Chapter 599
A Slight Unease
"Yes, I guarantee the mission will be completed."
Fan Tianlei saluted, his voice decisive and firm.
Seeing Gao Shiwei and Fan Tianlei's reactions, Jiang Nian remained silent.
He knew that at this moment, Gao Shiwei was in no condition to calmly consider the suggestions he had made.
Following behind Fan Tianlei, Jiang Nian returned to the repair company.
It was still the place that made him feel the warmest, but for some reason, Jiang Nian felt a chill.
He pulled the blanket over himself and wrapped it tightly around himself.
The system never appeared again, and even the mission it had previously issued, which instructed him to retrieve green crystals from the military factory, was never mentioned again.
The system's reaction made Jiang Nian feel uneasy.
His phone has been confiscated by Fan Tianlei.
At this moment, Fan Tianlei was sleeping in the room next to Jiang Nian, dutifully obeying Gao Shiwei's orders and guarding Jiang Nian at all times.
Zhou Zhou gave Jiang Nian only half a month, but now a week has passed.
Jiang Nian was helpless.
Fan Tianlei was truly carrying out Gao Shiwei's orders meticulously, completely preventing Jiang Nian from leaving the house. He acted as if he was completely unyielding, leaving Jiang Nian somewhat helpless.
Even though she was in her own room, Jiang Nian felt like she was in prison.
"I need to see the leader."
After dinner, Jiang Nian called Fan Tianlei into his room and spoke to him with a serious expression.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, the leader said he won't see you until this mission is over. You don't need to worry about this anymore."
Fan Tianlei responded to Jiang Nian's request with great helplessness.
During the past few days of guarding Jiang Nian, Fan Tianlei has learned why the leaders temporarily imprisoned Jiang Nian.
That is why Fan Tianlei firmly supported the leader's decision.
So even though Jiang Nian looked serious at that moment, Fan Tianlei still insisted on his own ideas and refused to compromise.
"That's not how it is. Zhou Zhou only gave me half a month, and a week has already passed. Unless I intervene, something is bound to happen at the military factory. You don't want anything to happen to He Chenguang and the others, do you?"
Seeing Fan Tianlei's stubbornness, Jiang Nian wished he could take a stick and beat him unconscious—at least if Fan Tianlei was unconscious, he could get out.
“Comrade Jiang Nian, I don’t want anything to happen to any of you. But this task has been handed over to someone else, and He Chenguang and the others will be back in the next couple of days. If you want to see them, I’ll have them come to see you when they get back.”
Despite Jiang Nian's persuasion, Fan Tianlei remained completely unmoved, like a dead pig unafraid of boiling water. No matter what Jiang Nian said, he wouldn't agree.
"If, and I mean if, Zhou Zhou and his group end up blowing up the entire military factory, all the nearby residents will be affected. Can you still remain so calm?"
With his back to Fan Tianlei, Jiang Nian's tone was full of desolation and heaviness.
He couldn't persuade Fan Tianlei, so all he could do was wait.
Watching Jiang Nian's retreating figure, Fan Tianlei's face also showed a solemn expression.
Later on, Jiang Nian stopped letting Fan Tianlei get involved in the task, so he had no idea what the current situation was.
But Fan Tianlei knew one thing: Jiang Nian had been trying to get a meeting with the leader on his own these past few days.
Gao Shiwei was very serious when he asked him to look after Jiang Nian.
Even after Fan Tianlei subtly probed several times, Gao Shiwei's attitude remained unchanged. His only request was that Fan Tianlei keep a close eye on Jiang Nian and never let him out of his sight.
Fan Tianlei was also having some doubts about what Jiang Nian was saying.
If what Jiang Nian said is true, then I will definitely have to go see Gao Shiwei again.
"I understand, Comrade Jiang Nian. I'm going to see the leader now, but you must promise me that you won't leave here without permission while I'm gone."
Fan Tianlei ultimately chose to compromise, but he also made demands of Jiang Nian.
"I understand. As long as I can see the leader, I will definitely not leave."
Jiang Nian's voice was full of determination.
He actually felt that Fan Tianlei was a little out of his mind right now—how could he have left without Gao Shiwei's permission?
"Sir, Comrade Jiang Nian wishes to see you."
In Gao Shiwei's office, he was reviewing documents with his head down. Fan Tianlei walked in and said with a serious expression.
Upon hearing Fan Tianlei's words, Gao Shiwei slowly raised his head.
“Staff Officer Fan, my orders to you were to keep an eye on Jiang Nian, not to pass on messages for him. I don’t want to see him right now.”
Gao Shiwei's voice carried a hint of sternness.
He looked at Fan Tianlei and said, "What's wrong? Has it been so long that Staff Officer Fan has forgotten that a soldier's first duty is to obey orders?"
Fan Tianlei immediately lowered his head.
"It was my fault. I will obey orders from my superiors!"
"Since that's the case, you can leave now and go back to keep an eye on Jiang Nian."
Gao Shiwei casually waved his hand, signaling Fan Tianlei to leave immediately, and then lowered his head to continue approving the documents.
"Sir, Comrade Jiang Nian said that if he does not agree to Zhou Zhou's demands, the other party will blow up the military factory, which will also affect the surrounding residents."
Fan Tianlei was also a little uneasy; he could tell that Gao Shiwei was in a bad mood. But remembering what Jiang Nian had said at the end, Fan Tianlei gritted his teeth and repeated those words.
"what?"
This time, Gao Shiwei was truly shocked by Fan Tianlei's words.
"Did Jiang Nian really say that?"
He didn't want to believe it, but he also understood that Fan Tianlei couldn't possibly hide anything from Jiang Nian at this time.
"That's true."
"Alright, alright, go and bring Jiang Nian over here."
After a deep sigh, Gao Shiwei said this.
If he could, he really wanted to get rid of Jiang Nian completely right now.
But if what Jiang Nian said is true, then everything he's doing now is a waste of effort.
Thinking about this, Gao Shiwei's head started to ache even more.
Hearing Fan Tianlei say that Gao Shiwei had finally agreed to see him, Jiang Nian finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Only when he sees Gao Shiwei can he try to persuade him.
"Boss, I'm here."
Upon entering Gao Shiwei's office, Jiang Nian casually locked the door from the inside, leaving Fan Tianlei outside, before slowly speaking.
Gao Shiwei raised his head, looking at Jiang Nian with a serious expression. "Tell me, what else are you hiding in your negotiations with Zhou Zhou?"
If Gao Shiwei didn't want Jiang Nian involved in the mission before, now, if it weren't for Jiang Nian's special status, Gao Shiwei would really want to lock him in a dark room.
Unfortunately, Gao Shiwei understood that he could keep Jiang Nian's body inside, but he couldn't keep her heart inside.
“Sir, I haven’t actually been hiding anything. It’s just that Zhou Zhou’s group is too powerful; we’ve already witnessed a part of it. Wang Ba was unconscious because he was infected with Gu worms. According to Lan Tianyu, Zhou Zhou has at least dozens more Gu worms on him, controlling dozens of lives. Think about it, if we take action against Zhou Zhou, the number of lives involved could be far more than just dozens. And more importantly, we don’t even know who these dozens of people are, so we can’t even rescue them in advance.”
Jiang Nian had wanted to tell Gao Shiwei about this before, but Gao Shiwei was furious at the time and didn't even let him finish before having Fan Tianlei lock him up.
At this moment, Jiang Nian's face was solemn—in his opinion, wasting time locking himself up was completely useless.
If he could, he wouldn't want to do this.
Agreeing to Zhou Zhou's request would also be a huge risk for Jiang Nian.
But faced with overwhelming power, especially with the opponent lurking in the shadows and knowing nothing about them, Jiang Nian couldn't think of anything else to do but compromise.
"Gu worms, Gu worms..."
Gao Shiwei kept repeating those two words, his hands trembling slightly.
He didn't look at Jiang Nian, but just stared down at his hands.
After a while, Gao Shiwei finally raised his head again, his emotions having calmed down.
"Okay, you go back first. I have some things to take care of, I'll come find you after I'm done here."
Gao Shiwei truly hadn't expected that Jiang Nian's unfinished words would involve Gu worms. This made things even more complicated.
Even so, Jiang Nian's identity is still too special.
If they were to give in and let him make a deal with Zhou Zhou, he would be the first to suffer if the higher-ups found out. Gao Shiwei wasn't afraid of his own misfortune; he was afraid of China losing a talent like Jiang Nian.
Gao Shiwei immediately decided that this matter had to be reported right now, immediately.
Hearing him say that, Jiang Nian knew that the other party had already weighed the importance of the matter, so he didn't say anything more.
Gao Shiwei definitely needs to discuss this with others. He can't be of much help here, so he might as well go back and wait for news.
So Jiang Nian didn't say anything more, pushed open the office door, and turned to leave.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, how did your talk with the leader go?"
Seeing that Jiang Nian came out so quickly, Fan Tianlei was stunned for a moment, then quickly chased after her and asked anxiously.
In Fan Tianlei's view, Jiang Nian must have something important to discuss with Gao Shiwei. And serious matters take time to discuss.
He was even prepared to stand outside the office for hours, but Jiang Nian only took ten minutes from going in to coming out.
This makes no sense at all.
"I've said everything I needed to say. As for how the leaders will arrange things, that's beyond my ability to guess."
Jiang Nian said casually, spreading his hands with a helpless expression.
I looked up at the sky and saw the sun slowly sinking below the horizon.
The sunset is infinitely beautiful, but it's only a short time before dusk. And after dusk, darkness will descend.
Fan Tianlei didn't understand the meaning behind Jiang Nian's slightly desolate expression, but he also lost the will to continue asking questions.
After returning to his room, Jiang Nian finally got a good night's sleep, something he rarely did.
If Gao Shiwei could deliberately ignore the Gu worm before and his attitude was so firm, now that the Gu worm has appeared and Lan Tianyu is a living witness, Gao Shiwei and his group have to consider the issue from multiple perspectives.
Since the final result is the same anyway, Jiang Nian has nothing to worry about.
After Jiang Nian left the office, Gao Shiwei went to another room.
Turn on your computer and connect to the video conference.
No one knows what Gao Shiwei talked about with the person on the other end of the video call in that secluded office. All that is known is that ten minutes later, he arranged for a private jet and left the military region by plane.
This trip lasted a full five days. When they returned, they were covered in dust and grime.
As soon as he entered the office, Gao Shiwei called Fan Tianlei and asked him to bring Jiang Nian over immediately.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, the leader wants to see you."
Fan Tianlei didn't know exactly what Jiang Nian and the leader talked about that day, but he remembered what Jiang Nian had said.
Zhou Zhou and Jiang Nian had agreed to meet in half a month. Counting the time Jiang Nian was detained by the leaders, thirteen days have passed since then.
With only two days left, Gao Shiwei happened to return at this crucial moment, and his first priority was to see Jiang Nian. Fan Tianlei figured that the matter should be settled.
When Fan Tianlei told her that Gao Shiwei wanted to see her at this time, Jiang Nian showed no surprise at all, as if she had expected this to happen.
"The two-week deadline you mentioned is almost up. This time, I'm having Long Baichuan accompany you to the negotiations. No matter how the negotiations end, I need to know the whole story."
When Jiang Nian entered the office, Gao Shiwei put down the documents in his hand, looked up, and said with a serious expression.
This was a plan they discussed several times before finally deciding on it.
“I understand. But boss, let’s make this clear beforehand: I’ve already told you the outcome of the negotiations. I will agree to Zhou Zhou’s conditions, but with Captain Long here, we can also secure better benefits for China.”
Jiang Nian knew that Gao Shiwei's words were actually a concession.
Since that's the case, he'll just be direct about some things.
Jiang Nian himself wasn't very good at negotiating, so it was only natural that he would bring Long Baichuan along if he wanted to get more benefits from Zhou Zhou.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, thank you for your hard work."
Regardless of what benefits they ultimately gain, the person who has suffered the most along the way is Jiang Nian.
Gao Shiwei walked around to the desk, patted Jiang Nian on the shoulder, and said with a tone full of emotion.
If there were any other options, they would not want Jiang Nian to accept this kind of negotiation or the other party's conditions.
But as Jiang Nian said, the key issue lies in the power held by the other side.
"Boss, don't be so sad. Actually, we can get a lot of benefits from them. Even if it's a transaction, we won't lose out."
Jiang Nian suddenly smiled, comforting Gao Shiwei in a lighthearted tone.
He knew he was right, but the deal was ultimately reached under Zhou Zhou's threat, and Gao Shiwei was still uncomfortable with it.
Now that they had reached a consensus, Jiang Nian no longer needed to linger in the military region.
The next afternoon, Long Baichuan arrived at the military region to meet with Jiang Nian.
"Comrade Jiang Nian, it's been a long time! I thought this mission would end once you brought Wang Ba back, but I didn't expect there to be so much more to come. You've really been put through a lot this time."
As the person who was to go to the negotiations with Jiang Nian, Long Baichuan had already learned the whole story from Gao Shiwei.
Knowing this, he said it to Jiang Nian with a tone of heartache.
"There's no such thing as feeling wronged or not. I just feel that this is the right thing to do. It's our duty to fight for more benefits for China. Everyone hopes that China will become stronger and stronger. This giant dragon will eventually take off, and we are here to contribute to its takeoff."
Compared to Long Baichuan's worried and somewhat sad expression, Jiang Nian herself was much calmer. (End of Chapter)