Chapter 53: Breaking Through the Mind

Besides, Chongqing actually used the Little Tiger and the newly built Shanghai Station as the price to drive Su Bai into No. 76... This cost was simply too huge.

This was also the reason why Dao Yan could not make sense of it.

"Does Miss Li know why I chose to follow Mr. Wang?"

Li Mingzhu wore a disdainful smile, and Ding Moqun didn't mind. Holding a lit cigarette between his fingers, he spoke as if talking to himself:

"The Nationalist Government in my heart died twelve years ago."

"The so-called Nationalist Government you speak of now is merely lingering on its last breath. Anyone with eyes can see it. Look at Mr. Su, he is one of you who slowly woke up. Mr. Su is neither the first, nor will he be the last."

Li Mingzhu's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Su Bai, who was standing beside Zhao Xuan. In reality, Li Mingzhu had been looking at Zhao Xuan's back the entire time.

It was just that, from everyone else's perspective, the direction Li Mingzhu was staring at happened to be Su Bai.

"Your Nationalist Government, where do you think all those funds every year went?"

"Back when I, Ding, was in Guangzhou, if not for good luck, I wouldn't be sitting here today."

"Guangzhou was bombed for over a year, and I never saw a single anti-aircraft gun, not even a single heavy anti-aircraft machine gun."

"Now isn't Chongqing being bombed every day? Where are the anti-aircraft guns? Where are the heavy anti-aircraft machine guns? Where on earth did the funds in your Nationalist Government's hands go?"

"Hah, there is no hope."

The defeat in Li Mingzhu's expression was visible to the naked eye. Ding Moqun exhaled a plume of smoke, looking at Li Mingzhu with eyes full of pity.

Hearing Ding Moqun's words, Dao Yan's hands hidden inside her trench coat pockets clenched into fists. The sorrow in the depths of her eyes flashed past, and for a fleeting second, her inner resolve wavered.

Dao Yan quietly took a breath, her back already soaked with cold sweat.

She simply couldn't imagine how she, clearly not the one sitting in the interrogation chair, could also be influenced by Ding Moqun's words.

Ma Shangcheng also wore a solemn expression as he looked at Ding Moqun's back. The director of No. 76 was truly terrifying!

After listening to Ding Moqun, Ma Shangcheng actually found himself thinking that killing so many members of the Military Statistics and the underground party was acting to eliminate harms for the people and rid the country of villains. How absurd was that.

Meanwhile, Su Bai, standing alongside Zhao Xuan, had his body grown much stiffer. He was very worried right now: would this Li Mingzhu turn traitor?

On second thought, however, whether Li Mingzhu betrayed them or not didn't really have much impact.

The superiors had already severed all lines of communication with Li Mingzhu, and everyone Li Mingzhu knew had been transferred away by Chongqing.

Turning traitor would merely mean a slow death; the family laws of the Military Statistics would never allow a traitor to live a comfortable life.

Regaining his composure, Su Bai saw that Zhao Xuan was completely unaffected, still rapidly flipping through the stack of documents on the desk.

In his heart, Su Bai instantly elevated Zhao Xuan's threat level by several notches.

Come to think of it, this fellow must be Xiao Dao's good-for-nothing husband.

Previously he lacked any notable reputation, but now it seemed he needed to figure out how to deal with him.

"Miss Li, originally we wouldn't have been able to catch you. It was the Nationalist Government you swore allegiance to that gave us this opportunity."

"As for you, you have done all you possibly could for your Nationalist Government. Now, Miss Li, you might consider turning away from the darkness to the light, and just like me, follow Mr. Wang. Perhaps you might even live to see the day the war ends."

In Ding Moqun's description, anyone who finished listening to these words would likely find their so-called faith battered and hanging by a thread in the face of the current situation.

The defeated expression on Li Mingzhu's face gradually receded. She forced herself to gather her spirits and gave a bold, carefree smile, yet the sorrow on her face could not be concealed. Even so, Li Mingzhu's tone remained steadfast, though her voice had become exceedingly faint:

"Director Ding, I must admit, your pitch is indeed very persuasive."

"But you don't know, my faith died the moment the Little Tiger died. My faith was never some Nationalist Government, whether the Nationalist Government of the past or the present, can you understand that, Director Ding?"

"And now, the only thing I want is... to seek life out of death!"

Ding Moqun's expression changed abruptly. He abruptly stood up, turned around, and shouted:

"Quickly, call an ambulance! Send her to the hospital, send her to the hospital!"

"A bunch of good-for-nothings!"

With that, Ding Moqun turned and strode toward Fan Dingfang, slapping him to the ground with a single blow.

At this moment, Li Mingzhu wore a smile, but her lips had already turned purple, and her eyes were densely bloodshot.

Consumed by rage, Ding Moqun strode up to Li Mingzhu and grabbed a handful of her hair:

"As a secret agent, you actually want to throw your life away for a man! As a peer, I hold you in contempt. You have utterly shamed the profession of agents!"

Dao Yan was the first to run to the telephone and dial the infirmary.

Li Mingzhu met death calmly with a smile on her face. This scene delivered a tremendous shock to Dao Yan's inner world.

Zhao Xuan and Su Bai, standing beside the pile of documents, also looked simultaneously at Li Mingzhu in the interrogation chair.

Clearly, there was no longer any Nationalist Government in her heart, so why was she unwilling to surrender?

The Little Tiger—that Su Jian, with his slovenly appearance—no matter how Dao Yan thought about it, she couldn't understand how such a man could make Li Mingzhu fall so deeply in love.

So much so that even with the Little Tiger dead, Li Mingzhu no longer wished to live.

This was by far the most absurd experience Dao Yan had ever been through since joining the Military Statistics.

Coupled with what Ding Moqun had just said...

Was the Nationalist Government really no longer the Nationalist Government of the past?

Could the Nationalist Government truly save the country?

For the first time, these questions arose within Dao Yan's mind.

Zhao Xuan felt grief-stricken to the core. He now hated himself intensely: why, why hadn't he checked whether Li Mingzhu still had poison hidden in her mouth when he knocked away her pistol?

To seek life out of death!

Zhao Xuan was infinitely certain that these words were meant for him by Li Mingzhu.

She dies, he lives!

Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous! If I, Zhao Xuan, couldn't even save you, Tiger Girl, how can the Little Tiger possibly continue his undercover mission? What capability does he have to remain undercover?

Your faith was never the Nationalist Government, but since you loved me, why did you choose to embrace death?

I clearly still had the chance to save you!

Zhao Xuan's gaze remained fixed on Li Mingzhu. Su Bai also looked with extreme astonishment at the face of Li Mingzhu, who wore a smile even as she closed her eyes, remaining entirely motionless no matter how hard Ding Moqun shook her.

She departed with a smile, yet her faith was not the Nationalist Government, and still she willingly embraced death. This struck Su Bai as profoundly absurd.

What a ridiculous Nationalist Government!

Late at night, the director's office at No. 76.

After finishing his phone call, Ding Moqun collapsed powerlessly into his chair.

"She's dead."

Just those two brief words made the atmosphere inside the office even heavier.

Su Bai remained silent to the side, while Dao Yan stood by the window, gazing out at the night view of Shanghai.

Suppressing the grief in his heart, Zhao Xuan stepped forward, his expression and tone remaining indifferent as he spoke:

"Director, although Tiger Girl is dead, whether it is the documents the Little Tiger had access to or the materials left behind at Tiger Girl's residence, I may have already found the answers. Whether she died or not makes little difference."