Kidnapping Boss in Secret

Helicopters have been flying overhead; I've seen them four or five times in three days, and once even two in one day. Judging from the shape of their tails, they seem similar to the high-end rescue helicopters I saw in Huaicheng. They've been frequently deployed these past few days, always heading west.

That day, they ran to the outskirts of the capital and dropped a bunch of bombs, but the team returned to Gold and Silver Mountain unharmed. I guessed that in the next few days, the capital base would send out a large number of armed teams to conduct a carpet search along the direction of the explosions, searching further and further away from us until they lost all clues and found nothing. The base commanders were frantic, uneasy, and filled with fear of a "mysterious, unknown force"...

That's impossible, of course. How could a big shot with missiles be afraid of tiny ants? I'm just dreaming.

Although the bigwigs weren't afraid, for the sake of the capital's security, it should at least have attracted some attention. However, things took an unexpected turn. For the next few days, the area around Jin Yin Mountain remained peaceful. The base didn't react much to the bombing incident; they did send two groups to investigate, but according to Zhang Yanhuang, who had been reduced from vanguard to scout, those people just went to check and then returned to the city—that was all. Except for Li County, which was still under lockdown, the rest of the area was calm. Even if we took another route down the mountain and ran back to Huai City with the looted supplies, no one would care.

I'm so disappointed. What happened? The panic-inducing effect wasn't achieved; it's like wasting fifty boxes of grenades! The capital city really doesn't take us armed robbers seriously. Is it that they won't bother with us unless we fight our way into the city?

Yu Zhongjian returned to the Fenghuo base that very night after organizing the bombing. He said he wanted to observe the base's reaction and see if there was any opportunity to contact higher-ups... Unfortunately, the base didn't respond. I wonder how he felt when he discovered that no one was watching the show he had painstakingly directed?

Two days after Yu Zhongjian left, Zhou Yi and Lai Yunfei also returned, but the person I was eagerly waiting for was gone for a week without sending back any news.

"You guys are really missing out if you haven't gone to see it for yourselves. It's called a base, but it's as big as a district in Huaicheng, you know? Schools, hospitals, research institutes, residential buildings, big and small shops selling everything. There are no zombies inside, it's been cleaned up so thoroughly, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. There are even people driving buses and sweeping the streets. Life is exactly the same as before the apocalypse." Zhou Yi was so corrupted that he lost his bearings, and like a small-time pyramid scheme leader, he kept promoting the benefits of the capital base to everyone.

The team members gathered in the lobby to listen to him boast, all of them listening with great interest. Someone even asked a question: "Buying things? How do you buy them? Do you use RMB?"

"Bartering? You didn't expect that, did you? There's no such thing as paper money anymore. Gold and silver jewelry are worthless. Everything is bartered. Five pounds of rice can be exchanged for two packs of instant noodles, and a box of instant noodles can be exchanged for fifteen pounds of flour. There are shops in the base, but they sell rare items like cigarettes, alcohol, candy, and tea, and the prices are relatively high. If you go to the free market, just post a notice about what you want and what you want to sell, and people will come to you to exchange if they see something suitable."

"Did all the survivors work for the base in exchange for supplies?"

When Zhou Yi saw that the question was asked by Ma Li, he became even more excited: "Of course not. There are only 10,000 to 20,000 survivors, and how many positions are there in the base? Those with positions receive supplies, and those without positions who want protection have to pay supplies, just like paying taxes. People like us who have some martial arts skills, hehe, are very popular right now. We're practically royalty inside, with good food and drink and no need to pay supplies. On the first day, some bastard didn't respect me, and I took him down in two moves. The squad leader was incredibly polite to us."

"But where will the survivors without jobs get supplies?"

"Uh... maybe search outside, or try to find something at the free market. I haven't paid attention to that before."

After listening for a while, I finally burst out laughing a few times: "Since the Wolf Smoke Base is so great, and you're doing so well, why did you come back?"

Zhou Yi's expression hardened: "Da Feng, what are you saying?"

I put on a stern face: "I sent you to gather intelligence on the higher-ups, to find loopholes and cause trouble. What have you been doing these past few days? Sightseeing!"

"I did my research!" Zhou Yi's small eyes widened, and he raised his voice: "I didn't neglect any important matters. I told everyone about the base's situation so that we could follow the same model when we return to Huaicheng. Do you think I just don't want to leave because I think it's so good there? You underestimate me! Humph, I even taught a unique grappling technique to gather information."

A man who aspires to be king won't be swayed by sweet talk. I grinned and said, "Okay, I'm sorry I misunderstood you. Let's get down to business."

Zhou Yi wrinkled his nose: "This base doesn't look like a bombing base. It's located in the central urban area within the Second Ring Road. I didn't see any planes or artillery. There are mostly ordinary people inside, as well as quite a few scientists and doctors. There are more than thirty armed forces and some soldiers, but they mainly protect those who do scientific research. I heard that even the base commander is a scientist."

Have either of you met the base commander?

“No, they have a research building there, with soldiers standing guard at the entrance. The base commander lives inside. Although I haven’t seen him, I have seen people sending live zombies into that building. That’s my biggest discovery these past few days,” Zhou Yi said mysteriously. “They must be researching some kind of super weapon in that building, the kind of biological weapon that wipes out all zombies once it’s released.”

Lai Yunfei stood to the side with an awkward smile: "Well, it's also possible that they're researching vaccines."

My dad was delighted when he heard that: "Really? Then we should let them continue their research. It would be wonderful if they could benefit all mankind by developing such a research solution. You must not cause any damage to this base."

If the research is successful, it will certainly benefit all mankind. The key question is, in the time before the research is successful, how many extreme measures will they take to protect the capital? The reappearance of helicopters is definitely not unfounded; I think they seem to be eyeing the western cities again.

Has a zombie horde also appeared on the western front? In a country with a population of over a billion, the number of zombies is unimaginable. Relying on bombing to block the zombies' path to Beijing is not something a wise leadership team would do.

I went back to my room and thought for an hour. Then I came out and selected a few quick-witted and skilled team members. I asked them to go back to the Wolf Smoke Base with Zhou Yi and Lai Yunfei and gave them a new undercover mission: find a way to capture the base chief for me.

Before leaving, I asked Zhou Yi, "Do you think you can do it?"

He said, "I still don't know what the base looks like, which I think is quite difficult."

“That’s right.” I patted him on the shoulder. “We wouldn’t have given you a task that wasn’t difficult. Capturing the commander of the capital’s massive base with tens of thousands of members will be one of your greatest achievements on your path to becoming the King of Men. You can brag about it for three years.”

When Yu Zhongjian sneaked back to the camp again in the dead of night, I was writing furiously by candlelight, accompanied by Liu Meili's snoring. There were many hotel rooms, but my mother wouldn't allow me to stay alone. She forcibly separated a young couple and insisted on putting Liu Meili in my bed. Can you believe how angry Yingjun was?

There was a light knock on the door twice. Without looking up, I casually said, "Come in."

The door wasn't locked; it opened with a push. Yu Zhongjian stood in the doorway and said, "Come out."

"We can talk about it tomorrow. I need to finish writing this compensation plan today."

"I'll write it tomorrow. I have something urgent to tell you."

I carefully closed the door, shutting out Liu Meili's snoring, and said softly, "What urgent matter do you have to say now? My mother is next door. If she hears you coming to see me in the middle of the night again, she'll definitely scold you."

"Let's talk outside."

A minute later, Yu Zhongjian and I walked through the hotel lobby toward the back garden corridor. On the way, we met two people on night duty, one of whom was Wang Lianshan. He greeted us warmly as soon as he saw us, and then gave me a mischievous wink.

Even after walking quite a distance, I still felt a bit uneasy: "Old Wang is over forty years old, I don't know what he's thinking all day long, how can he be so sleazy!"

"Sneaky?" Yu Zhongjian clearly disagreed with my assessment of him. "Old Wang has a strong sense of teamwork. He usually takes care of his teammates, obeys orders, and improves quickly. He's a good person."

"Tch! That's rare, you actually know how to praise others." I rolled my eyes. "What's the urgent matter? Hurry up and say it, I get sleepy if I don't write anything."

"Red Star Base is preparing for a second round of bombing, targeting the west. Three waves of zombie hordes have appeared there, the largest of which numbered in the millions, and all nine cities in Province B have fallen."

"What?" I felt like I'd heard a joke and didn't believe it at all: "A million zombie horde? Who told you that? What does a million even mean? How long would it take for zombies from all the cities to gather together to reach that number? Are all the living people in the West dead? Hasn't a single survivor team tried to clear them out in almost a year? Where did this data come from? It's so unreliable!"

"I went to the Red Star Base today, Gao Chen told me."

"Oh, then that should be reliable." I immediately changed my mind and asked anxiously, "Is he alright there? Why hasn't he come back after more than a week?"

“Gao Chen is now a member of the Red Star Base Guard Regiment. He is not allowed to leave his post without permission. If he comes back, he will not be able to return.”

I glanced at him sideways: "You're the one who sent him to Red Star, aren't you? You know that's the closest place to the core of power in the capital, so you deliberately gave him this task so that he wouldn't be able to come back."

Yu Zhongjian scoffed: "Why would I do that?"

“Because you’re a pervert,” I said matter-of-factly. “He’s so outstanding that no matter what kind of bodyguard or security guard job he applies for, he’ll definitely be noticed by the higher-ups. Once he’s with the higher-ups, it’ll be really hard for him to get away. That way, you won’t have to see him and won’t be constantly stimulated by his perfection.”

Yu Zhongjian frowned and stared at me for a while, then burst out laughing, covering his mouth with his fist: "That's some crazy logic."

"Yeah, you're a lunatic."

He laughed for a while, then waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's get down to business. These past two days, Feng Huo has been recruiting and assembling troops. That's why our fifty boxes of grenades didn't cause a ripple. They don't have time to deal with us. They're preparing for a joint air and land attack on the western front to stop the zombie horde."

"What do you mean by air-land coordination? Does it mean we have to send troops?" I felt like I'd swallowed a fly: "This is utterly absurd! We can send troops to the western front to stop the zombie horde, but all we get to do on the southern front is bombard them? Are we some kind of stepchild?"

"Because the zombie horde on the western front poses a greater threat, it can't be solved by bombing. Now we're seeking your opinion on two options. First, once they've deployed their troops and their defenses are weakened, we can take the compensation we're entitled to, avoid any confrontation with the higher-ups, and return directly to Huaicheng. However, we must be wary of any subsequent retaliation from them. Second, we can use extraordinary means to meet with those three base commanders, settle any grievances, and clearly explain our situation face-to-face. But the consequence of doing so might be that they won't compromise, and we'll get nothing. We'll be lucky if we can escape unscathed."

"The second one!" I made my choice without hesitation. "We're in the right, and they're guilty. If they don't compromise, we'll force them to. Actually, I've already asked Zhou Yi to do this. The base chief of Langyan is a scientist, and he seems a bit easier to bully, so we'll start with him."

Yu Zhongjian chuckled: "Whether someone is easy to bully or not isn't a matter of feeling. The one from Wolf Smoke might actually be the one with the highest level of protection."

Since we've decided to use extraordinary measures, we need more people to enter the capital base to facilitate our operations. After much deliberation, Yu Zhongjian decided to stay at Fenghuo, taking Li Tonggu in to help, while Han Bo and I went to Langyan. Gao Chen would send Zhang Yanhuang and Gan Mingde there. I insisted on going to the Hongxing base to assist Gao Chen, while he insisted I go to Langyan to help Zhou Yi. I firmly disagreed, arguing for a while, rolling up my sleeves, glaring, and raising my voice. He couldn't argue with me, so he had no choice but to agree.

There were also discussions about the surrounding support vehicles, personnel arrangements, and all sorts of other things that went on until the early hours of the morning. He did most of the talking, and while it seemed like he was consulting with me, he was actually just proposing, rejecting, deliberating, and finalizing things all by himself. In the end, I leaned against the door of a changing room, occasionally nodding, too sleepy to keep my eyelids open.

I bet the people in power in the capital never dreamed that a small group of survivors from a small city, resembling homeless children, were plotting to kidnap them. The disparity in numbers and power was so vast that even a movie wouldn't dare depict such a scenario. But that's precisely what makes it unexpected; surprise is key to victory.

A large hand patted my shoulder: "Go back to sleep. I'll go find Han Bo and the others to refine the plan."

I squinted at him and said, "It's very thin, really very thin. I never imagined you could be so thin."

He took a breath, and after a long while, slowly exhaled: "The personnel will be in place tomorrow afternoon. I told you not to go to Hongxing, but you insist on going, so I won't stop you. But remember, don't act impulsively when things happen, listen to Gao Chen's advice, and if you can't do it, give up as soon as possible. Preserving your life is the most important thing."

Me: "Oh."

He seemed hesitant, as if he wanted to say something but stopped, and when he spoke again, he paused unusually: "After you meet Gao Chen, you...you need to control your emotions and not act impulsively."

I was a little confused. Something didn't feel right about what he said. "What's wrong? Gao Chen and I have a very pleasant and harmonious working relationship. His attitude is much better than yours. I won't have any conflicts with him."

He said, "I hope so."

What do you mean, "I hope so"? I think he's definitely resentful that someone as capable as me was sent to help Gao Chen. He's jealous of Gao Chen's perfection and wants to trap him in a predicament, preferably failing the kidnapping mission—that would make him happy! What a pervert!

The next day, a meeting was held to inform everyone on the mountain of the plan. No one had any objections, but they were worried about our safety. A few girls, including Ma Li and Jin Ling, approached me, saying they wanted to contribute and sign up for the operation. After much consideration, I ultimately declined. They weren't trained enough; I was afraid they would hold us back in a real fight.

Before I left, my dad told me, "Find your third uncle. If everything is alright, bring his whole family back."

I didn't want to tell the old man that the chances were slim, so I confidently agreed.

Yu Zhongjian and Li Tonggu went ahead, notifying Zhou Yi and Gao Chen to meet us at the checkpoint. The two groups descended the mountain in batches near dusk, heading towards the two entrances to the capital via different roads. I drove my dilapidated, dirty, and rickety Wuling minivan, which nearly fell apart on the bumpy ride but never quite did, taking Zhang Yanhuang and Gan Mingde on a two-hour detour, taking the western 507 National Highway into Beijing.

This road connects several counties and cities bordering Beijing and H province, and also leads directly to the Capital Airport. It's the closest route to the Red Star Base. By the time we were almost at our destination, it was completely dark, and the checkpoint entrance was noisy and brightly lit.

On the road, we encountered a dozen or so vehicles merging into the main road. Their origins were unknown, but their destination was the same as ours. The closer we got to the checkpoint, the more vehicles were parked on both sides of the road, occupying four lanes and leaving only the middle lane passable. Some vehicles had even overturned into the farmland beside the road, clearly abandoned.

The checkpoint had four lanes, each guarded by heavily armed personnel. A man holding a small red flag was maintaining order; vehicles without permits were not allowed to pass, and passengers had to disembark and walk before registration. Inside a temporary office made of foam boards, people were being registered for entry into the city; there were about twenty or thirty people queuing outside.

We randomly found a spot, dropped off the van, and the three of us joined the queue. We overheard the person at the front of the line, who was registering, saying in a thick local accent, "You only came to the capital to seek refuge with relatives because you couldn't survive. You're asking me for ten catties of grain? Where am I supposed to get that from?"

The person registering impatiently said, "Then go to the side and don't block the people registering behind you."

Just as the man was about to shout, two guns were pointed at his forehead, scaring him so much that he fell to the ground.

The people behind him in line muttered under their breath, "Didn't they say it would only cost five catties of grain to enter the city? How come it's ten catties now?"

With a glance from me, Gan Mingde swiftly tossed a 30-pound bag of rice from the ground onto his shoulder, instantly drawing everyone's attention.

The person registering the people lit up: "Hey, if you don't have any supplies, don't waste time. Move back a bit. Hey big guy, come on, let me register you first. You're in good shape, you could join a team. Don't forget to sign up when you get to the base."

The man muttered under his breath, "You have to hand over another set of supplies to get into the base. They skim off your top layer by layer."

I smiled but didn't say anything. Handing over the grain quickly made things easier; the three of them finished registering and received a small paper tag that served as a pass. They went back to their van, and as soon as the tag was flashed, the checkpoint's barrier opened.

About 100 meters from the checkpoint, a car with its lights on drove up from the side and blocked our way. As soon as the door opened, we heard a familiar voice call out, "Aifeng!"

I was overjoyed and quickly pulled the handbrake and got out of the car: "Gao Chen."

Gao Chen changed his clothes, replacing his worn-out special operations uniform with a brand-new standard camouflage combat uniform, complete with shoulder and arm patches. He wore a camouflage hat with an insignia, and under the car headlights, he looked heroic and imposing.

I hadn't seen him for over a week, and he looked so energetic and clean. It seemed like being a bodyguard was a pretty good job. I greeted him with a smile: "I told Xiao Yu we didn't need you to come pick us up. We could find it ourselves. You insisted on making the trip. It must have been tiring."

Gao Chen didn't speak, but pressed his index finger to his lips, which startled me. Then I heard a clear female voice behind him say, "Gao Chen, is she your cousin?"

What is that?

A woman, in the same car, called him Gao Chen, and called me her cousin... My first reaction upon hearing that voice was—that damned pervert Yu Zhongjian sent Gao Chen to carry out the femme fatale scheme without informing me!