ushernet Chapter 1049 Pangolin! Watch me dig, dig, dig!
Chapter 1049 Pangolin! Watch me dig, dig, dig!
"You've come at the perfect time. There's a last-minute flight that's flying home. If your paperwork is complete, we can expedite your travel document processing today, and you might be able to catch it. However, you'll need to go to the reception room inside, fill out an expedited application form, and have some details verified."
The reasons were reasonable, the service was thoughtful and considerate, there was no sign of coercion, it fully met the expectations of an overseas Chinese eager to return home, and it also met the embassy's mission of "serving overseas Chinese with enthusiasm".
Liu Yuncang had no doubts and even felt fortunate for his good luck and clever choice, nodding hurriedly.
Filled with relief, he followed the embassy staff briskly into the quiet corridor. His gaze swept over the clean walls and the propaganda slogans on both sides, and a contemptuous smile unconsciously crept onto his lips.
The reason Liu Yuncang dared to swagger into the Chinese embassy using his real name was not because he was utterly foolish. On the contrary, based on his training and understanding, this was even a relatively "safe" risky move.
On the one hand, he had an almost blind trust in the layered encryption communication system established with the help of the Bald Eagles, and he absolutely did not believe that anyone could crack their secret messages so quickly, nor did he think that his whereabouts would be exposed instantly.
On the other hand, based on his experience and understanding, information transmission in this era has its inherent lag.
From the moment his trail was discovered in Phnom Penh, to the intelligence analysis, to the instructions being relayed layer by layer to the central command on the other side, and finally to the action unit far away in Phnom Penh, the time difference in between was enough for him to complete the identity disguise, obtain proof, and flee far away.
He had calculated that even if the other side discovered the damaged Bald Eagle embassy vehicle and began to suspect his identity, it would take at least a week for them to react.
The bald eagle won't give the naive white rabbit a friendly look!
However, Liu Yuncang's mistake was that he was unaware that there was a monster named "Big Yellow" and a "non-human" named Jiang Xia in the Little Red Building.
He couldn't comprehend how, with the support of the nascent computer network built in Jiangxia, the capture, deciphering, analysis, and command issuance of intelligence had been compressed to such a terrifying degree!
From intercepting the relevant coded messages to cracking the personnel list, and then instantly transmitting instructions and information to the frontline personnel at the Phnom Penh embassy, all of this, to some extent, may really have been separated by just "a single enter key".
His perceived "time difference" simply doesn't exist in the face of information technology's overwhelming power.
Therefore, as Liu Yuncang walked with the young female staff member down the dark red carpeted corridor, he initially felt a mixture of contempt and relief.
He glanced at the woman beside him, whose uniform was simple and even a little rustic, and whose serious profile she wore, and muttered to himself, "Hmph, the people on the other side may not have any other skills, but they're quite good at this 'serving the people' facade. They're really... kind of adorably naive."
This dismissive attitude made him relax his initial vigilance by a little, and he followed the rhythm of the "service process" and moved forward at a leisurely pace.
However, when his gaze shifted from the lesbian and he habitually scanned his surroundings, his professional instinct for observation immediately caught some details that seemed out of place with the "friendly service" atmosphere.
The corridor was quiet, and the terrazzo floor was polished to a shine, so that the sound of footsteps could be heard from afar.
The lights were ordinary incandescent bulbs, but they were installed very densely, making them so bright they were almost blinding, with hardly any shadows or corners.
Liu Yuncang's eyes swept over the tightly closed doors on both sides.
The door was dark red with a thick coat of paint, but what caught his attention was the thickness of the door panel and the door frame—they looked unusually heavy and sturdy, unlike the thin wooden doors of ordinary offices.
The frame and the wall fit together almost perfectly. As he passed a door that was slightly ajar for ventilation, he noticed a heavy brass-colored metal latch that appeared to be installed along the inner edge of the door.
In the middle of the corridor, there is a tall window with frosted glass, so you can't see outside.
The windows were fitted with iron bars, each about the thickness of a thumb, standing straight up, their tops firmly sealed in the window frame with cement. The bars were painted a similar color to the walls, but were still quite conspicuous.
Not right.
It's too clean, and too "sturdy".
This doesn't look like a regular paperwork place; it's more like...
Where was that again?
Liu Yuncang's initial sense of relief began to sink, and a chill ran down his spine.
Just as they reached a thick, dark red wooden door with a small sign that read "Reception Room," and the female staff member was about to push the door open, Liu Yuncang suddenly put on an extremely embarrassed expression, covered his stomach with one hand, bent over, and said in a weak voice, "Comrade, I'm so sorry... I... my stomach is suddenly a little upset, I think I ate something bad this morning. Excuse me... where is the restroom? Can I go there first?"
This classic excuse indeed drew the staff's concern: "Oh? Are you alright? The restroom is just around the corner."
She pointed to the other end of the corridor, "I'll take you there."
"No need, no need. I can go by myself!"
The staff's continued enthusiastic response relieved Liu Yuncang.
But as soon as he turned the corner and was out of sight of the staff, Liu Yuncang immediately straightened his hunched body. The feigned embarrassment and pain on his face vanished instantly, and the sharp, cold light of a veteran agent flashed in his eyes as he quickly scanned the environment in front of him.
The restroom sign was right in front of him, but he didn't even glance at it; he only had one thought in his mind.
run!
The side corridor in front of us was narrower and dimmer than the main corridor. A few pieces of embassy stuff were piled up on both sides. The door at the end was closed and had a sign that read “Logistics passage, no entry for non-staff”.
However, just as he was about to reach the door, his keen ears caught the faint sounds of voices and objects colliding coming from behind it.
There's someone behind us!
Alarm bells rang in his mind, his steps abruptly halted, and without hesitation, he turned around, retreated, pushed open the door marked "Men's Toilet," and slipped inside.
The restroom was small, with only one cubicle, one sink, and one small window high on the wall.
The windows were small and fitted with the usual horizontal iron railings, which were covered in rust.
For an ordinary person, this would definitely be a dead end.
But Liu Yuncang was no ordinary person.
On the other side of Taiwan, he had a nickname: "Pangolin." This not only referred to his shrewdness in maneuvering and pulling strings, but also to his skill in creating passageways in harsh environments.
No matter how narrow the gap or how sturdy the simple protection, he could use his skills to squeeze through and get out, which was the key reason why he was selected to participate in the demolition plan.
Liu Yuncang quickly pulled out two hard steel bars, slightly shorter than chopsticks and with one end ground at a special angle, from a hidden thin lining inside his belt.
Then, with a light touch of his toes on the edge of the sink, he lifted himself up, hooked one hand firmly on the windowsill, and stuck to the wall like a gecko.
He examined the window railing, then inserted the steel bar in his hand into the gap between the railing and the top edge of the window frame. He suddenly pressed down with his full weight, while twisting his waist in a strange way, concentrating the force on one point!
"Squeak—creak—"
A sickening metallic clanging sound rang out as cracks appeared on the cement edge securing the horizontal bar, and the rivets were pried open and slightly bulged.
Without stopping, he repeated the process to deal with the lower railing. After a few forceful prying moves, he "torn" the entire railing, along with the remaining rivets, from the loose window frame!
He carefully moved the deformed railing aside, then peered out the window. Outside was a narrow alley between the embassy building and the wall, cluttered with debris and deserted.
The window opening was very small, less than one and a half feet wide and less than two feet high.
Liu Yuncang took a deep breath and took off his coat. His bones seemed to make a faint "clicking" sound. He first stretched out his head and one shoulder, and in a posture that almost defied human anatomy, he squeezed his shoulder blade in and out of the window.
Next came his chest and abdomen. He held his breath, expelled the air from his chest cavity, making his torso flatter, and with an indescribable suppleness in his waist, he slowly shuffled out.
Finally, the hips and legs, under extreme compression and angle adjustments, struggled to escape.
"Huhuhu..."
Liu Yuncang dared not linger. After observing the surroundings, he used the debris and protrusions on the wall to move silently along the gaps, like a real pangolin, and soon arrived at the foot of the wall.
The embassy's wall wasn't particularly high, but there were anti-climbing measures at the top. However, this didn't stump Liu Yuncang. He spotted a slightly weathered spot on the wall bricks, pulled out a small piece of thin rope with a hook from the lining of his shoe heel, and gently tossed it up. After two attempts, the hook got stuck on a protrusion on the top of the wall.
He tugged to make sure it was secure, then took a deep breath and, using his arm strength and skill, quickly and silently climbed up, carefully avoiding the obstacles at the top, flipped over, and landed in the dimly lit alley outside the wall.
As he felt solid ground beneath his feet, Liu Yuncang leaned against the cold brick wall, panting heavily. Cold sweat mixed with the hot sweat from his struggle, soaking him completely, and his wounds began to sting.
They escaped!
We're safe for now!