Sheng Zexi looked at Gu Jianing, who was burying her head in the sand like an ostrich, and found it both exasperating and amusing.
This woman really…
He couldn’t help but laugh.
Gu Jianing glared at him angrily. “Don’t laugh at me!”
“Anyway, since this cockroach has such a miraculous ability, don’t you think we can use it to search the Lin family for evidence?” Gu Jianing suggested.
Sheng Zexi nodded. “True.”
“So, will you use it, or should I?”
Seeing Gu Jianing’s eager expression, Sheng Zexi decisively said, “I’ll do it.”
Gu Jianing: “…Fine.”
Truthfully, Sheng Zexi was worried about Gu Jianing’s safety—his skills were definitely sharper than hers.
“When do you plan to use it?”
“Tonight.”
“Right, the dead of night is the best time for such things!”
Just then, a loud “Waaah!” came from the bed.
“Tuantuan’s hungry! Don’t cry, Mama’s here…”
…
Night fell quickly.
Sheng Zexi planned to carry out his mission in the early hours of the morning—after all, that was when people were deepest in sleep.
Perhaps due to excitement, Gu Jianing, who should have been asleep long ago, stubbornly refused to close her eyes.
“Ningning, you should sleep first. I’ll wake you when it’s time to go,” Sheng Zexi said, his heart aching as he watched her eyelids droop heavily. He just wanted her to rest.
Gu Jianing yawned. “Okay, I’ll sleep. But you have to wake me later.”
“I will.”
Gu Jianing collapsed onto the pillow and was out in no time.
She didn’t know how much time had passed when she felt someone shaking her awake. It seemed like she had barely slept.
“Ningning, do you want to get up and watch?”
Watch? Watch what?
“No… I’m sleepy. I want to sleep…”
“…Alright.”
Gu Jianing felt like she was forgetting something, but drowsiness overwhelmed her. Since she couldn’t remember, she stopped trying and drifted back to sleep.
Meanwhile, a nimble cockroach slipped out of the house under the cover of darkness, disappearing into the night…
…
By the time Gu Jianing woke again, the sun was already high, and the cheerful voices of Xingxing and Yueyue playing outside could be heard.
Suddenly, she remembered something and let out a startled “Ah!”
Sheng Zexi, who had been busy in the kitchen, rushed in immediately.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” he asked urgently, scanning her for any signs of distress.
Gu Jianing gave him a resentful look. “Did you go out last night?”
“I did.”
“Then why didn’t you tell me? You said you’d wake me up.”
“I did wake you.”
“No way!” Gu Jianing’s eyes widened.
“I really did. But you were too sleepy and said you wanted to sleep. Think carefully—does that ring a bell?”
Gu Jianing: “…”
She searched her memory and, sure enough, there was a vague recollection of that happening.
Her expression turned sheepish.
“…Alright, I wronged you.”
“So, how did it go last night? Did you find anything?”
Sheng Zexi nodded. “Yes. With what I’ve got, they won’t be able to escape.”
Gu Jianing sighed in relief. “Good.”
“What’s your next move?”
“I’m going to report to Commander Lu and hand over all the evidence!”
“Okay, that works.”
Without wasting any time, Sheng Zexi went to see Commander Lu right after breakfast.
Lately, Commander Lu had been extremely busy.
Although the severe typhoon had passed and caused relatively minor damage to Huansha Island, it wasn’t completely unscathed.
Many houses had collapsed, so post-disaster reconstruction was a critical and urgent task.
Then there was the matter of the captured R-country operatives. They had claimed that Zhang Qiumei was their handler, but no one believed that. Though the case had been publicly declared closed, interrogations and investigations were still ongoing.
“Xiao Xi, what brings you here? Aren’t you on leave?” Commander Lu was slightly surprised to see Sheng Zexi.
After all, he’d heard that Sheng Zexi had taken time off to help his wife during her postpartum recovery.
As the son of an old friend and given recent events, Sheng Zexi had been interacting with Commander Lu more frequently.
Commander Lu held him in high regard, which was why he now addressed him affectionately as “Xiao Xi.”
If only he had a daughter—and if Sheng Zexi weren’t already married—he wouldn’t have let such an excellent son-in-law slip away.
“Uncle Lu, I have something urgent to discuss with you—it’s related to the R-country operatives!” Sheng Zexi cut straight to the point.
Commander Lu’s expression turned serious. “Go on.”
Sheng Zexi then produced several letters.
These were what he had found last night, in the hidden compartment of the Lin family’s study while in his cockroach form.
From what he had quickly skimmed, Lin’s father had maintained correspondence with R-country over the years, leaving behind quite a few letters.
They were all stored in the secret compartment of the Lin family’s study—a place that would have been nearly impossible to find without meticulous searching.
He had only taken a few of the letters; the rest remained in the study.
As for Commander Lu…
At first, he was puzzled. But after reading the letters, his face darkened, and his hands trembled slightly.
“The entire Lin family… they’re actually R-country nationals?!”
“This… this is terrifying!”
Almost instantly, Commander Lu grasped the gravity of the situation.
Lin Chushi had once held a brigade-level position in the military. Even after being demoted, he was still at the regimental level—a rank of considerable influence.
And Lin’s father? He was the second-in-command of Huansha Island.
Huansha Island was a strategic military location, situated directly across the sea from R-country.
If the island had been infiltrated and controlled by R-country operatives…
They could have marched straight into the country without resistance.
Horrifying. Absolutely horrifying.
“Xiao Xi, where did you get these letters?” Commander Lu asked sternly.
“I infiltrated the Lin residence and found them in a hidden compartment in their study. There are many more letters like these!”
Of course, he omitted the part about turning into a cockroach.
“What?! You infiltrated the Lin family? You—you’re far too reckless!”
“Do you have any idea how they would have reacted if you’d been caught?”
“Uncle Lu, I had no other choice. I strongly suspected the Lin family was involved…”
Sheng Zexi naturally didn’t mention the future newspaper—he simply attributed it to his instincts.
“You and your intuition…” Uncannily accurate.
This kid’s instincts were frighteningly sharp—and his boldness even more so.
To infiltrate the Lin family just on a hunch…
“You said there are more letters in the hidden compartment of their study, right? Understood. I’ll report this immediately and ensure swift action is taken.”
“You should head back now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Leave a Reply