The room fell silent for a long time before Kong Siyin said, "You mentioned Lin Fen to me that day, so I did match you up, hoping to force you to use your connections. Although I've confirmed that you weren't planted by the East-West coalition, I'm not sure if you just mentioned Lin Fen casually or had other ideas, so I put the box in the warehouse. Because only those who want to find Lin Fen and get to the bottom of the matter will go to the research institute's warehouse to look for the box."
Feng Chen said: "If Dean Kong didn't put the code box in the warehouse of the institute, but hid it somewhere else, I would never find it."
Kong Siyin said meaningfully: "So I am using the box to test you, and you are also using the box to test me?"
Feng Chen said: "When I found the pottery jar with obvious clues in the warehouse of the research institute, I knew that Dean Kong was waiting for me."
Kong Siyin tapped the table with his fingers: "What is your relationship with Feng Zaiping of the Eastern Alliance?"
Feng Chen did not reply, Kong Siyin continued: "Everyone's information is incomplete now, I can't figure out your identity and background, Feng Zaiping's words... are just my guesses."
Feng Chen replied: "Dean Kong guessed correctly, I am the son of Feng Zaiping of the Eastern Alliance Army."
Kong Siyin looked at the young man in front of him: "You are only in your early twenties, but you have such intelligence and strategy. You are indeed the son of Feng Zaiping."
"Does Dean Kong know my father?" Feng Chen felt that this was an unnecessary question as soon as he finished asking. Kong Siyin used to be the director of the Ehart Research Institute, and his father was in charge of the Eastern Alliance's research institute in Haiyun City. How could they not know each other
Kong Siyin didn't care, and just said: "General Feng is a steady and cautious person, and he thinks about things for the long term. Many of the things he said and did may not seem obvious, but there must be other deep meanings behind them."
Feng Chen was still pondering his words when Kong Siyin said, "Sit down, let's talk."
"Yes." Feng Chen stood up and sat down on a chair next to him, resting his hands on his knees and keeping his back straight.
The room became quiet, with only the ticking sound of the wall clock. Kong Siyin remained silent, and Feng Chen did not rush him, just waiting quietly.
Five minutes had passed before Kong Siyin finally spoke: "When Lin Fen handed over the code box, there were three people present. In addition to me, there were also the governor of the Eastern Alliance, Chen Size, and the governor of the Western Alliance, Ran Pinghao."
"Did Major General Lin give it to you personally?" Feng Chen asked.
"Yes, he handed it to me personally." Kong Siyin nodded.
"So what happened later that caused the real box to be swapped?"
Feng Chen did not even ask whether the box that Lin Fen handed him was real or fake, but directly concluded that the box had been swapped. Kong Siyin could not help but look at him deeply.
"Do you trust Lin Fen very much?"
Feng Chen replied without hesitation: "Believe it."
Kong Siyin didn't ask any more questions and slowly said, "That day was October 21, 2114, at 4:10 p.m., I received a notice from the military saying that there was an emergency and asked me to go there quickly. So I put down what I was doing and rushed over..."
…
"Hello, Director Kong."
"Director Kong."
The General Military Headquarters and the Research Institute were not in the same underground accommodation site. Kong Siyin stepped down from the elevator and entered the passage, fiddling with the water droplets that had melted into frost and snow on his hair as he walked.