The train driver in the courtyard

The interrogation room was dimly lit.

Anton sat on the cold steel chair, a slight doubt in his mind.

This wasn't the first time he'd been interrogated in the middle of the night, but since the drug squad's operation, such interrogations had become increasingly rare.

It seems the other party hasn't given up yet, and trying to pry him open is just a futile effort.

In fact, Anton did not underestimate the comrades at the weather station.

On the contrary, as a fellow professional, he felt that this place was very professional.

Whether it was normal interrogation or the methods used, they reached the pinnacle, even surpassing the Ministry of the Interior in some aspects.

but.

As an outstanding graduate of Base 93526, Anton was confident that he could withstand any interrogation.

This is not arrogance, but a firm belief in one's own strength and beliefs.

During World War II, Anton was captured by San Dezi's men and imprisoned for three years, during which time he endured countless unimaginable tortures, and San Dezi did not get any information out of him.

It was precisely because of this performance that he was recruited into 93526 for special training.

Come on horseback!
When he saw Old Cat push open the door and walk in, Anton smiled at him, but the next second, he was stunned.

Because another person followed Old Cat in. That person was wearing a duckbill hat and his face was mostly covered by a cotton gauze mask, so his appearance was unclear. He actually sat in the position of the chief interrogator.

Anton's momentary lapse in composure was fleeting; he quickly regained his composure and sat quietly in his chair, his breathing rhythm unchanged, like a living dead.

He was a man of faith and would never speak out, much less betray the secrets of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Li Aiguo sat opposite An Dong and gestured for Lao Mao to start taking notes.

"Name?"

"age?"

"from where?"

Just like in previous interrogations, Anton kept his mouth tightly shut and didn't even lift his eyelids.

Anton just felt that the person's voice sounded a bit mechanical, as if he was deliberately using a fake voice. Could it be that the person was someone he knew?
At this moment, Li Aiguo's words startled Anton from his reverie, almost making him jump out of his chair.

"Base 93526, Trainee No. 1621, answer the question!"

Anton looked up abruptly, meeting the other's gaze hidden in the shadow of the hat brim. His voice trembled as he asked, "How...how did you know?"

He froze as soon as he said it.

The first crack in the defense line has appeared.

Those files were clearly destroyed when the base was disbanded ten years ago, and there are no second copies except for the top-level archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Seeing his flustered state, Li Aiguo smiled and took out a file: "Anton, 40 years old, born in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia. Both his parents are veterans. He was quite mischievous when he was in elementary school, he once peed in his teacher's water cup."

Li Aiguo looked up at Anton, who was sweating profusely, and continued reading: "You have had two relationships. The first one was during your university years. You chose to break up with him because his parents were capitalists and had improper conduct."

The second time was after I joined the Cheka. The other person was a member of a Cheka action group who was later sent abroad on a mission and disappeared without a trace, possibly due to an accident.

From then on, you chose to live a single life. And here's your superior's feedback.

"Enough! Stop reading!" Anton raised his head, staring intently at Li Aiguo: "Where did this file come from?"

"What do you think?" Li Aiguo asked in return.

Anton's expression shifted rapidly, his heart filled with turmoil, and a trembling voice escaped his lips: "This file is top secret in the Ministry of the Interior. Could it be that you have planted someone within the Ministry? No, impossible. Only high-ranking officials in the Ministry of the Interior have access to files of this level. Could it be... could it be..."

An incredible idea popped into Anton's mind, but just thinking about it was terrifying.

Li Aiguo continued his attack: "That's right, just as you thought, this file was sent here by someone, and you should know who that person is."

"Why? Why did he do this? We were all doing this for our careers! Why?" Anton collapsed to the ground.

Li Aiguo looked at Anton with some pity.

Putting aside their positions, Li Aiguo actually admired Anton quite a bit; even the experts on the drug team thought he was a brave warrior.

Unfortunately, this staunch believer was betrayed, and all his efforts became a joke.

Li Aiguo stood up, walked over to Anton, took out a cigarette, put it in his mouth, and lit it for him with a match.

"Based on the existing evidence, we can already transfer the case. Now we can give you a chance to confess everything."

The weakness of believers has always been faith itself.

At that moment, cracks appeared on the steel wall in Anton's heart, and with the flickering light of the cigarette butt, it collapsed with a crash.

“I am from the Bureau of Illegal Activities.”

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo was slightly taken aback. This name was too strange, wasn't it?

This is not recorded in the archives. Of course, Li Aiguo thinks that Commander Xie may have erased this part of the information.

Anton, puffing on his cigarette, continued, "The Bureau of Illegal Activities, also known as the S Bureau."

Anton was an old comrade. Although Li Aiguo did not reveal the source of the file, he could guess that it came from the highest level of the Ministry of the Interior.

Under Li Aiguo's patient guidance, he revealed all the secrets.

The Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs was divided into 3 bureaus, 2 divisions, 2 special departments, and 16 departments.

The three bureaus are the "Bureau of Illegal Activities", the "Bureau of Science and Technology" and the "Bureau of Design and Analysis".

The "Illegal Activities Bureau," also known as the "S Bureau," primarily engages in overseas activities and does not maintain contact with domestic Cheka agents. Instead, it maintains a separate liaison officer for one-way communication.

Because Bureau S mainly operates overseas, it is subject to relatively weak jurisdiction, and has even become too powerful to be controlled, which has always been a concern for Commander Xie.

Most importantly, the director of Bureau S also oversees the Operations Execution Department, or "Department V" for short, which is responsible for the "wet work".

Internally, they have a nickname: F-platoon, 13th Division. They are enough to rival the Fifth Administration Bureau (SPU Police Inspection Bureau) and the Third Administration Bureau (GUKP Team Supervision Bureau), which are directly managed by Commander Xie.

In this bloody internal struggle, Anton was merely a pawn used by Commander Xie to strike at his opponents.

What interested Li Aiguo the most was the "Science and Technology Bureau," also known as the "T Bureau" for short. This was a team of experts and scholars, mainly responsible for collecting scientific and technological intelligence.

This operation should have involved personnel from Bureau T, but the leaders of Bureau T were unwilling to get involved in the struggle between the two sides, so Anton was temporarily called in instead.

As Old Cat listened to Anton's account, a chill ran through him; the Ministry of Internal Affairs was far more powerful than he had imagined.

It's not that the weather stations are incompetent, but rather that their fundamental philosophies are different.

Weather stations are mainly used for defense against the enemy, rarely for proactive attacks, and certainly not for surveillance.

We play the game of open strategy, not underhanded tactics.

Li Aiguo offered Anton another cigarette, lit it for him, and poured him a cup of tea, holding it in his hand to moisten his throat.

Anton gave Li Aiguo a grateful look, nodded, and continued, "In addition to the two special departments, there are ten foreign affairs departments, which are divided by region and their targets are specific areas."

Li Aiguo perked up: "We've probably been watched all along, haven't we?"

Without any hesitation, Anton nodded: "The Sixth Division is responsible for keeping an eye on Dongda, the monkeys, and the North Koreans."

Li Aiguo then asked, "Are you familiar with Part 6?"

Old Cat also held a pen, his eyes fixed on Anton, eagerly awaiting an answer.

Anton said with a wry smile, "Isolation measures have been taken between various departments, especially for those departments abroad. Even if I meet them in the Ministry of the Interior, I don't know their identities."

Li Aiguo was not disappointed by this.

It would be abnormal if the Ministry of the Interior did not take measures to prevent leaks.

If Anton were to actually rattle off a string of names right now, he wouldn't believe it.

Anton gave a very detailed account this time, including not only the situation within Bureau S, but also some information about the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

This is the first time we've had a glimpse into the secrets of the Ministry of the Interior.

The interrogation lasted for two whole days. On the evening of the second day, Li Aiguo brought a bottle of wine and a roast chicken into the interrogation room.

When the comrade in charge of the interrogation saw this, he wanted to stop him, but Lao Mao stopped him.

Li Aiguo walked up to Anton, tore off a chicken leg, and held it to his mouth.

"This is the most famous Daokou roast chicken in our area. I went to great lengths to get it from someone. How does it taste?"

To prevent any accidents from happening to Anton, his diet was specially arranged, and he could only eat liquid food. This was the first time in more than half a month that he had smelled meat.

Anton smelled the tempting aroma, opened his mouth, took a bite, chewed a few times, and swallowed.

Li Aiguo poured him another glass of wine and brought it to his lips. Anton tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp, clicking his tongue twice, and said, "This wine tastes even better than the vodka from my hometown."

"This is aged liquor, bought from the Zhengyangmen tavern. The proprietress there has been brewing liquor for generations. If you come next time, I'll treat you to a drink."

"Will there be another chance to meet again?" Anton shook his head with a wry smile, glancing up at Li Aiguo: "If I'm not mistaken, I'll be sent back soon, won't I?"

Li Aiguo didn't intend to hide anything from him, and nodded, saying, "The train is tomorrow."

Just two days ago, we officially notified the Russian consulate of the Anton incident.

Generally speaking, Russians would vehemently deny such a thing.

Take the couple who helped the Russians gather nuclear information back then, for example; the Russians never admitted to it.

We do this very well; we always try our best to rescue people or find ways to exchange them for others.

However, this time, with Azalea in charge at the Russian consulate, the situation was different, and the Russian consulate quickly reported the matter.

Commander Xie's long-prepared plan was immediately put into action, and with his instigation, the matter escalated significantly.

The Corn Emperor was furious. He secretly communicated with them on one hand, and on the other hand, he requested that Anton be sent back for a thorough investigation.

We obtained a batch of supplies and also gained a good reputation.

Regardless of the outcome of the struggle between Commander Xie and Bureau S, it will be of great benefit to us.

Although Li Aiguo sympathized with Anton's plight, he still supported the weather station's actions.

"Alright, now that we have meat and wine, I'm satisfied." Anton had already anticipated this outcome and laughed heartily.

Li Aiguo just sat there and fed him half a roast chicken and a bottle of old wine.

By the end, Anton was quite drunk and needed two people to help him stand up.

"Wait a minute." Anton broke free from the two men, sat down again, looked at Li Aiguo, and said, "Although I don't know your name or what you look like, I feel that you are my comrade."

Li Aiguo paused for a moment, then nodded emphatically: "Comrade!"

"There are still people in this world who recognize me, and there are still people who uphold their beliefs. That's enough!" Anton smiled, stood up easily, and turned around to let the two officers take him away.

Old Cat watched Anton's retreating figure, sighed, and said, "If Commander Xie wants to make a fuss about this, Bureau S will definitely shirk responsibility. Anton might spend the rest of his life in jail after being sent back this time."

"Perhaps Anton will no longer have the chance to go to jail."

"What do you mean?" Old Cat was about to ask when Li Aiguo straightened his collar and left the interrogation room.

Although the information Anton provided did not involve any specific secrets, it was enough to give them a better understanding of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle. Although the weather station has no immediate plans to cause trouble for the Russians, it is always wise to be cautious and has begun relevant research.

This task was managed by the data department. Li Aiguo went to the farmer's office and reported the relevant situation.

"You did a great job this time." The farmer wasn't referring to Li Aiguo's efforts in getting Anton to talk.

With that file in hand, Anton's psychological defenses were bound to crumble sooner or later.

Instead, Li Aiguo gave Anton the respect and dignity he deserved.

Only by respecting your opponent can you take them seriously.

"These are all thanks to the teacher's teachings."

“You’ve been very busy these past few days. Let Old Cat take over the task of handing over Anton to the Russians. You’re not suited to be in the spotlight. Go back and get some rest.”

Li Aiguo chatted for a few minutes, without inquiring about the weather station's next arrangements. Seeing that there was no other work to be done at the weather station, he rode his bicycle back to the courtyard house. It was a little after three in the afternoon, and the courtyard was quiet.

The three older women were watering the flowers at the door. When they saw Li Aiguo, they greeted him with a smile: "Aiguo, you're back so early today?"

“There wasn’t much work to do in the section, so I took a break and the flowers are growing really well,” Li Aiguo replied.

"If you like them, take a few home," the auntie said generously.

"No, no, if we move it back, my three little monkeys will devour it all."

Seeing that Li Aiguo was about to leave, the third aunt slapped her forehead and said, "I forgot to tell you, you have a guest at your house. He's a comrade from the rural commune, I think his surname is Wei."

Village Chief Wei often delivers things to Li Aiguo's house, and most of the residents in the courtyard know him.

Chen Xueru went to work, her two children were at school, Xiao Dongfang was at the tailor shop, and the front door of the house was tightly closed.

As Li Aiguo passed through the crescent-shaped gate, he indeed saw Village Chief Wei squatting at the entrance with the mute man.

"Village Chief Wei, come inside quickly."

Li Aiguo opened the door and let the two people into the house.

Village Chief Wei carried the sack into the house; it contained some mountain produce and wild vegetables. Li Aiguo accepted it without hesitation.

Village Chief Wei, smoking a cigarette and taking a sip of tea, said, "Aiguo, I've come to ask you for a favor."

"Please feel free to speak."

“Our commune has obtained a lot of mountain products and wild animals from the mountains, and we want to transport them to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot. However, the quantity is too large. We are wondering if we can borrow a truck from you.”

In the past, Weizhuang Commune used oxcarts to transport mountain goods to the Qianmen Locomotive Depot.

Li Aiguo was slightly surprised: "A large quantity?"

"I won't hide it from you anymore." Old Village Chief Wei was a little embarrassed: "Ahem, several communes around here know that we have a way to sell our goods to the locomotive depot, and they have all asked us for help. Since we are all fellow villagers, it would be inappropriate not to help them."

“Okay, come with me to the locomotive depot now, and I’ll figure something out for you.” Li Aiguo readily agreed.

The Qianmen Locomotive Depot has opened many new factories and quadrupled its workforce. Now it is thinking about expanding its procurement scope, and the addition of goods from several communes will just meet its needs.

When Li Aiguo arrived at the locomotive depot, he reported to Section Chief Xing about Weizhuang Commune borrowing a vehicle.

"You can contact the team yourself about this; there's no need to report it."

Although his tone was reproachful, Section Chief Xing was actually quite pleased and casually tossed Li Aiguo a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes.

It wasn't a big deal, but it showed their attitude.

Many people, after achieving some success, feel that they have a voice and like to act on their own initiative, which ultimately only brings trouble.

Li Aiguo took a cigarette, went around the convoy and offered it to everyone. He was then smoothly assigned a Jiefang truck.

The truck was a Jiefang truck, and the driver was Zhang Tieniu, an old acquaintance who had been a driver for many years.

The results were not satisfactory; they made a trip that afternoon and only managed to haul less than three tons of goods.

The remaining work can only be continued tomorrow.

That evening, Li Aiguo treated Zhang Tieniu to sweet potato liquor in the canteen.

"I'm only doing this out of patriotism because of you. Otherwise, I would never have made this trip. It's not that I'm putting on airs, but the road was practically a road. It was such a waste of a truck, and it broke my heart."

Zhang Tieniu always treated the truck like his wife, and now that it was mentioned, he couldn't help but wince in pain.

Li Aiguo felt a bit depressed when he thought of the dilapidated road in Weizhuang Commune, especially since he still had to go into the mountains.

If the truck is lightly loaded, it can pass, but if it is fully loaded, it will definitely break down.

"Only tractors can travel on those kinds of roads, but tractors can't carry too much stuff."

Upon hearing this, Li Aiguo narrowed his eyes.

He remembered that in later generations there was a kind of tractor-drawn truck that could carry more than 100 tons when fully loaded, and it could shake the small trees on both sides of the road when it drove on the road.

If it were made, it would be much more practical than a truck.

That thing mainly consists of a tractor head and a trailer. Now the workshop has already built a diesel engine, so it just needs some modifications.

The truck bed needs to be equipped with a hydraulic self-unloading system, which can facilitate the transportation of construction waste and grain.

When harvesters are developed in the future, the "Four-Unlikes-a-Hundred-Ton King" will be able to transport grain directly to the granary, which will truly represent agricultural automation.

Whether a product should be developed and promoted should not be determined by its technological difficulty, but by whether it is suitable for this era.

From this perspective, the 100-ton king of the four-legged creatures is definitely among the top.

The train crew got right to work.

The next day, as soon as Li Aiguo arrived at work, he put the blueprints for the rice cooker into his drawer.

Compared to eating well, the first thing to solve is the problem of eating enough.

The workshop now manufactures single-cylinder, twin-cylinder, and four-cylinder diesel engines.

Li Aiguo decided to first build the four-cylinder diesel engine-powered 100-ton "Four-Way Vehicle" and then manufacture some smaller versions.

The "Four-in-One" is essentially a combination of a tractor and a truck. Its engine is from a tractor, while its steering wheel, chassis, front and rear axles, etc., are all from a truck.

Li Aiguo was drawing up blueprints when a wild car expert came out of workshop 116, saw it, and immediately widened his eyes: "Aiguo, this project is great, count me in!"

Li Aiguo had really forgotten about the unlicensed car expert, who was best at tinkering with these strange and unusual gadgets.

"What's the name of this vehicle? It looks pretty powerful."

"The 'Four-Wheel Drive' can carry 100 tons. You can handle the cab, and I'll take care of the engine, transmission, and hydraulic unloading systems."

In addition to the untrained car experts, Li Aiguo also selected several car manufacturing experts from his studio.

The Four-Unlikes Hundred-Ton King is not technically difficult to develop, and the studio already has sufficient technical reserves, so the development speed is very fast.

The locomotive was completed in just a few days.

This is actually a large tractor, and tools such as plow blades can be attached to it later.

When Section Chief Xing heard the roar of an engine coming from the workshop at the front gate, he was a little puzzled. Was Aiguo researching cars again? What was he building this time?
When they entered the workshop and saw the large red tractor, they were completely stunned.

"Aiguo, you want to get involved in agricultural production?"

"I come from a peasant background." Li Aiguo's father was a railway worker, but going back a few generations, they were all tenant farmers, so there is no mistake in saying that.

Li Aiguo patted the chair and shouted to Section Chief Xing, "Want to give it a try?"

What man could resist the temptation of a tractor?

Section Chief Xing climbed onto the tractor, plopped down in the seat, and swayed from side to side: "This chair is quite comfortable."

Just kidding, the springs under this chair are used in large off-road vehicles.

In fact, the tractor's wheels came from an old bulldozer wheel, the headlights were salvaged from a train headlight salvaged from a maintenance workshop, and the chimney was a hollowed-out exhaust pipe from a large off-road vehicle. It can be said that this was a cobbled-together tractor.

This perfectly matches the symbolism of the four unlikes.

Just as Section Chief Xing was driving his four-wheeled vehicle around the playground outside the studio.

An international train departing from the capital arrived in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia.

The heavy curtains in room number three were tightly drawn, completely shutting out the strong winds outside.

The three Cheka officers' backs were taut like fully drawn bowstrings. Even though the room was airtight, their right hands, hidden under the blankets, were always gripping the handles of their TT-33 pistols.

The three of them stared at the door of the private room in a triangular formation, deliberately keeping their breathing quiet.

Only Anton, who was being escorted, leaned against the berth by the window, his posture relaxed.

He tilted his head back, his gaze vaguely falling on the train roof, whether he was looking at the mottled stains or seeing something further away through them, it was hard to tell.

With a whistle, the heavy train slowly started moving, its wheels making a muffled "clang" as they rolled over the rails.

The Chekas' tense shoulders finally relaxed slightly. They exchanged glances and, under the guise of adjusting their clothes, quietly switched off the safety on their pistols.

The team leader took out a cigarette case, flicked out three cigarettes and handed them to his colleagues. The flame of the lighter flickered in the dim light.

"Three more days until Moscow." The team leader took a drag of his cigarette, smoke billowing from his nostrils with a hint of smugness. "This mission was a success. I'll treat you to a meal at that 'bar' by the Moscow River, all-you-can-eat vodka!"

"The team leader has to keep his word!" The other two Cheka immediately beamed, their tone relaxed.

This mission, though described as top secret, was in reality nothing more than receiving and escorting a "disgraced traitor" from the east.

Aside from mentioning "offending a big shot" at the start of the trip, there weren't any significant setbacks throughout the entire journey; this achievement was practically a freebie.

The team leader turned to look at Anton, who hadn't moved an inch, and pointed at him with a cigarette between his fingers: "Kid, we have no past grudges or recent conflicts. Blame yourself for offending the wrong person."

"Be sensible and cooperate. Once we get to Moscow, we won't make things difficult for you."

“It’s too late.” Anton withdrew his gaze from the ceiling. He didn’t look at the team leader, but instead turned his head slightly to look at the closed door of the private room, quietly holding his breath.

"What do you mean?" The team leader's heart skipped a beat, and he subconsciously reached for the pistol under his pillow, pointing the muzzle directly at the door.

But apart from the steady vibrations of the train running outside, there was no other sound.

He realized he had been tricked, and anger surged up instantly. He swung his pistol at Anton's shoulder, wanting to teach this charlatan a lesson.

But just as he raised his wrist halfway up the ground, a wave of dizziness suddenly gripped his temple.

It wasn't the train's jolts, but a cloying, sweet-smelling drowsiness, like having your mouth and nose covered with cotton soaked in anesthetic.

He tried to shout, but no sound came out of his throat, and the scene of Anton and the private room in front of him began to distort and blur.

Finally, with a loud "thud," it crashed heavily onto the floor between the bunks.

The other two Cheka officers also couldn't hold on, collapsing to the ground almost simultaneously, their pistols sliding onto the carpet with a dull thud.

The door to the private room was pried open with a wire.

A man wrapped in a thick woolen coat and wearing a gas mask walked in, his rubber-soled shoes making no sound on the carpet.

He first kicked the group leader on the ground with his toe to make sure the other party didn't react, then pulled out a silenced pistol from his waist and aimed the muzzle steadily at Anton on the bunk.

But when he saw what Anton looked like, he paused.

Anton hadn't fainted; he was sitting on his bunk, calmly watching him. The man in the gas mask instinctively raised the muzzle of his gun by half an inch.

"Why didn't you make a move earlier? With your skills, if you had acted first, you might have been able to escape."

Anton didn't look at him, but reached out and pulled back the heavy woolen curtain.

outside the window.

The Siberian desert shimmered with a cold, golden-red light under the setting sun; it was the homeland he had grown up in.

"Escape?" he murmured, a hint of self-mockery in his voice. "Even if I were to survive, what would be the point?"

The man in the gas mask had his shoulders taut almost imperceptibly; even through the mask, one could feel the heavy aura emanating from him.

He was silent for a few seconds, then finally raised his gun again, pressing the muzzle against Anton's forehead.

"I'm sorry."

Anton took one last look outside, the golden-red light falling on his face.

He sighed softly, his voice low: "What a beautiful land..."

The muffler made a soft "pop" sound.

Anton tilted his head to one side, his last gaze fixed on the view outside the window.

Outside, the sun is setting.

it's dark.

(End of this chapter)