My spy diary

Chapter 636 Full of Confidence (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

The car guided the truck all the way to the outskirts, eventually stopping outside a warehouse in a desolate area.

When Gu Mingyuan was pushed off the car, his hands and feet trembled involuntarily. As soon as he got off the car, he collapsed on the ground like a rag doll.

On a dark and windy night, he had no idea of ​​the time or where he was. His two henchmen, who had just been with him, had suddenly been killed, and now he was being dragged to this desolate wilderness at gunpoint. All of this filled him with dread.

He clung tightly to the car door, refusing to move an inch.

However, all this is in vain.

The plainclothes captain let out a contemptuous sneer:
"Drag it to the grove."

No sooner had he finished speaking than two plainclothes officers grabbed his arms.

Gu Mingyuan's face turned pale. He panicked. When he reached the plainclothes captain, he suddenly struggled and grabbed the captain's leg.

"Sir, sir, I beg you, I beg you, please let me go! I did exactly what you ordered, you have to keep your word!"

The plainclothes captain asked coldly:

"When did I promise to let you go?"

Gu Mingyuan roared angrily, "You clearly said that as long as I perform well, maybe..."

"You yourself said it's uncertain. What's the point of discussing something that's neither here nor there?"

Gu Mingyuan was in despair. He clung tightly to the plainclothes captain's leg, tears streaming down his face, and cried out:

"Sir, I beg you, please let me go. I have money, I'm willing to pay to save my life. Don't worry, I'll leave Jiangzhe immediately and never appear in Jiangshan County again, okay?"

Before the plainclothes captain could speak, Gu Mingyuan staggered to his feet and kowtowed several times in quick succession.
"I really have money. I buried ten gold bars in the flowerbed and five more in the rice bin. You can have them all, okay?"

After saying that, he burst into tears.

“I can get the gold bars myself, why bother you! Even if—and I mean even if—you really are rich, you still can’t escape death,” the plainclothes captain said, looking down at him.

The plainclothes officer's words made Gu Mingyuan's face turn even paler, but he still uttered the same phrase:
"I really have money, it's all yours, it's all yours."

He also came from a poor family and relied on his family's martial arts skills to travel all over the country, making a living by performing. He was always on the verge of death. He finally managed to climb up to Li Jue's high position through his sister's connections, which turned his luck around and allowed him to live a life of great wealth and honor. But he never expected to die like this.

"Alright. Save those words for the King of Hell." The plainclothes captain sneered and waved to his men.

Gu Mingyuan's face was ashen, his body trembling violently, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead and nose, tears and sweat blurring his vision instantly. In his dazed state, he suddenly saw someone, a figure indistinct in the blurry light. He immediately grasped at this as if it were a lifeline, struggling and screaming with all his might:

"Lu Shuer, Officer Lu, save me!"

The figure was none other than Lu Shu'er. He suddenly stopped, paused, and stared at Gu Mingyuan with a gaze as sharp as an ice-cold knife, filled with an indescribable complexity.

Who would have thought that the man who used to be arrogant and domineering, boasting the title of Li Jue's brother-in-law, and who beat him up until his head was a pig's head, would now have lost all his arrogance, like a stray dog ​​with its spine broken, kneeling on the ground begging for mercy, looking extremely pathetic.

Seeing that Lu Shuer remained silent, Gu Mingyuan was extremely anxious:
"Officer Lu, Commander Lu, I was wrong. I'll kowtow to you and apologize. Please, I'm begging you, please help me this once and put in a good word for them, okay? Please!"

Lu Shu'er remained silent, suddenly feeling utterly bored. He had once considered this person an adversary, even meticulously planning countless details of revenge in his mind.

Looking back now, seeing the other party kneeling and begging for mercy like a stray dog, all the resentment and hatred I had accumulated suddenly dissipated.

He turned and left without saying a word.

As the saying goes, what's most hateful about people isn't crying, arguing, or fighting, but responding to everything with silence, which drives you crazy.

Seeing his lifeline slip away, Gu Mingyuan cried out in terror:

Officer Lu

Before he could finish speaking, a gun was pressed against the back of his head:

"Shut up, or I'll kill you right now!"

Gu Mingyuan and Gu Ruowang heard this, as if speaking to Lu Shuer, but more like muttering to themselves:
"Help me, please help me!"

"Gag him, drag him in, and get rid of him!"

And so, Gu Mingyuan was dragged into the grove. After a few sharp gunshots, a flock of sparrows took flight from the grove, and then silence returned.

The mornings in this small county town are so clear that you forget it's the height of summer. There's no hustle and bustle of big cities, only the chirping of insects and birds, all at a leisurely pace.

Li Jue practiced a set of Bajiquan in his own courtyard. After washing up, he sat down at the dining table and quietly ate his breakfast.

His breakfast consisted of a bowl of plain porridge, steamed buns, and a few side dishes. It seemed simple, but he had specially added jujubes and goji berries to the porridge.

I had just taken a sip of rice porridge when the phone in the living room suddenly rang.

Li Jue found it particularly jarring. He glanced at the wall clock in the living room; it was only seven o'clock.

He impatiently gestured for the maid to answer the phone.

The maid answered the phone: "Hello." She put down the phone and looked at Li Jue.

"Sir, it's the adjutant on the phone."

Li Jue waved: "Bring the phone over."

The maid dragged the telephone cord over and handed the phone to Li Jue, handing him the receiver.

Li Jue muttered, "What's up? Calling so early. Hello?"

The adjutant's voice trembled slightly on the other end of the phone: "Commander, something terrible has happened! Something's happened at Jiyaxuan!"

"What happened?"

"The guards and the workers were all murdered, and the warehouse was looted." The adjutant was so nervous that he lost his voice as he spoke.

He cleared his throat and continued, "After receiving the notification, I immediately called the garrison command. According to the guards on duty at the city gate last night, Gu Mingyuan was the only one who went out after curfew. He was in a black sedan, followed by a truck. He claimed he was transporting goods for you, so the guards didn't dare to check. But I suspect he's involved in this matter. He's currently missing, and I've already sent someone to his house."

"Who did you say? Gu Mingyuan? Where did this bastard get the guts to make a move on me!" Li Jue was shocked and jumped up from his seat like a spring, shouting angrily, "What do you mean 'missing'? Send people to find him right now! Dig three feet into the ground, find him for me, live or dead!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Jue's face was extremely gloomy. On one hand, he wished he could find Gu Mingyuan immediately and tear that bastard to pieces. On the other hand, he did not believe that Gu Mingyuan would dare to be so audacious.

Hearing his shouts, the lady immediately came out of the bedroom:
"Honey, what happened?"

"The warehouse has been looted."

"Where is the warehouse?" "Jiyaxuan!"

"Ah!" The lady was shocked upon hearing this, her body swaying and she almost fell. That was ten thousand taels of gold! "How could this happen? Who did it?"

"They say it's Gu Mingyuan, and they're looking for him right now."

Upon hearing this, the lady reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, immediately exploding and glaring at Li Jue as she shrieked:

"This is all your doing! Keeping an actress and performer on the side is one thing, but treating her brother like a treasure too. Humph, a petty scoundrel who only knows how to eat, drink, gamble, and whore, no matter what, is still a lowlife who steals chickens and dogs and can't be brought to the table. I told you long ago that he was unreliable, but you wouldn't believe me, and now look what happened?"

"Alright, stop nagging. The most important thing now is to find him." Li Jue was getting annoyed by his wife's nagging and waved his hand impatiently. "Don't worry, I've already sent people to search for him. I believe we'll find him soon."

Although he told his wife not to worry, Li Jue was extremely anxious.

Because he had other worries and concerns.

Firstly, he suspected that the matter was inextricably linked to the Military Intelligence Bureau.

Secondly, even if this matter has nothing to do with the Military Intelligence Bureau, once it reaches Dai Chunfeng's ears, he will definitely seize on it.

Therefore, the most urgent task is to find Gu Mingyuan before Dai Chunfeng hears about it and completely suppress the matter.

So it has to be fast, it absolutely has to be fast.

Li Jue rushed to the telephone, about to dial, when he suddenly noticed the maid peeking in from the doorway. He scolded her impatiently:
"what's up?"

The maid said cautiously, "Master, someone outside is requesting an audience. They say they are Director Gong from the Military Intelligence Bureau."

Li Jue was immediately startled, thinking to himself, "The Military Intelligence Bureau just arrived after Gu Mingyuan's incident. What a coincidence! Wasn't that guy surnamed Gong supposed to go home with Dai Chunfeng? How did he suddenly appear?"

He initially wanted to refuse outright, but then he thought that he had originally wanted to meet with Dai Chunfeng to test his intentions, and now that the man surnamed Gong had offered himself up, it would be perfect to get a glimpse of the truth through him.

So he put down the phone, took a deep breath, and tried to calm himself down. "Let him in."

"Yes, sir."

After the maid left, the lady immediately asked:

"What brings this man surnamed Gong here?"

"Calm down!" Li Jue glared at him, told his wife to hide first, then sat up straight, but feeling it was too serious, he got up and leaned back on the sofa.

Soon, Director Gong walked in with a smile, saluted respectfully, and asked:

"Commander, I hope my visit is not intrusive and that I have not disturbed you?"

Li Jue glanced at him: "Dai Yunong sent you?"

"Yes." Director Gong nodded, then asked calmly, "By the way, when I entered the city just now, I saw military police everywhere. Is something wrong?"

"What could possibly happen? It's just normal training." Li Jue said casually.

Then, he changed the subject and asked directly, "Did Director Dai send you here for something?"

"Mr. Dai should be on the outskirts of Jiangshan County by now," Director Gong glanced at his watch, "and will be flying directly to Shancheng soon. Before he left, he specifically asked me to invite the Commander for a chat. Oh, by the way, regarding military discipline and smuggling, Mr. Dai's intention is to make this a one-time exception."

When Li Jue heard Director Gong say "This is the last time," he immediately understood. He pondered for a moment, then feigned sternness:

"Is he threatening me, Li?"

"Commander Li, you're joking."

“I’m not joking. Actually, I don’t mind if Director Dai investigates further. Not only should he investigate, but he must get to the bottom of it and clear the army group’s name,” Li Jue said firmly. “In this matter, I have always had only one stance: the cause of the Party and the country is above all else.”

"Aren't you afraid of biting off more than you can chew?" Director Gong thought to himself, but said with a forced smile, "Of course I believe that, and Mr. Dai thinks so too. To put it bluntly, it's just about giving the higher-ups an explanation."

As he spoke, he solemnly took out a letter, “This is a letter from Mr. Dai to Commander Gu. Please pass it on to him, Commander.”

Li Jue took the letter, glanced at it, and saw that it was sealed with melted sealing wax. He sneered inwardly.
"Don't worry, I will personally deliver the letter to Commander Gu. By the way, when is Director Dai leaving?"

Director Gong bowed and said, "I will be waiting for the Commander in half an hour."

"I know, you can go back."

"Yes, I'll take my leave now!" Director Gong saluted and turned to leave.

Li Jue watched his retreating figure disappear, then immediately and anxiously opened the letter.

At this moment, the lady who had been hiding earlier rushed out and plopped down next to Li Jue, leaning over to read the letter.

Looking at the harshly worded words in the letter, Li Jue scoffed:
"His arrogance turned into obsequiousness; I knew he was up to no good. Hmph, a fraud, trying to pull this on me. Unable to find evidence against me, he turns around and gets Commander Gu to punish me. Why should that Gu listen to him? Dai Yunong prides himself on being clever, but now his cleverness has backfired. Look here—"

He pointed to a line in the letter and said, “Here, what Huangpu clique, what Baoding clique, Hunan army, they’ve even resorted to such despicable tricks as sowing discord.”

The lady frowned, thought for a moment, and said suspiciously:

"Something feels off to me."

"What's wrong?"

"Think about it, Commander Gu and Dai Yunong were attacking each other because of the conflict between the Third War Zone and the Loyal and Patriotic Army, which was known to almost everyone. How could he have the leisure to write a letter to Commander Gu at this time? Moreover, the content involves you, but he insisted on having you pass it on. This is obviously intentionally meant for you to see."

Upon hearing his wife's words, Li Jue was startled and immediately became suspicious: "Are you saying that this is his delaying tactic?"

"Very likely. Didn't that guy surnamed Gong just ask around indirectly? You forgot? I always felt there was something fishy about this."

Li Jue frowned, vaguely sensing something was amiss, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. After hesitating for a moment, he sneered:

"Without evidence, what can he do to me? No matter what he's up to, I'll play along and keep up the act."

As he spoke, he stood up and said to his wife, "There are still some spare gold bars at home, right? Go and get a box of them."

The lady looked puzzled: "They're already sharpening their knives, and you still want to give them a gift?"

"Why not give it to him?" Li Jue smiled mysteriously. "As long as he dares to accept it, we can hold him hostage. Let's give him a treat first. If he doesn't take it, we'll give him a good whack on the head. Don't forget that his good son not only formed his own armed force, but also 'extorted' a lot of weapons and equipment from me."

"Being prepared for both possibilities is a foolproof strategy." The lady nodded, then added, "You still need to be careful. It would be best if you brought more guards with you when you go."

"Don't worry about that, I have my own plans." Li Jue said confidently, not believing that Dai Chunfeng would dare to defy public opinion and attack him.

(End of this chapter)