After Crossing Over, I Marked the Empress

The entrance to the basement was hidden beneath a cabinet.

The cabinet wasn’t small, but it was surprisingly light.

After moving it aside, Shen Han thoroughly examined the floor.

“The entrance to the passage is very clean. Someone must frequently enter and exit or clean here. I’ve already checked, and there are no sounds of people talking or moving in the basement.”

“Ma Haoyu, where are you?”

The communication device immediately transmitted the small agent’s hushed reply: “I’m about to enter the storage room.”

Shen Han didn’t speak further. She drew her silenced pistol from its holster, loaded it, and then quietly waited for her comrade to arrive.

No one knew what situation awaited them in the basement before them.

It could be the evidence the Empress’s team had been desperately searching for, or it could be a life-threatening crisis.

In the transmission and amplification of information, all personnel involved in the operation seemed to hear Shen Han’s slowed breathing at this moment.

In the midst of silence, Gu Junwan’s voice suddenly sounded softly in everyone’s ears: “Shen Han, be careful.”

The corners of Shen Han’s mouth turned up slightly as she responded in a firm and steady tone: “Yes, my Lady Empress.”

Xu Zhao: “!!!”

Shen the dog is so smooth today.

Ma Haoyu, who had just entered the storage room: “!!!”

Should I have come in three seconds later?

Of course, thoughts were just thoughts. The small agent didn’t hesitate in his actions at all.

After exchanging a tactical hand signal with her teammate, Shen Han quietly lifted the wooden cover at the entrance and entered the passage with her gun at the ready.

What greeted her eyes was a staircase leading downwards, about two meters long.

At the end was a corner, with a faint light source peeking out, like a firefly, hazy and ethereal, exuding a sense of fragility.

Shen Han’s back was tense. The short distance of just a few meters made her feel as if she had been walking for a long time.

Faced with the unknown, humans instinctively feel nervous and uneasy, even top Alphas are no exception.

When Shen Han finished walking through two sections of the passage and finally arrived at the main space of the basement, everyone was shocked by what they saw.

What appeared before their eyes was a bedroom, about 15 square meters in size.

A simple double bed occupied most of the room.

A person was lying flat on the bed, with a portable vital signs monitor and some small medical devices placed beside it.

A backup power source in the corner was emitting a rumbling vibration sound.

The power supply was used not only for the table lamp and radiator but also to maintain the operation of some medical equipment.

Shen Han began to approach the bed, while reporting in a lowered voice: “There’s only the patient we see in the basement. Ma Haoyu, come down and check if there’s any surveillance system here.”

When Shen Han reached the bedside, she suddenly realized that the person lying on the bed was staring at her, which immediately sent a chill down her spine.

It was an elderly woman. She wasn’t wearing a respirator, her skin was pale, and her eye sockets were sunken.

Due to the environment, it gave off quite an eerie feeling.

As Ma Haoyu arrived in the basement and began working, Gu Junwan’s slightly puzzled voice sounded in the communication channel: “Shen Han, focus on that person’s face.”

“Xu Zhao, immediately contact the Second District Military General Hospital of the Federation in secret, and retrieve all medical records of Li Jianye’s wife, Zhang Qi.”

After giving these quick instructions, Gu Junwan’s gaze on the projection screen became even more serious.

Although there was a significant deviation from the contours in her memory, she still recognized the woman lying on the bed.

This was the real Zhang Qi!

Li Jianye’s wife.

‘So the so-called medical miracle from that accident years ago was just an act put on by Li Jianye and his fake wife.’

‘The real Zhang Qi didn’t recover her health, but was hidden in the basement, kept alive by nutritional fluids.’

‘But one thing doesn’t make sense, why would they do this?’

Just as Gu Junwan was quickly searching her memories, suddenly, Zhang Qi’s eyeballs showed a slight movement on the projection screen.

A flash of light passed through Gu Junwan’s golden pupils, and she immediately spoke: “She might be in a minimally conscious state now, with the ability to recognize herself and sense her surroundings.”

“Shen Han, let her hear me speak!”

In the basement, after Shen Han confirmed with Ma Haoyu that there were no surveillance devices here, she immediately took off her earpiece, turned up the volume, and placed it near the woman’s ear.

“Aunt Zhang, I’m Gu Fang’s granddaughter, Gu Junwan.”

“If you can hear me clearly, move your eyes up and down.”

After these words, everyone held their breath.

When they saw Zhang Qi respond with action, everyone felt as if a weight had been lifted from their hearts.

For the next 5 minutes, Gu Junwan asked questions based on her guesses.

The questions were direct yet concise, all answerable with yes or no.

During this special conversation, everyone listening couldn’t help but feel a sense of trepidation.

“Is Li Jianye from Yin Country?”

“Yes.”

“Does he have the ability to briefly influence or even control others?”

“Yes.”

“Did he personally cause your current condition? He has a fake wife replacing you, you should know her, right?”

This time, Zhang Qi didn’t respond immediately.

She stared blankly for a while, then slowly moved her eyeballs up and down.

“Yes!”

At this point, Shen Han looked at her watch and reminded, “We’re running out of time.”

Gu Junwan thought for a moment and asked one last question: “If I immediately arrest Li Jianye, will there be any problems?”

When they first heard this question, several people involved in the operation were a bit puzzled.

They didn’t understand why the Empress would ask the patient about the arrest.

However, Zhang Qi reacted very strongly upon hearing Gu Junwan’s voice.

She kept answering ‘yes!’ by moving her eyeballs.

Her slightly cloudy eyes were filled with obvious anxiety.

Seeing this, Shen Han, who was closely observing Zhang Qi by the bedside, quickly spoke up: “I can read lips. Can you tell us the key information by mouthing it?”

After saying this, she waved Ma Haoyu over.

After some effort, the two finally understood what Zhang Qi wanted to convey.

There were bombs hidden in the villa area!

After confirming that all traces of their secret investigation had been erased, Shen Han prepared to leave with Ma Haoyu.

Before leaving, she gave a military salute to the former comrade lying on the bed who had once shed blood on the battlefield.

“Thank you for holding on until now! It won’t be long before you see the dawn of victory again!”

The results of the secret investigation of Li Jianye’s residence were extremely fruitful, and the entire team even felt a sense of clarity emerging from the fog.

But how to respond and strike next was still a tricky matter.

When Shen Han returned to the White Egret Hotel with the action team members, they went directly to the temporary command room where Gu Junwan was located.

After each group reported their important information one by one, everyone’s gaze turned to their Empress.

Gu Junwan’s face was calm, her golden pupils seeming to hold a storm.

After comprehensively reviewing the available information in her mind, she began to issue orders quickly.

“Xu Zhao, contact the bomb disposal team immediately and stand by.”

“Ning Xi, lead the reconnaissance tactical team to conduct round-the-clock secret surveillance on Li Jianye and his wife immediately.”

“…”

Wave after wave of members received orders and left.

Finally, only Gu Junwan and Shen Han remained in the command room.

With no outsiders present, the Empress who had been calmly deploying tasks a moment ago stepped forward and embraced her Alpha in the next moment.

Gu Junwan was wearing 7-centimeter high heels today, making her almost the same height as Shen Han.

Coupled with a dark suit, she looked somewhat domineering.

But Shen Han could clearly feel how delicate the woman in her arms truly was.

She hugged her omega tightly, kissing the fine hair by her ear, and said softly: “Don’t rush. Your arrangements just now were as thorough as possible.”

“This is the Northern jurisdiction. Our identities are already sensitive to many of those in power, so we’re bound to be somewhat restricted in our actions.”

Gu Junwan buried her head in the crook of her Alpha’s neck, speaking gloomily.

“I never imagined that the infiltrators would have taken such deep root in the rear area.”

“For so many years, mother and I were blind to what was right under our noses.”

Shen Han picked her up sympathetically, walked to a nearby chair, sat down, and let her sit sideways on her lap.

“It’s inherently difficult to guard against those who are prepared when you’re not, especially when the other party is so patient, always hiding behind the scenes and plotting. It’s already quite an achievement to have caught him.”

As she spoke, Shen Han asked about the most crucial matter: “How do you plan to carry out the arrest operation next?”

Gu Junwan had her slender arms around her Alpha’s neck, softly lying on her shoulder, and said: “I can’t complete this task alone. I must get Gu Yuwei to cooperate.”

Shen Han’s view aligned with hers.

After all, in terms of identity, Gu Yuwei was now the highest leader of the Northern jurisdiction.

Without her orders, Gu Junwan’s actions involving the coordination of various departments would not be able to proceed.

……

After a phone call between the sisters, Gu Junwan immediately formulated an arrest strategy.

Although Gu Yuwei was a bit unhappy, she ultimately chose to cooperate.

Li Jianye had placed bombs in the villa area of the rest home, with unknown locations, numbers, and detonation methods.

Rashly arresting him would be tantamount to pushing many innocent lives into the vortex of death.

So, the first and biggest challenge to overcome now was how to ensure safe bomb disposal.

For this, Gu Junwan came up with a simple but effective method.

Divert attention while secretly evacuating the people in the villa area.

Although this method had the flaw of potential information leaks, Gu Junwan had no other choice now.

Both sides were racing against time.

Taking the initiative first would allow her to maintain most of the initiative in her own hands.

If the enemy acted first, the threats and dangers everyone would face, compared to now, would no longer be on the same level!