“…Rescue Successful?”
When Jiang Chen called out the holographic screen and tossed it toward Natasha, Natasha was confused by the short text.
“Didn’t you give me a list last night?” Jiang Chen smiled and reminded her.
Natasha’s emerald eyes widened, and she looked at Jiang Chen in disbelief, “it… it was this fast?”
Ayesha’s lips curved up in proudness; not saying a word.
But her eyes, that could speak, perfectly depicted the smugness she wanted to express.
“We are a private company. Compared to others, we are more focused on efficiency.” Jiang Chen said with a smile and removed the holographic screen. “Now you can rest assured that the most important people have been saved. Our people will transfer them to a safe place. Now the decision to withdraw from the country or transfer to another place to continue working is left to your people.”
If Mario was caught, the Russian spies and informants in the entire city of Kiev wouldn’t be able to sleep. Even if he withstood the torture and not let out a word. Those frightened informants may still become whistle-blowers and turn against the country.
If that did happen, it would be a heavy blow to Russia. At the same time, Russia’s national image would be tarnished because of the spy scandal.
Speaking of this, the Ghost Agents that saved Mario were originally sent to Ukraine to find Natasha. Except they didn’t play their role yet before Skanov, who escaped from the Freemasonry, told Jiang Chen her location.
“The Russian Security Service owes you a favor.” Natasha looked at Jiang Chen and said with sincerity.
“What about you?” Jiang Chen half-jokingly said.
“Me?” Natasha smiled. “I gave myself to you already. What more do you want?”
At the border, Ayesha showed the documents to the border patrol and they passed by smoothly. Afterward, the group stopped at a Russian town next to the border. Jiang Chen found a restaurant opened by the locals and ordered a table full of dishes.
Compared to the time in Moscow, no one in this remote area seemed to recognize him. Compared with his identity, his Asian face was more surprising. Most of the visitors were Russians who had fled from across the border. With the lack of tourist attractions here, the locals rarely saw a foreigner.
There were very few guests in the store, and the sumptuous lunch quickly arrived at the table.
The bread in the basket was much harder compared to the ones in Moscow, and also saltier. However, the borscht in the bowl was fresher, and judging by appearance, the stew at the end would be especially delicious.
After the three cleared the dishes, Jiang Chen left money on the table before continuing on with the trip.
After crossing the border, Jiang Chen felt he was more relaxed. Although they were still traveling, because were on the Russian side, they longer worried about being caught by the Ukrainian army. The speed at which Ayesha drove naturally slowed down.
If nothing else, the three should be able to reach the city of Voronezh, the capital of Lipetsk, before dark. There was an international airport there, and Jiang Chen’s private jet had already landed.
Because of the ominous feeling lingering in his heart, Jiang Chen didn’t want to stay for a second longer. He planned to return to Xin the next morning and even canceled his plans to visit the military base established by the First and Second Orbital Airborne Brigade.
As for Natasha, she had to go back to Moscow first.
Though only after she repeatedly swore that she would never do anything stupid alone.
In the car, Jiang Chen received a long-distance call from Ivan.
After the news that Celestial Trade deployed two orbital airborne brigades in Ukraine spread, it caused a global uproar. The EU and the UA expressed shock and doubts about the use of the space elevator for military purposes. On the contrary, they didn’t respond to the involvement of Celestial Trade within the civil war.
After all, the latter was only a strategic interest, and the former is related to national security.
The UA first sent an airborne brigade and two B2 bombers to the Guam military base on the grounds of strategic balance. However, this move did not cause dissatisfaction with Xin. Instead, it resulted in backlash from Hua.
“Let them deploy. Don’t bother with them. If they don’t flex, they can’t explain this situation to their citizens. As for the threat? For someone who can turn the Capital into ruins in ten minutes even if they stuffed an armored division here, is not a threat to us. You overreacting now will only make them nervous. Ignore them and let them do their thing. As long as they don’t cross the line, just pretend like we didn’t see anything,” Jiang Chen said after listening to Ivan’s report over the phone.
“Then I should order the Guardian frigates cruising between the Pannu Islands and Guam to withdraw?” Ivan asked.
“Let’s do this… send four Guardian frigates to conduct live-fire military exercises in the waters around Ange Island. We can showcase the high-precision, long-range strike capability of our Type-50 Electromagnetic Pulse Cannon. We can’t completely ignore them. We have to appropriately flex back too, at least let the people feel at ease. But don’t trigger them, so, a landing exercise is not necessary.”
“Roger!”
Ivan’s answer was concise.
Ivan always strictly executed Jiang Chen’s order and never made judgments in uncertain situations. These traits were what assured Jiang Chen the most. As a commander, it is essential to have one’s own judgment. But it was also important to understand the difference between an order and a judgment.
What Jiang Chen needed was not a general who was masterful in battle, but a general who could carry out his orders without compromise. As for the combat effectiveness of the army, those could be supported by technology. Do civilized people need the Art of War when fighting against cavemen?
As long as he didn’t provoke a total war with all the superpowers, Jiang Chen never considered the possibility of losing.
When the sun had almost fallen, the group finally arrived in Voronezh. Jiang Chen wanted to call General Nikolaev to inform him about his daughter’s safety, but he didn’t expect that he would be unable to reach him. Jiang Chen informed the head of the Russian Security Services about his location.
After checking into the hotel, Natasha rushed into the bathroom. She had not taken a shower for three days. Ayesha helped Jiang Chen call the front desk and ordered room service before she began to check for eavesdropping equipment in the room.
Jiang Chen, who had nothing to do, turned on the TV and sunk into the sofa.
International news happened to be on.
It showed what happened in Ukraine yesterday morning.
