Siheyuan: Why is my crossing so ugly?

After nightfall, the deathly silent and prison-like Gevorta Mountain suddenly came alive.

First came a series of deafening cries of crows, then a raging fire suddenly erupted deep in the mountains, followed by heart-wrenching screams of agony.

The sound was chilling and extremely penetrating; it could be clearly heard even from several kilometers away in the military camp at the foot of the mountain.

It was as if the gates of hell had suddenly opened, and all the ghosts were wailing in unison.

"Damn it, these bastards have quite the loud voices."

"Since you're going to die anyway, why bother howling? Wouldn't it be better to just die quietly? Your wailing and screaming in the middle of the night is disturbing everyone's sleep. You have absolutely no public decency!"

At the temporary camp, Du Weiguo, who had been resting with his eyes closed on his cot, sat up irritably, took out his cigarette case, lit a cigarette, and picked at his ear with great dissatisfaction.

“Wesley, aren’t you worried at all? They’re facing thousands of ferocious cannibals.”

Rena wasn't as carefree as him. Since nightfall, she had been on edge, restless, and her heart was pounding.

It's not hard to understand when you think about it. She had suffered repeated losses and was traumatized by these cannibals.

"Fierce? These beasts don't even deserve the title!"

Du Weiguo exhaled two long, arrow-like plumes of white smoke from his nostrils, his tone contemptuous.

"What's there to worry about? To put it bluntly, they're just a bunch of thick-skinned, brainless beasts. For Shota and the others, it's just a game."

It wasn't that Du Weiguo was overconfident, but rather that he had extraordinary trust in the combat capabilities of several of his direct subordinates.

Shota, Shinmai, and Kagura are all top-tier espers, and with Nightshade being like a bug in the system, such a luxurious lineup is practically unbeatable.

Let alone a mere few thousand cannibals who eat raw meat and drink blood, the mountainous battlefield under the cover of night could easily take on a fully equipped, modern American mechanic division.

The reason why the cannibals were able to defeat Rena's mercenary group was simply because they relied on the jungle terrain and also because they took advantage of her lack of heavy firepower.

If she had a fully-fledged artillery battalion—no, an artillery company would be more like it—even if it was only equipped with the most basic mortars, she wouldn't have been attacked so badly.

The barrage of artillery fire, the saturation attack, and the overwhelming power of the steel storm were not something that flesh and blood could withstand; even Du Weiguo couldn't withstand it.

"Ah~"

Du Weiguo's confidence inadvertently touched a nerve with Reina, leaving her speechless. She couldn't help but sigh, her expression turning somber.

She felt increasingly distant from Du Weiguo's world, as if an invisible chasm stretched between them, which brought her to the brink of despair.

Du Weiguo noticed the change in Reina's expression. Realizing he had misspoke, he quickly patted her shoulder and tried to make amends:

"Rena, you don't need to be discouraged."

"You suffered setbacks before mainly because of unclear intelligence, insufficient firepower, and the poor fighting spirit of those scoundrels."

"Even so, if the battle were to take place during the day, and on an open battlefield, these beasts would certainly not be able to withstand the barrage of modern firearms."

His words weren't just a simple consolation; the unknown is what's truly terrifying.

Previously, Rena's mercenary group was suddenly attacked by cannibals in the dense forest at night.

At the time, due to the suddenness of the event and the obstructed visibility at night, they were mistaken for immortal monsters that were impervious to swords and spears.

Morale collapsed instantly, and the army naturally suffered a crushing defeat.

These mercenaries, though experienced and well-equipped veterans, were also just thugs who did their jobs for money.

An army without faith and conviction to support it will almost inevitably have a weak fighting spirit.

If they were replaced with an equal number of Chinese army soldiers with the same equipment, the result would certainly be completely different.

"Thank you, Wesley."

Hearing his words of comfort, Rena felt somewhat better and managed to force an awkward smile.

"Hey~" Du Weiguo grinned and reached out to pull her into his arms:
"Why are you being so polite? We're practically family. Don't worry, you'll get your revenge before dawn at the latest."

Du Weiguo wasn't exaggerating; it was only dawn, and before it was even light, Xiangtai and the others had already gone down the mountain.

Everyone was unharmed, except for Nightshade, who was dragged down and couldn't possibly get injured; he was undoubtedly being held up.

It's unclear what it ate in the cannibals' lair, but it has fallen into a deep hibernation again, and no matter how much it's called, it won't wake up. Its body is also emitting an unknown magnetic field, so it's probably about to evolve again.

Fortunately, Shota and the others were not ordinary people; their strength far exceeded that of ordinary people. Otherwise, they really wouldn't have been able to move this "pig."

Due to the backlash, Shota's face was pale, and he looked slightly tired, but his attitude remained respectful. After bowing, he reported in a measured and formal manner:
"Sir, I have successfully completed my mission. All 4327 cannibals from the two tribes have been captured and none have escaped."

His tone was unusually calm, but the intense killing intent it contained was chilling.

Having witnessed countless life-and-death situations, Shota has been completely transformed. He is now decisive and ruthless, and the cowardly salaryman he once was is nowhere to be seen.

"Yes, well done! Shota, Kagura, you all worked hard."

Du Weiguo was very satisfied with his change, reached out and pressed down on his shoulder, and even squeezed it hard.

"Gentlemen, this should be our last battle before the holiday. Our bloody and dangerous career is about to leave us behind."

After a pause, he continued:

"I promised you that I would take you to see all the beautiful sights in the world and taste all the delicious food in the world. Now, I will keep my promise!"

The wildfire burned for days and nights, leaving ashes everywhere. In the end, a quarter of the densely forested Gevorta Mountain was burned bare.

The secret of the gold mine could no longer be kept. After the wildfire was extinguished, the entire vein was exposed to the air, and anyone could see the enormous reserves it contained.

However, Du Weiguo didn't care much. It was just showing off his wealth. So what if he had plenty of lice?

It's just a gold mine. No matter how large the reserves are, its value is only a few billion. Nowadays, no one would bother to provoke it for such a small amount of profit.

As for whether Miss Hu and Mo Lan will set their sights on his secret stash of money again, the possibility is very high, but they will have to catch this guy first.

Du Weiguo only stayed in the Gevorta Mountains for two days. Before the wildfire was extinguished and the nightmare had ended, he hurriedly left.

He first took a private jet to Mumbai, and then disappeared.

That's right, this bastard has disappeared again. He boarded the Kunpeng in Mumbai Port in full view of everyone, but nobody knows where the submarine is headed.

This incident caused a huge uproar. Everyone panicked, and all those who had been enemies of Du Weiguo or had any dirty dealings with him were now restless.

Citibank, in particular, was on high alert, seeing threats everywhere.

Upon receiving the news, the seven fleets under the US Navy immediately began to fully tighten their defenses, and almost all ships with anti-submarine capabilities were dispatched to patrol the coast day and night.

It's important to know that the Kunpeng is not just a nuclear-powered submarine; it also carries eight nuclear weapons, each with a yield of over 500,000 tons.

It is enough to destroy a city, or even a country.

What's most intimidating is that, given Du Weiguo's past behavior, which fully demonstrates his crazy and eccentric nature, he really dares to detonate this thing anywhere on Earth.

In short, whether the world is in chaos or not, Du Weiguo has the final say!
Fortunately, everyone's worries were unfounded. Several months passed, and no nuclear explosion occurred anywhere in the world, not even a nuclear test. That bastard Du Weiguo ultimately didn't go mad; peace reigned, and the world remained calm and undisturbed.

Late 68, Edinburgh, Scotland, Mount Brad.

Nestled in a sheltered valley on the southern slope, next to Lake Brad, amidst dense forest, stands an unassuming cabin in the woods.

Outside, the wind was howling and snow was falling heavily, but inside, it was warm and cozy.

The fireplace in the living room was crackling and burning brightly. On the coffee table were two cups of steaming black tea, and on the sofa, two figures sat embracing each other.

"To be honest, how much power do you actually wield right now?"

Yang Caiyu curled up in Du Weiguo's arms like a kitten, her face flushed, her voice languid and slightly hoarse.

"How much power do you wield?"

Upon hearing this question, Du Weiguo paused slightly, then chuckled and replied with a hint of smugness:

"Hey, how should I put it?"

"Not many people know you? That can't be right?" Yang Caiyu raised an eyebrow, her expression a mocking smile.
"What ancestor? That's all nonsense. I don't recognize that."

When Hong Kong Island was mentioned, a subtle, almost imperceptible glint flashed in Du Weiguo's eyes, but his face remained impassive and his tone showed no change whatsoever.

“At that time, I had just left the country and planned to settle in Hong Kong Island for a long time. I really couldn’t stand these short mules’ endless nonsense and making the streets a mess.”

"Well, there were some unexpected triggers at the time, which is why I took action to bring them together."

"However, the dwarf mules are ultimately too low-level. They have no idea of ​​my true identity and their understanding of me is only superficial."

"Yeah, too."

After listening to Du Weiguo's explanation, Yang Caiyu nodded thoughtfully.

"So, it's because you caused such a stir in Hong Kong Island and had close ties with MI6 that the Freemasons took notice of you, leading to the series of events that followed?"

Seeing that she had deliberately skipped over Hong Kong Island and steered the conversation toward Freemasonry, Du Weiguo secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

He and Yang Caiyu have been living in this mountain cabin for some time now, leading a secluded life almost completely isolated from the world.

As for his direct subordinates, apart from Nightmare, they were all taken by Rhodes on a round-the-world trip to enjoy life, along with Merlin and his wife.

During this time, Du Weiguo also told Yang Caiyu most of his experiences, and even selectively confessed some of his affairs, but deliberately concealed the existence of several women.

Miss Hu, Mo Lan, and Guo Fu—these women absolutely cannot be shown, especially Zhao Yingnan; not a single word about her can be mentioned.

Lying is actually very difficult; one lie often requires a hundred more to cover it up.

However, Du Weiguo had no choice; confessing was out of the question, and he couldn't afford to let his public image crumble.

Moreover, with his current power and influence, he is fully capable of covering up the lie, and even turning black into white is no problem for him.

Once he makes up his mind, Yang Caiyu will never know of the existence of these women, hear any news about them, or even see them in her lifetime.

Even if she found out by accident, she would immediately "forget" it.

Fortunately, Yang Caiyu was a sensible person. She did not dwell on Du Weiguo's romantic affairs, nor did she investigate them thoroughly. Instead, she wisely pretended to be deaf and dumb.

It should be noted that Hong Kong still practices polygamy and allows concubines. With Du Weiguo's looks and power, it wouldn't be excessive for him to keep as many women as he wanted.

"How could that be?" Du Weiguo shook his head and scoffed.

"The Freemasons are in big business; they wouldn't even look at the petty profits of Hong Kong's triads."

"The reason I clashed with them was mainly because I had conspired with the KGB to assassinate Suat, but the plan was leaked before it could be carried out."

"Sigh~" Yang Caiyu sighed softly.
"Although Suatuo deserves to die, he is ultimately a powerful dictator with a large army. In ancient times, he would be equivalent to a monarch."

"Wei Guo, where did you get such audacity?"

"Ha! That's what they call 'if you don't have the skills, don't take on the job!'"

Du Weiguo smiled nonchalantly.

"What is Suatuo? At best, he's just a local tyrant. The Freemasons are a hundred times stronger than him, but I still crushed them in the end."

"As for knife-wielding people, I'm the most professional. I don't care who it is. Once I've set my sights on someone, it's like having your name crossed off the Book of Life and Death by the King of Hell—you're doomed!"

He paused slightly at this point:

"I'm not exaggerating. Mikhail from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs is one of the top figures in Russia. He's a real big shot, much more impressive than the Soviet Union."

"And that old guy really knows how to cause trouble. He went to great lengths and used every means to deal with me, even secretly making peace with our arch-enemy, the United States. Later, he even bombed the Kremlin."

"But it's all useless now. What's happened? His grave is overgrown with weeds."

Upon hearing this, Yang Caiyu's brows furrowed suddenly, and her eyes became somewhat unnatural:
"Wei Guo, it's me~"

“Caiyu, you don’t need to explain, I understand.”

Du Weiguo patted her on the back and interrupted:

"Both I and the Russian bear are uncontrollable dangers. A tense relationship between us, or even a dogfight, is in the best interest of the North."

"And your position and status at the time just happened to be able to facilitate this. If I were the decision-maker in the North, I would have arranged and designed it in the same way."

Yang Caiyu fell silent for a long while before raising her head again. She subconsciously licked her lips and tentatively asked:

"Wei Kingdom, what is your current attitude towards the north?"

"Hoo~" Du Weiguo didn't answer immediately, but sat up straight, lit a cigarette, and exhaled a long puff of smoke.

He then turned to look out the window, his gaze distant and profound, as if piercing through the vast snow and traversing thousands of mountains and rivers, and said, word by word:

"I will always maintain the utmost goodwill toward the North and will provide support and assistance to the best of my ability."

Yang Caiyu's eyes lit up, but at that moment, Du Weiguo suddenly changed the subject:
"However, my forces will never become vassals of the north."

Du Weiguo's voice was soft and his tone was indifferent, but his tone was resolute and left no room for argument.

Yang Caiyu's brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again, and her eyes became extremely conflicted. She opened her lips, as if she wanted to argue a few more words.

However, before she could even speak, Du Weiguo's next words completely shut her down.

“Caiyu, I have already gained momentum.”

Du Weiguo crushed the cigarette butt, his tone calm, yet chilling.

"I control a force far larger than you can imagine; the North absolutely cannot swallow it. If they rashly open their mouths, they'll choke to death." (End of Chapter)