1

At night, the wooden house on the cliff was dead silent, and suddenly, one of the back windows of the wooden house opened, and a black shadow jumped out of the back window, and the black shadow got up to cover the back window, patted the dust on his body, picked up his backpack, and walked towards the gravel road in front of the wooden house.

The gravel road leads to the dark forest, the black shadow walked to the gravel road, looked back at the wooden house, and looked at the terrible black forest in front of him, watched for a long time, seemed to hesitate, when the black shadow hesitated, just took a step forward, there was a terrible wolf howl in the forest, the black shadow stopped again, he wandered, wandered on the gravel road, after a few minutes, the black shadow seemed to have made up his mind, left the gravel road, and walked into the thorns on the edge of the cliff.

Next to him is a steep cliff, under the foot is a thorn without a road, the black shadow is a foot deep, a shallow step, in the thorns on the cliff difficult to advance, not far out, the black shadow staggered, almost tripped by the rocks under his feet, the black shadow stood up straight, suddenly, he found that on the edge of the cliff in front of him, there was a strong man, facing him, the black shadow couldn't help but take a step back, the night hid the panic in his heart, he rubbed his eyes, couldn't believe the scene in front of him, who was this? What does he want to do?

The black shadow was bold and moved half a step forward, and it happened that a ray of moonlight sprinkled on the face of the person opposite, and the black shadow widened his eyes in shock,——Ah! The person on the other side turned out to be Han Jiang!

Yes, it was Han Jiang who blocked the way of the black shadow, and Han Jiang let out two sneers in the moonlight: "Old Ma, it's so late, you don't sleep, where are you going?" ”

The black shadow trembled, and hurriedly retreated, unexpectedly, another person flashed out from behind, blocking his way, Makarov recognized the person behind him - it was Tang Feng! Tang Feng turned on the flashlight, and the beam of the flashlight shot directly on the black shadow's face, and Tang Feng also saw the face of the black shadow clearly - Makarov! Seeing that there was no way out, Makarov had no choice but to say to Tang Feng: "Don! If you're good, that's where the stuff is. ”

"I should have expected that you would have a problem! Can...... Or did Han Jiang say to me that you would make a move tonight, and I suspected you, I asked you what you were thinking during the day, and you didn't want to say anything, in fact, you had already calculated it! Tang Feng sneered, walked to Makarov's side, opened his backpack, and in the bag was the familiar red sandalwood box, open the box, the exquisite jade interstitial screen, shining faintly green in the moonlight, not bad! It was the jade insert that Liang Yuan brought, Tang Feng covered the box and put it in his bag.

"How do you know that I'm going to steal the jade interstitial screen tonight?" Makarov asked puzzled.

"Hehe, you and Yelena's identity, kung fu and eyes, especially the eyes of the two of you, we don't know who you are, but you and Yelena have long been eyeing our backpacks, since the plane made a forced landing, you have been eyeing our bags, yesterday ...... Yesterday morning, when we walked out of the cave along the underground river, several of our backpacks were handed over to you, and you took advantage of our inattention and secretly looked through our backpacks, am I right? Old horses. Han Jiang also walked up to Makarov and said.

"Yes, it still hasn't escaped your eyes, when Yelena and I saw that little girl on the plane, we suspected that there was something we wanted in your bag, yesterday morning, the opportunity finally came, I found the jade insert, which is exactly the one we were looking for, but, yesterday there has been no chance to ......"

"This is the opportunity tonight, hehe...... If you leave now, aren't you afraid of being eaten by the wolves here? Aren't you afraid to step on the edge of this cliff and fall into the abyss? Don Feng interrupted Makarov.

"Hah! Ha! When Makarov heard this, he laughed loudly, laughed, and said to Tang Feng: "Don, you underestimate me too much, since I came here, I don't know what fear is, even if I really encounter danger, I will bury fear deep in my heart, in my career, I have experienced countless dangers, I have been a person who has died several times, many of my colleagues and comrades-in-arms have already left me, I am fortunate to have survived to this day!" Makarov slowly regained his composure.

Han Jiang took two steps forward, approached Makarov, and said coldly: "Old Ma, I think it is necessary for us to get to know each other again." ”

Makarov nodded at Han Jiang and Tang Feng, and said, "Yes, now that the matter has come, I also feel that it is very necessary!" I have to admit that so far, Yelena's trip to China has been terrible! There's no need for me to hide anything from you anymore. ”

"Good! Then let me ask you, who are you and Yelena? Han Jiang asked.

Makarov looked at Tang Feng and Han Jiang, and then said very calmly: "I worked in the KGB for a long time before I retired, and after the collapse of the Soviet Union, I retired with the rank of major general; As for Yelena, she is the FSB's ace female agent! ”

"Oh! KGB?! Tang Feng and Han Jiang invariably thought of the seven top-secret letters of the KGB that they had deciphered.

2

Tang Feng thought for a moment, and then asked Makarov: "I didn't expect you to be a general, Major General Makarov." So, Yelena isn't your daughter either, is she? ”

Makarov, who had not heard anyone call him a "general" for many years, sneered lightly and said: "General, hum! I'm long since I retired. Yes, Yelena, she is not my own daughter, she was my student, but I now regard her as my own daughter. ”

"What is the purpose of your trip? Also for this jade interstitial? Han Jiang asked.

"Yes, that's what Yelena and I are tasked with." Makarov replied.

"How did you get your sights on us?"

"Yelena and I met you, it is both a coincidence and the arrangement of fate, more than three months ago, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg lost a precious work of art, that is, this Xixia jade interstitial, this jade interstitial is very important, so, the headquarters appointed Yelena and I to come to China, trace the whereabouts of the jade interpolation, from Beijing to Hong Kong, have left our footprints, the auction in Beijing, we were one step late, otherwise I would have stopped the auction, later, we went to Hong Kong again, the same one step late, as a result, We witnessed that bloody battle in Hong Kong. Makarov explained.

"Hong Kong? Were you there that time? Tang Feng recalled the frightening nightmare in Hong Kong more than a month ago.

Makarov nodded, "Yes, as soon as we arrived in Hong Kong, Yelena and I were surprised by the bloody battle we witnessed, because we didn't expect so many people to be interested in jade interstitials!" After that, the news about the jade interstitial seems to have disappeared. But just when we were at a loss, we got an important piece of information, saying that in China, here, there might be another jade interstitial, so we judged that the person who got this jade interstitial screen would definitely come here to look for another jade interstitial, so ......"

"That's why you're here."

"But I never thought that the person who got this jade interstitial screen would be you! Okay, I've said everything I should say, what to do with me, you can do it, whether to push me off the cliff directly, or give me a knife first, I see, you still just push me off the cliff, so clean, leave no traces, and save me from suffering again! Makarov spoke impassionedly, with a righteous and awe-inspiring look.

"What? Who do you think of us? Han Jiang said angrily.

"Who? When I first saw you, I really believed your nonsense, the Chinese policemen and university teachers who came to travel, hehe, now it seems that you are just a group of people who also want to get the secret of the jade interstitial, you are no different from those gangsters! ”

"Fart! I'll tell you the truth, anyway, you're already in my hands, and I'm not afraid of you leaking secrets, we are looking for the jade insert for our country, uncovering the secret behind the jade insert, and also for those unjust souls who died because of the jade insert, 'Old K', have you heard of it? …… Now you should get the idea! ”

Makarov looked at Han Jiang's serious face, and somewhat understood, he frowned tightly, recalling: "'Old K'! When I went to the headquarters in Moscow, I seemed to have heard about it. ”

"Well, now that you know who we really are, you should know what we have to do and what we won't do. You tried to steal the jade interstitial, and the wicked person sued first, suspecting us, and I still doubt you? Qiang Village? Celestial burial platform? Namor Grand Canyon? Even the plane crash, you explained to me all the way to our bizarre encounter! Han Jiang gritted his teeth and approached Makarov and said.

"You doubt me? Why doubt me? Yelena's mission and I are to retrieve the jade interstitial, and nothing else is our business. Makarov argued.

"Retrieve? The jade interstitial screen belongs to China. Tang Feng interjected.

Makarov turned to Tang Feng and said: "It is a Chinese work of art, but it arrived in Russia very early, and for more than a hundred years, this jade insert has belonged to the Hermitage, and only recently it was stolen from the Hermitage." ”

"Yes, we also know that this jade insert is returned from Russia, but the crux of the matter is not here, I advise you to tell the truth! How much do you know about the whole thing? How much do you know about jade interstitials? Han Jiang continued to question Makarov.

"I can't say, it's our secret. But...... I can only tell you that we know that there is more than one jade interstitial, as for the others, we know very little, and even if we do, it is a secret that cannot be said. ”

"You don't know this, and you can't say, well, let me ask you, where did Yelena go? You should know that! As he spoke, Han Jiang stretched out his iron arm and grabbed Makarov's chest.

3

Makarov glared at Han Jiang and said angrily, "Where did Yelena go?" Didn't you see it all, she was missing, most likely caught by the men in black. ”

"Don't pretend, Yelena was caught by the man in black? She's your ace agent, and we've all escaped the hunt, so she's so skilled, how could she be caught? Look at your performance again, Yelena is missing, you are not in a hurry at all, I want to go up to her, but you stop me, hmph, doesn't this explain the problem? ”

"Han Jiang, what do you mean?"

"What do you mean? Quite simply, I suspect that Yelena left us on purpose, where did she go? She's gone to command your people, and she's going to report to your people, and that group of foreign black-clothed people in the Namor Grand Canyon are your people at all! I'm blind, I actually believe your nonsense, think about it carefully, I should understand, such a powerful, professional man in black, can it be an ordinary criminal group? No! By no means, they're your people, all trained agents. ”

After listening to Han Jiang's words, Makarov was furious, grabbed Han Jiang's chest as well, and shouted: "You are slandering, shameless slander, I don't know who those men in black are, but I can swear, this time in China, there are only two people, me and Yelena, I am also worried about Yelena, although Yelena is not my own daughter, but now, she is closer than my own daughter, I don't allow you to slander her, if you insist on accusing us like this, then, please come up with evidence, show evidence." ”

"I think what Lao Ma said is the truth, along the way, so many hardships and dangers, so many life and death tests, we were all born and died together, I believe Lao Ma is not that kind of person." Tang Feng began to waver.

Han Jiang didn't pay attention to Tang Feng, and Makarov kept looking at each other, after this back and forth confrontation, although their hearts have softened, but no one wants to give in first, the whistling wind blew in their ears, time passed minute by minute, and finally, Han Jiang softened first: "You stubborn old man, that's good, I'll believe you again!" ”

Han Jiang let go of Makarov, Makarov also let go of Han Jiang, Han Jiang rubbed his chest, and said, "Another question?" ”

"Tell me all the questions you have, as long as I know and can say it, I will tell you."

"Don't you KGB have anyone to send, why did you send the two of you, a woman, and a retired old man like you?"

Makarov was stunned when he heard Han Jiang ask this, he stared directly at Tang Feng and Han Jiang in front of him, gradually, Makarov's eyes were a little moist, Tang Feng and Han Jiang were surprised, what's wrong? I have never seen the old horse cry, but I heard Makarov choke up and again: "This is going to start from the beginning, I have long since retired, and I should have been at home for a long time, but I didn't expect it...... Unexpectedly, my only son turned out to be ...... Because of this jade insert, the murderer has not been caught, and my son has been wronged, and I can't tolerate the damage to my son's reputation, so I vow to recover the lost jade insert in the Winter Palace, return my son's innocence, and catch the murderer of my son......" Speaking of this, a door appeared in front of Makarov's eyes, and everything began after he opened this door.

4

……

Makarov anxiously rummaged through his body, tremblingly took out a key from his pocket, he wanted to align the keyhole, but he couldn't get it right, Makarov's hands trembled even more, he tried his best to keep himself calm, he calmed down, he aimed his hands at the keyhole again, the key finally entered the keyhole, and with a "click", the door in front of him opened.

Makarov cautiously walked into the dark space behind the door, it was pitch black, he reached out and touched the light switch next to the door, but the light was not on, Makarov's heart felt more and more bad, "Is there a power outage?" Makarov was suspicious, and took out the flashlight on his body, and a pillar of strong light hit the wall, where is this? A corridor? Makarov suddenly had a feeling of being in a different world, he fumbled, and came to a door again, he pushed the door open, and there was a dark room inside, he saw the scarlet sofa in the room, the color made Makarov's chest nauseous, he hurriedly withdrew from this room, the corridor, the long corridor, and a closed door, Makarov stretched out his hand, pushed the door hard, the door was unlocked, and opened with a light push, and the light column of the flashlight swept all over every corner of the room, a bed, a bedside table, a cupboard, a cupboard...... The bed was a little messy, Makarov's heart tightened, and he slowly, slowly, step by step, exited this room, still this corridor, another dark room, and then, still endless corridors......

Finally, Makarov came to the end of the corridor, in front of him was a hidden door, his old right hand trembled violently, Makarov stretched out his hand, but when his hand just touched the door in front of him, the door opened by itself, Makarov immediately smelled a familiar smell of blood, which he had smelled countless times in his career, and he shone it with a slight flashlight, and in front of him was a scene that he would never forget—a man lying naked in the bathtub, half of the water in the bathtub, It was completely red with blood, and the blood on the man's throat had completely turned into a thick, disgusting plasma.

"Viktor, Viktor, my son......" Makarov muttered to himself, sitting alone on the scarlet couch in a heartbroken state, the world around him seemed to have stood still, the police came in and out, taking pictures, collecting evidence, and even his son's body was carried away, all of which did not attract his attention, and his eyes appeared in front of his eyes thirty years ago, also in this summer, he was holding his son, boating on the beautiful Neva River, and his son liked to eat strawberry ice cream sold in cold drink shops on Nevsky Prospect......

"You are Ivan Petrovich? The father of the victim Viktor Ivanovich Makarov? A loud voice interrupted Makarov's memories. He raised his head, looked at the big man in front of him in distraction, and nodded.

"The case is now in charge of me, I am Major Valentin Sergelovich Ivanov of the Federal Security Service." The visitor introduced himself and showed Makarov his ID.

As soon as Makarov heard that the person in front of him was an agent of the Federal Security Service, he immediately became alert, he knew that the predecessor of the Federal Security Service was the famous KGB, how could the death of his son attract the attention of the FSB agents? He looked around, the policemen who were still taking pictures and collecting evidence just now were gone, and in the empty room, at this moment, only he and the agent named Ivanov in front of him were left.

"Major, I have alarmed you! Isn't this an ordinary criminal case? Makarov tried his best to keep himself calm in front of Ivanov and put on the appearance of an old-timer.

Ivanov moved a chair and sat opposite Makarov, he stared at Makarov for a long time, squeezed out a smile on his face, and said: "First of all, I am sorry for the murder of your son......" Ivanov said this, he looked like he wanted to say something, and he muttered for a long time before he said to Makarov: "Let me be straight, the reason why we are investigating this case is because we think that your son's death involves a major case of theft and smuggling of cultural relics, you know, our Federal Security Service is not only engaged in intelligence, All major cases are related to us. ”

"A major case of theft and smuggling of cultural relics? My son is just a businessman who runs a decoration company, what does it have to do with cultural relics? "Makarov knows the traditions of the KGB, likes to take care of everything, and is eager to meddle in any case.

"Yes, our intelligence will not be wrong, the Hermitage has lost a very important artifact, and your son's company recently participated in a renovation project in the Hermitage, therefore, we suspect ......"

"The Hermitage?" Makarov quickly remembered that a few months ago, his son had excitedly told himself about it, the Winter Palace, the former Tsar's Palace, today the Hermitage Museum, the three largest museums in the world along with the British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris, the pride of Russia. The Hermitage treasures countless treasures and cultural relics from all over the world, could it be that Victor really did something stupid and took advantage of the opportunity to do engineering for the Hermitage to steal the cultural relics of the Hermitage? "Nope! My son would never do anything illegal! Although the son is dead, Makarov will not allow anyone to tarnish his son's reputation.

Ivanov wanted to say something, but Makarov couldn't listen anymore, he stood up abruptly and shouted at Ivanov: "Who is your boss?" If I'm not mistaken, it's Ilyugin! Take me to him! This kid was my student back then, and now he actually climbed on my head, and now he dares to ...... me like this" Makarov was so angry that he ignored Ivanov and rushed out of the room.

5

Makarov angrily went downstairs to the apartment, glanced at the taxis parked on the side of the street, and then, ignoring the drivers of the cabs parked in front of him, he sat straight into an old-fashioned "Lada" taxi at the back of the line.

"Go to the FSB building." Makarov instructed the driver, who did not drive, but looked back at the stubborn man in confusion.

"Didn't you hear? Go to the FSB building. Makarov urged, and the driver shook his head helplessly, so he had to start the car and drive towards the building of the Federal Security Service in St. Petersburg.

The Lada car was parked downstairs in the FSB, and without waiting for the car to stop, Makarov jumped out of the car and walked towards the building, and the driver, seeing this, also jumped out of the car, chased Makarov and shouted: "Sir, you haven't paid the fare yet?" ”

Makarov turned around, squeezed out a little smile, and said to the driver: "I'm sorry, I left home in a hurry and forgot to bring my wallet, but I think you can go back and report my name to Ilyugin, and he will reimburse you for this fare, remember, my name is Makarov, Ivan Petrovich Makarov!" ”

Makarov broke into the building of the Security Service alone, and several layers of security in the building immediately became nervous, and two uniformed guards rushed up: "Excuse me, sir, this is the Federal Security Service, who are you looking for?" Please register first. Makarov didn't pay attention to these two guards at all, but he stretched his arm lightly, twisted the hand of one of the guards behind him with his left hand, and then stretched out his right arm, which was as hard as an iron bar, and gently pushed, and in an instant, the guard fell to the ground in great pain; Seeing this, another guard did not dare to step forward and watched Makarov pass through the first line of defense.

Coming upstairs, the building that had been full of murder just now, suddenly quieted down, and Makarov came to Ilyugin's office unhindered, Ilyugin was obviously ready, and as soon as he saw Makarov, Ilyugin greeted him with a smile on his face: "Dear teacher, why did you come to me today." ”

Makarov didn't pay attention to Ilyugin's set, he looked at Ilyugin carefully, he hadn't seen it for more than ten years, Ilyugin's appearance had hardly changed, he was as thin and withered as before, with a parted hair, a mustache on his lips, and only those bright eyes, revealing the shrewdness and strength of this person.

Makarov asked directly: "What evidence do you have to suspect that my son has stolen the artifacts of the Winter Palace, and I will never allow you to tarnish my son's reputation." ”

"Dear teacher, don't get excited, of course we have proof." Ilyugin still had a smile on his face.

"What evidence?"

"I don't think Ivanov made it clear to you that it was not your son who stole the treasures of the Winter Palace, but your son who found them in the Winter Palace."

"Found a treasure?"

"Yes, when your son was renovating the Winter Palace, he found a very important treasure in a basement that had been closed for decades, but unfortunately your son did not hand it over, but took it for himself and smuggled it out of the Winter Palace, and I think it was because he took this priceless treasure for himself that he was killed."

Makarov listened to Ilyugin's words, and was stunned for a moment, Ilyugin's explanation is reasonable, is it really the death of his son? "What kind of treasure is that?" Makarov froze and asked again.

Ilyugin took out a yellowed black-and-white photo from a drawer and handed it to Makarov: "Wow! I didn't know what to call it, so I consulted the experts at the Hermitage Museum, and they said that it was a treasure from China, nearly a thousand years old, called ...... What's ...... called?"

"Its name is the jade interstitial screen with inlaid jewels and lotus patterns, and it is a treasure from the Xixia Dynasty in China." Before Ilyugin finished speaking, Makarov had slowly said the name of the treasure on the photo, and then looked at Makarov, staring at the photo in his hand, the whole person was instantly stunned, and the eyes that had been gods suddenly became cloudy and frightened.

6

Ilyugin was surprised to hear Makarov tell the name of the treasure in the photo: "You know this thing!" Immediately, he asked Makarov: "It seems that you must have seen this treasure at your son's place, we searched your son's apartment, but we did not find this treasure, do you know its whereabouts?" ”

"Nope! No one knows its whereabouts, so anyone who tries to get their hands on this treasure will be punished with the severest punishment, the Blood Curse...... Terrible Blood Curse! Makarov muttered to himself.

"What are you talking about?" Ilyugin seemed to see the dawn of solving the case, and two cold lights appeared in his eyes, approaching Makarov.

Makarov, who came back to his senses a little, said weakly: "Don't be in vain, this case is not as simple as you imagined, I advise you to stay away from this case as much as possible, for the sake of our teachers and students, I am for your good." ”

"Joke! This case is about to be solved, why should I give up! I know that you still hold a grudge against me for what happened before, and this case involves your son again, so you don't want to see me solve the case. Ilyugin was still confident in solving the case, and he didn't listen to Makarov's advice at all.

Makarov shook his head and said to Ilyudkin: "If you don't listen to me, you will suffer, so let's call me to Moscow, and I will let you know the seriousness of the situation." ”

When Ilyugin heard this, he was stunned for a moment, and then said with a smile: "My dear teacher, you are old and confused, do you think you can call the headquarters directly?" Even I didn't dare to call the headquarters casually. ”

"I know that I am not qualified to call the headquarters, so I have to trouble you to call me to the headquarters, I repeat, this matter is very serious, if it is delayed because of you, then you, the director, will be the end." Makarov's tone was firm and unquestionable.

Ilyugin secretly wondered in his heart, what does this old man want to do, call the headquarters to sue me? Maybe it's because of his son's heart, and his son's death made him mentally disordered and confused? He's old and confused, I can't be confused with him, thinking of this, Ilyugin put away his smiling face and said solemnly: "Enough! Teacher, I have put up with you again and again, you trespassed into the FSB building and injured the guards, it is enough for you to go to court, I advise you to cooperate with our investigation, don't mess around, this will not benefit anyone. ”

Makarov shook his head and sighed: "It seems that you are still obsessed, you ask me how I know this treasure, I can tell you a little about the past of this treasure, half a century ago, China and the Soviet Union once organized a joint scientific expedition, nominally a scientific expedition, in fact, to uncover the secret of this jade interstitial." ”

"Secret?" Ilyugin was curious.

"Yes. But something happened to the scientific expedition team later, and almost all the troops were wiped out, and the jade insert has never been known since,...... Today, after half a century of vanishing, this treasure has resurfaced, and it is by no means as simple as you think. ”

Ilyugin listened to Makarov's words, and his heart began to move, what if it was really as the old fellow said, things were more serious than I expected? That...... After thinking about it, he finally listened to Makarov's advice and dialed the red line number of the Moscow headquarters.

7

At a military airfield outside Petersburg, an Il-76 military transport plane from Moscow landed on the runway and was slowly gliding towards the tarmac.

Makarov, Ilyugin and Ivanov had been waiting on the side of the runway for a long time, "What kind of case is this, to send such a large Il-76, and to move so quickly, I have never seen such a formation." Ivanov, who was behind him, whispered to Ilyugin.

Makarov was also confused, he guessed that this Il-76 must be carrying some special equipment in its huge fuselage, and it is likely to carry a well-equipped special commando team, who will lead this special commando team?

Il-76 stopped on the tarmac and slowly lowered the rear hatch, everyone's eyes widened, staring at the rear hatch, but time passed minute by minute, in the rear hatch, there was no special equipment out of Ilyugin's conjecture, and no heavily armed special forces came out, everyone waited anxiously for five or six minutes, and suddenly, an extremely strong Uas military jeep almost jumped out of the rear hatch, and "Uas" made a sharp turn on the tarmac, making a violent brake sound, Then they hurried in the direction where Ilyugin and they were standing.

"It's—she!" Ilyugin's exclamations were heard from behind Makarov.

"Who? Head, who do you say she is? Ivanov asked.

"Yelena!" Ilyugin's mouth had not yet closed, and he said vaguely.

"Yelena! Is her name Yelena? What's her last name......"

"No one knows what her last name is, let alone her full name, not even if 'Yelena' is her real name." After Ilyugin said these words, he finally closed his mouth.

"Uaz" is getting closer and closer, but there is no intention of slowing down, seeing that it is about to hit Iryukin, Ilyugin is so shocked that Ilyugin is ready to run, Makarov's eyes widened, and he involuntarily took a step back, with "Squeak! - "With a long, screeching sound of brakes, I saw "Uass" limp in front of Makarov and stop steadily.

Yelena jumped out of the car and first came to Makarov: "Hello, dear teacher! Do you remember me? ”

"You are ......," Makarov struggled to recall.

"Do you remember your last class of students? …… Yelena. Although you have only taught us for a year, I have always respected you. ”

"Yelena! You are Yelena! Makarov couldn't believe that the thin little girl stood in front of him today.

"I heard that your son was unfortunately killed, and he was also involved in this case...... I'm sad too. Just when Yelena and Makarov told each other about the friendship between teachers and students, Ilyugin and Ivanov also looked at Yelena from behind, only to see Yelena dressed as a pilot, although she was in her thirties, her figure was still perfect, a pair of sunglasses framed on her short brown hair, and a little light makeup on her face covered up the few wrinkles left by the years, "What a natural stunner." Ivanov looked a little apprehensive.

"You'd better be sober, as far as I know, the men chasing her can be lined up, but she didn't take a fancy to any of them, and she is still alone, there are few men in this world that she can look down on." Ilyugin whispered to Ivanov.

"Why is she alone on such a big plane? Listen to you so, is she still a woman? ”

"One of her is enough for you! She's not a woman in the first place, she's psychopathic, and besides, I have to tell you that her kung fu is very good, you must not mess with her. The more Ilyugin spoke, the more energetic he became.

The two were muttering in a whisper, Yelena had already come to Ilyugin: "Hello, Colonel Ilyugin, you are talking bad about me again." ”

"How dare I, you are a celebrity in the headquarters, you are the embodiment of the perfect goddess in my mind, look at your dress, you just flew the plane yourself?" In front of beautiful women, Ilyugin never skimped on his praise.

"Yes! The matter was urgent, so I had to fly it myself. ”

"Ahh Dear Yelena, you are amazing, you are now in my heart, not just a goddess, but also an angel, an angel with wings. Ilyugin's praise became more and more sensual, and Makarov and Ivanov got goosebumps all over their bodies when they listened.

Yelena listened to Ilyugin's praise and showed a rare smile, and then, Ilyugin introduced Ivanov to her, and after the introduction, Yelena put away her smile and said to everyone seriously: "From now on, you all have to listen to my command, including you, Colonel Ilyugin." With that, Yelena set her eyes on Iryukin.

"Of course, I'm at your command, where are we going? Isn't it ...... rest first?" Before Ilyugin could finish speaking, Yelena interrupted him and ordered everyone: "You three come with me to the Winter Palace immediately. ”

8

In the summer of St. Petersburg, ushered in the beautiful white night season, the sunset afterglow reflected in the sky, after a short dusk, the morning light reappeared, on the horizon, revealing red, green, yellow, all kinds of strange light, driving away the night, in this season without night, young people occupy the square in front of the Winter Palace, the music shook the sky, the whole night carnival, the whole Petersburg, turned into a city that never sleeps.

Makarov and Yelena had no intention of lingering, they passed through the group of Atlas giants at the entrance of the Winter Palace, entered the Winter Palace, and in the throne room of the Winter Palace, they met the young scholar Tymoshin who had come to receive them from the Far Eastern Art Museum,

Ji Moshen led everyone to a basement that had just been cleared out under the Winter Palace, which was a small basement, closed on three sides, and connected to the cultural relics warehouse outside that was being renovated on one side, because of the renovation, the cultural relics warehouse outside had been completely vacated.

Tymoshen pointed to the open basement door and introduced: "This place was originally closed by a brick wall, and it is difficult to find this basement from the outside, so we didn't know that there was a basement here, and the basement was only discovered during this renovation." ”

Yelena inspected the scene and turned her face to look at the tall, thin young man with glasses in front of her: "Didn't you ever know that this basement existed?" ”

Timoshen lifted his glasses, nodded and replied: "Yes, we never knew there was a basement here, and then we asked some retired old colleagues, an old colleague who is over 90 years old recalled that during the Great Patriotic War, in order to resist the German fascist air raids, such a basement was indeed dug at that time, which was used as an air-raid shelter, but later, when this basement was closed, why it was closed, and what was hidden in it, he didn't know. "Tymoshen 1510 told everything he knew.

Makarov has been listening quietly, but at this moment, his brain is like a high-speed radar, from Tymoshen's words, capturing all valuable information, this is a habit he has developed in his career for many years, after Tymoshin finished speaking, Makarov interjected: "Since you don't know the existence of this basement, then how do you know that this basement hides the Xixia inlaid jewel wrapped in the lotus pattern jade interstitial?" ”

Tymoshin explained: "Yes, I was the first museum worker to discover the basement, before, this basement was opened by the construction workers, when exactly, I don't know very well, maybe a month ago, maybe two months ago, maybe earlier, the construction workers, blocked the entrance to the basement with canvas, so we didn't find the basement until a week ago, when I found the basement, immediately called the construction team to stop the construction, I went in and checked the basement, in the basement, I found a dusty safe, but when I opened the safe, I found that the safe was empty, look closely, the safe obviously has traces of being pried open, I guess the safe was opened by the construction person, later, I found a black and white photo in the middle of a pile of rubble next to the safe, the photo is the treasure, the photo is written in Chinese and Russian This treasure is called 'Xixia inlaid jewelry wrapped lotus pattern jade interstitial', I think this is probably the treasure thief in a hurry, left next to the safe. ”

Makarov walked to the back wall of the basement, leaned down to check, there were some gravel and thick dust scattered under the back wall, the side of the gravel, is the safe, the door of the safe has been opened, Makarov found squatting in front of the safe, carefully inspected the safe, sure enough, it is a very old safe, the door of the safe is obviously recently pried open, but Makarov still can't believe Tymoshen's words, he asked Tymoshin: "With a photo, you can be sure that the treasure belongs to the museum?" ”

Tymoshin shook her head and said, "Of course, it's not just this photo, but later, we made even more amazing discoveries." ”

9

"More amazing discoveries?" Everyone exclaimed.

"Yes! More astonishing discovery, with my knowledge, I concluded that this Chinese jade insert is very precious, if it is taken out for auction, it must be expensive, but I have worked in the museum for many years, I have no impression of this precious jade insert, so I mobilized my colleagues to search the old archives of the museum to see if there is a registration of this jade insert. The strange thing is that we did not find this jade insert in the relatively new collection catalog, but in the collection catalog of the fifties of the last century, we found this jade insert, and then checked, in the collection catalog of the forties, thirties, twenties, and even before the October Revolution, there is a registration of this jade insert, but in the catalog after the end of the fifties, the registration of this jade insert can no longer be found. ”

"This is really strange, why is it that the previous catalogs were registered, and from the catalogs of the late fifties, this jade insert mysteriously disappeared?" Ilyugin and Ivanov were also puzzled.

Makarov and Yelena were silent, and after a long time, Yelena asked Ilyugin beside her: "After the incident, did you ask the workers of the construction team?" ”

Ilyugin hurriedly replied: "After the museum reported the crime, we made a record of every worker involved in this project, and without exception, all the workers who participated in this project admitted that they found and opened the basement a few months ago, but, without exception, all the workers denied that they had stolen the treasures in the safe, and even when they showed them the photos, they did not know what was on them, so we basically ruled out the suspicion of those workers." ”

"In other words, according to your investigation, Victor is the most suspicious?" Yelena asked Ilyugin rhetorically.

"That's right, the workers listen to him, and only he is the most likely ......"

Before Ilyudkin could finish speaking, Makarov interrupted him and said angrily: "The workers deny that they stole the treasure, and if you believe it, does Viktor admit that he stole the treasure?" ”

"Dear teacher, don't be angry! Of course, we have our reasons, we are very strict with the workers, the workers have no chance to collude with each other, so many workers are unanimous, we can't help but believe it, all the workers present that day pointed out that after opening the basement, it was Victor who was the first. Moreover, at that time, there was a worker who offered to report that the museum had discovered the basement, but your son said 'There is no need, the museum has known about this basement for a long time, there is nothing in the safe at all!' 'Refused. ”

"You?"

"Also, when those workers saw the photo, none of them had seen anything in the photo, let alone what it was, and your son was different, we also asked him, when I showed him this photo, although he also flatly denied it, but with my years of experience in judging cases, I still saw the surprise in your son's eyes that he couldn't hide, I can conclude that your son, must have seen this jade interstitial." Ilyugin explained a lot in one go.

"What I need is evidence, not your speculation and assumptions!" Makarov was clearly dissatisfied with Ilyugin's explanation.

Ilyugin wanted to say something, but was decisively stopped by Yelena, so he heard Yelena say: "Everyone, now I will tell me my inference, all kinds of evidence show that this basement was built during the Great Patriotic War in the forties and was closed at the end of the fifties, when it was closed, a safe was stored inside, and the safe should have hidden the precious jade insert on the photo, and for decades after that, no one knew this secret, and the basement has been closed until this time, when the construction team inadvertently opened the basement and found the treasure, I think these inferences are reasonable, but as to who stole the treasure and where it went, we need to investigate further, and I think it is too early to draw conclusions! ”

Everyone listened to Yelena's reasoning and nodded frequently, but Makarov fell into deeper thought—why did this mysterious basement suddenly close at the end of the fifties? In addition to the jade interstitial screen, what other secrets are closed in the basement? And where is the murderer of his son? Will the nightmare of half a century ago be repeated? The mysterious basement of the Winter Palace - a Pandora's box that has been opened! Makarov felt like his brain was about to burst.

……

10

Makarov tossed and turned for a long time, and he was tired, especially when he thought of his dead son, which made him physically and mentally exhausted, and he collapsed weakly beside a large rock, looking at the silent mountains in the distance...... Tang Feng and Han Jiang had already figured out the identities of Yelena and Makarov at this time, as well as the life experience of the jade interlude before the auction, they had basically dispelled their suspicions about Makarov now, the two couldn't bear to disturb Makarov, and were about to leave, suddenly, Makarov called out to them, and they didn't know what to do, and returned to Makarov, only to find that Makarov was in tears and couldn't cry.

Tang Feng couldn't imagine that such an iron man who never cried would have a relationship with his children, so he had to comfort Makarov and said: "Cry, it's better to cry." ”

Makarov wiped away the old tears on his cheeks, gradually calmed down, and said to Tang Feng and Han Jiang: "There is another important reason why the headquarters sent me to China, I didn't want to say it, and I shouldn't say it, but here today, I want to say, I believe in you, I believe in you, I believe in you and I believe that you will keep this secret." ”

"Secret?"

"Yes! Another important reason why the headquarters sent me to China to retrieve this jade insert is because I am the only person who has ever seen this jade insert. ”

"Ahh Tang Feng and Han Jiang were shocked, and Tang Feng asked, "Didn't you just say that this jade insert has been sealed in the basement of the Winter Palace for decades, how could you have seen it?" ”

"Yes, this jade insert has been sealed in the basement of the Winter Palace for decades, but I saw this jade insert about half a century ago!"

Tang Feng and Han Jiang were already speechless in shock at this time, and Makarov then said slowly: "Since you are investigating the secret of the jade interstitial, you have probably heard of the Sino-Soviet joint scientific expedition team half a century ago, right?" ”

"Ahh Half a century ago? Are you the surviving member of the Soviet expedition? Tang Feng held back for a long time, and finally thought of this amazing fact.

Makarov's eyes also lit up, "It seems that you already know a lot, right!" I was the surviving member of the Soviet team, when the scientific expedition team was wiped out in the depths of the Badain Jaran Desert, only me and a Chinese interpreter survived, and the Chinese interpreter was my best Chinese friend in the scientific expedition team, I still remember it clearly...... His surname is Liang and his name is ...... It's called Liang Yunjie! ”

"This ...... It's incredible, you know who that girl is with us? Tang Feng exclaimed.

"Who is it?"

"It's Liang Yunjie's granddaughter, her name is Liang Yuan!"

"Nope! How is this possible......" Makarov couldn't believe that he had met Liang Yunjie's granddaughter here, "then...... So what happened to her grandfather now? ”

Tang Feng and Han Jiang were silent when they heard Lao Ma ask Liang Yunjie, the two looked at each other, and Tang Feng said in a low voice: "Mr. Liang was killed more than a month ago. ”

"Ahh Killed? Who did it? Makarov asked.

"The case has not been solved so far, but we can basically determine now that it was this group of men in black who killed Liang Yunjie." Tang Feng paused for a moment, and then said: "Liang Yunjie's death has a lot to do with this jade insert, do you know that later this jade insert returned to China, who bought it at the auction?" ”

"Liang Yunjie?"

"Well, Mr. Liang spent 60 million yuan to buy this jade insert, but he didn't expect it to lead to death."

In this way, Liang, he has been paying attention to the jade interstitial screen and the whereabouts of the scientific expedition team that year. Can...... But how did he die? I still want to meet him and talk about the past, hey! It's all fate! The terrible blood curse, it works again, anyone who tries to get the jade interstitial, anyone who wants to uncover the secret of the jade interstitial, will be cursed! Makarov spoke of the blood curse, the silent night, on this empty cliff, Tang Feng and Han Jiang both felt a deep chill.

"What? You've heard of the Blood Curse too? Tang Feng asked.

"Yes, in the scientific expedition team back then, this was a taboo that no one could say, I didn't know it at first, but when the last day, the terrible end was coming, everyone was talking about the blood curse in private, and in the end, it worked!" Makarov's eyes, which had been godly, became cloudy again.

Tang Feng sighed heavily and said to Makarov: "Now it seems that too many people have died since the jade interstitial reappeared, not just your son and Liang Yunjie......"

So, starting from the auction, Tang Feng told Makarov about the whole incident as it was, including what happened to Liang Yunjie later, of course, he still omitted Professor Luo's research results on the jade interstitial.

After listening to Makarov, he sighed, he roughly figured out what happened, and also understood that now only Tang Feng and Han Jiang are worthy of dependence, he made a lot of determination, and said to Tang Feng and Han Jiang: "I have already said that fate is unfair to me, half a century ago, my life was changed because of this jade insert, and half a century later, my son and friends died because of this jade insert!" However, now I don't believe in fate anymore, I want to uncover the secret behind the jade interstitial screen in my lifetime and catch the black hand behind the scenes! ”

"That's right! Let's work together! Tang Feng took the lead in extending his hand to Makarov, and then Makarov and Han Jiang also stretched out their hands, and the hands of the three of them were tightly clasped together.