Chapter 72: The Honeytrap

Chapter Seventy-Two: The Seduction

The first button, the second… until her jacket was removed, Zhang Keting revealed a simple vest underneath. Her tanned shoulders spoke of health and vitality. After slipping off her shoes, she began unfastening her belt, and her pants slid down.

Zhuo Nan had been guessing what style of underwear Zhang Keting might be wearing. After all, if a female officer wore something seductive, it would be quite tempting. He recalled seeing pictures online of Taiwanese female officers that were quite provocative—it was truly enticing.

But soon, reality struck. As Zhang Keting slowly removed her pants, what appeared before Zhuo Nan's eyes was a pair of plain, blue boxer briefs—the kind typically worn by middle-aged women. He stared in disbelief. Such a fresh-faced young woman was wearing underwear befitting a woman in her fifties!

Looking at Zhang Keting now, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue. Yet, Zhuo Nan’s earlier interest had vanished. The top half was that of a young girl; the bottom, that of a matron. Anyone would find such a shock hard to handle. Hastily, he said, “Alright, alright, put your clothes back on quickly. This is no fun.”

Hearing this, a faint smile curved Zhang Keting’s lips. She held double master’s degrees in psychology and personality studies and understood precisely when a man’s desires could be irresistible, and more importantly, how to make them vanish without a trace. Those granny-style underwear were a special gift she had prepared just for Zhuo Nan.

Seeing that sly smile on her face, Zhuo Nan realized he had been played by this little girl. He thought, “You think I’m that easy to fool?”

In a commanding tone, he said, “Tomorrow when you come, don’t wear any underwear…”

“What?” Zhang Keting had just pulled her pants on and froze at his words. This man was clearly abusing his authority.

Noticing her expression, Zhuo Nan felt a surge of satisfaction. “Little girl, you’re still too inexperienced to play with me.”

Zhang Keting bit her lip but said nothing, silently dressing while deciding to report back to General Chang and request a male assistant to be assigned.

Once Zhang Keting was fully dressed, Zhuo Nan said, “Alright, prepare the design materials, and bring out the computer.”

Following his instructions, Zhang Keting prepared everything and stepped aside. Zhuo Nan picked up a pen and looked at the drawing board. “You handle the data input; I’ll do the drawing.”

Had it not been for General Chang’s prior briefing that this man was a weapons design expert, Zhang Keting would have thought he was mad. Designing a warship was no child’s play. It wasn’t just about sketching a shape; it had to be to scale. Engine rooms, ammunition storage, crew quarters, missile launchers—any slight miscalculation meant starting from scratch.

Zhuo Nan took the pen, turned to Zhang Keting, and said, “Today, let’s start with a 1:200 scale cross-sectional drawing.”

Zhang Keting snorted coldly, not even looking at him. In her mind, she had already tagged him a rogue. Seeing her expression, Zhuo Nan smiled awkwardly and began drawing without any aids, relying solely on his hand. He drew a perfectly straight line on the board. Zhang Keting was momentarily stunned but quickly regained her composure, thinking, “It’s just drawing a line—I can do that too.”

Zhuo Nan was deeply absorbed. His supercomputer continuously extracted all available warship designs from current Earth technology. After selecting a model, he fell silent and focused on the drawing. After a couple of strokes, the silhouette of a ship took shape.

Without looking up, he said, “Note it down: the ship length is 207 meters.”

“What?” Zhang Keting thought she misheard. A 207-meter destroyer? The most advanced in the world currently was only about 176 meters. Such a large ship would have terrible maneuverability.

Zhuo Nan glanced at her, noticing the disdain in her eyes, and said coldly, “You just record. The rest is none of your concern.”

Stomping her foot in frustration, Zhang Keting rolled her eyes and recorded the data on the computer.

Zhuo Nan continued drawing, dictating various parameters for Zhang Keting to note.

Looking at the data, Zhang Keting sighed. This destroyer was a sitting duck: 207 meters long, 30.2 meters wide, with a full load displacement of 14,000 tons. Such a behemoth would be an easy target in naval combat.

By now, Zhang Keting viewed Zhuo Nan as a military enthusiast using his limited ship knowledge to design, without considering real combat effectiveness.

When the cross-sectional drawing was complete, Zhuo Nan stretched and said, “Alright, you can go. Leave the drawings here and take the computer back to report to Chang Xiong. Oh, and remember, no underwear tomorrow.”

Zhang Keting had no desire to argue further with this rogue. Hearing him dismiss her, she closed the computer, stood, snorted coldly, and left the room without a word.

Watching her leave, Zhuo Nan chuckled, then turned back to the drawing. After a moment’s thought, he picked up his pen and continued.

Later, Zhang Keting arrived at General Chang Xiong’s office. Upon entering, she saluted then placed the computer on his desk, her face full of displeasure. “General Chang, I request a male assistant be sent tomorrow to work with him.”

Chang Xiong didn’t look at the computer but smiled. “What’s the matter? Has he been giving you a hard time?”

Zhang Keting looked aggrieved. “He’s just a rogue…”

Chang Xiong chuckled, “He hasn’t done anything to you, has he?”

Zhang Keting was momentarily stunned, then realized—Zhuo Nan was under Chang’s surveillance all along, and everything that happened was known to him. A faint blush appeared on the general’s face.

Seeing her awkwardness, Chang Xiong smiled and said, “Little Zhang, come look.” He pointed to the computer.

Zhang Keting walked over and saw Zhuo Nan deeply focused, drawing a second diagram.

Chang Xiong spoke again: “Little Zhang, Zhuo Nan is a special talent the country needs. But such people are usually hard to manage. The state can offer him much, but he doesn't care for it, so we need someone of our own close to him—and you are the best choice.”

Seeing her dazed expression, Chang continued, “Zhuo Nan isn’t short of money. No amount of money can buy him off, and the state wouldn’t even try. We’ve made a deal to restore his freedom. In return, he’ll provide advanced weapons manufacturing and design methods, though we don’t fully understand them ourselves, and he wouldn’t reveal the truth even if asked. The leadership fears that once freed, he might leak these methods to hostile nations. His entire family is currently in M country. So we decided to station you by his side—not only as a liaison but to keep an eye on him. Imagine if we sent a male assistant—would he allow him close? This mission is challenging. We hope you can make some sacrifices.”

Zhang Keting quickly grasped Chang’s meaning: a honey trap. She lowered her head, thought briefly, then snapped to attention, regaining her poised, confident demeanor and declared loudly, “At all costs, I will complete the mission.”

Chang nodded approvingly. “Good. Rest up now. Tomorrow, you go again.”

“Yes, sir.” Zhang Keting saluted and left the office.

Back in her room, lying on the bed, Zhang Keting pondered, “I’m twenty this year. Abandoned at birth, taken in and trained by the state as an all-around operative. I’ve never left this base. Though I’ve learned many survival skills here, stepping outside worries me. How do I live? How do I pretend to be ordinary around Zhuo Nan?”

Now, her heart was conflicted. The state’s first mission for her was to employ seduction. It was almost laughable. She had always wanted to undertake missions abroad to assassinate leaders of hostile organizations or threats to national security, never imagined resorting to a honey trap.

Sitting up, she opened her wardrobe filled with colorful clothes used for training as disguises. She picked out a pale blue dress, her favorite for such occasions.

Every woman loves beauty, even a military-trained female officer.

She removed her cap, letting her long hair cascade down. Quickly changing out of her uniform, she slipped into the dress, instantly transforming from a sharp, commanding officer into a poised, elegant young lady.

Looking in the mirror, she raised an eyebrow and muttered, “It’s just seducing a boy—I can do that.”

Meanwhile, Zhuo Nan was entirely focused on designing the destroyer. He knew that only after completing and having experts certify the ship could he leave. Finishing this warship’s design was the top priority.

Having stayed here so many days with no contact to the outside world, his family in M country must be deeply worried. Once free, he must contact them immediately to ease their fears, then handle domestic matters. As for the grudge with the Lü family, the Third Leader advised holding off for now. So there was no need to eliminate Lü Guoliang just yet. But Zhuo Nan believed the Lü family wouldn’t let it go easily. If the conflict continued, he was ready to see who would emerge victorious.