Chapter 216: The Answer

After he finished speaking, Zhang Wenda couldn't help but look nervously at the headless woman before him.

He knew his words were somewhat provocative, but he was willing to take a small risk to get more intelligence on the Big Circle.

Besides, after interacting with her for so long, Zhang Wenda had a general grasp of her personality. He believed she wouldn't fall out with him completely over such a trivial matter.

Sure enough, just as Zhang Wenda had predicted, Ouyang Shuangdian didn't get angry after hearing him out. She simply stood up and walked toward the door. "Follow me."

"Huh?" Zhang Wenda didn't quite understand what she was doing, but he followed her out nonetheless.

A moment later, she forcefully shoved a heavy, black cloth-wrapped bundle into Zhang Wenda's arms. "Hold this."

Zhang Wenda followed Ouyang Shuangdian out of the Security Department building, through the main hall of Bureau 507, and finally into the inverted world of Shanghai.

Utterly bewildered, Zhang Wenda followed her to a simple, run-down residential complex, where they went straight to the door of Apartment 602 on the sixth floor.

"Unwrap the bundle, then knock on the door and give it to them." Ouyang Shuangdian stepped aside to make way for him.

"This bundle? What's inside? What is all this about?"

The moment the bewildered Zhang Wenda unwrapped the black bundle and saw its contents, his mind reeled as if it had been struck by a sledgehammer.

It was a small wooden box, about forty centimeters wide. A few medals rested on top, and a black-and-white photograph was affixed to the front.

The photo showed a young man with a wide, happy smile. Zhang Wenda recognized him—it was the pilot of the helicopter gunship from before. The bundle contained his urn.

"Knock on the door. Take it inside," Ouyang Shuangdian repeated in a calm voice.

Zhang Wenda slowly raised his right hand, but it felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds.

"KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK." Unable to wait any longer, Ouyang Shuangdian reached out and did it for him.

"Is my dear grandson back? You've got a good nose on you. Grandma made your favorite—braised pig's feet with soybeans." A voice, aged yet kindly, came from behind the door.

The door slowly opened. Zhang Wenda had faced many enemies—his own parents, Tang Xingxiong, even Qianxi—yet he had never once felt the urge to flee. But the unarmed little old lady standing before him, barely half his height, made him want to do just that.

The look that froze on her face seemed to possess a power of its own, rendering Zhang Wenda speechless and rooted to the spot.

Gritting his teeth, Zhang Wenda finally mustered all his strength to take a deep breath. At last, he moved, stepping into the apartment on a right foot that felt cast in iron.

Zhang Wenda couldn't remember what happened next. His mind was a total blur, constantly replaying the scene of the pilot's last moments.

Half an hour later, Zhang Wenda practically fled the dilapidated complex. He had never known thirty minutes could feel so long.

As Zhang Wenda hung upside down under a bridge, gasping for breath, Ouyang Shuangdian's body emerged from the thick concrete as if it were immaterial.

"I don't like the young people these days. Always talking about fighting this or that, as if war is some fashion accessory to be casually flaunted. They have no idea how heavy a single life is."

After she spoke, she looked at Zhang Wenda again. "A counter-attack isn't just some flippant phrase. It means thousands, even tens of thousands, of urns like that one delivered into the hands of their families. Do you understand?"

Zhang Wenda said nothing. He just stared up at the inverted river overhead, watching the goldfish swim by. It was as if he could still hear the old woman's despairing sobs as she clutched the urn.

Ouyang Shuangdian was satisfied with Zhang Wenda's reaction. She patted his shoulder. "Not bad. Much better than some of those stubborn mules with one-track minds."

"I'm leaving. I need to be alone."

Zhang Wenda said, starting to get up, but Ouyang Shuangdian stopped him. "Wait. Didn't you want to know why we don't fight back? I couldn't tell you before, but I can now."

Zhang Wenda didn't reply. He had lost all interest.

Ouyang Shuangdian sat down beside him, mimicking his earlier posture. Whether he wanted to listen or not, she began to speak. "I can actually understand how you feel. The calls for a counter-attack within the Bureau are quite loud, especially among the younger generation."

"But it's not that simple. Do you know the full story behind the 921 Incident?"

"I do," Zhang Wenda said. "In short, Qianxi tried to use the Angel Engine as a catalyst to merge all the schools of thought."

Ouyang Shuangdian swayed her headless neck. "I almost forgot, you were there. So, tell me, what else do you know?"

"I also know that while she was using the Cavalry to merge all the schools of thought, she also sent a team to raid Bureau 507's headquarters, causing the Bureau to suffer heavy losses," Zhang Wenda calmly relayed all the intelligence he had.

"Yes, that's all true. Or at least, part of the truth. If you think we're not fighting back because we're afraid of casualties, let me tell you, you're sorely mistaken. Did you know there are a total of five bureaus within the Third Line? And that even with Bureau 749 decommissioned, the Security Departments of the other three can be put on a war footing at a moment's notice?"

Ouyang Shuangdian stopped tapping her fingers on the concrete beside her and tilted her neck to look at Zhang Wenda.

"Then why haven't you?"

Seeing Zhang Wenda sit back down, Ouyang Shuangdian pulled a file folder from her clothes and held it out to him. "Do you know what this is?"

"What is it?" Zhang Wenda opened it to find neat rows of text.

"The mission report for Shuisheng's Group 66. This is what happens when you act rashly based on flawed and misleading intelligence. Do you get it now?"

Seeing that Zhang Wenda had no retort, Ouyang Shuangdian began to explain in detail. "According to our intelligence department's post-mortem analysis, the three Angel Engines were never capable of catalyzing the merger of all thirteen major schools of thought. The entire ritual was premature. So, from the very beginning, Qianxi's plan was just a feint. No matter what she claimed, she was bluffing us from the start."

"So their target from the beginning was Bureau 507's headquarters?"

Ouyang Shuangdian shook her head. "No. The 921 Incident was a multi-pronged attack. They were dynamically adjusting their strategy, constantly shifting their primary target based on how the situation at each flashpoint developed."

"But that's not actually the reason we're holding back. There's something else."