"Where to? Jiuxian Cave?" Lin Xi asked, then immediately dismissed the thought. "You're too smart to be that foolish. Jiuxian Cave will definitely be heavily monitored by the Mohe."
"Exactly. They'll be focusing on Jiuxian Cave, and also on the Chen family in Shengjing. They'll quickly discover our stronghold in Benxi and set up observation posts in every northeastern city where I might appear, casting a wide net to catch a needle." I analyzed. The Mohe had the capability to do this in the northeast. Didn't Chen Ke find me in Meihekou? Fortunately, I was able to win her over in time. But not every Mohe member I encountered would be so easily swayed or have such value for conversion.
"Then where will you hide? Enter the pass?" Lin Xi asked.
I shook my head. "No matter how wide the net is cast, there will always be gaps. Captain Lin, do you know the saying 'the brightest light casts the deepest shadow'?"
Lin Xi narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
I zoomed out and then zoomed in on the mobile map, focusing on the location of Jiuxian Cave. I was now very familiar with the map of the northeast. Then, I pointed upwards. "Fucheng city proper. Since the Mohe have strongholds in every city, which stronghold would they use to heavily monitor Jiuxian Cave?"
"Of course, Fucheng," Lin Xi replied.
"Right. So, Fucheng city proper, which is right next door, is actually the safest place now." I stated confidently.
Lin Xi seemed doubtful. "I'm not so sure. How about this, I'll have our people in Fucheng's Shakespeare's branch conduct a preliminary investigation in the city to see what the Mohe in Fucheng are up to."
I nodded. Although I was confident in my assessment, this approach would undoubtedly be more secure.
However, Lin Xi's identity had already been exposed. She couldn't travel with us anymore, as her photo was prominently displayed on the official website of Shakespeare's headquarters, and too many people recognized her.
I tactfully expressed my concerns. Lin Xi said it was no problem, as she needed to return to headquarters anyway due to rumored personnel changes.
"Are you really getting promoted to a coffin?" I asked with a smile. I had heard before that she was to be promoted from Operations Team Captain to a leading position in the General Bureau. Her ranking would be at the very bottom, either 207 or 208. I never understood why the General Bureau liked to name their positions with purely Arabic numerals, and why they started with '2'. What kind of department would have a leader starting with '1'?
Lin Xi smiled coquettishly, neither confirming nor denying.
While Fucheng was investigating, I felt it was time to contact Yaoyao. Regardless of how she treated me, since she was the "master," I had to seek her instructions and report to her.
While my signal was still strong in Shengjing, I directly dialed her number. As expected, the small stronghold under Jinqiangmen in Benxi had long been exposed and could no longer be used. However, Yaoyao felt that they were also under surveillance in Benxi. The only good news was that the batch of weapons commissioned from Jinqiangmen had all arrived, and each type was in triplicate, to prevent damage or loss.
I told her we were preparing to relocate and hoped to join forces with them.
"What, you finally miss me?" Yaoyao asked with a smile.
"...There's strength in numbers," I said casually.
"Alright, where do you want to meet?"
"It's not convenient to say over the phone. I'll set a location later and have Yanan deliver the message."
"Okay, I'll wait for your call. Anything else?"
"We can discuss it when we meet. I've met some new friends and want to introduce them to you."
"Okay." Yaoyao hung up decisively, giving the impression that she hadn't missed me at all.
About an hour later, the investigation results from Fucheng came back. As I had predicted, all the Mohe strongholds in Fucheng were empty, with no one present. Meanwhile, Shakespeare's members monitoring the situation at Jiuxian Cave discovered many suspicious individuals in the town, villages, and surrounding mountainous areas. Their numbers were significant, more than the personnel from the Fucheng Mohe strongholds...