Chapter 92 Secret Operation
The young man had no idea that his words had revealed his true identity.
Instead, they mocked the other person for the flaws in their words.
Instead of getting angry at being mocked, Old Shi's face lit up with joy, though he pretended to be anxious and annoyed.
"Oh no, we must have taken the wrong turn." He patted his head and looked around. "Now we're going to be stuck in this steamy mess for ages before we get out?"
The boy relaxed slightly. "I've never heard of this Ma Family Village you mentioned, but there is a Ma Family Dam nearby. You must have made a mistake."
"Ah, Majia Village? Majia Dam, Laozhuang? Did we get it wrong?"
Shi Xinrong looked at his colleague with a look of just realizing what had happened, as if it was the first time he had ever encountered such a situation.
"Oh dear, now that you mention it, it's true. We might have really made a mistake."
Suddenly, two childish voices rang out.
"Big brother, how come they're even dumber than us? Neither my little brother nor I would ever get lost."
"That's right, I know the way."
"Xiao Zhi, Xiao He, how are you?"
"You three, come here right now! What are you standing there for?"
Several people carrying hoes suddenly ran out from the field path in the distance.
Those people looked tense and serious, glaring angrily at them, but they held the three children firmly behind them.
Even though he was wearing a straw hat and his feet were covered in mud, he was already gripping the wooden handle tightly in his hands.
"Who are you, and what are you doing here in our village?"
The first to speak was a middle-aged man dressed in drab gray clothes. He looked honest and simple, but his eyes revealed his shrewdness.
After noticing their vigilance, the group didn't seem particularly flustered.
Perhaps having been mentally prepared, Lao Zhuang gave him a wink.
Then Old Shi stepped forward with a smile and said, "Fellow villagers, please don't misunderstand. We are not bad people. We are staff members of the relevant government departments. We are out on a mission to conduct field research. We got lost because we didn't know the way. It's just a coincidence that we ran into you."
As he spoke, fearing they might not believe him, he held up the documents from his pocket.
“Look at this, it’s my work ID. I’m an old man, I don’t need to talk like this.” He then pointed to them, “And look at them, they’re all either old men or young girls. We really don’t mean any harm.”
Wang Da'an, who is currently acting as the village chief, looked at it carefully as he said.
It turned out that, as he had said, these ten people were not as dangerous as they had thought.
After all, although he lacked other skills, he still had some ability to judge people.
"I'm sorry, old comrade, our village is remote and rarely visited by outsiders. The children in the village are naive and don't know any better, so I'm afraid they might be kidnapped if we're not careful."
"Comrades, please don't mind. The villagers are ignorant. I am Wang Da'an, and I am currently acting as the person in charge. Could this old comrade show me his certificate?"
He has a set standard for everything he does, and he can communicate well with them.
The two veteran experts exchanged a glance, both understanding the next move.
"Hello, Village Chief Wang. Of course, my ID is genuine, feel free to check it. By the way, our village is called Zhongtiankeng Village, right?"
Village Chief Wang looked at it carefully several times and found that it really looked like a fake. He then glanced at the group of people opposite him and saw that they were all fully armed, and from their appearances alone, they did not seem like villains.
However, he noticed three eyes that were different from the others.
His eyes were wary and alert.
From the moment he noticed them, the three of them were in a state where they were ready to strike at any moment.
Judging from his face and expression, he didn't seem like someone who would do bad things; rather, he seemed to be a soldier.
He pondered and realized what was going on, but soon remembered the old man's question.
"Yes, this is indeed Zhongtiankeng Village. It's a remote and hard-to-find place; it's difficult for ordinary people to get here. I forgot to ask, comrades, how did you get here?"
The villagers who had been standing behind him for a while immediately perked up their ears.
Yes, I've been wanting to ask that since earlier, why?
Wufeng Mountain, at a certain location on the upper part of the mountainside.
On the night of their departure, Xia, Chen, and their group, who were focused on their journey, encountered rain again.
They made preparations in advance, and with Mr. Chen's guidance, they found a sheltered spot and set up a simple rain shelter.
The intertwined ropes were tied in the dense forest, topped with thin branches, then covered with oil paper and tarpaulin, and finally reinforced and tied securely.
The group of about twenty people began to rest in this small space of just a few square meters.
They dug some small ditches in advance, so the rainwater flowed almost directly down the terrain.
There were only a few small puddles around, but compared to other places where shelter is now available, it was already quite good.
They huddled together, ate something to replenish their energy, and leaned on each other.
As darkness fell, many people, except for those on duty, drifted into a light sleep.
Mr. Chen and Mr. Xia were seated in the very center. As the core of the group, they naturally received a lot of care from everyone.
The remaining researchers and colleagues consciously moved back. Old Chen closed his eyes to rest, just like the people next to him, but his right hand unconsciously made some calculations, and his other hand was gesturing on the ground.
At first, Old Xia didn't notice anything; he hadn't rested yet and was planning the next step in his mind.
My right shoulder slumped; Xia had fallen asleep without me noticing.
He fell headfirst onto him, and Lao Xia almost pushed him away, but luckily he realized in time that he hadn't knocked him to the ground.
Xia Ming glanced at Xia, who was sleeping soundly, several times, then pretended nothing had happened and didn't care.
It was at this moment that he noticed Old Chen's little trick with the help of the dim light of a flashlight.
As if remembering something, he lowered his voice and whispered, "Old Chen, are you sure this rain will stop?"
The man called Old Chen didn't stop moving his hands; he seemed to be frozen for a little longer. "Hmm, okay!"
"Oh dear, this rain is really heavy and coming down really fast!"
They were fine when they first started their journey, and planned to work harder that night to reach their destination as soon as possible, but who would have thought that the weather would change so suddenly.
Suddenly, the weather changed!
The sky can turn cloudy whenever it wants, and the rain can start whenever it wants.
"It won't be long before it's over. When the time comes, it'll be fine. Let's stick to what we agreed before: you go to the top and I'll go over there. We'll split up."
After Old Chen finished speaking, there was a long silence in the room. Finally, Xia Ming spoke up and said "Hmm".
The sound of rain was pouring down.
The wind rustled through the trees and leaves, and another commotion arose in the woods.
This completely cut off their conversation.
Four and a half hours later, at 1:30 a.m., the rain finally stopped.
Xia, who had been waking up groggily several times, opened her eyes and found that it was no longer raining. Overjoyed, she quickly got up.
I went outside to get a better feel for it and checked the time on my watch.
Great, great, the rain has finally stopped.
He pulled his clothes tighter, feeling that the surroundings were wet and cold. Looking at the pitch-black environment outside, he quickly ran back into the crowd.
It's not only warm and familiar here, but it also gives you a strong sense of security.
Xia Ming opened one eye and saw his movements.
Three more hours passed, and then a ray of sunlight shone on their faces.
The sky began to brighten, and the surrounding environment gradually came into view.
Old Chen, who hadn't slept for a long time, got up, but couldn't find a single person who had broken out of the encirclement.
He found a tree and leaned against it, completely ignoring how wet the tree was. Instead, he carefully wrapped his arms around the tree, as if searching for something or calculating something.
Brother Du and Brother Meng, who were also awake in the group, had already turned their attention to that direction.
They were specifically instructed by Captain Huo and Captain Jiang to take care of him, and there were even two other colleagues in charge of this operation.
As soon as it got light, they would part ways and go to their respective destinations.
Old Xia and Team Leader Jiang led their men to Wufeng Mountain, while Old Chen and the five of them, including Xiao Du and Xiao Meng, went to another place along the way.
Everyone tacitly refrained from asking too many questions. When the sun peeked out and its rosy face appeared on the mountainside, it was time for the group to set off again.
"At this time, we must pay attention to safety and protect Elder Chen."
"You too, please take extra precautions."
"I understand, Captain Jiang, you and your brothers too!"
"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. I still have guides here. It's just that you four are short-handed, so you'd better be careful." Captain Jiang actually wanted to transfer two more people over, since he had a full ten people on his side compared to the four of them.
Both are about carrying out tasks, but it doesn't seem reasonable at all; it's like they're bullying someone.
But as soon as the matter was brought up, Old Chen interrupted him, saying that he wanted those four people.
Because the other people's birth charts are incompatible!
These words hit him like a ton of bricks; otherwise, how could he possibly respond? The reasoning was both reasonable and absurd, yet somehow made sense.
Team Leader Jiang had no choice but to give them a few more instructions. As he watched them leave in another direction, his heart was pounding.
Da watched for a long time as they headed in the direction they went, noticing that everyone else around them had serious expressions on their faces.
He explained, "That place is fine, it's not dangerous, it's a very safe location."
"If we want to reach the summit sooner, we need to keep going."
He meant that we shouldn't look at others; our journey isn't over yet, and we should worry about ourselves instead of others.
"Yes, yes, let's listen to the guide and set off quickly."
Led by Dalai and with Jiang bringing up the rear, the group of a dozen or so people quickly began to climb the winding path.
The morning mist quickly dissipated into the dense forest.
Breakfast at Zhongtiankeng Village.
On the rustic long wooden table, steaming hot breakfast was laid out in earthenware bowls and jars.
A gentle breeze carries a fragrant aroma.
The people sitting in a row looked at each other, none of them daring to take the next step.
These people were none other than Old Shi and his party, who had been invited by Wang Da'an to have dinner in the village.
The two sides, who were previously at loggerheads, now sat face-to-face at a dining table, legs together.
Whenever they made eye contact, they would lower their heads and wait a few seconds.
The atmosphere was awkward, yet also somewhat lively and noisy.
When the children are jumping and running around, the women nearby will inevitably yell at them.
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