The Last Mr. Dongguo

The small hotels in the county town were doing very poor business, with hardly any customers. Occasionally, a few young couples would check in late at night, and the receptionist would not even check their identification information, just grab a key and throw it to them: "Don't make too much noise, there's hot water on the second floor around the corner, get it yourself." Then he would continue to lie down and sleep.

"Bang, bang, bang." A series of slapping sounds on the table shattered the receptionist's reverie. "Ten yuan a night, twenty yuan a day. Pay first, then check in. There's hot water on the second floor." The receptionist, still half-asleep, mumbled a bunch of things without even opening her eyes.

The man placed three bills on the counter and said, "I'll book for ten days." Upon hearing "ten days," the receptionist immediately sobered up, and after seeing the three bills, she beamed with joy. "No one else can stay in my room during this time. Give me both keys. You don't need to have your people clean my room for the next ten days; I'll handle everything myself."

The receptionist, smiling, pocketed the money and said, "No problem, no problem." She immediately took out the key and handed it to the man with both hands. "You can come and stay anytime. I'll clean the room in a bit."

The man ignored him and turned to disappear into the night.

About fifteen minutes later, the man returned, supporting a woman. The woman leaned her head on the man's shoulder, her loose hair completely obscuring her face, and she was practically dragged into the hotel by the man.

The receptionist didn't seem to care, still beaming as she held the few bills. But as the man turned to go upstairs, she muttered under her breath, "Young man, look what you've gotten the girls into! Don't the parents care? Humph! Shameless!"

After grumbling jealously, the receptionist carefully put the money away and then lay down on the table to snore.

"I'll go get some hot water. The conditions here aren't good, so please bear with it for a bit. I'll treat your wound in a little while."

The man carefully placed the woman on the bed, using two pillows to help her lie down. Only then did the woman's haggard face become apparent—it was Shui Mingyue.

"Form a team."

The weakened Shui Mingyue stopped Cheng Luan from leaving.

"I know you shouldn't be here. You could have just ignored me. Why bother?"

Cheng Luan did not turn around. He understood the meaning behind Shui Mingyue's words. He left behind the words "You should rest first" and gently closed the door.

When Cheng Luan returned, he was carrying two large bags of items.

"Your injuries need to be treated immediately. There's no anesthesia, so please bear with it."

Shui Mingyue didn't answer; sweat had soaked the pillow. She nodded simply, revealing the wound on her shoulder to Cheng Luan. Without hesitation, Cheng Luan placed a roll of gauze into Shui Mingyue's mouth. He then skillfully removed the bullet from her shoulder, carefully disinfected and bandaged it, wiped the sweat from her forehead with a clean towel, changed her pillows, and pulled up a stool to sit beside her.

"How is it?"

"Your skills are just like the ones here." Shui Mingyue adjusted her breathing, and then she looked at Cheng Luan seriously. "They are exactly the same, but I don't know if the death of Cheng Luan at the scene has affected you." Beneath Shui Mingyue's slightly furrowed brows, her bright eyes shone like the moon.

"It doesn't matter. I have more important things to do. Even if it has an impact, it doesn't matter. Even if I can never go back, I don't care. This is God giving me a chance to correct my mistakes." Cheng Luan's firm eyes revealed no regrets and a do-or-die attitude.

How do you know this deal is a conspiracy?

Cheng Luan took out the exquisite short knife. "Since I arrived here, someone has been secretly sending me digital information. After I deciphered it, I obtained information about this place, the location of Li Mengying and Fei Li, Zeng Qiang's information, and in the detention center, a mysterious person gave me this short knife and told me a string of numbers, 5381. After deciphering these four numbers, I got a place name—123 Kulu Street."

"Who is this mysterious person you're in contact with? How did you crack his code?" Shui Mingyue asked, puzzled. "Is he trustworthy? He's the one who put you in prison."

"You don't need to worry about that, I have my own way of handling it. What you need to tell me now is everything you know about our undercover operation. I need to know where we went wrong and what ultimately led to the failure of the operation."

"You were in charge of the undercover operation, and you know everything I know." Shui Mingyue shook her head, indicating that she knew nothing. "My direct superior was Zeng Qiang. At that time, Zeng Qiang went missing, and you were being watched by the organization, so I had no choice but to risk passing the information to Bai Xin."

"How much does Bai Xin know?"

"Before you were placed under close surveillance by the organization, I made two preparations. All information was encrypted using two separate systems, one for you and one for Bai Xin. In other words, you and Bai Xin received the same intelligence. After you were suspected and Zeng Qiang disappeared, I cut off communication with you and sent the information directly to Bai Xin. Later, after the suspicion against you subsided, the information was shared again."

"So what information did you give Bai Xin?"

"Bai Xin also conducted small-scale operations on the periphery to investigate certain times and locations of drug transactions, as well as the involvement of low-level leaders within the organization, and achieved some results. Recently, for some unknown reason, some of the original high-ranking members of the organization have also made some moves. I thought I could take this opportunity to completely dismantle this gang, but it turned out to be a trap."

"But I didn't know any of these things."

"Perhaps Bai Xin hasn't had a chance to tell you yet, or perhaps the operation has already been planned and there's no need to risk informing you. Just file a report after the operation is over."

"Perhaps things aren't as simple as you think. I've always suspected there might be an internal problem."

"You doubt Bai Xin?" Shui Mingyue clearly showed her resistance. "Bai Xin has made obvious sacrifices to cooperate with the undercover operation. I hope that as his comrades, we should have full trust in him. What you should be considering now is what the purpose of that mysterious person who provided you with the information is."

Shui Mingyue tried to sit up in her excitement, but the pain in her shoulder knocked her down again.

"You don't need to worry about that. What about Zeng Qiang?"

"I don't know. Zeng Qiang gives me the feeling that he has another secret mission. Didn't you meet him? Do you believe he committed murder?"

"Whether he killed someone or not, he must have had his reasons. I will not let this tragedy happen again, including you. You must live well. Time is of the essence. We only have four hours to rest. You rest well, and I will wake you up when it's time. I'm afraid that in the future, we will not only have to evade the pursuit of drug cartel organizations, but also avoid direct conflict with Bai Xin."

Cheng Luan stood up, said goodnight, and left the room, leaving Shui Mingyue alone in the room, lost in thought.

A moment later, Shui Mingyue took out a watch from her bosom, skillfully unscrewed the back cover, and a simple telegraph machine appeared before her eyes. After hesitating for a moment, the "tick-tock" sound of telegraphing came from the watch.