Chen Lin toyed with Clear Wind's little furry paw in his arms, offering no response to Jin Yuansheng's show of deference.
He had never intended to meddle, but when the words "the Japanese" and "America" came out of the other man's mouth, his habitually languid eyes finally narrowed slightly.
"Lead the way."
He spoke those three words casually and stood up, as though he had merely agreed to an inconsequential dinner invitation.
Xu Tiannan and Jin Yuansheng exchanged a glance, each seeing wild, relieved joy in the other's eyes.
Xu Tiannan took the lead, personally showing the way. His eagerness to please almost left Gao Yuliang, who stood nearby, dumbfounded.
A dark green military helicopter bearing the Guoan insignia rose with a deafening roar of its engines, tearing through the sky toward Wucheng.
Half an hour later, the helicopter slowly landed at a secret military base that did not exist on any map.
Before the powerful gusts whipped up by the rotors had fully subsided, Xu Tiannan and Jin Yuansheng moved to either side of Chen Lin, practically supporting him as they ushered him off the aircraft.
Holding the drowsy Clear Wind in his arms, Chen Lin kept his other hand casually tucked in his trouser pocket and surveyed his surroundings at leisure.
Security was tight. Soldiers carrying loaded weapons and cold steel buildings were everywhere, and an air of deadly severity pressed in from all sides.
Yet Chen Lin looked less like someone here to carry out a top-secret mission and more like a tourist visiting a military theme park.
The group passed through three thick alloy gates, then took a high-speed elevator a hundred meters underground.
A cold, oppressive atmosphere greeted them. This was the heart of the Guoan Bureau Beihu Branch-the Underground Hive.
Every staff member they