Munitions Empire-Chapter 905 - 828 medium rare

Chapter 905: 828 medium rare Chapter 905: 828 medium rare Upon learning that his subordinates had caused such a commotion, Earl Vidal of the Laines Empire’s intelligence department nearly choked to death on a mouthful of water.

“Have you lost your minds? How dare you plan such a large operation?” he demanded, clambering into a car, while questioning the subordinates following him.

“My lord… it was you who said… at all costs,” retorted the subordinate, who felt aggrieved. They risked life and limb for intelligence, and yet, in the end, they couldn’t even earn a word of praise.

“What I meant… was not this!” Earl Vidal was so angry that his face turned red, and he even felt a wave of dizziness.

While waiting for Earl Vidal, Leines I had finally come to understand the full picture of the incident, although he hadn’t anticipated that his intelligence personnel would be so bold or capable of causing such a significant incident.

At this point, he didn’t even know whether to laugh or cry: When tasked with legitimate duties, his subordinates could be maddeningly incompetent, yet in causing trouble, they proved strikingly unparalleled.

After Earl Vidal had arrived at the Imperial Palace and reported the details of the entire incident to His Majesty The Emperor, everyone began to comprehend why Tang Country had reacted so strongly.

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If that plane had crashed into Tang Country’s oil facilities, it could have caused immense damage. This was considered “Dragon Island’s only weak spot,” and nearly allowed a spy from the Laines Empire to accomplish what the entire Anti-Tang Alliance Fleet had failed to do.

On the other hand, Tang Country’s reaction suggested that there indeed were secrets on Dragon Island that could not be revealed to outsiders.

But by now, it was too late—their intelligence mission had failed, and they had not obtained any valuable information.

“What are you waiting for? Call that cruiser back immediately! Idiots! Do you want everyone to know it was us?” Leines I still showed some sense, although not much…

“You guys are really something! With just one infiltrating agent, you’ve managed to set back our relations with the Great Tang Empire by a whole year…” The Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke with a sarcastic sneer. If he could beat Earl Vidal, he would have liked to punch the damned head of the intelligence agency right then and there.

Leines I also went pale upon hearing this: It really was a goddamn year ago, when the two nations were on the brink of a declared war…

Before the Tang Country destroyers arrived, the Laines Empire’s cruiser that had been waiting in place took off without looking back. As if fleeing from some pursuing terror, it astonishingly surged to a speed of 50 kilometers per hour.

Meanwhile, Tang Country’s intelligence department was still busy at work.

Two ships patrolled back and forth at the site where the Type 3 trainer aircraft had gone down, and divers periodically leaped into the water. Dragon Island’s most advanced diving equipment was brought over, and a destroyer stood by in the distance for guard duty.

Inside the pilot school, the examination was still ongoing. All flight training courses had been canceled, and each trainer aircraft was under strict guard and subject to careful inspection.

Of course, there were complaints aplenty, aside from those with guilty consciences, the remaining students were undoubtedly irritated by this unwarranted misfortune.

After all, they had paid good money to come here to learn to fly, and many were looking forward to joining civil aviation and earning back their investment soon.

But now, they couldn’t even continue their flight training, and even the regular, basic cultural classes had been canceled.

Everyone was confined to their dormitories, and meals were delivered to each room by the school staff—as if everyone was under suspicion, as if they were all spies.

“Come on! You can’t treat us like this without any evidence,” a student from Dahua complained, clutching his lousy boxed meal, and yelling at the soldiers who had come to deliver food outside his door.

“Let it go, let it go! They’re just following orders… Shouting at them is pointless,” a student from Dorne playacted to intervene, offering some words of persuasion.

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“Sons of bitches from Laines! They don’t want to live and drag us down with them!” The student from Dahua kept on ranting, furious and cursing.

“Who are you cursing at?” A recently returned student from Laines, still fuming, overheard the cursing from the Dahua student and immediately blew up.

He had been studying diligently all along, but due to the incident with James, he was dragged away for an entire day of interrogation, and just as he had returned, he heard someone cursing indirectly, and he could no longer hold back.

Soon, there were shouts coming from the room, cries like “murder” and “help.” Then the soldiers burst in, and regardless of who was who, they pinned everyone to the ground and gave each a couple of baton strokes…

All at once, everything quieted down, order was restored, and the investigation continued, while the cursing about the Laines Empire’s trap quietly persisted in every dormitory.

Dropping a stack of files onto the table, the intelligence officer who had just walked in hadn’t slept all night. He yawned and said, “These are ground crew testimonies. Almost everyone confirmed that James didn’t carry any suspicious items onboard. Even the smallest spy radio device couldn’t possibly fit into the pocket of a jacket.”

The officer who had been waiting for news cradled a cup of bitter, strong tea and stared at the scattered files on the table, asking, “What about the parachute packs? Were they issued parachute packs?”

The chief instructor of the training flight team rubbed his temples, exhaustedly answering the question, “Indeed, they were issued. We found James’s parachute pack—a damaged pack with a hole pierced through it, containing nothing but a rotten parachute.”

He used to be the chief instructor at a civilian aviation school, always flying the C-47. In recent years, since he had gotten a bit older and settled down on Dragon Island, he had been transferred from the military to civil aviation.

But who could have predicted, even so, he’d still get entangled in a spy case. It had been busy for more than ten hours now, without any chance to sleep.

The leading commander, persistent, asked again, “What about the recovery team?”

The naval liaison shook his head; he had confirmed just fifteen minutes earlier that there had been no new developments, “We haven’t found any suspicious items, and there isn’t much wreckage recovered.”

“Go ask again!” the commander in charge instructed.

“Yes!” The naval liaison officer stepped out and soon returned to the room with a Navy Major General who had just arrived.

The Major General, looking weary from travel, found a place to sit upon entering the room before speaking, “I’ve been sent here by the Navy… From now on, I’ll report on the Navy’s recovery progress.”

The head intelligence officer nodded and then asked his most pressing question, “What about James himself?”

“We only found part of the body.” The Navy official set down his file case on the table and glanced at the interrogation reports of the ground crew before answering.

Clearly, this answer was deeply unsettling. So the intelligence officer immediately followed up, “A part? So we can’t confirm where the rest is?”

The Navy officer laughed, “Yes, part of the body is indeed beyond recovery… However, what we found was a half-cooked head that has been identified by comparing with photos; confirmed it was indeed James. Do you think the other missing parts could possibly convey our secrets?”

“Heaving a sigh of relief,” the intelligence officer smiled, “Alright! Please instruct the Navy patrol team to continue the recovery effort. Not a single trace can be overlooked!”

At least, he had one less problem to worry about—James was dead, and most thoroughly so.

The general nodded, “Understood! The Navy will continue to cooperate.”

In Chang’an, the Security Bureau headquarters of Tang Country, Li’ao had also gone without sleep for over a dozen hours. Although his aged body scarcely allowed for such intensive work anymore, the case indeed had the entire intelligence community of Tang Country on edge.

Finally, he awaited the arrival of the bartender, the handler of the operation. The towering figure pushed the door open, exuding an immense presence.

However, this kind of pressure was of no use to Li’ao, as the bartender was a subordinate he had taken under his wing before his allegiance to Tang Mo, and throughout the years, the bartender had worked under him.

Examining the results brought back by the bartender, Li’ao narrowed his eyes, “Just to be safe, we should still get the intelligence department over there moving. Investigate thoroughly before we draw any conclusions.”

From any angle, it seemed that this person named James hadn’t transmitted any intelligence. Though he had caused chaos, the loss wasn’t as substantial as feared.

This allowed Li’ao, the bartender, and many intelligence officers of Tang Country to breathe a sigh of relief. It was embarrassing, but at least it didn’t make them lose too much face.

“It’s the prudent course. I’ve already arranged the tasks and will keep a close watch on all their movements. The Staff Department has also given suggestions for action,” the bartender immediately responded.

“Oh? Let’s hear it…” Li’ao looked at his subordinate.

The bartender then relayed the Staff Department’s assessment, “Keep a close eye on the progress of battleship construction in all countries. If there’s a slowdown or any adjustments, it may mean that the secrets within the naval port have been leaked.”

“At the same time, monitor all shipyards. If any country starts building a similar type of warship, it’s the same implication.” These minor changes could indeed indirectly confirm some issues. Therefore, the bartender agreed with the Staff Department’s suggestions and was prepared to go through with them.

He paused momentarily and then added details about the intelligence department’s own arrangements, “Additionally, if our personnel come across corresponding intelligence… they will immediately report back. Please rest assured… these countries are not as good at keeping secrets as we are.”

“Keep a close watch… and let’s avoid any further issues…” Li’ao remarked, “Write a report, I’ll take it to His Majesty The Emperor at the meeting this afternoon.”

“Yes, sir! Your subordinate understands!” The bartender bowed slightly and then exited Li’ao’s office.