Chapter 78: The One Being Traded Is Her?

Chapter 78: Chapter 78: The One Being Traded Is Her?

Then, a black metal object began to rise slowly from the waves. Once it was fully surfaced, its top sections split apart and folded down, transforming into a boat.

Once the water had drained from the deck, a sealed door opened and a middle-aged Western man stepped out.

He was tall, dressed in a white naval uniform. A thick beard covered most of his face, leaving only a pair of sharp, brilliant green eyes visible.

A young sailor behind him reported, "Captain, that unidentified, hull-like object suddenly vanished. We’ve lost all trace of it!"

A flicker of unease crossed the captain’s calm face. "Keep searching. It’s probably a trick by the enemy." He couldn’t believe such a large object could vanish from the surface of the sea in an instant.

About ten or so minutes later, another boat pulled alongside. It was much smaller than the vessel that had transformed from a submarine.

On the deck of the smaller boat stood Yang Ruibin. Dressed in a military uniform, his expression was grave—a far cry from his usual sycophantic demeanor. He walked to the edge of his boat, neither servile nor overbearing, and extended a friendly hand. "Hello, Captain Rick..."

The two boats were positioned perfectly. Captain Rick only had to take two steps and reach out to shake his hand.

Rick, however, didn’t move. A look of displeasure and contempt crossed his face as he spoke. "Your Military Brigade Commander isn’t too cowardly to meet me himself, is he? Or is he up to something sneaky behind my back? Then again, when it comes to combat, Huaxia has always been a bunch of gutless turtles." He finished with a disdainful smirk.

Yang Ruibin was furious, but this was a negotiation, so he had to swallow his anger. "This is a minor affair; there’s no need for the Military Brigade Commander to handle it personally! Rest assured, Captain Rick, as long as we get what we came for, we won’t go back on our word. We will deliver what we promised."

"Fine... So where’s what I came for?" Captain Rick didn’t care who he was dealing with; he just wanted what was his.

Yang Ruibin gestured toward his ship’s cabin. "In there. As soon as we’ve verified the merchandise, we’ll bring our person out immediately!"

The first mate behind Captain Rick started to turn back toward their cabin but was stopped by the captain. "We haven’t seen your person. How do we know if they’re real or a fake? Bring them out first. After we’ve confirmed their identity, we’ll give you what you want."

Yang Ruibin’s brow furrowed.

That subtle shift in expression didn’t escape Rick’s notice. "nightingale is the most wanted asset in the world—countless times more valuable than your person from Huaxia. I’m already taking a loss on this deal. There’s no way I’m risking bringing him out without even laying eyes on who you’ve brought. You know as well as I do how difficult nightingale was to capture."

「On the shore...」

Chen Xing was conveniently hidden behind a tree, so she hadn’t been spotted.

But right now, she was completely bewildered.

’Looks like the two sides are making some kind of deal.’

’And they’re trading... people?’

’nightingale... She’d never heard that name before.’

’But who was the person Yang Ruibin’s side was about to hand over?’

By now, she had finished her upgrade and continued to listen in.

But what she heard next nearly made her choke.

She heard Yang Ruibin say, "nightingale is precious, it’s true, but our nation’s 00007 is no slouch either. Otherwise... you wouldn’t be offering nightingale in trade, right? Just bring nightingale out, and we’ll bring 00007 out immediately."

Chen Xing was speechless. ’00007?’

’Wasn’t that her codename at the Research Institute?’

’Was *she* the one being traded?’

Hah...

’She recalled the confident look on Liang Yuncheng’s face after their car exploded.’

’He must have been certain she hadn’t died.’

’In that case, did Liang Yuncheng know she had escaped from the Research Institute?’

’But when she first met him on the plane, he had acted as if he didn’t care about her at all.’

’He couldn’t have known, right?’

Captain Rick’s expression soured. "nightingale may be precious to you, but he’s of no use to our country anymore. I’m just doing someone a favor. Since your nation has no intention of completing this trade in good faith, the deal is off. There are plenty of other countries who want nightingale."

With that, he turned and walked back toward his cabin.

Yang Ruibin was at a loss for words.

He hadn’t expected Rick to call off the trade, and his face was a mask of anxiety.

If he failed to bring back nightingale and whatever he was carrying, how would he ever explain it to the Military Brigade Commander?

Just as he was wondering what to do, Liang Yuncheng pushed a woman with a black hood over her head onto the deck. "Captain Rick, please wait!"

Captain Rick gave a slight, disdainful smile. He turned back, his expression a mask of indifference. "Having second thoughts?"

Upon seeing the woman, the expression on his handsome face changed. "So, she is 00007?" Unconcealable curiosity flickered across his features.

Liang Yuncheng nodded. Just as he was about to speak, Yang Ruibin pulled him aside and whispered, "Is she really 00007?"

To be honest, Yang Ruibin was completely in the dark about the details of this mission.

The Military Brigade Commander had simply told him to tag along and leave any difficult or dangerous tasks to Captain Lu.

But Captain Lu had suddenly disappeared. Just when Yang Ruibin thought he could finally take on some real responsibility, Liang Yuncheng showed up out of nowhere, and he clearly knew far more than Yang Ruibin did.

He had only heard from Liang Yuncheng that 00007 was part of the trade; as for who 00007 actually was, he had no idea.

"They’re the world’s number one superpower. We can’t afford to pick a fight with them. If she isn’t the real 00007, we’re all dead!" He might not have known the details, but he wasn’t a fool.

’For the United States to be willing to trade the precious nightingale proved just how important 00007 was.’

’If she’s that important, would the Military Brigade Commander really be willing to trade her away?’

’This woman is probably a fake...’

’If they find out mid-trade that we’re using a decoy, a fight is inevitable.’

’A fight?’

’How could they possibly go head-to-head with Captain Rick’s elite forces?’

His own wounded pride was irrelevant now. The only thing that mattered was completing the mission and getting out alive.

Liang Yuncheng shot Yang Ruibin a confident look. "She’s the real deal." Then, he turned back to Captain Rick. "My side is sincere about completing this transaction. We hope you will show some sincerity as well."

Rick’s green eyes were calculating as he stared at the hooded woman. "How are we supposed to know if she’s 00007? After all, very few people have ever actually seen her. It’s a different story for nightingale. There’s hardly a person in the world who doesn’t know who he is."

Liang Yuncheng gave a helpless laugh. "If you have so little faith in us, then I’m afraid this deal can’t go on." He started to turn the hooded woman around.

"Wait." Rick was getting anxious now. "I have someone here who has seen 00007. If he gives the nod, we can proceed with the trade immediately."

Liang Yuncheng was silent. His expression froze for a moment before he gave a curt nod, a silent acquiescence.

’This was unexpected.’

’If he admitted now that the person he had wasn’t 00007, he was afraid no one would ever do business with Huaxia again. All he could do was brace himself and wait.’

’He clung to the faint hope that Rick was just bluffing, trying to test him.’

About two minutes later, a balding, middle-aged man with an Asian face emerged. The few strands of hair he had left fluttered in the sea breeze.

He walked up to Captain Rick and gave a subservient bow. "Captain, you called for me?"

Rick nodded. "Dr. Zhang, I need you to take a look. Is she 00007?"

The confident glint in Liang Yuncheng’s eyes vanished the moment he saw Dr. Zhang. He could no longer remain composed.

He was in too deep to back out now. His only choice was to reach for the woman’s black hood.

Just as all eyes were fixed on the woman, a crewman on Rick’s ship cried out, "Captain, it’s bad! nightingale has escaped!"