Chapter 184: Money!

"Evidence, He Tian! How can you make such accusations without evidence? Without proof, this is nothing more than slander!" Lin Shaozhen roared. Faced with He Tian's sigh, Lin Shaozhen's emotions were clearly spinning out of control.

"Lin Shaozhen, I don't need any other evidence! All I need to do is contact your superiors and confirm whether they have received any intelligence from the Japanese side. That will be more than enough!" He Tian looked at Lin Shaozhen and said in a deep voice, "I never expected this, truly never expected that such a massive fish was hidden within the Ministry of State Security! Lin Shaozhen, can you tell me why? Was it for money, or something else?"

Lin Shaozhen fell into a prolonged silence!

Lin Shaozhen knew he had made a mistake! A terrible, catastrophic mistake!
He shouldn't have gone looking for trouble with He Tian! He shouldn't have!
The wisest course of action would have been to quietly eliminate those two agents, and then flee far away. That would have been the only correct choice!

But now, everything was too late!

And all these miscalculations stemmed from his erroneous judgment of He Tian and the driving force of his own unwillingness to accept defeat!

Lin Shaozhen understood all too well that the moment He Tian contacted the headquarters of the Ministry of State Security, everything would be brought to light without a shadow of a doubt...

Yet, Lin Shaozhen never imagined that the outcome would turn out so completely different from his vision of escaping far away to live under an assumed identity!

"It seems you have nothing to say. Very well, I suppose I will have to handle this in my own way! You should know that having your Security Bureau take this matter away versus having me, from Dragon Soul, handle it are two completely different things." He Tian stood up, looked down at Lin Shaozhen, and gave a slight shake of his head.

"How did you suspect me?" Lin Shaozhen raised his head and asked, staring directly at He Tian.

"To be honest, I really didn't suspect you at first! Of course, that was partly because I didn't understand the full picture of the situation. But initially, I had no intention of getting involved in this matter at all! At first, I was more than happy to hand those two agents over to you... after all, you are from the Ministry of State Security! However, I never, ever imagined... that you would use your position as an MSS officer to treat me and my comrades in that manner, completely disregarding the contributions we had made. That was what aroused my suspicion... You should know very well that people like us, once a doubt arises in our minds, will stop at nothing until we get to the bottom of it," He Tian said earnestly and truthfully.

Lin Shaozhen was left utterly speechless...

When all was said and done, everything that happened now was the result of his own redundant actions born from an unwillingness to accept defeat!
Otherwise, Lin Shaozhen believed he would have already successfully departed from China and started an entirely brand-new life!

"Tell me! Why?" He Tian desperately wanted to know the reason!

A colonel in the Ministry of State Security! Although not an Inner Strength practitioner and thus unable to enter the Special Task Force, not being in the Special Task Force made him part of the core administration!
Lin Shaozhen's future should have been exceptionally bright!

Yet, despite all this, Lin Shaozhen had chosen to walk down such a path!
A path of no return!

"There's nothing to say. For money... Why is it that we work so hard, protecting this and protecting that, and yet all we get in return is such a pitiful amount? While others, who do nothing at all, can acquire so much? Why?!" Lin Shaozhen roared in a slightly hysterical tone.

For money!

To be able to enter the Ministry of State Security and rise to the rank of colonel within its ranks, only to ultimately betray one's country, one's beliefs, and one's conscience all for the sake of money.

This left He Tian feeling deeply unsettled!
Money... was this the influence of the broader environment, or was it a lack of firmness in Lin Shaozhen's own character?

"I will keep my promise... I will hand this matter over to your Ministry of State Security! Money... hahaha, for money! Lin Shaozhen, allow me to express my utter contempt for you," He Tian laughed heartily.

"Shunzi, have someone keep a close eye on him. Do not allow him to commit suicide!" Lin Yun said in a deep voice after stepping outside.

Wan Shun immediately issued the instructions to his subordinates!

Then, unable to contain his curiosity, Wan Shun asked, "Instructor, what was his... motive?"

"For money," He Tian sighed and replied.

"For money?" Wan Shun's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. A dignified colonel of the Ministry of State Security had embarked on such a path simply for money!

"This Lin Shaozhen was willing to betray his country and his faith for the sake of money. I'm afraid there might be other things hidden in his background as well. However, those are no longer matters for us to inquire about. I will notify their superiors and let them handle it," He Tian said, shaking his head slightly.

Country, faith... yet they couldn't withstand the temptation of money?
Does money truly possess such immense magic?

He Tian genuinely found it hard to comprehend!
Although He Tian understood the importance of money, he still couldn't wrap his head around it!

Perhaps this was simply a matter of a difference in personal mindset!

He Tian notified the Ministry of State Security, doing so through the official channels of a Dragon Soul member!

The Ministry of State Security was profoundly shocked... and attached the utmost importance to the matter!

He Tian was certain that someone would arrive very soon to take Lin Shaozhen away. They would conduct much deeper interrogations, which would also likely involve John and Chekov. However, none of this had anything to do with He Tian anymore.

A few simple side dishes and a few bottles of Chinese white liquor.
He Tian and his disciple Wan Shun drank to their heart's content!

"Instructor, are we really just handing him over like this?" The prisoner had already been taken away by the Ministry of State Security!
The ones who came were personnel from the Tianhai Municipal Branch of the Ministry of State Security!

He Tian had not shown his face; Wan Shun had handled the entire handover process.

"What else could we do? I really have no desire to meddle in such unsightly affairs," He Tian said, taking a large gulp of liquor and waving his hand dismissively.

"Here, Instructor, I'll drink with you!" Wan Shun also shook his head slightly. A colonel in the Ministry of State Security—the level of privilege and treatment that came with such a position was already exceptionally good! Yet that Lin Shaozhen had chosen to walk down such a path purely for money!

It was truly sigh-inducing!

"Shunzi! Do you know? Your batch was the third group I trained, and also the final batch! How many of you were there in this batch again?" He Tian asked, tapping his fingers on the table.

"Instructor, fifteen! There were fifteen of us!" Wan Shun replied.

"Ah yes, fifteen! The previous two batches were smaller than yours... only twenty people across both batches! That makes a total of thirty-five people," He Tian said in a solemn tone. "I know, and I am well aware, that all of you possess firm convictions and beliefs, and you all understand just how deep your loyalty to the country runs. On this point, I, He Tian, am not boasting... the students trained by me, He Tian, cannot possibly have any issues!"

"Instructor, rest assured, we will only ever make you proud of us. We will never bring shame upon you by acting as such students," Wan Shun said with resolute determination.

"I believe it, I truly believe it... But Lin Shaozhen has served as a warning to me! Truly! Shunzi, if I recall correctly, your hometown is in Gansu, isn't it?" He Tian asked.

"Instructor, you even remember my hometown!" Wan Shun was somewhat touched.

"Nonsense! If a trainer couldn't fully grasp your information, how could he be a trainer?" He Tian stared at Wan Shun and said, "Your family is in the countryside, your parents are still alive but make their living entirely by farming. You have an older brother, a younger brother, and a younger sister! Did I get that right? Life must be pretty tough for them right now, isn't it? And you, you rascal, are you still a bachelor?"

"Instructor, I understand what you mean. I, Wan Shun, swear... no matter when, and under no circumstances, will I ever let these external things affect my faith and loyalty!" Wan Shun said in a deep voice, his face filled with solemnity and seriousness.

"I believe you, I truly believe you... But Shunzi, this is not good! It's far from good! There are simply too many variables at play. And you are not an exception among the thirty-five brothers! The family conditions of our brothers are generally not very good," He Tian patted Wan Shun on the shoulder and said, "As your instructor, overlooking this aspect was my mistake! But, Shunzi, starting from today, this must change! This is a promise from your instructor to you, and to all the brothers!"

"Instructor!" Wan Shun was deeply moved. Regardless of whether He Tian's words were spoken under the influence of alcohol or not, this iron-fisted warrior was genuinely touched.

"Your instructor here has money! Taking care of your worries back home is not a problem at all! I will pull up the personal files of all the brothers! I will arrange all of this myself! Furthermore, you are responsible for contacting all the brothers... Tell them that if there are any retired servicemen in their respective units whose family arrangements are unsatisfactory, send them all to me! Those without any specialized skills can slowly be trained in other areas; those with specialized skills will be assigned corresponding work. For those who do not wish to abandon what they have learned, I will have them work as security guards! I want to ensure that all of you can uphold your faith and loyalty with absolute peace of mind!" He Tian said firmly.

He Tian had to admit that harboring such thoughts was initially triggered by the shock of the Lin Shaozhen incident!
Yet, in the wake of that shock, these thoughts sprang entirely from the depths of He Tian's own heart!

Whether it was Zhu Meng or Wan Shun, the attitude they showed toward him as their instructor left no room for ambiguity; nothing more needed to be said!
Therefore, if He Tian didn't do something, he wouldn't be able to clear his own conscience!

Besides, once you make money, what is it for? Why accumulate so much wealth in the first place? Being able to help his brothers meant more to him than anything else!

Wan Shun was taken aback!
If things were truly as He Tian described, this would be no small sum of money!
Simply settling the families of thirty-five brothers required a significant expenditure!
If one factored in the relocation and placement of personnel from each brother's military unit—even if not all of them, certainly a hundred or more people annually—that was guaranteed!

Just how massive of an expense would that be?
Wan Shun couldn't help but harbor doubts... wondering if the instructor was just boasting... cough, cough. Of course, Wan Shun would never voice those thoughts out loud. Understanding He Tian's heartfelt intentions was already more than enough for him.

"You rascal, you don't believe me, do you? Let me tell you, your instructor here currently owns a group corporation with a market value close to ten billion! And it is still constantly expanding its scale. Do you still say I don't have the ability to help you all?" He Tian caught the expression on Wan Shun's face and immediately scolded him with a smile.

"Instructor, you... you even own a company? And... its market value is close to ten billion?" Wan Shun was genuinely startled... The instructor was truly the instructor; it seemed that no matter what he did, the instructor was always the absolute best!

Wan Shun felt a rather blind sense of worship toward He Tian!