Chapter 351: Awakening

Su Xiulan's identity is like a stone thrown into a deep pool, stirring layers of analysis and debate within the Project Team.

Her brother's background as a Taiwanese officer casts her "Yaozi" identity in an even more complex and heavy hue—she could be a coerced, exploited relative, a "Sleeper" with no choice, or even a resentful infiltrator.

Surveillance on her has been upgraded to the highest level, yet it must be doubly careful to avoid startling the snake.

The library, residence, daily routes—all are covered with a net of eyes like heaven and earth.

Li Ping'an also received a deeper joint investigation request; his task is to use his identity and Divine Perception, without alerting Su Xiulan, to assess her danger and watch for any abnormal links between Steel Rolling Mill personnel and her.

This added a few more pounds of pressure on Li Ping'an's shoulders.

The spy's shadow, from the direct action of trying to steal special parts, seems to have shifted to a more covert, patience-testing "relationship management" and "long-term infiltration".

Su Xiulan, this seemingly ordinary "nail", may be harder to guard against than an armed enemy.

That afternoon, Li Ping'an, under the pretense of needing the district library's help to look up an old technical document, personally went to the district library where Su Xiulan works.

It is a Western-style small building left from the Republican era, its walls crawling with withered ivy vines; the interior light is slightly dim, suffused with a unique scent of old paper, dust and wooden cabinets, quiet enough to hear the rustle of pages and occasional coughs in the distance.

Su Xiulan sits by a window in the ancient books reading room, a heavy thread-bound book spread before her, diligently making excerpt cards in tiny script.

She wears that faded Lenin suit, her short hair cut to the ears immaculate, a pair of old-fashioned black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose bridge, wholly immersed in the old papers, appearing focused and... ordinary.

Ordinary to the point of almost blending into the surroundings, with no sense of presence.

Li Ping'an processes the borrowing at the desk, his gaze seemingly casual as it sweeps the reading room.

His Divine Perception, however, is like an invisible probe, carefully and finely skimming over Su Xiulan. Her aura remains steady, heartbeat regular, focused on work, seemingly oblivious to the outside.

She lacks the refined inner Qi of a martial artist, the tension or alertness common to agents, and even appears calmer than ordinary people.

If not for those photos and letters, and the precise seat at the "Listening to Rain" tea house, no one could link this plain, somewhat reclusive library administrator to the codename "Yaozi".

Yet Li Ping'an's intuition is vaguely uneasy. The more perfect this "plainness" is, the more deliberate it seems in a specific context.

She is like a perfectly mimetic dead-leaf butterfly, quietly perched on a branch, waiting for a wind that may never come, or perhaps a summons already destined.

He carries the photocopied data, walks to the reading room entrance, then looks back once more.

Su Xiulan lifts her head, adjusts her glasses, and looks out the window. The dusk sunlight streams through the high windows, casting a faint golden rim on her pale profile; her gaze is hollow and distant, as if piercing the shelves and walls before her, looking toward an unattainable shore.

In that instant, Li Ping'an catches a trace of an extremely faint, almost imperceptible sorrow and fatigue, like the last ripple on an autumn lake, quickly returning to stillness.

Is she missing her brother across the strait? Is she fearing an unknown fate? Or... waiting to execute a command she does not wish, yet cannot escape?

Li Ping'an withdraws his gaze without a sound and leaves the library.

In early spring evening, the wind already carries a chill. He takes a deep breath, dispersing the stale, oppressive scent inside the library.

Su Xiulan is a clue, but possibly also a dead line. The key is who controls this line? Who is trying to activate or use this "Yaozi"?

Meanwhile, the "East Wind" inside the Steel Rolling Mill seems to have made Xu Damao feel a bit lofty. He thinks his "research" and "suggestions" have been sufficiently laid out, and it's time to propose more "substantive" steps.

He meticulously crafts a report, the core of which formally recommends establishing a "Material Supervision Inspection Group", and "respectfully" asks Deputy Factory Director Li Huaide to serve as group leader; Xu Damao "volunteers" himself, willing to act as deputy group leader and office director under the group leader's guidance.

He seems to already see himself sitting in a brand-new office, a copper plaque on the desk engraved with "Deputy Director of the Material Supervision Inspection Office", the Logistics Department heads and section chiefs lining up to report work and answer inquiries.

Power—what a wonderful taste!

He even begins to calculate, once this position is secure, how to "legitimately" secure some benefits for himself.

Logistics procurement, material allocation, the ins and outs and the grease inside... Xu Damao feels like a kitten scratching, ticklish.

Of course, it must be done covertly, "compliantly". Xu Damao now also values "methods".

"We must submit this report as soon as possible, strike while the iron is hot!" Xu Damao, in his corner of the Propaganda Section, checks the report's final signature and date once more, confirms no errors, then satisfiedly closes it.

He plans to go find Factory Director Li first thing tomorrow morning.

He knows nothing; while he is excited and sleepless over his self‑fabricated bright future, the real dangerous shadow is approaching the city in a way he cannot comprehend, possibly intersecting oddly with his petty Steel Rolling Mill.

Late night, all is silent. The monitoring report on Su Xiulan is normal; she has already turned off the lights and fallen asleep.

The Project Team's technical department has made new progress on deciphering that old magazine.

After deeper comparison and expert consultation, another set of hidden, shorter characters was parsed from those scratches.

These characters look less like a location or time, more like a person's code name or... part of a command.

The characters translate to two words: "Awakening".

"Awakening 'Yaozi'?"

Group Leader Sun stares at the two characters, his face appearing somewhat grim under the desk lamp, "The tea house rendezvous might be a kind of 'Awakening' signal. But the other party didn't appear—was the 'Awakening' a failure, a delay? Or does the 'Awakening' itself require specific conditions or multiple confirmations?"

"Another possibility," Li Ping'an says, having been listening to the analysis, "'Awakening' command has already been issued; we just haven't seen the handoff method. Su Xiulan going to the tea house could be a receipt confirmation. She returns and everything seems normal, perhaps waiting for the next specific command, or... the 'Awakening' itself is a process that needs time."

This speculation makes the Project Team's atmosphere even heavier.

If "Yaozi" is already in an "Awakened" state, what will she do next? She's just a library administrator—what valuable things can she access? What is her ultimate goal?

"Intensify the investigation of all Su Xiulan's social connections, especially her recent borrowing records, communications, even purchase invoices!"

Group Leader Sun orders, "Everyone she contacts must pass through a sieve! At the same time, continue to dig deep into her brother Su Wenhan's information before and after his Taiwan trip, to see if any other contacts remain on the mainland."

The investigative net is cast wider and finer. An intangible urgency spreads within the Project Team.

They feel as if they stand at a critical point, the opponent's next move may arrive soon.

Li Ping'an leaves the Project Team in the latter half of the night. The city sleeps in darkness, only scattered lights.

He rides his bicycle home, the cool night wind keeping his mind clear.

Su Xiulan's calm, hollow face, Xu Damao's smug foolish expression, and the two icy words "Awakening" flash alternately in his mind.

The library's dusk and the Steel Rolling Mill's noisy daytime seem like two worlds.

But Li Ping'an has a premonition that these two seemingly parallel lines may, at some unpredictable turning point, intersect dangerously.

Su Xiulan is a passive "startled bird", and inside the Steel Rolling Mill, people like Xu Damao might unintentionally become the stone that startles the flying bird? Even attracting more dangerous predators?

He looks up at the heavy night sky, starless. The wheels beneath his bike roll over the road, emitting a regular rustling sound.

A mountain rain is about to come, the wind already fills the building. Yet which direction this wind comes from, and ultimately which dust and secrets it will blow into the sunlight, remains unknown.

All he can do is grip the "rein" in his hand, safeguard this "home" of the factory, while staying alert to any hand reaching out from the shadows to break the peace.

Whether it's the quiet "Yaozi" in the library, the leaping "monkey" inside the plant, or a deeper, more dangerous "hunter", as long as they threaten the land's peace and production, this "knife" of the Security Department will not stay silent.