Chapter 32: Remediation

Zheng Yi smiled at these words but did not answer, and Xu Manchun, seeing this, did not press further.

Before long, Li Dongsheng of the Hurricane Team walked into the small courtyard.

"Brother Li!"

Zheng Yi and Xu Manchun greeted him in unison. Li Dongsheng nodded slightly and walked up to them quickly, and the two gathered close to him.

"Originally, the plan was to have you leave tonight, but circumstances have changed. Tonight, we must go to pick up a female student and get her out of the city. Then, early tomorrow morning, you will take the waterway to the Mountain City. Do you have any problems with that?"

Zheng Yi arched his sword-like brows, looking at Li Dongsheng with some tension:

"What happened on Magpie's end?"

Li Dongsheng shook his head:

"You don't need to ask about that. Your current mission is to protect that female student until she arrives safely in the Mountain City and hand her over to Section Chief Shen."

"Any issues?"

Asked again, Zheng Yi and Xu Manchun put on serious expressions and immediately replied:

"Understood, mission guaranteed!"

After Li Dongsheng left, Xu Manchun looked at Zheng Yi with surprise:

"Yellow Sparrow, you... I was able to be rescued because of Magpie, right?"

"So, the original plan was for us to evacuate with Magpie, but now..."

A lingering, indelible sorrow accumulated between Zheng Yi's heroic brows. He looked at Xu Manchun and shook his head, his expression stern:

"Follow orders. Do not ask about Magpie's affairs."

"But... she is going to die, isn't she?"

"Don't underestimate her. Even if we die, she won't!"

"Really?"

"Really..."

Shanghai, No. 27 Jessfield Road.

Auntie Liu stood at the entrance of the apartment, watching Zhou Dahe, who had arrived on a tricycle and had been waiting at the gate for quite a while.

"Hello, I'm here to deliver the pork chop rice cakes."

Auntie Liu looked at Zhou Dahe with some doubt:

"Wasn't it supposed to be every other day? Besides, you weren't the one who came to deliver things yesterday."

Zhou Dahe looked like a very honest man; when he grinned, it gave him an even more rustic feel:

"Oh, it was my little girl who came yesterday."

"And it is indeed every other day, but today, Miss Dao Ya asked for this delivery."

Auntie Liu frowned slightly:

"Miss asked for it?"

"Yes, this afternoon, Miss Dao Ya called Mother Song's shop. Mother Song ran over to ask me to take the call, and she did indeed say to deliver it here."

Auntie Liu was even more suspicious, but she nodded, preparing to accept the pork chop rice cakes. After all, if Zhou Dahe were lying, the lie would be too easy to expose.

However, Auntie Liu did not expect Zhou Dahe to refuse to hand them over:

"Pay up! It's a small business."

Auntie Liu twitched her mouth slightly. She had only come out to check because she saw an old man lingering at the gate; she hadn't brought any money with her.

"Fine, you wait a moment, I'll go back and get the money."

Watching Auntie Liu go inside, Zhou Dahe anxiously looked up at the sky. At this hour, why hadn't they returned yet?

The Military Statistics Bureau people really were unreliable.

Just as Zhou Dahe was wondering what excuse he could use to keep staying there if no one showed up, a black Cadillac drove over.

This was Ding Moqun’s private car, and the person driving was none other than Dao Yan.

Seeing the situation at the gate, the tricycle was blocking the center, and Dao Yan couldn't enter the courtyard.

Lowering the window, Dao Yan stuck her head out, her brows furrowed as she shouted:

"Who are you? Why are you stopped here? Move your vehicle, you're blocking the way!"

Upon seeing who it was, Zhou Dahe quietly breathed a sigh of relief, then put on a face full of smiles:

"Sorry, sorry. I'm just here to deliver something, I'll leave right after, please wait a moment."

Dao Yan looked back at Ding Moqun in the back seat. Ding Moqun shook his head, so Dao Yan stepped on the brakes, waiting quietly for the old man to leave. They didn't dare to get out of the car like this, especially given the unusual circumstances.

However, just then, a Buick drove up.

Before they even reached the gate, Dao Ya, sitting in the passenger seat, saw Zhou Dahe.

"Hey! Chef Zhou, you're here so early, haha!"

After Zhao Xuan parked the car, Dao Ya couldn't wait to get out, but Zhao Xuan watched Zhou Dahe with extreme suspicion.

This shouldn't be happening. He had only delivered pork chop rice cakes yesterday; why deliver again today? What was going on?

Could it be that Li Mingzhu had something urgent to communicate?

Just as Zhao Xuan was deep in confusion, Zhou Dahe’s inner voice rang out through his dialysis mode.

*(Little girl, Daddy knows your ambitions, but Daddy can only accompany you this far.)*

*(That Miss Li, I hope she keeps her promise. Otherwise, even if I become a ghost, I won't let you off.)*

Hearing this, Zhao Xuan’s heart skipped a beat. With no time to think, he hurried to activate his scanning mode, locking his gaze directly onto Zhou Dahe.

*(Scanning mode activated, scan complete...)*

Seeing nothing, Zhao Xuan was stunned.

Given the inner voice Zhou Dahe had just projected, Zhao Xuan thought the old fellow had explosives in his tricycle, but the scan showed nothing—or rather, there was only the pork chop rice cakes.

Everything was normal, yet why would Zhou Dahe project such a voice?

This was not normal—nothing about this was normal!

With furrowed brows, Zhao Xuan opened the door and stepped out, seeing that Dao Ya had already reached the tricycle and taken the pork chop rice cakes from Zhou Dahe.

"Sister, Uncle, you're back so early today?"

In the Cadillac, Dao Yan and Ding Moqun saw that there was no issue with Zhou Dahe, so Dao Yan got out first, while Ding Moqun simply opened the car door.

Dao Yan then walked over in two or three steps, reached Dao Ya, and flicked the girl on the forehead.

She then casually lifted the cover on the tricycle, confirmed there was nothing wrong, and nodded toward Ding Moqun.

"You greedy girl, didn't you just buy some yesterday? Now you've had someone deliver more today."

Dao Ya giggled. By this time, Auntie Liu had also returned with the money.

Seeing the whole family at the gate, Auntie Liu paused for a moment before trotting over:

"Master, Eldest Miss, Miss, Son-in-law, you've all returned. What a coincidence today."

Listening to Auntie Liu, Ding Moqun couldn't bother to lecture Dao Ya and just nodded with a smile.

*(It's out, I hope the people from the Military Statistics Bureau are reliable. Don't let me die in vain.)*

Zhao Xuan, who already sensed something was wrong, immediately scanned the surroundings upon hearing this inner voice again. With the support of the scanning mode, everything within his sight was covered.

*(Beep, beep, beep—sniper detected at the old clock tower at the three o'clock position. Danger! Danger!)*

*(The sniper has locked onto the primary target, most likely Ding Moqun!)*

*(Scan analysis complete: the sniper's muzzle is calibrated for Ding Moqun, Zhou Dahe, and Zhao Xuan. Primary target: Ding Moqun!)*

*(Identity confirmed: Li Mingzhu, codename Magpie...)*

The moment Zhao Xuan, whose concentration was at its peak, heard that the sniper was Li Mingzhu, he felt a strange sense of relief.

Although he didn't know what Li Mingzhu was planning, for now, Zhao Xuan could only cooperate and play along with this performance. This was his trust in Li Mingzhu, and the silent understanding between them.

As for the questions in his heart, he would definitely ask her for a clear explanation once this was over!

Watching as Ding Moqun instructed Dao Yan to park the car and then prepared to take Dao Ya home, Zhou Dahe also turned the tricycle around as if to leave.

But in doing so, Zhou Dahe was actually positioning himself to better restrain Ding Moqun.

Just as Ding Moqun grabbed Dao Ya’s arm, talking and laughing with doting eyes as they walked toward the house, and Dao Yan was walking toward the Cadillac, Zhou Dahe suddenly stepped off his vehicle.

At the very instant Zhou Dahe was about to tackle Ding Moqun, Zhao Xuan lunged forward, pushing Ding Moqun to the ground, and with lightning-fast reflexes, pulled Dao Ya into his arms to shield her.

As this sequence of movements completed, the gunshot rang out. It seemed everything had been calculated, not missing by a single fraction.