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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Ninety-Nine: Double-Sided Adhesive
Outside a large factory in the Jinzhong area, six military green Warrior jeeps were lined up in a row. In front of the vehicles stood over ten rugged men dressed in 07-style training uniforms. These individuals stood tall and strong, each holding an 81-style rifle, appearing like green pines swaying in the wind.
In front of these camouflaged warriors, two men in loose green army uniforms stood with their hands clasped behind their backs. The foliage on their epaulettes and the embossed stars gleamed brightly. The men remained silent, their gazes drifting toward the factory's entrance.
This was an assembly line of a pharmaceutical factory located in the Technology Development Zone. Following the higher-ups' call for environmental protection and emission reduction, this factory had been closed for quite some time. No one knew why a group of Military Police had appeared here, nor did anyone understand what they were doing.
The man on the right had a face reminiscent of the 1960s, his big cap obscuring his eyebrows and eyes, leaving only the lines of his mouth to hint at his character. His shoulder epaulettes were adorned with two golden stripes and three star insignias, marking him as a Colonel, as well as indicating his positions as Deputy Division Commander and a primary rank within a brigade or group. Cheng Long used to have star insignias on his shoulder too, but only one.
This man was He Wei Guo, the commander of the 139th Brigade of the 47th Group Army's Mechanized Infantry and the overall person responsible for this operation in Jinzhong.
Beside him stood a younger man, around thirty-one or thirty-two years old. It seemed that his big cap was not breathable; sweat continuously dripped from his ears. He was Ji Chunhua, a protégé of He Wei Guo, originally serving as the political commissar of the Group Army's Communication Corps. After the Cataclysm, he had been assigned to He Wei Guo's guard unit. The leap from political commissar to guard was significant, yet he showed no dissatisfaction with this arrangement; in fact, he appeared quite content.
Twenty meters in front of them was a common retractable electric gate. Outside was eerily quiet; on the wide concrete road, only fallen leaves danced in the wind. The thoroughfares crisscrossed throughout the Development Zone, which housed over ten enterprises, all now at a standstill. The wind whistled softly, and it was rare not to have zombies ruining the scenery.
"Commander, you should head back; I'll wait here," Ji Chunhua said lightly as he wiped away sweat. "It's just a small fry; is such a large setup really necessary?"
He Wei Guo smiled slightly, his voice booming as he replied, "Is it hot? Young people are full of energy; I feel a chill on my back."
Ji Chunhua chuckled awkwardly but said nothing more.
The group remained standing there for about another ten minutes when suddenly the roar of engines shattered the silence over the Development Zone.
Underneath the gray sky, seven cars sped through at breakneck speed along the wide road before coming to a halt at the factory entrance in an instant.
He Wei Guo moved his fingers slightly, prompting Ji Chunhua to hurriedly dash to the gate and manually pull it open.
The cars entered the courtyard one after another. The first car door swung open, revealing a crew-cut man who stepped out with a hearty laugh and embraced He Wei Guo warmly.
As Ji Chunhua watched that man's back, an icy sensation crept over him, instantly freezing him in cold sweat.
The vehicles behind sequentially discharged their passengers—some in camouflage uniforms and others in black field combat gear. Most of those dressed in black had foreign features and were handcuffed with their heads hung low as they were escorted into the factory.
Three more people got out of the car belonging to Buzz-Cut Man. Two men in camouflage flanked a man in plain clothes, whose mouth was taped shut. His narrow, piercing eyes darted around as he struggled for a moment, seemingly wanting to explain something. Unfortunately, He Wei Guo had no interest in listening and waved his hand for them to take him away.
At that moment, a van slowly approached on the wide road, cruising leisurely past the electric gate and parking alongside several Warrior Jeeps.
He Wei Guo and Buzz-Cut Man strode over, and as the van door opened, they leaned in together to lift out a wheelchair. Sitting in the wheelchair was a woman with a dignified and beautiful face. She first embraced He Wei Guo, but when she caught sight of Buzz-Cut Man, she let out an involuntary scream.
"Don't be nervous; let's go inside and talk," He Wei Guo said, bending down to wrap his arm around her shoulders and whispering a few words in her ear. The woman's expression softened considerably, though her hesitant gaze kept flickering between the two men.
The three of them returned to the crowd with varying expressions. Seeing that no one else was arriving outside, they turned to head back.
Ji Chunhua stood dumbfounded by the electric gate. Just as he was about to follow, he heard He Wei Guo call out loudly, "Xiao Ji, go watch over that Small Fry in the interrogation room."
"Huh? Oh, okay." Ji Chunhua paused for a moment before his face lit up with excitement as he hurried toward the holding facility.
The soldiers who had been acting as human props around the military vehicle returned to their posts. He Wei Guo and Buzz-Cut Man pushed the woman's wheelchair together toward the two-story dormitory building behind the factory.
"Stop smoking!" The woman exclaimed with indignation, waving away the smoke and shooting an annoyed glare at Buzz-Cut Man.
The buzz-cut man didn’t mind; he chuckled softly and flicked away his cigarette butt. The brown cigarette end arced through the air before landing next to a storm drain cover on the concrete floor, where sparks were blown bright by the wind before slowly burning out the word "Health" at its tip.
Inside the factory, there hadn’t been much change; the production line looked just as it always had. Most of the equipment was covered in dust, and although the floor had been swept somewhat, it hardly made a difference. The ventilation machines were unusable, leaving a lingering acrid smell throughout the vast factory.
Against one wall stood a row of rooms with sliding doors; this was where the Security Office and Employee Lounge were located—one on the left and one on the right—with armed guards standing at both entrances. Besides these areas, every passageway in the factory was also guarded. There were no lights or torches here; it was gloomy outside, and sunlight couldn’t penetrate. Everything appeared dim and shadowy.
Ji Chunhua peeked through the glass window of the Security Office and saw several Foreigners being held inside but not that man in plain clothes. He then moved to the lounge on the other side and looked up to find that man sitting on a bench with his hands cuffed to a radiator, scanning his surroundings.
"The commander sent me in..." Ji Chunhua began but was interrupted as the guard reached out to open the door. Ji Chunhua forced a smile while the guard kept his gaze straight ahead without looking at him.
Feeling unamused by this interaction, Ji Chunhua locked the door behind him and sat across from the man at a distance of several chairs.
After a moment of silence, Ji Chunhua stepped closer and lowered his voice. "Are you K-47608? Nod if yes; shake your head if no."
The man's narrow eyes fixed on him for a moment before he hesitantly nodded.
Ji Chunhua let out a sigh of relief, positioning himself to shield the man while leaving his back exposed to the window on the door. He carefully peeled off the tape from the man's mouth and said, "I'm the one who contacted you, K-00176."
"Bah!" The man glared at him, unable to hide his anger. "Liar! Despicable!"
Ji Chunhua's face flushed with embarrassment from the three unrelated insults. Surprisingly, he didn't seem angry; his expression appeared more aggrieved than that of the man in cuffs.
"It was an accident! There's a mole on our side too! I almost got exposed!" Ji Chunhua turned to glance out the window and whispered, "Where's the data?"
The man glared at him fiercely, remaining silent.
"I know you don't trust me right now, and I can't prove anything to you. That's fine; just tell me if the data has been taken."
"I want to see the person in charge," the man coughed and said. "I want to see someone from the Establishment."
Ji Chunhua's expression changed slightly as he hesitated. "It's useless; only I can save you. I need you to tell me where the data is."
"Get out of here, idiot." The man bent over and took a few deep breaths. "I need water."
"Okay, okay, just calm down for a moment." Ji Chunhua felt helpless; he thought he was being wronged. As an insider for RCA, every operation felt like walking on thin ice. He had gone from being a political commissar to a guard just to get close to the person in charge of the Establishment and gather more information needed by the company. This meeting had been arranged flawlessly, but unexpectedly, He Wei Guo had stopped him just a second before departure. At that moment, Ji Chunhua sensed something was off and secretly contacted the liaison point during the night. The response he received was that everything was normal.
Initially, Ji Chunhua felt somewhat reassured, thinking that the company had noticed something amiss. However, today had turned into this chaotic situation with their contact being captured.
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