bookcurios Chapter 337 The Mysterious Woman from Mao
Chapter 337 The Mysterious Woman from Mao
As night deepened and the moon hung high in the sky, Li Zhen's drinking party did not slowly come to an end until late into the night. Although Tovalev sincerely invited Li Zhen to stay overnight at the military camp to share a night of peace and brotherhood, Li Zhen politely but firmly declined the kindness, his mind preoccupied with another important mission that urgently needed to be completed.
He drove the military vehicle he had borrowed from Tovalev. The night outside the window was as dark as ink, dotted with stars, leading him straight to the warehouse he had visited during the day.
Upon arriving at his destination, Li Zhen took out the heavy key from his pocket, turned it gently, and the warehouse door slowly opened in silence, emitting a low and long creak. He didn't rush to turn on the lights inside the warehouse, but instead, by the faint moonlight outside, stepped into the shadowy space.
Ten minutes passed quietly. Li Zhen slowly stepped out of the warehouse, and with a flick of his wrist, the door slammed shut, locking it securely. Then, he started the car, and the wheels rolled, steadily driving towards the hotel.
Sitting in the driver's seat, Li Zhen's mind raced, and he used his inner vision to examine the supplies in the mysterious space. He had meticulously categorized the various items during the initial storage, so the contents were now clearly organized and easy to see. Firearms and ammunition were stored separately. Although the wooden crates containing the firearms were not opened, Li Zhen knew exactly what was inside, as they were all within his spatial dimension.
It was already 3 a.m. when Li Zhen arrived at the hotel lobby. Exhausted after a long day, he took his room key from the front desk and went to his room. Just as he finished a hot shower and was about to go to bed, there was a knock on the door.
Li Zhen's thoughts seemed to drift away from reality. In this remote Mao land, outside of Tovalev, his social circle was almost nonexistent. The night was deep, and the knocking at the door seemed particularly abrupt, making one wonder who could be visiting at this unexpected time.
“请问，是哪位？”
His voice carried a hint of dazedness, yet he still politely inquired of the uninvited guest outside the door.
Despite the question already escaping his lips, Li Zhen's fingers remained unconsciously pressed against the door chain, maintaining a sense of vigilance. He slowly approached the peephole, and what came into view was a beautiful young woman with flowing blonde hair; her figure appeared exceptionally soft and mysterious in the dim corridor light.
After hesitating for a moment, Li Zhen carefully opened the door, leaving only a narrow crack for conversation, his eyes filled with inquiry and wariness: "May I ask what business you have with me?"
The blonde, blue-eyed woman spoke softly in a slightly hesitant yet uniquely charming Chinese accent: "A Chinese person? What a coincidence! I almost thought I had met a Japanese person. Sir, wouldn't you like to invite me in? After all, it seems rather impolite to leave a beautiful woman waiting outside."
After a moment's thought, Li Zhen stepped aside to let her through. As she entered, a subtle atmosphere filled the room. He looked at this unexpected guest and slowly spoke, trying to discern her purpose: "A visit so late at night must have a reason. What brings you here, Miss?"
Upon hearing this, the woman's lips curled into a playful smile, her golden hair shimmering alluringly under the light: "In the dead of night, a beautiful woman comes into your room. What do you think she wants?"
The woman turned her head slightly, looked Li Zhen up and down, and smiled charmingly, saying, "Since you're so handsome, I'll do you a favor and give you a discount. Eight hundred yuan, how about it?"
Li Zhen, dressed in a bathrobe, crossed his arms and looked back at the woman with a relaxed gaze and a faint smile on his lips: "How about this, I'll give you two hundred, and you can find another place. I'm really tired and need to rest."
After speaking, Li Zhen calmly took out two brand-new Chinese banknotes from his pocket, placed them lightly beside the woman, then slowly walked to the door, gently opened it, and made an elegant gesture of invitation to the woman. Everything seemed so natural and graceful.
Seeing this, the woman wisely refrained from further entanglement. She simply turned slightly to the side, took out a few banknotes from her handbag, and gracefully walked away. Before leaving, she glanced back with a smile, tossing her business card lightly in the air until it landed steadily in front of Li Zhen.
"Here's my contact information. Feel free to give me a call if you need anything. My skills are top-notch." Her voice carried a hint of flirtation and confidence.
As the alluring figure disappeared behind the door, a barely perceptible look of disgust flashed across Li Zhen's face. He casually grabbed the business card, which faintly smelled of perfume, and tossed it into the wastebasket beside the door without a second thought. Whether in this foreign land of Mao or in his familiar homeland of China, Li Zhen had already witnessed the beauty of two lifetimes and seen countless beauties. Though not a paragon of virtue, he possessed his own principles and bottom line, and was not one to be easily swayed by beauty.
As Li Zhen drifted off to sleep on the soft bed in the hotel, the warehouse he had left behind quietly welcomed several uninvited guests under the cover of night. Among them was the composed middle-aged secretary from the daytime, his figure standing out conspicuously in the dim light.
Looking around, the warehouse was empty, as if even the air had frozen into silence. The middle-aged secretary slowly pulled a sophisticated, dimly glowing encrypted mobile phone from his briefcase. With a light touch of his fingertip, a string of numbers appeared, followed by a long dial tone from the other end of the line.
“Hey, the situation is exactly the same as last time,” his voice was low and calm. “The surveillance system is completely paralyzed, the warehouse is empty, there is not even a trace of trucks coming in or out or moving things, and it is also quiet outside the gate.”
On the other end of the phone, silence seemed to stretch across mountains and rivers. After a long while, a deep and magnetic voice slowly pierced the night: "Immediately arrange for people to secretly protect him. Before all the mysteries are solved, his every move is crucial. Make sure his safety is ensured without the slightest mistake."
Thus, as the words fell, the warehouse in the night returned to calm, but a hidden storm surrounding Li Zhen was quietly brewing.
Li Zhen was awakened by a ringing phone. He opened his blurry eyes and glanced at the time, only to find that it was already one o'clock in the afternoon.
"Hey, Li, I've taken care of everything as you instructed. I found a secluded warehouse right next to the camp, and it was all set up this morning. When can you spare some time to come and take a look?" Tovalev's voice on the other end of the phone carried a hint of relief, as if he had accomplished his mission.
Li Zhen vaguely caught these words, rubbed his still groggy head, and slowly got out of bed. He replied to Tovalev on the other end of the phone, "Give me half an hour, I'll be right there. Please wait a moment."
After washing up, Li Zhen finally regained his senses. He secretly vowed to himself that he would stay away from those nights of heavy drinking with Tovalev from now on. That guy seemed to have a naturally high tolerance for alcohol, while he had been asleep for most of the day, which was really undignified.