Chapter 437: A Common Enemy

Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation

A group of secret agents entered, roughly blindfolding them. After being pushed onto the deck, they were immediately placed in a vehicle. Rong Li, weakened after surgery, collapsed onto Qin Wan, who pushed him away in disgust.

Her bald spot was still visible on the back of her head, and she wished she could kick him. But to her surprise, Rong Li turned back over and leaned against her shoulder. Qin Wan said in a gruff voice, “Get lost!”

Rong Li remained silent, and Qin Wan furrowed her brow but didn’t push him away. She had more important things to do. Although her eyes were blindfolded, her sense of smell, touch, and hearing were intact. Qin Wan and Ji Chi remained silent, while Gu Ci, on the other hand, wasn’t very proficient in the local language and stayed quiet too.

The coast had a strong, fishy smell. They were in a run-down van that became unbearably hot as soon as they disembarked. The sunlight was intense, and even though the island was known for its year-round pleasant weather, the real-feel temperature here was at least forty degrees Celsius, much hotter than they had expected. The road was extremely bumpy. They had just passed through a village after half an hour on land, and it was bustling with activity. The locals spoke in their own dialect, not the standard language. Ji Chi furrowed his brows slightly.

The weather was scorching, and they had the windows open without air conditioning. Before long, they were drenched in sweat due to the rough ride. Due to the bumps in the road, Rong Li ended up collapsing onto Qin Wan’s lap and lost consciousness.

Qin Wan wanted to smack his face but restrained herself, thinking about his injuries.

After a few more hours of driving, just when they thought everything had calmed down, they caught a whiff of a distinctive poppy scent. It was easily recognizable, and Gu Ci, Qin Wan, and Ji Chi all noticed it.

They were surrounded by vast poppy fields, and the road became even rougher, like they were heading into the mountains. Suddenly, a thick smoke filled the vehicle, and everyone except the driver lost consciousness.

Jiang Junlin and Lu Zhiyuan’s plane landed on Paradise Island. Despite the recent explosion, Paradise Island remained a happy vacation destination and was not significantly affected. Jiang Junlin and Lu Zhiyuan had mostly aligned their information.

Li Jiang said, “Third Master, your guess was correct. Chen Rushi has indeed arrived on Paradise Island. Tang Mingzhou used Chen Rushi’s help to leave Paradise Island, and there’s no trace of them on the sea. We haven’t figured out where they’ve been taken.”

The lack of information could be seen as a good sign; at least everyone was still alive. Both Jiang Junlin and Lu Zhiyuan thought so because the explosion had been sudden, leaving no time to leave any clues.

Dr. North was severely injured, and a fierce battle broke out between his team and the people brought by Gangster and Chen Rushi. Before Dr. North fell unconscious, he dispatched a flying craft and a team of people to pursue Chen Rushi’s speedboat.

Later, they ran out of gasoline and were stranded at sea. The flying craft eventually ran out of power, but at least it was confirmed that they headed north.

Jiang Junlin took out a map, and the northern direction led to West Asia, at the junction of Asia, Europe, and Africa. Wherever they went, the scope was quite extensive. Jiang Junlin said, “Let’s start by investigating Chen Rushi’s whereabouts. We need to find out how she and Tang Mingzhou got in touch all these years, where Tang Mingzhou has been traveling for his projects.”

This puzzled Jiang Junlin as well. While Paradise Island wasn’t heavily guarded, it wasn’t easy to contact Chen Rushi, especially since she needed to meet him. They must have had a special means of communication.

Lu Zhiyuan Jiang said, “The owner of Black Hawk and the leaders of the Nine Great Families all have certain communication methods. Although Chen Rushi was expelled, he is still the head of the Chen family. Tang Mingzhou should have a unique way to contact him. However, it should have been destroyed by now, and finding it again won’t be easy.”

Jiang Junlin was annoyed by the decentralized system of Black Hawk. Now, Lu Zhiyuan Jiang was worried about another issue – both Ji Chi and Rong Li had gone missing. Jiang Junlin had delegated power over the past few years, and with Tang Mingzhou and Chen Rushi pulling off this operation, could Black Hawk face a possible split? The power of the major families had been eroded repeatedly, and now was the best time for a counterattack. Was Lu Zhiyuan Jiang prepared for this internal and external challenge?

Tang Mingzhou and Chen Rushi’s destination was unclear, and they had no choice but to wait for information to come in. Late at night, both Lu Zhiyuan Jiang and Jiang Junlin were still awake, waiting for news. Jiang Junlin had not slept for two days and nights in a row, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Internally, Black Hawk was stable. There had been turmoil five years ago, but despite other department members being inserted, Jiang Junlin and Gu Ci handled all affairs, ensuring that no trouble arose.

“Why haven’t they called yet? It’s been three days. What does Tang Mingzhou want, and why hasn’t he called? It’s like dealing with a kidnapper who doesn’t want a ransom,” Jiang Junlin commented.

“Lu Zhiyuan Jiang, you know Tang Mingzhou best. Where do you think he might go?”

“He definitely won’t go to Europe. Despite moving his industries to China, his position in Europe is still deeply rooted. He won’t risk going there and revealing himself. So, we can exclude Europe. But at the junction of Asia and Africa, the territory is vast, and there are often conflicts along the border. Would they go there?”

“If he has four hostages with him, he’d need a hiding place. I’ll mark all the border conflict areas as eliminated possibilities.” Jiang Junlin said, eliminating potential locations on the map.

Lu Zhiyuan Jiang proposed, “What if 1 reach out to Tang Mingzhou proactively?”

Jiang Junlin replied, “They’re holding your Achilles’ heel. If you offer yourself willingly, are you afraid they won’t kill you fast enough?”

“I’m not as composed as you. I can’t accept any unexpected harm coming to Gu Ci. I’m willing to trade my life for his.”

Jiang Junlin rebuked him, “Stop pretending to be sentimental. This disaster was brought upon us by you!”

Zhang Qiang interjected, “Master, we’ve received Chen Rushi’s information.”

Jiang Junlin nodded, projecting the information onto a large screen. He narrowed his eyes and focused on a particular location, his gaze inscrutable.

Lu Zhiyuan also squinted and asked, “The Pentagon? What’s he doing there? Who compiled this information?”

Zhang Qiang explained, “Since Chen Rushi left Black Hawk, we’ve been tracking him for three years as per our protocol. This data covers his movements during the three years after leaving Black Hawk. After those two years, we lost all information about him.”

They had tracked him for three years without any issues and then ceased their efforts. After all, they didn’t want to waste resources on someone who didn’t pose a threat.

“Enlarge the map of the Pentagon!” Lu Zhiyuan Jiang said in a deep voice. “We haven’t been back to the Pentagon in years. If there have been changes, we wouldn’t know.”

The Black Hawk Eye System moved to the Pentagon region and zoomed in. To their surprise, the Pentagon area appeared to be thriving, with a well-developed town. Lu Zhiyuan furrowed his brow and moved the map, revealing extensive poppy fields.

“Back then, this place was reduced to ashes, and the soil structure was severely damaged. 1 can’t believe that more than a decade later, it has become a poppy supply hub.”

“Poppy…” Jiang Junlin squinted.. “Is Chen Rushi involved in the drug trade?”