manynovel Chapter 81 Undercurrents
Chapter 81 Undercurrents
Gunfire echoed across the training ground at the "Hidden Dragon" training base in Jinghua City.
Lin Zhe stood at the edge of the firing range, watching the trainees of the Submerged Dragon team. These people had been trained by the state since childhood; their eyes were sharp, their movements clean, and they already showed the beginnings of Submerged Dragon members.
"Stop!" Lin Zhe pressed the timer. "Three minutes and seventeen seconds. Four seconds slower than last week."
The group ran back from the obstacle course, panting heavily, but no one complained.
"Report!" Long Yi, the reserve team leader, stood at attention. "The ground is slippery at the turn, which is affecting our speed."
"Will they negotiate with you on the battlefield?" Lin Zhe looked at him. "Will the enemy refrain from firing just because the ground is slippery?"
"Won't!"
"Then stop making excuses." Lin Zhe waved his hand. "Rest for five minutes, then do it again. This time, it has to be under three minutes and ten seconds."
"yes!"
The team members quickly replenished their fluids and adjusted their condition. Lin Zhe walked to the side, picked up his water bottle, and took a sip. He had just returned from a three-day vacation, but felt very fulfilled.
He enjoyed this kind of life. Watching these reserve team members improve day by day, knowing that they would replace him and Longya in the future.
"Lin Zhe!" A shout came from the entrance of the training ground.
Lin Zhe turned around and saw Long Shou walking quickly towards him with a serious expression. Behind him followed the four members of Longya, all of whom also had solemn expressions.
"A mission?" Lin Zhe's heart tightened.
"Emergency." The leader glanced at the training troops and lowered his voice. "Go to the command center and tell them."
Five minutes later, in the base command center.
A large screen displayed an electronic map, densely marked with red dots. The dragon head stood in front of the screen, holding a laser pointer.
"Over the past two months, abnormal signals have frequently appeared in multiple key military sites, research institutes, and military industrial enterprises across the country." Long Shou's voice was cold. "At first, we thought it was a coincidence, but intelligence monitoring revealed that these signals were regular and clearly involved in reconnaissance, location tracking, and data theft."
The laser pointer hovered over several red dots: "A missile base in the Northwest has experienced seventeen abnormal signals in three days. A new fighter jet research institute in the Southwest has been subjected to twenty-six network intrusion attempts in one week. A submarine manufacturing plant in the Northeast has been approached by suspicious personnel..."
"Who did it?" Longya asked.
"Not just one." The leader pulled up another image. "Intelligence agencies from at least six countries—M, R, Y, F…—have simultaneously activated their undercover agents in our country. According to current surveillance, the number of identified agents… is 374."
The command center was completely silent.
Three hundred and seventy-four people—that's an astonishing number. This means that six countries have established a vast intelligence network in China, and they're all activating it simultaneously, clearly indicating some major operation.
"What are they trying to do?" Dragon Claw frowned.
"Two objectives." The Dragon Head held up two fingers. "First, investigate the detailed information about our 'mysterious unit'—that is, our 'Hidden Dragon.' Second, steal the latest weapons and equipment technology, especially information related to the 'Mighty Dragon-10' fighter jet and the 'Dragon Abyss-class' submarine."
Long Ying adjusted his glasses: "They're getting anxious. Our operation on US soil last time made them realize that our military strength has exceeded their expectations. They need to figure out exactly what technology we possess and how many trump cards we have."
"That's right." The dragon head nodded. "That's why they're willing to expose their long-term undercover agents to obtain the intelligence. But—"
He sneered, "They underestimated our military technology. In particular, the communication and radar technology provided by Lin Zhe is at least ten years ahead of the rest of the world. Any external signal that appears in a military-critical area will be automatically identified, intercepted, and located by the system."
A surveillance video appeared on the screen—outside a military base, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man was resting by the roadside. His backpack contained a miniature signal transmitter, and he was attempting to connect to the base's internal network.
"This person, on the surface, is just strolling around, but in reality, he works for the intelligence agency of Country M and has been undercover for eight years," Long Shou said. "Every time he sends a signal, our system records it. But we didn't take action against him before because we wanted to play the long game and catch a bigger fish."
"Are you closing the net now?" Lin Zhe asked.
"A unified operation was launched early yesterday morning." Long Shou pulled up the operation report. "The National Security, Public Security, and Military security departments conducted a joint operation, simultaneously making arrests in 23 provinces and cities across the country. 351 people have been apprehended so far, and 23 remain at large."
"After arresting so many, the other side will definitely be desperate and do something rash," Longya said.
"That's the problem." The dragon head's face darkened further. "A designer named Li from a research institute under the General Armaments Department has been kidnapped."
He retrieved Li's information: Li Jianjun, 42 years old, senior engineer of the General Armament Department, who has participated in several key projects, but is not a core technical personnel.
"Engineer Li didn't master the most core technologies, but he participated in part of the design work of the 'Dragon-10' and understands our R&D ideas and technical direction," Long Shou said. "Once he is taken out of the country, the other side can use him to deduce our technical level, R&D progress, and may even crack some technical details."
"Where is he?" Lin Zhe asked directly.
"The last signal appeared on the southwestern border, near Myanmar." Long Shou pulled up a border map. "The other side is cunning; they've split into at least five teams, attempting to cross the border via different routes. We're unsure which team Engineer Li is in."
Dragon Claw frowned: "This is a deceptive tactic. Let us disperse our forces to pursue them, so their real escort team can take advantage of the chaos to cross the border."
"Yes." The dragon head looked at Lin Zhe and the other four. "Orders from above: Qianlong is to be deployed and rescue Engineer Li before he leaves the country. Each of you five will be responsible for tracking a small team. Once you find Engineer Li, report immediately, and the rest of you will provide support."
Lin Zhe looked at the five arrows on the map and thought for a few seconds: "Five teams, five directions. If we chase them all, what if Engineer Li is in the sixth team?"
"Intelligence indicates there are only five," the leader said. "The national security department is monitoring all suspicious outbound routes."
"There are always blind spots in surveillance," Long Ying interjected. "Especially in the southwestern border region, the terrain is complex, and many small roads aren't even on the map."
"So what you mean is?"
Lin Zhe stood up and walked to the map: "We'll have five people, tracking four squads. Leave one squad unattended."
"Ignore it?" The dragon head was stunned.
"Right." Lin Zhe pointed to the map. "If I were in command, I would use four fake teams to draw attention, while the real escort team would take the most unlikely and dangerous route. So—"
He looked at the four members of the Dragon Fang team: "We'll pursue four of them. The remaining one will be left to the regular troops to chase, and we'll make a big show of it so they think we've been tricked."
Longya's eyes lit up: "Then we'll secretly observe and see which team reacts strangely?"
"That's right," Lin Zhe said. "The team escorting the real target will definitely be closely monitoring the movements of the other teams. If we spread all our forces out to chase them, we'll be playing right into their hands."
The dragon head thought for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense. So how will you divide the work?"
Lin Zhe quickly assigned tasks: "Dragon Fang, you take the eastern route, the one that crosses the border from Yunnan Province. Dragon Claw, you take the western route, heading towards Tibet. Dragon Shadow, you take the southern route, going through the border of Guangxi Province. Dragon Thorn, you take the central route, the conventional route along the Yunnan-Myanmar border."
"And what about you?" the four asked at the same time.
"I'll be in the rear, coordinating and commanding, while also monitoring the overall situation," Lin Zhe said. "If my judgment is wrong, Engineer Li is in one of these four teams. You can report to me anytime, and I'll provide immediate support. If my judgment is right..."
He looked at a spot on the map that wasn't marked with an arrow: "The real escort team will most likely go this way—the Savage Mountain."
"The Savage Mountain?" The dragon's expression changed. "Even the local hunters dare not enter that place. Miasma, poisonous insects, ferocious beasts, and primitive tribes..."
"It's precisely because it's dangerous that it's the safest place," Lin Zhe said. "If Engineer Li is really there, I can go alone. Your task is to put enough pressure on them, to make them think we're going all out."
"clear!"
"Now check the time." Lin Zhe raised his wrist. "2:15 PM. You have thirty minutes to prepare your equipment. At 2:45 PM, the helicopters will take you to your respective border posts. Remember—"
He looked at the four men: "Saving lives is the primary objective, but if we encounter resistance, we must show no mercy. These people are intelligence personnel, not soldiers, and they will not be treated as prisoners of war."
"yes!"
The four quickly left the command center. Long Shou walked to Lin Zhe's side and whispered, "The Savage Mountain is too dangerous; you're alone..."
"Don't worry, sir." Lin Zhe smiled. "I've been to places far more dangerous than this."
"I'm not worried about your abilities," the dragon head paused, "I'm worried... what if the enemy has more than one real escort team? What if this is a double trap?"
Lin Zhe was silent for a few seconds, then said, "Let's take a gamble. Let's bet that our judgment is faster than theirs, and that our strength is greater than theirs."