Chapter 187 The Watchmaker's True Face
"receive!"
"receive!"
The earphones were filled with a series of responses.
The next second, the entire exhibition hall seemed to come alive.
A dozen or so figures in plainclothes moved through the chaotic crowd with incredible speed and at an unbelievable angle, like fish swimming in water. They didn't push or shove, they didn't shout, and every movement was precise to the extreme.
A member of the Tigers slid through the panicked crowd, heading straight for booth number three.
Ignoring the priceless tank model next to him, he reached into the pot of evergreen plants as tall as a person and pulled out a palm-sized flat box wrapped in oil paper from the depths of the damp soil.
On the other side, in section A of the audience, a team member, under the guise of comforting an elderly woman who had fallen, braced himself with one hand, twisted his body, and with lightning speed, reached under seat number seven in the twelfth row. With a flick of his fingertips, he precisely caught a black object disguised as a button, covered in chewing gum, in his palm.
On the ceiling of the main hall, a team member disguised as an electrician had somehow climbed up the maintenance ladder. He unscrewed the socket of the third crystal chandelier and pulled out a fuse device the size of a matchbox from the tangled wires.
Behind the coffee machine on the second floor, at the bottom of the water tank in the men's restroom on the east side...
One by one, the cleverly or insidiously concealed queen bee larvae were precisely located. They were quickly placed into specially designed explosion-proof storage boxes and transported away from the scene by designated personnel as fast as possible.
Inside the command vehicle, the staff officer who had just been cursing had his mouth agape, his eyes wide like copper bells, staring intently at the seventeen red dots on the screen, which went out one after another in less than ninety seconds.
He swallowed hard, turned to look at the signal monitor who was equally shocked, and his Adam's apple bobbed.
"Holy crap... this, this is a human?!" His voice trembled. "This is practically a living god!"
No one answered him.
Everyone was deeply moved by the incredible impact of this almost miraculous scene.
Three minutes later, the last red dot went out.
The monitor jumped up from his chair and shouted excitedly, "Report to the brigade commander! All signal sources have been eliminated! Threat neutralized!"
call--
Inside the command vehicle, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, slumped into their seats, their backs already soaked with cold sweat.
Lu Jingyan's taut jawline finally relaxed slightly. He picked up the walkie-talkie, his voice regaining its usual cold and steady tone:
"Seal off all exits immediately! Not a single fly is allowed to escape! Teams one and two, drag that guy in the blue overalls out here! Alive!"
As the crowd was safely evacuated, the vast exhibition hall became empty and lifeless.
The members of the Fierce Tiger Special Forces, as fierce as wolves and tigers, subdued all the suspicious individuals who remained.
Soon, the "cleaner" who caused all of this was found in the storage room.
But the moment the two team members kicked the door open, they saw him leaning against the wall with a strange smile on his lips, black blood flowing from his mouth and nose.
The person is already dead.
"Report! The target committed suicide by poisoning himself; he was a suicide squad member."
Lu Jingyan's brows furrowed into a knot.
The trail went cold again.
That damned "watchmaker" is meticulous in his actions and as cunning as a fox. He's like a ghost, existing only in his code name, never leaving a trace in reality.
“Boss,” an aide approached, his face grave.
"In this operation, the enemy knew everything about our deployment, personnel allocation, emergency plans, and even Tiger's operational habits. He was able to use our inescapable net to clear out his 'Hive' plan... This shows that this 'Watchmaker' is definitely not low-ranking! In fact... he himself is on our invitation list today!"
This conclusion sent a chill down the spines of everyone present.
If this is true, it's truly terrifying to think about. The destructive power of someone with access to such core secrets in a high position who becomes an inside agent is immeasurable.
Lu Jingyan didn't speak; he simply looked towards the center of the hall.
There, Bai Shu still stood quietly, leaning against a cold Roman column, her eyes closed, her long eyelashes casting a faint shadow on her pale face.
At this moment, in the absolute silence of her sea of consciousness, Su Wantang was enduring the excruciating pain that felt like her soul was being torn apart, replaying the "perception network" that had just been spread out by her immense internal energy in her mind over and over again.
The moment the seventeen sub-units were activated, there were seventeen faint energy fluctuations.
But before that, there must have been a stronger, more central "main signal source" that issued the start command.
Just like bees leaving the hive, they must obey the queen bee's commands.
What she was looking for was the "Queen Bee"!
She stripped away her senses, filtering out all interference from the sub-body's energy, and time passed second by second.
Her face grew paler and paler, and her body trembled more and more noticeably.
Lu Jingyan's heart clenched. He wanted to go over and make her stop, but he knew he couldn't. This was his only chance to catch the "watchmaker."
Finally, amidst the vast sea of information, she caught a faint trace of residual energy that shared the same origin as all the activation signals.
It was like a thread, guiding her perception back to the source.
The source wasn't in the vent, the ceiling, or any dark corner.
It's right there... on the podium!
That place that is most upright, most in the public eye, and least likely to harbor filth and corruption!
Su Wantang suddenly opened her eyes!
In those peach blossom eyes, there was no longer any weariness, only a terrifying glint and a hint of unbelievable absurdity.
She strode toward the stage. There, where a dozen or so top figures from the military, political, and academic circles had been sitting, was now empty, leaving only name tags and unfinished tea.
She stopped in front of a spot right in the middle.
The nameplate bears a name that commands respect from everyone in the military industry system—Li Jianjun, deputy director of the 17th Research Institute.
Bai Shu stretched out her still slightly trembling hand, her fingertips gently tracing the chair.
This is the place.
The faint trace of energy had not completely dissipated.
She turned around, strode into the command vehicle, approached Lu Jingyan, ignored everyone else around, and whispered a name in his ear in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"Li Jianjun".
Buzz!
Lu Jingyan's head felt like it had been hit hard with a sledgehammer, and his pupils suddenly contracted!
Li Jianjun?!
How could it be him!
After Wang Jianguo's downfall, it was Deputy Director Li, a man known for his gentle and refined demeanor, his dedication to scientific research, and his reputation as a "pillar of stability," who was appointed to lead the institute during the crisis and stabilized the situation at the 17th Institute. With impeccable family background, three generations of military service, and a clean record, he was the most trusted and respected senior expert by everyone!
To call him a mole is more absurd than saying the sun will rise in the west!
Lu Jingyan's first reaction was disbelief.
The one who could say that name was Su Wantang.
This is the woman who just created a miracle, pulling the entire top echelons of Beijing back from the brink of death.
A fierce battle raged between shock and reason within him, but ultimately, he chose to believe her.
"Retrieve all the internal surveillance footage from the podium area! Rewind to three minutes before the riot occurred!" Lu Jingyan practically roared the order into the walkie-talkie.
Soon, the image was switched to the large screen on the command vehicle.
This footage was captured by a high-resolution internal security camera, and the image quality is extremely high.
In the footage, the bigwigs on the podium also showed expressions of surprise after the broadcast came on, and they all stood up and prepared to leave under the escort of guards.
Everything seems normal.
"Zoom in! Aim at Li Jianjun!" Lu Jingyan commanded.
The image was magnified, and everyone's attention was focused on the old expert who was wearing a Zhongshan suit, with his hair neatly combed and looking gentle and refined.
He appeared calm amidst the crowd, even reassuring a somewhat flustered leader next to him.
The moment he turned around and followed the crowd backstage.
His left hand made a very inconspicuous movement, but it was precisely captured by the camera.
His thumb pressed lightly, seemingly unintentionally, on the old "Shanghai Brand" watch on his left wrist.
That movement blended perfectly with his adjustment of his cuffs; unless one was watching intently from a godlike perspective, no one would have noticed it.
Inside the command vehicle, there was a deathly silence.
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