Hearing Ye Qiu's mocking laughter, Lin Jie also smiled helplessly and said, "There's no choice. Since we chose this profession, we must endure everything that comes with it. We must get used to hiding in the shadows. Honor and flowers don't belong to us; solitude and fear are what we should embrace."

Ye Qiu was slightly taken aback by Lin Jie's words, glancing at Lin Jie, seeing the fatigue etched in his expression, prompting a surge of respect in his heart.

He was a temporary worker, purely assisting Xu Long to save Xu Lei, once this mission was over, he wouldn't do it again.

But Lin Jie was different; he was genuinely a national agent, and after this undercover mission ended, he'd have to participate when another task arose.

Being fortunate enough to survive this time, perhaps next time an unexpected event would occur. Getting injured would be minor; the critical part is if his identity gets exposed and his life is forfeited, that is most important.

Moreover, at this moment, seeing the fatigue flickering in Lin Jie's eyes, Ye Qiu can only imagine that for all these years of doing undercover work, Lin Jie must have lived in constant fear and worry every day.

Ye Qiu had only been an undercover agent for a few days, and hadn't even fully infiltrated Xu Batian's inner circle, yet felt mentally exhausted and quite weary.

As for Lin Jie, he had been in the core position beside Xu Batian for so long, having to both send intelligence to Xu Long and meticulously disguise himself from being discovered. The courage and intelligence required for this are unimaginable.

The frequency of brain function each day must be extremely terrifying.

"How many years have you been an undercover agent?"

Ye Qiu queried Lin Jie.

Upon hearing this, Lin Jie leaned tiredly back in his seat, watching the vehicles continuously pass by in front and said, "How many years? I can hardly remember; ten years, fifteen years, anyway, quite a long time."

"So long? But looking at your age, you don't seem much older."

Ye Qiu observed Lin Jie appeared to be about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, how could he have been an undercover agent for such a long time?

Lin Jie chuckled and said, "I joined the national security agency at fourteen or fifteen."

"What? So early?"

Ye Qiu was already astonished, his pupils enlarged, staring at Lin Jie: "Does that mean you started being an undercover agent as early as fourteen or fifteen?"

Lin Jie nodded without saying anything.

Ye Qiu gazed deeply at Lin Jie for a moment, his admiration for Lin Jie's dedication increasingly intense in his heart.

At this moment, Lin Jie's car stopped, seeming to have hit a roadblock ahead. He glanced at Ye Qiu, seeing the profound admiration in Ye Qiu's eyes as he looked at him and couldn't help but smile and said, "It's nothing, there are plenty of people just like me, and many who have it even harder."

As he spoke, Lin Jie sighed, "Our country appears peaceful on the surface, but there are tumultuous undercurrents that require people like us to dedicate ourselves deeply for our country."

"If none of us were willing to make sacrifices for the country and only cared about our own trivial gains, what would you think would happen when the country is ruined, do you think you'll still be okay?"

Lin Jie shook his head and continued: "There must be country then home, only with home can one have oneself."

Ye Qiu felt a tremor in his heart upon hearing Lin Jie's words, feeling somewhat guilty with a flush to his face.

He had just been contemplating how dangerous tonight's mission was, considering backing out.

No matter what power or gains, he thought of ensuring his survival first.

But at this moment, hearing Lin Jie's words, Ye Qiu realized his previous train of thought was wrong.

"Indeed, first the country, then the home."

Ye Qiu nodded.

Lin Jie smiled, saying, "So, are you still thinking about calling Xu Long?"

Ye Qiu was taken aback and laughed while looking at Lin Jie, "You weren't intentionally saying all this to me, were you?"

Lin Jie offered a faint smile, "Both yes and no."

Ye Qiu took a deep breath and then said, "We're almost there, right?"

Lin Jie glanced at the still congested traffic ahead and shook his head, saying, "It's not going to clear up anytime soon, what's with all the congestion tonight?"

Ye Qiu looked at the clogged traffic ahead, furrowing his brow, "These cars couldn't possibly be Xu Batian's enemies making a move, could they?"

Lin Jie smiled and said, "You're overthinking it."

Ye Qiu furrowed his brow, then watched the gradually easing flow of traffic ahead, and smiled helplessly, "Seems like I'm overthinking."

As the traffic cleared, Lin Jie's car was back on the road.

During the drive, Lin Jie asked Ye Qiu, "Want to know my connection to Xu Lei?"

Ye Qiu was taken aback, as this was exactly what he wanted to ask since Lin Jie hadn't made it clear to Ye Qiu before.

"I do," Ye Qiu replied.

Lin Jie continued, "Xu Lei and I grew up in the same village, specifically Xu Village."

"Haha, you might wonder, 'Why is Lin surnamed living in Xu Village?'"

Ye Qiu nodded, this was his confusion.

Lin Jie explained, "Actually, I'm not from Xu Village, but rather from another village, and I was kidnapped and sold to Xu Village."

"Kidnapped?" Ye Qiu was taken aback, looking at Lin Jie with a hint of sympathy, "You really have had it tough."

Lin Jie went on, "It's alright, at the age I was taken, which was four or five, I didn't know much. Back then, I cried and called for my parents, but after a few years with my foster parents in Xu Village, I no longer thought about my real parents. My foster parents treated me well."

"At that time, our family and the Xu Family were neighbors. Xu Batian wasn't anything significant back then, but who would've thought he'd become so formidable now."

Ye Qiu stated, "That means you were acquainted with Xu Batian very early on."

Lin Jie confirmed, "Yes, that's why when I first came to Xu Batian's side, he had me work alongside him."

"I see," Ye Qiu expressed in realization.

Lin Jie added, "At that time, Xu Batian wasn't as fierce and ruthless as he is now, but it could be perceived that he's indeed a cruel person, just from how he used to beat his wife."

"Xu Batian beats women too?" Ye Qiu frowned, hoping nothing happened to Xu Lei.

"Yes, quite brutally."

Lin Jie said, "When we lived a distance away, we could still hear the cries and screams of Xu Lei's mother."

"Later, when Xu Lei's mother tried to resist, eventually there was no more sound."

"No more sound? What happened?"

Lin Jie stated, "She was killed, hacked to death by Xu Batian."

"What? He hacked his own wife to death?"

Ye Qiu swallowed hard before asking in bewilderment, "Why did he do such a thing?"

Lin Jie responded, "Because his wife lost Xu Lei."

"So sister Lei wasn't with Xu Batian; it was her mother who lost her."

Ye Qiu nodded, and at this moment confirmed Xu Lei was Xu Batian's daughter, though she was lost as a child.

Lin Jie continued, "Although it was said then that Xu Lei was lost, later rumor had it that she was sold by her mother."

Lin Jie's words nearly made Ye Qiu jump out of his seat.

"Sold? Sister Lei was sold by her mother?"

Ye Qiu looked at Lin Jie, finding it hard to believe.

Lin Jie nodded, "Although it's a rumor, it's credible because after Xu Batian killed Xu Lei's mother, he found 20,000 yuan in her clothes."

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