Chapter 590
The Reverse
"Zhou Zhou, Wang Ba's top lieutenant, and the head of the military factory. What, now you know who I am and plan to kill me right here?"
Seeing the ever-changing expression on Zhou Zhou's face, Jiang Nian suddenly laughed, and then slowly opened his mouth, his words full of teasing.
Zhou Zhou remained silent, seemingly unable to accept the reality before her.
Zhou Zhou heard the name Jiang Nian from Wang Dahu.
He knew Jiang Nian was a member of the military. But how could Wang Ba be associating with Jiang Nian now?
"What exactly happened? Boss, has the deal with Japan really gone through?"
After a long silence, Zhou Zhou stopped looking at Jiang Nian and stared at Wang Ba with wide eyes, asking the question he most wanted to know.
"The deal with Japan has indeed been completed."
Wang Ba didn't hide it from Zhou Zhou, but he didn't explain much either.
The deal was done, but he himself fell into Jiang Nian's hands. It's better not to talk about such a shameful thing.
Where are the three people who followed us in earlier?
Without giving Zhou Zhou much time to ponder, Jiang Nian went straight to the point and asked.
Jiang Nian felt a little uneasy when he was asked to undergo retinal scan certification at the factory.
With this level of security, Wang Yanbing and his group absolutely couldn't get in. That leaves only one possibility—they've fallen into Zhou Zhou's hands.
Originally, there were other plans, but now Jiang Nian had no choice but to ask for people directly.
"They...are they also from the military?"
Zhou Zhou subconsciously asked a question in return.
As soon as he said those words, he realized what he had said.
Since Jiang Nian asked this question, then the three people must be from the military.
Thinking of this, Zhou Zhou felt a chill run down his spine.
“I locked up all three of them.”
Zhou Zhou answered Jiang Nian honestly.
"Bring them here! Zhou Zhou, don't try anything funny. Wang Ba's life is in my hands. No matter how well-protected your underground military factory is, I can destroy it if I want to."
Seeing Zhou Zhou's eyes darting around, Jiang Nian stared at him for a while before finally speaking in a harsh tone.
If Zhou Zhou dares to hurt Wang Yanbing and the other two, Jiang Nian said he would never let Zhou Zhou off the hook, and the military factory would have no reason to exist.
Zhou Zhou didn't say anything, glanced at Wang Ba again, and then quickly retreated.
"Mr. Wang, you've really gone all out."
Only He Chenguang, Wang Ba, and Jiang Nian remained in the room.
Jiang Nian looked at Wang Ba and slowly began to speak.
Wang Ba sat on the sofa, feeling extremely uncomfortable.
This was clearly his territory, yet he felt inexplicably guilty.
When Jiang Nian asked about those three people, Wang Ba was at a loss for words.
It turns out that the military had already found this place before him.
He now only hoped that Zhou Zhou hadn't hurt Jiang Nian's people, otherwise, just as Jiang Nian said, the military factory might not be able to be saved.
"Oh, it's nothing, just some little trinkets!"
Faced with Jiang Nian's words, which seemed both praise and sarcasm, Wang Ba nervously forced a smile.
If he could, he really wouldn't want to talk to Jiang Nian face to face right now.
"Such a large military factory, producing classified weapons of several powerful nations. Mr. Wang, you certainly have a wealth of talent under your command! If this is considered trivial, then I really think you're planning to declare yourself king?"
Jiang Nian spun around in his office chair, pulled a pen from the desk, and tapped it lightly on the surface.
He looked at Wang Ba with a half-smile, deliberately speaking with sarcasm.
Wang Ba kept his head down and remained silent.
He Chenguang now completely obeys Jiang Nian. He doesn't understand what Jiang Nian is trying to do, but he just needs to follow orders.
So he stood silently at the door to ensure their safety.
"What, even now, Mr. Wang still isn't going to tell the truth?"
Seeing that Wang Ba kept his head down and didn't speak, Jiang Nian's attitude suddenly changed. Her tone became sharp, and her eyes were filled with ruthlessness as she looked at Wang Ba.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, I...I don't know what you want me to say?"
Wang Ba looked up at Jiang Nian, his voice trembling slightly.
He was in a state of turmoil, unable to guess what Jiang Nian knew, so he gritted his teeth and refused to utter a single word.
"Who is the real owner behind this military factory?"
Seeing that Wang Ba was still playing games with him, Jiang Nian lost his patience and asked directly.
Just then, Zhou Zhou walked in with Wang Yanbing and the other two. When he heard Jiang Nian's words, a strange look flashed in his eyes. Then he lowered his head, pretended not to have heard anything, and stepped aside.
However, he hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Comrade Jiang Nian, the three people you requested have been brought."
Jiang Nian was interrogating Wang Ba when Zhou Zhou brought him here so quickly.
The awkward atmosphere eased for a moment after the interruption. Jiang Nian stopped pressing Wang Ba and instead looked at Wang Yanbing and the other two to make sure they were alright.
When Wang Yanbing and the other two saw Jiang Nian and He Chenguang, their eyes lit up. They opened their mouths as if to say something, but when they saw Wang Ba and Zhou Zhou were there, they swallowed their words.
"Arrange a quiet room; I need to talk to my people."
At this point, Jiang Nian decided not to press Wang Ba any further and changed the subject, speaking directly to him.
Hearing Jiang Nian say this, Wang Ba glanced at Zhou Zhou discreetly when no one was looking before speaking, "Yes, I'll arrange it right away!"
He paused, then added, "I also have a lounge in this office, which is very quiet. Comrade Jiang Nian, you can bring a few comrades in to talk."
Wang Ba pointed to a door next to the bookshelf and said solicitously.
Jiang Nian twirled the pen in his hand, lost in thought.
Although Wang Ba's gaze towards Zhou Zhou was subtle, he still caught it.
He stood up and walked to the door of the lounge that Wang Ba had mentioned.
Pushing open the door, one could immediately see the entire interior.
The lounge was small, containing a bed, a bookcase, and a bathroom next to it.
Jiang Nian walked in and looked around, mentally calling out to the system, "System, scan this lounge for any hidden rooms?"
There was no way Jiang Nian could deny that the mechanisms in Wang Ba's underground military factory were quite sophisticated.
With his current eyesight, he couldn't confirm whether there were other passages here, so he could only rely on the system.
In response to Jiang Nian's request for help, the system silently appeared and scanned the entire room.
"Reporting to the host, this room is well-hidden and has no connection to other exits. You can use it without worry!"
After receiving a definite answer from the system, Jiang Nian walked out of the lounge.
"Mr. Wang, would you please wait in the lounge for a while with your men?"
Jiang Nian spoke directly to Wang Ba.
These words sounded like a suggestion, but the tone was an unquestionable command. He wasn't discussing things with Wang Ba; he was issuing an order.
Wang Ba was stunned for a moment. He thought Jiang Nian was going to take Wang Yanbing and the others in, but he didn't expect Jiang Nian to let him and Zhou Zhou in at the end.
After exchanging a glance with Zhou Zhou, Wang Ba put on that apprehensive look again.
“Okay, Mr. Jiang Nian, Zhou Zhou and I will go in now. If you need anything, just open the door and call us.”
After saying this seemingly loyal statement, Wang Ba led Zhou Zhou into the lounge.
After the door to the lounge closed, Jiang Nian gestured, calling Wang Yanbing, the other two, and He Chenguang to the desk.
"System, I need you to block all signals around us to make sure no one can hear my conversation with them."
It was at this moment that Jiang Nian realized that the system was indeed quite useful—at least it could accomplish things that others would never be able to.
Perhaps to ensure Jiang Nian could obtain the green crystal smoothly, the system didn't say much about his requests and simply complied.
After confirming that the system had blocked all signals in the surrounding area, Jiang Nian looked at Wang Yanbing and the others with a solemn expression.
"You were following Zhou Zhou, what happened after that? How did you end up here? Were you tortured after you were caught?"
Time was short, and Jiang Nian didn't hesitate, firing off a series of questions.
Wang Yanbing and his companions were already mentally prepared for these questions. The three exchanged glances, and finally Wang Yanbing spoke up to explain.
"Here's what happened. As you instructed, we secretly followed Zhou Zhou's boat. They were on a fishing boat, which wasn't going very fast. Zhou Zhou seemed to have noticed something, so we didn't dare get too close, but even so, it seemed we were still discovered. We had no choice but to abandon the fishing boat and swim to catch up with them."
Wang Yanbing began to recount the story slowly.
After spending most of the night in the sea, they finally discovered that Zhou Zhou's boat had docked. But just then, they noticed that the boat was moored behind a mountain.
The mountain was very smooth; it looked like it was impossible to climb up.
The three men remained hidden in the water, so they couldn't see very clearly. All they knew was that Zhou Zhou stood silently behind the mountain for a long time before ordering his men to start the boat again.
This time, they successfully followed them to the crematorium.
Having visited the crematorium several times before, Wang Yanbing recognized the place at a glance.
That's why the three of them became nervous.
After all, crematoriums are places that most people don't go to.
They initially thought Zhou Zhou had come here for some other purpose, but they ended up following him to that strange room.
After Zhou Zhou entered the room, he disappeared.
"Erniu, Gong Jian, and I searched the crematorium for a long time but found nothing unusual. The only suspicious thing was the room where Zhou Zhou disappeared."
At this point, Wang Yanbing paused, a hint of annoyance flashing across his face.
"The three of us searched that room for a long time, and suddenly I started to feel dizzy. At first, I thought it was because I was too tired and sleepy, but when all three of us felt dizzy and lightheaded and wanted to sleep, I realized something was wrong, but it was too late, and I lost consciousness."
As a special forces soldier who had participated in numerous missions, this was arguably Wang Yanbing's only mistake. He hadn't expected that the room had been drugged.
Unbeknownst to him, Zhou Zhou could see everyone entering that room from inside the military factory. Upon discovering Wang Yanbing and his two companions, Zhou Zhou immediately drugged them—no one who discovered this place would escape.
“When we woke up again, we were locked in a dark room. Strangely, no one came to see us after we were locked up, except that someone would bring us a bowl of water every now and then.”
Li Erniu couldn't help but interrupt Wang Yanbing and continued, "I have to tell you the truth. We don't know how long these past few days have been, but we've only managed to stay afloat by drinking that bowl of water. We're completely exhausted now. Comrade Jiang Nian, what exactly happened? When Zhou Zhou brought us here just now, we heard the sound of machinery again, like a factory. But we were at the crematorium before, how did we end up in a factory?"
That's the whole story.
Wang Yanbing and his team were extremely frustrated. They had been tricked this time, and it was incredibly embarrassing.
Just like Li Erniu said, they had only survived these past few days thanks to that bowl of water.
Even so, they still had many questions in their minds, waiting for Jiang Nian and He Chenguang to explain.
Looking at Wang Yanbing and the other two, Jiang Nian and He Chenguang exchanged a glance, and then he spoke slowly and deliberately.
"This is the area beneath the crematorium. The military factory we've been looking for is right here."
As soon as Jiang Nian finished speaking, Wang Yanbing and the other two were stunned, seemingly unable to believe the fact, and took two steps back at the same time.
Seeing Jiang Nian's serious expression, they knew he wasn't joking.
Thinking back to Zhou Zhou's inexplicable disappearance from that room, it now seems that it was simply because there was a trap.
"Holy crap, this is the first time I've realized that this mechanism is really this amazing!"
Li Erniu scratched his head and said something in a simple and honest way.
As soon as Erniu said this, Wang Yanbing and Gong Jian both smiled.
Perhaps they're overreacting. Having completed so many missions, they should be well-adapted, rather than being shocked by this unexpected situation and wearing their emotions on their sleeves.
"Although according to the information we have so far, this military factory belongs to Wang Ba, I have a feeling that there are more complicated relationships behind it."
With little time to spare, Jiang Nian continued to analyze the current situation.
"Wang Ba is probably just a figurehead; the real owner of this military factory is someone else."
"At the very least, judging from Wang Ba's background information, it's impossible for him to have the connections to obtain the confidential blueprints of those powerful countries. But the weapons produced by this military factory are already among the best in the world. Now I understand why Japan went to great lengths to do this business with Wang Ba—perhaps what they valued more was the power behind Wang Ba."
In front of Wang Yanbing and the others, Jiang Nian did not hide his thoughts and explained directly.
This was a thought that Jiang Nian only had after entering the military factory.
Previously, he had only vaguely guessed that the arms deal with Japan was not particularly confidential and that it would not be difficult for the blueprints to be leaked. He believed that as long as Wang Ba had the talent, he could easily replicate them.
But the sophisticated instruments in this military factory, and all the signs here, indicate that this place is extraordinary.
The only thing Jiang Nian could think of was that there must be someone behind Wang Ba.
The subtle look in Wang Ba's eyes when he looked at Zhou Zhou earlier also confirmed this from another perspective.
On the surface, Zhou Zhou is Wang Ba's subordinate, but in reality, their relationship might be reversed. (End of Chapter)