Chapter 112: A Firing Salute for Him (2)

It took less than half an hour for them to return this time. Commander Liu walked ahead, holding an old, worn file folder, with Firefox following behind as they entered.

The file folder was handed over to Li Fengyi, who carefully opened and examined its contents.

The yellowed document was issued on October 1, 1949, the day the People’s Republic of China was founded. At that time, the new republic faced internal turmoil and external threats. The file was numbered National Document No. 19491001001.

The older generation of revolutionaries had far-reaching foresight. They considered the possibility that, in a potential Third World War, enemies equipped with advanced weaponry such as bombers and atomic bombs might invade and annihilate all national leaders. They pondered how to save the Party and the nation under such dire circumstances.

Though the document could not have foreseen today’s zombie outbreak, it accounted for various disasters and formulated this final contingency plan.

The responsible implementing agency was the predecessor of the Ministry of State Security, the Central Investigation Department. In 1983, when the Central Investigation Department merged with the Political Security Bureau of the Public Security Bureau, parts of the United Front Work Department, and portions of the Commission for Science, Technology, and Industry for National Defense to form the Ministry of State Security of the People’s Republic of China, this plan was entrusted to the Ministry for execution.

The document stipulated that, in the event of such a catastrophe, the Ministry of State Security would investigate Party organizations at all levels nationwide to determine if any were capable of leading the people to overcome enemies and hardships. Upon discovery, power of the Party and state would be transferred to the new organization. If none existed, the Ministry would be responsible for cultivating one.

The first generation of leaders of the New China all signed at the end of the document.

Li Fengyi’s hands trembled; he had never imagined such a plan existed. The elder generation had truly spared no effort for the country, anticipating even the worst situations and continuing to benefit China.

He handed the document to Li Qiang and tried to steady his emotions.

“The day the apocalypse struck, our Ministry of State Security suffered heavy losses as well,” Firefox recounted in a flat tone. “I am the sole survivor at the bureau chief level or above. My minister was bitten by a zombified colleague and asked me to personally end his life. Before dying, he authorized me to take over the Ministry’s work. Acting on this authority, I opened the secret archives of the Ministry and established contact with surviving Ministry organizations across the country.”

“After months of investigation, we have determined that all senior central leaders died either on the day of the apocalypse or shortly thereafter,” Firefox continued without elaborating on the investigation methods. “Following this final contingency plan, we began investigating all surviving organizations nationwide.”

He glanced at Commander Liu with some admiration. “Among the various organizations loyal to the Party and the state, the Special Committee is the bravest in fighting the zombies and has achieved the greatest success.”

He stood at attention and reported to Li Fengyi, “I, Jin Chunsheng, Acting Minister of the Ministry of State Security of the People’s Republic of China, by order of National Document No. 19491001001, hereby transfer the power of China and the People’s Republic of China to Director Li Fengyi of the Special Apocalypse Task Committee. I hope Comrade Li Fengyi will lead the entire Party to overcome difficulties for the nation and the people and achieve new merits. Reported by Jin Chunsheng, Acting Minister of the Ministry of State Security of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China.”

Often, one must admire the reactions of ordinary people. Upon hearing Jin Chunsheng’s report, Li Fengyi burst out swearing, “Damn it, now there’s no hope for rescue from above!”

His outburst cleared the heavy atmosphere in the conference room, and everyone began laughing heartily.

They laughed so much that tears welled up. What kind of situation could thrust grassroots individuals directly into top national leadership positions?

The Ministry of State Security resumed its structure, continuing to operate behind the scenes under the direct leadership of Li Fengyi, Commander Liu, and Li Qiang.

They had hidden operatives in every corner of the country and dispatched personnel to various countries worldwide, continuously funneling intelligence.

This immediately dwarfed the scant information previously obtained mainly through radio stations and survivor camp communications.

Specific tasks were handled by designated departments. Jin Chunsheng found time to report a pre-apocalypse mission to Li Fengyi in private.

This mission was codenamed Falcon within the Ministry of State Security.

The content concerned Ministry agents overseas discovering that the American Central Intelligence Agency had sent personnel to mainland China before the apocalypse to activate a team and complete a certain task.

This mission was classified as top secret by the CIA. Despite years of effort by the Ministry of State Security to infiltrate the CIA, their knowledge was limited to circumstantial evidence suggesting the possibility. Details, including codenames and personnel, remained unknown.

After the apocalypse, the surviving Ministry agents continued their national security mission, detecting a surge of mysterious electromagnetic signals in major cities across the country. Of course, major cities worldwide faced similar phenomena. It was estimated that various hidden operatives, reluctant to reveal themselves, sent out these signals either to request rescue, seek new instructions, or transmit final messages before death while holding their posts.

Surviving cipher specialists within the Ministry cracked many previously baffling pre-apocalypse codes based on these signals. It was simple: after the apocalypse, much of the communication contained keywords like “rescue,” “food,” “water,” “safety,” and “zombies.” Using these as clues, along with accumulated intelligence, many encrypted messages were deciphered, yielding remarkable achievements.

“In fact,” Jin Chunsheng patiently explained, knowing that Li Fengyi was a complete novice to secret work beyond vague portrayals in movies, “much of the security work can be traced back years, even decades.”

Seeing Li Fengyi’s mouth open wider and wider, Jin secretly took pride and thought to himself, “You may be fierce at killing zombies, but in this field, you’re a rookie... well, a rookie boss.”

It’s hard to say that a single order can make a powerful organization surrender entirely without any personal agendas.

“Usually, an intelligence operative’s infiltration takes a long time before they reach a position where they can make an impact,” Jin Chunsheng explained. “If you send someone directly into a senior position, they won’t be trusted. Usually, they’re given a high but nominal post. The most trusted people are those who have accumulated achievements and connections through long-term work within the organization. Only after reaching a certain rank will plans be tailored based on that person.”

“Sometimes, to carry out a specific plan, suitable personnel are sent in to infiltrate from the bottom up. Once they reach a certain position and the conditions to activate the mission are met, the task is initiated. Of course, there are also cases where individuals at a certain rank in the opposing organization are recruited and, after testing, begin a customized mission. Such plans cannot be formulated and executed overnight. In any case, there will always be traces and clues.”