Nominal: Hou Liangping blocking the door? He was slapped away!

The joint training command post on the northern front, 11:40 p.m.

The field lights illuminated the main tent, making it appear white, while outside the tent, the wind whipped up sand grains that pattered against the waterproof tarpaulin.

After getting out of the car, Shen Zhong did not go to the rest area. He took off his military cap, handed it to Zhou Weiguo, and went straight into the command tent.

The duty officer stood at attention: "Secretary Shen, the combat readiness upgrade materials have been delivered, and the operations staff is waiting for your signature."

"Everyone's here." Shen Zhong placed his briefcase on the table. "Let's check the serial number first."

The operations staff handed over the red-sealed document, the seal was intact, and there was an old-fashioned barcode from the General Office of the Central Military Commission at the bottom of the page.

"Secretary Shen, the chief secretary just came down from the confidential line and requires that the document be signed for tonight and that all personnel return to their posts before 6 a.m. tomorrow."

Shen Zhong didn't reply, but instead turned the cover over to the back.

Zhou Weiguo stood on the left, opened his notebook, and stopped the pen on the first line.

"Where did the number come from?"

The operations staff quickly flipped through the register: "The General Office of the Central Military Commission, the Combat Readiness Coordination Department, forwarded it through the Northern Joint Command Center; the route didn't go around any locals."

"The old channels?"

"It's an old channel, but this line has handled confidential engineering documents before, so we can sign it first as is customary."

Shen Zhong pressed the document down on the table and tapped the cover twice with his finger.

"Whose custom is this?"

The tent was half a beat short.

The operations staff officer stood at attention: "The operating procedures left by the former chief of confidential matters have not caused any problems in the past three years."

"The last three years," Shen repeated, "retrieve the original transfer numbers."

The officer on duty glanced at the clock and lowered his voice: "Secretary Shen, the combat readiness upgrade document cannot be delayed. The three battalions outside are already waiting for the order to return to their units."

"I'll sign it after I've read the main text."

Shen Zhong tore open the red envelope, flipping through the first half very quickly.

The increased combat readiness level, communication control, personnel relocation, and ammunition depot lockdown are all within the normal range.

When you turn to the last page, there is a thin sheet of white paper tucked behind the appendix.

There was no red header on the paper, only a bolded title.

Abnormal data cleanup notification.

Zhou Weiguo took a half step closer, and the tip of his pen stopped.

The operations staff immediately explained, "This should be a routine security measure; redundant data is often cleaned up during combat readiness upgrades."

Shen Zhong pulled out the paper separately and laid it out in the center of the table.

"read."

The operations staff officer's Adam's apple bobbed: "Clear the audit records of the outsourced northern line project from three years ago, citing redundant combat readiness data as the reason. Issue a receipt upon completion."

"What does the outsourced project audit have to do with returning to work tonight?"

No one answered.

The intelligence analyst stood up from the communications station, carrying the terminal, and came over: "Secretary Shen, let me check the attachment code."

"Check the source code, not the display page."

When the confidential staff member was called in, his coat was not yet fully buttoned.

"Secretary Shen, the original transfer must be entered into the confidential system; ordinary users can only see the receipt chain."

Shen Zhong looked at Zhou Weiguo and said, "Activate my combat readiness verification authority."

Zhou Weiguo inserted the magnetic card into the card reader and whispered the command: "Verification by the political commissar of the northern front, level one."

A prompt appears on the screen.

Insufficient permissions.

The people inside the tent stopped at the same time.

Shen Zhong took the cigarette case out and then put it back.

"Enter again, change the command to the military region political commissar, and add the combat readiness code."

Zhou Weiguo retyped, and the confidential clerk broke out in a sweat but didn't dare wipe it away.

"Secretary Shen, this permission is generally not used for data cleanup, as it may leave a trace in the system."

"Stay." Shen Zhong stared at the screen. "Whoever comes in today, whoever leaves today, stay here."

The second search was successful.

A string of registration port codes pops up on the screen, followed by an electronic signature summary.

The intelligence analyst imported the code into the comparison library, and a few seconds later, the terminal issued a short notification.

"Secretary Shen, there is overlap in the port area."

Explain clearly.

The intelligence analyst turned the screen to the desktop: "This electronic signature appeared in a unified filing system three years ago, and the name was anonymized."

Shen Zhong did not look at the other people in the tent.

Can the full name be restored?

"The local machine is not enough, so we need to access the Central Military Commission's database. However, the summary and port code are consistent, so the probability is very high."

Zhou Weiguo's pen pressed black dots onto the paper.

"Cutting-edge category?"

Shen Zhong raised his hand to stop him from saying the second half of his sentence.

"Anonymous names will not be discussed within this account."

The operations staff officer then realized something was wrong and straightened his back even more.

"Secretary Shen, did someone slip in documents related to the escalation of military preparedness into this cleanup notice?"

"It may have been squeezed in, or it may have always been running on this old line."

Shen Zhong pushed the main text to the left, leaving the blank paper in the middle.

"The main document shall be signed as required, the return to the base shall be carried out as required, and the communications control shall be issued as required."

The officer on duty breathed a sigh of relief: "What about the attachments?"

"Attachments are listed separately."

Shen Zhong picked up the pen and wrote his name and the date on the main document receipt page.

The strokes were very heavy, and after the last stroke was finished, the traces were visible through the lower layer of the carbon paper.

"Zhou Weiguo, seal the main document receipt chain, make three copies: one for the military region, one for the northern front, and one for Old Xu's office."

"clear."

"Confidential staff, print out the entire process of this cleanup notice, including the transfer in, transfer out, reading, and pre-signing. Whoever signs it retroactively will be held responsible."

The clerk immediately replied, "Yes, no retroactive signatures, no proxy signatures, and no backdating of dates."

The operations staff officer was still worried: "Secretary Shen, the old channels are pressing us hard; the receipt needs to be submitted before midnight."

"Whom should we urge?"

"The document ends with 'Northern Joint Command Point,' and the person in charge defaulted to filling in 'Duty Confidential.'"

Shen Zhong flipped the white paper over to the back.

The back is blank.

He paused for two seconds, then picked up a pen and wrote four words next to the signature column.

Implementation is temporarily suspended.

The pen tip pressed through the carbon paper, leaving a shallow groove on the second copy.

The officer on duty couldn't help but speak up: "Secretary Shen, those four words mean you personally bear responsibility."

"I'm not sitting in this seat just to sign for things."

The tent flap was pried open a crack by the wind, letting in the cold air from outside, and the lamplight flickered twice.

Zhou Weiguo went over and fastened the curtain, then returned to the table.

"Secretary Shen, should we notify Handong?"

Not for now.

Shen Zhong put the white paper into a transparent sealed bag, and the seal was affixed very smoothly.

"Qi Tongwei is fishing in his hospital room, while Lu Yike is guarding the goal in the province. Don't let this little spark from the northern front get through."

The intelligence analyst looked at the terminal: "Should I continue investigating this electronic signature?"

"Pursue, but compare offline."

Shen Zhong pushed the sealed bag to Zhou Weiguo.

"Any online query could alert the other side, so we first cross-check the local database, old backups, and paper records."

The operations staff officer clutched the main document to his chest: "Should the return-to-base order be issued as originally planned?"

"Issue."

Shen Zhong turned to look at the sand table, where red and blue flags were planted at various points along the northern route.

"The combat readiness is real, and so is the smuggling; some people are using genuine military orders while carrying a false agenda."

The officer on duty didn't urge him this time: "Understood. Execute the main document, seal the attachments."

Just as the clerk was about to exit, a new receipt popped up in the lower right corner of the screen.

The small red box is positioned in the system tray.

Please confirm the cleanup completion time.

The tent fell silent again.

Zhou Weiguo glanced down at his watch: "23:59."

The operations staff officer uttered half a curse, then swallowed it back down.

"Secretary Shen, the other party is stalling and urging us to complete the process, as if they're waiting for us to automatically issue a receipt."

Shen Zhong sat down in front of the communications station, his military uniform collar stiffened by the light.

"Wait until I finish checking."