The golden light of dawn dispelled the darkness of the night as the forest woke from its deep slumber. The forest teemed with life as cries of wild animals could be heard from deep within the forest and chirps came from the tree branches.
The one-hundred-kilometre journey involving sabotaging five Boko Haram assembly points had been put past them in the night. The bloody violence of the night seemed to evaporate as rays of golden light shone.
On the other side of the mountain at the end of the forest was Alliance Mine of Vientiane Group.
At a spot near the tunnel going through the mountain, Giovanna lifted an arm. The travelling troop stopped and awaited her next command. Even the seasoned soldiers were happy to stop. They had been travelling for a hundred kilometres now, while there were rests in-between, they were never enough. Indeed, the moment the command to stop was issued, most of the soldiers sat or lay down in exhaustion.
Xia Lei put Shentu Tianyin, who was on his back, down.
She must’ve had the most effortless journey amongst everyone here since she had spent most of it on his back.
She reached out to wipe his sweat but realised there was not even a drop on his forehead. Yet she was already drenched in sweat. She gawked in awe, for this was no longer Xia Lei. This was a man closer to a god!
A sudden whistle travelled from the mid-section of the mountain.
An experienced soldier scrambled up while a few unlocked the guards on their Gust assault rifles, entering a battle stance.
Giovanna cautioned, “Calm down. They’re one of us.”
The soldiers relaxed a little.
Xia Lei also whistled in reply.
A few minutes later, a petite yet curvy lady emerged from the forest at the foot of the mountain. She looked like she came from an odd mix of eras because while she held a Gust assault rifle, there was a katana on her back. A black cloth covered her face, leaving only a pair of dark, cold eyes exposed.
She was Tsukino Kyoko. She wanted to be the first Chinese Zodiac Battle Team member Xia Lei saw so she chose to emerge first. During Xia Changhe’s era, a ninja like her might never even show themselves under such circumstances.
After she appeared, Anjum Khan, Sa’im, E’er Demutu, Yelena and Alessio all emerged too. Although there were only six of them, they were all super fighters, incomparable to the rest of the soldiers.
“Who the hell are these people?”
“Don’t listen to gossip. Every single one of them is a powerful figure. Based on my experience, they’re all cold-blooded killers.”
There was some discussion among the soldiers but they soon quieted down. After living lives filled with battles and violence, they knew what sort of people they should never offend or the kind they had to avoid like the devil.
Tsukino Kyoko walked over and opened her arms wide to embrace Xia Lei. She knew Shentu Tianyin’s identity but still could not help herself. At least all of the other Zodiac Team members also walked over to give Xia Lei a hug. If she was the only one to hug him, then the situation would be complicated.
However, it did not matter if Shentu Tianyin knew of her hidden relationship with Xia Lei. She would not be jealous in place of the five other women in his life. Xia Lei’s women could almost form a soccer team now. Being jealous was useless at this point. Plus she was not in the position to be jealous.
Alessio was the last to hug Xia Lei. He greeted Xia Lei in Italian, then grinned. “I’m back, Boss.”
Xia Lei replied in Italian, “Have you recovered from your injury?”
He grinned in response, “I can fight a bull now.”
Xia Lei also smiled. “That’s good. You’ll be able to prove this later.”
He was the dragon of the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team, also their ambusher, the fiercest and most fearless member of the team. He had been injured during the mission targeting the Knights Hospitaller but had now returned. If Liang Siyao was here, the team was basically complete. Xia Lei initially thought to recruit Giovanna and the rest of the knights into the team in place of Amanda, Park Taeyong, Bagu and Markus. However, he realised that them not joining him and spending their time on establishing the Relief Society made them more valuable. They were still on the same team as the Chinese Zodiac Battle Team whether they were members or not.
“Boss,” Qianjun spoke up, “There will be no cellular signal in the tunnel, at the mid-section and top of the mountain. A patrol team patrols the tunnel every two hours. Also, there are about a hundred Boko Haram members in the area.”
Xia Lei replied, “I know.”
“You do?” Qianjun looked surprised.
“There are a hundred armed Boko Haram members along this railroad trail, three hundred on both sides of the highway and two hundred in the area behind Alliance Mining. Five hundred surround Alliance Mining as human shields for the Americans. The negotiator, an important person in Boko Haram, is called Ramarafa.”
“Where did you get this information?” blurted Sa’im. He was the member in charge of intelligence, yet he did not know these. Xia Lei had been travelling all night, where did he get such information from?
“I ambushed some whistleblowers and left one alive, then interrogated him.”
The reality was that Xia Lei asked the guy what one-plus-one was, then shot him on the grounds of him ‘knowing too much’ after getting an answer. He was more terrifying than a terrorist in this sense.
The Gray and Russo sisters walked over.
Giovanna said, “We've grouped up, Boss. What’s the next step?”
Xia Lei answered, “Let everyone eat and rest in the cover of the forest. They’re exhausted. They can’t fight if we encounter any enemies. We’ll move at night when they’ve eaten and slept.
“No problem. We’ll go now,” said Giovanna. Rosa, Stella and Theresa also left. All four always operated together anyway.
He stopped them. “Wait.”
“What’s up?”
Xia Lei gave Shentu Tianyin a look and said, “Tianyin, you follow them too. Giovanna, this will be your task. You all must protect her no matter the cost.”
Giovanna was stunned for a moment but she nodded.
Shentu Tianyin protested worriedly, “I don’t want to follow them, where are you going? I’ll go with you.”
He reprimanded her, “Tianyin, are you sure you want me to bring you into battle? I will be sabotaging American signal-jamming equipment, there will surely be a fight. Do you want to die?”
“I…” Shentu Tianyin was afraid. The only person she trusted here was Xia Lei.
He walked up and leaned over to her ear, whispering, “Even if you have no regards for your own safety, you still have to think about the child in your belly.”
“Ah? I…” Shentu Tianyin could not believe her ears.
“Be a good girl and go with Giovanna. You can trust them.” Xia Lei patted her shoulder and turned to leave.
What he said was effective, for she did not follow him. Both of them had used up the antidote these two days. Based on Tang Yuyan’s recounting of her experience, there was a high possibility of her being pregnant already. If that was the case, how could she not think about her child? Although it was just a guess without proof, she still did not want to take the risk.
It was a maternal instinct to protect her child and she was no exception.
“Why are you all still standing there? Let’s go.” Xia Lei walked over to the entrance of the tunnel.
“It’s up to us to fight the dirty war again,” said Anjum Khan though he smiled,” But I like it.”
“Boss, do you know where the signal-jamming equipment is?” asked Sa’im.
Xia Lei said, “They will definitely have a radar tower. The equipment will also be at the highest point of this place so I do not think it will be difficult to find. If we can’t find it, keep one person alive and I’ll interrogate them.”
Tsukino Kyoko remarked, “Getting one alive is quite a lot to ask for, Boss. Leave it to me, I’ll bring you the most valuable guy I can find.”
He smiled.
She changed the subject. “Boss, why did you bring your ex-wife here?”
Xia Lei was speechless.
“Haha! Kyoko, are you jealous?” grinned Anjum Khan.”
She glared at him. “Do you have a death wish?”
“Fine, forget I said anything,” he shrugged.
Xia Lei smiled bitterly. “She’s the head of Alliance Mining. The Americans took her ore so we need her to take it back.”
“What can she do?” asked Yelena.
“She can do what we can’t. Think about it, even if we killed the special task force soldiers within Alliance Mining and armed Boko Haram members, they can both dispatch more fighters at any time. Do you think we can fight them with our small numbers?”
They were currently in Africa without access to the Chinese military. In the event of war, the Americans could send a continuous stream of soldiers while they only had a small group of soldiers. It was not enough to secure Alliance Mining.
“Is it due to objections from our Foreign Affairs negotiators?” asked Yelena.
Xia Lei smiled. “That’s our last resort. I have another plan.”
“You do?” Alessio was very interested. “What is it?”
“I’m still mulling over it in my brain right now. I’ll let you know when it’s completed.”
His plans were actually completed, he just couldn’t tell them about it!
All six Chinese Zodiac Battle Team members shrugged. Some smiled, some were expressionless. They were not surprised by Xia Lei’s answer because he had always been like this.
The tunnel was dark. They could not see through the other end.
All seven of them radiated a murderous intent.