That afternoon, the military mobilized suddenly and without warning, swiftly arresting several individuals: soldiers, mess hall staff, members of the Art Troupe, and two young wives from the dependents' compound.
News spread like wildfire through the compound, causing widespread panic and a flurry of rumors. Before long, word began to circulate that Xu Zhenzhen, the wife of Chief Meng, had been detained days ago. It was said that the Meng family twins had let this slip to other children at school, as their mother hadn't been there to pick them up for several days. People speculated in hushed tones—if it weren't a serious offense, why would she be held for so long? Given that others had been arrested as well, everyone surmised that these events must be connected, though no one knew exactly why.
In reality, the arrests were timed to the receipt of news from Sunset Country: the transport plane dispatched for the operation had successfully loaded all the purchased weaponry and was currently on its way back. According to the plan, the domestic side had immediately manufactured opportunities for "leaks" to reveal the details of the new strategy. Once the malicious actors took the bait and transmitted the information, the military moved decisively to arrest the suspects who had been frantically trying to gather intelligence on the new plan over the past few days. Meanwhile, those responsible for transmitting the information had long been under real-time surveillance, their every m…
Chapter 241