Lieutenant Jacob hesitated for a few seconds, fully aware that the moment this girl appeared, he would be facing a very tricky situation. However, he also understood her stubbornness and determination. He gazed at her deeply, then climbed into the passenger seat, closed the door, pointed to the road ahead, and told the driver, “Turn left at the next block; we’ll drive in through the back.”
“Thank you.” Khanyi looked gratefully at his back and thanked him. Every time she encountered a crisis, she always had to trouble him for help. Soon, under his direction, the car circled around to the back of the building.
“Do you know where this place is?” Lieutenant Jacob turned his head, looking at Khanyi in the back seat, lowering his voice. “You stay here; don’t get out of the car.” He got out swiftly and walked to the guard at the back door, who was evidently very familiar with him, even skipping the formalities. However, he still showed his identification and whispered a few words in the guard’s ear. The guard opened the barrier and let the car through.
The car drove into the yard and found a spot to park. The driver stayed in the car while Khanyi followed Lieutenant Jacob through a small door at the back of the building, passing through a small hallway and climbing a winding staircase to a small room at the end of the corridor on this floor.
He invited Khanyi into the room and closed the door tightly. “Gianna, you stay here. I will go inform the general, but I can’t guarantee he will see you right away.”
She nodded, watching Lieutenant Jacob leave the room. In this small room, she paced back and forth. It seemed to be a small reception room, lacking an office desk and filing cabinets, with only a tea table and a long bench, a few small cabinets, and two windowsills each holding a pot of green plants with drooping leaves. Looking out the window, she could see the yard where vehicles were parked, including the black Mercedes that had brought her here, along with several other cars, one of which bore the SS-002 license plate, his frequently used vehicle.
Lieutenant Jacob was gone for quite a while. When he returned, he found the beautiful Eastern girl quietly sitting in the chair waiting for him. His green eyes glanced at her while also checking the wall clock. “You might have to wait a little longer; there’s an important meeting at ten.”
“Will he see me?” She nodded, standing up and following Lieutenant Jacob a few steps behind.
Just as he was about to speak, the phone on the cabinet rang. He picked up the receiver and spoke a few words softly inside, casting a fleeting glance at her. Khanyi understood his meaning and immediately sat back down quietly. He hung up the phone and hurriedly left the room again.
After waiting for another hour, Khanyi could hardly contain herself. She heard footsteps in the hallway, estimating that the meeting had ended. She cautiously pushed the door open a crack and saw several officers in black uniforms walking by at the other end of the corridor, along with men in black jackets and caps. These must be his subordinates, just like the agent she had encountered on the train. Khanyi quickly closed the door, suddenly frozen. Among the two figures that had just flashed by in the hallway, one looked familiar…
“How could it be? That person just now seemed to be… Professor Brown.” She muttered to herself as she pushed the door open, only to see a figure disappearing around the corner. She quickened her pace to follow. The man had stopped at the staircase, turning sideways to converse with a nearby officer. This time, she saw clearly.
It was undoubtedly Professor John Brown. She had actually seen Professor Brown here. However, he no longer looked like a disheveled art teacher but was dressed in a crisp black uniform, his silver hair slicked back neatly, standing upright, with polished boots and a slightly worn holster. Even his accent had changed; his heavy, abrupt Bavarian dialect had transformed into authentic bureaucratic speech. Every move he made told her he was no longer a professor or an artist but an officer of the empire. She could also tell from his epaulettes that he held the rank of captain, which was not a small title.
The man finally noticed her gaze and turned his head warily. His silver eyes locked onto Khanyi’s, and he froze for a moment, staring at her for several seconds, clearly surprised to encounter her in this place. This moment of shock only strengthened Khanyi’s resolve. She could not forget that this nearly sixty-year-old man had once caressed the wolf tattoo on his chest in front of a mirror, saying in a tone as if singing a hymn, “Isn’t this the most beautiful? I see resilience and tenacity in you.”
“Professor Brown… is it you?” She stared at his astonished face. He was flushed, having just been smiling and chatting intimately with his colleagues, looking more like a middle-aged man under fifty than a sixty-year-old.
“Miss, what are you talking about? I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else.” He quickly reined in his slightly flustered expression, even neglecting to bid farewell to the bewildered officer he had been speaking with, turning to leave down the stairs. Khanyi chased after him, but he moved quickly, and by the time she reached the staircase, he had already vanished from sight. Yet she was certain she had not made a mistake.
In the narrow corridor, the black-clad figures passing by cast her strange, scrutinizing glances. She could not care less about the awkwardness of being stared at in such a way. Her mind felt blank, the recent events leaving her in a daze—Professor Brown was the spy he had planted at Samuel Art School. Did this mean that her every move had long been under his close surveillance? She had thought herself fortunate, but the reality was the opposite; she had never escaped his control.
