Chapter 29

While repairing the car, both parties exchanged their surnames. The middle-aged woman was surnamed Qiu. Hearing that Lin Zixian wanted to rent a place to live, she was taken aback and said, "Little Lin, do you have any specific requirements for the house you want to rent?"

Lin Zixian took the cloth she handed him, wiped his hands, and smiled, "Not really, just not too noisy and not too quiet. The key is to feel comfortable living there."

"Is that so!" Ms. Qiu pondered for a moment and said, "I do have a house that has been passed down from my ancestors. Although it's a bit old, the living environment should still be decent. If it weren't for the distance to my workplace, I wouldn't be willing to rent it out. Currently, a few people are renting it. A few months ago, one of the tenants moved out, and I haven't rented that room out since. I'm mainly afraid of attracting troublemakers who won't take care of the old house, as it has sentimental value. I think you're a nice person, so why don't you take a look? It's just that the location is in the old city, and I'm not sure if young people like you would like it."

"How many people are already renting it?" Lin Zixian was taken aback and hesitated, "Is it a shared rental?" He looked a bit hesitant; he didn't want to mix with people who were not serious, but he couldn't refuse her kindness.

Ms. Qiu smiled and said, "Don't worry, they are all long-term tenants and are quite decent. Otherwise, I wouldn't let them rent. From your accent, I can tell you're from out of town. It's not easy for an outsider to find a good place to settle down. How about this: you go take a look. If you like it, you can rent it. I won't charge you too much rent, just a symbolic amount. You can help maintain the old house when you have time. If you don't like it, you don't have to rent it."

It was clear that she was a warm-hearted person, and of course, Lin Zixian's previous kindness had made her more favorable towards him.

Without waiting for Lin Zixian to refuse, she immediately rummaged through her bag in the car, took out a notebook, wrote down the address, tore off a page, and took two keys from her keychain, handing them to Lin Zixian.

"The larger one is the gate key, and the smaller one is the room key. The note has my phone number. If you don't like the house, you can give the keys to any of the tenants, and they will return them to me. You don't have to run around. Go take a look; it's better than wandering around aimlessly."

Ms. Qiu got into her car, started the engine, gave a few more instructions, and left. She was quite confident and had no worries about Lin Zixian. After all, the old house was already being looked after, and the loss of two keys was not a big deal.

Lin Zixian held the note and keys and smiled bitterly. Could this be called good deeds bringing good rewards?

At the National Security Bureau in the capital, a military-licensed car was inspected and then drove into a courtyard with deep and heavily guarded premises. The courtyard was filled with armed guards, both visible and hidden. The car stopped in front of the office building, and Zhang Zhenxing got out. He looked at the national emblem hanging on the wall in the hall, feeling a moment of silence. The solemn national emblem inspired respect.

He originally belonged to the Americas Department of the National Security Bureau and served as the head of the Special Operations Division, secretly overseeing a special mission. However, he suddenly received a transfer order, directly from headquarters, moving him from the Americas Department to the Asia Department. He had to rush back from abroad to report.

He didn't know the reason for his transfer at first, but now, looking at the solemn national emblem in the hall, he felt a sense of guilt and guessed it might be due to the lack of progress in his special mission.

He walked into the hall with heavy steps. Immediately, a staff member verified his identity again. After confirming it was correct, he was allowed to proceed. He went straight to the office of the head of the Asia Department, Yang Weiguo, knocked on the door, and reported.

"Come in!" a stern voice came from inside.

Zhang Zhenxing pushed the door open, walked to the center of the office, and saluted the stern man behind the desk, "Zhang Zhenxing reports for duty, sir."

The man behind the desk, with a square face and slightly graying temples, looked at the tall and sturdy Zhang Zhenxing with sharp eyes. Seeing that he stood like a mountain, unmoving, he gradually smiled and said, "Welcome back, you've worked hard. Please sit down!" He pointed to the sofa.

Zhang Zhenxing walked to the sofa, sat down, and placed his hands on his knees, sitting straight and looking straight ahead.

Yang Weiguo picked up a leather bag from his desk, walked to Zhang Zhenxing, and sat down beside him. He smiled and said, "Director Zhang, before your transfer to the Asia Department, the Americas Department had already handed over your file and the materials of the mission you were executing to the Asia Department. From the moment the order was issued, the mission you were executing will be taken over by the Asia Department, and your focus will temporarily shift from abroad to domestic. I have reviewed all your materials, so I am not unfamiliar with you."

Zhang Zhenxing looked at him in surprise. He knew what mission he was executing, and because of the mission's needs, he had always been active abroad. Now, he was to shift his focus back to domestic?

Although he still didn't understand what was happening, he felt relieved. It seemed he wasn't transferred back because of the lack of progress in his mission.

"Time is tight, so I won't waste words." Yang Weiguo explained briefly, opened the thick leather bag, took out two high-resolution enlarged photos, and handed them to him, saying, "Take a look at the two people in these photos. Do you recognize them?"

Zhang Zhenxing took the two photos and his eyes widened.

The two people in the photos were none other than Lin Zixian. The only difference was that one had a ponytail and a sharp gaze, looking at something to the side, with a cigarette in his mouth.

The other one had cut off the ponytail, with messy hair, looking a bit lazy, and lacking the stern aura. This photo was clearly Lin Zixian's photo in the security department of the Minghua Group, just enlarged.

"This... this..." Zhang Zhenxing compared the two photos and was speechless.

The photo with the ponytail was the one he had obtained at great cost. He naturally recognized it, as it was part of the secret mission he was executing abroad.

When he was in the Americas Department, the main task of the team he led was to target a mysterious 'International Loafer' organization. This organization had significant influence in the underground world, even affecting the outcome of wars in some African conflict zones, involving extraordinary political levels. The underground world had given the leader of this organization, Caesar, the title of 'Caesar the Great,' which attracted the attention of governments worldwide.

His superiors had ordered him several times that national interests were paramount, and he must do everything possible to identify the core members of the 'International Loafer.' However, these people were extremely elusive, making it impossible to effectively monitor them.

During an internal conflict in the organization a year ago, Zhang Zhenxing paid a heavy price to have one of his subordinates successfully infiltrate the organization. At great risk, he managed to secretly take a photo of the organization's leader, 'Caesar the Great.'

This single photo triggered a fierce competition among top agents from various countries, clearly showing that the governments were highly interested in the leader of the 'International Loafer,' 'Caesar the Great.' Many elite agents were lost in the pursuit of this photo.

When Zhang Zhenxing received the photo, which cost the lives of several of his subordinates, he was shocked. The young man with a ponytail in the photo, with an East Asian face, was the legendary 'Caesar the Great' of the underground world, which was simply unbelievable.

Shortly after, the underground world reported that Caesar the Great and some of the elders had left the 'International Loafer,' and a new leader named Rom was in charge. However, it was later proven that Rom did not control the core power of the 'International Loafer.' The true influential core power was still in the hands of Caesar the Great and the elders who had left the organization, the original founders.

In Caesar the Great's hands, he held the contact information of these core members, making the photo even more valuable. With Caesar the Great having left the 'International Loafer,' he became even harder to find, disappearing without a trace, and no one knew where he had gone.

There were rumors in the underground world that Caesar the Great was actually Korean. Zhang Zhenxing found this plausible because the photo showed an East Asian face, and East Asians and Koreans look very similar. Therefore, not only did Zhang Zhenxing's team, but also agents from various countries, began searching for Caesar the Great in Korea.

The Korean underground organizations even boasted that Caesar the Great was a pride of the Republic of Korea and launched a campaign to protect him from foreign agents, causing significant obstacles to the covert operations of various countries.

However, the reality was harsh. No one found any trace of Caesar the Great in Korea, and he seemed to have vanished. As time passed, the main focus of various countries gradually shifted, and Zhang Zhenxing's mission made no progress.

However, when the two photos were placed before him, Zhang Zhenxing was shocked. Although the hairstyles were different, it was clearly the same person. He didn't know where the short-haired photo came from, but he understood why headquarters had transferred him from the Americas Department to the Asia Department.

Yang Weiguo pointed to the photo with the ponytail and said, "This is the 'Dragon No. 1' photo obtained by your Special Operations Division." Then he pointed to the short-haired photo and said, "The person in this photo is named Lin Zixian. Do you think it's the same person?"

'Dragon' was the code name for the 'International Loafer,' and 'Dragon No. 1' referred to the leader of the 'International Loafer,' Caesar the Great, symbolizing the top figure of the 'International Loafer.' The use of a code name was naturally for confidentiality.

Zhang Zhenxing took a while to recover, shifted his gaze from the photos to Yang Weiguo's face, and nodded, "Director, the two people in the photos should be the same person. I suggest we use instruments to analyze and confirm."

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