Li Chonglou’s delivery truly startled him.
As the captain of the Eagle unit, his lifelong ambition was to protect this great and historic nation.
Even if he remained alone his entire life, even if he lived in these mountains for decades, he had never complained.
Because the motherland was his everything.
It even surpassed the concept of family.
This feeling was selfish, and more so, carried an extreme possessiveness.
Therefore, he could turn a blind eye to crime, but he absolutely would not allow anyone to sell out the country!
“Kid, where did you get this?” After venting his anger, Fan Lei immediately calmed down, clutching the USB drive tightly and asking.
He had initially thought the pressure on him was because Li Chonglou had offended that person surnamed Huang.
Although he had agreed to intercept foreign assassins for Li Chonglou, he also wanted to use the opportunity to gauge the young man’s true capabilities.
After all, how could someone he valued, someone he intended to groom as his successor, lack the ability to soar like an eagle?
If he truly died, it would mean he had misjudged the person.
But he never expected that such a huge conspiracy was hidden behind it.
“A friend of mine collected it.” Li Chonglou hid nothing, explaining the situation in detail.
His purpose in coming today was to question them, which was secondary; his true objective was to ensure the safety of Liu Ping’er and his family.
Although the Xiao family was wealthy and powerful, they were ultimately just merchants.
They were more than capable of dealing with ordinary people or even thugs, but it was unrealistic to deal with international assassins.
Ning Lang was even more stretched thin.
In the entire Yong’an, the only person he could rely on was Fan Lei.
As long as he was willing to protect Liu Ping’er and his family, the security loopholes would be minimized.
At least, he would no longer have any worries.
After listening to Li Chonglou’s account, Fan Lei’s eyes flashed with electricity: “You’re a sly one, a little fox!”
“Speak, what do you want me to do by giving me this?”
Masters in combat, every move is fatal.
Li Chonglou saw in one encounter that this man had dedicated his life to the country and could not tolerate any impurities.
And he also saw that Li Chonglou was using him.
Of course, this kind of utilization was mutually beneficial.
For years, no one had dared to scheme against him.
He didn’t expect this kid to engage him in such an open and naked strategy.
He had no choice but to play along.
“Commander Fan, I want you to guarantee the safety of my family and friends for one year.” Li Chonglou smiled slightly: “As a condition, one year later, whether I defeat the person surnamed Huang or not, I will join your ranks.”
He had thought it through.
Someone like Fan Lei was by no means someone to be trifled with.
Even with his knowledge and experience from two lifetimes, he might not be able to gain an advantage against Fan Lei.
It was better to go with the flow.
Didn’t he want him to join the army? Fine, a one-year term.
First, let his family and friends be safe for a year, at least so they wouldn’t be killed by international assassins.
As for the outcome after a year, he could only do his best and leave the rest to fate.
If he couldn’t defeat Huang, he would join the army and use that influence to deal with him.
If he handled Huang, then he would have no reservations and would willingly serve under Fan Lei.
Living another life with a different lifestyle might not be bad.
“It’s a deal!” Fan Lei extended his broad palm, clashing it fiercely with Li Chonglou’s.
The sound was like firecrackers.
After the palm strike, Fan Lei shouted, “Zhou Jiao, come in.”
As soon as the voice fell, Zhou Jiao pushed the door open and entered.
With a crisp salute, he said, “Commander Fan, what are your orders?”
Fan Lei rarely called him by his name. Every time he called Zhou Jiao by name, it meant a mission was being assigned.
The most recent instance was when he sent him to Yong’an to inquire about Old Ghost’s murder.
“Select a few skilled individuals to follow this kid for a year.” Fan Lei waved his hand: “Additionally, you will personally handle the investigation of all inbound and outbound personnel.”
“Eliminate all international assassins who enter the country.”
“Let’s see which evil spirits dare to run rampant on my turf!”
Upon hearing this, Zhou Jiao’s expression flickered, and he said in shock, “But…”
“No buts, this is an order!” Fan Lei didn’t give him a chance to speak.
“Yes!” Zhou Jiao gave a crisp salute.
He glanced deeply at Li Chonglou, his eyes clearly showing undisguised astonishment.
He knew Fan Lei’s personality too well: resolute as iron, swift as lightning, and especially protective of his own.
Directly ordering Eagle members to follow Li Chonglou’s command, what did that mean?
Close protection?
Could it be that he already considered him his successor?
This…
How could this Li Chonglou, who wasn’t even a special forces operative, gain such favor from Fan Lei?
Regardless of the reason, this Li Chonglou would likely soar to unprecedented heights from now on.
“Kid, I’m giving you people, but not for you to boss around and show off.” After Zhou Jiao left, Fan Lei’s expression turned serious: “They are only responsible for protecting the safety of those you designate. For other matters, unless they involve your personal safety, they will absolutely not take your orders, understand?”
“Yes!” Li Chonglou followed suit, giving a quite standard military salute like Zhou Jiao.
The heavy stone that had been weighing on his heart finally quietly lifted.
With special forces protecting his mother and wife, as well as friends like Wu Hao and Lu Yunxu, he had no further concerns.
As for his senior sister and master, with their abilities, they would not be taken down by international assassins even without protection.
Moreover, Fan Lei’s order to Zhou Jiao to strictly investigate entries and exits had already minimized the risk factor.
It gave him ample time and opportunity to develop.
Soon, Zhou Jiao selected eight members who looked ordinary but whose eyes held a hidden divine light.
Li Chonglou glanced at them and felt that these eight people were not simple.
Their divine light was contained, and their appearances were ordinary.
Even for someone with his photographic memory and sharp eyes, it was difficult to describe their characteristics after a single glance.
This was clearly the ideal condition for hiding.
To achieve this level at their age, they were undoubtedly top-tier within the entire special forces team.
Li Chonglou assigned each of them their positions and provided the contact information and basic details of his relatives and friends.
Then, he was escorted out of the base by Zhou Jiao.
This time, Zhou Jiao did not return but took two subordinates and got into Li Chonglou’s car, heading directly to Yong’an.
They chatted casually along the way.
Discussing the mission, Zhou Jiao sighed, “Kid, you really have the guts of a bear.”
“There have been people who dared to threaten Commander Fan before, but none of them lived to see that day.”
“You are the only anomaly, not only alive and well but also having me personally protect you…”
“Perhaps Commander Fan is getting old and merciful, or perhaps you are truly his nemesis.”
Saying this, he couldn’t help but laugh.
“Perhaps, he has found his match,” Li Chonglou said with veiled meaning.
It could be discerned that both Ning Lang and Zhou Jiao, while having some reservations about Fan Lei, generally respected and feared him.
But he was different.
He was not afraid of Fan Lei, and even found Fan Lei a bit endearing.
Of course, he still respected him; if a person dedicated their entire life to the country and its people, that in itself was worthy of respect.
Without them, how could there be a strong motherland?
If he disliked Fan Lei, he would not have come to him for a deal regarding the assassin incident.
He would not have agreed to serve under him.
Military life, precise and orderly, was actually not suitable for him. He was accustomed to a more relaxed and free lifestyle.
Apart from his interests and the safety of his family and friends, he didn’t really care about other things.
However, the contents of that USB drive had made him realize that his previous thoughts were too naive…
Perhaps he could have deterred Huang by raising his social status.
But if he had offended the mastermind behind a multi-trillion dollar money laundering case, even a high status might be useless.
At this point, the importance of the state became evident.
If there was any domain in the entire country that person could not touch, the special forces might be the last bastion of purity.
Upon returning to Yong’an, Zhou Jiao did not leave.
He instructed one subordinate to go to Han Palace to protect Liu Ping’er, and another to Ginza to keep an eye on Lin Weiwei and Xu Ling’er simultaneously.
He himself returned to Ning Lang’s house with Li Chonglou.
“Zhou… why are you here?” Ning Lang was clearly surprised to see Zhou Jiao.
Zhou Jiao was Fan Lei’s personal guard and would not leave the base without important matters.
He had come to question him last time, was he here to cause trouble again?
Thinking of this, Ning Lang felt a headache coming on.
“I’m not just here, I’m staying with you for a while!” Zhou Jiao glanced at Li Chonglou, feigning a stern expression and哼道, “Ask your little brother, if it weren’t for him, why would I have so much trouble.”
Ning Lang immediately gave Li Chonglou a look, wanting to pull him aside to ask for details.
“I promised Commander Fan that I would join his ranks a year later.” Li Chonglou calmly explained, “But within this year, he must send people to protect the safety of my relatives and friends.”
“As for you, Zhou, you are here to intercept the assassins.”
“Brother Ning, you have no one to protect you, so you must be careful.”
Ning Lang rolled his eyes at this, retorting, “Oh, so I’m not considered your friend, right?”
“You’re living in my house and eating my food for free. You two better watch me, or I’ll see who supports whom.”
After saying that, the three of them looked at each other and laughed heartily.
The friendship between men is peculiar.
One moment they might be glaring at each other, and the next they might be fighting like brothers.
Perhaps it was because of a common interest, or a person, or even a common goal.
The presence of three men transformed the atmosphere of Ning Lang’s residence from classical tranquility to boisterousness.
In the afternoon, Zhou Jiao directly had Zheng Rui drag over a barbecue grill and personally procured a whole sheep, intending to roast it.
“Damn it, eating stale rations at the base every day made my complexion pale. I finally have a chance to go out and feast!” Zhou Jiao cursed as he placed the sheep on the rack, laughing.
At this moment, he was nothing like the cold and imposing figure he was when Li Chonglou first met him.
He was clearly a famished man.
Li Chonglou was actually quite thoughtful. He had no choice; before the age of twenty-five, he had been weak and incompetent.
Having experienced the pain of losing his mother and imprisonment in his previous life, if he hadn’t been thoughtful, he would have died long ago.
Everything was for self-preservation.
Later, studying antiques also required a lot of mental effort, and over time, it became a habit. He would carefully consider everything at any time.
But at this very moment, he felt an urge to not think and simply get drunk.
To release his true nature.
Zhou Jiao’s unrestrained demeanor indeed stirred the dormant nature that Li Chonglou had suppressed for decades.