National treasure

Near midnight, the super-large airport with constant flow.

Cheng Ling carried the bag through the crowd and went straight out of the terminal.

The rain had just stopped, there were still obvious water marks on the road, and the air was humid and cold.

People lined up to wait for taxis, bright lights, and the sound of cars and people everywhere. Cheng Lingwo had been at the base for several years, and the hustle and bustle of the big city that he hadn't seen for a long time surrounded him again.

It was already past midnight when the driver took him to the Peninsula Hotel.

Passing through the gorgeous hall full of ARTDECO art style, when he came to the front desk to register, Cheng Ling noticed the traditional festival decorations dotted on the counter.

Tonight is a mid-autumn night.

He is the child of a martyr, and his parents died for the country together when he was young. After the death of his grandparents who brought him up, he has never cared about any festivals for many years.

The concierge in the lobby showed the direction, and Cheng Ling walked towards the guest elevator. In the empty elevator corridor, he was the only figure.

When Cheng Ling was about to step into the elevator, he caught a glimpse of a figure out of the corner of his eye, and he reached out and pressed the door open button.The man also quickened his pace, taking two steps and making three steps, and stepped into the elevator.

A very beautiful and elegant man.

A man who is effortless and unforgettable.

Those radiant eyes swept over Cheng Ling casually, without even focusing on anything.He heard him say thank you politely, stand still in the middle of the elevator, with a well-bred manner and a moving voice.

But Cheng Ling would bet that this man never paid him any attention.

As there were more people in the narrow elevator, the disturbed air flow began to permeate. Cheng Ling's sense of smell was keen. In the narrow space, he smelled the smoke of cigars mixed with the mellow aroma of Highland whiskey. All the special training he had received , must ensure that he firmly grasps this moment.

Human's sense of smell is far stronger than other sensory memories, and the breath of this moment is destined to be permanently engraved in Cheng Ling's memory.

He looked at the man with his back to him, who was stretching out his slender fingers like an artist to press the elevator button, the 8th floor.As a result, the cuffs of the black suit were pulled, revealing a section of pure white high-end shirt, and the silver cufflinks folded an elegant arc in the light.

Long-term training has already penetrated deep into breathing, and Cheng Ling noticed the curly "J" engraved on it without any effort.

The elevator doors closed slowly, and the disturbed air became calm again.

After two or three floors, the elevator stopped again. After the door opened, there was a burst of noisy voices of people running and footsteps.The man with his back to Cheng Ling took a step back, and now stood side by side with Cheng Ling.

A large group of young people dressed in trendy styles rushed into the elevator, and some of them had colorfully dyed hair. The air was suddenly filled with the smell of sweat, perfume and even the strange smell of food.

Cheng Ling looked at this group of chattering young people, they were about the same age as his team members and had just grown up.Obviously the difference in human life is comparable to being from different planets.

"Oh, there are too many people! Don't squeeze!"

"There are so many people, one can't fit in the first one, you guys wait for the next one!"

"Squeeze and squeeze, what's the point if you're all your own people?"

"Oh, it will be overloaded! And there are people behind me, don't crowd around!"

Zhong Zhe obviously had no way to retreat, the brown chicken feather in front of him had already fallen towards him like a mountain.Having frowned for a long time, he had to choose between being squeezed or actively reaching out to block.

Either way, it's an uncomfortable choice.

He had subconsciously closed his eyes, and was about to reach out to cushion the impact, but the expected collision did not happen, instead, the pressure around him suddenly eased.

When Zhong Zhe opened his eyes, he saw these young people rushing out again.

"Oops, the bar can't go up the guest elevator."

"Why is it so troublesome!"

"Look, there is no button at all. I remembered that the bar has to go down first, and another passenger elevator is going up!"

"Oh, really, I didn't say it earlier!"

Amidst the noise, the elevator issued an overtime alarm, and amidst the sharp beeping, a group of people receded like a tide.

Now, Zhong Zhe can finally breathe a sigh of relief. He really can't bear this situation. Anything that forcibly invades the boundary of himself makes him feel uncomfortable.This is the aftermath of the accident that year.

Cheng Ling looked at him and got off the elevator from the 8th floor.

Standing in the elevator, Cheng Ling smiled at his actions just now.

In fact, he had noticed Zhong Zhe's plight long ago, seeing the dilemma of the noble young man who does not eat fireworks, but with Cheng Ling's character and the state of the mission, he would just pretend that he didn't know.

However, the moment Zhong Zhe closed his eyes, the moment when those struggles and panics that were so vivid just a moment ago disappeared, time and space stood still and magnified, and everything was almost dead.Under that weak and watery face, something succeeded in arousing Cheng Ling's emotions.

It was extremely weak but also because it was so strange and so strong, it changed Cheng Ling's original plan almost instantly.

He stretched out his hand neatly, and pushed the chicken feather head away without any trace in the chaotic elevator.

An unexpected commotion, after rolling, did not leave any traces.

The elevator door closed slowly, and Zhong Zhe's back disappeared outside the door.

Cheng Ling didn't take his spur-of-the-moment action to heart. He came to the room he had booked on the 10th floor and had a good night's sleep.

On the second day, Cheng Ling waited patiently in the room. He didn't know how long it would be before the contact person in Shanghai found him, but judging from the emergency state when he received the task, it shouldn't be too long .

Cheng Ling's mind was on the task back and forth.

He has no way of guessing what 003 is, no direction, too rambling.

He turned his thoughts to the expert again. There was only one name, Zhong Zhe, which sounded gentle and gentle, which fit the temperament of an expert.I don't know what kind of person he is. It's best not to be too old and have flexible legs, otherwise there may be some troubles.

In any case, he will first cooperate with the other party, which is the most convenient task.If it's really not easy to cooperate, I hope you won't need to resort to other means.Yes, the objective of the mission is very clear. We only need to protect the personal safety of the experts. On this basis, no matter what method is used when necessary, Cheng Ling must ask the experts to cooperate with him and retrieve 003.

Tasks always come first.

Towards evening, there was finally a knock on Cheng Ling's door.

After exchanging passwords with each other, an unremarkable middle-aged man walked into Cheng Ling's room with a briefcase.

He handed a stack of materials in front of Cheng Ling, "It's all here. This happened so suddenly that the department didn't expect it at all. There are usually not many materials in this area, and the higher-ups issued a deadly order to get them." Urgent, these are all done with all the manpower, without stopping for 24 hours."

Cheng Ling flipped through several file headers, but the 003 he was looking for first was nowhere to be seen.

"No information on 003?"

The middle-aged man code-named "Huangjiu" shook his head, "003's information is top secret, if it wasn't stolen this time, you and I would never have heard of it at this level." Huangjiu curled his lips, "Except for this mission Direct participants, all personnel do not have access authority. The above instructions, when you see an expert, you can directly consult that expert for all questions about 003. There are few living people who know 003 better than that one.”

Cheng Ling nodded.

Instead, he found the stack of documents about the expert, and Huang Jiu continued to say: "This expert lives in the peninsula. For the convenience of contact, we arranged the same hotel for you."

The file has been opened, and the high-definition portrait that occupies the entire page jumped out without warning.

Cheng Ling looked at the eye-catching and handsome man in the photo, and fell silent.

Huang Jiu looked at his reaction and said with a smile: "You didn't expect the head of the expert to be like this. This appearance is too unfavorable for low-key work. Hey, the top probably really can't find any other choice."

Cheng Ling was noncommittal, and recorded Zhong Zhe's official resume, family background, personal experience, etc. in his mind.

All the materials he read today will not be kept, and the rice wine will be brought back to the branch to be destroyed according to the procedure.

After reading all the materials, Cheng Ling entered the topic again, "How did you arrange to get in touch?"

Huang Jiu said cautiously: "This task is urgent, and there is no time to bury the thread for regular natural contact. Under the current situation, the opponent's eyes will definitely be fixed on our actions. Zhong Zhe is an expert in 003, and the opponent's eyeliner must be I will pay attention to the dynamics around him. In an extraordinary period, in order not to arouse suspicion, we used an unconventional method to cut in. If everything goes well, we can meet tonight."

"Then, what is my identity?"

"Being Zhong Zhe's temporary worker for a while."

This statement was too general, Cheng Ling waited for Huangjiu to explain.

"At present, it is the autumn auction season in the collection industry, and all parties are actively trading. Zhong Zhe is looking to buy Sanyu's paintings. I will act as the collector and deliver the news of the auction paintings to Christie's. At present, this step has been completed with the assistance of the rear team. It has been successfully completed, and now I have registered in the auction house as a senior Sanyu collector.

Your public identity is my nephew, and you were introduced to Zhong Zhe through me.The Zhong family has a well-known art foundation in the industry. As my nephew, in order to better support the family business in the future and manage the family collection and private museum, I hope that for the sake of privately selling Sanyu's paintings, I will send you Go to him to work and train. "

"Through detours and indirect contact, the auction house acts as the middleman, and the employment relationship is used to enter the job. Indeed, it is a very careful arrangement in such a short period of time." Cheng Ling pondered for a while, and still had some doubts about the plan, "How can Zhong Zhe be guaranteed? Will you be satisfied with the paintings we provide?"

This is the most important part of the identity concealment plan. Only when Zhong Zhe is satisfied with the painting can Huangjiu get in touch with him in a legitimate way.In order not to arouse the suspicion of any unknown forces, everything must be true before the official contact, and even Zhong Zhe must be kept in the dark.

"Don't worry about this." Speaking of this, Huang Jiu seemed to be quite emotional, "Our company has always been stingy, but I didn't expect to spend such a large amount of money on this mission. With the authoritative tone of domestic research on Changyu, I learned from a patriotic overseas Chinese. There, a treasure that has never been exhibited was negotiated overnight at a sky-high price, and it can be shipped over at any time."

The notoriously stingy logistics department was able to exchange a sky-high price for a piece of Sanyu's work, and it was just to cover up his identity. What is this mysterious 003?At this point, even Cheng Ling, who was only thinking about the mission, couldn't help becoming curious.