Chapter 28: A Fresh New Agent Emerges

Jimmy Tang was an extraordinarily charming man—at least, in the eyes of his employer, Mr. Devlin. How else could an agent come to trust a stranger so completely in such a short span of time? Ma Jun pondered this, and he wasn’t just stirring up rumors; after all, Mr. Devlin not only let Jimmy Tang keep his clothes in the private cloakroom, but even provided him with a tuxedo.

Yes, the very same high-tech combat attire!

Even fellow agents found it hard to obtain such gear. Yet Devlin had casually arranged one for his beloved driver! Granted, that tuxedo was a grade below his own, but still.

“Thank you, Jimmy, for your charm!” Ma Jun opened Jimmy’s closet, took out another tuxedo, and tucked it into his dimensional ring, intending it for Old Qian.

Without a doubt, acquiring such high-tech attire in this universe took effort. But with this tuxedo, Old Qian’s work here would become much smoother.

“Sir, Mr. Devlin’s phone is ringing!” Jimmy, who had been diligently flipping through Mr. Devlin’s notebook outside, hurried in.

“I’ll take care of it!” Ma Jun immediately put on a serious expression and took the phone.

“Hello, this is Clark Devlin!”

“Are you ready for the mission?” On the other end was the female lead, currently in her CIA office.

“What mission?”

“I’m working very hard, Mr. Devlin, so I hope you’ll be serious as well!”

“I am serious. Give me the details of the mission!”

“You need to act as instructed. Dietrich Banning is meeting with the water company, and headquarters wants us to find out what he’s up to!”

“Alright. Time and place?” Ma Jun left the cloakroom and sat down on the sofa.

“Tomorrow morning at ten, in Park Fifteen! I’ll be wearing a gray jacket. The recognition code is ‘Beautiful bosom.’ I’ll say, ‘I forgot my bra!’”

“Excellent code!” Ma Jun shrugged and hung up.

Jimmy Tang had been sitting nearby, clearly concerned. He truly deserved Devlin’s trust; he was still determined to find whoever had tried to harm his employer.

“Well? Any progress?” Ma Jun pocketed the phone and asked.

“None!” Jimmy shook his head in frustration. “What should we do next?”

After a moment’s thought, Ma Jun replied, “I’ll handle the internal investigation. As for you, you’ll keep watch at the hospital entrance, guarding Devlin around the clock. The assassins might get word and try again. If you see anyone suspicious, call me immediately!”

“No problem, sir!” Jimmy replied confidently. “I’ll go right away!” Ma Jun nodded in satisfaction, had Jimmy leave all of Devlin’s keys, and let him go.

The next morning, Ma Jun got up, made some breakfast, and settled in to watch TV. He treated Devlin’s house as his own with no reservations, completely forgetting about poor Jimmy, who was standing guard at the hospital.

Ten o’clock came and went, but Ma Jun was still engrossed in a TV series, relishing every moment. That mission intel was likely to change—there was no way he’d rush to the park and approach a girl in front of everyone to say, “Beautiful bosom!”

Sure enough, before long, he received a call: plans had changed. The meeting was now at eight that evening, under the tower at Dock Seventeen.

As the appointed time approached, Ma Jun drove out in Mr. Devlin’s convertible. The female lead, wearing a tailored suit, was already waiting at the dock. She was still a rookie—her first time in the field.

Ma Jun drove out of the shadows and stopped right in front of her, his headlights so bright she couldn’t see his face. After getting out, he finally saw hers.

He’d already forgotten much of the film’s plot, so the female lead’s face was unfamiliar to him; it was Xiao Hua who had filled him in on the story.

Truth be told, Ma Jun was a bit disappointed—she wasn’t the classic beauty, the kind who radiated charm like Miss Ross.

“We have five minutes to prepare. The equipment is ready on the rooftop! I must say, it’s an honor to work with you, the legendary agent Clark Devlin?” The female lead, Adele Branny, recited her lines almost theatrically, but upon seeing Ma Jun’s face, her tone turned questioning.

An American agent of Chinese descent? That was certainly unusual! At the very least, for a legendary intelligence chief to have a Chinese face would always raise some eyebrows.

However, Adele Branny seemed only slightly surprised, without any real suspicion. She introduced herself, “I’m Adele Branny.”

Ma Jun, still wearing his cool sunglasses—though they were useless at night—took them off, nodded solemnly, and said, “Hello, let’s get to work. I hope you, rookie, won’t slow me down.” With that, he turned and strode off.

Adele Branny frowned, clearly indignant, and followed after him.

When they reached the base of the tower, Ma Jun stopped. “After you.”

“Alright!” Adele Branny climbed the ladder—a vertical one flush with the wall—and spoke as she ascended, “There’s been a change in the intel. We suspect Banning plans to acquire subsidiaries of the International Water Company!”

Ma Jun, trailing behind and admiring the view, replied casually, “And?”

“We’ve lost contact with our undercover agent inside Banning’s company. Something may have happened to him. That’s why they need you to take action yourself.”

Atop the tower, they looked out over the endless expanse of dark sea on one side and the glittering city lights on the other.

“Here’s your gear: a Klein-Hotz manual bolt-action rifle, loaded with nine-millimeter rounds, titanium folding stock, a twenty-times infrared sniper scope, and a balanced Micro-Life barrel.” Adele Branny approached a low stone pillar, opened the case that had been placed there, and presented the equipment.

Ma Jun examined the tools inside and thought to himself, this looks just right—perfect for my role as an agent. “Xiao Hua, assemble the gun using the tuxedo’s system!”

He had basic special forces training—but that was in his own world. In this one, he’d never seen such a weapon.

This time, Xiao Hua didn’t play any tricks. To onlookers, it seemed Ma Jun swiftly and expertly assembled the gun with impressive flair.

Adele Branny nodded respectfully, then moved to the railing, pulled out her binoculars, and put on a surveillance headset.

All this effort, just to launch a listening device, and yet they needed a top agent like Ma Jun for the job. Clearly, the original plot wasn’t particularly well thought out.