How do you know about 'ghosts'?
Leng Nan's voice seemed to be squeezed out from under a layer of ice, each word carrying a chilling cold that could freeze a person. The knuckles of her hand gripping the contract were white from excessive force, and the veins were bulging. Her other hand had already silently rested on the gun handle at her waist, her thumb firmly on the handguard, her muscles taut, ready to complete the entire sequence of actions of drawing, loading, and firing at any moment.
This is an instinctive reaction ingrained in our bones; it is the body's final decision, faster than the brain's, when faced with the highest level of threat.
The lights that had just been dazzling because of the future factory seemed to dim slightly under the chilling murderous aura emanating from her. That cold, bloody aura spread silently, sending a shiver down the spines of everyone around.
They didn't understand what a "ghost" was, but they could understand Leng Nan's actions and feel the murderous intent in her eyes.
That was not a warning, not a deterrent.
That was a look in his eyes when he truly intended to kill.
Qin Xiao seemed oblivious to the half-drawn pistol and the palpable killing intent emanating from it. He even took a leisurely step forward, bringing the two so close they could almost feel each other's breath.
“Captain Leng, you’ve asked the wrong question.” He looked directly into Leng Nan’s pupils, which had shrunk to dangerous pinpoints, and said in a calm voice, “You should ask, how do you catch ‘Ghost’ without me?”
"Answer my question!" Leng Nan hissed, his voice suppressing his impending rage. "This is top military secret! How did you find out? Who did you contact? Tell me everything now, immediately! Otherwise, I can arrest you on the spot for espionage!"
"Arrest me?" Qin Xiao laughed, a hint of amusement in his smile, as if he were listening to a not-so-funny joke. He shook his head slightly. "And then? Take me back to your secret base, lock me in a dripping interrogation room, and use all sorts of torture methods on me?"
Captain Leng, I admit you guys are very professional, but by the time you finish this whole process, 72 hours will have already passed.
By then, your "Operation Sword" will have been a complete failure, the "Ghost" will have long since escaped, and your grandfather will likely bear an indelible stigma before his retirement because of this.
Leng Nan's body jolted violently, and her breath caught in her throat for a moment.
This is not a simple leak.
She'd been seen through. From the operational plan to personnel relationships, and even her personal weaknesses, this man had stripped her bare, leaving her with nothing to hide.
"You have no right to interrogate me." Qin Xiao's tone remained indifferent, yet it exuded an undeniable authority. "Because from now on, I'm in charge of capturing 'Ghost.' As for you, Captain Leng, and the military you represent, you are merely my client. A client who paid a 50 million deposit in advance to buy a result from me."
"You!" Leng Nan's chest heaved violently, flames of anger and shock swirling in her eyes, causing a crack to appear on her perpetually icy face for the first time. As a proud daughter of heaven, an elite soldier, she had never suffered such humiliation. A commoner, a merchant, dared to speak to a military special envoy, to the entire military, in such a condescending tone.
"Don't believe me?" Qin Xiao turned his head and pointed with his chin to the fully automated production line still running efficiently deep inside the factory behind him. "My production line can be stopped at any time. Your 'Sharp Sword' operation, all that high-precision equipment, without my special power supply, is just a pile of expensive scrap metal. Am I right?"
He withdrew his gaze and returned it to Leng Nan's face, which was slightly distorted by anger.
"So, Captain Leng, put away your gun, that thing is useless against me. Now, call your grandfather. Tell him the situation has changed; your supplier has a slightly new idea regarding this cooperation model."
Time seemed to stretch out at that moment.
A deathly silence fell over the scene. Even Geng Yu and Ling Changning held their breath, their hearts pounding. Looking at the two men locked in a standoff, they felt as if they were witnessing the birth of a high-level power struggle. Brother Xiao… he’s using the emperor to command the nobles? No, this is even more ruthless than that; he’s literally strangling the emperor!
Finally, in the long silence, Leng Nan slowly, inch by inch, loosened his grip on the gun handle.
She knew that every word Qin Xiao said was a fact she could not refute.
She lost. The moment she pulled out the contract, attempting to use military decree and the 72-hour impasse to coerce Qin Xiao into begging for mercy, she had already walked headlong into his carefully woven net. Far from being driven mad, he seized the opportunity, climbing up the ladder with lightning speed, and then, with a swift move, gripped the military headquarters by the throat.
This is no longer a business negotiation, but a blatant power grab.
She took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the anger in her chest, replacing it with a colder rationality. She took out a strangely shaped black encrypted military communicator, turned and walked aside, dialing the number she both respected and feared.
"Grandpa..." Her voice was a little dry, with a tremor she herself was unaware of.
"The contract is signed?" A voice, aged yet strong, came from the other end of the phone, carrying the authority of someone long accustomed to a high position.
"...It's signed. But, something unexpected happened." Leng Nan stood ramrod straight, as if he were being inspected by the highest-ranking officer. "He... is Qin Xiao, the boss of 'Ning's Era.' He knows 'Ghost.'"
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