Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

James’ nearly murky, pale green eyes shimmered with interest. Right, what would he even desire at this age, anyway? Apart from power, it would be money…”You know my name?” James thought about it for a long time and asked in a hushed voice, “Then what should I call you? Major General Huo? Or Mr. Kidnapper? Or the heroic Spider Man?”

Huo Shaoheng laughed boldly. “Mr. James sure can joke. I don’t know about anything you’re talking about, nor do I know those people. Think carefully about what I said. If you think it through, please come to 38 Shell Drive in Long Island and leave a message.”

James stiffened and continued to look at Huo Shaoheng suspiciously. “Thirty-eight Shell Drive, Long Island?” Wasn’t that the residence of the popular Hua Xia Imperial Prime Minister candidate’s daughter, Tan Guiren? She had been a kidnapping victim a while back and had just been rescued. She stayed in her villa all day and didn’t ever leave. Their CIA and FBI agents took turns visiting and wanted to glean from her information about the people who rescued her, but she had been more tightly lipped than a clam shell and refused to even say a word. And now that this man was actually telling him to leave a message at Tan Guiren’s residence, didn’t that mean the person they’ve been searching desperately for had been at her home the whole time?!

Watching James’ suspicious eyes, Huo Shaoheng knew the enemy was starting to have suspicions. That was ideal. Without the seed of suspicion, how could he start to grow a tree of betrayal?

“Also, do want to know how I’m staying in New York without being detected? How I not only rescued someone and was able to completely escape but also didn’t have to worry about anything else?” Huo Shaoheng added more fuel to James’ burning suspicion. “You want to know why I know so much about you and your boss? Think about the person giving you intelligence. Which side is he actually on…”

James jerked his head up, his thin lips quivering uncontrollably, but he was unable to formulate a single sentence. The waves crashed and could be heard in the distance, and the salty sea air mixed with condensation to swirl around them. It did not dissipate the heat but made it feel even hotter. James fidgeted in his seat and was confused by his own conjecture. He wanted nothing more but to go back to his office right away and question his informant, but he had been a CIA agent for all these years and was able to calm down after some confusion. “Don’t try starting things here and attempt to cause a rift between us. No matter what you say, you’re trapped here, and that’s the best proof.”

“I’m trapped here?” Huo Shaoheng seemed to be hearing the biggest joke in the world and shook his head. “If I wanted to leave, I would’ve done it a long time ago. But I don’t want to leave because I still want a chance to see you and see… my old friend.” Huo Shaoheng’s eyes looked out to the light green water in the distance as he said this, like he was disdainful towards James.

James was infuriated by his attitude and balled his hands into fisits as he stood up. “Don’t get cocky! If I called someone here now, there’s no way you could run!”

“Oh? Really? You want to try?” Huo Shaoheng suddenly leaned forward and held a gun with one hand that was already pressed against James’ waist. “If I wanted to kill you, you’d be dead by now.”

James felt the icy barrel of the gun on his skin and broke into a cold sweat. He stuttered, “Let’s… Let’s talk about this calmly… Don’t worry, I won’t report you…”

“Ok, I understand.” Huo Shaoheng removed the gun and flipped it back unto his trouser pocket. “Think about it clearly. Even if you hand me over, who would benefit from that?”

James looked at Huo Shaoheng with uncertainty, and his mind was arguing with itself fiercely. His many years at the CIA as well as his original military experience had instilled a loyalty to his nation. But the depth of this loyalty depended on whether Huo Shaoheng could truly convince him.

“Actually, you don’t need to hesitate that much.” Huo Shaoheng softened his tone. “Wouldn’t it be great if we could cooperate and reap mutual benefits? Do you truly believe that the two powerful nations of the United States and the Hua Xia Empire would really go to war?”

James instinctively shook his head. “Of course not.” What a joke! If those two powerful nations really went to war, it’d be the end of the world…

“So for the sake of world peace and the sake of the existence of our institutions, you must cooperate with me. You must know that the Hua Xia Empire has an ancient proverb, ‘the hunting dog is cooked after it hunts the rabbit.’ What benefit do you reap for killing me? If the Hua Xia Empire no longer existed, then your Asian Intelligence Branch would also cease to exist. Isn’t that right?”

James nodded again, completely convinced by this man. Aside from the Hua Xia Empire, all Asian countries were allies of the US. Why would they need to investigate intelligence against them? The US already had stationed troops in those countries, so what secrets could they harbor? It was only the Hua Xia Empire who refused to yield. The only target of their Asian Intelligence Branch was the Hua Xia Empire, but they couldn’t target them blatantly, so they named themselves so as to conceal their true intentions.

If it could be said that personal interests were one aspect, and James was too shameful to accept the offer, then using the excuse of “showing mercy to the enemy while maintaining self respect” as a lure would make it a lot more acceptable for James. Of course, he didn’t agree right away and only said solemnly, “Everything you’ve said is your own reasons. How does that benefit me? I still need to think about it.”

Huo Shaoheng chuckled and remarked casually, “Ok, you take your time. Before you make your decision, I can give you a big gift.”

“What big gift?”

“The position of Director of the CIA Asian Intelligence Branch, is that a big gift to you?”

“Me?” James shook his head in disbelief. “You must know that we already have a director? That man is almost 20 years younger than me and is also very capable and intelligent. There’s no way he would make a mistake. Tell me, how could you make me the Director of the CIA Asian Intelligence Branch?”

“Have some faith.” Huo Shaoheng smiled and folded his hands behind his back. “I won’t rush you, either. You’ll naturally believe me once you receive the position. Goodbye.” Huo Shaoheng turned to leave in the direction of 38 Shell Drive in Long Island. James stared at his back while his mind was still arguing away…

…

Previously, Tan Guiren told Huo Shaoheng that her family had a villa at 38 Shell Drive in Long Island, New York. He also knew from the media that Tan Guiren had moved out of the Juilliard dorm after being rescued and was staying at her own house. At the same time, the NYPD, FBI, and CIA agents also frequented her home in an attempt to glean information from her. In order to numb James now and make him suspect their informant from the Hua Xia Empire was really their informant or an undercover agent, Huo Shaoheng decided to take advantage of Tan Guiren again.

Thirty-eight Shell Drive in Long Island was at the end of the community and surrounded by snow white walls. Two waist-high iron gates stood symbolically where the two walls converged, and the yard inside wasn’t very deep. A driveway ran down the middle and traversed directly through the front yard and into the attached garage.

Huo Shaoheng stood in front of the iron gates and didn’t even get a chance to ring the doorbell before seeing an elegant woman stand up from the grass and look his way. She wore an oval-shaped straw sun visor and a soft cotton dress. This girl was Tan Guiren. She had been trimming the flower bush in her yard when she saw a strapping figure standing before her gates. She nearly didn’t believe her eyes, but her many years of excellent cultivation and education prevented her from looking too surprised. Holding a small flower basket and garden spade, she walked up to the iron gates and reached out to open them. She said to Huo Shaoheng with a smile, “You’re finally here.”

She had been waiting for him to seek her out the entire time. From all sorts of media, she was able to understand that the Americans had put the entire area on lockdown in an effort to arrest him. However, Huo Shaoheng was in a much better state than Tan Guiren imagined. She originally assumed that he must be exhausted from hiding and would be very dirty, but he appeared clean and fresh as he stood before her and didn’t look at all powerful and decisive like he had the night he rescued her. Like the ocean at night, the waves were so calm that one could only bask in the lovely peacefulness.

Huo Shaoheng nodded. “Hello, Miss Tan. Can I speak to you for a moment?”

“You don’t need to call me Miss Tan, it sounds too formal.” Tan Guiren cocked her head and smiled. She moved aside to let Huo Shaoheng inside. “Of course you can, it’s all I ask for. Come in, there haven’t been visitors for many days now.” Tan Guiren spoke discreetly but Huo Shaoheng understood what she implied. She meant to say that there were no FBI or CIA agents, and no policemen as well…

Huo Shaoheng had been frequently appearing in the other areas the past few days, and one side effect of that was removing all the agents surrounding Tan Guiren. They finally believed that Tan Guiren truly didn’t know anything at all. The Hua Xia soldiers had probably only rescued her for the mission, and once it was completed, they could fully retreat. After waiting another two days and seeing that there were no further updates, even the hidden agents retreated. Huo Shaoheng walked there and confirmed that there were no traces of hidden agents before daring to enter Tan Guiren’s yard.

As for James, Huo Shaoheng firmly believed that he wouldn’t tell anyone else about their deal. Of course, even if he told someone, Huo Shaoheng would have measures against that possibility. Following Tan Guiren inside, he saw that the Tan’s villa was a four-story building surrounded by lush green forest. The top three floors were above ground while the lowest level was half in-ground and acted as a basement.

“Miss Tan, I won’t be going inside. I still have to work today, so I’ll make this short.” Huo Shaoheng stood still at the entry and spoke softly and slowly to Tan Guiren. His voice was very low, and when he purposely lowered his voice, it became unclear and hard to understand for someone who didn’t speak Chinese natively. Huo Shaoheng didn’t enter because he was sure the CIA had installed bugs inside and perhaps even pinhole cameras.

“You… Really won’t sit down inside?” Tan Guiren wanted to thank him properly, not only for rescuing her and the two kids, but also the little girl he saved on Fifth Avenue a few days ago.