CH 145

The Jeep drove through Wutong Avenue and turned into an alley.

The alley could only accommodate two cars at most. Central air-conditioning units of the surrounding buildings hung on either side of the alley, making it even narrower.

Lin Chen looked out the window and could see the iconic main building of the Xinni Embassy from a distance. From the route, they had roughly entered the living area behind the embassy.

Sewage was flowing, with discarded newspapers occasionally flying in the air. There were scattered cast iron parts thrown on the ground at random. Besides the air conditioners, the most common thing in the alley were doors.

Those were side doors in various sizes and different national styles.

They stood on both sides of the alley. Sometimes there would be people sitting by the door, and sometimes it was empty. Most doors were closed, while those that were open looked as if there was a bottomless void inside them.

Xing Conglian finally stopped at a random door.

It was an ochre-colored iron door that opened to a dark green wall. There was an old man smoking a cigarette in the concierge’s position. The old man was dressed in an ordinary yellow-gray plaid shirt, and he was wearing a hat that didn’t match his shirt.

Xing Conglian unbuckled his seatbelt. He looked back at the people in the car and said, “Professor Fu, I have to trouble you to drive Mr. Lu to a coffee shop to rest later.”

After he finished speaking, he picked up the cigarette case and his phone, then got out of the car.

Wang Chao began to pack up his backpack without saying a word. Fu Hao looked at Lu Xu in disbelief and finally asked, “Shi… Shixiong… I always think you’re brave and righteous. If you don’t come out in two hours, should I call the police?”

Fu Hao started rambling, but Lin Chen only said to him, “Be good.”

After speaking, he and Wang Chao nodded and opened the car door, respectively.

When they got out of the car, Xing Conglian had already walked to the edge of the ochre-iron gate. Half of his body was obscured by the shadow from the concierge’s awning.

Xing Conglian knocked on the window. The old man in the concierge’s office glanced at him impatiently, as if he were evaluating whether it was worth opening the window to let the air conditioning out.

Before the old man could make up his mind, Xing Conglian had already casually opened the window. The old man became irritated due to the influx of heat and slammed down a cigarette pack. Lin Chen thought the old man was going to curse, but he didn’t.

The old man pressed the brim of his hat, put his thumb and index finger together, and rubbed them lightly.

Lin Chen was stunned for a moment because he also saw Xing Conglian do a similar action before.

This was an obvious way of asking for money. Lin Chen estimated that the asking price from the concierge wouldn’t be low. The next moment, just when Lin Chen thought Xing Conglian would take some membership cards out of his pocket, Xing Conglian only took out a pack of cigarettes.

The half-removed plastic packaging was still wrapped around the pack, which was the pack Xing Conglian had just bought.

Xing Conglian opened the cigarette pack, took out a slender cigarette from the inside, and casually threw it at the window.

The old man frowned and picked up the cigarette nervously. He held the cigarette filter with his rough, callused fingers and turned it clockwise for half a circle. As if it were inlaid with a silver edge, there was a subtle gleam between the filter and the rest of the cigarette, like it was a high-end cigarette adorned with decorations.

Under the sun, when the old man turned the cigarette to a specific location, he turned it counterclockwise in half a circle. As if some special magic was activated, the old man put down the cigarette and looked up again, with a completely different expression from before.

“I haven’t smoked such a fine cigarette for a long time.” The old man opened a drawer, took out a lighter, and lit the cigarette. After taking a puff, he asked, “What are your requirements?”

At that moment, determination and perseverance shown in the old man’s eyes.

Xing Conglian gave a sideways glance at the iron gate and casually said, “I heard that Mellonella is eating and just waiting to die at your place, so bring him to see me.”

……

Lin Chen knew Xing Conglian had secrets from the start, but that didn’t mean they would involve some confidential events beyond his comprehension.

Just now, Xing Conglian had used a menthol cigarette that was priced at 5 yuan to successfully break through the heavy guards of the Xinni Embassy. If normal logic were to be used, it would take several years to complete such a task. Ten calls from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and consultations of various levels, not to mention that they were probably the number one target of the Xinni Embassy right now. But Xing Conglian managed to lead them into the corridors of the Xinni embassy with only a single menthol cigarette.

The area was surrounded by tall and dense subtropical plants with lush vines.

After the old man opened the iron door for them, he sat back in his place again. He didn’t even forget to close the small concierge window, as if nothing had happened.

Lin Chen recalled the scene when the old man sat back in his seat and picked up the phone. He felt that whatever secrets were involved, they might be more incredible than he had thought.

For example, he just barely managed to search for the word Xing Conglian had said in English, and found it should be a code name, which originally referred to a moth with excellent hearing*.

*Clarity: Mellonella is a moth found throughout the world. Males are able to generate ultrasonic sound pulses, which, along with pheromones, are used in mating. They are equipped with a sensitive tympanic hearing organ that allows them to perceive high frequency sounds.

As another example, after they entered the Xinni Embassy, Xing Conglian acted like he was the owner of the entire embassy, leading them to an office on the ground floor.

It was more appropriate to describe this office as more of a cellar. It was surrounded by hard lead plates. The biggest role of lead used as a metal for protection, was to isolate radiation. The reason Lin Chen was able to judge this was because when he walked into the room, Wang Chao let out a cry from behind, indicating that all his communication tools had lost signal.

It was also cold all around, revealing a kind of absolute chill. The air smelled like metal from the lead plates, and because the metal layer was so thick, there was no sound in the surrounding area.

This place was like a secret room that every spy novel would have. The moment they walked into the room, the iron door automatically locked and closed.

Lin Chen sat crossed-legged against the corner of the wall. Xing Conglian walked to him and sat down with him.

“Captain Xing,” Lin Chen said lightly.

“Consultant Lin.”

Xing Conglian took out another cigarette and lit it in front of him.

“May I ask a question?”

“Of course, you can always ask me anything.”

Xing Conglian stared at him with dark green eyes, without any concealment.

But Lin Chen still chose a less poignant question. “What is Mellonella?”

“At the Ridan Peace Conference 15 years ago, there was a very famous eavesdropping expert who reversed the entire peace talks by himself. The codename of that eavesdropper was Mellonella.”

“How did he do it?”

“At the time, all heads of state participating in the Three Rivers Basin stayed at the central hotel in Ridan to negotiate a ceasefire agreement. In fact, this isn’t a secret. Before the opening of important international meetings, the intelligence agencies of various countries would carry out intense espionage activities. After all, at the international negotiating table, everyone hopes to be a roundworm in the stomach of the other party, knowing exactly what they want and thus being able to take the initiative in the actual negotiation process. At the time, spies from Xinni sent an eavesdropping expert named Mellonella to eavesdrop in the hotel rooms where the president of Fuxuli was staying.”

“Quite amazing, no?”

“Through some method, Mellonella managed to infiltrate the room for a full 48 hours. He used his brain to record all the sound details of the Fuxuli president’s room, such as which floor would make a sound or when the wind blew on the curtains. Not only that, he also recorded the sound frequency. At night, in the pitch-black room, he tried not to make any sound as he walked around the room.”

“Like a bat.”

“No, he’s Mellonella. They have sharper hearing than bats.”

“What happened after?”

“You see, in fact, for spies, installing bugs in hotels isn’t for eavesdropping on intelligence, because national leaders wouldn’t be stupid enough to talk about state secrets in a hotel. Their purpose is to eavesdrop on something else, like some trivial information from scraps, and hope to infer the mood or physical condition of the people attending the summit.”

“Physical condition?”

“Yes… Very coincidentally and fortunately, on the night of the third day of the talks, Mellonella discovered the breathing rate of the Fuxuli’s president had a small change when he was asleep, which was almost undetectable. The change was probably caused by the change in climate, but Mellonella didn’t let this go. He reported it to his superiors, and finally, Xinni passed this message along to the Fuxuli’s intelligence agency in a clever way. From this, they were able to find a small dose of chronic poison in the president of Fuxuli…”

“Someone wanted to kill him and ruin the peace talks process?”

Xing Conglian took a puff and exhaled a ring of smoke. “Incredible, right?”

Lin Chen thought for a moment and said, “So, are you bringing me to find this real expert in soundprint identification?”

“He’s not an expert. He’s a genius.”

The heavy lead door was pushed open forcefully. The hinges creaked, accompanied by brisk footsteps that eventually came to a heavy halt.

Lin Chen’s gaze fell on the visitor’s feet, then slowly moved upwards. From the black leather shoes to the black trousers and then the black sunglasses, his gaze finally fell on the visitor’s face. After being as stiff as the other person for a few seconds, he slowly turned his head to Xing Conglian and said, “This is the genius you mentioned?”

Xing Conglian was stunned until the cigarette burned his finger. He grimaced and shook off the cigarette butt and asked tentatively, “Mellonella?”

The other party had a depressed expression. He stood at the door and thought for a while, then turned around and left.

“Shen Chenggong, stop!” Xing Conglian shouted.

……

Although Shen Chenggong didn’t like Li Jingtian, he never thought he would become a key figure in convicting a noble son of a diplomatic family.

He looked at the Hongjing policeman in front of him, who had beaten him mercilessly, and reluctantly sat down in the cold cellar. He didn’t know how this policeman found his true identity. After all, this kind of thing had never been recorded in any file, but obviously, he had no right to refuse anyone who walked in through that door.

“I want you to distinguish whether the victim’s screams are really included in Illi’s famous single.”

A laptop computer was spread out in front of him.

Shen Chenggong looked up at the laptop in front of him, knocked on the metal case, and said angrily, “In public? At least give me a pair of headphones, captain.”

Well, since he had beaten Shen Chenggong mercilessly, Xing Conglian could only politely say, “Sorry, it was our negligence.”

Wang Chao quickly pulled out some headphones from his backpack, knelt on the ground, and tried to plug it in.

Shen Chenggong immediately made the same gesture to Wang Chao. He said depressingly, “Please don’t be so polite to me. It’s creeping me out. Why don’t you just beat me up again to vent your anger?”

“This is important.” Xing Conglian nodded to Wang Chao, who clicked on the video of Song Shengsheng’s interview.

“The victim’s name is Song Shengsheng, who was once a very famous singer in our country. We believe Li Jingtian sexually assaulted him, recorded his screams, and included them in his album. Time is running out, so we can only ask you to help confirm whether our speculation is true.”

Xing Conglian spoke solemnly.

Shen Chenggong was shocked when he heard this. He pondered for a moment and said, “Okay, let me hear it. But first, let me explain. You can’t force me to give a false testimony.”

“Please rest assured. This is the biggest difference between us and Li Jingtian.”

With this guarantee, Shen Chenggong didn’t hesitate to plug in the headphones and click on the two pieces of audio.

……

The expression on Mellonella’s face changed from suspicion to solemnity. Finally, the moment he turned off the audio and put down the headphones, his expression was already the same as when he heard the frequency change of the middle-aged president of Fuxuli. He reported his findings in an extremely calm and sober tone. “Captain Xing, if you believe my judgment, then I’m pretty sure Song Shengsheng’s screams were mixed in Illi’s famous single, and I’m even more sure that it should be a whole cry that was cut into 15 parts and mixed into the climax of the song. The screams contained the breathing sounds of two people, so I suspect your speculation isn’t wrong. It is indeed possible that Song Shengsheng’s screaming was recorded during the sexual assault.”

Shen Chenggong worded it carefully. He didn’t even mention Li Jingtian at all.

Their heavy breathing echoed in the heavy isolation room.

Finally, Shen Chenggong yanked up his headphones and smashed them to the ground. He turned around and grabbed Xing Conglian’s collar and said gratingly, “I don’t care who you are or what your identity is, but since you can walk in here, you must have the ability to bring Li Jingtian, that beast, to justice, so please!”

After Shen Chenggong finished speaking, he bowed to Xing Conglian respectfully.

There was no sadness or joy in Xing Conglian’s face. Lin Chen saw him turn his head, looked at him deeply, and said to Shen Chenggong, “It’s not me who can bring Li Jingtian to justice. You should bow to him.”

Shen Chenggong looked at Lin Chen hesitantly. Lin Chen shook his head. “I’m not too sure.”

“What do you need?” Xing Conglian asked.

“I need to get Li Jingtian to confess.”

Xing Conglian quickly realized what he wanted to do, so he said, “If it’s secretly recorded evidence of your private conversation with Li Jingtian, it can’t be used in court.”

“Yes, so I need a room, four high-definition broadcast cameras, and of course, Li Jingtian himself.”

……

It should be said that the embassies of various countries abroad always assume the heavy responsibility of foreign exchange. They often held various press conferences in the embassies, but even so, no sovereign country had ever opened its embassies to the judicial departments of other countries as an interrogation room, let alone broadcast the entire interrogation process nationwide.

So when Ambassador Luo Qiusheng received this request, his first reaction was to prevaricate. No matter how much he disliked Li Lao’s style, the old man wasn’t wrong. If he allowed this to happen in the embassy, he would never advance in parliament or have any opportunities for further career advancement.

But sometimes, people had to face difficult choices.

Luo Qiusheng looked out the window at the demonstrators, who were about to disperse. As long as he shook his head now, all disputes would disappear in two hours. But unfortunately, diplomacy itself was a game, and the winner was the one with the biggest chips.

Luo Qiusheng pondered for a moment, shook his head in distress, and said to his secretary, “Does the other party have any other requirements?”

“The other party needs us to invite Li Jingtian into that room, Mr. Ambassador.”

“I understand.” Luo Qiusheng pushed aside his chair and stood up from behind his desk.

“Sir?”

“Since they ask for this, then I must personally handle this matter.”

……

The moment the live TV screen came on, Mr. Li, who was far away in the capital of Xinni, couldn’t believe his eyes.

He looked at the black room on the TV screen. As an old man who worked for the Xinni Embassy in China for many years, he recognized the location of that room instantly.

It was the attic on the fourth floor of the embassy dorm area, which was just above the room where his grandson was staying now.

In the attic, a chandelier hung in the middle of the room. Dim light spread out in a complete circle, illuminating the floor.

Two simple wooden chairs were placed under the lamp; one had a backrest, and the other was a simple square stool. They were placed opposite each other. Apart from that, there was nothing else in the room.

The anchor of the Xinni TV station broadcast the report in a calm tone. “In response to many controversies caused by our citizens, the Chinese police have decided to adopt a live broadcast method to broadcast the interrogation process of Mr. Li Jingtian to the entire country. There are still five minutes left before the formal interrogation will begin.”

Mr. Li trembled and dialed the number of Mr. Luo Qiusheng, the ambassador of Xinni to China.

The long, ringing tone coming from the receiver made the old man’s hand gradually tremble.

The reason why Ambassador Luo didn’t answer the phone immediately was because he was preoccupied with an important matter.

He walked on the red steps inside the embassy, and behind him followed the initiator of this series of events.

“Uncle Luo, where are we going?”

Li Jingtian suddenly had a very bad premonition in his heart. He almost wanted to flee downstairs immediately.

But when Mr. Ambassador stepped on the last step, he suddenly turned his head and stared at him with an indifferent gaze, which made him dare not make any movements.

“We?” Mr. Ambassador pointed to the dark, red wooden door with the same floor color as the steps. “There is no we, only you.”