The next day, a project meeting was held.
Lin Su placed the new project proposal on the table and calmly swept her gaze over everyone: “This is another optimization path that I derived based on the Qian Gong algorithm.”
The plan was issued, and the sound of pages turning filled the conference room.
Qian Siming glanced at the proposal a few times, and his heart began to pound, his eyes twitching uncontrollably.
This idea… is brilliant! This is something a young translator could never accomplish on his own, unless… His gaze involuntarily drifted to the old cloth bag that Lin Su carried with her.
The corner of the leather notebook cover peeking out seemed to radiate…The light.
There must be a real secret hidden inside! He was almost certain of it.
Outside the window, Gu Beichen and Lin Su’s eyes met briefly, everything unspoken—the bait had been laid, and they waited for the fish to bite.
Zhao Weimin stood up excitedly, slapping the table repeatedly: “Brilliant! Brilliant indeed! Comrade Gu Yun, this idea is truly at the forefront of the world! We must apply it immediately!”
Lin Su deliberately took out her leather notebook and waved it in front of everyone: “This is not my achievement alone, it is my mother’s algorithm.”
I’m just a porter!
As she spoke, Lin Su stuffed the leather notebook back into her cloth bag, a gesture that made everyone swallow their words of wanting to borrow the book.
This also made Qian Siming’s heart sink, but he soon had a bright idea. His guess was correct. This young translator was so good because of the notebook in her hand.
Is this the notebook they asked him to find?!
Noon, in the computer room.
While everyone else was resting, Qian Siming stayed alone in the computer room. After confirming that no one was in Xizhou, he quickly did some work on the computer and then hurriedly left.
No sooner had he left than Lin Su and Gu Beichen appeared like shadows.
Lin Su sat down in front of the computer, her ten fingers flying across the keyboard, so fast they left afterimages.
Gu Beichen gazed at her focused profile, a sense of pride welling up within him, but he immediately suppressed this inappropriate emotion and asked in a low voice, “How is it?”
“He’s taken the bait.” Lin Su’s eyes were fixed on the screen, her tone calm.
“He was trying to reverse-engineer the algorithm’s core, which triggered my tracking program. Now it’s completely certain that Qian Siming is the mole.”
Although everyone had suspected this before, it was still hard for everyone to accept when it was actually confirmed.
Qian Siming is Master Pan’s disciple. If he is identified as an enemy agent, how will Master Pan’s son face the consequences?!
As expected, enemy agents are the most detestable creatures.
Late at night, most of the lights in the dormitory area had been turned off.
Qian Siming locked the door and took out a black device the size of a matchbox from under the bed—a modified shortwave transmitter.
He took a deep breath, plugged in the power, and typed in a complex communication code on the miniature keypad. A few minutes later, the device vibrated slightly, indicating a response.
He immediately bent down and, by the dim light of the desk lamp, wrote a coded message on a piece of paper. The message read:
[The target’s value has been confirmed. The notebook associated with the “Azure Phoenix” estate is suspected of containing core secrets. Requesting further instructions.]
“Qingluan”—this was the notebook that had been given to him overseas to find this person. Although he hadn’t seen the notebook with his own eyes, he was very certain of it.
The notebook that Gu Yun has in her hand must be Qingluan’s notebook.
The moment he pressed the send button, he felt a wave of exhaustion. What if it wasn’t? No, there was no “what if,” it definitely was!
Almost simultaneously, at the underground monitoring center.
The red dot is flashing rapidly on the main screen!
“High-intensity encrypted shortwave signal detected! Source: Dormitory building in area D, Qian Siming’s room!” the technician reported urgently.
Gu Beichen, who had been waiting for a long time, tensed up instantly and looked at Lin Su beside him. Her premonition had been confirmed.
“What about the signal content?” Gu Beichen’s tone unconsciously carried an urgency.
“The encryption level is too high; it cannot be deciphered in real time.” The technician wiped his sweat.
Just then, Lin Su operated another device she had set up in advance, and the data on the screen scrolled rapidly.
“He used a single-pass cryptography based on classical codebooks, a technique mentioned in my mother’s notes.”
She calmly explained, her hands moving non-stop: “The message he sent was: Confirm the value of the notebook, associate with ‘Azure Phoenix,’ and request instructions.”
As expected, Qian Siming was an enemy agent.
A fierce glint flashed in Gu Beichen’s eyes: “The evidence is conclusive, it’s time to close the net.”
Just as he was about to give the order, Lin Su gently pressed down on his wrist, her fingertips slightly cool.
“Wait!” she said calmly. “Let him finish sending the signal. The ‘Shepherd’s’ next instruction is more valuable to us.”
Gu Beichen looked at her and saw the determination and wisdom in her eyes. She not only wanted to catch the mole, but also to follow the clues to find the source.
She was stronger and more adventurous than he had imagined. Her courage to face death and survive made him admire her, but also made him feel sorry for her.
He put down the phone.
“Okay.” He chose to trust her judgment: “Then let’s wait a little longer.”
Lin Su nodded, her face appearing somewhat pale under the cold light of the screen.
What she was worried about was not Qian Siming, but the organization behind him known as “The Shepherd”.
The fact that the other party was so eager to confirm the value of the “bait” and mentioned the “Azure Phoenix” shows that their goal was very clear and their patience was running out.
“He’s requesting the next step of instructions.” Lin Su’s voice was soft, yet carried a calmness that revealed his true intentions.
“The shepherd will soon give him new orders, which may be to steal, or… to take more extreme actions.”
Gu Beichen understood what she meant; the other party’s fangs had been fully exposed.
“He will never have another chance.” Gu Beichen’s tone carried the decisiveness of a soldier.
Previously, they were in the shadows while others were in the open, putting them at a significant disadvantage!
But this time they’re in the dark while the enemy is in the light, so they’re sure to catch them off guard.
The monitoring center fell silent again, with only the faint sound of the instruments running, like the second hand of fate counting down.
Lin Su stared at the signal endpoint that had disappeared on the screen, forcibly suppressing all her chaotic emotions—questions about her mother’s past, and awareness of her own situation—into cold analytical data.
She is no longer Gu Beichen’s wife, but the base’s chief advisor, a chess player playing a game against enemy spies.
“The ‘shepherd’s’ instructions are the key to the next step,” she said.
His voice sounded somewhat detached due to intense focus, as if he were talking to himself or conducting a tactical rehearsal.
Gu Beichen stood a step away from her, and he could clearly feel the barrier emanating from her that kept strangers at bay.
He swallowed back all the words that were about to come out, such as “Don’t worry” or “I’m here for you.”
He realized that any comforting words at that moment, imbued with personal emotion, would be a disregard for her professional competence and decisiveness.
“Understood,” he replied, his voice purely businesslike.
“I will deploy personnel to ensure that Qian Siming’s every move is under control after the order is issued. We need this order to lock down the ‘Shepherd’.”
He made no attempt to get closer, nor did he offer any further reassurance. He simply stated his responsibilities clearly, becoming a reliable link in this “hunting plan.”
Lin Su paused almost imperceptibly, her gaze still fixed on the screen, and simply replied with a “Mm”.
This “hmm” no longer carried the previous resistance; it was more like an acknowledgment of his professional attitude.
The two, one sitting and one standing, maintained a perfect distance as they both stared at the flickering screen.
There was no warmth between them, only a fragile strategic alliance built on shared goals.