Chapter Five: The Mantis and the Cicada

  In the elevator, Yang Wenfeng was thinking about his next plan. The 150-meter-deep underground bunker had three layers of buildings: the top layer was an independent backup power room; the second layer was a storage and rest room for wartime use; and the bottom layer was the "Command Control Center" he needed to enter. The descending elevator suddenly stopped at the top layer's backup power room, Yang Wenfeng pressed the 3rd floor button, but the elevator didn't move. He pressed it again, and a small computer device next to the button made a sound:

  "Alarm system triggered. Please proceed to the command control center and insert your electronic access card into the card reader slot. If no response is received within ten seconds, the system will automatically sound an alarm. Ten... nine... eight... seven..."

  Yang Wenfeng smiled wryly and pressed the button. He had no choice but to do so, as he needed a special electronic card to pass through the command control center. After exiting the elevator, he watched as it descended empty, leaving him with little time. If Hu Lirong really went to investigate, the truth would soon be revealed, and by then, escaping from the heavily guarded base might not be easy.

  Yang Wenfeng searched around the floor to see if there was a shortcut to the command control center. Suddenly, a gust of cold air made him feel a sense of joy. He looked up and saw an air vent blowing out cold air. With no other choice, he gritted his teeth and crawled into the duct. The cold air cut like a knife, but fortunately, the vertical ducts had steel ladders for easy manual cleaning. Yang Wenfeng finally reached the lowest level, and when his feet touched solid ground, he let out a sigh of relief. He adjusted his jacket and walked out.

  The path to the command and control center is a 5-meter-wide, 20-meter-long white glazed tile passageway. The light reflects off the tiles, creating a dazzling brightness. Every two meters along the passageway, two fully armed soldiers stand at attention, creating an atmosphere of extreme tension!

  "Papers!"

  At the entrance of the command and control center, an engineer was being inspected. The engineer took out an electronic card pass, which the officer inserted into the card reader's slot. The computer recognized it immediately and responded with "Identity confirmed!" Only then did the heavy iron door slowly open...

  As he watched this scene, Yang Wenfeng secretly cursed his bad luck. He had not expected the security measures here to be so strict. Although he had a highly realistic ID card on his chest, he did not have an electronic passcard with an embedded encryption chip. Now he was in a dilemma, advancing would expose his identity, retreating would mean failure of this mission. Just as he was worried, "ding" - the crisp sound of the elevator bell interrupted his thoughts, and the door of the nearby elevator opened. A young technician wearing a white coat and glasses came out with two boxes.

  The young technician had a resentful look on his face, constantly cursing someone in English, meaning nothing more than "dead BOSS" or "shit BOSS".

  Yang Wenfeng took a look and was delighted. He quickly walked over, scanned the young technician's ID badge on his chest with his eyes, "What took you so long? The boss is getting impatient and furious."

  The technician named Wu Xinting took a look at him and said nervously: "These two boxes are too heavy, so it's delayed..."

  Yang Wenfeng reached out and took two boxes, saying: "I'll help you carry the boxes, hurry up and go in."

  "Alright then, I'll have to trouble you..."

  "Go."

  "Okay, okay..."

  Yang Wenfeng followed behind Wu Xinting, carrying a suitcase with an expressionless face. Wu Xinting muttered to himself as he walked: "This Devilman from the Five-Angle Building treats me, a Harvard doctor, like his hireling! Where is the dignity? I endured the humiliation of being a second-class citizen when I was studying abroad, but I never thought that on my own soil, I would still be treated like a second-class citizen... this... where is the justice?"

  "Cheer up..." Yang Wenfeng comforted him, "The Senior Official from the Five-Star Building is the Overlord of the base, and even the Senior Officials in the base are as obedient as pet dogs when they see him." Wu Xinting burst out laughing at this and chimed in, "Your analogy is too exquisite!"

  "Halt! Papers!" The officer stopped the two men.

  Wu Xinting hastily pulled out his electronic card pass, the officer inserted the electronic card into the card slot of the reader, and the computer immediately responded: "Identity confirmed!" As soon as the voice fell, the iron door slowly opened. Yang Wenfeng was about to follow in when the officer suddenly glared at him: "Halt! What's in the box?" After asking, his hand intentionally or unintentionally rested on the trigger of the automatic rifle.

  Wu Xinting hastily explained: "Officer, take a look." As he spoke, he nodded to Yang Wenfeng, and the two of them opened their suitcases. Inside, they were filled with cans of beer. The officer was taken aback, "Shh... don't make any noise. It's Mr. Jamieson's, he asked me to bring it."

  The officer clearly knew it was contraband, but as soon as he heard that the two cases of beer were a favorite of a high-ranking official at the Pentagon, who dared to ask for trouble by confiscating them? He waved his hand and even waived the routine body search.

  "Inspection is complete, you may enter."

  Yang Wenfeng locked the box and followed Wu Xinting into the command control center.

  On one wall of the command and control center's main hall, three large screens were hung, displaying air situation information from the other side. In the hall, dozens of computers analyzed and processed massive and complex data. Yang Wenfeng saw two men with East Asian faces speaking in poor English with a blonde-haired and blue-eyed US military officer, whispering to each other. At first glance, the two East Asian-faced men nodded and bowed their heads, knowing they were people, while the arrogant-looking US military officer was an intelligence officer from the Pentagon.

  Witnessing this scene, Yang Wenfeng couldn't help but feel indignant and furious. It turned out that the traitor had secretly colluded with the US and Japan to steal national military intelligence. He made a silent vow: he must eradicate this greedy tumor!

  Just as he was thinking about how to use the SD card brought in to invade the computer host of the control center, the thick iron door behind him opened silently... Suddenly, a group of soldiers rushed in from outside, and before Yang Wenfeng could react, the soldiers had already surrounded him, with a row of black gun barrels indicating that he was trapped from this moment on. A woman in military uniform flashed out from behind the soldiers, and when Yang Wenfeng saw her, he took a deep breath - it was none other than Hu Lirong!

  "We meet again, it seems we have a pretty good fate. However, should I address you as Lu Yinglin?"

  "Officer, didn't we just meet earlier? You wouldn't have forgotten so quickly." Yang Wenfeng's expression remained unchanged.

  Huli Rong smiled and suddenly stopped, putting on a serious face: "Of course I won't forget those who have helped me, but if I don't even know the real name of the person who helped me, it's not right. You say, is that right?" The last sentence "You say, is that right" was spoken in perfect Mandarin with a strong Beijing accent, which made her very proud. "Lu Yinglin! Step forward!"

  "Yes! Sir."

  A young man walked forward from the back of the crowd, hunching his back and lowering his head. His pale face looked awkward and tense, while his dull and lifeless eyes revealed a withered spirit, as if he had been frightened out of his wits.

  "Sir, I...I'm here..."

  "Do you know this person in front of us?" Hu Lirong pointed at Yang Wenfeng, and the young man followed her finger to look over...

  "What is it? Is it you?" He paused for a moment, then shouted hysterically, "It's you! It's you!!"

  "Do you know him?" Hu Lirong asked.

  "Of course I recognize him. Even if I became a ghost in the underworld, I wouldn't be able to forget this demon-like nightmare!" The young man's shocked expression was tinged with a hint of excitement.

  Huli Rong patted his shoulder and said: "Then tell me how you two met?"

  ……

  The young man took a step back, seemingly still bound by fear.

  Huli Rong burst out laughing and said, "With so many gun barrels pointing at him, even if he has sharp teeth and claws, at this moment he's just a fierce beast locked in an iron cage. What are you afraid of?"

  After hearing this, the young man was like taking a stimulant, and he felt even more excited. He plucked up his courage to recount: "Tonight after my shift, I went back to rest. Maybe it's because I just arrived at the base yesterday, I'm not too familiar with the environment. On the way back, I got lost in a remote corner and met him!" He pointed at Yang Wenfeng with his hand. "He was wearing camouflage clothes, carrying a backpack, walking unsteadily, and his face didn't look good either. Seeing my shocked expression, he asked me 'Why are you not resting? What are you doing wandering around?' He also said 'It's very dangerous to wander around the base at night, if you're misunderstood by soldiers who don't know the truth, you'll be shot as a spy.' I thought he was a senior here, so I didn't dare ask his identity. But he enthusiastically chatted with me, asking me how many family members I had, and how I joined the intelligence agency... Seeing him being so kind, I relaxed my guard and told him everything about my situation." He paused, "But, but he... had set a trap for me from the very beginning! Just when I was about to leave, he suddenly pointed at the sky and said 'Look! UFO!' I believed it..." His pale face regained some color. "I looked in the direction he pointed, but the night sky was still pitch black, where's the UFO?! But just then, I felt a heavy object hit me hard on the back of my head, and then I didn't know anything... until later when the superior officer sent someone to find me, I woke up and found that my jacket and ID card were gone."

  "What a fantastic performance!" Hu Lirong applauded Yang Wenfeng, "I'm really sorry that I didn't get to see such a great show in person, otherwise I would have suggested to the Golden Horse Awards committee to give you the Best Actor award."

  "Is the officer praising me too much?" Yang Wenfeng responded calmly, "I'm just a minor character, and for this colleague's wild imagination, I think he's the best actor!"

  "You... your performance is truly professional, with your acting skills, you can easily win an Oscar." The young man's courage grew, and he was attracted to the ID card on Yang Wenfeng's chest. "Officer, this... this is impossible! I am Lu Yinglin! He is an imposter, look at the jacket he's wearing, it's clearly too small for him, because this jacket belongs to me, and he knocked me out and took it from me."

  Huli Rong yanked down Yang Wenfeng's ID card from his chest, carefully examining the laminated card. Suddenly, a small flaw made her eyes light up with excitement. She discovered that one corner of the laminated cover had an opening. Following this opening, she tore open the laminated cover and seemed to have found something. With her thumb, she gently scratched along the edge of the photo on the ID card. Her slightly furrowed eyebrows immediately rose in surprise. The thumbnail was like a sharp blade, scratching at the photo, which was torn off at one corner. Along the edges, the photo was ripped off, revealing another person's photo underneath - it was that young man!

  "Officer, this is my ID card, it's mine!" The young man shouted excitedly.

  Huli Rong waved her ID card in front of Yang Wenfeng, triumphantly recounting her deductions: "The ID cards produced by the base are one-time molded plastic products, with the person's photo and relevant text information printed on the plastic seal at once. Your first flaw is that the plastic seal cover is not sealed properly, it's not strange for the plastic seal cover to open after being used for a long time, but the owner of this ID card just arrived at the base yesterday, and the plastic seal cover opened in just one day, which is unacceptable. Firstly; although you cleverly pasted your own photo on top of the real owner's photo, I lightly scratched it with my fingernail, and the edge of your photo is slightly raised compared to the plastic seal, but this point pierced through your fabricated lie, because the photos printed on the plastic seal will not have any bumps. Secondly, what else can you explain, Mr. X?"

  Yang Wenfeng remained expressionless and said calmly: "Since you've discovered it, I don't have anything to say."

  "No, you should say it! You must say it!" Hu Lirong said sternly.

  Yang Wenfeng gazed into the distance, his eyes narrowing slightly, but he didn't say a word.

  "Hmph," Hu Lirong sneered, "Everyone communicating openly and honestly in a civilized manner is very beneficial to you. That way, there's no need to use the bloody and cruel methods that modern civilization spurns, which are only used by barbarians. I'll repeat it again: for your own sake, it's better to be more honest."

  Yang Wen's eyebrows rose, his words still sharp: "Save your kindness for someone else! Your hypocritical sympathy doesn't move me."

  "Great!" Hu Lirong raised an eyebrow, "I hope you can maintain your dignity in the same manner for the rest of the time, don't disappoint me." At this moment, a theme music of "_ETALGEARSOLIO_" sounded, Hu Lirong took out a video communicator, which was a confidential electronic document. After entering the password, a piece of intelligence about a spy made her blood boil. "Yang Wenfeng, codename 'Himalaya', the ace agent of the National Security Bureau's new generation. It is said that he has been in the espionage career for so many years and has never lost his hand, known as the unconquerable Himalayan mountain in the intelligence community!"