In another interrogation room.
The light became even dimmer.
Chen Jingming sat in the chair with his head down. His hair was messy, covering most of his face. His hands were tied to his sides, and the part of his face that was exposed was sallow. One of the temples of his glasses was broken off and simply fixed with tape.
Zhao Feng pushed open the door and entered, bringing with him a gust of cold wind.
There wasn't even a brazier here; everything felt cold.
Without wasting any words, Zhao Feng slammed the poetry collection on the table, making a dull thud.
Chen Jingming's shoulders twitched almost imperceptibly.
He seems to have resigned himself to his fate, but he is still afraid.
I'm not afraid of death, but I'm afraid of a life worse than death.
"Chen Jingming." Zhao Feng pulled up a chair and sat down, his voice devoid of any warmth. "Tell me, what is your relationship with the owner of this poetry collection, and why did this book end up in your house?"
Silence fell over the interrogation room.
After a long while, Chen Jingming finally raised his head and looked at the poetry collection. "Relationship? Of course, we're accomplices. This book is what he gave me to pass messages on."
In fact, he had no idea what this collection of poems was all about, or even how it ended up in his house.
He did not recall having this book.
But that's okay, it doesn't stop him from talking nonsense.
In situations like this, the more haphazardly you try to make connections, the more likely you are to save your life.
"An accomplice?" Zhao Feng wasn't going to believe him immediately. Spies never told the truth. "You say she's your accomplice? Then tell me, where is she from? What's her name? What's she doing in Heilongjiang Province?"
Chen Jingming stiffened, his eyes flickering, but he quickly regained his composure. "Since you know I'm a spy, you should understand that people of our status must protect their privacy. We can't pry into each other's backgrounds, nor can we reveal anything casually. Otherwise, if we're caught, it's easy to pull out a radish and drag down the rest of the filth, implicating even more people. So it's normal that I don't know about her situation."
"Normal?" Zhao Feng leaned forward, his eyes piercing. "Then what about this book? You said she was trying to send you a message, so tell me, what message was she trying to send?"
"This..." Chen Jingming's Adam's apple bobbed. He hadn't expected the other party to keep asking. He had no idea where the book came from, let alone the information hidden within it.
However, for that sliver of hope, he had to stick to his story and continue fabricating, "Every time we transmit a message, there's a special code to decipher it. But this time I was caught by you beforehand, so I don't know what the code is and naturally can't decipher it. However, he gave me a lot of information before, but I burned it all."
After saying that, he stiffened his neck and put on an air of "do whatever you want with me," but in reality, he was frantically calculating how to stall for time.
He believed that the people in the organization would definitely find a way to rescue him!
He was no ordinary spy; he was far more valuable than any other spy!
Zhao Feng tried to press Chen Jingming for answers, but Chen Jingming remained silent. Instead, he would occasionally peek at the books, giving the impression that he had important information.
In this way, they won't attack him indiscriminately if they want to crack the content.
In fact, he had no idea what was up there.
Now it's a matter of who can intimidate whom!
"It seems you don't want to cooperate properly." Zhao Feng stood up and straightened his military overcoat. "In that case, I won't waste my time on you. I believe you'll figure it out soon."
He looked at the soldier guarding the door, "I want him to never be able to close his eyes tonight."
"yes!"
Physical torture cannot break a person's will.
But it's possible in a spiritual sense.
A snap.
The interrogation room door slammed shut.
Chen Jingming's feigned composure crumbled instantly, and he slumped into his chair, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.
He knew that his lies probably wouldn't last long.
Because he had absolutely no confidence in his own willpower.
——
In the afternoon, Lian Xiao, who had just returned from town, carrying canned fruit, stepped into the gate of the military headquarters and headed straight for the small courtyard where Xu Xinghe lived.
When they arrived at the gate, the courtyard was empty; there wasn't a soul in sight.
He stepped forward and began knocking on the door. "Xu Xinghe, come out. I brought you something."
For a long time, there was still no movement from inside.
Strange, it's so cold outside, where could Xu Xinghe have gone if she's not home?
"Captain Lian, are you looking for Xinghe?" Wang Chunmei was on her way to work when she heard the commotion and turned back.
Lian Xiao nodded. "Yes, do you know where she is?"
“I…” Wang Chunmei sighed, stepped forward, and lowered her voice, “Xinghe has been taken away for investigation. I don’t know the specifics, but I heard some rumors that it’s related to the spy arrested yesterday. I believe Xinghe is a good girl, but this matter… sigh!”
"What?" Lian Xiao's expression changed drastically, his heart skipped a beat, and he hurriedly grabbed Wang Chunmei's arm. "Aunt Mei, what exactly is going on? How could Xu Xinghe be involved with spies?"
“I don’t know the specifics either, you should ask someone else.” Wang Chunmei pulled her arm away. “I’m leaving now, don’t worry too much, maybe she just wanted to ask about the situation.”
Even just asking about the situation wouldn't sit still for Lian Xiao!
He thanked Wang Chunmei and immediately headed towards the office building.
He needs to find Political Commissar Wang and get to the bottom of this: how could Xu Xinghe possibly be connected to spies!
Lian Xiao walked quickly, but stopped halfway through. He turned to look at Jiang Linchuan diagonally opposite him, and his anger surged up instantly!
He rushed forward and grabbed Jiang Linchuan by the collar. "Jiang Linchuan, how dare you wander around here! Just how useless are you to cause Xu Xinghe trouble time and time again!"
Jiang Linchuan frowned, slapped his hand away, and said in a low voice, "Calm down."
"I can't calm down! Don't you know how troublesome it is to get involved with spies?"
Even though he had only recently joined the military, he had been around Elder Lian for a long time and had become very knowledgeable about many things.
The country is currently in the early stages of development, and what we fear most is sabotage by foreign spies!
“I know.” Jiang Linchuan pulled him aside and explained the whole story. “I believe her, but the investigation must go on, and no one can stop it.”
"I understand." Lian Xiao forced himself to calm down; he really couldn't help Xu Xinghe.
But it's okay, he still has his grandfather!
Grandpa will definitely have a way!
At the very least, Grandpa could put pressure on the military to force them to conduct a thorough investigation and ensure there were no violations.
Lian Xiao looked coldly at Jiang Linchuan, "How could Xu Xinghe be so blind as to fall for you!"
After saying that, he turned and left.
We can't waste time now; we must contact the Shanghai authorities as soon as possible.
Jiang Linchuan clenched his fists. Because of his unusual relationship with Xu Xinghe, he was forbidden from interfering. Moreover, Zhao Feng had specially assigned someone to watch over him, preventing him from doing anything.
If he does it, it's very likely he won't be of any help, and might even cause trouble for Xu Xinghe...
But he couldn't really do nothing, otherwise he would truly be the useless person Lian Xiao said, someone who couldn't even protect his own woman!
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