Chapter 210 The Singing Stone
Night fell in the study of Courtyard No. 1. Only a dim desk lamp was lit, casting a halo of light on the two people sitting at the table.
Su Wantang pointed to the "Preliminary Investigation Report on the Case of the Disappearance of the Entire Northwest Scientific Expedition Team" spread out in the center of the table.
"Jingyan, look here."
Her voice was very soft, breaking the silence of the room.
Lu Jingyan followed her fair finger and looked at it. It was a description of the expedition team's last communication record before they went missing.
"The report said that the geomagnetic field in the area where the expedition team last lost contact was extremely abnormal, and all the precision instruments malfunctioned. The team members mentioned in their communications that the Geiger counter and frequency detector they were carrying were emitting strange high-frequency beeps."
Su Wantang read the text aloud, pronouncing each word clearly, "It doesn't seem like a device malfunction, it's more like... it's been interfered with by some unknown source."
Lu Jingyan's gaze froze on that line of text, and his breath hitched.
“Strange buzzing…” He repeated these words in a low voice, something churning wildly in his deep eyes—a frozen sea that had been forcibly suppressed for ten years.
Su Wantang noticed his body stiffen instantly and looked up at him.
The color was slowly fading from Lu Jingyan's usually cold and composed face. His hand, which was resting on the table, had become a clenched fist, the knuckles turning white from the force, and the muscles on his arm were taut like a fully drawn bow.
An intense killing intent, almost tangible, emanated from him.
“My sister… Jingyue,” his voice was dry as if it had been sanded, each word squeezed out from between his teeth, “before she disappeared, she also had a stone.”
Su Wantang's heart sank.
"She picked up that stone in the mountains outside Beijing. It was only about the size of a palm, dark and unremarkable."
Lu Jingyan's gaze was unfocused, as if it had pierced through time and space, returning to that desperate afternoon.
“But she treasured it so much that she wouldn’t let anyone touch it. She said…that stone could sing.”
"Sing?"
“Yes.” Lu Jingyan closed his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing with difficulty.
"She said that if you put your ear close, you can hear a buzzing sound, just like... just like the one described in the report."
A top-secret national case that has remained unsolved for twenty years.
The Lu family has suffered a deep and painful experience for ten years.
At this moment, because of a "singing" stone, they were strangely connected by an invisible thread.
Su Wantang looked at the crimson surging in his eyes, reached out, and placed her hand on his fist, which was trembling slightly with anger. Her hand was soft and slightly cool, yet it was like a silent force that made his tense body relax a little.
“So, Jingyue didn’t simply get lost, nor was she abducted by ordinary human traffickers.” Su Wantang quickly switched back to her “Bai Shu” calmness and sharpness. She looked at the map on the wall, her gaze precisely landing on the vast area in the northwest.
"Our 'Eagle's Nest' stronghold in Beijing and its biochemical laboratory in South America have been successively taken down by us. Given the way this organization operates, they will definitely be completely withdrawing their defenses now, retreating to their safest and most hidden caves like a frightened snake."
She paused, her tone carrying a hint of cold resolve.
"A place where a top-notch scientific expedition team could vanish into thin air twenty years ago, a place with intricate connections to a biochemical organization like 'Eagle's Nest,' could very well be their birthplace, or hold their most core secrets."
“Going now would be like stepping into a dragon's den or a tiger's lair, with a nine-out-of-ten chance of death.” She turned back, her beautiful peach blossom eyes fixed on Lu Jingyan. “But on the other hand, the answers to all the questions, including my mother’s death, Jingyue’s disappearance, and the ‘Eagle’s Nest’ itself, are very likely… to be there.”
Risks and opportunities coexist.
To go or not to go?
Lu Jingyan took her hand in his own, his palm burning hot.
"Go." He uttered only one word, yet it weighed a ton.
The next morning, before it was fully light.
A jeep with military license plates drove silently into the military compound.
The study in the old Lu family mansion was filled with the fragrance of sandalwood.
Grandpa Lu was dressed in loose-fitting exercise clothes, holding a cup of freshly brewed Da Hong Pao tea in his hand, slowly blowing away the foam on top.
Lu Jingyan and Su Wantang stood side by side in front of the desk and reported the file and all their speculations in detail.
When the old man heard the connection between "the singing stone" and Lu Jingyue, his hand holding the teacup paused almost imperceptibly.
The study fell into a long silence.
Only when the old man drinks tea, the crisp sound of the tea lid striking the rim of the cup, one after another, resonates in one's heart.
After a long while, the old man finally put down his teacup and raised his weathered but still sharp as an eagle's eyes. His gaze did not fall on his grandson, but on Su Wantang's face.
From their first meeting at the Peace Hotel to emptying the Su family's coffers, establishing herself in Beijing, bringing down Lu Wenbo, and plotting against "Eagle's Nest," every step she took was precise and ruthless, showing a boldness beyond that of a twenty-year-old girl.
Now, she is going to follow Jingyan to venture into the Northwest, a forbidden zone that even he finds difficult to navigate.
The old man finally looked away, picked up his teacup again, but only rubbed it in his hand.
He looked at his grandson, who stood straight in front of him with a resolute gaze, and finally, all his emotions were reduced to a single word.
"go."
"I will help you erase all traces," the old man said in a deep voice, looking at Lu Jingyan.
"I will personally speak to the Northwest Military Region. Once you get there, go ahead and do your job. If anything goes wrong, I'll take responsibility."
This is the pillar of stability for the Lu family.
A promise is worth more than a thousand troops.
Afterwards, Old Master Lu convened a brief family meeting with the core members of the Lu family.
When he announced that Lu Jingyan would be leaving immediately to carry out a long-term top-secret mission in the Northwest, Lu Zhenguo was the first to stand up.
"Dad! This is too dangerous!" The father, who also held a high position in the military, couldn't hide his worry. "You know how deep the waters are in the Northwest! That case from twenty years ago is still a mess. Letting Jingyan go alone like this... what if..."
"Old Lu!"
Before he could finish speaking, Meng Wan, who had been silent all along, suddenly interrupted him.
This usually gentle mother had an unusually firm look in her eyes at this moment.
“Jingyan is a soldier. Protecting the country is his responsibility, not something that will make you live in fear at home. Besides,” she glanced at Su Wantang beside her and continued, “this matter is very likely related to Yueyue. We have already waited for ten years, and we can’t wait any longer.”
Her gaze shifted to her son and daughter-in-law, her eyes reddening slightly, but her tone was one of contentment.
“If Wan Tang, a girl, dares to venture out like this, then there’s no reason for the men of the Lu family to cower like cowards. Go ahead, I’m here, your father is here, and your grandfather is here. Don’t worry about anything.”
Her words left Lu Zhenguo speechless, unable to utter his worries.
Yes, even his daughter-in-law has such courage and awareness, so how can he, as her father, hold her back?
The meeting concluded, and the decision was finalized.
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