Once We Lived in Nanjing

"Special Combat Third Brigade of the First Mechanized Corps of the Armed Police Reconnaissance Captain liaison officer Lian Qiao reporting!"

The girl stood straight and saluted.

"Have a seat, have a seat, no need to be so formal, just make yourself at home." Zhao Bowen hurried to invite her to sit down, but Bai Zhen beside him was displeased. Whose home was this? Old Zhao seemed to be taking over.

To assert his position as the master of the house, Bai Zhen quickly said: "You can be even more relaxed than at your own home."

"All the procedures done?" Zhao Bowen asked.

"Yep, just finished them these past couple of days, temporarily transferred my relations to the command center here." Lian Qiao nodded, looking around before finding a small plastic stool in the mountainous pile of documents to sit on. She was somewhat surprised; before entering, Lian Qiao did not expect this seemingly ordinary residence to hide such wonders, walking in was like entering some sort of operations command center—This place was indeed a command center, officially named the Reverse Future World-saving Amateur Radio Emergency Communication Command Center.

The first time Lian Qiao heard this name, she was stunned. Without mentioning anything else, it was decidedly over the top!

"Have you met Yangyang?" Zhao Bowen asked.

"Yes, Director Zhao," Lian Qiao nodded. "I met him yesterday on the way back to the residential area."

"That's good, he went out with some classmates this afternoon," Zhao Bowen said. "He should be back before six, you guys can get to know each other better then."

"Uh...Lian..." Bai Zhen began to say something.

"Just call me Lian Qiao, Mr. Bai."

"I'll call you Comrade Xiao Lian then, Comrade Xiao Lian, you mentioned you were sent by the higher-ups..."

"Life guidance officer." Lian Qiao said.

"Right, right, life guidance officer, what does a life guidance officer do?"

Bai Zhen had never understood the purpose of this life guidance officer; last night, Zhao Bowen suddenly produced a tablet and told them that the higher-ups were sending someone to be Bai Yang's life guidance officer, leaving Bai Zhen completely baffled. He had heard of instructors and political officers—could it be that the higher-ups felt the command center lacked a political affairs officer, so they sent an instructor over for support? That rationale could make sense, but why send a young woman in her mid-twenties if it was about assigning a political affairs officer?

As an ex-sergeant of the third term who had returned to civilian life, Bai Zhen doubted the abilities of this young female soldier.

"The role of the life guidance officer is to provide life guidance, have you heard of those in universities? It's similar; during school, to ensure your personal safety, pay attention to your academic performance, care for your living conditions, and even be concerned with your post-graduation employment plans, safeguarding your university journey," Zhao Bowen spoke. "Yangyang is central to the plan, key to everything, but after all, he is just a child. The higher-ups aren't at ease with him bearing such a huge responsibility and pressure alone, fearing that his psychological and emotional state could collapse. So they assigned someone with a clean background, solid political quality, high ideological awareness, and strong business capability to be the life guidance officer, and importantly, someone young, as young people speak the same language."

"So it was assigned for the kid..." Bai Zhen muttered.

"If not for your son, who else? For you?" Zhao Bowen rolled his eyes. "You, an old fusspot with no particular value, why would the higher-ups specifically send someone to protect you?"

"I am the deputy team leader too!" Bai Zhen objected.

"From now on, you're not," Zhao Bowen stated. "I have full authority and can relieve you of your duties."

"Hey hey hey hey, Old Zhao, let's talk this over..."

Ignoring Bai Zhen, Zhao Bowen turned to Lian Qiao: "Do you understand all the work?"

Lian Qiao was startled, but she nodded.

"I've understood everything."

"Have you signed all that messy confidentiality agreement and such?"

"All procedures have been completed," the girl nodded.

"Good, then you can look at everything in this room, but remember not to take anything through that door. You know the basic principles of confidentiality, right? Turn off the screen when you leave, documents face down, and so on—I won't repeat that," Zhao Bowen waved his hand, raising a big pile of documents to stuff into the shredder, the shredder buzzing as it operated. "Lian Qiao, now that you've understood all the work, I hope you can carry out your task to the best of your ability because it is of great importance, and the challenges we face are extraordinary. In the coming days, you'll need to give it your all."

"Yes! I guarantee to complete the mission." Lian Qiao sat up straight.

"How's your shooting, Lian Qiao?" Zhao Bowen asked.

Lian Qiao didn't understand why he would ask this and was momentarily puzzled, but she still replied truthfully.

"It's...alright, I've been a shooting instructor in the squadron."

"Next, please go back and fetch your rifle," Zhao Bowen said.

"Rifle?" Lian Qiao was taken aback.

"Go ambush near the Meihua Villa area. If you see Bai Zhen making any suspicious movements, such as stepping in with his left foot first or right foot first, shoot to kill immediately."

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Bai Zhen angrily threw his ballpoint pen at Zhao Bowen's head, which landed on the head of Wang Ning who was leisurely and slowly signing documents. However, Wang Ning's head was too slick, the plastic cap slipped, and with a crisp "pop" sound, the pen bounced off. Wang Ning cursed furiously, "Fuck!"

Lian Qiao sat obediently to one side, quietly surveying her surroundings. This place was truly amazing.

She was curious about what a place that called itself the Reverse Future World-saving Amateur Radio Emergency Communication Command Center would look like. By its name alone, it sounded like the most advanced and domineering facility in the world. One could not help but imagine it would be a secret base buried hundreds of meters underground, accessible through three rigorous security checks, guarded by armed soldiers, with heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft missiles deployed, and with base doors as thick as those of a vault—but she never expected to wind up after wandering around in Nanjing City, with this command center that sounded so frightening nestled so openly in a residential area of Qinhuai District!

So she had gone through intense political vetting—Lian Qiao could assure that she had never experienced such strict scrutiny in her life, it felt like she was eligible for astronaut selection—just to report to a residential complex in Nanjing City?

Lian Qiao thought perhaps all she saw was just a façade.

The residence at Unit 804 in Building 11 of Meihua Villa was merely an illusion to mislead outsiders, while the real command center was elsewhere, possibly buried deep under Zijin Mountain, impervious even to nuclear weapons, a super fortress where a group of high-ranking individuals sat enshrouded in darkness, each with only a number for a name, secretly devising grand plans to save the world...

Zhao Bowen: Been watching too much EVA?

Lian Qiao: There really is no secret base here? Like a hidden room behind the walls or something...

Zhao Bowen: You'll have to ask the developers about that, whether they've left any hidden spaces when designing this apartment. If not, then no.

Lian Qiao: But here... is it safe?

Zhao Bowen: Why wouldn't it be safe? Are you a wanted criminal?

Lian Qiao: No.

Zhao Bowen: Then am I a wanted criminal?

Lian Qiao: No.

Zhao Bowen: Is Old Bai a wanted criminal?

Lian Qiao: No.

Zhao Bowen: He is.

Old Bai threw the pen again with a "pop".

Wang Ning: Fuck!

Zhao Bowen: We aren't criminals, and we aren't plotting any rebellion, so what's unsafe? What's to fear? Afraid the police will suddenly break in and arrest us? Lian Qiao, where are we?

Lian Qiao: Nanjing.

Zhao Bowen: Your location is one of the largest cities in the world, home to seven million people, this is the headquarters of the Eastern Theater Command, and one of the P5 nations with nuclear weapons is protecting you from the back. Besides Zhongnanhai and Xishan in Beijing, where else in the world is safer than our Meihua Villa?

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Wang Ning: The White House.

Zhao Bowen: The White House gets bombed constantly in movies!