The next day, after having breakfast, Huo Haocheng went to the county public security bureau to find Fu Mingyi. However, when he arrived at the public security bureau, he heard from the staff that the military had sent word that the smuggled cultural relics had been found that morning. The deputy director had taken people there and had not yet returned.
It turns out that at 11 p.m. last night, the two brothers, Zheng Xuyang and Zheng Xujie, were preparing to pick up the goods with their team. Usually, they would pick up goods on the last day of the month, but this time, due to the merchant's special circumstances, they delivered the goods two days earlier.
Just as they arrived at the delivery point, Zheng Xuyang noticed that there were more than twice as many people delivering goods as usual. So he kept a watchful eye on things and had Zheng Xujie hide outside so that they could find someone if anything happened.
As soon as Zheng Xuyang and his team entered the receiving point, they saw that in addition to their goods, there were people constantly carrying boxes and loading them onto the truck. From the door to where they parked their boxes, there was a guard at every step, with their hands always on their waists, which appeared to be guns. Zheng Xuyang became alert. If they retreated at this point, they would likely be killed, so they had no choice but to move forward. "Everyone stay alert and load the goods as quickly as possible so we can leave as soon as possible."
"Brother Zheng, you've finally arrived!" The person walking towards Zheng Xuyang and his group was the transport team leader. They regularly used their trucks to bring back supplies from various locations; the two had a long-standing partnership.
"I'm sorry about this. We received a last-minute long-distance transport order, so we had to deliver your goods ahead of schedule. Please understand."
"How could that be? We'd just finished selling all our goods and were worried about running out of supplies when Brother Liu came along. He really came to our rescue!"
After a brief moment of silence, Brother Liu led his men and Zheng Xuyang's group to inspect the goods.
As Zheng Xuyang's men began inspecting the goods, Zheng Xuyang kept observing the others, saying, "What are you looking at? Don't look at things you shouldn't be looking at." The person in charge of vigilance saw Zheng Xuyang's actions and spoke up.
"Excuse me, excuse me, it's a habit, brother. What kind of goods are you carrying? Do you think we could...?"
At this point, Zheng Xuyang could only step forward and pretend to chat with the person to let them know his intentions; otherwise, his previous actions would easily arouse suspicion.
As he spoke, Zheng Xuyang stepped forward, offered the man a cigarette, and lit it with a match. Zheng Xujie, who had been watching them closely, hurriedly ran away the moment Zheng Xuyang lit the match. The two brothers had told him not to smoke while receiving goods, but if he lit a cigarette, whether for himself or someone else, it meant something was wrong and he had to find a way to call for help.
He didn't know how serious this matter was, but he always remembered that if he lit a cigarette, it would be a matter of life and death. So Zheng Xujie pedaled his bicycle like his life depended on it. He wanted to go find his brother, but he felt he couldn't let his brother die. Going to the police station would take at least two hours round trip, and his brother couldn't wait. He didn't dare to gamble either.
He clutched the jade pendant Ruan Ruan had given him around his neck, hoping it would be useful. He headed towards the nearest military unit; it would only take half an hour to get there if he was quick, but Zheng Xujie arrived in just 20 minutes.
"Comrade, what's the matter?" At the entrance of the military base, the personnel on duty watched Zheng Xujie arrive on his bicycle, drenched in sweat.
"I...I'm here to find someone," Zheng Xujie said, handing the jade pendant around his neck to the soldier. At this point, Zheng Xujie had no strength left.
"Wait a moment." A staff member on duty noticed the character "Ruan" engraved on Zheng Xujie's jade pendant. He recognized the pendant; it belonged to a member of Commander Ruan's family. He then escorted Zheng Xujie into the duty room and contacted the guard by phone.
About five minutes later, Ruan Chuanyan arrived with his men.
"Xiao Jie, what are you doing here?" Zheng Xujie and Ruan Chuanyan had met at Ruan Ruan's wedding.
"Second Uncle, hurry! There's a transaction going on at the abandoned factory over at Yanglin Mountain. Quick, there are a lot of them, and they're all carrying guns. My brother is holding them off." Seeing that the person who came was Second Uncle Ruan, Zheng Xujie knew that he had made the right bet, and only then did he feel a little relieved.
"Duty officer, quick, notify the men of the first and second battalions, come with me, quick!" After arranging the men, Ruan Chuanyan turned to look at Zheng Xujie.
"Xiao Jie, I'll have someone take you home. Rest for a bit. Don't worry, your second uncle will definitely bring your brother back."
"Second Uncle, no need to trouble yourself. I'll wait here for you to come back." Zheng Xujie couldn't sleep until he saw his brother return safely. He was so worried because his brother was his only family left in the world.
Seeing his insistence, Ruan Chuanyan said nothing more and set off with his men.
It only takes ten minutes to drive there from the military base, so when Ruan Chuanyan and his group arrived, the goods were still being loaded, and Zheng Xuyang and the others were still in the corner after being beaten up for Zheng Xuyang's earlier actions. They were originally going to kill them all, but the place was too close to the military base, and the gunfire would attract people, so Zheng Xuyang and the others were able to escape.
"Boss, what do we do now?"
Zheng Xuyang looked around and noticed a small room not far to their right. The door was ajar. "See that room over there? Let's move slowly towards it, quietly, and without making a sound."
Zheng Xuyang was also gambling, gambling on his and his brother's teamwork. Based on the timeline, if Zheng Xujie had succeeded, the troops should have already arrived. Therefore, their priority now was to protect themselves.
Zheng Xuyang and his group's actions went unnoticed by the others in the factory, but Ruan Chuanyan, who was observing their every move through binoculars, saw everything clearly.
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