Over the next three days, Lu Shen's life returned to a semblance of calm.
Every morning, he arrived at the office on time, brewed a cup of unsweetened black coffee, and opened the previous day's offshore market trading report, reviewing the data line by line.
At noon, he went downstairs to the Cha Chaan Teng for a bowl of wonton noodles, continued drafting supplementary reports in the afternoon, and around six in the evening, tidied his desk and returned to his apartment.
Everything operated with the rhythm expected of a diligent mid-level analyst.
But beneath the surface, the undercurrents never ceased.
Every day, he checked the internal information system of the Communications Unit twice, in the morning and afternoon, to confirm if there was any feedback from Langley Headquarters.
For the first two days, there was nothing... which was expected. Although the highest priority encrypted transmission ensured the report reached Weber and Lane's desks within twenty-four hours, the internal review process at headquarters couldn't be completed in just two days.
On the afternoon of the third day, a brief receipt appeared in the system of the Communications Unit... from the office of Director Weber of the Asia Operations Directorate, containing only one sentence:
"Report received, forwarded to the Review Committee, Hong Kong Station please stand by."
Standard bureaucratic language.
Noncommittal, no promises, no directional hints.
But Lu Shen read a key signal from this sentence... "forwarded to the Review Committee."
This meant Weber hadn't kept the report to himself, nor had he returned it; he had pushed it into the formal review process.
Within the CIA system, an intelligence product formally pushed into the review process would not be withdrawn halfway unless it contained fundamental factual errors or logical flaws.
It would go through the entire process.
Lu Shen closed the system interface, picked up his coffee cup, and found it empty.
He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and silently played out another timeline in his mind... What was Tom Price doing at this moment in that gray and white building of Langley Headquarters? How far had his investigation progressed? How close was he to Jin Youdai?
These questions had no answers, at least not yet, and all Lu Shen could do was wait.
Wait for the official feedback from headquarters, wait for the orders to be issued...
And wait for another person.
...
On the evening of the fourth day, Lu Shen left the office building at 6:05 as usual.
The sky had already darkened.
The office buildings in Central resembled rows of glowing giant beehives, with countless suits and ties pouring out from various exits, merging into the bustling street crowds.
Lu Shen blended into the crowd, walking at a steady pace, heading west along Des Voeux Road for three blocks, stopping at a newsstand to buy a copy of the day's South China Morning Post.
He opened the newspaper, his eyes scanning the front page... The latest dynamics of the yen exchange rate after the Plaza Accord were prominently placed in the upper right corner, with the headline "Yen Nears 200 Against Dollar, Analysts Predict Central Bank Intervention Imminent."
Lu Shen glanced at the headline, folded the newspaper, tucked it under his arm, and continued walking west.
After turning onto Hollywood Road, the crowd thinned out.
This old street was lined with antique shops, galleries, and funeral homes, most of which had already closed by dusk, with only a few still lit by dim lights.
The air was filled with the mixed scent of sandalwood and old paper, and occasionally a stray cat silently crossed the road.
Eventually, Lu Shen stopped midway down the alley where he had previously taken down Fang Jizhong.
After waiting for about four minutes, footsteps echoed from the other end of the alley.
The footsteps grew closer, stopping about three meters away from him.
...
Fang Jizhong stood at the edge of the streetlight's shadow, his gaze cautiously sweeping over the person in front of him... a dark trench coat, collar turned up to cover half the face, a dark gray cotton mask tightly covering the mouth and nose, the brim of a cap pulled low, revealing only a pair of calm eyes. Enjoying the story? Read on at novelping . com.
Just like last time.
This person stood in the shadows like a solidified silhouette, with no identifiable biological features exposed.
"Comrade, hello," Fang Jizhong spoke first.
"Mr. Fang, long time no see."
There was no trace of any regional accent... Fang Jizhong suspected that even the way this person spoke had been deliberately trained and refined, erasing all voice characteristics that might reveal identity.
The two did not shake hands, hug, or exchange any unnecessary pleasantries.
They stood side by side in the recessed doorway, each facing one end of the alley, backs against each other, speaking in a volume only they could hear.
This was the most basic anti-surveillance stance... bidirectional alert, any anomaly from one end would be immediately detected by the other.
"The higher-ups asked me to convey..." Fang Jizhong said seriously, "The organization sincerely appreciates and highly commends your work!"
"This is what I should do," Lu Shen replied.
Fang Jizhong continued:
"However..."
"The higher-ups also instructed me to convey..." Fang Jizhong's tone grew more serious, "The organization believes that your current undercover position is extremely valuable, its long-term strategic value far outweighs any short-term gain from a single piece of intelligence. Therefore..."
He paused, seemingly choosing his words carefully.
"The organization's message is: unless there is intelligence of extremely high value, please maintain deep cover status and do not actively seek contact. Minimize all unnecessary exposure risks."
Fang Jizhong turned his head, looking at the silhouette of the person behind him in the shadows... only a narrow line of profile was visible between the mask and the brim, making it impossible to discern any expression.
But Fang Jizhong still relayed the last words from the higher-ups, deliberately emphasizing them.
"Your safety is the most important. That's verbatim."
A gust of wind swept through the alley, carrying the salty tang of the sea and the diesel scent from the distant docks, rustling the old clothes overhead.
Lu Shen didn't speak immediately.
Your safety is the most important.
A person groping forward in the dark, with no comrades by his side, no retreat behind him, and no starlight above.
He had wondered: if one day he fell in some unknown corner, would anyone remember him? Would anyone know what he had done?
Now he knew.
Someone remembered, someone knew, someone had made a decision from miles away... a decision whose core was not the mission, not intelligence, not the cold calculation of national interests, but a single sentence:
"Your safety is the most important!"
A warmth surged in Lu Shen's heart.
"Please tell the higher-ups, I will strictly comply."
"But today..." Lu Shen's tone turned somber, "there are two matters."
Fang Jizhong's body tensed slightly.
Lu Shen took an envelope from the inner pocket of his trench coat.
"This is an economic intelligence analysis report," Lu Shen handed over the envelope, "It covers the trend projections of the yen's appreciation post-Plaza Accord, domestic policy directions in Japan, forecasts of international capital flows, and analysis of Japan's industrial shift to East Asia." Get faster updates on novelping(.)com.
Fang Jizhong took the envelope.
He felt the weight of it.
Fang Jizhong didn't know this person's name, age, appearance, rank, or even the exact position he had infiltrated.
But each meeting led him to a clearer judgment: everything this person handed over was deemed worth the risk after careful consideration.
"I understand," Fang Jizhong carefully stored the envelope, "It will be delivered immediately."
"The second matter..."
"This is more important than the report," Lu Shen said.
The wind in the alley stopped.
"The CIA Counterintelligence Division has an agent named Tom Price," Lu Shen's wording was extremely precise, "He is currently conducting an internal counter-espionage investigation at Langley Headquarters targeting Soviet infiltration clues. I cannot confirm the specific scope and progress of the investigation, but based on the limited information I have... his investigation direction might touch upon our comrades embedded within CIA."
Fang Jizhong's breath halted.
"Who specifically?"
"Jin Youdai."
When the name came from behind the mask, it was as if an invisible steel needle had pierced through Fang Jizhong from head to toe.
"Are you sure?"
"Not one hundred percent," Lu Shen's response was candid and calm, "Price's investigation is still in its initial stage, and I cannot confirm whether he already has direct evidence pointing to Jin Youdai. But based on my comprehensive assessment of known information, the risk is real, and the time window may be very limited."
Lu Shen squinted as he spoke, "So my suggestion is... please have the organization immediately initiate a rescue for Jin Youdai. Do not wait until the risk is fully confirmed to act, because by then, it might be too late."
Fang Jizhong turned around again.
"I'm leaving now," Fang Jizhong was decisive, "This information must reach the highest decision-making level in the shortest possible time, not a moment can be wasted."
"Alright."
...
Fang Jizhong's footsteps echoed in the narrow alleyway, urgent and forceful, completely different from the deliberately restrained pace when he arrived.
A comrade's life might hang by a thread.
Every second was counting down.
Lu Shen leaned against the doorway, watching Fang Jizhong's silhouette being gradually swallowed by the city lights at the end of the alley, until it completely disappeared at the intersection of Upper Lascar Row and Hollywood Road.
The wind rose again.
The old clothes hanging on the line above swayed silently, like silent spectators witnessing a human struggle they could never comprehend.
Lu Shen removed his mask, folded it, and placed it in his trench coat pocket.
The night wind brushed against his exposed cheeks, cold and damp, like an invisible hand wiping away an unseen mask.
He adjusted his collar, stepped out of the doorway, and walked in the opposite direction from Fang Jizhong.
The weight that had pressed on his heart for so long finally eased a little.
But it wasn't complete relief... Jin Youdai was still in danger, the orders hadn't been issued, Price's investigation was still advancing in the shadows, everything was still unresolved.
But at least, the information had been sent out.