That evening, An Moxue was greeted by four soldiers who were temporarily protecting Yang Yuning. Looking at Wu Sicheng standing in front of her, she wondered if his studies at the military academy were really for training, or if it was just a cover for a mission. Otherwise, why would he go on a mission before she left, and then take on another mission after she returned?

As soon as Wu Sicheng entered the room, he recognized An Moxue immediately. Although she had made some cosmetic changes, she still did not escape his sharp eyes; they were simply too familiar with each other.

He gave her a knowing smile, and she winked back.

After the introductions, An Moxue realized that they were all students at a military academy who had been temporarily assigned this mission.

The group quickly assigned tasks, found hiding spots, and An Moxue returned to her room.

And so, the two lived under the same roof, only occasionally crossing paths and exchanging a few words, all about the mission. No one else in the house could tell they were a couple.

That day, Director Hou sent word that the rats had been mobilized.

An Moxue was anxiously waiting all day, wondering how many people would fall for the trap this time. Unfortunately, she had to protect Mr. Yang Yuning and couldn't participate.

The next morning, she received a call from Director Hou: "Mo Xue, the information was very effective. They did indeed launch a joint operation. This time, a total of thirteen spies and mercenaries were arrested. Two of them were long-time undercover agents and indirect contacts. We need to continue interrogating them. None of them managed to escape. You deserve credit for this. Hahahaha... I still have to set more traps and get back to work. Bye."

An Moxue hung up the phone, just as Wu Sicheng arrived. Noticing her good mood and seeing that no one else was around, he asked, "What good news did you receive? Why are you so happy?"

An Moxue said proudly, "Of course we caught spies, more than ten of them. This was my idea." These very people had caused her so many obstacles on her way back to China; she wished she could catch them all!

The enemy launched attack after attack, completely disregarding the Lan Kingdom government. This operation also made some restless spies stop their advances, realizing that the Lan Kingdom government was not as insignificant as some people boasted, and became much more cautious. In particular, they had been unable to find Yang Yuning's whereabouts these past few days, only knowing that all his information was stored in the National Security Bureau's secure room, which increased their attention to the National Security Bureau.

Early in the morning, news of the arrest of a group of spies somehow spread among them, causing them to reconsider some issues. For a time, Kyoto fell into an eerie calm once again.

These past few days, An Moxue has been protecting Yang Yuning as he met with the head of state and clarified some things. Next, she will accompany him home to pay respects to his ancestors. His family's ancestral home in Beijing has been returned. An Moxue smiled when she saw the address. It was right next to her own three-courtyard house. Although this three-courtyard house was not her family's ancestral home, she thought that sooner or later, she would be able to get her hands on that house as well.

Yang Yuning could tell something was wrong from her expression, so he asked, "Mo Xue, is something the matter?"

An Moxue said, "I have good news: we'll be neighbors from now on. I also have a house here, right next to yours. Isn't that a coincidence?"

Yang Yuning asked, "If there's good news, then there's bad news. What's the bad news?"

"The bad news is that once you go to do research, who knows how many years it will be before you come back, and it will be a long time before we meet again."

"Indeed, but there's still a chance. The house isn't going anywhere. I can see it again when I come back, right? When I can't work anymore, I'll eventually come back to retire. We'll be neighbors then, so just don't look down on me."

"Hahahaha..." An Moxue laughed uncontrollably upon hearing this.

These days in the military compound have been a rare period of peace for him since he started to achieve his research results. He doesn't have to worry and can just do some of the research he likes. As for his safety, others are taking care of it. It's rare that he doesn't want it to end.

His relationship with An Moxue has evolved from initial gratitude to a friendship. He found that there was no barrier between them; she could respond to anything he didn't say. In some research areas, she would even provide effective solutions. Her knowledge far exceeded his expectations. It was hard to imagine that this woman was only in her twenties. How did she achieve all this?

That day, An Moxue received another call from Director Hou. An Moxue guessed that this old fox was going to pull some trick again, so she couldn't help but tease him, "Director Hou, you seem to be having a lot of free time! Not busy catching mice anymore? You have time to call me? Is there some perk you're giving me?"

Old Hou, his eyes bulging on the other end of the phone, said, "Isn't the big house I just got for you enough? I, Old Hou, have worked diligently for the country and my family for half my life, and I'm not even as big as a corner of your house! A person should be grateful and content."

"Yes, yes, you're absolutely right, alright?"

Listening to her insincere and perfunctory words on the other end of the phone, Old Hou couldn't help but chuckle and scold under his breath, "You little rascal, you're getting more and more unruly." Then he said, "If you don't get rid of these rats completely, they'll always be a nuisance, don't you think?"

Upon hearing this on the other end of the phone, An Moxue immediately understood his implied meaning and asked, "What are your thoughts, sir?"

Director Hou said, "I have a preliminary idea. We can discuss it in detail when you come back."

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

An Moxue hung up the phone, said goodbye to Yang Yuning, and drove back to Guoan.

As soon as he entered the house, Director Hou asked, "Mr. Yang, now that you've returned to China, do you have any plans to go back to your hometown to pay respects to your ancestors or sweep your parents' graves?"

An Moxue asked suspiciously, "Director Hou, the next plan isn't related to this, is it?"

Director Hou said, "That's indeed the intention, so I wanted you to communicate with Mr. Yang. If he has this plan, let's postpone it for now! It will be safer for him to go back after our plan is completed. I have also communicated with Director Deng about this matter, and he expressed his agreement."

"I think Mr. Yang will agree. Do you have a specific plan?"

"Yes, I'd like you to lead this operation. Our investigations these past few days have shown that powerful figures are all lying low; we didn't capture many important individuals last time. I'm not entirely comfortable entrusting this to anyone else; only with you can I have complete confidence. What do you think?"

"Can I choose who I'll work with? As you know, if it's someone I know well, the cooperation and understanding will be much better, the danger will be much lower, and the mission will be easier to complete."