Chapter 267: Mercenaries Enter the Country

“Brother Wang, we’ve known each other for a while now, haven’t we?” Xiao Yu said calmly, holding his phone.

“Well…”

On the other end, Wang Dong hesitated, unsure of how to respond. He could tell his younger brother-in-arms was genuinely upset this time.

“What are you hiding from me?” Xiao Yu asked directly.

“Little brother, this is big,” Wang Dong said with a bitter laugh. “So big that even our National Security Bureau had to mobilize the Ninth Unit.”

Xiao Yu’s heart skipped a beat.

What the hell kind of mess was this?

He’d heard about the National Security Ninth Unit before, from Wang Dong himself. It was the hunter unit.

Taking a deep breath, Xiao Yu steadied himself and asked in a low voice, “Where are you right now?”

“…” Wang Dong stayed silent.

“Bencheng?” Xiao Yu pressed.

Still no answer.

“It must be dangerous if you’re this worried about me getting involved,” Xiao Yu muttered, rubbing his temples as his mind raced. “For someone to force your hand like this, even to deploy the Ninth Unit, have they called in the Special Forces too?”

He paused, piecing things together. 

“What kind of people would warrant that level of response? Terrorists? No, they wouldn’t be worth it. Foreign military personnel? Also no, they wouldn’t mix with people like this, and it’s not like they’d be taking orders from them. Spies? Agents? Doesn’t seem right either…”

His thoughts hit a wall, but then something clicked.

Xiao Yu’s eyes lit up, and he drew in a sharp breath. He had a theory.

“Mercenaries?” Xiao Yu asked, emphasizing each word. “Does that boss have mercenaries with him?”

That was the only explanation he could think of.

That would explain it. Only something like this—mercenaries entering the country—would warrant such a serious response from national security. And that’s why Wang Dong didn’t want him involved. Because mercenaries were in play.

“Uh…” On the other end of the line, Wang Dong sounded stunned. “Wait, you guessed that too?”

“Ha!”

So it was true. Xiao Yu let out a chuckle, his expression shifting into something unreadable, his tone softening. 

“Thanks, Brother Wang.”

Why thank him?

Because Wang Dong truly saw him as a brother, someone worth worrying about. He was trying to protect him, scared that Xiao Yu might end up in real danger.

“Don’t say nonsense like that,” Wang Dong said, laughing. “Now that you know, leave the rest to us at National Security. You don’t need to get involved.”

“And you?” Xiao Yu asked with a smile.

“Me?” Wang Dong burst into laughter. “Your big brother, Xiao Dong, was born for this. National Security’s job is in the name. Protect the country and keep the people safe.”

“Got it.” Xiao Yu smiled. “Take care of yourself, then.”

“Don’t worry about me,” Wang Dong said breezily. “Your brother has a tough life, nothing’s taking me down.”

The call ended.

Lowering his phone, Xiao Yu’s expression darkened. Now he understood why the system had given him such a terrifying 30-day deadline for the mission.

It was because of the mercenaries, wasn’t it?

No matter how the investigation unfolded, it would inevitably lead to confronting them. And if he chose not to participate, even if the case was ultimately solved and the boss was captured, it wouldn’t count as his mission completion.

The system would still mark it as a failure, right?

But that didn’t matter anymore.

Deep inside, Xiao Yu felt an uneasy premonition. At strange, inexplicable sense of dread.

It gnawed at him, whispering in his mind: If you don’t go back to Bencheng, you’ll regret it.

***

Four and a half hours later. Outside the airport in Bencheng.

Xiao Yu nodded at Bai Ting in the distance, took the car keys handed to him by the local contact, and got into a sports car. The engine roared, the car tearing through the road like a red streak of fire, howling as it sped onto the highway.

“Where are you?”

Driving with one hand on the wheel and a Bluetooth earpiece in, Xiao Yu called Wang Dong.

“Huh?” Wang Dong’s voice came through. “What now?”

Hearing his brother’s voice brought Xiao Yu a bit of relief. At least Wang Dong was still alive. Looked like he’d arrived in time.

“I asked, where are you?” Xiao Yu said coldly. “I’m back in Bencheng.”

“What the—!” Wang Dong’s expletive shot through the earpiece. “Are you insane? Didn’t I tell you not to come back?”

“Like hell I wouldn’t come back,” Xiao Yu sneered. “Bencheng is my territory.”

Since when could anyone cause chaos on his home ground without consequences?

There was a long silence on the other end before Wang Dong finally gave him an address. The moment the call ended, Xiao Yu floored the gas pedal. The car roared like a wild beast and sped off at full throttle.

Approximately one kilometer outside the dockyard warehouse district, a sudden burst of white smoke hissed into the air.

Xiao Yu had just stepped out of the sports car when a chilling sensation washed over him.

He was being targeted.

A sniper rifle?

Snapping his head up, Xiao Yu’s gaze locked onto a cluster of warehouses in the distance.

What kind of place was this?

Dockyards often built warehouse zones just outside the port to store goods while waiting for ships to load. It saved a lot of time.

With his Hawk’s Eye, Xiao Yu saw a sniper hiding on the rooftop of one of the warehouses, their weapon trained on him. Without hesitation, Xiao Yu headed straight for the warehouse.

Five minutes later.

He spotted Wang Dong standing by the warehouse door. And Wang Dong—of all things—was wearing a bulletproof vest.

“Are you out of your mind or what?” Wang Dong grumbled.

He gave his younger brother-in-arms an annoyed glare. Though he was scolding Xiao Yu, there was a glimmer of something else in his eyes. He knew exactly why Xiao Yu had shown up.

“Stop talking nonsense.” 

Xiao Yu couldn’t be bothered to argue as he walked past Wang Dong and entered the warehouse. Inside, he found several familiar faces. A group of eight special forces soldiers. And another group of six… also special forces?

Xiao Yu could be forgiven for the misunderstanding. The gear this second group was wearing looked even more advanced than what the special forces had.

Leading the second group was none other than Zhou Lie, the captain of the National Security Ninth Unit.

There was also a team of six agents from the National Security Second Unit.

“Hey, the little brother’s here!” one of the special forces soldiers greeted Xiao Yu with a grin, waving at him.

“Yeah.” Xiao Yu nodded to the soldier’s captain, then glanced briefly at Zhou Lie before turning to Wang Dong. “When do we move?”

“Tonight.” Wang Dong’s expression turned serious. “In two hours, a ship will be leaving for overseas. They’re planning to use it to smuggle themselves out.”

“How many people?” Xiao Yu asked in a low voice.

“Exact numbers are unclear,” Wang Dong replied, shaking his head. “But definitely no fewer than fifteen.”

Fifteen?! Xiao Yu’s heart skipped a beat.

Fifteen mercenaries?!