Chapter 164: The Suspect

“What’s the point of taking them alive? Just kill them to avoid future trouble,” Lin Chuanqing said.

Gao Xiaosong replied, “We need to find out how they got here and how many of them there are.”

The entire crew of the Zhenhai was mobilized, and a thorough search of Dongsha Island began under first-level alert. The other transmigrators on board were puzzled, but Lin Chuanqing simply told them that traces of pirate activity had been found on the island, and a careful search was necessary for safety.

The search, of course, yielded no results. They even found fishermen’s graves, already covered with shrubs, but no living people, and certainly no recent signs of human activity.

Despite their concerns, there was no point in staying longer. After finishing the task of mining the guano, they returned. The unloaded guano immediately sparked a scramble. In the end, under the policy of prioritizing agriculture, most of it went to the Agriculture Committee, with the chemical industry department receiving the rest.

After hearing their report about the discovery of a suspected modern ship on Dongsha Island, the Executive Committee convened a secret hearing attended by the heads of the core and powerful departments.

The news stunned everyone. If other wormholes existed and other people had also come to this time, it would be a major threat to the transmigrator group. At the very least, the basis of their “omnipotence” illusion would be exposed. If this person sided with a local power and used their modern technology and knowledge to serve them, the consequences would be even more dire.

“Are you sure it was an American fishing boat?”

“I didn’t say that,” Lin Chuanqing said. “I only said that the iron frame protruding from the sea was very similar to the tripod mast of an American ocean-going fishing vessel I’ve seen—almost identical.”

“Americans?” Everyone was a little panicked. Did Xue Ziliang and Salina have other companions?

Ma Qianzhu said, “I suggest we arrest these two Americans immediately.”

“Isn’t that a bit of an overreaction?” Ran Yao objected. “The Political Security Bureau has conducted multiple investigations on them. There were only two of them, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, sent to China to investigate the North American branch. And they entered through airport customs. There’s no reason for them to have used a fishing boat.”

“Could it be another ship from the North American branch?”

“That’s obviously impossible,” Ran Yao said. “No one from North America has mentioned anything about it. The sinking of a ship on Dongsha Island would be a major event; they couldn’t have kept it quiet.”

“You can’t be sure what happened on the way,” Ma Qianzhu said cryptically. “Americans, hmph, the North American branch… Shi Niaoren volunteered to come, didn’t he…”

His words had an ominous tone.

“Such suspicion is meaningless,” Wu De said. “If we can travel through a wormhole, perhaps someone else can too. It doesn’t necessarily have to be connected to our own people.”

Wen Desi said, “Instead of suspecting ourselves, let’s consider a more likely scenario: if there really are other people from our time who have also transmigrated, what should our attitude be?”

“If it’s a small number of people who are willing to integrate into our group and abide by all our rules and regulations, we can consider accepting them,” Wu De said.

“Agreed,” Wen Desi said. “If these people have already sided with some group in this time, then we cannot consider accepting them.”

What to do if they couldn’t be accepted? The unspoken words were clear to everyone. No one objected. Compared to the natives of this time, they were more afraid of people from their own time. Everyone agreed.

“Alright, I agree too,” Ma Qianzhu said. “But if we accept them, they must undergo a strict political review and be under long-term control.”

“Be that as it may, the existence of these people is still a question, isn’t it?” Ran Yao said. “We should investigate this matter thoroughly. We should immediately send people to Dongsha Island to conduct a thorough underwater investigation of the ship. We might even get some useful information.”

Everyone agreed that the news should be kept secret for the time being. Bai Guoshi, Lin Chuanqing, and Gao Xiaosong were all instructed to keep the secret. The subsequent matters would be handled by the Political Security Bureau. Ran Yao was immediately authorized to select personnel and equipment to prepare for an investigation of the suspected shipwreck on Dongsha Island.

After the meeting, Ma Qianzhu asked Ran Yao to stay behind.

“The Political Security Bureau should conduct an internal investigation,” Ma Qianzhu said after a long pause, finally voicing his opinion.

“Are you suspecting the people from the North American branch?” The “people from the North American branch” referred to the Qian brothers, who had come by sailboat, and Zhou Weisen.

“No, it also includes those who came by plane,” Ma Qianzhu said, standing up and pacing around his office. “We can’t be too careful. Once we succeed, there will be no America in this parallel universe. To ensure that the founding of America in this timeline is not erased, perhaps they have already made plans to sabotage our actions…”

Ran Yao was dumbfounded, not knowing what to say. Ma Qianzhu’s words were not without reason, but they seemed a bit too conspiratorial. Besides, what did the existence of America in a parallel universe have to do with the 21st-century US government?

Ran Yao said cautiously, “I think such a possibility is unlikely.” He continued, “In the entire group, the majority of the returnees are from North America. They were willing to give up everything and bring their families to a strange time with the transmigrator group. It’s impossible that they are here to sabotage our actions. What good would it do them to bring down the transmigrator group? The US government is not capable of opening another wormhole to take them back. If we fall, they will perish with us.”

Ma Qianzhu looked at Ran Yao silently. “Hmm, you have a point. But this matter is of great importance. We cannot be careless with our own people. It’s better to conduct an investigation to see if there are any suspicious people or incidents.”

“If we are to conduct an internal investigation, we must have written approval from the Executive Committee.”

“I will bring it up at the next meeting.”

Ran Yao returned to his office and carefully considered Ma Qianzhu’s words. His concerns were not without reason, but there was no sign of any traitors within the transmigrator group. To rashly start such an investigation, if it were to leak, would be like stirring up a hornet’s nest.

He thought for a long time and decided to use the investigation as an opportunity to have Zhou Weisen participate in the mission. There was a good reason for him to go—he was the only one in the transmigrator group with a diving license. A thorough investigation of the ship would be impossible without him.

If the ship was indeed related to the people from the North American branch, some clues would surely be found.

Ran Yao called Liu Zheng and asked him to immediately issue a document organizing a “Dongsha-Xisha Expedition Team.” Liu Zheng was surprised. Why was this matter being handled by the Political Security Bureau?

“To be honest with you, it’s just a cover,” Ran Yao said. “Just follow the normal mission procedures.”

“So, should we conduct scientific research, or just go for a ride?”

“Of course, it’s a formal scientific expedition. A completely legitimate mission.”

“To organize an expedition of this scale, I need authorization from the Executive Committee.”

“No problem,” Ran Yao said, producing a document. “Here’s the mission order.”

“Alright,” Liu Zheng said with a meaningful tone. “You want to appoint certain people to go, don’t you?”

“Bai Guoshi from your department, and Zhou Weisen. He can dive. I know he’s not in your department, but you can issue a temporary transfer order. It shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Alright,” Liu Zheng said, puzzled, but he agreed.

When Zhou Weisen received the notice to pack his bags and prepare to leave immediately, he had no idea he was under investigation. He was in the biological laboratory of the pharmaceutical factory, engrossed in his field of biology, which was also the most technically difficult category in the factory: vaccine development.

“You want me to join the Dongsha-Xisha Expedition Team?” Zhou Weisen was baffled. “I’ve just started my real job. Why are you sending me on an expedition again?”

Because of his proficiency in outdoor activities, familiarity with firearms, and experience in wilderness survival and hunting, he had always served as an outdoor activities instructor for the army, navy, special reconnaissance team, and long-range exploration team, and he also taught diving. He had only been transferred to the pharmaceutical factory a few days ago to work on biological research, and now he was suddenly being sent on an expedition, which made him suspicious.

Suspicious or not, Zhou Weisen was happy to go on a trip to the tropical seas. At least he could temporarily escape his tedious work—and the insatiable Miss Mendoza. The foreign mare was indeed not easy to handle.

Lin Chuanqing was, of course, appointed as the captain of the expedition ship again. This time, they used a small 50-ton single-masted sloop, also equipped with a diesel engine, specifically for oceanographic research and short-range maritime transport.

Ran Yao planted an investigator among both the natives and the transmigrators, tasked with observing the members of the expedition for any unusual behavior during the entire investigation.

As the investigation team was preparing to depart, Wu De summoned the liaison officers from the villages near Nanbao to Bairen City. He gave them an order to deliver lignite and peat within ten days. Each village was assigned a quota ranging from five to twenty tons, depending on the number of able-bodied men. For every hundred large catties of lignite or peat, one large catty of public grain could be offset.

The liaison officers looked at each other, not knowing what new scheme these Australians were up to. What was the use of that black stuff?

Digging the black coal was easy, but transporting so much of it to Bairen City was a major hassle. The road from Nanbao to Bairen was not good, and people usually didn’t go to the county seat unless they had to, let alone transport so much stuff to the East Gate Market, which was even farther than the county seat. The liaison officers all looked troubled and asked for an extension on the delivery date. Wu De knew that the Agriculture Committee was in urgent need of this fertilizer, but he also knew that the road from the local area to Bairen was long and difficult. To be considerate of the people’s labor, he had to agree to a slight extension.