"Indeed," the senior said, "after they left the hotel, all personnel did not regroup but went to different locations. Although we have more people than them, in a one-on-one fight, we are still far behind. Their intention in doing this is obvious: to deplete our combat strength."
I said, "It seems they aren't planning anything specific, just to split us up and deal with us individually."
The senior replied, "Yes, our people, along with Mr. Wu's group, went to different locations outside the city. After a battle, we suffered heavy losses. Two groups were almost wiped out."
I clenched my fist. It seemed they had a master strategist among them, and that master was most likely Principal Sun. Only he would devise such a wicked plan. Our trump cards were our numbers and surprise attacks. He had first scattered our people and then engaged them. It was obvious we would suffer.
I said, "If nothing goes wrong, they will make their move tonight. I suspect their first target will still be the Grand World." The Grand World was our flagship. Taking it down would mean taking us all down. Yesterday I had the confidence to fight him, but now I’ve lost it. This time, it wouldn't be as simple as Chen Liben sending people. They wouldn't even fight us head-on. They would do unimaginable things, leaving us with no chance to retaliate, and the battle might be over before it even began. They wouldn't fight us directly; that's for the less intelligent. They either don't act, or they do something monumental. This morning, they easily sent our people to the hospital. As the senior just said, at least eight of our men are severely injured, and six are lightly injured. Our personnel reduction has exceeded half. This was the team we painstakingly assembled, and it has been dealt such a heavy blow.
I said, "Senior, our current strength is insufficient to confront them directly. Until our personnel are reinforced, we will remain defensive and avoid direct confrontation."
The senior agreed, "Yes, we clashed yesterday. Even I, fighting one-on-one, found it difficult. Moreover, we are now far from being able to match them one-to-one."
Wu Laosan chimed in, "Brother, don't worry about personnel. My father is sending thirty of my brothers today. While they may not be top-tier, they will be able to hold the line for a while."
I said, "Excellent. With these dozens of men, we will secure all the entrances and exits tonight. Our remaining personnel will lie in ambush at the Grand World."
The senior said, "Alright, the personnel issue is resolved. Let's put this aside for now. Our main focus must remain on Xie Jiabao. The replacement item provided by Mr. Song, equipped with a locator, is proceeding smoothly along our planned route. It didn't go by land but entirely by water, following the Mekong River out to sea from Vietnam, then boarding a ship across the Pacific to its destination. This process will take fifteen days. We will use these fifteen days to thoroughly investigate Xie Jiabao's entire network. We aim not just to pull out the radish but to bring out all the dirt with it."
I asked, "Wasn't the Mekong River route already destroyed? If we use it again, won't Xie Jiabao become suspicious?"
The senior explained, "We have our ways. Even if we were transporting the genuine article, we wouldn't be exposed. He can see the status of his goods at any time, so why would he be suspicious?"
I countered, "The more you say, the more confused I become. This river passes not only through our country but also through Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Each country has heavy border checks. This is much more difficult than traveling by land. What method did you use to be so confident that these goods would reach their destination smoothly?"
The senior pulled me aside and whispered, "Do you remember I insisted that these goods must be waterproof? The secret lies within that. It can be said that during the entire transportation process, these goods never truly boarded a ship; they 'ran' to the destination with the ship."
My jaw dropped in surprise. Such a maneuver? While I don't know much about land or water transport, I understand the basic principles. Even someone as capable as Brother Hui of Xie Jiabao would have to load the goods onto a vehicle or a ship. How could the senior make the goods 'run' to the destination instead of being transported?
Seeing my confusion, the senior smiled and explained, "Our men were on the ship. They had previously hidden the goods below the waterline using special methods. Doesn't that make it seem like they just ran along with it?"
So that was it. But I still had a question: once the ship reached the port, it would become a cargo vessel. This still required considerable groundwork.
The senior reassured me, "We have smoothed out all the links, ensuring he won't detect any flaws."
Hearing this, my heart finally settled. It somewhat lessened the frustration of our men being ambushed, giving me a bit of relief.
I said, "Let me check the system to see how the goods' location is being tracked."
The senior replied, "Come here. Our computer is still working, and you can see it anytime."
We returned to the desk. The senior had an engineer turn on the computer screen. The engineer typed a few keys, and a world map appeared on the monitor. The engineer moved the cursor across the map, starting from the origin, tracing the path along the Mekong River, until it stopped at a black dot. The engineer then stated, "The goods are currently here, in eastern Cambodia on the Mekong River. In a few more hours, they will enter Vietnam." That black dot represented the real-time location of the goods. The senior mentioned that Xie Jiabao could see the same information on his own office computer as long as it was connected to the internet; our engineer had already adjusted it for him.
There was no way to fake this. If I were him, I would also be completely convinced.
I commented, "This seems simple, but it must require a vast organization to accomplish. Senior, I'm increasingly unable to understand you."
The senior chuckled, "I am just an ordinary man of the martial world, fortunate enough to meet a few capable friends. This plan was only possible because of them. In truth, it has little to do with me."
I replied, "Knowing you have this capability is enough for me. You don't need to rush to clear your name. I'm happy enough that our organization has someone capable of handling things like this. I don't care if it was you or someone else; you are an admirable person!"
The senior smiled, "You're a clever one, and nothing escapes you. Alright, once this matter is over, I will tell you everything from beginning to end."
I agreed, saying I would wait for him to reveal this mystery.
Just then, my phone rang. It was Xie Jiabao calling.