He waited quietly for time to pass, and it wasn't until 3:30 a.m. that he took action. He listened carefully to the sounds outside the room, and after confirming that it was safe, he opened the door, walked out of the room, and closed the door behind him.
Then I went down the stairs, through the corridor, into the kitchen, and came to the back door, where I waited quietly.
Sure enough, a short while later, another patrol of soldiers passed by. The Japanese were very vigilant, and even in the middle of the night, the patrols and inspections continued.
After a few more moments, Ning Zhiheng waited until the patrolling soldiers had gone far away before leaving the kitchen through the back door. He quickly darted back to the purchasing vehicle, bent down, and crawled inside. Just like before, he secured himself with three hooks and hung from the bottom of the vehicle. All that was left was to wait quietly.
As time went by and the sky gradually brightened, the quiet consulate began to fill with the sounds of people. By six o'clock, the kitchen staff had started preparing breakfast.
Shortly after, the kitchen supervisor and the driver came out, threw several empty baskets into the truck's trunk, started the vehicle, and drove to the gate. The guards greeted the kitchen supervisor with smiles, then got into the truck as usual to check it, before waving them off.
The gate slowly opened, the procurement vehicle started, and slowly drove out of the consulate gate.
At a surveillance point in the distance, Liu Tongfang, Sun Jiacheng, and others waited anxiously, their eyes bloodshot. Since Ning Zhiheng entered the consulate, none of them had rested all day. They constantly observed the movements inside the consulate, fearing that a piercing alarm or gunshot might suddenly sound.
And so, everyone waited anxiously outside the consulate, finally witnessing the reappearance of the procurement vehicle.
"Stationmaster, the procurement truck has left!" Quan Yulong said urgently, holding binoculars in his hand.
"I see it!" Liu Tongfang said in a deep voice. "Follow it, and be ready to pick up Team Leader Ning at any time!"
"Yes!" everyone answered in unison.
The procurement vehicle traveled along its usual route. Ning Zhiheng estimated the time and, after driving for ten minutes, began to remove the hooks from the steel frame under the vehicle one by one and gently place them on the ground.
As soon as the three hooks were thrown down, Ning Zhiheng clearly felt that it was becoming increasingly difficult to support himself under the car. Even with his extraordinary physical strength, it was becoming more and more difficult under the bumps of the vehicle. He persevered and finally arrived at the designated location.
This was a location that Ning Zhiheng had scouted out beforehand. Because the road was relatively uneven, the vehicle would slow down and the ride would be quite bumpy. Getting out of the car at this location would make it less likely for the two people in the car to notice, and it would also make it easier to escape. Sun Jiacheng was waiting to meet him at this location.
At this moment, the vehicle began to slow down, followed by another bump. Ning Zhiheng took this opportunity to let go of his hands and land on the ground. He tried his best to keep his whole body pressed against the ground, and with a whoosh, the purchasing vehicle continued to drive over him.
The bumpy ride didn't alert the two people inside. As the vehicle continued forward, Ning Zhiheng flipped over and quickly darted into the dense bushes by the roadside.
"Team leader, we're here!" Sun Jiacheng's voice came from behind him.
Ning Zhiheng looked up and saw Sun Jiacheng and Zhao Jiang with several team members hiding not far from him.
"Team leader, you're finally back!" Sun Jiacheng and Zhao Jiang rushed forward and grabbed Ning Zhiheng's hands. "We didn't sleep a wink all night, worried that something might have happened to you. Now, you're finally back safe and sound."
Ning Zhiheng dusted himself off and said with a smile, "Thank goodness everything went smoothly. Let's hurry back the way we came and retrieve those three hooks."
"Yes!" Sun Jiacheng quickly accepted the order and left, but soon returned. It turned out that Liu Tongfang and his men had followed the purchasing vehicle and retrieved all three hooks.
Liu Tongfang strode forward and stood in front of Ning Zhiming. He carefully examined Ning Zhiheng from head to toe to make sure he was unharmed before letting out a sigh of relief and saying, "Zhiheng, did you succeed?"
Ning Zhiheng smiled slightly, nodded, and said, "The mission is complete. We'll leave immediately and talk about it when we get back!"
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