The Red Era: Living in Seclusion in a Siheyuan as a Boss

Chapter 712 Exposed!!!

Zhang Jin patted Zhuang Yan's shoulder with a heavy heart, saying nothing; neither of them needed verbal comfort.

The two men tidied up Lei Jun's belongings and placed them beside them, as if Lei Jun was just away on a mission and had not yet returned to the team. They believed that their good brother would always be with them.

“When we go back, we must bring back the steel nail’s belongings no matter what; it’s the only thing he left behind,” Zhang Jincheng said solemnly.

“Yes!” Zhuang Yan nodded silently. “If there is a chance in the future, we will go to the cave where Gangding sacrificed himself and erect a tombstone for him, so that the tombstone faces the direction of the motherland.”

"Definitely. Whoever survives will come back and erect a tombstone for Steel Nail," Zhang Jin said firmly. Then he urged Zhuang Yan, "Monkey, we must turn our grief into strength. Our mission is not yet complete; there are still many things we need to do."

"Take off those dirty clothes and go wash up!"

As Zhuang Yan took off his clothes, he sighed and said, "Alas, it's a pity that the radio we finally managed to get was destroyed, and we can't contact the command center anymore."

"We need to find a way to contact the commander-in-chief. The situation is changing rapidly. Losing contact with the command center is like being deaf or blind," Zhang Jin said with deep feeling.

“But, brother, we’ve lost Li Yuan’s ore. How are we going to explain this to Michael?” Zhuang Yan asked worriedly.

"I've thought about this. We noted down the location where the ore sank. Next time we go, we should be able to retrieve it with diving equipment."

We can also use this opportunity to get Michael to procure another set of communication equipment for me.

"And those who robbed the ore were very strong, unlike ordinary mountain bandits. I don't know who they are."

Zhang Jin shook his head and said, "The armed forces here are complex and difficult to predict. Judging from their purpose, they are after the ore."

"When I climbed the cliff, I found that these people were all 'AKA 47' fighters. Although they were wearing civilian clothes, you could tell that they were very experienced in combat."

Upon hearing Zhang Jincheng's words, Zhang Jincheng pondered for a moment and said, "I think these people might be Boss Lang's Democratic League army."

"Why? How do you know they are Boss Lang's Democratic League army?" Zhuang Yan asked curiously.

"My intuition tells me that only they are capable of equipping this region with an all-AKA-47."

"Damn it, the Lang brothers have really messed with us. They've been targeting us ever since we started our operation..." As he spoke, Zhuang Yan took off all his clothes. Just as he turned around, Zhang Jin suddenly noticed dried blood on his lower back.

"Don't move!" Before Zhuang Yan could finish speaking, Zhang Jincheng stopped him and then squatted down behind him. There were bullet holes on Zhuang Yan's right lower back and right side of his abdomen, obviously wounds left after being pierced by bullets.

Zhang Jincheng's heart sank, and his voice trembled: "Monkey, when were you shot? Why didn't you say so sooner!" He quickly took out bandages and disinfectant from the first aid kit, but his movements were much gentler than usual.

Zhuang Yan forced a smile: "When we were breaking out of the valley, I was only focused on escaping and didn't feel any pain."

I could feel it again after the adrenaline subsided, but it had already scabbed over.

"Nonsense!" Zhang Jin interrupted him, carefully using his military knife to pry open the scabs around the wound. "The bullet was a penetrating wound, but the edges of the wound have already started to become inflamed."

"Bear with it, I need to clean it up." As he spoke, he unscrewed the disinfectant bottle, and as the cold liquid flowed down the wound, Zhuang Yan's back visibly tensed.

Zhang Jin carefully cleaned Zhuang Yan's wound, saying, "Luckily, the bullet only went through and didn't hit any vital organs. You're lucky to be alive."

After treating Zhuang Yan's wound and bandaging it with gauze and bandages, Zhuang Yan was allowed to lie down on the bamboo bed to rest.

Zhuang Yan said casually, "I'm not that delicate. This little injury is nothing."

As the two were talking, Michael's adjutant walked into the room and said to Zhang Jincheng with a smile, "Mr. Zhang, Boss Michael heard that you have returned and sent his brother to invite you over."

"Oh, Boss Mi's information network is really impressive. We were just about to go and report to him." As he spoke, Zhang Jincheng casually tucked his Beretta M9 into his lower back and then followed his adjutant down the stilt house.

Zhang Jin said that he deliberately walked very lightly on the bamboo ladder.

He noticed the bulging holster on the adjutant's waist and the obvious trigger callus on the man's right index finger—he was a seasoned gun enthusiast.

Migo's stronghold had three times more sentry posts than usual, and each post was guarded by two armed men.

As Zhang Jin walked through the training ground, he caught a glimpse of several unfamiliar faces practicing shooting with new weapons; the tactical rails on the guns gleamed coldly in the sunlight.

"It seems Mr. Mi has recently struck it rich," Zhang Jin said casually, but his adjutant just smiled knowingly.

After walking for a while, Zhang Jin realized that the adjutant was leading them not in the direction of Mi Gao's house, but in the direction of the back mountain on one side of the village.

So Zhang Jin casually asked, "Isn't Boss Mi home?"

“Oh, no, the boss has been in his command post the whole time,” the adjutant said as he walked.

"Command center?" Zhang Jin asked, because he had never heard of Michael having a separate command center before.
So Zhang Jin secretly gestured to Zhuang Yan, reminding him to be vigilant, and followed the adjutant towards the back mountain.

Zhang Jin said his premonition was correct; danger was closing in on them step by step.

Afterwards, Li Yuan first received news that Lang San had been arrested "over there". Although Li Yuan and Lang San were lovers in an affair, she still had deep feelings for him.

Li Yuan knew the consequences of Lang San being caught by "the other side," and his heart felt like it was being torn apart.

Before she could recover, news came that she had lost the jadeite rough stone, losing tens of millions of yuan in an instant, which broke her heart.

Li Yuan remembered what Lang San had said: that Zhang Jincheng and the other two might be undercover police agents "over there." She blamed all her resentment on Zhang Jincheng and the other two, and angrily returned to Awa Mountain Village.

Upon seeing Michael, Li Yuan exclaimed, "It's all your fault for bringing those people! They're so brave and invincible, they've made me lose tens of millions!"

If you don't get it back, I'm not done with you!

"Everyone makes mistakes, and every horse stumbles; that's perfectly normal."

"I can give you the money if I lose it. What's the big deal? Why are you so angry?" Michael carefully comforted his darling, little did he know that what Li Yuan was truly heartbroken about was Lang San's arrest.

"Stop protecting them. They're all police officers over there. They'd sell you out and you'd still be counting the money for them!"
You were kept in the dark about this.

"Oh? What makes you say they're police?" Michael asked, surprised and incredulous.

"If I had a basis for this, wouldn't I have told you already? Why would I have waited until now?"
"If you don't believe me, just wait until they come back, grab them and interrogate them, then you'll know," Li Yuan said unreasonably.

"Sigh, women really have such limited perspectives." Michael shook his head with a wry smile. Although he didn't say it, he had begun to have doubts about Zhang Jincheng and the other two.

Unexpectedly, news reached Michael's ears two days later, which made him believe Li Yuan's words.

It turned out that after Lang San was arrested, he had been keeping an eye on what was happening in the old city.

Michael received the news the day after Lang Laoda's missile site was destroyed.

When he learned that three people had attacked Boss Lang's missile site, he immediately guessed that it was Zhang Jincheng and his two companions who were responsible.

The three men disappeared after the mine was attacked, and they did not respond when contacted by radio.

Judging from the time, location, and personnel involved, it is highly likely that Zhang Jincheng and two others attacked Lang Laoda's missile launch site.

Moreover, no one else could possibly accomplish such a great task.

From this alone, it can be concluded that these three people must be spies sent from the other side. Michael couldn't help but gasp, and a cold sweat broke out on his back.

Michael thought to himself how lucky he was to have discovered them early; otherwise, these three would have been more dangerous than time bombs planted next to him, capable of blowing him to pieces at any moment…

Michael's eyes gradually turned sinister. He turned around and took out a gold-plated Desert Eagle from the safe, gently stroking the python pattern engraved on the gun.

"Notify everyone..." He made a throat-slitting gesture to his confidant, "If anyone dares to resist, you know what to do."

On the right side of the mountain village, near the cliff, there is a fenced courtyard. Zhang Jincheng had never been here before.

The local mountain people live in stilted houses, and most of their homes don't have courtyard walls, making this fence quite unique. Inside the courtyard, near the cliff face, there's a row of houses, all made of wood, built on stone bases over a meter high. Two thick, round wooden pillars support the protruding entrance hall; such impressive architecture is rarely seen in the local mountainous area.

Zhang Jin said he was a little curious as to why he had never noticed this place before.
The adjutant led the way, and the group entered the main hall of the house.

This place is like a living room, with smooth, shiny teak flooring and a row of sturdy chairs on each side.

Michael sat in the front, flanked by four guards holding submachine guns, looking imposing and menacing. At first glance, the scene resembled the Tiger Hall of the Mountain Eagle.

The adjutant led Zhang Jincheng and Zhuang Yan to the middle of the main room and suddenly stopped. He turned around abruptly, drew a pistol from his waist, pointed it at Zhang Jincheng, and said sternly, "Stop right there!"

Then, the eight armed guards beside Michael also pointed their guns at the two of them, while Michael remained silent with a gloomy face, his eyes fixed on Zhang Jincheng.

The adjutant quickly stepped aside, his gun pointed at Zhang Jincheng and the other man, and said sternly, "Slowly take out your weapons and put them on the ground, then kick them at me."

I know how powerful you are, but I'm warning you, if you dare to make a single move, I'll riddle you with bullets.

Zhang Jin calmly asked, "Boss Mi, what does this mean?"

"Stop talking nonsense, take out your weapons and put them on the ground, hurry up, I don't have much patience!" the adjutant shouted.

Zhang Jin gave Zhuang Yan a look, signaling him not to act rashly, as resistance under these circumstances would only result in pointless sacrifices.

Zhang Jin slowly raised his hands, carefully pulled out the Beretta M9 from his lower back with his thumb and forefinger, and bent down to place it on the floor.

The metal made a crisp "click" sound when it came into contact with the teak, which was particularly jarring in the deathly silent hall.

Zhuang Yan also placed his weapon on the ground, and the two of them kicked the weapon in the direction of the guard in unison.

"Hehe, Brother Zhang, can you tell us where you came from?" Michael sneered as he saw the two obediently comply.

"Of course, we came back from the ore transport route. We were attacked by the enemy in the valley and suffered heavy casualties."

To prevent the ore from being stolen, I had no choice but to blow it up and sink it in the river. I planned to come back and ask Boss Mi for help, to bring more men to retrieve the ore. I never expected Boss Mi to pull this stunt.

"Mr. Zhang, let's be frank, did you destroy Boss Lang's missile site?"

Zhang Jin said he didn't expect Michael to ask about this. He shook his head and said with a smile, "How could I possibly have the ability to be in two places at once to do that?"

If we really did it, shouldn't we hurry back to Boss Mi and ask for a reward? This would be revenge for you.”

At this moment, Li Yuan came out of a room and loudly said to Zhang Jin, "You don't need to use sweet words to deceive my old man. I knew who you were from the moment you arrived in the 'Jin San area'!"

"Then tell me, who are we?" Zhang Jincheng retorted.

Zhuang Yan said to Zhang Jin, "Brother, there's no need to argue with these bastards. Gang Ding was right back then; we shouldn't have agreed to come here with him. Now look what happened!"

“That’s right. Boss Mi, it was you who invited us here time and time again. If you doubt me, we’ll leave immediately.” Zhang Jin said as he walked out.

"Want to leave? Not so easy! I don't care who you are, you have to pay me tens of millions." Li Yuan shouted loudly.

At the same time, two guards at the entrance blocked the way, with their guns pointed at Zhang Jincheng and Zhuang Yan respectively.

It seems Michael was prepared and had a large force lying in ambush here.

Zhang Jin said that leaving was just to show Michael. When Li Yuan asked them to pay compensation, he laughed and said, "We are fugitives, penniless. If we had tens of millions, would we be here to put up with your jerk?"
"If you really want to make up for the loss, I'll take some men to that valley and retrieve the ore for you."

“Sending you to lead people to mine ore is like releasing a tiger back into the mountains. Do you think I’m stupid enough to let you do this?” Michael, who hadn’t spoken for a while, suddenly said.

Zhang Jincheng shrugged and spread his hands, saying, "There's nothing we can do about it. We have no money, but we have one life. You decide what to do!"

“Hehe…” Michael said with a cold laugh, “You may not have money, but your organization does. Write a letter to your leader, and I’ll send someone to deliver it.”

It's only a few tens of millions; I don't think your leaders will abandon you.

"I don't understand what you mean..."

“Since Mr. Zhang doesn’t understand what I mean, then you should think it over carefully and talk to me again when you’ve made up your mind.” Michael said, slamming his right hand on the armrest of the chair.

Zhang Jin suddenly felt his feet go soft, and the floor suddenly cracked open in the middle.

It turned out that the place where they were standing was a trap three meters square. The floor was cut off in the middle and one side was hanging down. The two instinctively reached out to grab the floor, but the floor was very slippery and they immediately slid down the slippery floor.

Zhang Jin said that the two of them fell about four or five meters down, and there was a very steep slope below. As soon as they touched the bottom, they continued to slide down the smooth stone slab.

Michael really put a lot of thought into this trap. The other end of the trap was connected to an underground water prison, so Zhang Jin and the other person slid out and fell into the water with a splash.

Fortunately, the water in the prison was not deep, only up to their knees, but it was very cold. After the two of them helped each other up from the water, they couldn't help but shiver a few times.

The water dungeon was pitch black, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. Having just fallen in from a bright place, you couldn't see anything at all.

A musty, pungent smell filled their nostrils, making them dizzy.

Zhang Jin wiped the water off his face and groped along the wall in the dark.

My fingertips touched slippery moss and uneven stone bricks, with a bone-chilling cold seeping from the cracks.

He lowered his voice and said to Zhuang Yan, "Look for torches or ventilation shafts." Before he finished speaking, a muffled sound of gears turning came from above, and an iron fence descended from the sky, dividing the water prison into two cells.

"Brother, where is this place?"

"It might be their dungeon."

"It stinks! Has someone died in here?" Zhuang Yan said, probing his surroundings with his foot.

Just then, a beam of light shone down from above, followed by the adjutant's voice, "Gentlemen, our boss said that if you've thought it over and are ready to talk, just pull that rope and we'll release you immediately."

While the adjutant was speaking, Zhang Jin quickly surveyed his surroundings. It was a dungeon about ten square meters in size, with a circular opening in the ceiling, where the adjutant was speaking.

Zhang Jin also saw the rope in mid-air, which was just within reach.

"Please tell Boss Mi that we have nothing to say, except that we regret coming here with him."

"Hahaha... Don't be so sure of yourself yet. I'll give you two some companions to keep you company. I think you'll agree to the boss's request soon."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a bucket of something was poured down from above, splashing and splattering into the water, some of it landing on Zhang Jincheng and his companion.

When Zhuang Yan touched it, he found it to be a soft, sticky worm.

The adjutant laughed excitedly from above: "Hahaha, these treasures are the most powerful vampires here. You can call them leeches. Each one weighs half a pound after sucking enough blood."

Let's see how long you two can hold out.

As they were talking, another oil lamp was lowered down from above, hanging two meters in the air. The lamp looked like the horseshoe lamps of the countryside in the past, also known as "qi si feng".

"Boss Mi said it's too dark in the dungeon, so he asked me to prepare a lamp for you. This lamp, when filled with oil, will burn for exactly five days."

Boss Mi said that if you can keep quiet for five days, he will release you. After saying that, he slammed the lid of the cave roof shut.

After the dungeon returned to calm, Zhuang Yan said angrily, "Damn it, I don't believe in this nonsense, I can't climb up."

Zhuang Yan examined the dungeon walls, and by the light, he felt around and found that they were covered with moss, making them wet and slippery.

(End of this chapter)