Chapter 255 Laying Out a Counterattack
Su Wantang's lips were still slightly swollen and her breathing was a little disordered.
“What they want is very likely in Jingyue’s memories.” After a moment, Su Wantang’s voice regained its usual calmness.
"Grandma Mei is the key, that folk song is the code, and 'Moonlight Grass' is their ultimate goal."
Lu Jingyan's eyes were as deep as the night. He reached out and gently stroked her slightly swollen lips with his thumb, saying, "If she wants to take someone away from the Lu family, she'll have to ask if the gun in my hand agrees."
“A head-on confrontation is the worst strategy.” Su Wantang shook her head, walked to her desk, picked up a piece of paper, and drew a simple relationship diagram on it.
“Mr. Shadow is now a frightened bird. His influence in Hong Kong has been completely eradicated, and he dares not cause any more trouble in Beijing. So he sent Aunt Mei to take the ‘family’ route. This is a psychological attack.”
She looked up at Lu Jingyan, her eyes sharp. "If he wants to play dirty, we'll play along. Doesn't he want to find clues through Jingyue? I'll give him one."
......
The next morning, Meng Wan saw her daughter Lu Jingyue holding a chrysanthemum in her hand, smelling it again and again, with a puzzled yet curious expression on her face. Meng Wan felt both happy and worried.
Su Wantang walked over with a glass of warm water and said casually, "Mom, I flipped through some books yesterday, and they said that some special plant scents can stimulate the cerebral cortex. Since Jingyue reacted to the crabapple blossoms, it means this approach is correct. How about... we try some other flowers?"
Meng Wan had no ideas; Su Wantang was her pillar of support now, so she quickly nodded, "Okay, okay, I'll listen to you. What flowers do you want to try?"
"Let's try the most common ones, like the chrysanthemums in the yard, and... I remember you used to really like gardenias, their fragrance is so elegant." Su Wantang said casually, as if it were just a suggestion mentioned offhand.
Chrysanthemums and gardenias are among the most common flowers in Beijing.
Upon hearing this, Meng Wan thought it made a lot of sense and immediately perked up. "Yes, yes, I'll have the guards go to the flower and bird market right away and buy back all the varieties of chrysanthemums and gardenias!"
Watching her mother-in-law's hurried figure disappear into the distance, a glimmer of triumph flashed in Su Wantang's eyes.
She was going to dig a beautiful trap for Granny Mei and Mr. Shadow. Let them slowly search for a needle in a haystack among the vast sea of ordinary flowers.
Turning back to her study, Su Wantang closed the door, picked up the encrypted phone, and dialed Qin Zheng's number.
The phone was answered after only one ring.
“Young Miss.” Qin Zheng’s voice was always so calm and steady.
"Keep an eye on one person." Bai Shu's voice turned cold, devoid of any emotion.
“An old woman who called herself Aunt Mei, in her sixties, with a Shanghai accent, was staying at the Beijing Hotel. I wanted to know who she met each day, how many phone calls she made, and even how many times she took out the trash.”
"yes."
"Remember, don't alert them. My men can only be shadows, and must not be discovered by anyone."
"clear."
After hanging up the phone, Su Wantang didn't stop and dialed another number, this time Zhou Jimin from Haitang Technology.
......
Meanwhile, inside the military region building, the atmosphere in Lu Jingyan's office was somber.
Gao Jianjun stood in front of his desk, his back ramrod straight.
"How is he?" Lu Jingyan asked without looking up, wiping the parts of a disassembled Type 54 pistol in his hand.
“He’s ruined. His spirit is completely broken. Now he’s just a madman who only knows how to repeat ‘Moonlight Grass’,” Gao Jianjun replied. He felt a chill run down his spine when he thought of Qian Weiguo’s inhuman appearance.
“Very good.” Lu Jingyan installed the last part, the crisp click of the mechanism particularly clear in the quiet office.
"Spread the word that Qian Weiguo has gone mad, but before he went mad, he revealed a crucial clue about the whereabouts of the 'Moonlight Grass.' He is now being secretly detained by us at the Xishan Sanatorium."
Gao Jianjun was taken aback. "Brigade Commander, wasn't the Xishan Sanatorium abandoned?"
“It’s better if it’s abandoned, it’ll make things easier for us.” Lu Jingyan raised his eyes, his gaze icy cold. “Leave the news to those people in the black market. Mr. Shadow has very sharp ears, he’ll hear it.”
"Is this... a way to lure the snake out of its hole?"
"No, it's like closing the door to beat the dog." Lu Jingyan stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the military vehicles coming and going in the compound.
"Tell my men to lay a tight net around the Xishan Sanatorium, so that not even a fly can escape. I want to see how many shady characters Mr. Shadow has hidden in Beijing."
"Yes!" Gao Jianjun accepted the order, turned around, and quickly left.
In the laboratory of Haitang Technology, Zhou Jimin was dancing with excitement in front of a brand-new instrument, as excited as a child.
"Chairman Bai! You're simply my god!" Zhou Jimin's booming voice came through the phone as soon as it connected.
"This mass spectrometer from Germany is amazing! It's practically tailor-made for us! With it, I can analyze the composition of not only single-crystal silicon, but even the stars in the sky!"
This batch of equipment was secretly transported back from Germany by Su Wantang using Hans's production line, specifically to raise the research and development ceiling of Haitang Technology.
"Can you analyze the plant components?" Atractylodes macrocephala cut straight to the point.
"Plants?" Zhou Jimin was taken aback for a moment, then became even more excited. "That's incredible!"
"Very good." Bai Shu's voice revealed a hint of satisfaction. "Engineer Zhou, I'm now giving you a secret mission."
"Please speak!"
"I need you to quickly grasp all the potential of this equipment, especially its ability to analyze trace plant alkaloids and special proteins. I don't care what method you use, I want you to make it your hand, your eye. In the future, I have a very important plant that I need you to analyze."
Although Zhou Jimin didn't understand what kind of plant it was that required such a national treasure-level device for analysis, he could hear the solemnity in Bai's tone.
"Don't worry, Mr. Bai! I guarantee I'll complete the mission! Three days, no, two days! Within two days, I'll make it belong to the Zhou family!"
After hanging up the phone, Su Wantang slowly exhaled.
With Granny Mei's appeal to family ties, Lu Jingyan's entrapment, Qin Zheng's covert surveillance, and Zhou Jimin's technical support, everything was perfectly prepared.
......
At night, Lu Jingyan returned to his study in Courtyard No. 1, where Su Wantang was standing in front of a huge map of Beijing.
On the map, several locations were marked with red and blue pens.
The addresses of the Beijing Hotel, the Xishan Sanatorium, and a few inconspicuous residential houses were places that Aunt Mei had visited, which Qin Zheng had just sent back that afternoon.
Lu Jingyan walked over, wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, and looked at the intersecting lines on the map.
"The net has been cast." His voice was deep, his warm breath brushing against her ear.
"The fish should take the bait soon." Su Wantang's finger lightly touched the red mark of Xishan Sanatorium, her eyes icy cold.
Lu Jingyan's gaze also fell on the map. He reached out and covered the back of her hand, then slowly moved his hand to completely cover the blue markers on the map that represented their side.
“Let them make the first move,” he said, turning his head to the side, his thin lips brushing against her cheek, his voice low. “We’ll strike back.”
In this game of chess, they are the ones making the moves.
No matter what moves the opponent makes, the final outcome will always be a complete loss.
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