260: Chapter 260 Who withdrew the defensive line? Elder Wu is furious.

Jingzhou.

Inside the National Security Agency's command center, the lights were blindingly bright.

When the news of the villa attack reached Elder Wu, it had been less than half an hour since the battle ended.

The reporting officer stood before the desk, his voice taut.

"The Mingzhu side has secured the scene."

"Comrade Su Qingxue is in no life-threatening danger."

"Comrade Lu Li returned in time, and all the invading personnel have been eliminated."

Elder Wu sat in the main seat, remaining silent.

Until a temporary transfer order was pulled up on the screen.

It was the withdrawal order received by the special forces team responsible for protecting Su Qingxue's safety, seventeen minutes before the attack occurred.

The source of the transfer order had gone through the internal channels of the National Security Agency.

The command center fell silent instantly.

Everyone knew that the truly serious aspect of this matter had changed.

It wasn't scary that the enemy could break into the villa.

What was scary was that someone, using the name of the National Security Agency, had personally withdrawn the defensive line at Lu Li's doorstep.

Elder Wu stared at that transfer order for a long time.

His expression was not as furious as one might imagine.

The more this was the case, the more those standing nearby felt a chill down their spines.

After a moment, Elder Wu finally spoke.

"Investigate."

The voice was not loud, but it sounded like an iron block slamming onto the desk.

"One hour."

"I want to know whose hands this transfer order came from."

The faces of several officials nearby paled in unison.

"Yes!"

The entire system immediately sprang into action.

Transfer order records. Duty sign-offs. Permission access. Communication trails.

Several lines were traced backward simultaneously.

Half an hour later, the first batch of results was delivered to Elder Wu.

Forty-seven minutes later, the final authorization node was locked.

In the command center, everyone looked at the name on the screen, their expressions turning extremely grim.

Because that was not an ordinary staff member. Nor was it some peripheral position.

It was a fifty-five-year-old Deputy Minister within the National Security Agency.

He had been in the system for decades, had a clean resume, sufficient seniority, and had even presided over multiple counter-espionage work meetings.

No one expected that the deepest mole was actually buried right under their noses.

Elder Wu looked at the name, his face devoid of any expression.

After a long time, he slowly said, "Bring him here."

When that Deputy Minister was taken away, he was still in his office signing documents.

At first, he even tried to use his status to intimidate others.

Until piece after piece of evidence was placed before him. Temporary transfer orders. Encrypted communications. Overseas transit records. Traces of long-term covert funding.

His face finally began to change, bit by bit.

The interrogation proceeded quickly. This line was dirtier and longer than anyone had imagined.

He was not someone who had been subverted in recent years. It couldn't even be said that the problem started with his generation.

The source could be traced back to his father.

During the War of Resistance, his father had traveled to the Island Nation under the guise of studying abroad, ostensibly to receive an education, but in reality, he had already been developed into a covert operative by the Island Nation's intelligence agency back then.

Later, this line was not broken. Instead, it was buried generation after generation, like a family legacy.

By his generation, he relied on his clean resume and years of cultivation to climb step by step to his current position.

He did not transmit intelligence frequently, nor did he easily expose himself. He only gave a gentle push at critical junctures.

For example, this time. Using National Security Agency internal procedures to temporarily reassign the guards around Lu Li. He didn't show his face, didn't act directly, just opened a door.

But this one door almost caused a disaster for Su Qingxue.

After hearing the report, Elder Wu's anger instead turned completely cold.

He looked at the gray-haired man on the interrogation screen, his voice terrifyingly low.

"Your family's line has been hidden for quite a long time."

"Long enough that you yourselves have forgotten whose people you really are."

On the screen, the Deputy Minister remained silent. But this silence itself was an admission.

Elder Wu did not stop. A person of this level could not be an isolated link.

That night, Jingzhou, Mingzhu, and several coastal cities took action simultaneously.

The doors of several inconspicuous trading companies were kicked open. Several cultural exchange institutions were sealed off.

Several people preparing to destroy documents were pinned to their tables before they could even light a fire.

Some wanted to flee. Some wanted to contact overseas entities. Others had just received wind of the situation, and before their cars could even drive out of the underground garage, the exit in front of them had already been blocked.

Overnight, many lines hidden underwater were pulled out by the roots.

The National Security Agency machine usually kept a low profile, but once it really started running, the sound of it crushing everything in its path was enough to keep everyone in the shadows from sleeping.

Just as dawn was breaking, Elder Wu dialed a video call to Lu Li.

The call connected. Lu Li was sitting in the villa's living room with Su Qingxue beside him. Number 18 stood not far away, her short golden hair hanging by her shoulders, her face still devoid of expression.

Elder Wu did not beat around the bush. "Little Lu, this time, the problem arose from within us."

His voice was very heavy. "I will give you an explanation for this matter."

Lu Li looked at the old man on the screen, his expression quite calm.

"Elder Wu, there's no need to put it so heavily."

"No matter how tightly the net is woven, it can't stop someone from burying a needle in it decades in advance."

"Being able to dig it out this time can be considered a good thing."

Elder Wu was silent for a moment. He knew that while Lu Li said this lightly, the matter was not light at all.

The target was not someone else. It was Su Qingxue. It was Lu Li's home.

Lu Li might not care, but they could not treat this matter as an ordinary security loophole.

Lu Li paused for a moment and added, "However, for Qingxue's safety, I need to add another layer myself."

Elder Wu did not hesitate at all. "Go ahead."

"The state will also add more."

"Starting from today, the security level there will be readjusted and will no longer follow the standard transfer order process."

"Key positions will only be directly responsible to my line."

Lu Li nodded. "Then I will trouble you."

Elder Wu looked at him, his voice softening slightly. "This time, it was this old man who failed to guard the door."

"It won't happen again."