Chapter 111: Operation Fishing (Part IV)

The senior brother was right. Zhang Mingyang pulled back the hand he had extended to help; he could help her now, but he could not help her future.

Beside him, "Crab" listened to this lecture and reminded Zhang Mingyang, "Number Three, society is not like home or the military. Out here, there is only competition and elimination. People always say the past was better because competition was less intense. If you took people from decades ago and brought them to today's society, they would definitely feel the past was better. That is just how society is—the past always seems better, but as times progress, so does the competition."

"I understand!"

The waitress, scolded by her boss for a while, sobbed as she cleaned up the mess. Another waiter came over with a fresh tray.

"Here is your noodles, folks."

Zhang Mingyang ate the newly served noodles and paid no more attention to the waitress.

Half an hour later, everyone finished eating and began to board their vehicles.

"Has everyone on the trucks eaten?" Peng Dongli asked the person next to him. "Yes, we made sure they ate first."

"Good."

Once everyone had finished, Tian Wenyuan checked the time; it was almost one o'clock.

"Everyone, board the vehicles. We are ready to depart."

Zhang Mingyang stood up from his seat and walked toward the vehicle. Once inside, a question suddenly occurred to him, and he asked Crab, "Crab, we were eating out in the open like that just now—weren't you worried about being robbed?"

Crab smiled and replied, "Don't worry. They wouldn't dare rob us in the city."

"Why?"

Crab explained, "In the city, there are too many people and too many cars; traffic jams happen at the drop of a hat. Plus, urban police can reach anywhere within five minutes. Surveillance drones would be tracking you, and you wouldn't be able to escape even if you wanted to."

"Once you leave the city and enter the rural areas, it’s a different story. It’s sparsely populated, easy to hide, and you can make a quick getaway after a heist."

"That makes sense."

"All vehicles, check if everyone is present," Tian Wenyuan ordered over the headset.

"Unit One, all present."
"Unit Two, all present."
"Unit Three, all present."
...
"Unit Fourteen, all present."

Hearing that everyone was accounted for, Tian Wenyuan added, "Attention all vehicles, the convoy is about to enter rural territory. Stay alert."

With that, the lead vehicle started, and the others followed. The convoy left the urban area and entered the countryside.

"Damn it! It's way too bumpy!" The potholed, uneven road made it hard for Zhang Mingyang to bear.

"Crab, why are we taking this route?"

Crab, who was driving, replied, "It's the route planned by the higher-ups. They claimed taking the dirt trails would provide better cover for our operation."

Zhang Mingyang held onto the handle, swaying back and forth inside the vehicle.

"Beep!"

The lead vehicle sounded its horn, and all the trucks came to a halt.

"What's the situation?" Zhang Mingyang poked his head out to look ahead.

Black Panther replied, "There’s a loader blocking the road up front."

No sooner had Black Panther spoken than Tian Wenyuan’s voice rang out, "Attention everyone, there is a loader blocking the road ahead. Stay alert!"

As he spoke, Crab scanned the left side while his hand gripped his weapon, and Black Panther quickly activated the combat robot to prepare for a fight. Seeing this, Zhang Mingyang hastily opened his bag, drew his pistol, and scanned the right side.

The convoy was currently on a narrow dirt path where the heavy trucks transporting the magnetic boxes could barely pass. On both sides of the road were waist-high weeds, perfect for concealment.

*Thump! Thump!*

Zhang Mingyang’s heartbeat grew faster. He gripped his pistol, nervously watching his surroundings.

On the screen inside the vehicle, Tian Wenyuan had sent a few men ahead to inspect the loader. As the personnel got closer to the machine, Zhang Mingyang’s heart pounded even harder.

"Unit One, Unit One! There is no one on the loader!" The scouts reported back.

"Check the surroundings to see if anyone is nearby."

Not only were the men searching, but Black Panther was also using a spy satellite to scan for heat sources in the vicinity.

"Found them!" Black Panther stared at his screen and reported, "Two people in the grass, thirty meters to the west!"

Following Black Panther’s directions, the scouts cautiously approached. Zhang Mingyang also stared at the screen, watching the reconnaissance unfold. As they got closer to the target, everyone grew tense.

"What the hell!" someone cursed over the headset.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Mingyang asked.

"Unit One, Unit One, we've reached the position. There’s a man and a woman in the grass... 'doing it'! The loader belongs to them."

"Huh?"

Crab heard the report and burst into laughter. "Understandable, understandable. They’re young, full of fire—when the mood strikes, any place is a battlefield!"

Hearing this, Zhang Mingyang replied, "Crab, I feel like you're making a suggestive joke, but I have no evidence."

"I was just talking about driving!" He said, slapping the steering wheel.

Seeing there was no danger, Tian Wenyuan ordered the scouts to tell the locals to move the loader immediately. The crisis was averted, everyone stowed their weapons, and the combat robot was powered down.

"Are young people nowadays always this uninhibited?" Zhang Mingyang asked Crab.

"That's nothing!" Crab’s tone suggested he was quite experienced. "Back in my day, I only saw my wife twice a year. When you get an opportunity like that, you don't waste it. Forget the grass, even if it was...!"

Suddenly, he waved his hand, stopping himself.

Black Panther, having heard only half the story, was annoyed. "Crab, you’re like a serialized novel. You get halfway through, and suddenly it's gone. Then you flip to the next chapter and it shows a paywall! If you were out in the real world, someone would beat you up for that."

"Haha..."

"Panther, you always have such amazing analogies."

As the driver moved the loader, this little episode passed, and the convoy restarted its journey.

At eight in the evening, the convoy had traveled nearly 80 kilometers and was currently in an open rural field.

"We have reached the designated location. Everyone disembark, eat, and rest."

Following Tian Wenyuan's orders, the convoy changed formation from a single line into a triangular arrangement. Zhang Mingyang stepped out to guide the vehicles behind him.

"A little more to the left."
"Right! That's it!"

The convoy was arranged, and a makeshift camp was formed. Tian Wenyuan began calling out the next phase of the plan. He selected a dozen men to form a patrol team, using drones to sweep the perimeter of the camp. Afterward, he assigned five more to set up simple tents and lighting equipment. The rest inspected the vehicles and prepared dinner.

Zhang Mingyang, not having a specific assignment, volunteered to join the patrol team for the perimeter check.

As planned, Zhang Mingyang followed Crab, Black Panther, and the combat robot to inspect the north side of the camp. Although the north was an open field, the lack of light meant Zhang Mingyang tripped a few times. "Panther, don't you think we look like we're on a school field trip?"

Black Panther laughed and replied, "Don't say that, it really does look like one. Our unit used to do night drills often, but it wasn't like this. We’d be in the deep mountains, sleeping in trees and eating field rations. Thinking back on those days, though they were dull, they were truly interesting."