“Special Operations Third Detachment Intelligence Staff Officer and Liaison, Captain Lian Qiao of the Armed Police First Aviation Corps, reporting!”

The young woman stood ramrod straight and saluted.

“Sit, sit, sit, no need to be so formal. Make yourself at home,” Zhao Bowen hurriedly gestured for her to sit down. Old Bai stood to the side, displeased – whose home was this anyway? Old Zhao was acting like he owned the place.

To assert his position as the true owner of the room, Bai Zhen quickly added, “You can be even more relaxed than at your own home.”

“Have you completed all the paperwork?” Zhao Bowen asked.

“Yes, just finished it these past two days. My assignment has been temporarily transferred to the command center,” Lian Qiao nodded, looking around before finding a small plastic stool to sit on among the mountains of documents. She was somewhat surprised – before entering, she hadn’t imagined that this seemingly ordinary residential home would contain such an extraordinary space. Walking in was like entering some kind of operations command center – which it was, formally known as the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Command Center for Reversing the Future and Saving the World.

Lian Qiao was stunned when she first heard the name. If nothing else, it was dramatic enough!

“Have you met Yang Yang?” Zhao Bowen asked.

“Yes, Director Zhao,” Lian Qiao nodded. “Met him yesterday, ran into him on the way back to the complex.”

“Good. He went out with his classmates this afternoon,” Zhao Bowen said. “He should be back before six, then you can get to know each other better.”

“Uh… Lian…” Bai Zhen started to say something.

“Just call me Lian Qiao, Teacher Bai.”

“I’ll call you Comrade Xiao Lian. Comrade Xiao Lian, you said you were sent by the higher-ups as…”

“A counselor,” Lian Qiao said.

“Right, right, counselor. What exactly does a counselor do?”

Bai Zhen had never understood what this counselor position was for. Last night, Zhao Bowen suddenly pulled out his tablet and told them that the higher-ups were sending someone down to be Yang Yang’s counselor. Bai Zhen was completely puzzled – he’d only heard of political instructors and educational officers, and above that were political commissars. Perhaps the higher-ups felt the command center needed a political officer, so they sent an instructor for support. That would make sense, but why send a young woman in her mid-twenties as a political officer?

As a veteran who had transferred to civilian life after three terms as a non-commissioned officer, Bai Zhen was skeptical of this young female soldier’s capabilities.

“A counselor’s role is to provide life guidance. Have you heard of university counselors? It’s the same thing – ensuring your safety during school, monitoring your academic performance, caring about your living conditions, and even helping with job placement after graduation. We’re here to safeguard your entire university experience,” Zhao Bowen explained. “Yang Yang is the core of the plan, the key to everything. But he’s still just a child. The higher-ups aren’t comfortable with him bearing such enormous responsibility and pressure alone. They’re worried about his psychological and emotional stability. So they sent someone with a clean background, strong political qualities, high ideological awareness, and excellent professional capabilities to be his counselor. They specifically wanted someone young, since young people can better relate to each other.”

“Oh, so they sent someone for my son…” Bai Zhen muttered.

“Who else would they send someone for? You?” Zhao Bowen rolled his eyes. “What value does a good-for-nothing old coot like you have that would make the higher-ups specially assign someone to protect you?”

“I’m also the deputy leader!” Bai Zhen protested.

“Not anymore,” Zhao Bowen said. “I have full authority. I can remove you from your position.”

“Hey hey hey hey hey, Old Zhao, let’s talk this through…”

Ignoring Bai Zhen, Zhao Bowen turned to ask Lian Qiao: “Have you been briefed on all the work?”

Lian Qiao paused, then nodded.

“I’ve been fully briefed.”

“Signed all the confidentiality agreements and other miscellaneous paperwork?”

“All procedures have been completed,” the young woman nodded.

“Good. Then you can look at everything in this room, but remember nothing leaves that door. You know the basic confidentiality rules, right? Screen off when leaving, documents face down, and so on – I won’t repeat all that.” Zhao Bowen waved his hand, stuffing a thick stack of materials into the paper shredder, which hummed loudly. “Lian Qiao, since you’re already familiar with all the work, I hope you can complete your mission with full dedication. After all, this is a matter of great importance. We face extraordinary challenges. In the days ahead, you’ll need to give it your all.”

“Understood! I will ensure mission completion,” Lian Qiao sat up straight.

“Lian Qiao, how’s your marksmanship?” Zhao Bowen asked.

Lian Qiao didn’t understand why he was asking this and was momentarily confused, but she still answered honestly.

“It’s… decent. I was a shooting instructor in my company.”

“Please go retrieve your rifle,” Zhao Bowen said.

“Rifle?” Lian Qiao was startled.

“Lie in wait near Meihua Villa. If you notice any suspicious behavior from Bai Zhen, like entering with his left foot first, or his right foot first, eliminate him immediately.”

Bai Zhen angrily threw his pen at Zhao Bowen’s head, but it hit the calmly signing Wang Ning’s head instead. However, Wang Ning’s head was so smooth that the plastic pen cap slipped off with a crisp “ping” as the pen bounced up. Wang Ning exploded: “Fuck!”

Lian Qiao sat obediently to the side, quietly observing her surroundings. This truly was a magical place.

She was very curious about what kind of place could be called the Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Command Center for Reversing the Future and Saving the World. Just by name alone, there couldn’t be anything more impressive and imposing in the whole world. It made one involuntarily imagine a secret base hundreds of meters underground, requiring passage through three layers of strict security, with armed soldiers standing guard, heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft missiles deployed, and blast doors as thick as bank vaults. But she never expected to end up in Nanjing city proper, with this terrifying-sounding command center brazenly situated in a residential area of Qinhuai District!

After passing through layers of political vetting – Lian Qiao would swear she’d never experienced such strict screening in her life, she figured it must have rivaled astronaut selection – she was to report to an apartment complex in Nanjing.

Lian Qiao wondered if perhaps what she saw was just a facade.

Maybe Unit 804, Building 11, Entrance 2 of Meihua Villa was just a cover to fool outsiders, and the real command center was elsewhere, perhaps hundreds of meters deep under Purple Mountain in a super-fortress that even nuclear weapons couldn’t penetrate. There, a group of high-ranking bigwigs sat around a table in darkness, each known only by number codes, secretly planning some grand scheme to save the world…

Zhao Bowen: Did you watch too much EVA?

Lian Qiao: So there’s no secret base here? Like a hidden room behind the walls or something…

Zhao Bowen: You’d have to ask the developer if they designed any secret rooms when building this commercial apartment. If they didn’t, then there aren’t any.

Lian Qiao: But here… can we ensure security?

Zhao Bowen: Why wouldn’t it be secure? Are you a wanted criminal?

Lian Qiao: No.

Zhao Bowen: 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 another pen, which landed with another “ping.”

Wang Ning: Fuck!

Zhao Bowen: We’re not wanted criminals, we’re not plotting rebellion, so what’s not secure? What are we afraid of? Worried the police will suddenly break down the door and arrest us? Lian Qiao, where are we?

Lian Qiao: Nanjing.

Zhao Bowen: You’re in one of the largest cities in the world, home to seven million people. This is the headquarters of the Eastern Theater Command. You have a nuclear-armed permanent member of the UN Security Council protecting you. Besides Zhongnanhai and Beijing’s Western Hills, what place in the world could be safer than our Meihua Villa?

Wang Ning: The White House.

Zhao Bowen: The White House gets blown up in movies all the time!