Chapter 79

This time Zheng Tan didn't just walk openly into Ye Lou; instead, Wei Leng stuffed him into a bag and brought him in.

Upon reaching the third floor and entering one of the rooms, Wei Leng finally let Zheng Tan out.

This wasn't the same room where they had previously drunk and sung loudly; it was another one, slightly larger, with somewhat peculiar furnishings, filled with many "props."

Besides Ye Hao, Long Qi, and Baizi whom Zheng Tan had seen before, there was also a young man in his mid‑twenties, ordinary in appearance, lacking Long Qi's elite aura and Baizi's brawn, giving the impression of being utterly unremarkable.

However, anyone who could stay here was certainly no ordinary person.

Seeing Wei Leng bring in the cat, Ye Hao gestured for them to wait, then he and Baizi walked into a small inner room, which served as a makeshift office for handling affairs.

In the hall of the room, Long Qi sat there listening to the young man explain something; Zheng Tan glanced over and saw the young man fiddling with coils, transistors, and the like—things Zheng Tan didn't understand, so he couldn't make sense of them, and he also couldn't follow the conversation between the two.

The young man mentioned things like the "Lerms" of the Vietnam War, the "Lerbases" of the 1980s, and similar phrases that Zheng Tan had never heard before.

Driven by curiosity, Zheng Tan jumped out of the bag, walked over there, and stretched his neck.

The two people conversing noticed Zheng Tan's approach, glanced at him; Long Qi instinctively stepped back, while the unfamiliar young man looked at Zheng Tan, then glanced at Wei Leng eating peanuts nearby, and continued their previous talk.

Zheng Tan saw a hand‑drawn circuit diagram on the table before them, marked with letters and numbers such as r1, r2, q1, q2, nf, pf, etc.; looking at it made his eyes swim, so he simply stopped looking.

After crouching nearby and pricking up his ears for a few minutes, Zheng Tan finally understood that the young man was teaching Long Qi how to make a simple bug; the young man was an expert in bugs. After finishing the lesson on making a basic bug, he also said some things about bugs and mentioned an anti‑bug job he had taken on.

The more Zheng Tan listened, the more intrigued he became; this sort of gossip‑like topic was relatively easy to grasp. He hadn't expected that so many officials in Chu Hua Shi would hire this person to dismantle bugs and covert cameras, etc. Officials also used such spy‑like equipment to gather dirt on each other, spying, catching each other's weaknesses to climb higher—especially those holding approval powers, who are prime targets for espionage in many people's eyes.

Air conditioners, power outlets, and various bugging devices on vehicles—all were present.

This world is really fucking crazy.

"So many people call this thing a bedbug. In English, 'bug' refers both to eavesdropping devices and to actual bugs, so they often just ask me, 'Are there any bugs here?'"

While recounting his experiences, the young man joked, but he never revealed his clients' names or identities, showing a certain professional ethic.

Consequently, Zheng Tan realized he couldn't possibly help make bugs—there was an expert present, so there was no room for him to take risks, and these people probably wouldn't trust him either. The skill gap was obvious, and Zheng Tan felt no resentment.

Sometimes Zheng Tan even admired such people—being specialized in one field means never worrying about food or clothing, quietly making a fortune. He guessed this type of person would be suited for high‑end, top‑tier spy work. "Geniuses and madmen change the world"—that saying really holds true.

"After the Water X incident, agents everywhere, to avoid repeating history, developed laser bugs and later sensor bugs; those espionage technicians are truly fucking geniuses. Let me explain the principle of laser bugging: installing such a bug doesn't require sneaking into a room, thus avoiding the risk of being caught red‑handed. From the two kinds of light produced by the laser emitter, one selects the invisible infrared laser for 'invisibility'..."

Afterwards, the young man and Long Qi resumed discussing some technical topics; Zheng Tan, still unable to follow, returned to Wei Leng's side, scooped a few peanuts from the plate, pushed them toward Wei Leng, and asked him to help shell the peanuts.

"You still eat peanuts?" Wei Leng didn't know whether other cats eat peanuts or if it would give them diarrhea, but since this cat wanted to eat, he went ahead and shelled a few for it.

Originally Wei Leng intended to shell one peanut, eat one kernel himself, and give the other to Zheng Tan, but in the end he gave all the shelled peanuts to Zheng Tan.

Wei Leng curled his lip, "Damn, this is a 'grandpa'! Even eating a peanut requires someone to wait on you."

After about half an hour, Ye Hao and Baizi finished their instructions and came out of the small office room.

The young man who had been talking with Long Qi looked up, saw that everyone had come out, stopped speaking, set down his pen, brushed off some debris on his sleeve, stood up, and said, "All right? Then let's get to work. By the way, let me help you 'disinfect'."

"Thanks for the hard work, Ba Ge." Ye Hao said.

"No need to be polite; I can still help with this much." After saying that, Ba Ge left with Baizi.

Zheng Tan paused in chewing his peanuts, looked at the young man, and thought, "What a distinctive name—fitting for someone in spy tech—but I have no idea whether it's his real name or a codename."

Ye Hao then sat on the sofa, looked at Wei Leng, and asked, "How was it? Did they not say anything over there?"

"If I go there now, the family's kids treat me like a thief, guarding against me; even though I've helped them before, the two children now treat me like a class enemy. To help you guys, is it easy for me?" Wei Leng sighed.

Ye Hao snorted and didn't dwell on Wei Leng's remark.

"Did you tell it?" Ye Hao asked, jerking his chin toward Zheng Tan.

"I mentioned it a bit, but didn't go into detail—after all, the materials are with you, so I couldn't say much." Wei Leng spread his hands.

Ye Hao watched the cat squatting at the low table, gnawing peanuts; he still wasn't fully convinced, but even if it failed, it's just a cat—no one would suspect anything.

After Zheng Tan finished the peanuts, Wei Leng told him what he needed to do—actually quite simple: in short, help someone get a list.

Zheng Tan didn't know what use those lists had for Ye Hao and the others, nor did he need to know; knowing too much isn't good, even for a mere cat.

The person Zheng Tan needs to find is operating undercover within the opposing faction's sphere, and that individual has had some surveillance equipment installed nearby, with someone constantly monitoring him. Ye Hao's side also can't easily send someone to make contact, as doing so during this critical period would risk exposure.

Speaking of that undercover agent, Zheng Tan looked at the materials Ye Hao produced—a man even more muscular than Baizi, with scars on his face, looking somewhat ferocious; he's probably the sort of person kids would absolutely stay away from. As the aunties in the compound often say, "Just looking at him, you can tell he's not a good person."

Yet this burly man, capable of snapping a person's arm without blinking, has liked cats since childhood.

When Zheng Tan heard Ye Hao's explanation, he nearly choked; that image is simply unimaginable.

Even while working undercover, this cat‑loving gentleman, whenever he sees a stray cat, goes over to feed it some food; once he encountered a cat trafficker and on the spot beat him into intensive care, nearly killing him.

From this, Zheng Tan's impression of the man improved considerably; having experienced being caught himself, Zheng Tan loathes cat traffickers intensely, so hearing this man's deeds only makes him applaud—indeed, one cannot judge a person by appearance.

At the same time, Zheng Tan finally understood why Wei Leng wanted him to help: it would make approaching the undercover agent easier without alerting the other side, since the agent routinely interacts with dozens, if not over a hundred, cats in his daily life.

Moreover, Zheng Tan isn't a prized breed; he's just a black cat that many people disdain, and having lived as a stray, he knows the look stray cats should have, so he's also quite willing to lend a hand.

Treating it as an adventure game, Wei Leng also said he'd lurk nearby to prevent any mishaps, letting Zheng Tan rest easy—there would be no danger to his life.

Since they've decided to help, the necessary preparations still need to be made.

Zheng Tan and Wei Leng first rehearsed a bit; for this kind of meet‑up work, some acting is required—Zheng Tan had gained some experience from filming commercials, so his performance also satisfied Ye Hao and Wei Leng.

As for Long Qi, sitting far away, his gaze at Zheng Tan was like looking at a monster. Zheng Tan noticed today that Long Qi wore a pendant, presumably for warding off evil.

Tsk, he still looks like an elite, but his receptiveness isn't as good as Xiao Zhuo and the others'.

Originally seated ten meters away, Long Qi saw the black cat glance at him and suddenly felt a chill down his spine.

That look was contempt—definitely contempt!

After sitting a while, Long Qi couldn't stay put, bade Ye Hao farewell, and left the room.

"That Long Qi, huh!" Wei Leng didn't finish his sentence, but everyone got the meaning; it's understandable, after all, such an extraordinarily unusual matter isn't something everyone can accept, especially those who often deal with dark events—they tend to overthink.

"Right, since we've decided to let Hei Tan fetch the list, we really need to make full preparations." Wei Leng said.

Zheng Tan wasn't clear what "making full preparations" entailed, but when Wei Leng opened a box, Zheng Tan's face stiffened. If it weren't for his black fur masking it, one would surely see his complexion turning ashen like feces.

The box Wei Leng pulled out contained "makeup" equipment—such as gray powder, plus some sticky, unknown liquid, etc.

"Come on, let's do the makeup. A stray cat ought to look like a stray cat." Wei Leng said, scooping up a handful of gray dust and sprinkling it on Zheng Tan.

Back when he was a stray, he had struggled to avoid looking like one; now that he's no longer stray, he has to make himself look like one, and Zheng Tan feels he's asking for trouble. (To be continued...)

ps: Thanks thug112366, Young lascivious not fickle, birdcheng, Bright Claw, Cat Hair Maomao, Desert's Dream Traveler, Overbearing Cat, Not Wanting to Repay Debt, Xixi's Qilin, Book Friend 100125183807912, Star·Chen·, Mind Pavilion Evening Events, Naz Yignier, Flame Alloy, luoke000, duduco, Yan Shan Bai Shui, Interpret This Low-Key, Flowing Face, lazyorange, Gu She No Person, Act Up a Bit, ct80642470, Ran Ling, _Never Forget Me_, Water Glass Says, Low Chant Light Taste, Naz Yignier, Gan∈Yuan Heng Zhen, Heaven Play Earth, Net Cat~!, Take a Look at the Picture's Tip

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