Chapter 583: 370. Joining the Spy Bureau_2 Chapter 583: 370. Joining the Spy Bureau_2 Qing Chen walked past her and entered the Caramel Bar, “From now on, you’ll need to be more cautious when eating.”
Yan Chunmi bit her lip stubbornly. She was already the best Kite Falcon in the group. If she wasn’t cautious enough, the others were even less so.
The new boss wasn’t trying to remind her of anything, but rather, he was putting her in her place with his actions, telling her to focus on her work and not entertain unnecessary thoughts.
Anyone who could follow her for kilometers without being noticed naturally had the ability to silently eliminate her.
In fact, this time there were a group of new spies joining, including the Shadow Candidates Qing Yi, Qing Shi, Qing Wen, Qing Wu, Qing Yuan, and Qing Xing, and four others.
All ten spies had to re-dominate their twelve Kite Falcons, ensuring their absolute loyalty and devotion.
If they couldn’t win people over, the spies would be nothing more than figureheads, since all of a spy’s intelligence and operational abilities came from the Kite Falcons.
The Kite Falcons were the elite operatives within Qing’s intelligence system, making them exceedingly difficult to dominate. This meant that those holding the position of spy had to be exceptionally capable.
Qing’s Family was a consortium that placed high importance on internal competition, from the Shadow struggles to the domination over the Kite Falcons; if you were capable, you got promoted, if not, you were out, with no room for sentiment.
So, Yan Chunmi, by playing along with Mr. Shadow to tease Qing Chen today, was essentially challenging him.
Little did she expect, the backlash came so swiftly.
Watching Qing Chen enter the Caramel Bar, Yan Chunmi hurriedly followed and curiously asked, “Boss, since when have you been following me?”
Qing Chen replied, “Since you walked out of the Utopia Building, but after you sat down to start eating braised chicken rice, I went back again… Snooping through someone’s belongings is not a good habit.”
Today was his first day in City Number 10, which was where he was staying, and it contained none of his personal belongings. Thus, Mr. Shadow hadn’t informed the other party, or else they wouldn’t have searched the place.
Yan Chunmi said, “Don’t scare me, boss. I didn’t snoop through your stuff.”
Qing Chen glanced at her, “You only searched through the wardrobe, nothing else.”
To Qing Chen, any changes in his home were immediately noticeable.
Yan Chunmi was truly shocked this time. She was about to say something when Qing Chen cut her off, “No need to explain anything. We are about to pair up to complete the task Mr. Shadow assigned. It’s normal for you to want to assess your new boss, but you only get one chance to do so.”
Yan Chunmi whispered with her head down, “Yes, boss.”
Qing Chen asked, “Where is the Spy Bureau hidden?”
Yan Chunmi led Qing Chen deep into the Caramel Bar, to an elevator belonging to the Leiming Building, which went directly to the 2nd to 132nd floor.
Once inside the elevator, Yan Chunmi pressed the buttons for floors 4, 10, 2, 18, 3, 16, 5, and 17 in succession.
The letters on the elevator buttons flashed white, then faded out simultaneously.
With a hum, the elevator did not ascend but began descending instead.
Qing Chen silently counted in his mind, and at the 32nd second, the elevator slowly stopped its descent and the doors opened again.
In front of them was a small office lit by dim yellow light, where an old man wearing reading glasses sat at a worn-out desk, looking up at the two people in the elevator.
After pausing for two seconds, he said, “Qing Chen, you are the first to arrive. Mr. Shadow has mentioned you.”
Qing Chen stepped out of the elevator, “How may I address you?”
The old man took off his glasses and smiled, “Just call me Lao Shen.”
Qing Chen sized up the man, his gaze pausing momentarily on the reading glasses.
Lao Shen smiled, “My eyes may be weak, but my mind isn’t. You must be curious why I wear reading glasses. After all, a simple surgery could fix it, and wearing glasses is such a hassle, isn’t it?”
Qing Chen candidly responded, “I am a bit curious.”
Lao Shen explained, “I haven’t left this underground site for thirty-two years, so I haven’t had a chance to get eye surgery. Besides, sitting in this position, I can’t use anesthesia, not even local anesthesia, just in case it affects my nerves, or someone takes the opportunity to administer a truth serum, which would be a big problem.”
Lao Shen continued, “Moreover, with today’s technology being so unpredictable, if someone were to implant something during my eye surgery, you would all be in danger.”
Qing Chen’s eyes carefully surveyed the room, noticing three wooden doors behind Lao Shen.
He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to sit underground for thirty-two years; he wondered if he could endure such loneliness.
Qing Chen asked, “Is Shen your last name?”
Lao Shen chuckled, “Who else could sit in this position but a family member? My name is Qing Shen.”
Lao Shen got up and opened a door behind him, revealing a small room filled with bookshelves, which were neatly stocked with paper file folders.
Qing Chen was surprised that in this high-tech era, Qing’s Spy Agency would still use the oldest method to record all the spies’ data.
Lao Shen handed Qing Chen a new file folder, “This contains all your Kite Falcons’ information. Memorize it here, and then I will burn it. Check whether the seal is intact. Mr. Shadow personally delivered this data ; I haven’t touched it, and I don’t know who your Kite Falcons are. Only you do.”