Under the moonlight

Chapter 149 Split up

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Just as the man finished speaking, Saudi Arabia's patience reached its limit. He really didn't want to hear them continue talking, so he fired three shots into the air. After the gunshots rang out and birds flew away, Saudi Arabia looked at Xu Ao and said, "Are you deliberately stalling for time?"

After hearing Huang Meng's translation, Lao Zhang, who had been standing next to Xu Ao, suddenly looked at Sha Te with alarm. This person was indeed not simple.

"Hmph, just as I thought!" Noticing the change in Old Zhang's expression, Saudi chuckled and said, "Let me see what tricks you have up your sleeve. But even if you have reinforcements, they'll only be able to collect your corpses when they arrive. Let me see how many people there are. Hmm, I still have five bullets left in my gun. Oh, not enough, tsk tsk~"

As Saudi Arabia spoke, he pointed at the number of men with his gun. The mercenaries behind him also revealed sinister smiles, like a pack of hungry wolves, waiting for the alpha wolf's command to pounce on their unarmed prey.

“That’s not necessarily true. Why don’t you turn around and look at the direction of the smoke behind you? It looks like the shantytown that you’ve sealed off, right?” Xu Ao said to Huang Meng, then leisurely looked across at the other side, his gaze passing over Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia looked at him suspiciously, and followed his gaze to look behind him. That direction was indeed the shantytown they had sealed off, but they had also left people there. How could this be?

"Look what you've done!" Saudi Arabia stepped forward and grabbed Xu Ao by the collar. It was the same situation, but this time, Li Shuo and Zhao Meng stepped forward from the left and right respectively.

Although they were not as robust as Saudi Arabia, they were about the same height. After all, Saudi Arabia was somewhat intimidated by the sight of three pairs of eyes staring at him.

He sneered and released Xu Ao, then led a few men and beckoned to the mercenaries behind him as they left.

"What happened? Is there something you haven't told us?" Huang Meng asked as soon as the mercenary left.

"Yes, I discussed this matter with Chen Che, and he and Lao Huang carried it out together," Xu Ao said calmly, looking at the group.

"Could you please explain in more detail?" Zhao Meng looked at Xu Ao with a bewildered expression, arms crossed, as if he were about to interrogate him.

"Last night, Lao Huang came to me and said that Chen Che's health had almost recovered, but for everyone's safety, he still shouldn't move around too much. So he asked me to come over, and I didn't hide anything from him. I told him what had happened these past few days. Fortunately, he's quick-witted. He immediately realized that those men must have an inside man in S country, which is why they were able to evade the mercenaries' checks. However, the situation in the city is changing too much. They might not be able to find their contact person smoothly in the city, but they are very likely to be discovered by the mercenaries."

"Chen Che also knows about that Saudi Arabia. As long as he catches those people, he will definitely not let go of the opportunity to cause trouble for us. He will definitely come to the embassy and make a scene. At that time, he and Lao Huang will take the medicine to the shantytown. Last time when Huang Meng, Lao Zhang and I went to the shantytown, we found that the guards there were much more lax. There were only two people guarding it. Maybe they thought that the shantytown was full of people infected with the plague and no one would come close, so the guards were lax."

"Chen Che was in charge of drawing their attention, while Lao Huang led his men into the shed area to release the people who had been trapped inside. Once these people, who had been driven to the brink of death, had even a glimmer of hope for survival, the power unleashed by just two mercenaries, plus our men, in their despair, was enough to devour them alive."

After Xu Ao finished speaking, everyone fell silent.

"Then why didn't you tell us about your plan beforehand? Why did Lao Zhang know but we didn't? Don't you trust us?" After a while, Huang Meng asked angrily.

"Because they were unsure whether such a plan would succeed, whether it would successfully attract the mercenaries' attention, or whether it would successfully arouse the people's will to survive. These were all unknowns. They never intended to live, and it was they who asked me to keep the secret."

“But that mercenary leader just now looked like he was not to be trifled with. If they go back now, won’t they run into them?” Li Shuo asked seriously.

"Well, it's alright. They're only responsible for letting people out. Once Lao Huang and his men remove the blockade from inside, those two mercenaries will panic and won't be able to care about Chen Che anymore. He'll drive to pick up Lao Huang and the others who are taking advantage of the chaos, and then leave. However, I'm not sure about the speed and timing of their operation. There are many uncertainties. Now we can only leave the outcome to fate. We've done all we can."

After Xu Ao finished speaking, he put his hands on his hips, looked up at the sky, and let out a heavy sigh, as if a great weight had been lifted from his shoulders.

The group stood silently in the courtyard, all looking towards the gate. Old Zhang, seeing their somber expressions, hesitated for a long time before speaking, "Well, I have some good news to share with you. I've faxed the photos you took to my media friends in China."

After speaking, Lao Zhang silently looked at Xu Ao. According to Xu Ao's instructions, these photos should be on the desk of the Foreign Affairs Office of Country C.

"Old Zhang, how could you make such a decision on your own?" Sure enough, Xu Ao frowned again.

"No, I was thinking that if we use the power of the media to publicize what happened to this country and this city, it will definitely generate a faster response from the whole society. They don't know what happened here, but if they do, as long as our country's media reports on it, other countries will follow suit, and in that case..."

"In this way, our country will become the first country to take action on this matter. Without the consent of our superiors, we have no responsibility or obligation to interfere in the politics of other countries. Now those government officials have been controlled by mercenaries. Once they announce to the outside world that this matter has been resolved, or that this matter has been resolved internally by themselves, what if they turn around and say that our domestic media reports are untrue and then turn the tables on us?"

Before Lao Zhang could finish speaking, Xu Ao hurriedly explained his concerns. However, after hearing his words, Jiang Ying quickly realized, "Lao Zhang, you were indeed impulsive in this matter. No matter what happens here, we must first go through the national authorities before we can do anything. Just like what President Xu Ao said, we do not represent individuals. In such events, we absolutely cannot let strong personal feelings influence our perspective."

"I, I, I didn't think that much at the time. I just felt that those mercenaries' behavior was too cruel, and they should be judged by the world." Old Zhang also realized that he had been reckless, but he still defended himself in a low voice.

"I understand. Go and send a fax to the office right now, telling them that the photos have been sent to the media and to wait for their instructions." After hearing Xu Ao's instructions, Old Zhang hurriedly ran back to send the fax.

The sound of a car coming from the gate brought them back to reality. This was the best news: Chen Che and the others were back.

Xu Ao and the others stared at the car that had crashed into the courtyard. Before they could get a good look, they were choked by a cloud of dust and started coughing. Xu Ao coughed as he walked toward the car. The door was pulled open, and Lao Huang slid off the passenger seat and onto the ground. Xu Ao quickly caught him, calling out, "Lao Huang, Lao Huang?"

"Cough cough, I, I'm fine. That kid Chen Che, he drove too recklessly. Ugh, he shook my old bones to pieces. Quick, quick, help me up."

Hearing Lao Huang's panting voice, Xu Ao laughed happily and quickly asked Zhao Meng to help him sit down on the steps in front of the hall to rest.

Chen Che opened the car door, followed by several young men in the back seat. Like Lao Huang, they got out of the car with complaints and bent over.

"Haha, I, Hu Hansan, am back!"

Chen Che looked at Jiang Ying and Huang Meng, a hint of joy flashing in his eyes. He then opened his arms and walked towards Jiang Ying, preparing to give her a hug, but was blocked by Li Shuo who suddenly jumped out from the side.

"Who are you?" Zhao Meng helped Lao Huang sit down to the side. He didn't see Huang Meng. He knew Huang Meng, but he didn't dare to hug her. But who was this guy?

"Hehe, my name is Li Shuo, you can call me Brother Shuo if you want." Li Shuo said, raising a big smile at Chen Che, who looked completely bewildered.

"No, then why are you blocking my way?"

Li Shuo didn't answer his question. Instead, he stood next to Jiang Ying, pointed at her and then at himself, and then looked at Chen Che with a smug smile.

Chen Che stared with wide eyes, looking at Li Shuo's arrogant and smug face, and then at Jiang Ying, who was blushing with embarrassment!

"My God, what have I missed!" Chen Che exclaimed, covering his forehead with both hands.

"Stop joking around, tell me about your situation." Xu Ao settled Lao Huang down and then came over to Chen Che.

"Yeah, Lao Zhang was keeping watch for me the whole time. When he saw the mercenaries coming through his binoculars, we set off. When we arrived, there were only two mercenaries guarding the area, and they were quite lazy, staying far away from the cordon. Maybe they were afraid of getting infected! I just walked right up to them and started gesturing, but they couldn't understand and wouldn't come to me. I've never been good at that, so I gave them a friendly gesture, and then they ran towards me. I pretended to be scared and ran away, and Lao Huang and the others took advantage of that moment to slip under the cordon. Luckily, they were quick enough. If it weren't for my uniform, they would have shot me from a distance. It was too dangerous!"

"And then?" Huang Meng asked curiously. Their operation this time was too much like children playing house, yet they actually succeeded.

"Then, after they arrived, I begged for mercy, apologized, said a lot of things, and only then did they let me go. I drove away and went around to the back of the shed to meet them there."

"That's it?" Jiang Ying couldn't help but ask.

"Ask them about the rest. I didn't go in, so I don't know what's going on inside," Chen Che said, pointing to the young man next to him.

"After we followed Lao Huang inside, there was hardly a person to be seen. Lao Huang remembered a Chinese woman who had stayed at our embassy before, and another person whose name was..."

"Yuri, really?" Huang Meng said excitedly.

"Yes, it was him. We called their names separately, and luckily they heard us. It was Yuri who came out of the tent after hearing Lin Hanshuang's name that we called. Then we went in and explained to them, and left all the medicine for him. He seemed very excited. Then he took the medicine and went out to distribute it to the people in the other tents. After we finished explaining these things, we found a place to crawl out from behind the shed area. Just then, Brother Chen's car arrived, so we got in."

According to his description, their operation seemed to be going smoothly. "Then why is there smoke?" Xu Ao asked, frowning.

"I don't know. After we went in, we tried to complete the mission as quickly as possible, which was to deliver medicine to them and tell them that there were only two mercenaries outside, encouraging them to rush out. But when we were there, they were busy getting and taking their medicine."

It seems the smoke appeared after they left. Could it be that a conflict broke out between the civilians and the mercenaries?