Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Little A’s voice could be heard from the Bluetooth headset and was full of surprise. “Mr. He, you can still use your phone?! I can see it. I’ll also turn my phone positioning on.”
He Zhichu glanced at his phone to confirm the position between the two of them before quickly finding the closest route. He pressed on the Bluetooth headset. “I got it.” He then continued, “Listen to my commands, and if the enemy continues their pursuit, we will have a big one when we meet up.”
Little A exhaled sharply, his voice shaking. “Mr…. Mr. He, what are you planning to do?!” It couldn’t be what he was thinking, right?!
He Zhichu didn’t say anything else before ending the call. Looking up at the sky, it was still a deep and saturated blue that starkly contrasted with the brownish-red mountains that appeared as vivid as fresh blood. They were like bold brushstrokes under the cerulean sky. The fighter jets, bombers, and armored helicopters that had been buzzing around like flies were now nowhere to be seen. Without electromagnetic and radio short-wave communications or radar guidance, the aircraft didn’t dare to continue flying.
As for the command issued by Admiral Laris’ fleet, it had fermented for some time now and was beginning to garner suspicion within the US military. In that moment, Admiral Laris was in his special vehicle and had a nasty expression on his face. Several of his closest subordinates sat awkwardly in front of him and mumbled, “Mr. Admiral, do we still need to continue with this?” Even though they had so many US soldiers and so much excellent equipment, as well as an immediate response to the situation, the “terrorists” who had committed the crime had yet to be arrested and had even escaped into the mountains. They originally thought it would be a short battle without any suspense, yet they had been met with unusual resistance and delay. Admiral Laris closed his eyes and crossed his arms as he leaned back against the seat without saying anything.
His deputy was also a Japanese American who understood his intentions, so he barked sternly at the several officers present, “Someone attacked Admiral Laris’ fleet, so they must be directing the attack at Admiral Laris. There are so many of you, yet you can’t even catch a few terrorists. Do you want to go to military court and admit to nonfeasance?!”
“That’s not entirely our fault.” Several of the officers began to complain. “Who knew that the city of Little Rock Canyon would have such a fragile power system? It suddenly lost all power and internet, so all communications are cut off, and the fighter jets can’t take off. We don’t dare send soldiers into the mountains to conduct searches for now.”
The US soldiers all used so-called high-precision equipment, but it was actually all electronic. Such equipment was indeed excellent but relied heavily on electromagnetic communications, and even more sophisticated equipment completely relied on satellite guidance. If the satellite was wiped out by the enemy during battle, then they would be the same as blind and deaf men who had no chance of victory at all. They would be at the mercy of the enemy. The US military stationed at Ovi Air Force Base in Little Rock Canyon didn’t have equipment sophisticated enough for satellite guidance, but they did have electronic equipment. Now that communications were cut, how could they dare to send US soldiers into the mountains?
Admiral Laris opened his eyes at this moment and said expressionlessly, “I thought all our American soldiers were top fighters who could defeat a hundred men for each soldier. Do we not know how to fight in battle without advanced electronic equipment? What a joke.”
As soon as Admiral Laris said this, the officers nearly flushed red and quickly cried out, “Roger, Admiral Laris! We’ll immediately send soldiers into the mountains!”
…
Without the pursuit of the helicopters and fighter jets, He Zhichu and Ye Xuan instantly felt much less pressure. They began to run towards Little A and his men’s location. The mountain trail was rugged and narrow, so there were many instances where the target seemed directly ahead, but a long distance still needed to be covered before actually reaching that target. The two men ran all day without resting and only stopped midway to find some water to drink. Winter nights came early in North America, so the sun had completely set behind the mountain before 5pm. The valley gradually dimmed, and the bright moon crept up the mountain. Multitudes of stars glittered in the night sky while He Zhichu and Ye Xuan silently rushed ahead under the dark night.
There were four or five national parks in Utah, and these parks protected the natural landscape and wildlife of the area. The valley He Zhichu and Ye Xuan were crossing was part of a certain national park in Utah. At night time, all sorts of wild animals came out for food. He Zhichu and Ye Xuan had avoided them thus far to avoid having to shoot the wild animals, which would then attract the attention of those seeking them. But when they bypassed a valley to face a pack of wolves in front of the canyon, it seemed they had no choice but to shoot.
“Don’t shoot.” He Zhichu eyed the gun in Ye Xuan’s hand. “That’s for you to deal with humans, not beasts.” Ye Xuan nodded but still continued holding the gun as he stood back to back with He Zhichu. He Zhichu slowly took out another type of bullet from his ammo pouch and pressed it into the magnetic storm grenade gun’s clip. Raising the gun, he used the night vision infrared scope to look in the direction of the pack of wolves in front of them. The built-in smart cognition system inside the scope began to work and scan each wolf until quickly locking onto the alpha wolf’s location. The most important part of killing a pack of wolves was to find the alpha wolf and kill it in one shot. A single sharp gunshot rang out! He Zhichu’s bullet cut through the frigid night air and hit the alpha wolf’s skull! Before the alpha wolf could even wail once, it had collapsed to the ground. The other wolves saw this and howled shrilly before running off with their tails between their legs. But when the wolves left, their cries had attracted the attention of the people nearby.Read more chapter on NovelFull
Ye Xuan’s eyes flashed briefly, and then he saw the light behind them flash several times before quickly disappearing. “Someone’s here,” Ye Xuan said quietly and raised his gun to aim at where the light had just flashed.
“Don’t shoot. Let’s leave now.” He Zhichu turned around to glance back, but he didn’t want to exchange fire with official US military personnel unless he had no other choice.
Ye Xuan finally asked He Zhichu the question in his heart as he rushed down the path with him. “Mr. He, I want to know why they are creating all this fanfare. For me? I really don’t think I’m that important.”
He Zhichu was not a patient person, so he often taught heuristically when he worked as a professor in order to allow his students to find answers on their own. He didn’t teach by explaining things to them and directly telling them the answer, then explaining why that was the correct answer. But tonight was rather special, and perhaps their situation of being hunted down in the mountain ranges made him recall how Gu Nianzhi was in danger when she was alone in the German Alps, so there was an additional trace of softness in his heart. He laughed and said with a bit of sarcasm, “They’re pursuing ‘terrorists,’ so what does that have to do with you? Are you a terrorist?”
“Of course not.” Ye Xuan began to smile. “But they’re clearly using the excuse of pursuing ‘terrorists’ to kill us.”
He Zhichu gripped the gun and looked around as he replied nonchalantly, “They want to kill you, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they want to kill me.” He was certain that the mastermind behind all this still didn’t know he had come to the US to bring Ye Xuan back to the Hua Xia Empire. If the mastermind knew, they wouldn’t be willing to reveal the powerful forces backing them.
“Right, so why?” Ye Xuan shook his head quizzically. “I’m not from the Gu family. I’m just an orphan sponsored by Uncle Gu.”
He Zhichu was also contemplating this matter. He turned around to look at Ye Xuan. “Then what do you know? If they want you dead, that must mean you know something that they don’t want you to reveal or tell Nianzhi.”
“What could I know?” Ye Xuan was flabbergasted, and just as he was about to say, “I was still in the US when Uncle Gu got into the accident,” he suddenly recalled Gu Yanran and immediately swallowed the words.
He Zhichu chuckled when he saw Ye Xuan keeping quiet. “Now you know, right? Your lover doesn’t want you to go back, she wants you dead…”
“You’re talking about Gu Yanran?” Ye Xuan pressed his lips together and walked behind He Zhichu silently for a while before saying, “She doesn’t have that kind of power. I’m sure that these people aren’t ones she could mobilize.” When Gu Xiangwen first got into the accident, Gu Yanran relied on herself to support the Gu family and basically couldn’t even take care of herself. It was only when Ye Xuan came back to help her that she slowly began stabilizing herself. Then soon after that, Gu Yanran hired a very impressive attorney, and the Gu family’s situation instantly improved.
Ye Xuan glanced at He Zhichu. “Wouldn’t your assistant, Miss Wen, know better than anyone else what capabilities Gu Yanran has?”
In the night’s darkness, He Zhichu’s expression remained normal. “Wen Shouyi is Gu Yanran’s attorney, and the things she knows best may not be things I know best.” He didn’t have much interest in the Gu’s, and it was only after he needed to give Gu Nianzhi an official identity that he finally revealed that the Gus in Barbados were Gu Nianzhi’s family.
Ye Xuan was getting confused listening to He Zhichu but saw that he was already starting to look annoyed, so he stopped asking questions. During the break while they were chatting, the US military squad pursuing them had already arrived not too far behind.
He Zhichu’s footsteps suddenly stopped. “Lie down.” He quickly pulled Ye Xuan, and the two men fell down onto a small pile of rocks in the valley. Not long after, a series of rattling gunfire shot out from behind them. The gunshots cracked throughout the valley and startled a flock of flying birds.
