He strode over to Su Tang, pulled her into his arms, and after a long while, managed to squeeze out a hoarse voice: "I'm sorry... I didn't protect you well."

"Qin Ye, it's not your fault." Su Tang buried her face in his chest, her voice muffled. "It was me who brought danger to your side. Just now...did I scare you with my appearance?"

Qin Ye shook his head and said, "How could I be afraid of you? I only feel sorry for you. You made the furnace to keep everyone from freezing, which is a great thing. You found kaolin for the country."

"You inadvertently thwarted the enemy's plot; you're a hero! My wife, Qin Ye's wife, did something truly remarkable. I'm proud of you; how could I possibly blame you?"

Su Tang's eyes welled up with tears, and she nodded vigorously.

"Now is not the time to talk about this. This person cannot be kept alive, but we cannot kill him either. If we kill him, we will become murderers who flee from justice; if we keep him alive, he will be a hot potato."

"He must be handed over to the most suitable person."

She thought of that refined and elegant man.

"Xiao Dongsheng." Qin Ye said the name almost at the same time as her.

The two exchanged a glance and instantly understood each other's meaning.

In such a major event concerning national security, Xiao Dongsheng and his "Longyan" group are the most capable and authorized to handle it.

Without any hesitation, Qin Ye immediately said, "You stay here and watch over him. I'm going back to the unit and contact him using a secure phone. Remember, don't go anywhere until I get back."

"good."

Not long after, Qin Ye returned.

“We’ve made contact.” He said succinctly, “Commander Xiao told us to stay put. A jeep with license plate number ‘Jun A0037’ will pick us up in two hours.”

The next two hours felt exceptionally long.

The air-raid shelter was bitterly cold. Qin Ye took off his coat and wrapped it tightly around Su Tang, then pulled her into his arms and warmed her with his own body heat.

"Are you cold?" he asked in a low voice.

"I'm not cold." Su Tang leaned against him, listening to his steady and powerful heartbeat, feeling a sense of peace she had never felt before.

Neither of them spoke again; they simply embraced each other quietly, drawing warmth from one another.

In that life-or-death moment, any words seem superfluous.

Finally, a beam of headlights swept across the air vent.

An inconspicuous green jeep quietly stopped at the entrance of the air-raid shelter.

Qin Ye slung the unconscious KGB agent over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and held Su Tang tightly in his other hand, saying in a deep voice, "Let's go!"

The two quickly walked out of the air-raid shelter and came to the car.

The car door opened from the inside, and two men dressed in plain clothes but with cold expressions got out of the car. Without saying a word, they took the prisoner from Qin Ye's shoulder and threw him into the back of the car.

Throughout the entire process, there was not a single word exchanged, yet a well-trained tacit understanding was evident.

Qin Ye and Su Tang quickly got into the car. The jeep started without stopping and smoothly merged into the night, disappearing at the end of the street.

The car eventually stopped in the backyard of an inconspicuous guesthouse that didn't even have a sign.

Xiao Dongsheng was already waiting in the room.

The room was simply furnished with only a table and two chairs, but the moment he sat down, the entire room seemed to be filled with an invisible pressure.

When he saw the white agent who was tightly bound, dislocated, and in a disheveled state.

Even though he was mentally prepared, for the first time, an undisguised shock and solemnity appeared on his refined face.

His gaze lingered on the agent for three seconds before slowly rising to look at Qin Ye and Su Tang, who were standing ramrod straight.

He spoke slowly, his voice tinged with a bitter smile:

"Comrade Su Tang, it seems I underestimated you. I thought you were just a rough diamond, but I didn't expect you to be a sharp blade that has already been honed."

"I underestimated your ability to get into trouble. No, I should say, your ability to attract trouble."