Chapter 232: Beautiful Twins (Part 2)
"When I was investigating the Spade Eight organization, I discovered Tang Qiqi. Her level of secrecy wasn't as high as other assassins, for a simple reason—she's the adopted daughter of Tang Duan, the founder of Spade Eight. She graduated from Michigan University in America, majoring in mechanical engineering. By coincidence, I later found out that her current identity is the seventh member of the Orange Group of Spade Eight, carrying…"
He glanced at Pan Ningning beside him and hesitated.
She merely furrowed her brows slightly and said calmly, "My duty is to eliminate any target that poses a threat to the person I am protecting."
How cold-blooded! Zhang Yang clicked his tongue. If earlier he had hardened his heart and killed her sister, what would she have done?
Ao Tian gave a wry smile and continued, "Tang Qiqi excels at throwing darts and is suspected in three homicide cases. However, all three victims were gang leaders involved in drugs and other crimes—scum of the earth. So some law enforcement agencies turned a blind eye, and there's no direct evidence proving she was responsible."
"The Spade Eight organization was originally founded by Tang Duan, a man from the border province of Yun. He served in the late‑70s border wars—a veteran with strong counter‑surveillance skills. After he retired, his family was killed by drug traffickers. Enraged, he gathered a group of veterans under the Spade Eight symbol to fight armed drug dealers along the border. At first, they only operated near the border, but as the economy grew, drug trade slowly seeped inland and into coastal cities."
"Tang Duan then extended his operations into inland and coastal areas, assassinating drug traffickers. Though illegal, it was still an act of chivalry. Eventually, Tang Duan was assassinated by drug traffickers. Spade Eight fell into the hands of a man called Master Sheng, and from then on, Spade Eight slowly turned into a killer organization—good and evil mixed, and they became a target of our national security department."
"Tang Qiqi was adopted from an orphanage by Tang Duan. It's said Tang Duan chose her because of something in her eyes…" Ao Tian paused and subconsciously glanced at Pan Ningning.
Pan Ningning said nothing. She simply lifted her cup of lemon water, took a sip, and her eyes casually swept over everyone within visible range.
"Tang Duan saw potential in her. But he didn't know Tang Qiqi actually had a sister—Lieutenant Pan—who was adopted by Colonel Pan Shaoyan of the Mingzhou Military Region. Colonel Pan died in a car accident ten years ago…"
Ao Tian's voice lowered as he said this. He glanced at Pan Ningning again. Only then did a slight change appear in her expression.
With a faintly indifferent look, Pan Ningning said quietly, "Chief, that is my personal matter."
"Sorry." Ao Tian apologized immediately, then turned to Zhang Yang. "Anyway, Lieutenant Pan later enrolled in a military academy in Nanjing under the sponsorship of General Qiao Yunfeng…"
Zhang Yang finally understood a bit. She must have joined the General Staff Intelligence Department after graduation and became a special agent. Just looking at the eyes of the two sisters, one could tell—they were born for killing or espionage.
In other words, Pan Ningning protecting him now was actually arranged by his future father‑in‑law, Qiao Yunfeng.
Thinking about it, it really was dramatic—twins with opposite fates. One became an assassin, the other a special agent. One tried to kill him, the other protected him.
How was he supposed to process that?
"Actually, Lieutenant Pan has been protecting you from the shadows for quite a while, but you weren't aware. About a month ago, Spade Eight secretly followed you. That night you went to… oh yes, Director Yang Xiuguo of Meining City Health Bureau. Spade Eight deployed three killers from the Yellow Group—one to cut the power, two snipers to kill you. But right after they acted, Lieutenant Pan eliminated them all. My men were tracking Spade Eight too, and they almost mistook Lieutenant Pan for Tang Qiqi. If she hadn't identified who my men were later, then…"
"A month ago, I went to…" Zhang Yang subconsciously repeated. Then something hit him. Wasn't that the night he bathed with Yang Jing, then moved from the bathroom to the bedroom and went at it wildly?
So the blackout that night wasn't a coincidence—it was intentional. Which meant Pan Ningning knew everything he and Yang Jing had done?
His eyes nervously drifted toward Pan Ningning.
Pan Ningning remained expressionless, calmly lifting her lemon water again for a light sip. Her cold eyes revealed nothing of her thoughts.
Zhang Yang felt his face heating. If she really had been secretly protecting him, then everything he and Yang Jing did—especially since Yang Jing thought no one was home, and her moans were… Damn it, he wanted to crawl into a hole.
Perhaps noticing his discomfort, Pan Ningning finally spoke. "My duty is to protect. Everything else is irrelevant to me. You do not owe me thanks."
Zhang Yang was speechless. That didn't answer the question—did she know or not?
As the awkwardness lingered, a knock came at the door. "Sir, your coffee is here."
The waitress from earlier entered carefully with two cups of coffee.
Ao Tian immediately resumed his casual demeanor, watching the waitress until she placed the cups down and left. Only then did he speak.
"Hehe, Zhang Yang, here's the thing. Lieutenant Pan doesn't like talking much, but she's absolutely dedicated to her duty. The reason we revealed her identity today is because you already met Tang Qiqi. Since Lieutenant Pan and Tang Qiqi look exactly alike, with your skills, if you discovered Lieutenant Pan one day, you two might misunderstand each other. And the consequences would be disastrous."
He picked up his steaming coffee. His hand flicked, and suddenly a tool resembling a thermometer appeared between his fingers. He poured some sugar into the cup and gently stirred.
Seeing Zhang Yang's strange expression, Ao Tian smiled. "In our line of work, this is routine. This tool works as both a stirrer and a poison detector."
A moment later, the waitress brought another cup for Pan Ningning. Pan Ningning only glanced at it and didn't touch it at all.
After the waitress left, Ao Tian looked at Zhang Yang again, took a sip from his cup, and smiled faintly. "Do you have any questions about us?"
"Of course." Zhang Yang took his coffee. He didn't like coffee, but still took a sip. "You say you're agents. Got any proof? What if you're just scammers trying to trick me? Then wouldn't I be a dumbass?"
Ao Tian rolled his eyes hard. After staring at Zhang Yang for a while and noticing he wasn't joking, he angrily took out his identification and handed it over.
Zhang Yang flipped through it but couldn't tell much. But he wasn't ordinary.
He pulled out his phone, photographed the ID, and opened the Shadow System's super‑search function.
Ignoring Ao Tian's bewildered stare, he embedded the image into the search engine and input search parameters.
Zhang Yang tapped quickly, searching for matching data.
After a while, the Shadow System started running. But to Zhang Yang's frustration—his phone was far slower than his supercomputer at home, freezing immediately.
"What now? Don't tell me you can actually verify authenticity?" Ao Tian watched Zhang Yang typing away and couldn't decide whether to laugh or get angry.
Zhang Yang gave him a meaningful look, returned the ID, and said, "Better safe than sorry. I'm still verifying."
Ao Tian glanced helplessly at Pan Ningning. She remained expressionless and didn't try to retrieve the ID.
Zhang Yang didn't bother asking her. If Ao Tian was legit, she had to be as well.
About a minute later, the result came out. Zhang Yang's eyes widened in shock. No wonder it lagged.
The Shadow System had actually hacked into the National Security internal network and pulled up Ao Tian's file—Xia Yong, male, age 32, Deputy Director of Major Crimes Division Three, National Security Bureau, divorced, graduate of National University of Defense Technology…
Looking at the photo, he was handsome. But in front of Zhang Yang now, he looked like someone who smoked too much opium—messy hair like a bird's nest, lethargic… completely different from the file photo. Still, the Shadow System wouldn't be wrong. Looking closely, it really was the same face.
So this Ao Tian wasn't fake—just operating under a codename.
Ao Tian noticed Zhang Yang staring intensely at his phone and said, "I know you're using an iPhone 5. No need to hold it up so high. What, you think your iPhone can pull up my info?"
Saying that, he even stood up, wanting to peek at Zhang Yang's screen.
Zhang Yang instantly closed the data and put his phone away. Smiling, he said, "No, I was just checking if there are any leaked sex‑ scandals featuring someone who looks like you."
Ao Tian almost vomited blood. He sat back down angrily. Before he could speak, Zhang Yang's phone rang.
Right after Zhang Yang answered, Ao Tian's phone rang too.
The two looked at each other, then checked their screens.
Zhang Yang's call was from Xu Danlu.
After he picked up, her slightly anxious voice came through: "Doctor said he lost track of Tang Qiqi. But the last place he saw her—she seemed to be heading toward the villa."