"The ID is real. I think you can tell. Of course, if you insist on arguing that it's possible to forge a 'real' ID, then I have nothing more to say."
Zhou Yi did not continue playing this back-and-forth game with Yinsen. He went straight to the point. "But, Yinsen, what I need to tell you is that there isn't much time left."
"What do you mean, there isn't much time left?" Yinsen frowned. In truth, he had mostly believed Zhou Yi's identity by now, but his current situation forced him to remain cautious.
"There really is a mole in your team." Rather than answering, Zhou Yi changed the subject. "I know it isn't you. You were framed."
"Why?" Yinsen felt that he had asked "why" more times today than ever before.
"Because of intelligence." Zhou Yi pointed at his own head. "That mole deliberately tried to frame you, and there are indeed plenty of suspicious things about you. But the problem is, there are simply too many suspicious things about you, and they're far too obvious."
"A huge sum of money was practically transferred openly into your parents' account." Zhou Yi shook his head. "Honestly, I really don't know what that mole was thinking to do something with such a glaring loophole... If you were really the mole, would you have let him transfer the money directly into your parents' account?"
"Of course not." Yinsen shook his head. "I would have had it transferred to an unregistered black account, then used withdrawals and deposits through various channels to turn it into legal, traceable income. Or I would have spent it directly somewhere it couldn't be traced."
"Exactly. First of all, transferring the money so blatantly was practically an insult to my intelligence."
Zhou Yi spread his hands. "Of course, I think your superior should have noticed that too... Well... maybe. But he still identified you as the mole. Do you know why?"
"I do." Yinsen was no longer as guarded as before. "Because I was the only one who survived."
"That's right. You were the only survivor. That was the real reason your superior believed you were the mole. That money was only an unconvincing extra."
Zhou Yi snapped his fingers. "So now, what I need to tell you is—someone else in your squad isn't dead."
"What?" Yinsen's eyes widened instantly. "What did you say?"
"I think they wouldn't be stupid enough to believe that money transferred into your parents' account would be of much use. That's why they came up with this plan: to 'kill' everyone else in the squad except you."
"Then, with only you left alive, even if the evidence was insufficient—or even somewhat forced—what else could they do? A mole couldn't exactly kill himself, could he?"
As Zhou Yi spoke, he spread several files across the table.
"You mean someone faked their death?" Yinsen was not stupid, and he immediately caught on. "Who...?"
"That's right. Some people faked their deaths, while others really died. You should be able to figure out that the people who faked their deaths are naturally the most suspicious." Zhou Yi opened the files. "These are detailed records on everyone in your squad, but we can set a few aside for now..."
"First, the technician." Zhou Yi took out a file, waved it once, and set it aside. "He died. Died... horribly. But later, I saw CIA agents collect his body. At least he'll get a decent funeral."
"Second, Sarah, the one who was acting with you." Zhou Yi pulled out another file. "She died too, but that team of agents recovered her body as well."
"Third, Hanna... CIA agents were already cleaning up the wreckage from the car explosion." Zhou Yi took out another file and placed it farther away.
"...And then?" Seeing that Zhou Yi made no further move, Yinsen asked.
"That's it." Zhou Yi picked up the remaining three files and handed them to Yinsen. "My principle is—no body, no death."
"Me, Jim, and Claire..." Yinsen frowned as he looked through them. "Jim died. I saw him get shot and fall into the water with my own eyes. And Claire, I remember she was in the car when it exploded."
"As long as the angle is controlled, even a shot to the abdomen would at most cause severe bleeding." Zhou Yi said, "Jim fell off the bridge after being shot and then vanished. As for Claire... she wasn't in the car. There was only one body in the wreckage, and that was Hanna's."
"What?" Yinsen frowned. "That's impossible. I saw it with my own eyes..."
"What you see with your own eyes can also be wrong." Zhou Yi shook his head. "I only believe evidence. Like I said, no body, no death. And right now, there is no evidence proving that either of them is dead."
"..." Yinsen fell silent for a while before asking, "What did you mean earlier when you said there wasn't much time left?"
"If my guess is correct and those two faked their deaths, then that means either both of them are moles, or at least one of them definitely is."
As he spoke, Zhou Yi walked over to Yinsen's dining table, felt around underneath it, and pulled out a small listening device. He showed it to Yinsen. "According to the intelligence, your squad was scheduled to assemble at four in the morning, and now..."
At that point, Zhou Yi lowered his head and looked at the watch on his wrist. "It's three thirty in the morning. It's time for me to leave."
"If one of your teammates comes back later, you must act like you don't know anything. Understood?"
Zhou Yi took a phone from inside his clothes and handed it to Yinsen. "This phone has been encrypted. There's only one number in it, and you can use it to contact me. If one of your teammates comes back later, that means they have a bigger scheme in mind, one they need to use you to accomplish."
"So I need to keep pretending, cooperate, and act like I'm trying to find the real mole?" Yinsen took the phone, looked it over, and asked.
"Not pretend," Zhou Yi corrected him. "Do what you originally intended to do. Find the mole and do what you should do. You need to act as though this conversation never happened. I'll stay by your side, provide help when appropriate, and gather enough evidence."
"What do you need evidence for?" Yinsen asked. "You're not really some IRS field agent, are you?"
"As long as it is income, legal or illegal, it falls within the scope of taxation." Zhou Yi put on his coat, gathered the documents and IDs he had brought, and smiled. "We IRS people are very friendly, as long as... you don't evade taxes."
The recommendation notification should come tomorrow... Guess what recommendation it'll be?
Before you continue