"Los Angeles?" Li Shaoan was stunned and looked at Zhuo Zhiwen in confusion.
Zhuo Zhiwen explained: "Well, in Los Angeles, I have a good friend who has prepared a memorial service for me before he died. I want to see him one last time."
After hearing this, Li Shaoan nodded: "Well, yes, but after attending the memorial service, you can stop by to meet with the new person in charge of the US district to find out more about Jon."
"yes."
…
On the afternoon of August 19, 2030.
Zhuo Zhiwen's special plane landed at the National Security Department's Sentinel Base in Los Angeles.
The person who came to pick me up was a tall white man, who looked to be about thirty years old.
This man's name is William Li, a Chinese-American mixed-race, affiliated with the U.S. branch of the National Security Department, and the person in charge of the Los Angeles regional base.
"Long time no see, Xiaowen!" The relationship between William Li and Zhuo Zhiwen is very ambiguous. This is something that almost everyone in the management of China and the United States knows.
But in fact, it was only William Li who was pursuing Zhuo Zhiwen, and Zhuo Zhiwen always regarded this man who was five years younger than herself as a younger brother.
After a warm hug, Zhuo Zhiwen went straight to the point and said, "Did you find anything about what I asked you to check before I came here?"
William Li looked around and asked, "I've made a reservation, shall we have dinner together tonight?"
Zhuo Zhiwen was not able to refuse requests from others.
but.
"Okay, but I have to go see my old friend first. His memorial service starts in half an hour."
"I send you."
…
Zhuo Zhiwen's old friend is also a Chinese named Pang Ran. He has been her neighbor since childhood. Before Zhuo Zhiwen joined the army, the two were almost inseparable and could be considered childhood sweethearts.
It's a pity that Pang Ran's life path is completely opposite to Zhuo Zhiwen. He has been creating at home since graduation and making a living from art.
Pang Ran got to know many people over the years and created many famous paintings and short stories, but perhaps he was really jealous of his talent. He got gastric cancer when he was less than forty years old, and it was already in the advanced stage when he was discovered.
Just last month, when Pang Ran learned that he could only live for two months at most, he sent out invitations to everyone he knew, hoping to hold a memorial service for himself while he was still alive and take this opportunity to meet with his friends.
bid farewell.
When Zhuo Zhiwen arrived at the villa where Pang Ran was staying, the inside and outside of the villa were already crowded with people who came to visit Pang Ran.
Zhuo Zhiwen did not recognize most of them.
But it didn't matter to Zhuo Zhiwen. She had limited time, so she went directly into the villa and went to the study room on the second floor of the mammoth house.
When Zhuo Zhiwen arrived at the study, there were five other people sitting in the room besides Pang Ran.
Some of these people were known to Zhuo Zhiwen, and some looked familiar but could not remember them.
But when they saw Zhuo Zhiwen and William Li behind her, they all left consciously... probably because they saw the emblem of the National Security Department.
…
"It seems that we are not very popular." Zhuo Zhiwen sat next to Pang Ran and naturally held his hand.
Pang Ran and Zhuo Zhiwen are almost the same age, but the torture of illness makes him look very old.
Pang Ran smiled: "How could it be? They are all our old classmates. They probably don't want to disturb us."
Zhuo Zhiwen didn't care too much, she asked: "Is there anything you need my help with?"
Pang Ran shook his head: "My parents passed away early, and I have no brothers or sisters, nor am I married. I have no worries and have nothing to trouble you."
Zhuo Zhiwen nodded: and then asked: "Where did you choose the cemetery?"
Pang Ran frowned: "Tsk, I'm still hesitating about this. Someone told me before that I could be buried on the west coast so that I can see the sea. Of course, some people said that it would be better to bury me in a quiet place.
This way no one will disturb me. Anyway...I'm still hesitating."
William Li listened with curiosity. Were the two people talking about choosing a house?
Zhuo Zhiwen smiled: "Facing the sea, the spring flowers are blooming. Besides, if you go to the beach, I can see you from time to time."
Pang Ran was moved and nodded: "That's a good idea. Let's go to the beach."
He smiled.
Zhuo Zhiwen also smiled, but her eyes were full of sadness.
…
When leaving Pang Ran's villa, Pang Ran gave Zhuo Zhiwen a book, which was an unpublished personal biography written by himself.
Zhuo Zhiwen was very clear about the value of this book, but she was very surprised why Pang Ran would give such an important thing to her instead of leaving it to his students.
On the way to the restaurant, William Li mentioned: "I heard that this Pang Ran is a loyal fan of Youge Ge."
Zhuo Zhiwen didn't think much about it at first, but when she heard this, she couldn't help being surprised: "How do you know?"
William Li said nothing. He took out a photo from his pocket and handed it to Zhuo Zhiwen.
Zhuo Zhiwen took it and saw that the two people in the photo were You Gege and Pang Ran.
Both of them were wearing thick winter clothes, with the vast snow-capped mountains in the background.
This is……
Was it taken by Yougege when he was mountain climbing?
"This photo?"
William Li: "I'll tell you the details when we get to the restaurant." Yuluo gave Zhuo Zhiwen a mysterious smile.
Zhuo Zhiwen immediately felt that her trip was worthwhile, and she couldn't help but start looking forward to tonight's meal.
…
When she arrived at her destination, Zhuo Zhiwen was a little surprised, because the restaurant William Li chose was neither high-end nor crowded. It was a Chinese restaurant located in a remote alley.
The boss is a one-eyed man with a powerful look. He doesn't speak English, and his Chinese is mediocre. However, it is said that the food is excellent. The restaurant can only be opened today because of the care of some regular patrons.
And William Lee is one of them.
"Eris, do you have a guest today?" William Li asked loudly as soon as he entered the room.
Oris? Mongols?
Zhuo Zhiwen took a closer look at this boss, and he did look a bit like a Mongolian man.
Erisi nodded: "Two of you are already eating, but your private room is still reserved. I have asked my girl to clean it, so you can go directly."
"Okay, thank you, brother." William Lee lived in China for more than ten years before joining the U.S. National Security Agency, and he looks like an authentic Chinese.
Zhuo Zhiwen said nothing and silently followed William Li to the second floor.
The passage is narrow and the private room is not big, but there is a quiet path outside the window, making it a quiet and safe place.
After sitting down, William Li didn't say any more nonsense. He directly took out a paper bag and placed it in front of Zhuo Zhiwen.
Zhuo Zhiwen opened it and saw that there were several archival materials, some photos, and a very retro audio tape inside.
After taking out the tape, Zhuo Zhiwen asked: "What is this?"
William Li didn't answer, and took out a cassette player he found somewhere.
Zhuo Zhiwen smiled when she saw this: "It's hard for you."
William Li raised his eyebrows and took out the headphone cable.
.
After putting in the cassette, plugging in the headphones, and turning on the playback, Zhuo Zhiwen heard a conversation.
~~~~~~~~~
"Sir, you have misinterpreted what you meant. You are simply following your own ideas!" This was a woman's voice.
Male voice: "Misinterpretation? Why do you think your opinion is right?"
Female voice: "I never thought that my opinions were correct, but you, what you are doing now has seriously deviated from our original ideas. If you continue to act recklessly, the customers will definitely find you!"
Male voice: "Guests... haha... I wish you all the best. I also hope to meet those guys. Maybe I can find what I want from them."
"You! You're crazy!" The female voice was obviously shocked.
"This is what must be done in order to realize Sir's will."
"do what?"
"You know better than I do that Antarctic research is coming to an end and this is our last chance!"
"That's just the first phase!"
"Yes, that's the first stage."
"You...do you want it?"
"Don't continue to interfere in this matter. You have your opinion and I have my measures. The facts will tell everyone who is right and who is wrong!"
~~~~~~~~~
The conversation ended here, and everything after that was just noise.
Zhuo Zhiwen heard something, but was completely confused.
Who are they?
Just when I was about to ask, Erezi's daughter Alita came to serve the food.
The little girl looked like she was only a teenager, but her movements were very skillful and polite.
After the food was served, Zhuo Zhiwen made sure that the footsteps were far away before asking: "When was this recording made? Who is it specifically? How does it have anything to do with what I asked you to investigate?"
William Li smiled when he heard the words: "Don't worry, don't worry, I will tell you everything. Eat the vegetables first. Eresi's craftsmanship is very good."
Zhuo Zhiwen was not in the mood to eat food now, so she looked at William Li with a cold face.
William Li smiled awkwardly, and then said: "Take out the files in the bag, and there are also the two top photos."
Zhuo Zhiwen opened the bag according to William Lee's instructions.
But when he saw the file...she was completely stunned.
Because she knew all the people involved in these files, and the people in the photos were also very familiar...
"What does this mean?" Although Zhuo Zhiwen already had a bad premonition, she still chose to ask first.
Seeing the file that Zhuo Zhiwen picked up, William Li sighed softly: "At the earliest...the files under investigation also included you...if you hadn't suddenly asked me to help, you might have been there after arriving in Antarctica.
There’s no coming back.”
Zhuo Zhiwen trembled when she heard this: "What are you going to do?"
William Li said: "This is not a decision made by one of our divisions, but an order from the highest management level of the National Security Department."
"I'm asking what are you going to do?!" Zhuo Zhiwen's voice was much higher.
William Li was silent for a long time before replying: "In view of the fact that the National Security Department has been infiltrated by the enemy, we will implement the final cleanup plan in Antarctica, and the specific list has been issued."
This should be a paraphrase of the original words.
Zhuo Zhiwen was completely confused. She did not expect that the investigation on her side had just begun, and the purge operation within the National Security Department had already entered the execution stage.
He lowered his head and looked at the three files at hand.