Casey glanced at his wristwatch... this gesture in his body language dictionary meant the meeting was about to end.
The executives present began to organize their notebooks and pencils, a few even adjusted their postures slightly, preparing to stand up.
But Casey noticed a detail.
Lu Shen's lips moved slightly, then closed again. His fingers tapped the table unconsciously before returning to their resting position.
This movement was so subtle that no one else present caught it.
But Casey did. He could accurately identify who still had something to say at a table full of poker faces.
"Lu Shen."
Casey's voice wasn't loud, but it was enough to make everyone who had started packing up quiet down again.
"Do you have anything to add?"
Lu Shen raised his head, meeting Casey's gaze.
Those eyes, hidden behind glasses, were watching him.
"Yes, Director." Lu Shen's voice was steady. "If you allow, I'd like to give a brief report on another matter. It's unrelated to the Plaza Accord but pertains to my recent work at the Hong Kong Station."
Casey nodded slightly. "Go ahead."
"During the past two months of monitoring capital flows between Hong Kong and Japan, I discovered an unusual trade line."
Lu Shen stood up, placing his hands on the table, eyes looking straight ahead.
"It starts with three Japanese trading companies registered in Hong Kong... a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. Hong Kong Ltd., a trading agency of Sumitomo Corporation, and a related logistics company of Itochu Corporation. In the past six months, these three entities completed seventeen transactions with four shell companies under the Soviet Far East Trading Company through Hong Kong's offshore trade settlement system."
Those who were packing up their notebooks paused mid-air.
"The surface items of these seventeen transactions are civilian industrial equipment, ship parts, and chemical raw materials. However, after cross-referencing the procurement lists with the CoCom Embargo List, I found that at least nine of these transactions involve actual items covered by the Coordinating Committee for Multilateral Export Controls' list for the Soviet Union."
Lu Shen's pace didn't quicken, but the density of information suddenly increased.
"Specific items include: high-precision ball bearings, special alloy steel pipes, key components of marine diesel engines, and two batches of filters labeled as 'agricultural irrigation equipment' but matching military-grade water purification systems in specifications."
Horton's pencil made a crisp sound on the table... his fingers unconsciously released it.
"The flow of funds is as follows..." Lu Shen continued, his gaze not on anyone, but on an imaginary flowchart in front of him.
"The Soviet Far East Trading Company remits US dollar payments to Hong Kong through shell companies registered in Switzerland. The payments are processed through the trade settlement channels of Hang Seng Bank and the Bank of East Asia, paid to the Hong Kong subsidiaries of the three Japanese trading companies. Upon receiving the funds, the Japanese side procures embargoed items from Japan, shipping them to two bonded warehouses in the New Territories of Hong Kong under the guise of 're-export trade'...
Located at Warehouse C in Area 7 of Kwai Chung Container Terminal and Warehouse D-12 at Tuen Mun River Trade Terminal... After unpacking, de-labeling, and repackaging in the warehouses, they are shipped under civilian product names via the South China Sea route to Vladivostok."
He paused for a moment.
"Shipping records show that in the past six months, four bulk carriers flying the Panamanian flag completed the transportation tasks on this route. I've conducted complete cross-verifications on ship names, voyage numbers, loading and unloading port records, and customs declaration numbers."
Casey's fingers tapped the table lightly twice... this was the first time Lu Shen saw him make this gesture, and those two taps, though light, were as clear as gunshots in the absolutely silent meeting room.
"Source of evidence?" Casey asked.
"All from open or semi-open channels." Lu Shen's response was equally quick and precise. "The business registration information of the Hong Kong subsidiaries of the three Japanese trading companies and related logistics enterprises comes from the public filing system of the Hong Kong Companies Registry. The fund flows between the Swiss shell companies and Hong Kong accounts come from my routine monitoring of the trade settlement channels of Japanese banks' Hong Kong branches in my official duties.
The leasing records of bonded warehouses and the lists of goods entering and leaving the warehouses come from the public reporting system of Hong Kong Customs. The shipping routes and loading and unloading port records come from the public shipping database of Lloyd's Register."
He listed them one by one... source, channel, scope of authority, all in one go.
"All evidence has been cross-verified to complete a closed evidence chain, without involving any information sources requiring additional confidential permissions."
"Do you have any action suggestions?"
"I do."
"Implement continuous external monitoring of the two bonded warehouses in the New Territories of Hong Kong, recording the times, frequencies, vehicle license plates, and personnel identities of goods entering and leaving. This task can be executed by the existing field forces of the Hong Kong Station, without the need for additional resource allocation."
"Apply diplomatic pressure on Japan through diplomatic channels, requesting the Japanese side to initiate compliance investigations on the Hong Kong subsidiaries of the three trading companies. Since it involves CoCom embargoed items, the Japanese side is legally obligated to cooperate... this step can be led by the Bureau of East Asian Affairs, with CIA providing intelligence support."
"Thirdly..." Lu Shen spoke with a more cautious tone, "if the bureau deems the timing appropriate, a direct operation to close the entire trade line can be considered. The evidence chain currently in hand is sufficient to support a complete enforcement action... from the financial end to the logistics end, from procurement lists to shipping records, every link has solid evidence."
He added one last sentence: "Of course, the timing and manner of closing the net depend entirely on the strategic judgment of the leadership."
The meeting room fell silent again.
Lu Shen noticed an interesting phenomenon... among the nine people present, not one was looking at him at this moment.
They were looking at each other.
Their gazes crossed, collided, exchanged information.
These silent exchanges conveyed a common understanding: the twenty-seven-year-old young man before them had just presented a groundbreaking economic trend prediction report forty minutes ago, and now he had unveiled a Soviet embargo trade line that could be directly converted into a Cold War combat achievement... and the sources of evidence for both pieces of intelligence were entirely compliant, entirely verifiable, entirely within his job responsibilities.
This wasn't luck.
This was ability.
An ability that compelled a reevaluation!
Casey was the first among those present to withdraw his gaze.
His expression remained unchanged... the facial muscle control of this seasoned intelligence officer was exemplary...
Casey squinted, reassessing Lu Shen.
Regarding Lu Shen's professional ability... the preliminary evaluation level was adjusted from excellent to rare.
For someone to make forward-looking predictions in the field of economic intelligence was enough to classify them as a special talent; to simultaneously complete a closed evidence chain of an embargo line in the trade intelligence field independently, such cross-domain intelligence acumen and execution capability were extremely rare among CIA's active personnel.
Regarding Lu Shen's loyalty... the intelligence on the Soviet embargo trade line directly pointed to the core interests of the United States' Cold War strategy.
A person disloyal to the United States would not voluntarily present such high-level intelligence openly.
This judgment slightly increased Casey's trust in Lu Shen by a notch... but only by a notch.
In Casey's evaluation system, the underlying caution associated with the label "Chinese" would not be completely eliminated by a report or an intelligence line.
It would be suppressed, but not nullified.
Regarding CIA's organizational interests... if the secret trade line bypassing the CoCom embargo could be successfully closed, it would become one of CIA's most dazzling achievements in the Cold War direction.
The value of such an achievement at the year-end Congressional budget hearings far exceeded its actual significance on the intelligence battlefield...
Because what the Congressmen loved most were these "visible, tangible, photographable" concrete results!
And the origin of this achievement could be packaged as... the CIA Director's foresight, achieving a major breakthrough in the field of economic intelligence.
Casey put on his glasses and spoke.
"Gentlemen."
His voice resumed that steady rhythm.
"In light of the value and quality of the two pieces of intelligence Lu presented today, I now formally announce the following personnel appointment..." You are reading on novelping.com, the official source.
His gaze swept across the entire conference table, pausing for less than a second on each face, but that sweep itself was a statement: this decision was not open for discussion.
"Effective immediately, Lu is appointed as the Chief of the East Asia Economic Intelligence Group of the Economic Intelligence Analysis Division."
Wilson frowned.
"Reporting directly to both the Asia Operations Directorate and the Economic Intelligence Analysis Division."
Horton's pencil silently broke under the table.
"Additionally..." Casey emphasized the last word, "he is granted routine collaborative permission with the Counterintelligence Center China Division."
His gaze finally returned to Lu Shen.
"Lu, from today, your work scope will cover economic intelligence analysis, trade intelligence monitoring in the East Asia region, and collaborative coordination with the Counterintelligence Center on China-related matters. You need to form your team in the shortest time possible, familiarize yourself with headquarters' workflow, and propose detailed follow-up action plans for the Soviet trade line."
"Understood." Lu Shen's response was just a single word.
"Good. Meeting adjourned."
...
The sound of chairs being pushed back echoed in the meeting room.
The nine executives gradually stood up, some whispering in groups as they headed for the door, others quietly packing their documents and leaving alone.
Only Lu Shen remained in the meeting room.
Around the oval conference table, the chairs from nine positions were pushed at various angles, yellow legal pads bore scribbled notes, and the water in the white porcelain cups was half-drunk.
Lu Shen stood in place, looking around.
This meeting room had been filled with the highest-ranking power holders of CIA just minutes ago... the Director, two Deputy Directors, three division-level officials.
And now, they had all left, without a backward glance, without leaving a word.
Lu Shen clearly realized one thing.
Langley Headquarters was not Hong Kong Station.
In Hong Kong, he was a peripheral figure far from the core, unnoticed and unthreatening.
That invisibility itself was the best protection... a person who is not seen does not need defense.
And now, he stood at the center stage.
Casey's personal appointment, the special dual-reporting structure, the cross-Counterintelligence Center collaborative permission... these things, while granting him power, also placed a glaring spotlight above his head.
From today, every work action he took, every information retrieval, every phone call, every email, would be watched by multiple eyes.
Lu Shen looked down at the white porcelain cup belonging to his position, the water in it still full... he hadn't taken a sip throughout the entire meeting.
He picked up the cup and drank the water in one go.
Lu Shen pushed his chair back into place, adjusted the collar of his suit, and walked towards the meeting room door.
As he opened the door, the cold fluorescent lights in the hallway shone directly at him, harsh and glaring.
Lu Shen strode forward.