Bab 45: Intelligence and Incident
At this moment, hundreds of kilometers away from the Red Territory.
The earth was vast and barren, devoid of any greenery. The wind howled, stirring up sand and rocks, drifting across the desolate wilderness.
From a high altitude, one could vaguely see a broken highway buried under sand and rocks, intermittently traversing the wasteland. In the middle of the broken road, there was a small ruin that seemed to be a service area before the catastrophe.
It was only fifty kilometers away from the Gathering Point, making it a rare safe spot for scavengers in the territory. However, at this moment, several patched-up off-road vehicles were parked in the ruins, and more than ten fierce-looking thugs were vigilantly patrolling the perimeter.
It was General Blood's motorcade and his subordinates.
Inside a partially collapsed office building, light streamed in as General Blood stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance, seemingly waiting for something.
"General, Qiao Jun has arrived," came a respectful voice from behind. Then, with the sound of footsteps, Qiao Jun emerged from the shadows, his expression numb as he slightly bowed and said, "General."
General Blood turned around with a smile on his face. "Qiao Jun, you seem to be in good spirits. I've given you so much time, you should have obtained accurate information by now. After all, I've been providing your teammates with food and resources in the territory. It has cost me quite a bit."
Upon hearing the news of his teammates' safety, Qiao Jun breathed a sigh of relief and hesitated, "Dragon Eagle Leader has contacted me."
"Oh?" General Blood's crimson eyes lit up. "Did he reveal any specific plans to you?"
"Not yet," Qiao Jun shook his head. "The news about the base has been sealed off. Dragon Eagle Leader assumed that I didn't know, and his excuse to me was that he intended to gather a few reliable awakeneds in the territory and lead them to explore new routes for resources. But I think this is just a front. His true plan should be for us awakeneds to form an advance team, explore a safe route to the base, determine its exact location, and then gather manpower to either launch a strong attack or launch a surprise attack, in order to capture the base at the minimal cost possible."
General Blood raised an eyebrow and chuckled lowly. "So, they don't have a detailed map in their hands. Instead, they want the Dragon Eagle to personally explore a relatively safe route before taking action?"
Qiao Jun forced a bitter smile. "That's right. The wilderness is full of dangers. Lin Kun and the others only had five people left when they arrived at the Gathering Point after fleeing all the way. All the other escapees died on the way. Now, Lin Kun can only indicate the direction of the base, but we have to explore the safe route ourselves."
Unlike Chen Chong, Lin Kun and the other prisoners didn't have a detailed map in their hands. They barely made it out of the wilderness and arrived at the Gathering Point relying on memory and sheer luck. Knowing the direction of the base wasn't enough. The wilderness was filled with dangers, and the Gathering Point was nearly 200 kilometers away from this mysterious base. In order to gather combat personnel and conduct long-distance operations at the lowest cost, they needed to open up a route with the least danger in advance.
"It's indeed Dragon Eagle's style, very cautious," General Blood nodded in satisfaction, roughly understanding Dragon Eagle's plan. "When will your advance team set off?"
"I don't know, but I guess it will be in the next two days. Once the route is explored, it should be time to take action against the base," Qiao Jun replied.
"Qiao Jun, you've done well," General Blood's eyes sparkled. "Once this is done, I will reward you handsomely!"
Qiao Jun lowered his gaze, his eyes filled with bitterness. He knew exactly what General Blood was planning. It was nothing more than a mantis catching the cicada while the oriole was behind. However, now that he was infected with the Bloodline Gu and his life and death were no longer in his control, coupled with his teammates being controlled by General Blood and risking their lives, he had no choice at all.
"Alright, this piece of information is of great significance. You've worked hard," General Blood said, patting Qiao Jun's shoulder before turning to leave with Iron Mountain.
...
As the sky darkened, approaching dusk.
General Blood, who had received the intelligence, was pleased and didn't immediately return to his territory. Instead, he had the motorcade sweep the wilderness again, reaping a lot of scrap metal and radioactivity seeds. When the sky was dark, they returned to their territory fully loaded.
The roaring sound of vehicles echoed as Wei De and Lu Kai, who had received news of General Blood's return, waited for half an hour but still didn't see Yin Hu's appearance.
"What... what's going on?" Even if they were slow-witted, these two felt that something was wrong. They hurried to the factory where the motorcade was resting, and upon seeing a driver wiping the car window, they anxiously shouted, "Hey, Da Zui, where is our Captain Yin Hu? Haven't seen him around?"
Da Zui, the short and fat, greasy young man they were referring to, turned his head and saw Wei De and Lu Kai. He asked in confusion, "What nonsense are you two talking about? I'm not from your monitoring team. How would I know where Captain Yin Hu went?"
Wei De and Lu Kai were stunned. "Didn't our captain go out with the General this morning?"
Da Zui, known as Big Mouth, became even more puzzled and mocked, "Are you two idiots hallucinating? The General only took Iron Mountain and a dozen brothers with him today. How could Captain Yin Hu be there!?"
Wei De and Lu Kai's expressions changed, realizing that they had made a foolish mistake. Cold sweat broke out all over their bodies: Something had happened!
...
A moment later, inside General Blood's luxurious mansion.
Allowing four voluptuous and beautiful women to undress him, General Blood revealed his extremely muscular body and the terrible tumor on his chest. He leisurely soaked himself in the bathtub, letting out a contented sigh.
In this wasteland world, such a life was undoubtedly dreamlike. And all of this was built upon his immense power.
"General, there's a situation!" However, General Blood hadn't enjoyed it for long when he heard the urgent footsteps of Iron Mountain and his heavy voice approaching the bathroom door.
Hmm?
Lying in the bathtub, General Blood remained motionless, lazily saying, "What is it now? What's disturbing me?"
"According to the reports from the two supervisors just now, Yin Hu has gone missing!" Iron Mountain reported in a hurry.
Whoosh!
General Blood, who had been closing his eyes in enjoyment, suddenly opened his eyes wide, revealing a deep and intense murderous intent!
Tatatata...
The sky gradually darkened, and the chaotic and hurried footsteps came from outside the window, mixed with shouts and curses:
"You, have you seen Captain Yin Hu today?"
"Yesterday you said bullshit! I asked about today, not yesterday!"
"And you! Have you seen him?"
"No? Think carefully! Those who withhold information will die miserably!"
Chen Chong came to the window and, aided by the dark sky, saw a large number of lackeys walking down the alley, kicking open dilapidated houses and yelling at survivors. It seemed that most of General Blood's subordinates had been mobilized to search for Yin Hu's whereabouts.
Chen Chong squinted slightly. "Finally found out?"
Although he wasn't quite sure why it took the people in the territory so long to discover Yin Hu's disappearance, Chen Chong didn't feel nervous. Instead, he leisurely stood by the window and watched.
Yin Hu's body had already been destroyed and turned into ashes in the boiler. Even if these lackeys turned the entire territory upside down, they would never find any traces. They were just wasting their efforts.
While Chen Chong was enjoying the show by the window, Wei De and Lu Kai, sweating profusely, along with several members of the supervisory team, were running around like headless flies on the street:
"Da Tou, how is it over there?"
"We've asked all the workers in the factory, no one has seen Captain Yin Hu today!"
"Ji Zai, what about you?"
"Damn it, I asked in my factory, but no one has seen him!"
"F**k, could it be that the captain ascended during the day!?"
Two hours later, as the sky completely darkened, Wei De, Lu Kai, and more than ten members of the supervisory team gathered in the middle of the street, panting heavily and looking tired and anxious.
"We have basically turned this area upside down."
Wei De supported his knees with both hands, panting like a dog.
"Brothers, what should we do? General Blood has given the order that if there is no result by tomorrow morning, we will be in big trouble."
Lu Kai was getting frustrated. "But we have searched this area thoroughly. We can only wait and see if other search teams find anything."
This search operation involved not only their supervisory team but also the guards, hunting team, collection team, and most of the manpower in the territory. Several awoken individuals, including Tie Shan, Li Bao, and Zhang Long, were also participating. It was evident that General Blood attached great importance to this.
Another short and stout lackey looked uneasy and said, "Why do you think the captain disappeared? Could he have defected?"
The other members of the supervisory teams looked at him as if they were looking at an idiot. "Bulls**t! The captain isn't a coward. He was living comfortably in the territory. Why would he defect?"
The short and stout lackey mournfully said, "Then how did our captain vanish into thin air?"
The other members of the supervisory team fell silent, feeling that something was extremely strange.
Different from those survivors in the territory who were treated as worthless as weeds, Yin Hu was an awakened individual who could easily take on ten opponents. His silent disappearance seemed to have no explanation other than defection. However, Yin Hu held the position of a supervisor in the territory, enjoying superior treatment and authority. With General Blood's presence, there was simply no reason for him to defect.
"Wait a moment."
Turning his head to the accommodation building where Chen Chong was, Wei De seemed to have thought of something and said to Lu Kai, "Let's go up. There's someone we haven't asked yet."
...
At this moment, Chen Chong was no longer paying attention to the chaos and noise outside but was diligently performing the 27th Iron Body Refining Technique in his room, utilizing his true energy to penetrate and strengthen every muscle in his body.
A series of hurried footsteps entered the corridor, causing Chen Chong to open his eyes.
The workers were still in the factory as they hadn't finished work, so the people entering were obviously lackeys searching for Yin Hu's whereabouts. He immediately returned to the bed, listening to the footsteps quickly approaching, until they reached his room door.
Bang bang.
"Chen Chong, are you inside?"
Unlike forcefully kicking open the workers' doors, after knocking on the door, Wei De and Lu Kai pushed it open. With the dim light, they anxiously looked at Chen Chong on the bed and asked, "Have you seen Captain Yin Hu today?"
"It's you. I heard some commotion outside just now. Did Captain Yin Hu really disappear?"
Chen Chong shook his head and pretended, "I happened to run into Captain Yin Hu yesterday evening near Captain Guo's place, but I haven't seen him today. When did you discover his disappearance?"
Disappointed, Wei De and Lu Kai didn't pay much attention to Chen Chong due to the dim lighting, nor did they suspect him. They hastily said, "We found out in the morning that the captain wasn't in the territory, but we thought he had gone out with General Blood's convoy. It was only when the general returned that we discovered Captain Yin Hu was actually missing! We still have to continue searching. Let's talk later."
Outside, the chaos continued. Wei De and Lu Kai were not in the mood for idle chat with Chen Chong, so they left the room quickly.
So that's how it is.
After they left, Chen Chong stood by the window, watching the illuminated lights flashing all over the territory, and smiled faintly.
...
Another two to three hours passed, late at night. The normally peaceful night in the Red Blood Territory was now filled with the shouts and curses of lackeys searching everywhere.
In the luxurious mansion of General Blood, in the living room.
Iron Mountain stood tall and solemn before General Blood.
"Are you saying that you, along with Li Bao, Zhang Long, and their two hundred-plus people, have searched for such a long time in such a small area and haven't found a single person?"
General Blood spoke softly, but his tone was like a knife in the cold wind, piercing into Iron Mountain's heart, making him feel chilled.
"General, Li Bao, Zhang Long, and I have practically asked everyone in the territory, including the workers in the factory and the struggling survivors. None of them saw any trace of Captain Yin Hu today. Now others are still searching. We will definitely give you an answer tomorrow morning!"
Iron Mountain's face didn't look good either as he said with guilt, "But I have already searched Captain Yin Hu's room, including the Spirit Fruit. The supplies he had recently received were almost untouched in his room. This rules out the possibility of Yin Hu defecting. I suspect..."
Sitting motionless on the tiger-patterned armchair, General Blood's crimson eyes flashed with dangerous light, and he interjected, "You mean Yin Hu didn't defect but was silently killed by someone in the territory?"
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone