Mi Qianhu's brow trembled ever so slightly, a movement so subtle that no ordinary person would have noticed it, yet inside his mind alarms had already begun to ring.
"We're being watched," he said quietly, his tone calm enough to pass for idle conversation. "I felt it the moment we stepped into this factory. It has to be the hooded man's black-clad subordinates. They have been observing us the whole time, but they have not acted. Either they are unsure whether we are spies or genuine workers, or they are waiting for us to make the first mistake. Whatever the reason, we cannot afford to relax."
The subordinate beside him lowered his voice. "Boss, most of the people here really do seem like ordinary folk. This place does not feel like the Eastern Depot or the Western Depot. There are no obvious agents lurking around every corner."
Mi Qianhu gave a faint grunt of acknowledgment. He had noticed it too. The Eastern and Western Depots reeked of intrigue. Every corridor there felt like a snake pit. But here in the Chang'an Automobile Factory, the vast majority were plain workers with rough hands and simple expressions. And yet, strangely, that made him even more uneasy.
A place that looked ordinary yet made his instincts scream was far more dangerous than one that flaunted its fangs.
"It may look harmless," Mi Qianhu continued, "but this place is no less than a dragon's pond and a tiger's den. The people watching us are highly skilled. I cannot pinpoint their positions at all. That alone tells me they are at least our equals, perhaps even better than our Jinyiwei when it comes to concealment."
His men felt their backs grow cold.
Mi Qianhu's gaze shifted. "Look. The hooded man just entered that standalone building. It is separate from the workers' residences. That means it is reserved for someone important. Zhu Yujian may have been stripped of his princely title, but he is no ordinary man. There is a strong possibility he is staying there."
One subordinate frowned. "If we approach now, would that not be like beating the grass to startle the snake?"
Mi Qianhu nodded slowly. "Exactly. We will act as though nothing is wrong and return to our dormitories. Fortunately, our dorms face that building. We will have opportunities. Do not panic, and under no circumstances should we expose any weakness."
They dispersed smoothly, each movement practiced and natural. Seven rooms. Seven groups. Their original intention had been to act like wide-eyed newcomers who knew nothing about their surroundings.
Ironically, once they stepped inside, they found themselves genuinely bewildered.
Mi Qianhu noticed a rope hanging by the wall. It looked ordinary enough, yet its placement felt deliberate.
Without much thought, he reached out and tugged it.
A crisp click echoed through the room, and in the next instant a lamp on the ceiling burst into brilliance.
Light flooded the chamber with a force so overwhelming that it felt like noon had been dragged indoors. It was brighter than any oil lamp he had ever seen, brighter than palace lanterns during grand banquets.
Mi Qianhu staggered back. "What sorcery is this?"
"It is a lamp, Boss," one of his men whispered, equally stunned.
"A lamp?" Mi Qianhu stared upward. "Why did it ignite when I pulled the rope? There was no flame."
They stood there like villagers witnessing lightning captured in a glass sphere. The electric bulb glowed steadily above them, indifferent to their shock.
After a few moments their eyes began to ache from the intensity.
Mi Qianhu inhaled sharply. "Such a treasure, hanging so casually from the ceiling. This is no ordinary object."
One subordinate swallowed. "If we took it back and presented it to His Majesty, he would surely be overjoyed."
Mi Qianhu shot him a look. "And how exactly do you propose we steal it? Have you not seen the strange wire attached to it? That must connect to some hidden mechanism. If we tamper with it, this room might instantly release a rain of arrows and turn us into hedgehogs."
His men stiffened, their earlier greed evaporating at once.
"This light is too bright," Mi Qianhu said. "With the room illuminated like this, anyone outside can see us clearly. Turn it off."
He pulled the rope again.
Click.
Darkness reclaimed the room.
Only then did they breathe properly.
"Good," Mi Qianhu murmured. "We will observe from the shadows. Through the gaps in the curtains we can monitor that building. We rotate every two hours tonight."
Across the woods, Bin Sheng narrowed his eyes as he watched the dormitory windows.
"Suspicious," he muttered. "What kind of normal person dislikes a brightly lit room? They turned it off immediately. Only spies prefer darkness."
One of the Labor Models beside him asked, "What is our move?"
"We keep watching," Bin Sheng replied. "We rotate every two hours as well. If they sneak out in the dead of night, we catch them in the act."
Thus, without a single blade drawn, the invisible contest tightened around Zhu Yujian like a noose.
Meanwhile, the man at the center of it all remained blissfully unaware.
Zhu Yujian entered the guesthouse, cheerfully pulled the switch, and sat beneath the warm glow of the electric lamp. He laid out brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, then began to write down everything he had observed during his tour of the factory. Each character was carefully formed, as if he were engraving his thoughts into history itself.
"If I ever have the chance to govern again," he murmured to himself, "this is where I would begin."
He paused, then laughed softly at his own foolishness.
"What chance would I have to govern? I am still a prince, even if stripped of title. Perhaps living idly like Zhu Cunji is the proper path after all."
From the dormitory across the way, a Jinyiwei agent whispered, "He is writing. He has not removed his hood. He pauses often, deep in thought. Whatever he is recording must be important."
Mi Qianhu's eyes sharpened. "Then those notes may contain clues about him. Tomorrow we find a chance to enter that building and take them."
The men nodded.
Zhu Yujian soon extinguished the light and went to sleep. The spies continued their silent rotations, and Bin Sheng's people mirrored them in return. Each side watched the other, neither willing to blink first.
Morning arrived without incident.
At dawn, Zhu Yujian rose early and blended seamlessly into the crowd of workers. He ran laps around the sports field, chatting and laughing, looking every bit like an ordinary man enjoying simple labor.
Mi Qianhu observed from a distance, his eyes gleaming.
"Early morning is when vigilance is lowest," he said quietly. "This is our chance."
One of the Jinyiwei stepped forward immediately. "Boss, I volunteer."
Mi Qianhu regarded him for a long moment. "Be extremely careful. If you are captured, we will deny knowing you. We cannot rescue you until open conflict begins."
The agent did not hesitate. "Understood."
Mi Qianhu nodded and issued further instructions. "A few of you create a distraction. Draw the watchers' attention away from the building."
Four agents stepped out into the open ground between the dormitories. They pretended to collide by accident, then split into two pairs facing each other, voices rising in staged irritation.
"Why did you bump into me?"
Their argument grew louder, convincing enough to pull wandering eyes toward them.
And while attention shifted to the quarrel, one shadow detached itself from the edge of the dormitory and began moving silently toward the standalone building where secrets waited behind closed doors.