Zhu Yuting got into the car and dialed Shang Zhigen's number. She was worried that he might be sleeping, and she didn't want to talk to him while he was in bed with his wife. However, his voice sounded sober and seemed to have been up for a while.

"Sorry to kick your door out. She said.

"Why do you want to do this?" His tone was more curious than angry.

"I don't understand why you didn't answer the door. Then I heard a scream. I thought you might be in trouble. ” .

"Why did you come here so late?"

"You didn't send me a list of that earthquake site. ”

"Oh, yes! I just put it on my desk and forgot to send it. I'll fax it to you right now. ”

"Thank you. She gave him the fax number of the newly established emergency operations center. "Shang Zhigen, there is one thing I must ask you. She took a deep breath. It was a harder question than she had imagined. She's not a timid person, but she's not as bold as Yu Lili.

She swallowed her spit and said, "You make me think you like me, but why do you want to sleep with your wife?" After all, she spoke.

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a while. And then, he said, "It's not too convenient right now."

"Okay. She tried not to let a tone of disappointment come out of her voice, "I'll send you the fax right away." ”

"Thank you. ”

She hung up the phone and started the car. Yu Lili's idea was not so effective, and it would take two people to negotiate, and Shang Zhigen had no will.

By the time she arrived at the officers' club, Shang Zhigen's fax was already waiting for her. She faxed it to Carl. "We need to send teams to every location up there to monitor and wait for the seismic shaker to come to our door. "I would have liked to have used the police, but I don't think so." They may leak the word. If the locals find out that we think they're targeting, it's going to cause panic. So we had to send out the FBI's manpower. ”

"Okay. Karl frowned at the list, "Anyway, the scope of these places is too big. There is no way for a single group to fully cover an area of one square kilometre. Should we send multiple teams, or should you have your seismologists narrow it down?"

I asked him. Zhu Yuting picked up the phone and dialed Shang Zhigen's number again. "Thank you for sending the fax. She said, and then explained the problem.

"I'll have to go to those places myself," he says, "and look at the traces of previous seismic activity, like dry riverbeds or fault cliffs and things like that, so that I can be a little bit more precise." ”

"Can you go and see it today?" And she immediately said, "I can send an FBI helicopter to take you to those places." ”

"Of course, I guess so. He said, "I mean, for sure." ”

"You can save a lot of lives. ”

"yes. ”

"Can you come to the officers' club in the fortress building?"

"Absolutely. ”

"By the time you get here, the helicopter will be ready. ”

"Okay. ”

"Thank you, Shang Zhigen. ”

But I still want to know, why do you want to exercise with your wife. It's a long day. Zhu Yuting, Shang Zhigen and Carl traveled 1,000 kilometers by helicopter. By nightfall, they had set up twenty-four guards in five places on Shang Chigen's list. Wait until they return to the fortress building. The helicopter landed on the abandoned parade ground. The base is a ghost town, with crumbling office buildings and rows of empty homes.

Zhu Yuting had to go to the emergency operations center and report to a big guy from the F.B.I. Washington headquarters, who came at nine o'clock in the morning, with a swaggering demeanor. But she sent Shang Zhigen to the parking lot first. He parked his car there, and now the parking lot is dark. "What if they bypassed the sentry?" She said.

"Your men are amazing. "

"They are really good. But what if you are afraid? If there's an earthquake somewhere in California, is there any way I can get the news right away?"

"Absolutely. He said, "I can set up a network command center at your command post, I just need a computer and an ISDN phone line." ”

"No problem, can you do it tomorrow?"

"Okay, so if they're causing an earthquake somewhere off the list, you'll know right away. ”

"Is this possible?"

"I don't think so. If their seismologists were good enough, he would pick the places I chose. If he wasn't good enough, they might not have been able to make an earthquake at all. ”

"That's good," she said, "that's good." She'll remember that. So she can tell the big guy who came to Warson that she's got the crisis under control.

She raised her head and looked at Shang Zhigen's face covered by a dark shadow: "Why are you doing sports with your wife?"

"I've been thinking about this all day. ”

"Me too. ”

"I guess I'll have to explain it to you. ”

"Until yesterday, I was convinced that my relationship with her was over. And then, last night, she reminded me of some of the wonderful things in our marriage. She's drifting, funny, gentle, and sexy, and more importantly, she makes me forget all the bad things. ”

"For example?"

He sighed and said, "I think Ren Lian likes to be attracted to people with authority. I'm her professor. She wants a sense of security, and she needs to be told what to do. And what I need is an equal partner, someone who can make decisions and take responsibility together. She didn't like that. ”

"I see what you mean.

"Also, deep down in her heart, she is full of hatred for the whole world. Most of the time, this hatred is hidden. However, when she loses her temper, she becomes very violent. She would throw things at me, very heavy things, like one time she threw a pot of vegetables. She never hurt me, and that's just because she's not strong enough. But if I had a gun at home, I would be scared. And she's so hostile, it's hard for us to live together. ”

"And last night...?"

"I forgot all about that. She seemed to want to try again. I think maybe we should try again, for the sake of Shang Ming's score. Besides......"

She wished she could look at his expression, but the light was too dim. "What?"

"I want to be honest with you, Zhu Yuting, even if you might be angry. I must admit that I am not as rational as I pretend to be, and I am not as righteous as I am. Part of the reason is that she's beautiful, and I want to play sports with her. Now I'm out there. ”

She smiled in the dark. Anyway, Yu Lili is half right. "I knew that," she said, "but I'm glad you told me." Good night. She walked away.

"Good night. He said, blankly. After a while, he stopped her from behind, "Are you angry?"

"Don't be angry," she said, turning back, "it's fine."

Liu Zhan originally thought that Ren Lian would be able to return to the village around three o'clock, but when it was time for dinner, she hadn't returned to the rice yet, so he began to worry, and when night fell, he began to worry about what happened to her. Did she decide to go back to her husband? Did she confess to him? Could it be that she was now wiping away tears from Agent Zhu in the interrogation room of the Federal Building in San Francisco? There was no way for him to sit quietly in his room, or lie on his bed. He grabbed the candle and walked through the vineyards and woods to the circular clearing where he parked, where he waited to see if he could hear the sound of her Subaru engine or the death knell of an FBI helicopter.

The dog heard the movement first, and it pricked up its ears, and it tensed, and then it ran out onto the dirt road, barking wildly. Liu Zhan stood up and listened intently, it was Subaru's voice. A wave of relief welled up in my heart. He watched the headlights through the woods, getting closer and closer. He started to have headaches. It hasn't been like this in years.

Ren Lian stopped the car indiscriminately, got out of the car, and slammed the door.

"I hate you," she said to Liu Zhan, "I hate you for letting me do that kind of thing." ”

"Did I guess right?" He said, "Is Shang Zhigen helping the FBI make a list?"

"you!"

Liu Zhan realized that he had done something wrong, and he should have shown an attitude of understanding and compassion. He allowed his anxiety to blind him. Now, he had to take his time to coax her.

"I asked you to do this because I love you like family, don't you understand?

"No, I don't understand. I don't understand anything. She folded her arms around her chest and turned her back to him, staring out into the woods, "All I know is that I feel like a street girl." ”

Liu Zhan couldn't wait to find out what she had found, but he had to calm her down first.

"Where have you been?" He said.

"Getting around by car. I stopped on the way for a drink. ”

He was silent for a while, and then said, "Street girls sell their bodies for money, and when they get the money, they waste it on clothes and drugs. You're doing it to save your child. I know you're in a bad mood, but you're not bad. You're a good woman."

Finally, she turned to him with tears in her eyes. "I'm sad not just because I did sports with him," she said, "and the reality is worse than that." I enjoy that feeling, and I feel so ashamed. I'm high, really, I'm screaming. ”

Liu Zhan felt a heat wave of jealousy, and he tried to restrain himself. Someday, he will take revenge on Shang Zhigen. But now is not the time to talk about that. He needed to stabilize her emotions.

"It's okay," he muttered, "really, it's okay, I understand you." There's always something weird going on. He took her into his arms and hugged her.

She slowly relaxed, and he could feel her nervousness disappearing little by little.

"Don't you mind?" She said, "You're not angry?"

"Not at all. He lied, rubbing her hair. Hurry up and get down to business, get down to business!

"On the question of the list, you guessed it. She said.

Finally getting to the point.

"That female FBI agent has asked Shang Zhigen to find the best place to cause the earthquake, just as you guessed. ”

Of course she did. I'm so smart.

Ren Lian continued, "When I got there, he was sitting in front of the computer, and it was almost finished. "

"I made him dinner, and it was like that. Liu Zhan can make up for the situation at that time. Once Ren Lian hooks a man, no one can resist it. She's the sexiest when she wants something. She probably took a shower, put on her dressing gown, and then smelled of soap and flowers, and walked around the apartment, pouring a glass of wine or making a cup of coffee, and every now and then letting the dressing gown slide down a little so that he could catch a glimpse of her long legs and crisp breasts.

She would ask Shang Zhigen some questions, and then listen to his answer intently, while smiling at him, the expression on her face as if to say, I love you so much, you can do whatever you want to me.

"When the phone rang, I told him not to answer, and I unplugged the line. But the ugly woman came over anyway. She saw that Shang Zhigen did not answer the door, so she slammed the door open. Oh my God, she was so scared," Liu Zhan realized that she needed to vent properly, so he didn't rush her. "It's almost embarrassing. ”

"Did he give her the list?"

"Not at the time. I guess she was so confused that she didn't even bother to ask him. But she called this morning, so he faxed the list. ”

"Did you get the list?"

"While he was in the shower, I turned on his computer and printed a copy. ”

"And where is it now?"

Ren Lian reached into the back pocket of her jeans, took out a piece of paper folded in four, and handed it to Liu Zhan.