Chapter Thirteen: Reunion Beneath the Pagoda (1)
Two years later.
The streets of Moscow.
Heavy clouds pressed down upon the treetops, creating a kind of oppressive beauty.
This was the low-cloud weather of Moscow, which had appeared countless times beneath the brushes of Soviet Russian painters.
A European man wrapped in a trench coat hurried along the street, seeming to be on his way somewhere, yet also seeming to be waiting for something.
It was not until a black car stopped beside him that he finally seemed to let out a sigh of relief. He called out a greeting through the lowered car window. The car door quickly opened. The European man slipped inside, and both man and car disappeared into the streets.
“My old friend, what made you suddenly decide to go abroad?” Kyle took the hard liquor from him. “With all your wealth and influence, do you still need me to protect you?”
Cheng Muyang, sitting opposite Kyle, was also drinking in small sips. “I don’t need you to protect me.”
He wore a simple, casual white shirt and black trousers. His features were sharply defined under the yellow light. The light was not particularly strong, making his eyes appear even darker.
This man had once made the Moscow government believe that it truly had a chance of bringing him down two years ago.
Especially when he had been severely weakened two years earlier, the Russian Security Service’s “Special Task Force for Combating Organized Crime” had even begun taking action, preparing to squeeze whatever benefits they could out of him before making him, and even the Cheng family, disappear from Moscow entirely.
Yet the outcome was that one agent after another defected abroad, publicly exposing the secrets within the Security Service: corruption among senior officials, large-scale smuggling of state weapons onto the black market, and even dealings with drug traffickers. Most frightening of all, when the public learned that the mastermind behind Moscow’s most notorious robbery gang was an army colonel in the Security Service, they were furious.
Of course, none of this even included the frequent activities in Chechnya.
So, in the end, there was only one way to resolve this duel: the two sides would shake hands and make peace, and continue being as close as brothers.
And the mission Kyle had received this time was to protect this internationally wanted criminal on his trip abroad.
Kyle was somewhat surprised. “I heard that, just for this impromptu trip of yours, our Second Directorate deployed four teams of agents. And you personally asked Ram for them.”
“I want to play a little game with the CIA.” Cheng Muyang continued pouring him liquor. “With all of you accompanying me, whatever we do will represent your country’s interests, which makes things easier.”
Kyle laughed.
Of course, he knew this was not as simple as tourism.
He was simply curious why Cheng Muyang wanted to go personally. “A dangerous game? How does it compare with two years ago?”
“In the Philippines, although I escaped death, I still lost.” Cheng Muyang’s voice was low and cool. “I lost my woman, and I lost my identity. So this time, I need to win them back.”
“Win?” Kyle could not read his eyes.
“Make my public identity that of a lover of world peace and a philanthropist.”
Kyle gave a soft whistle.
Going from war criminal to lover of world peace was an extremely ambitious goal.
This was an absolutely intelligent man. As a citizen of the Federation, under the protection of the Moscow Security Service, he had built himself up.
Even as Kyle marveled at how devious he was, he could not help admiring him.
“I really regret saving you on that Philippine coast back then. You know, at the time, you weren’t even my primary mission.”
He had merely been temporarily ordered to see whether there was an opportunity to carry out a rescue. Unfortunately, the disparity in strength was too great, so Kyle could only wait for an opportunity. In fact, he had not held out much hope. If Cheng Muyang had not killed most of the people, and if Du had not temporarily set up the explosives and then killed his own comrades, Kyle would never have had the chance to rescue Cheng Muyang.
“Either way, thank you.” Cheng Muyang raised his glass slightly, took a sip of the hard liquor, and turned his gaze toward the window.
Cheng Muyang, as a person.
In American hands, he was the greatest threat of all. He possessed far too much top-secret information.
But to Moscow, was he not just as much an atomic bomb? He held far too many top-secret resources in his hands.
So Kyle thought it would be better if he simply became some kind of philanthropic ambassador and lived to a ripe old age.
As the plane was about to land at Riyadh Airport, Kyle finally learned their destination.
Saudi Arabia.
Kyle took out his passport. Cheng Muyang glanced at it and had Oman give him a new one.
“Don’t use the British passport here,” Cheng Muyang said. “Britain and Saudi Arabia have been somewhat tense these past two years.”
“Tense?”
“Recently, the wife of a member of the royal family here had an extramarital affair while visiting Britain and applied for political asylum. The British government approved it, so relations between the two countries are somewhat delicate now.”
“Cheng,” Kyle laughed, “you still like reading gossip?”
Cheng Muyang glanced at him. “What interests me is the relationship between Britain and Saudi Arabia. Coincidentally, two years ago Britain was investigating its fighter jet deals with Saudi Arabia for suspected bribery. In the end, the British prime minister stepped in and stopped the investigation. And now this suddenly happens again. Don’t you find it interesting?”
Kyle let out a soft breath. “Who did the bribing?”
“I don’t know,” Cheng Muyang said frankly. “Whoever it was, it’s all good for me. The more these above-board deals fail to go smoothly, the more business I get.”
“Too bad I’m with the Second Directorate, which handles counterintelligence,” Kyle laughed. “Not the Organized Crime Task Force. Otherwise, recording all this could completely serve as evidence of a crime.”
The two doctors traveling with them had already begun carrying out Cheng Muyang’s routine examination. Before joining the Security Service, Kyle had been a surgeon. After rescuing Cheng Muyang, he had performed emergency treatment on him, so he naturally knew how severe his injuries had been. If Cheng Muyang had not been in good physical condition beforehand, he probably would not have made it back to Moscow.
And now, the man was doing everything he could to prolong his own life, while at the same time using hard liquor to wear it away.
Of the entire group, only Oman was waiting for them outside the customs checkpoint, dressed in a black robe and wearing a headscarf.
“We’ve found two of the three missing scientists.”
“The other one is in the CIA’s hands?”
“Should be,” Oman said. “It’s interesting. The last time that scientist was seen was three days ago.” Oman spoke quietly with Cheng Muyang. Kyle could not make out some of what they were saying, but he could more or less guess that some very important scientists had disappeared here.
The one who had started it was definitely the CIA, while the one trying to interfere was Cheng Muyang.
Their final destination was a small town called Ula.
All the alcohol had been left on the plane.
This was a country where alcohol was strictly prohibited.
At mealtimes, many people knew Cheng Muyang’s habits and had specifically ordered him non-alcoholic beer. It had the foam, it had the taste, yet, of course, it had no alcohol. Fortunately, there were also drinks made with mint leaves and vegetables.
When the guide discovered that Cheng Muyang was the only one who did not mind mint leaves, he was quite surprised.
“My wife likes mint,” Cheng Muyang answered simply.
Saudi Arabia was, after all, a country that placed great importance on family. Hearing Cheng Muyang’s answer, the guide became even more curious and kept asking all sorts of questions, mainly wanting to know what places in the world were so fond of mint leaves.
Cheng Muyang’s voice was very calm. “Wanding Town, Ruili City, Yunnan, China.”
The guide immediately took out his laptop, wanting to look up the place.
Ning Hao immediately coughed and took a large gulp of the strange fruit juice mixed with mint. “Guide, this stuff is really good. Is it a specialty of Saudi Arabia? Or can you get it throughout the Middle East?”
Only then was the awkward topic resolved.
The hotel where they were staying was right next to the desert. Because of the blowing sand, the hills all around had strange shapes, and the sounds at night were somewhat mournful.
Listening to the wind, Cheng Muyang watched the moonlight fall over the hills, each one resembling a floating stupa, silent and still, yet possessing a power that brought peace to the heart. To think of such things in a Muslim place, he even felt it was because he had been lacking in alcohol for too long. He needed a great deal of alcohol, so that at times, he would not be quite so clear-headed.
He needed to keep telling himself that Nan Bei was still alive.
For the past two years, he had never stopped investigating Nan Huai’s whereabouts. Over those two years, that man had gone to far too many places, but the name Belgium alone gave him a feeling. He did not believe Nan Bei was dead, no matter how much Nan Huai had disguised himself, because he knew that, like himself, that madman cared too much about Nan Bei.
If she had really died, Southeast Asia would certainly not be this peaceful.
Cheng Muyang walked into the bathroom, turned on the water, and took a cold shower.
By November, Saudi Arabia had already entered winter.
When they had left the airport during the day, he had still been sweating. Now, the temperature was already below 10°C. Although the room had temperature-controlled air conditioning, it was winter after all, and the cold water pouring over his body was icy cold to the bone.
Just as he was drying his hair, he heard a knock at the door.
When he opened it, Ning Hao was holding a miniature computer and gave it a little shake.
“Boss, Xiao Feng found what you wanted in Belgium.”
Cheng Muyang reacted instantly and quickly took the computer. In the nighttime lighting, it was clearly a secretly taken series of photographs outside a restaurant, showing the backs of a woman and a little girl. It was a familiar place. He could never have forgotten it. This was the municipal square in Huy, eighty kilometers southeast of Brussels, the Chinese restaurant there.
The photos were taken in rapid succession, but there was no frontal shot.
She was the only one in the entire restaurant with the baby. Every movement showed how careful she was. From choosing the dishes, to feeding the baby, wiping her mouth, occasionally tugging lightly at the baby’s clothes, and kissing the baby’s forehead and cheeks.
He had never seen Nan Bei so gentle.
Even though he could not see her face, he knew it had to be her.
Cheng Muyang’s hands were still somewhat slippery from not having dried them properly. He could not even hold such a tiny computer steadily.
He leaned against the bathroom doorway and kept looking at the more than forty photographs.
Over and over again, countless times.
But he had never expected that she had a baby.
Cheng Muyang slowly let out a breath.
His chest ached faintly from the tension he had just felt.
He reached out and tightly wrapped an arm around Ning Hao’s shoulders. Rarely did his voice waver as he said, “I’m a father.”
Ning Hao lifted the brim of his cap, his eyes also filled with joy, but he did not forget to joke. “Boss, how do you know that’s your daughter?”
Cheng Muyang suddenly hooked an arm around his neck, pretending he was going to twist it off.
“Yes, absolutely,” Ning Hao said. He was no kung fu expert, relying purely on a few fingers and his brain, so he certainly did not dare get cheeky with Cheng Muyang. “But Xiao Feng said he lost track of them.”
“Three days.” Cheng Muyang held up three fingers and brought them together. “Tell Xiao Feng to find my wife and daughter within three days.”
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