night breeze blew at her, the smile froze on Gu Qingjiu's lips.

Movement!

She instantly turned her head and saw a patrolling guard walking over from the other side of the slope.

She was lying on her stomach now. If she were to stand up, that person would undoubtedly discover her.

This was because there wasn't anything blocking one's view of the surroundings.

Gu Qingjiu decisively fired a shot at the other party.

"..."

No response.

Gu Qingjiu felt like breaking down.

Why did those people only load two bullets in this gun?

Were they kidding or what!

To avoid arousing the other party's attention, Gu Qingjiu pressed her head to the floor instantly.

She slipped her gun-wielding hand under her stomach, pretending she had fallen unconscious.

"Newbie?"

"Newbie!"

The voices of Zong Wenjia and the rest rang over the ear mic, but Gu Qingjiu didn't reply to any of them.

That patrolling guard held a torchlight in his hands and was aimed it everywhere, and he immediately discovered Gu Qingjiu, who was lying down on her stomach.

She was dressed in a denim dress today that revealed her fair and long legs, forming a stark contrast with the soil underneath.

"Eh?"

That patrolling guard was rather bold. Seeing someone lying there, he walked closer to her strangely.

He didn't even suspect that it might be a ghost in this remote wilderness.

He edged closer to Gu Qingjiu and first kicked at her waist.

As though he was trying to test if Gu Qingjiu would respond.

There was a small rock against her forehead where she was lying, making her face suspend in mid-air such that she didn't have to breathe in the soil. Also, her eyes were widened.

Seeing that Gu Qingjiu wasn't responding to the kick, the patrolling guard cautiously crouched down and sent a message at the same time. "Team Number Two, please come over here. I discovered a woman in the back of the mountain. Seems like she has fallen unconscious..."

Bang!

As he spoke, he rolled over Gu Qingjiu's body with a hand.

Borrowing the momentum of being rolled over, Gu Qingjiu abruptly got up and mercilessly smacked the gun handle on his forehead.

He merely let out a muffled 'hmph' before falling unconscious.

An urgent voice rang over the walkie-talkie at his waist. Ignoring that, Gu Qingjiu grabbed the binoculars on the ground and maniacally ran downslope.

"Hurry, come over and fetch me! I've been discovered!"

She said as she ran.

She wasn't too far away from the villa, but suddenly, a series of dog barks rang from inside the villa.

Tens of torchlights shone towards the back of the mountain.

Once Lie Feng and the rest heard Gu Qingjiu's words, they speedily drove towards Gu Qingjiu's direction.

Chapter 585: Annoying! Why Would You Mention Something Like That?

Thankfully, Lie Feng was faster.

When Gu Qingjiu saw Lie Feng's car driving towards her, she immediately hopped into it.

Zong Wenjia and Zong Wenxuan were already in the car.

They immediately asked, "What happened?"

"How would I know what happened?!"

Gu Qingjiu, who was nearly caught, could still feel lingering fears. With a headache, she asked, "Why are there only two bullets loaded in the gun? If I had fired a shot at that guard, he wouldn't have discovered me!"

Upon hearing this, Zong Wenjia and the rest gazed at her sheepishly. "The anesthesia in the gun is a strong drug that takes effect instantaneously, which makes it very expensive. That's why Lu Ziyang has always been stingy in these areas..."

Gu Qingjiu was speechless.

She nearly had a meltdown, feeling like she got in too deep.

"No need to worry."

Lie Feng sounded steady as he drove. "They don't dare to give chase."

What a joke? Who would dare to race cars in the middle of the night in the capital?

Furthermore, doing so to catch someone.

If the military troops discovered them, they would be dead meat.

Gu Qingjiu turned her head and saw that those guards merely peered around at the villa area entrance. When they saw that the car had taken off, they only stared and did nothing.

"But this time, Newbie, still got to thank you."

Zong Wenjia cast a somewhat embarrassed glance at Gu Qingjiu, but at the same time, she couldn't conceal her curiosity. "Could you see me at the time?"

Gu Qingjiu let out an exhale to calm herself down, then replied, "I could see via the binoculars. After that, I roughly gauged the location."

She couldn't have said she had relied on her intuition back then, right?

If her intuition were off, perhaps the one lying down would have been Zong Wenjia...

Gu Qingjiu certainly wouldn't say something that sounded so risky.

"Terrific, Newbie. You've achieved great merit this time!"

Zong Wenxuan patted Gu Qingjiu on her shoulder, as though they were on friendly terms.

Gu Qingjiu creased her brows slightly.

"Thank you. I had wanted to think of a way to get out of that place then."

Zong Wenjia also heaved a sigh of relief. "But we did gain something in this mission. For now, we can only bring back the USB flash drive. I can't be certain if it's evidence yet. Now that we have exposed ourselves, Yun Qiyue will definitely put his guard up. But this mission won't be our responsibility after this. We've already accomplished what we were supposed to do."

Having laid down on the soil for so long, Gu Qingjiu felt itchy from head to toe. She had an insane urge to go back and take a shower.

Her heart was still racing from that fiasco earlier.

After all, to turn from an ordinary young lady to an agent on a mission, she hadn't gotten used to such a transformation yet!

"Can you first send me back to the designated location? I'll find a way to get back to school myself after I retrieve my phone. The only thing I wish to do now is taking a shower!"

It was rare to hear Gu Qingjiu complain about something.

"You can go to our secret base to take a shower. But you can't go back yet for now."

Zong Wenjia was fidgeting with a communication device. "Lu Ziyang already received the news and asked us to go back to report the outcome to him first."

Gu Qingjiu was dismayed to hear that, but she didn't voice any objection. "Then will I make it back in time for school tomorrow? I have lessons tomorrow..."

Everyone went speechless.

An eerie silence fell over the car for a moment before Zong Wenxuan said, "What are you afraid of? Just get Lu Ziyang to apply for a day's leave tomorrow. You can just have a good rest. It's been an exciting night, right?"

Zong Wenxuan suddenly edged closer to Gu Qingjiu with a sly smile. "I understand. The first time I went on a mission, I was incredibly nervous as well."

"And then you bungled the entire mission and even tried to shirk responsibility, instead of accomplishing the mission perfectly like Qingjiu."

Lie Feng let out a snort.

Zong Wenxuan was speechless.

Annoying!

Why would you mention something like that?

Chapter 586: Don't Eat Outside Food Anyhow

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

When they returned to the original meeting point, Gu Qingjiu went to retrieve her phone.

It was already very late now, at about one a.m.

When Gu Qingjiu looked at her phone, she saw that He Niancheng had sent her a text message at 12:30 a.m.

'Where did you go?'

Gu Qingjiu was a tad shocked.

He was aware that the school turned off the lights and wifi at ten p.m., so he never sent her text messages at this hour.

Could he know that she wasn't in school?

Gu Qingjiu hesitated for a moment, not sure if she should reply to him.

If she replied to him, He Niancheng might ask her for her current location, and she couldn't reveal to him where she was.

Just as she was gazing at her phone, Lie Feng, who was next to her, seemed to sense something. "Did someone send you a text message?"

"No..."

Gu Qingjiu set her phone down. "Are we going to the secret base now?"

"Mm," he responded blandly.

Behind him, Zong Wenjia cast a glance at her and Lie Feng, then suddenly spoke. "A few days ago, when I was checking up on Yun Qiyue, some things were different from how they played out today. For instance, that bodyguard who came out of nowhere at his home today caught me off-guard. I never expected Yun Qiyue to have a habit of discussing matters with others elsewhere other than his study."

"That means Yun Qiyue already detected something."

Lie Feng said, "If he sensed it for no reason, that meant he knew what he has done. The Special Security Agency is going to investigate him sooner or later. I just have no idea why they asked us to take action first."

"Perhaps to test him out."

Zong Wenjia said with an occasional admiring glance at Gu Qingjiu, "But for you to hit the target accurately, under those circumstances, you're as talented in shooting as rumor has it. Now that Qingjiu has joined us, the shooting vacancy in our department is now filled. We also have a long-range sniper now."

Perhaps after having worked on a mission together, they no longer felt as distant now.

Zong Wenjia didn't seem to repel Gu Qingjiu as much as at the start.

Gu Qingjiu merely grinned. Next to them, Lie Feng said, "Not necessarily. We can't be certain how Lu Ziyang thinks of this. Let's go back and report the mission outcome to him first."

It was one a.m. in the capital, and to many people, the night had just begun. Nightlife had only just commenced. Especially those brightly lit famous streets, roadside food stalls, they were bustling with life right now.

Lie Feng didn't at all attract attention as he drove. They arrived at the secret base Gu Qingjiu was brought to the last time.

However, this time, there were many barbecue stalls by the roadside.

"There are many stalls that serve pretty good barbecue outside our place. I'll treat you to that later, Newbie," Zong Wenxuan suggested enthusiastically.

Gu Qingjiu directly declined. "I'll pass. Thank you for your kind intentions, but I am traumatized by that."

Having contracted the viral flu after eating a snack in a mall previously, all the more she wouldn't dare to touch food at roadside stalls like this.

Upon hearing this, Zong Wenjia recalled that incident too. "Previously, Lu Ziyang told us that something happened to you, that you contracted some viral flu?"

Not everyone was fond of hearing stuff like this about other members of the department.

Gu Qingjiu nodded, then succinctly recounted that incident.

Zong Wenjia slapped Zong Wenxuan hard on the back. "Did you hear that? You're not to eat outside food at random in the future!"

Zong Wenxuan was speechless.

He felt especially innocent.

Nothing had ever happened to him after eating that for so long.

Chapter 587: The Problem Laid With Your Commands!

It indeed was unexpected for the secret base to be located in such a place.

The alley's width was just wide enough for a car to pass through, so when Lie Feng directly drove his vehicle in, it didn't attract anyone's attention.

Which of those roadside stall patrons would have imagined that in such an inconspicuous alley a national secret base would be hidden in there?

Merely the thought of this got one excited.

Gu Qingjiu and the rest got off next to the yard. The same man she saw previously was guarding outside.

With a cigarette hanging between his jaws, he was playing with his phone.

At the sight of Lie Feng, he raised his eyes. "You're back?'

Lie Feng nodded at him. "With the newbie joining us this time, the mission was accomplished pretty well."

"Yo."

The man looked towards Gu Qingjiu and revealed a grin. "Seems like Lu Ziyang found himself a treasure."

Gu Qingjiu merely pursed her lips and smiled, appearing especially calm.

As though she wasn't the one being praised.

"Alright, we need to head in to report the outcome of the mission."

Lie Feng led the way in, while Zong Wenxuan edged closer to the man guarding the entrance with a beam. "Uncle Xia, if you're free, can you go out and help us barbecue two sticks of pig's kidney? I don't know what time it would be by the time we are done reporting the mission. I've been famished the entire night."

"Do you want me to slice off your kidney and barbecue it?"

That man called Uncle Xia leisurely spat out white smoke. "You're asking me to go and barbecue for you? Are you mad? Quickly get inside!"

In spite of that, Zong Wenxuan wasn't mad and simply entered with that beam still on his face.

Zong Wenjia, too, led Gu Qingjiu into the house.

It was that same mechanism as last time. Every time Gu Qingjiu saw it, she felt that her horizons had expanded each time.

She had only been here once, but she seemed very sensitive towards the layout here.

This corridor didn't look much different from the ones you saw in science fiction movies, but Gu Qingjiu felt that she was already quite familiar with the layout and route.

Just like the last time, they came to a conference room.

Most normal people would have fallen asleep at this hour, but many people in the secret base had yet to rest.

Lu Ziyang was staying up late working.

He felt like a secretary type of character who was there to pass on a message from the Boss at any moment.

When they entered, Lu Ziyang looked up at them. "Thanks for the hard work, guys."

His smile was mild and refreshing.

Lie Feng didn't buy that. "Dispense with all that. We nearly failed to accomplish the mission today."

He turned his head, and Zong Wenjia handed the USB flash drive to Lu Ziyang. "We only found this at Yun Qiyue's home. I don't know if it's useful, but it's encrypted. I didn't get to decrypt it yet."

Lu Ziyang merely cast a glance at the item in his hands. He didn't look nonchalant, but he didn't seem to care all that much either. Very quickly, he shifted his gaze onto Gu Qingjiu. "I heard our newbie performed quite well?"

"Not bad indeed." Lie Feng praised Gu Qingjiu's performance using one line.

And then, he recounted the happenings during the mission.

Lu Ziyang instantly let out a 'wow.' He spread out both hands and looked towards Zong Wenxuan. "I feel that concerning this point, you ought to learn from our newbie."

Zong Wenxuan was incredibly innocent. "How can you pin the entire blame on me? You were the one who gave commands during my first mission. I didn't even blame you for slipping up in your commands!"

Lu Ziyang was speechless.

He closed his eyes as though he was trying his darndest to tolerate.

Next to them, Zong Wenjia and Lie Feng burst out into laughter.

Chapter 588: Secret History of the Department

Gu Qingjiu calmly gazed at the three of them.

Perhaps they were just picking on her before, but now, the atmosphere of this secret base did not seem pretty bad.

Lu Ziyang was probably the person-in-charge of this secret base, but he didn't put on any airs.

"Alright, let's not talk about all this. I'll keep this item. You guys have completed the mission. As for subsequent developments, there will be other people taking over from here. This mission isn't difficult. If you guys weren't able to accomplish it, I would have doubted your capabilities."

Lu Ziyang even took the chance to make a dig at them.

Zong Wenjia frowned slightly. "The problem didn't lie with us. A few days ago, when I checked information on Yun Qiyue, there seemed to be something wrong with Yun Qiyue. That's why we were caught off guard in certain aspects today."

"It's not a problem with Yun Qiyue. Situations can change at any time."

Lu Ziyang returned to his spot and turned a laptop to face them. "The Special Security Agency has already confirmed evidence of Yun Qiyue committing treason. However, they didn't take action because Yun Qiyue has some influences giving him clues in the dark. It's just that Yun Qiyue isn't considered particularly important to them, so the clues provided weren't significant. Our mission is one of the clues, so actually, Yun Qiyue already sensed it."

"You did say something right, though. Tonight if Qingjiu hadn't decisively taken action, you definitely wouldn't have gotten your hands on that information from Yun Qiyue, that old fox."

Lei Fen looked towards Lu Ziyang.

Zong Wenjia was dazed. "Our mission is classified as a clue that isn't too important? They're belittling us!"

She did capture the key point in Lu Ziyang's words.

Lu Ziyang sighed. "Regarding our mission, other than needing to be cleared by Boss, other organizations also assist from the side. The problem doesn't necessarily lie with us."

Lie Feng's expression changed. "Are you saying there might be spies in other departments?"

"No, no, not necessarily a spy. You don't have to ask about the details. I can only say so much. I believe the Special Security Agency has uncovered something, so they will handle it. You guys can go back and rest now. Take a shower and have a good night's sleep. Just focus on resting for the next few days."

He then turned to Gu Qingjiu with a smile. "Perhaps our newbie doesn't know where her resting lounge is. Wenjia, bring her there."

"Sure," Zong Wenjia responded decisively.

Although Gu Qingjiu didn't quite understand what they were saying earlier, she could catch the gist of it.

It sounds like more than a department was involved.

As she had just entered, probably no one would especially explain this matter to her.

Zong Wenjia led her to the female lounge. Other than the exterior constructed using a special alloy, the interior wasn't much different from the suite in a luxury hotel.

"This is a wardrobe, beverage cabinet, and weapons cabinet."

Zong Wenjia introduced her to everything in the lounge. "Your data has already been keyed into this lounge. In the future, other than yourself, no one else is permitted to enter this room."

With her arms akimbo, she continued, "Honestly speaking, the interior decor is not bad, right? But you can't contact the outside world from here. You have to go to a dedicated function room. Or else I'd also like to keep on staying here."

With that, she waved at Gu Qingjiu. "I know you're dying to take a shower. Have a good night's rest. Rest assured Lu Ziyang will help you apply for leave with your school. Goodnight."

Gu Qingjiu nodded and waved back at her with a smile. "Goodnight."

Chapter 589: Qingjiu, Why Did You Disappear Again

After Zong Wenjia left, she hurriedly walked to the bathroom.

The facilities here were indeed not bad. Furthermore, a lot of the stuff was advanced technology.

There were some things Gu Qingjiu had never even seen before, neither did she know how to use them.

Thankfully, there were instruction manuals.

They were respectively and conveniently placed next to the facility itself.

There were a jacuzzi and showerhead in the well-furnished bathroom.

Although these facilities could also be found in a hotel room, Gu Qingjiu hadn't the chance to enjoy those facilities then since He Niancheng was also present.

Now that she was by herself, she first took a shower, then entered the bathtub with a satisfied heart.

The tension in her body slowly got released, and soothing music also started playing in the background.

Too bad Gu Qingjiu didn't have any musical talent; the music nearly made her fall asleep.

She was tired, to begin with, and this was way past her usual bedtime.

Only when the music rang and water got into Gu Qingjiu's ear did she abruptly snap awake. She nearly fell asleep in the bathtub.

She quickly sat back up, wiped her body, then went to lie down on the bed. Within a few minutes, she fell asleep.

Perhaps because she subconsciously knew she didn't have to attend classes the next day, Gu Qingjiu slept until she naturally woke the following day.

Gazing at the clock on the wall, it was 9 a.m. already.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Gu Qingjiu felt it was a bit late.

After washing up, she opened the door to see Lu Ziyang walking over in a suit.

"Qingjiu, you're awake? If you're hungry go to the front, there's a canteen there. Do you need me to bring you there?"

Lu Ziyang was incredibly hospitable. Since Gu Qingjiu was hungry, she nodded.

Lu Ziyang brought her there. As he walked, he said, "In the future, if you have an emergency, you can come to the secret base and rest. It's very convenient here, apart from the fact that you can't use your phone to communicate with the outside world. If you wish to go online, there's an Internet room there."

"Mm, got it."

Gu Qingjiu seriously made a mental note of everything he said.

They arrived at the canteen Lu Ziyang was talking about in no time.

The canteen seemed much posher than the one in school.

There were separate tables, like those small round tables one saw in cafes.

With both Chinese chefs and Western chefs, there was a wide range of food to choose from.

Gu Qingjiu asked for a bowl of green bean soup and a bowl of beef noodles soup.

It was a strange combination.

Lu Ziyang laughed when he saw that.

As he had already eaten, he left after Gu Qingjiu ordered her food.

The food in the secret base tasted outstanding.

Gu Qingjiu was dismayed at how much better the food here was. If it weren't for the fact that school was too far, she would have wanted to eat here all the time.

Moreover, it was free-of-charge!

Perhaps because of Gu Qingjiu's good looks, the chef even gave her half a bowl of beef.

It was unlike the spoonful of beef that the school canteen served.

Perhaps due to having expended energy during the mission yesterday, plus the fact that she didn't have dinner last night...

Gu Qingjiu found this breakfast immensely satisfying.

But one strange thing was that she was the only one eating here in this vast secret base.

It might be because she had gotten up too late.

With this thought, Gu Qingjiu speedily left the secret base.

She had yet to reply to He Niancheng's text message last night.

Since incoming calls weren't allowed in the secret base, she wondered what He Niancheng would think of her not replying to him for an entire night.

Indeed, when she came out of the secret base, Gu Qingjiu saw that her phone could now receive data signals.

A text message came jumping out.

'Qingjiu, why did you disappear again!'

Chapter 590: Go Find Him

It wasn't He Niancheng but Gu Qian.

Gu Qian probably texted her because she didn't see Gu Qingjiu when she woke up in the morning.

Gu Qingjiu replied to her, 'Applied for leave because something cropped up.'

Since Gu Qian should be training at this time, she wouldn't get to see her reply.

Seeing that He Niancheng didn't send her any other messages apart from the one last night, Gu Qingjiu felt an emptiness in her heart.

As she walked out of the alleyway, she gave He Niancheng a call. Shortly after it started ringing, someone picked it up.

Without waiting for Gu Qingjiu to speak, He Niancheng spoke first. "Where did you go last night?" He sounded calm and not particularly anxious.

Gu Qingjiu, who had been feeling sheepish before this, stopped feeling so.

"Something cropped up," she said, sounding justified.

Why wasn't this person at all anxious after she disappeared for a night?

"You even sound so tough." There was a trace of helplessness in his nonchalant voice. "I'm at Imperial Crane Street. Come over and find me."

Gu Qingjiu paused for a moment. "How did you know I can come over to find you?"

"Could you bring your phone with you at this hour if you're in school?"

There was a chuckle in his voice. "Are you silly?"

Gu Qingjiu was speechless.

Perhaps she went silly from sleeping!

She mumbled, "You only know how to mock me. Wait for me. I'll be right there!"

After hanging up the phone, she checked up the location using her phone and saw that it wasn't far from where she was. It would take about ten minutes by car.

Gu Qingjiu found a bike-sharing bike, then rode over in a pleasant mood.

She was wearing a set of clothing provided to her by the secret base, which they had bought outside. It was a dress that gave off youthful vibes, that made her appear incredibly bubbly.

As she yearned to see He Niancheng, she rode too quickly, speeding through the crowds like a butterfly.

When she reached, she realized that this was a posh restaurant with a resplendent exterior located in a grand looking high-rise building.

Gu Qingjiu, who was riding on a bike, was surprised to see this.

It didn't seem appropriate for her to enter in this outfit.

Why did He Niancheng go to such places all the time?

A line of cars was parked at the entrance. Simply judging by the appearance, even if she didn't recognize the logos, Gu Qingjiu could tell those were luxurious cars. She also saw several cars with such logos during yesterday's mission.

She sent a message to He Niancheng and confirmed that he was indeed in there. He asked Gu Qingjiu to enter, saying that no one would stop her.

With no other choice, Gu Qingjiu parked the bike somewhere, then tried her best to walk in casually.

Although she was dressed like a young lady and not as prim and proper as the other patrons, she was dressed presentably. Moreover, she was pretty and had an exquisite face.

At the entrance, the bellboy probably thought that she was a wealthy young missy dressed in a low-key manner. Hence, he politely smiled and bowed at her, then simply let her enter.

The minute she got in, the first thing that greeted her was an imposing-looking vault of several tens of meters tall. The European style chandelier lights were sparkling and dazzled one's eyes.

Those who came here were likely of high social status.

Room 888 on the 8th level.

Gu Qingjiu silently recited this number to herself and, gazing around, found the elevator.

There was a dedicated service staff in the hotel's elevator, which was the same case with the hotel Gu Qingjiu had previously stayed with He Niancheng. However, this hotel was posher. Gu Qingjiu vaguely recalled seeing the name of this hotel somewhere.

"Level eight."

After entering the elevator, Gu Qingjiu told the elevator lady with a sweet smile the level she wanted to go to.