The situation was unclear, and Luo Zheng could not be sure his plan was feasible. He did not imdiately reveal it; instead, he opened the walkie-talkie, glanced at Mountain Eagle—who knew Luo Zheng was about to contact the enemy—and nodded with a determined look, finding a place to take cover. Luo Zheng then shouted into the walkie-talkie in the international common language, "Find soone who understands what the fuck I'm saying and respond."
Static and a jumble of noises ca from the walkie-talkie, which soon quieted down. Before long, a voice suddenly rang out from the walkie-talkie, filled with endless rage, bellowing, "Who are you?"
Those three simple words made Luo Zheng feel a chill rushing at him. He faintly sensed the opponent's condescending attitude and speculated that this person might be the one he was looking for, or at least soone with authority to talk to. Without any politeness, he roared back, "Who are you?"
"General Turul," the other side retorted coldly. "Did you kidnap my family?"
Turul was one of the warlord generals. Of course, this title was self-appointed. Despite being called a warlord, they were really just a gang of bandits holding sway over the mountains. However, these bandits knew the local terrain very well and were supported by certain international forces behind the scenes. Due to various reasons, the local governnt was unable to annihilate them.
Hearing the other party's words, Luo Zheng let out a cold laugh. Finding the right person made things easier, so he said, "Fine. Your people's lifespan is now in your hands."
"Who the hell are you, and what do you want?" the other side roared back in embarrassnt turned to anger.
Naturally, Luo Zheng wouldn't disclose his identity but instead coldly snarled like a kidnapper, "Soone fancies the Huaxia Country tour group you've got. We can exchange them for a peaceful resolution, or if you're unwilling, I'll kill your people and co to snatch them. Tell your answer."
"That's impossible, I don't know what you're talking about," the other side yelled furiously.
The voice was so loud that Luo Zheng turned down the walkie-talkie and waited for the other side to calm down before speaking in an uncompromising tone, "Is that your answer? Fine, prepare to collect your family's corpses. But with all the wolves in this forest, you'll probably only find skeletons by the ti you get there. Better watch your own back and keep your neck clean for what's coming." Saying this, he cut off the communication without hesitation.
Seeing Luo Zheng hang up the walkie-talkie with a determined attitude, Mountain Eagle couldn't help but give a thumbs-up and smile. When negotiating with such ruthless bandits, one absolutely must not show weakness, or else they would see through it and gain the upper hand. Pretending to be kidnappers hired by others would keep the enemy from taking them lightly. Once the enemy knew their true identities, it would spell trouble.
"With the walkie-talkie, they can easily track our location. Go back imdiately and join the captain in seizing the high ground. Have Snow Leopard and Ghost Hand guard the hostages to prevent a surprise attack by the enemy. Wait for my command," Luo Zheng said with a solemn expression.
"Staying behind may not be wise. Any fool knows we wouldn't have just one person here. If they surround and capture you, we will be at a disadvantage. It's not ti to show ourselves yet. I suggest you stay out of sight," Mountain Eagle said seriously, his firm gaze flashing with concern.
"I understand. With hostages in hand, they won't dare to do much. And besides, I can swim; I'll just jump into the river to escape if it cos to that," Luo Zheng replied, looking at the river with resolution, then suddenly noticed a speedboat approaching rapidly. He turned to Mountain Eagle and said, "There's no ti to withdraw. Looks like General Turul isn't slow to react."
"A speedboat?" Mountain Eagle also noticed the anomaly. As soon as he saw there was only one person inside, he laughed and said, "It must be an envoy sent by General Turul. He's worried we might go too far, and you turned off the walkie-talkie, so he can't contact us. He had to send soone on a speedboat to see if they could find us. It seems he's sincere about negotiating."
"Right, go hide and keep watch," Luo Zheng said, his face darkening as he stood calmly on the deck, not at all worried about being targeted by a sniper. Watching the speedboat approaching, and seeing soone on the boat waving a white towel, he couldn't help but smile.
Before long, the speedboat charged to within a hundred ters, slowed down, and ca closer. The person gestured as if making a phone call. Luo Zheng smiled, raised the walkie-talkie in his hand, and the other side nodded before steering the speedboat to turn back. Watching the other party leave, Luo Zheng opened the walkie-talkie again and mockingly said, "Your Excellency the General, I must say you act quickly. One step later and your family would've been gone. Now, tell your choice."
"One-on-one trade, pick anyone you want from my side," Turul said coldly.
"Wrong choice, last chance," Luo Zheng said coldly, not giving in at all. The mission received for this operation was to bring back a group of generals and military specialists intact and to destroy this warlord faction. The first step was the rescue. If only two people were saved, how could he explain it?
"One for two, no more," Turul said coldly.
"All right, I know your choice. Prepare to collect your family's bodies," Luo Zheng said coldly.
"Wait a second," the other side said eagerly, fearing Luo Zheng would turn off the walkie-talkie again.
"What else do you want, General?" Luo Zheng said coldly.
"Let's do the exchange as you said. How do we do it?" Turul asked coldly, his voice laced with a chill.
"That's more like it. Ten minutes from now, at my location, we'll release people simultaneously," Luo Zheng dictated coldly. Ten minutes was the limit; any more and Turul would be prepared. He could set up a trap, and everyone would die.
"No, I need an hour," Turul roared dissatisfied.
"That's your problem. I have only ten minutes; miss it and wait to collect the bodies. I forgot to remind you, the old lady has a high fever. If she can't be rescued in ti within an hour, she's certain to die," Luo Zheng said firmly, not giving the other side a chance.
"Half an hour. It takes ti to bring people over," Turul said urgently.
"Less than ten minutes, or we're through," Luo Zheng said without hesitation and hung up the walkie-talkie. He absolutely couldn't let these traitorous hawks lead him by the nose; otherwise, he would be put at a disadvantage.
"Hurry back and discuss," Luo Zheng looked at Mountain Eagle and urged quickly.
Mountain Eagle nodded in understanding, and the two jumped onto the sa boat, heading back to the camp. Arriving quickly at the river fork, they steadied the boat and saw Lan Xue and the others waiting in the woods by the shore with the hostages. Luo Zheng signaled for everyone to board the boat to discuss. Once everyone was on board, Luo Zheng suddenly struck Balang with a hand-chop, knocking him out, and glanced at the old lady, who couldn't bear the outdoors overnight and fell into a feverish coma.
"What's your plan?" Lan Xue asked urgently.
"If we exchange hostages on the water, the enemy will surely ambush us midway. Balang can jump into the river and escape, but our people might be shot. That will be troubleso; an exchange on the shore is even more troubleso. The dense jungle here offers nurous hiding spots, and Balang could easily vanish. Our military specialists aren't adept at jungle warfare. If they were pursued, it would also be very troubleso," Ghost Hand urgently reminded Luo Zheng.
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