Nutag
The people of Nutag all know that Nutag has five major families, each controlling one of the country's five most important sectors.
The He family controls agricultural production nationwide.
Vonzenjevich controlled more than half of the country's industrial capacity.
The Popov family's business empire is unshakeable.
The Song family's territory revolves around culture, education, and healthcare.
The army, on the other hand, was controlled by the Rabino family.
But what most people don't know is that, in addition to these five major families, Nutag also has a sixth major family—the Chen family.
The surname Chen is extremely common in Nutag. The pancake vendor downstairs from your house might have the surname Chen, your high school classmate might have the surname Chen, and the pedestrian you accidentally bump into while rushing to work might also have the surname Chen. Because it is so common, most people are unaware that the Chen family actually controls another hand in Nutag.
The true masters live in seclusion in the city; the real Chen family controls all the shady affairs of this country.
The Special Intelligence and Security Department, or TSA for short, is ostensibly the department in charge of national security work, but in reality, it's the head of the spy ring. In the spacious office on the top floor of TSA, Chen Chao finished processing the last document of the day. He stood up, preparing to take his private elevator down to the garage, where his driver was already waiting for him, warming up the car.
Chen Chao is 28 years old and serves as the deputy director of the Special Intelligence and Security Department. There's no particular reason why he was able to reach this position at such a young age; it's simply because he is the heir of the Chen family.
Many people spend their entire lives trying to secure a minor official position in the government, but as a direct descendant of the Chen family, Chen Chao was destined to stand at the top from birth.
The elevator takes you down to the garage, and his car is parked right there at the elevator entrance. It takes him less than two seconds to get in and out of the elevator. Because of his special status, he needs to spend as little time as possible in the public eye, which greatly restricts his daily life.
Freedom is something that people like them sacrificed long ago.
The car smoothly drove into the villa area behind Meishan Park and stopped in front of a two-story villa. Chen Chao got out of the car, verified his fingerprint and password at the entrance, and then opened the door and went inside.
In the heart of Gailal, the capital city where land is incredibly valuable, owning a villa is something most people wouldn't even dare to dream of. Aside from various government offices, more than half of Gailal's central area is occupied by a central district that doesn't even exist on maps. The remaining land available for civilian use is practically priceless, making resources extremely scarce.
Chen Chao didn't turn on the lights after entering the room. He sank into the living room sofa in the darkness, stretching his arms out over the backrest. He raised his head, took a slow, deep breath, and then, as he exhaled, cleared his mind of all the chaotic emotions.
This is his daily routine.
Due to his position, he must be perfect and efficient in front of others, and cannot show the slightest emotional fluctuation. He must always be on high alert and not make any mistakes.
But he is, after all, human, and cannot be as calm as a machine.
He needs this time each day after he gets home, this time to clear his mind in the darkness. It's one of the few times he can truly and completely remove his mask and pretense.
Especially today.
Steve, codenamed Z0002, is a top agent of the Special Agents. Because he often uses the alias Steve when on missions, people have gradually gotten used to calling him Steve. In fact, his real name is Lin Yu, a name that is completely inconsistent with his image.
Steve has blond hair, blue eyes, and fair skin, making him a completely mixed-race individual, but the name Lin Yu contains a pure Eastern flavor.
His appearance is due to his father, but his name is due to his mother.
His father was a foreign royal. He met his mother during their student days and then abandoned her after they became engaged.
At the time, his father's fiancé couldn't tolerate his mother's existence and sent people to hunt her down. Fortunately, his mother sought help from her country's security department in time and was able to be escorted back to China for protection.
Steve had no doubt that Tean saved his mother because he remembered her relationship with Prince Raman and wanted to have more leverage in future political maneuvering with Sifies.
But whatever Tean's initial purpose was, the fact remains that he saved his mother's life. And for a long time afterward, Tean's staff were the only people who cared about the mother and son.
His maternal grandparents felt that his mother's premarital pregnancy had brought shame upon them, and instead of providing her with the support she deserved, they constantly made sarcastic remarks.
The mother, a single woman with a mixed-race child, couldn't find stable employment, and their life was always difficult.
It was Tean who found a place for their mother to live, so they no longer had to live with their maternal grandparents. It was also Tean who arranged a simple and stable job for their mother, allowing them to make a living.
Until his mother passed away, Tean never asked anything of them, except for sending people to check on them regularly.
Steve was six years old when his mother died, an age when most children's memories are still hazy, but he already remembered many things. Enough for him to distinguish between what was good and what was bad.
When social workers and staff from the special care center wanted to send him back to his maternal grandparents, he refused without hesitation. In his view, his grandparents' indifference and ridicule were one of the reasons that caused his mother's emotional exhaustion and death, and he did not want to be with his grandparents.
As a young boy, he held the hand of a security officer and said with all his might:
"Please take me away! I want to be like you! I don't want to go to my grandparents' place!"
And so, he became an orphan agent trained by the Special Security Service, a warrior secretly guarding the country.
Now 25 years old, at the moment when codenamed Z0001 left, he is the most outstanding agent of the Special Security Bureau, the Special Security Bureau's ace.
He spent his days on missions, braving dangers and hardships, always on the move, carrying unspeakable secrets and dealing with shady dealings that couldn't be brought to light. He knew perfectly well that he would never receive honor or glory; Tean's blade would forever remain hidden in the shadows.
But he has never regretted it.
He loved this place, the place that had saved his mother.
He also loved this country, a country that protected its citizens very well.
He is willing to give everything for this place.
As T.A.'s ace, Steve doesn't have much free time. During his short breaks between missions, he usually prefers to curl up in his studio apartment and sleep.
Most people in their line of work are like this; during missions, all their senses are pushed to the limit, and when they rest, all they want to do is sleep. They don't go out, they don't socialize, they don't read, and they don't play games; they just sleep without thinking about anything.
But Steve, who was used to this, is now out and about, wandering around in the crowded shopping mall.
His vacation was far too long this time; he slept through it all and started to get bored.
A few days ago, his father, whom he had never met, kidnapped Chen Chao's younger brother, Chen Jiu, in an attempt to find his son. Chen Chao knew his identity but did not use him as a bargaining chip. Instead, he gave him the power to deal with Chen Jiu.
Cleansing is annihilation, it is death.
Chen Jiu is a special agent of the Special Security Bureau, codenamed Z0001. His capture during the mission and subsequent disposal according to regulations were entirely in accordance with procedures.
But Chen Jiu's surname was Chen, and everyone in the Special Security Bureau knew what that meant. So when Chen Chao's orders were to rescue or eliminate the enemy, without any exchange, he was deeply moved.
From the age of six, when he held the hand of a special security officer, he had never cared about his life. If Chen Chao were to sell him to his biological father for Chen Jiu's sake, he wouldn't have any complaints.
But Chen Chao didn't. He just gave him a mission briefing and told him to decide what to do based on the situation on the ground, without giving him any other hints.
He asked Chen Chao with some curiosity why he chose him. Chen Chao replied matter-of-factly that he was the best besides Chen Jiu.
He remembered that Chen Chao's eyes were full of trust for him at that time.
So, he didn't hesitate to sell himself out during the mission.
He rescued Chen Jiu and told his father that if he wanted his blood to be matched for bone marrow treatment, he should talk to the head of the Chen family. If they could reach an agreement, he would cooperate.
His father was the Prince of West Africa, a strong contender for the next throne. Although this country, which still uses a feudal imperial system in modern society, did not have much real power internationally, it was still a regional power. It was not impossible that the Chen family wanted to use him as a bargaining chip to gain benefits for Nutag.
He was happy to sell himself out for the country.
For this reason, he suddenly became important; he couldn't afford to get hurt or die easily. He was given a long vacation, and he began to feel bored.
He wandered aimlessly through the mall, the noisy environment making him uncomfortable. Years of training had instilled in him a sense of vigilance even in such situations.
I'm so bored.
The mall was bustling with people, who were enthusiastically selecting the latest styles or quietly studying the mall's discount policies, but all of this seemed irrelevant to him.
His life had always been filled with training and missions, and now that he was suddenly free, he inevitably felt lost and didn't know what to do to pass the time.
He strolled along, and before he knew it, he had left the mall and returned to Tean, the place he knew best.
The moment he passed through security and identity verification and entered the T-An Building, his anxiety vanished, and he felt a sense of peace and home.
He boarded the elevator, which was reserved for personnel with a security clearance of SSS or higher, intending to go to the archives on the upper floor to slack off for a while.
He bumped into Chen Chao's secretary in the elevator. The secretary looked a little surprised to see him: "Steve? Aren't you on vacation?"
Chen Chao's secretary is a middle-aged woman named Trott. She is very capable and efficient, and has an excellent memory. She can help Chen Chao access the data and information he needs anytime, anywhere.
"I'm just naturally a workaholic. I feel uncomfortable when I'm on vacation for too long, so I came back to visit," Steve replied casually.
"Really?" Trott's eyes flickered as she looked at him, showing both hesitation and delight.
"What's wrong?" Steve sensed that Trott wanted to talk to him.
"If you have some free time, I'd like to ask you for a favor," Trott said, sounding a little embarrassed.
"I'm free! I'm so free! I'm practically bored to death!" Steve was secretly delighted and readily agreed, "What's up? I'm free."
"Minister Chen left work and went home twenty minutes ago, but there is a 4S-level document that needs to be delivered to him for processing now. This was originally supposed to be delivered by me, but my husband just contacted me to say that our child was in a car accident on the way and wants me to go back now."
Steve immediately understood that information classified above a certain level is not connected to the internet. If Chen Chao needed to process this 4S information immediately, either he would send someone with sufficient security clearance to deliver it in person, or he would have Chen Chao return to the Special Security Bureau to handle it himself.
However, he heard that Chen Chao hadn't rested for three days straight because of matters in the south. The secretary had obviously taken this into consideration and was too embarrassed to ask Chen Chao to come back.
Most people with sufficient security clearance are very busy, and there aren't many idle people like him. It's true that a suitable errand runner couldn't be found for the time being.
Moreover, his field agents are different from office staff. Because of the high risk of their missions, they are only responsible to their direct superiors when they are not on missions. Others cannot easily order them around, which is why the secretary looked embarrassed and embarrassed.
“The child is important, I’ll take him there. Just tell me how to do it.” Steve doesn’t mind running an errand at all these days.
"Great!" Trott's expression immediately relaxed when he heard Steve agree. "Come with me, I'll tell you how to get to Minister Chen's private residence."
"good."
Stepping out of the elevator, Steve followed Trott, eagerly anticipating this unexpected errand. He was curious about what his seemingly invincible boss was like in private.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com