Early in the morning, Yang Shiyun was ready to go out, but after glancing at Zhao Qiang's room next door, she hesitated. She didn't know whether she should go in and call Zhao Qiang. If Zhao Qiang accompanied her to the United States to find out the truth, it would be much easier. However, Zhao Qiang was restricted from moving around in China. If he went abroad, he would have to fall out with those people in Beijing, which was not what Yang Shiyun wanted to see.
With a creak, Zhao Qiang's room door opened. He had barely slept the night before, eating and modifying things at the same time. Now he had a few new weapons he had recently acquired. Actually, they weren't really weapons, just oddities, but after Zhao Qiang's modifications, their power had increased a hundredfold, so they could be used like weapons and inflict some damage on the enemy.
Yang Shiyun stood up: "Zhao Qiang, I think you should stay in China. I can go to the United States by myself."
Zhao Qiang waved his hand: "Let's go, or we'll miss our flight."
Yang Shiyun sighed helplessly, "Fine, we'll sneak away."
Zhao Qiang said, "No, we'll go through the main gate."
Yang Shiyun said, "Don't be stubborn."
Zhao Qiang said, "Yang Shiyun, do you think I should give in now? If I do, you can imagine what kind of life I'll have in the future."
Yang Shiyun remained silent, then led the way out of the villa. Several plainclothes officers were openly monitoring the villa's every move. Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun were stopped as soon as they stepped out, but Yang Shiyun did not receive any special attention; she was not a target requiring special protection.
Zhao Qiang said to Yang Shiyun, "You go first, or you'll miss your flight."
At this moment, a driver brought the car over, and Yang Shiyun got in. She knew that if Zhao Qiang also got in the car, he would definitely be stopped, and it would be easy for Zhao Qiang to get away on his own. So Yang Shiyun did not stand on ceremony with Zhao Qiang and got in the car herself, letting the driver head straight for the airport.
An undercover officer threw away his cigarette butt and walked over. "Mr. Zhao, are you planning to go for a run so early in the morning?"
Zhao Qiang asked, "Why haven't you slept all night and have been guarding the gate for us?"
The plainclothes officer said, "Yes, there's no other way. It's an order from above. Come on, let's go for a run with Mr. Zhao."
Zhao Qiang said, "Okay, I hope you've already had breakfast."
Another plainclothes officer, who didn't know Zhao Qiang very well, asked suspiciously, "Why?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I'm afraid you won't have the energy to run if you haven't eaten breakfast."
The plainclothes officer in charge said, "Really? Mr. Zhao is so confident? You should know that the two of us are the fastest runners in Special Operations Team 2. At the same time, I advise Mr. Zhao not to think about flying away. We know you have an anti-gravity device, so the helicopter is ready. If Mr. Zhao's early training disturbs the rest of the neighbors, that wouldn't be good."
Zhao Qiang cursed under his breath. These people knew his equipment inside and out. It seemed that flying away was not an option, as it would inevitably lead to a frantic pursuit. It was better to be more cautious.
Zhao Qiang jogged slowly ahead, with two plainclothes officers chasing him from the left and right. They also reported Zhao Qiang's whereabouts to Zhang Shan via wireless communication. They would be on high alert as soon as Zhao Qiang left Chen Xinxin's residence, because Zhao Qiang's skills were indeed extraordinary. If he squeezed into the crowd during the morning rush hour, it would be difficult to find him again. Fortunately, Zhao Qiang kept running along relatively secluded routes, making it look like he was exercising in the morning, which was not normal.
Two plainclothes officers caught up with Zhao Qiang. One of them said to Zhao Qiang, "Mr. Zhao, I really don't understand. With your current status, what else do you want? Can't you just stay in the country and enjoy your life? Stop causing trouble and let us have some peace and quiet."
Zhao Qiang said, "I was born with a lowly fate and don't want to enjoy happiness."
Another person said, "If you don't want to enjoy life, fine, but you also make us suffer along with you."
Zhao Qiang shook his head inwardly. This Special Operations Team 2 was not very capable. Just by listening to these two's complaints, he could tell that people of their status should not be swayed by words and smiles. They were behaving properly yesterday, but today they have completely revealed their true colors.
There was a public restroom ahead. Zhao Qiang ran over and said, "I can't hold it anymore, aren't you guys coming in together?"
An undercover officer peeked inside, then pinched his nose and came back out, saying, "We're not as troublesome as you."
Zhao Qiang smiled and said, "I'll dig a tunnel from the toilet to escape."
Another plainclothes officer chuckled, "If you can actually dig out a tunnel, we'll accept it, but aren't you afraid of the stench?"
Zhao Qiang smiled and said, "That's true." After saying that, he went into the toilet. Two plainclothes officers guarded the toilet one in front and one behind. For the first three minutes, the two didn't think anything of it and assumed that Zhao Qiang was taking a dump inside. But after three minutes, one of them couldn't hold it in any longer and poked his head into the toilet. Then he shouted, "Where is he?" The toilet was empty, without a single person in sight. Even if Zhao Qiang had dug a tunnel to escape, there was clearly no sign of the ground being disturbed.
"The mountain eagle calls to its nest, the eaglets have flown away, the eaglets have flown away."
Zhang Shan's voice was filled with panic and anger: "What's going on? I told you to keep a close eye on him."
“We’ve been keeping a close eye on him, but he steamed himself in the toilet.”
"Steamed?"
"Yes, we saw him go into the toilet, but he disappeared, and there was no secret passage in the toilet."
Zhang Shan said, "You all stay where you are and search. I'll order the others to search outwards from you. You must find him."
The roar of helicopters echoed over the city, but Zhang Shan's search plan was ineffective. He searched almost the entire two-kilometer radius around the toilet, but couldn't find any trace of Zhao Qiang. Zhang Shan's mission had a bad start, and Zhao Qiang might even have gone abroad, which would disappoint the expectations of the central leadership. Zhang Shan was almost in tears. The Ministry of State Security's special operations team had never made a mistake, but he had made such a big mistake on his first mission. How could he explain this to his superiors?
Zhang Shan smacked the two plainclothes officers who were tracking him several times on the head. "Are you guys pigs? I told you to keep an eye on him and you all disappeared! If he had flown away, that would be one thing, but you're telling me he vanished in the restroom? How am I supposed to explain this to my superior?"
One of the plainclothes officers said timidly, "Team leader, we can't just stop him from pooping and peeing. The two of us stood in front of and behind him, keeping a close eye on the sky. We swear to God that he definitely didn't slip away from our noses."
Zhang Shan said, "If he didn't slip away right under your noses, then tell me where he slipped away from."
One of the plainclothes officers said, "Team leader, I think this is not the time to discuss how he escaped, but to bring him back."
Zhang Shan retorted, "That's bullshit! Do you think I don't know I have to find him? But we've searched the entire area; we'd have to dig three feet into the ground to find him."
The plainclothes officer said, "Team leader, we don't really need to look for him here. Zhao Qiang just wants to go to America with Yang Shiyun, right? Why don't we just go to the airport and keep an eye on Yang Shiyun? Even if we can't keep her there, we can still control the flights to America. What are we afraid of? He can just sprout wings and fly to America on his own."
Zhang Shan smiled and said, "Yeah, I'm such a pighead. Let's get to the airport." Zhang Shan was still a novice. He had acted very cool in front of Zhao Qiang and the others, but in reality, he had very little experience. However, he had already arranged for people at the airport, so he wasn't too flustered. Soon, intelligence came in saying that Yang Shiyun had boarded the plane alone.
The flight from Shanghai to the United States was delayed. For no other reason than Zhang Shan ordered the flight to be grounded through special channels. Then they calmly boarded the plane. At this time, Yang Shiyun was reading a newspaper. Zhang Shan sat next to Yang Shiyun and waved to the team members behind him. Everyone immediately dispersed to look for Zhao Qiang.
Zhang Shan said to Yang Shiyun, "Sister Yang, I know you hate me, but I have no choice but to find Zhao Qiang."
Yang Shiyun glanced up at Zhang Shan, then went back to her newspaper. Zhang Shan, feeling snubbed, left sheepishly. Half an hour later, a team member came over to report to him, and Zhao Shan exclaimed, "What?"
The team member who reported the news lowered his head and said, "We really searched everywhere, but we really couldn't find it."
"What about the other flights?" Zhang Shan asked.
The team member said, "We're waiting for news."
Zhang Shan waved his hand and said, "Go down and wait." He noticed that the passengers on the plane were already unhappy with his search. In order to avoid conflict with the customers and to reduce the negative impact on public opinion for the country, he wanted to spend less time with the passengers and not give them any opportunity to cause trouble.
Having special privileges makes things quick. Zhang Shan mobilized more than two hundred people and searched almost the entire airport, but there was no trace of Zhao Qiang. News also came from several other airports that Zhao Qiang had not been found. Even several previously abandoned airports were checked, but Zhao Qiang was nowhere to be found.
Zhang Shan rubbed his head, feeling utterly frustrated. No matter how much power he wielded, he couldn't afford to paralyze the entire Shanghai aviation system, or he'd be torn to shreds by the central government. So, after confirming that Zhao Qiang hadn't been found, Zhang Shan could only restore the flights to normal. Watching the plane carrying Yang Shiyun disappear into the clouds, Zhang Shan was practically on the verge of tears. It was so difficult to earn some credit.
Now that things have come to this, Zhang Shan has to report to the Central Committee, otherwise he will really be in deep trouble. After Beijing received the news and confirmed that Zhao Qiang was indeed missing, they knew that it was impossible to stop Zhao Qiang. Fortunately, Zhao Qiang did not use force, otherwise, who knows how much loss would have been incurred. Zhao Qiang's disappearance without saying goodbye has aroused dissatisfaction among some people. It seems that he still has a long way to go to ease relations with Beijing.
At JFK Airport in New York, Yang Shiyun disembarked from the plane. She clearly sensed that some passengers were watching her; these were agents from China, who had likely shifted their focus to her after failing to find Zhao Qiang. She also noticed someone watching her closely after getting off the plane; this was probably a US-based agent coming to greet her for a handover.
Yang Shiyun calmly completed the formalities and went straight to the hotel she had booked. She needed to adjust to the time difference. After the agents followed Yang Shiyun to the hotel, they dared not approach her again. Once inside the hotel, Yang Shiyun took off her high heels, and her voice changed from a woman's voice to a man's voice, "I'm exhausted. If I keep pretending, I'll die."
The air distorted, and then another Yang Shiyun appeared. The original Yang Shiyun pressed her waist, and her appearance suddenly changed. It turned out that this was Zhao Qiang, while the one who had disappeared was the real Yang Shiyun.
(Thanks to m588 for the coin reward and to Night Without AK for the monthly ticket support)
Volume 2 [659] Old Classmates Meet Again
【659】Old classmates reunite
"Do you think I don't have it tough? I have to rush to board the plane, dodge pedestrians on the street, sneak onto the plane, and then hide from the flight attendants. I get tired of hiding for so long," Yang Shiyun complained.
Zhao Qiang said, "How about I give you a massage so you can relax and take a nap?"
Yang Shiyun blushed: "Pah, who needs your massage? Get lost, I want to sleep." Yang Shiyun rarely had a cold expression in front of Zhao Qiang.
Zhao Qiang said, "We only booked one room. Where should I go? You can rest on the bed, and I'll sleep on the floor."
Yang Shiyun took a shower in the bathroom and then lay comfortably on the bed. She glanced at Zhao Qiang lying on the sofa and felt a little sorry for him. "Zhao Qiang, why don't you go to bed too? We can each sleep on one side."
Zhao Qiang said, "That wouldn't be good; we might accidentally hug each other."
Yang Shiyun pulled a dagger from under her pillow. "Then I'll give you a stab."
Zhao Qiang lay down next to Yang Shiyun, looking aggrieved. He didn't say anything, and the atmosphere was a little awkward. Yang Shiyun said, "Don't joke with me anymore. How can I have the mind to joke when I'm like this?"
Zhao Qiang said, "You're overthinking it. You're still flesh and blood; you're still you."
Yang Shiyun was probably more relaxed abroad because she was away from her homeland. Thinking about how she had inexplicably become a machine, she was overcome with grief. She turned around, hugged Zhao Qiang, and burst into tears, "Zhao Qiang, I feel so bad."
Zhao Qiang patted Yang Shiyun on the back: "Alright, stop crying. You're a grown woman now. It's ridiculous to cry like this. I told you I would help you find out the truth. It's not too late to cry after everything is clear, right?"
Yang Shiyun said, "Alright then, I'm afraid that after the truth is found out, I won't even have the chance to cry."
Zhao Qiang pinched Yang Shiyun's nose: "Silly girl, you're still so cute. So what if you have a mechanical skeleton?"
Yang Shiyun asked, "Don't you feel something's off?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I don't think so. Maybe that's why you can become invisible. Those metal skeletons might be due to your superpower, so you don't need to worry at all."
Yang Shiyun thought about it and agreed, "Yes, or maybe it's actually a result of my own skeletal deformity."
Zhao Qiang said, "That's right, that's the right way to think. Good girl, go to sleep."
Yang Shiyun giggled: "Did you coax my sister like this last night too?"
Zhao Qiang said, "Your sister doesn't buy into that; she's rather crazy."
Yang Shiyun asked somewhat embarrassedly, "If my sister knew about this, would she be angry?"
Zhao Qiang said matter-of-factly, "I'm just trying to comfort you so she won't be jealous. As your brother-in-law, am I supposed to just watch you be down and ignore you?"
Yang Shiyun said, "In short, don't talk nonsense to her. There's nothing between you and me."
Zhao Qiang said, "Yes, yes, you're innocent. Okay, go to sleep."
Neither Zhao Qiang nor Yang Shiyun were impulsive people, so they didn't do anything outrageous and genuinely went to rest. However, when people fall asleep, their limbs don't always obey their commands, so when Yang Shiyun woke up, she realized something was seriously wrong. Zhao Qiang had one hand on her chest and the other on her stomach, instantly waking her up. Although she was wearing thick pajamas, the intense heat was still so strong that Yang Shiyun's face instantly turned red.
Yang Shiyun removed Zhao Qiang's hand from her chest, muttering under her breath, "This guy must be mistaking me for Shiqi." Then she moved the hand that was wrapped around her stomach away, and with this commotion, Zhao Qiang naturally woke up.
Yang Shiyun blushed and got out of bed to change her clothes. Zhao Qiang smelled the scent on the bed. It smelled so good. What does it matter if Yang Shiyun is a person? You can't feel it when you hold her in your arms. No wonder he thought her weight was normal before. It turns out it wasn't because she was secretly fat, but because her bones were unusually heavy.
After washing up, Yang Shiyun lightly applied makeup in front of the mirror. Zhao Qiang asked, "You have a plan, right?"
Yang Shiyun nodded, "Let's go find my classmate Maxine first."
"Makoxin?"
Yang Shiyun said, "Yes, she lived in the same apartment as me at the time. She took care of me and took me to the hospital when I was sick and unconscious, so I think I should find her first to find out what happened back then."
Zhao Qiang asked, "So, have you managed to contact her?"
Yang Shiyun said, "I called her, but unfortunately, she has changed her number."
Zhao Qiang asked, "What should we do?"
Yang Shiyun said, "I know that Ma Kexin has a boyfriend, and I think he must know where Ma Kexin is."
"Have you gotten in touch with her boyfriend?"
Yang Shiyun said, "I don't need to contact this man. I know where he is."
Zhao Qiang smiled and didn't press the matter further. Yang Shiyun said, "He's an American thug who frequents only a few places. We can find him by asking around, and then we can ask him for Marcus's phone number."
Zhao Qiang said, "Let's eat something and then go out to find him."
After changing their clothes, Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun left the room and clearly felt that a room at the other end of the corridor had a slight opening. As Zhao Qiang's gaze swept over, the opening suddenly closed.