As a forr special forces soldier and now a municipal bureau leader, Shi Feng's love for his country ran deep. He would not allow anything to happen to it, and he loathed those who stirred up trouble. Knowing that Shi Qian and Cao Xi had been picked by Luo Zheng and that they were capable people, Shi Feng hoped the two of them could do their part for the nation and the people, and help guard this country together.
This deep emotion was keenly sensed by Cao Xi. Cao Xi thought for a mont and asked, "Those young n and won at the entrance of the café, are they your people too?"
Shi Feng nodded. Cao Xi couldn't help sighing. "This plan is perfect. First an unknown person opens fire, so innocent bystanders get killed, which makes the scene even more convincing. Then the police arrive, and the credibility goes up another notch. After that, we get taken away by so unknown person and vanish without a trace. Good plan. Was it his idea?"
"Him? You're underestimating him way too much. This kind of setup is like child's play to him." Shi Feng replied, involuntarily recalling a few operations where he had fought side by side with Luo Zheng. With deep respect on his face, he said, "He's the most formidable tactical commander I've ever seen or even heard of, bar none. You'll be fighting shoulder to shoulder with him; when the ti cos you'll know whether I'm lying. One last thing—I hope you cherish this opportunity. Don't let all my efforts go to waste."
As he spoke, Shi Feng dialed Luo Zheng's number. Once the call connected, he said, "It's done. How do we handle them? Do I bring them to you?"
"There's a large shopping mall five hundred ters up ahead. Go into the underground parking lot. We'll et there." Luo Zheng said.
Shi Feng imdiately signaled the driver to head over. After entering the parking garage, they stopped and everyone stayed in the car. A few minutes later, a sedan drove over. Shi Feng looked over warily and saw that it was Luo Zheng and Lan Xue. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief and signal Shi Qian and Cao Xi to get out.
After Luo Zheng and Lan Xue parked and got out, they saw Shi Feng stepping out of his car. Luo Zheng walked up and said gratefully, "Thanks for the trouble. I've heard about everything. The plan is good—about a seventy percent chance we can fool the enemy."
"I went to all that trouble and there's only a seventy percent chance?" Shi Feng said with a wry smile.
"If the assassination operation is being run by our old adversary, he can guess the truth from certain details. At the very least he'll suspect and keep digging for three years. If they don't find the two of them within three years, they'll conclude they're dead and cancel the hunt. That's standard practice in Sam Country. If it's not our old adversary's operation, they'll definitely wrap it up in a hurry and report success up the chain. Seventy percent is already very high." Luo Zheng explained.
"So that's how it is. Then it'll co down to the two of them having good luck." Shi Feng said with a smile.
"Alright, I'll take them now. We'll talk another day." Luo Zheng said gratefully. He turned to Shi Qian and Cao Xi and continued, "You two have been through a scare. Let's get in the car first."
Shi Qian and Cao Xi exchanged a glance and got into the car. Luo Zheng signaled Lan Xue to get in as well, then himself took the driver's seat and drove toward the parking garage exit. As he drove, he said, "You two okay? Pull the curtains on the windows."
"We're fine. It was just blanks, we can handle it. Thanks." Shi Qian said gratefully.
"Don't ntion it. I'll take you to a safe house. This car will be left for you to use later. We won't move out for a few days. Any questions?" Luo Zheng asked seriously.
"No problem. As long as there's a safe place to stay, we won't go anywhere these next few days, so we don't cause you trouble." Shi Qian continued gratefully.
Soon the car rushed out of the parking garage and onto the main road. They chatted casually for a bit, and then the car pulled into a residential complex. After entering the underground lot and parking, Luo Zheng handed Shi Qian an access card and two keys, and instructed, "Unit 2, Room 901. The place has everything you need for daily life. You two can head up on your own."
They all got out. Luo Zheng and Lan Xue then got into another sedan parked nearby—Lan Xue's car—said their goodbyes, and drove off. After exiting the garage, Luo Zheng focused on the road ahead, driving while frowning in deep thought. Beside him, Lan Xue asked curiously, "You're worried about their safety?"
"Yeah. The safe house was provided by the National Security Departnt and the car is theirs too. By rights, us driving here and then switching cars to pick them up shouldn't raise suspicion. But Jackson only has to tail this car to trace it back here. After all, this is your private car; tracking its movents isn't hard. Combine that with a ti comparison, and suspecting us becos very easy." Luo Zheng said in a low voice.
"Exactly. Once the Sam Country Special Agents start suspecting this complex, they'll definitely send people to investigate. Even though there are over a thousand households here and they have no idea which unit they're hiding in, given enough ti they'll still be found. So we have to act as soon as possible." Lan Xue said solemnly, her expression growing grave.
"Five days. At most five days. If the two of them really stay inside every day and don't go anywhere, it'll cut down their chances of exposure, but they still can't hide for too long. So we must move out five days from now. There are two days left of our leave. After two days everyone reports back to the unit. That should still be in ti." Luo Zheng said seriously.
"Let's hope so." Lan Xue said uncertainly. "The safe house was provided by the National Security Departnt. Even though the usage rights ca down through high-level channels, we can't rule out the possibility it's compromised. Once Sam Country starts suspecting it, they might be able to trace it ahead of ti. It'll co down to luck."
"It shouldn't be a big problem. Shi Qian and Cao Xi are both smart; they know what to do. What we need to do is get ready as quickly as possible. We'll stay ho tomorrow and pack, then return to the unit the day after. You okay with that?" Luo Zheng said.
"No problem." Lan Xue said earnestly.
The two of them talked as they drove and, before they knew it, had reached the entrance to Luo Zheng's residential complex. They parked and went ho. Lan Xing was watching a TV drama with everyone. Luo Hu and his wife had no idea what Luo Zheng and Lan Xue had just been up to and didn't ask much; they busied themselves preparing dinner.
After dinner, Lan Xue and Lan Xing drove back to their own ho. Taking advantage of the mont when Mrs. Luo and his little sister were in the kitchen cleaning up, Luo Zheng lowered his voice in the living room and said to his father, Luo Hu, "Dad, after you practiced that Breathing Skill, how do you feel? Do you get that your mind is clearer and your thinking sharper?"
"I think so, a little. What about you?" Luo Hu said uncertainly.
"I feel great. It shouldn't be a bad thing." Luo Zheng said seriously.
"Good. You're still young, so naturally you get better results. I'm older; we can't be compared. But you still need to be careful. If you notice anything wrong, stop right away. Don't ruin yourself." Luo Hu urged with concern.
"Don't worry, I know my limits. Tomorrow's the last full day; the day after, the leave is over. I won't be ho, so I'll be counting on you here. If anything cos up, have my sister go to Shi Feng. I'll leave you a number. If you run into sothing really major that you can't handle, call this number. He's my superior. Try not to call unless you have to." Luo Zheng said, writing down Wu Jin's number.
For this Dark Prison rescue operation, Luo Zheng had a vague sense of unease, a feeling that sothing was going to go wrong. In case he didn't make it back, there would be no one to look after the family, so almost without realizing it, he started to make arrangents for after his death. Luo Hu was a soldier too and imdiately sensed sothing was off, but he didn't press him. He simply looked at Luo Zheng with concern and said, "Don't worry about ho. Just protect yourself. On the battlefield, don't play the hero. Staying alive is everything, understand?"
"Yeah." Luo Zheng nodded solemnly in agreent, his gaze gradually firming. For his family, for the woman he loved, he could only win—he could not afford to lose.
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