29: Chapter 29 Guoan Picks Up People

The team member just nodded slightly, without speaking.

"They do this for a living; it's their specialty." President Chen Ran said nonchalantly, then checked the time. "It will probably take some time for your uncle's people to get here.

You should rest for a while and calm your nerves.

I don't have much else here, but I have plenty of rooms and security personnel.

What would you like to eat? Shall I have someone prepare a midnight snack? You've been through a lot tonight; you must be hungry."

His attitude was natural and casual, as if the hail of bullets just now was merely a slightly exciting interlude, rather than a life-or-death crisis involving international espionage.

This calm and collected demeanor strangely soothed Shen Wanqing's shaken heart.

She suddenly felt that sitting in front of this man—who was chased by global media and mired in a multi-hundred-million-dollar legal dispute—discussing being attacked by intelligence agencies, wasn't as incongruous as she had imagined; there was even a sense of absurd security.

"No need to trouble yourself, I'm not hungry."

Shen Wanqing shook her head. After hesitating, she still asked, "President Chen Ran, how... how do you have such..." She didn't say the words "armed forces" out loud as her gaze swept over the team members around her who were clearly not ordinary bodyguards.

President Chen Ran smiled, not answering directly, but saying, "I'm a person whose luck is sometimes good, sometimes bad. When it's good, I can pick up little trinkets on the seabed that others have lost for hundreds of years.

When it's bad, I tend to run into unreasonable people and matters. So, I have to have some ability to protect myself, right?" He winked. "Just like on the plane, if I hadn't happened to have practiced a few moves, wouldn't I have had to watch you get bullied by that drunkard?"

He diverted the topic again, using humor to soften the sharpness of her question.

Shen Wanqing understood; he didn't want to, or it wasn't convenient for him to, explain the source of the power behind him in depth.

She stopped asking.

Everyone has their own secrets, especially someone like President Chen Ran, who suddenly rose from the mists of the deep sea.

"Regardless, thank you."

Shen Wanqing thanked him solemnly again, then let out a soft sigh and leaned back against the sofa.

Fatigue and lingering fear surged like a tide, making her feel a sense of collapse.

President Chen Ran noticed her state and signaled to a team member nearby.

Soon, a capable-looking female team member with an Asian face walked over and said gently to Shen Wanqing, "Miss Shen, let me take you to the guest room to rest. If you need anything, call me anytime."

Shen Wanqing nodded, stood up, and said to President Chen Ran, "Then I'll go rest. Tonight... thank you very much."

"Go on, get a good night's sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, maybe the people your uncle sent will already be waiting at the door with breakfast." President Chen Ran joked.

Shen Wanqing was finally teased into showing a genuine, faint smile. The smile diluted the shock between her brows, restoring some of her usual elegance.

She left the living room with the female team member.

The smile on President Chen Ran's face gradually faded.

He walked back to the desk and picked up the tablet, which displayed the more detailed on-site assessment report and intelligence analysis sent by Victor.

"Confirmed to be a CIA field operation team, codenamed Gray Shadow. The target was clearly Shen Wanqing. The operation order came from high command, and the intention was likely kidnapping, to be used to blackmail or turn her uncle, Major General Shen Guomin."

Victor's voice came from the encrypted communicator, cold and emotionless. "Seven killed on site, one captured with serious injuries, two of our side sustained minor injuries. The prisoner committed suicide by taking poison during transport. New York police and the FBI have intervened, but the scene was preliminarily cleaned by our people, and the clues point to a gang fight. As for follow-up public opinion and official matters, Lawyer Colt's team will handle it."

"Make it clean." President Chen Ran only said three words.

His gaze was heavy as he looked at the cold casualty figures and intelligence summaries on the tablet.

This rescue was equivalent to a direct confrontation with one of the most powerful intelligence agencies in the US, and it left behind a blood debt. The other party would absolutely not let this matter rest.

He saved Shen Wanqing partly out of fondness for that elegant and graceful woman, and partly out of an indirect favor to a military general of the Xia Kingdom, but more importantly, he could not tolerate anyone moving against someone he recognized under his very nose using such despicable means. This touched his bottom line and provoked his power.

The trouble was even bigger.

But there was no trace of fear in President Chen Ran's eyes. He was a man who had nominally died once already, and besides, he had the system, so what was there to be afraid of?

Since he had already been drawn into deeper waters, then let's see whose hunting ground this water area would ultimately be.

The next morning, President Chen Ran didn't wake up very early. After handling Shen Wanqing's affairs last night and holding a brief encrypted meeting with Victor and Lawyer Colt's team, the horizon in New York was already turning white when he lay down.

The body strengthened by the system reduced his need for sleep, but proper rest was still necessary.

After washing up, he walked to the living room.

The scent of coffee still lingered in the air.

A team member was sitting in front of the wall-mounted monitors, where the screens displayed real-time footage of the building's perimeter from various angles. Another team member was checking communication equipment.

Seeing President Chen Ran come out, both nodded silently in greeting.

"Is Miss Shen up?" President Chen Ran asked.

"Yes, she is in the guest room, Lin Xue is with her." A team member replied.

Lin Xue was the female team member who took Shen Wanqing to rest last night; she was Asian, skilled, and meticulous.

President Chen Ran nodded, walked to the dining room, and poured himself a glass of water.

Before he had taken two sips, the specially treated satellite phone on the table rang—it was an encrypted call with no number displayed.

President Chen Ran picked up the phone, walked to the relatively quiet floor-to-ceiling window, and answered, but didn't speak first.

A steady male voice with a slight southern accent came from the other end of the line, speaking in Chinese: "Mr. Chen Ran?"

"It's me."

"Is Ms. Shen Wanqing with you?"

"I need to verify your identity." President Chen Ran's voice was very calm.

The other party seemed prepared, quickly and clearly reciting a string of codes combining numbers and letters, then adding a name and a department number.

This information matched perfectly with the code words mentioned by Shen Guomin at the end of the call last night for verifying the identity of the pick-up personnel.

Moreover, the department number the other party reported was something President Chen Ran had a vague impression of from the common knowledge instilled by the system; it did indeed belong to an organization within the Xia Kingdom's military responsible for special external affairs.

"Identity confirmed." President Chen Ran said. "Where are you now?"

"We are at the designated safe point 1.5 kilometers outside the building where you are located, in a black Ford Explorer, license plate number is..." The other party read out a license plate. "Ms. Shen Wanqing can be safely handed over to us. To ensure the process goes smoothly, we hope your personnel can escort her to the vicinity of our vehicle, and our personnel will get out to meet her. After the handover is complete, please leave immediately; do not stay, and do not attempt to follow or observe our evacuation route."

The process was clear and well-considered—a typically professional approach.

President Chen Ran had no objections: "Agreed. She will depart in half an hour. We will send two people to escort her by car. Upon arriving at the designated location, the vehicle will not stop but slow down. She will get out, you will pick her up, and we will leave."

"Agreed. Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Chen. We will remember this matter." The other party's tone carried a hint of solemnity.

"No need, she is a friend." President Chen Ran finished, then hung up.

He walked to the guest room door and knocked gently. Lin Xue opened the door.

Shen Wanqing was already dressed, still wearing the same light cyan shirt and off-white cardigan from yesterday. Her hair was neatly combed, and although not much fatigue was visible on her face, there were still bloodshot traces in her eyes, indicating she hadn't rested very well last night.

Seeing President Chen Ran, she nodded slightly; her eyes held gratitude, but also the unease of impending departure.

"The people to pick you up have arrived. We depart in half an hour." President Chen Ran was concise. "The process has been agreed upon. My people will take you to the vicinity, they will pick you up, and they will arrange everything that follows."

Shen Wanqing nodded, her fingers subconsciously pinching the hem of her clothes. "Thank you, President Chen Ran, and... thank you to your friends." She glanced at Lin Xue beside her.

"All in a day's work." Lin Xue smiled.

"Once you arrive in the country, send me a message to let me know you're safe." President Chen Ran said, his tone as casual as if he were instructing an ordinary friend. "Use a new number, or have your uncle relay it. Don't worry about the matters here; just focus on completing your studies and meetings."

"Mm, I will." Shen Wanqing replied.

She looked at President Chen Ran, seeming to want to say something. Her lips moved, but in the end, she only said softly, "You... take care of yourself too. Those... people will not let this rest."

"I know." President Chen Ran smiled, that smile carrying his usual, seemingly indifferent casualness. "I'm a trouble magnet. I'm used to it."

Half an hour later, a plain-looking dark gray sedan drove out of the garage.

Fortress was driving, and another team member sat in the passenger seat.

Shen Wanqing sat in the back, with Lin Xue accompanying her.

President Chen Ran stood at the garage entrance, waving at the lowered window.

The car slowly drove away, merging into the street traffic.

President Chen Ran watched the direction in which it disappeared, then turned and went back inside.

For the next few hours, he didn't do anything else, just stayed in the study, processing some documents, and occasionally listening to Victor's briefings on the follow-up handling of last night's incident via the encrypted channel.

The investigation by the New York police and the FBI was indeed directed toward a gang fight between several small gangs with criminal records, and the weapons and certain evidence left at the scene cleverly pointed in those directions.

Reports in the mainstream media were few and far between, with only a few lines of inconspicuous text in the local news section. The real storm was suppressed beneath the surface.

In the afternoon, Fortress and the others returned, confirming the handover was successful.

The other party sent three people, two men and one woman, who were efficient and professional. After confirming Shen Wanqing's identity, they immediately escorted her to another vehicle and left quickly.