Chapter 754: Setting Oneself on Fire

From Syria to Iran, the unfortunate souls attached to Lin Mo number far beyond seventy-nine. Aside from the collection team with ties to Boulogne Mining, the rest are mere nameless casualties who perished without a trace.

In the international arena, the principle of “no complaint, no inquiry” holds true.

The gold giant dragon is not an easy ally to command; it comes with too many restrictions. Even though Lin Mo now functions as a semi-scientist, there remains an abundance of unexplainable phenomena.

After all, to call upon the gold giant dragon, Lin Mo must properly feed it. If he doesn’t, he would be unable to summon its help, much like during his time in the Su Lan Empire. However, the gold giant dragon no longer harbors the previous animosity towards Lin Mo. Nevertheless, traits can be difficult to change; its wild and unruly nature remains constant.

Yet, Lin Mo is aware that Li Muxin’s inquiry is not meant to deliberately trouble him nor is it a signal that someone at the top has caught on to anything. The Military High-ups merely seek to clean up the mess he created and ensure that everything appears seamless.

It would not be easy for Lin Mo to craft a perfect narrative by himself, but there’s also a local guide, Saeed.

This honest man accepted Lin Mo’s generous payment. Added to the life-saving favor, he even forwent a hush fee, agreeing to keep Lin Mo’s secrets while also helping him create diversions.

Lin Mo had already prepared a statement and coordinated with Saeed on their story, stemming from the intelligence group’s special training.

Given the stakes involved regarding safety, Saeed readily agreed.

Creating an alibi for the missing people and vehicles was relatively simple. Although Iran is among the safest countries in the region, surrounding nations like Iraq and Afghanistan, and even Turkmenistan, have descended into chaos.

By hiring some mercenaries to simulate recovery efforts, they could easily explain the disappearance of the Boulogne Mining convoy. War-torn areas are never short of organizations handling cleanup operations. A little money could fabricate a facade to attract outside attention, effectively concealing the traces of the gold giant dragon’s presence. The records of disappearing without a trace encompass more than just a single convoy.

Blending truth and falsehood complicates the analysis of events significantly.

To clarify the situation, Lin Mo elaborated for about half an hour, addressing Li Muxin’s inquiries multiple times.

As Lin Mo anticipated, the Twin Stars sisters did not notice any oddities. They weren’t concerned with how many people Lin Mo had eliminated; their primary interest was whether he left any incriminating evidence for countries unfriendly towards China.

For issues solvable by money, Li Muxin believed this lavish spender could indeed use funds to eliminate potential risks. His extravagant spending sometimes truly sent shivers down people’s spines.

As long as Lin Mo provided complete information, regardless of his connection to Boulogne Mining, the military had numerous means to clear him of any involvement.

After listening to Lin Mo’s account, the sisters had developed a preliminary plan in their minds.

With the military’s future strategies overlapping with Lin Mo’s preemptive measures, their dual layers of cover would obscure the troubles that Lin Mo and the gold giant dragon stirred up in Iran.

If Boulogne Mining attempted to persist, it would inevitably face a dead-end.

Iran is one of the countries opposed to American imperialism and would not care about a foreign company’s protests.

The precautionary measures put in place were not in vain; Saeed’s connections had also discreetly reached out. He was vigilant and provided information that not only exonerated him but also covered for Lin Mo.

Lin Mo easily placed himself among those knocked unconscious by an RPG rocket bomb alongside Saeed. The bruises and mild concussion Saeed suffered were unquestionably authentic.

Who could expect two unconscious individuals left in the wilderness to know anything?

As long as Saeed remained silent, no one could unravel his secrets.

Regarding the meteorite consumed by the gold giant dragon, Lin Mo could not evade the undeniable facts. With the shipment of gemstone bricks, the Dragoon Consortium in Afghanistan would naturally shoulder the blame for him.

He did not even need to trouble himself; the well-informed Sally would seamlessly take care of it. Perhaps even China’s intelligence department would remain oblivious to how it all unfolded.

The gold giant dragon extracted the insulating metal Coin Gold from Iran, achieving a seamless integration with the world’s electronic technology.

The coexistence of gains and risks is undoubtedly true.

Making a few appearances in the human world may assert tremendous power; although exposure was avoided, the risks incurred were substantial.

…

The entire meeting progressed smoothly, lasting over three hours, with the Twin Stars sisters taking turns asking questions and Lin Mo responding.

Aside from certain truths intentionally concealed, Lin Mo never revealed even a hint of a flaw from beginning to end. Fortunately, the military’s attention was not on how one person and one dragon covered their tracks but rather on other matters. If they continued to dig deeper, it would only be a matter of time before the fire could no longer be hidden under the paper.

The Twin Stars sisters received the dialogue materials and all the recording files, returning to the office area of the Staff Group to begin organizing them.

"Big sister, I can’t shake the feeling that this guy isn’t telling the whole truth. It seems like he’s hiding something from us."

Li Muling, twirling a pen in her hand, frowned.

The sister, skilled in interrogation, sensed some inconsistencies in Lin Mo’s words.

The other party was tight-lipped; if he weren’t one of their own, Li Muling might have even considered coercing him for answers.

As an aggressive intelligence agent, she couldn’t stand such provocations.

"Yes, there definitely is something!"

Her sister Li Muxin smiled calmly, appearing confident in her belief.

Not only the younger sister but the older sister also knew that Lin Mo was not being completely candid, at least not entirely open.

Though Lin Mo spoke without leaking a drop, it was not difficult for the most elite intelligence personnel from "Night" to catch a slip.

Even if Lin Mo had undergone counter-surveillance training, those skills were taught by the Intelligence Group; as his mentor, how could they not notice some subtle clues?

"What kind of secret could it be?"

Li Muling pondered, looking up at the ceiling, deep in thought. Suddenly startled, she seemed to have a revelation, saying, "Could it be an agent from an overseas organization planted within us? Hmm, this guy’s execution style is very much like 007."

In everyone’s impression, James Bond was not only suave and charming but also flaunted an endless array of brilliant gadgets and props, much like Lin Mo’s multifunctional watch. No one knew where Lin Mo had acquired such a treasure.

Lin Mo had no idea that his precautionary measures still failed to escape the keen eyes of the professionals.

There is also a skill known as reasoning in this world, where experts, using just a fragment of information as a reference, can deduce most of the truth even without any reference.

"007? Your imagination is quite vivid." Sister Li Muxin laughed charmingly, shaking her head, "Major Lin Mo underwent very strict loyalty testing. He also had a re-evaluation during the selection at the aerospace training center. His background is clear, and it would be far too costly to use a top ace pilot as a spy embedded within us. I almost regret agreeing to your proposal to borrow Major Lin Mo to combat the Red Scorpion organization; it certainly seems too risky now."

"I still feel something’s not right with him. Hmm, I need to organize all his data to see what other secrets he might be hiding."

Whether it was an innate rivalry or just a matter of incompatible personalities, Li Muling couldn’t quite understand why she had such a strong desire to get to know Lin Mo thoroughly.

Rather than curiosity, it was more like a professional habit to investigate anything that seemed noteworthy.

Lin Mo never expected that, despite his careful precautions, he would still be under scrutiny—especially by the elite sister duo of the Intelligence Group.

If the Dragon Knight were to learn of this, one could only imagine whether to laugh or cry.

The Gold Coin guy would likely scream and devour this little girl whole.

This character was even more prone to causing trouble than the Dragon Knight.

"Don’t waste your energy on unnecessary individuals. We still have a lot of work to do."

Li Muxin dismissed her sister’s concerns, believing she was simply wasting her effort. She plugged the recorded audio device into her computer, clipped the audio, and imported it into specialized voice recognition software to start automatic transcription.

Not only that, there were dedicated analytical software modules to assess Lin Mo’s psychological activities and the truthfulness of each statement. Combined with manual adjustments, they could easily determine how Lin Mo’s mindset shifted with every second he spoke.

What a frightening technology it was!

The one person and one dragon obviously underestimated the technological applications in this world.

Fortunately, this was merely a routine gap-filling discussion. Had this been a real interrogation process, secret cameras placed discreetly in corners would analyze micro-expressions, along with physiological data changes and brain biopotentials. Even the most adept liar in the world would have nowhere to hide.

Out of misfortune, fortune may arise; out of fortune, misfortune may conceal itself.

One could only wonder whether the Gold Coin character, while enjoying a stroke of luck, was also setting himself up for trouble.

Totally unaware, Lin Mo overlooked the fact that one of the "Twin Stars" from the Intelligence Group had inexplicably set her sights on him.

"Gold Coin, how is your application of Coin Gold coming along? Prepare your things; we’re heading to help the fourth squad out of trouble."

Lin Mo decoded Captain Feng’s assigned mission; this was not a task he was to complete alone. More accurately, it was about helping the beleaguered fourth squad find a way out.