Chapter 653: Trap

Having obtained Chen Yongren's approval, a Japanese second lieutenant pushed the door open and entered, bowing slightly to Chen Yongren and Cunxi Gong.

He immediately opened the folder in his hand, took out a document and handed it to Chen Yongren: "Chief Commander, this is the original document; please review it!"

Chen Yongren casually took it and, using his scanning eye, gave it a quick check.

It was simply a fake document.

It was deliberately made by Gangcun Ningci to lure Zhongxi Gong into being deceived.

"Anything else?" Chen Yongren raised an eyebrow: "Although I'm not good at deciphering telegrams, I also know how to decipher code books. This document lacks a beginning and end—how do you expect me to decipher it?"

"High praise, Chief Commander." The Japanese lieutenant straightened up, gave flattery, then handed Chen Yongren several more documents: "Although we don't have the code book, based on previously intercepted telegrams we have already deciphered the meanings of some of the characters."

"This is what we found, Chief Director Sir; please review it." The Japanese lieutenant handed over the remaining documents to Chen Yongren.

Chen Yongren arrogantly nodded, took the documents and glanced at them casually, but in fact used his scanning eye to verify—all were freshly forged fake documents.

Gangcun Ningci, this bastard, moves fast enough.

Since the old Japanese suspect Cunxi Gong, whenever there's a chance to protect him, we still ought to protect him.

Chen Yongren was thinking it over in his mind.

After all.

This fellow came to North Peace in a hurry; his own older brother Chen Yongyi was also hiding in North Peace.

Perhaps the task of secretly protecting Cunxi Gong would be handed to him.

Chen Yongren pretended not to care as he passed the documents to Cunxi Gong: "Catching spies is no problem for me, but the deciphering work should still be left to the professionals."

Cunxi Gong smiled as he took the documents, flipped through a few pages, and said: "This document is obviously specially encrypted; even if deciphered, it still has another layer of meaning."

"It's fine; as a warrior of Younger Brother Country, how could you retreat because of a little difficulty? Please go back at once and inform the Commander-in-Chief."

"If you discover anything else, please immediately hand over the documents to me."

"Hai!" The Japanese lieutenant stood up straight and left.

Chen Yongren then laughed: "Cunxi, you seem quite confident."

"I used to work at the South Manchuria Railway; deciphering codes was common there. Looking at it superficially, the first layer of code isn't difficult; the main difficulty lies in the information of the second layer after breaking it." Cunxi Gong thought for a moment, looked at Chen Yongren, and said.

"Chief Director Sir, may I borrow a pen and a notebook?"

After a pause, Cunxi Gong added: "You know that deciphering codes requires a lot of calculation."

Afterward, Cunxi Gong made a small joke: "Once the code is deciphered, I will ask Gangcun Commander to return a nice notebook to you."

"Cunxi, you're joking." Chen Yongren stood up, walked to the side of the desk, casually opened a drawer, and took out an exquisite notebook.

Then he took a steel pen from the pen holder and handed it together to Cunxi Gong, saying: "Cunxi, to be honest, I'm also very interested in codes; I don't know if you could teach me?"

"No problem; as long as you don't find it boring, I'll be delighted." Cunxi Gong took the notebook and smiled at Chen Yongren.

This might also be an opportunity to bring the two of them closer.

I can also cater to his preferences, and in the future develop exchanges using the code as a topic.

Having sensed Cunxi Gong's inner thoughts, Chen Yongren kept his composure and watched with interest as he scribbled and drew on paper.

The encryption style seemed to have our own people's flair, but Cunxi Gong always felt something was off, though he couldn't put his finger on it at the moment.

It feels really strange.

Since we can't tell, let's first consider the worst-case scenario.

All of this is actually a trap left by Gangcun Ningci; its purpose is to lure me into the pit he dug and then bury me.

Chen Yongren clicked his tongue inwardly: "Indeed, a veteran operative—when making plans, he goes straight for the worst-case scenario."

Working with such a person, future life seems likely to be much more interesting.

Seeming to feel a bit awkward, Cunxi Gong, without turning his head, said: "Chief Director Sir, if you have anything you don't understand, you can just ask me."

"Won't that affect you?" Chen Yongren asked, feigning concern.

"Of course not," Cunxi Gong said solemnly, "the environment for deciphering codes can't always stay quiet. If we encounter an extreme situation and suddenly have a confidential document that needs deciphering, we certainly can't wait for the environment to quiet down before speaking."

"Most intelligence is time-sensitive; what matters is getting the documents faster than anyone else."

"Yo xi." Chen Yongren nodded in approval: "Cunxi's remarks are indeed interesting; although he didn't state an attitude, this alone has already benefited me greatly."

"Chief Commander Young Master is joking." Cunxi Gong politely said: "Actually, deciphering codes is a very boring task—tedious and wearisome; ordinary people find it hard to persevere."

Cunxi Gong said this while earnestly studying the already-deciphered characters.

"How does Cunxi manage to persevere?" Chen Yongren feigned curiosity.

"It's simply because I hold the highest faith in my heart." Cunxi Gong stopped his pen, smiled, and said: "Seeing each digit reveal the hidden secrets before my eyes—isn't that a fascinating thing?"

Damn it.

Indeed, inner thoughts should stay inner; if spoken out, are they still inner thoughts?

Chen Yongren muttered a complaint inwardly, then continued watching Cunxi Gong decipher.

After a few hours, Cunxi Gong wearily pinched the bridge of his nose: "The data is still insufficient; we need more documents as reference."

"If we had a code book, that would be even better; the deciphering speed would definitely be much faster."

Chen Yongren's gaze fell on the notebook on the coffee table, his eyes showing a bit of curiosity: "Cunxi, can I take a look?"

"Of course." Cunxi Gong handed the code book to Chen Yongren: "Let me organize my thoughts tonight; I'll tell you tomorrow, and then we can decipher together."

"When you see a document and it gets deciphered in your hands."

"Believe me, Chief Director Sir, you will surely gain an unprecedented sense of satisfaction."

"I will look forward to that day's arrival." Chen Yongren raised his hand to check the time: "It's not early; we can get off work now. Where do you live?"

"I'm temporarily staying at the North China Army Headquarters; once I find a suitable place, I'll move out." Cunxi Gong nodded with a smile.

"How about we have a drink together tonight?" Chen Yongren suddenly thought of the proprietress of the Sasaki Sake House.

That life is truly a pair of legs.

Pah.

Those legs are really long—perfect levers for a turbine engine; driving a train would definitely be fast.

"No thanks." Cun Xigong looked at the document: "I'll still work overtime tonight to decipher the files as soon as possible."

Hearing that, Chen Yongren said no more, left the military department directly, and had the driver take him straight to the Zuozuomu Restaurant.

Since I thought of that woman, I happen to be hungry too—might as well go take a look to relieve my boredom.