Chapter 1 Unexpected Encounter

Su Tianyu never imagined that he would be played by his usually calm and serious brother-in-law. He hadn't even come to Bana City. And the person picking them up... was also a surprise to everyone. It turned out to be Jiang Zhou, whom they hadn't seen for several months.

Inside the airport lobby, Su Tianyu stared dumbfounded at Jiang Zhou, "What's going on?"

"Hehe, Chief Gui has a lot of things to deal with, and his face is too familiar in the Old Triangle region. Every move he makes attracts attention. So, I came in his place." Jiang Zhou looked at Su Tianyu with a smile, reaching out to pat his arm. "What's wrong? Don't want to see me?"

"It's not that I don't want to see you... It's just... I wasn't prepared at all." Su Tianyu replied, a little dazed. "But, I have a feeling you guys are up to no good."

"Haha, it's really good news, great news!" Jiang Zhou looked at everyone and said, "Now that you're here, just relax and treat it as a vacation. All your expenses in Bana are on me."

Dabai's eyes lit up. "So generous? But I have a question, Chief Jiang."

"What question?" Jiang Zhou turned his head to ask.

"We can't just have a bunch of old men traveling, can we? Can we? Can we?!" Dabai asked, chattering like a magpie.

"Of course not," Jiang Zhou said, with his hands behind his back. "I'll arrange it."

"Then there's no problem at all."

"Let's go!" Jiang Zhou beckoned to the group. "Let's go to the hotel first."

Su Tianyu looked at him suspiciously. "What kind of business is it? Tell me first, or I won't feel secure...!"

"Play first, the work isn't urgent." Jiang Zhou waved his hand, and four men in suits standing at the door walked over, deftly picking up the luggage for Su Tianyu and the others.

The group quickly left the airport lobby and were picked up by two business cars as soon as they exited.

As he got into the car, Su Tianyu noticed that there were eight people with Jiang Zhou, all of them strong and stern-faced young men. From their posture and movements, it was clear that they were all former soldiers.

Gu Baisun also noticed this and secretly asked Hou Guoyu, "Who is this guy?"

"Someone from the Hua region." Hou Guoyu explained vaguely, "He's responsible for foreign liaison work in the Old Triangle region. We had contact with him when we went to Hanoi last time."

"Oh!" Gu Baisun nodded, sitting in the back seat and looking at Jiang Zhou's profile. "He looks... barely in his early twenties? Can someone that young be responsible for foreign liaison work? Isn't that a little strange?"

"Who knows." Hou Guoyu shook his head. "But his skills are alright, he helped us in Hanoi."

"Mm." Gu Baisun responded and didn't say anything else.

In the middle row of seats, Jiang Zhou crossed his legs and asked Su Tianyu, "Didn't expect we'd meet so soon, did you?"

"I didn't expect it," Su Tianyu replied with a smile. "I figured, with your position... you can't just run around, right?"

"Hey, what position do I have? My grandfather has already retired. As his direct relative, if you don't work hard, the red blood in your veins will fade sooner or later." Jiang Zhou replied nonchalantly. "Among the direct descendants of generals and above in the Hua region, there are easily several thousand people. What does one nephew like me amount to?"

"You're too humble."

"Humble my ass." Jiang Zhou curled his lip and said, "Talk less, do more, that's our family education. If you want to talk about enviable, it has to be Brother Su! Li Mingsheng is at the peak of his career, and you're the Dragon City leader's right-hand man, someone others can't compare to."

"Chief Jiang, if you have something to say, just say it. Don't put a high hat on me." Su Tianyu replied cautiously. "I can tell you responsibly, I can't do anything right now..."

Jiang Zhou smiled, turning his head to look at Su Tianyu and reassure him, "Don't worry, I'm looking for you for something good, I won't make things difficult for you."

"That's why I say, you have to make friends with people like you!" Su Tianyu immediately flattered him. "You never make things difficult for your brothers."

Jiang Zhou pointed at Su Tianyu. "You, you're really a clever one."

The two looked at each other and smiled, chatting casually in the car.

...

Bana was a country before the Common Era, but after the Earth entered a mini ice age, its mountains and rivers were shattered, and its resources withered. For decades, it was desolate, neither a proper country nor a proper home.

After the New Era began in 40 A.E., the climate gradually recovered, and resources revived. It became the only sea route connecting South America and North America, and the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, making its strategic position extremely important.

However, because of the turmoil of the New Era, and the continuous wars that occurred after 40 A.E., this island nation with only over 70,000 square kilometers experienced several changes of power, and also went through bloody unification struggles, eventually forming a certain balance and restoring the current superficial stability.

Currently, the ruling family and government in Bana have applied to the United Government several times to establish a major district, but have been rejected because of insufficient scale and imperfect government structure.

Therefore, strictly speaking, this is only a temporary, non-war zone that is awaiting planning, not a major district-level area recognized by the United Government.

In the car.

Su Tianyu looked at the street scene of Bana City and found that although the city was not big, it was really rich. At least the main districts looked more modern than Dragon City.

The dazzling neon bridges, the extensive roads, and the skyscrapers made Su Tianyu feel for a moment as if he were in that port city known as the Pearl of the Orient.

Of course, this was just an illusion. Because it was too small, and the city was surrounded by mountains and water, with not much room for expansion, only the main urban area and key districts had that magnificent sense of prosperity.

In the car.

Su Tianyu and Jiang Zhou chatted all the way, admiring the beauty of the city, and soon arrived at an island hotel in Bana City.

While checking in, Su Tianyu casually noticed that the ID Jiang Zhou was using was not his real name.

"Jiang Xiaonian," Su Tianyu looked at his ID. "Is it fake?"

"Of course it's not fake," Jiang Zhou replied with a smile. "Could a fake ID get through customs? My identity information is all real, but there's just a little more of it."

As he spoke, Jiang Zhou opened his backpack, revealing a stack of documents inside. "Look, these are all mine."

"Holy crap!" Dabai glanced at his backpack. "Brother, you look like a fake ID salesman!"

"When you're doing foreign liaison work, it doesn't hurt to have more identities."

"Then is Jiang Zhou your real identity?" Su Tianyu asked askance.

"Of course. When I'm dealing with you guys, I definitely wouldn't be dishonest." Jiang Zhou replied with a serious face. "My grandfather is called Li Fugui. If you don't believe me, go ask around in the Hua region."

"Oh!" Su Tianyu replied dubiously.

The group checked in, had dinner at the hotel that night, and agreed to go out to sea to play the next day.

...

Inside a hotel room.

Gu Baisun found Su Tianyu and asked directly, "What do you think Chief Jiang wants from us?!"