Chapter 1 The Horned Mountains of Sinaloa

On the Horned Mountains of Sinaloa, a series of houses hidden within dense forests stretched out, covering an area of approximately twenty thousand square meters.

This was the Xue family's factory area, and also the main base for family members and private armed forces.

A little over a year ago, the Xue family's factory was originally located further inland in Sri Lanka, but because the rebel army was becoming increasingly incompetent and constantly losing territory, they had no choice but to keep relocating.

In the end, the Xue family had no choice but to establish their factory and family headquarters on the Horned Mountains, because this area was currently under the control of the rebel army. Due to the terrain, it was unlikely to be attacked by government forces, and even if this territory was lost, they would have enough time to evacuate.

This way, the tragedy of Sri Lanka being captured could be avoided from happening again, because the Chi Army's attacks were unpredictable. They might suddenly go crazy and open fire one day, and if the factory was located within a town and was captured, the losses for the Xue family would be too severe.

It was safer on the mountains, and they wouldn't have to move frequently anymore.

...

Three cars drove from a rebel-controlled town and entered the Horned Mountains. After passing through three checkpoints in succession, they arrived near a large open space on the mountainside, which was where the Xue family's factories were located.

The huge factory area was surrounded by concrete walls more than three meters high, with an electric fence nearly a meter high on top. The two gates were made of steel plates almost thirty centimeters thick, and there were concrete哨塔 (shàotǎ, watchtowers) five or six meters high all around. It looked almost like a medieval castle fortress.

Why was the factory area made so exaggerated?

It couldn't be helped. This wasn't a peaceful era. War could break out at any moment. Although the Xue family had the protection of the rebel army and the Qing Yi Bureau, they couldn't possibly send troops to patrol all the time!

These days, bandit armies could be government forces, and government forces could be bandit armies. Who knew if some warlord within the rebel army might suddenly get greedy and launch a sneak attack on a stimulating night.

In addition, the Xue family had offended many people in recent years, so it was essential to make their base camp as secure as possible.

The three cars passed through the main gate and drove into the courtyard of the factory area. Xue Nan opened the door and got out, leading the group towards the family's main building.

It was true that money made things easier. Even in such a remote mountain area, the Xue family was able to build a main building, steel-structured factory buildings, underground storage rooms, and a complete power system, as well as barracks for their private armed forces. What an enormous undertaking!

Even the most skilled contractor in Dragon City would probably need more than a year to complete it!

But the Xue family only took nine months to build this place, and less than three months for subsequent repairs and renovations!

They used nothing but black slaves, working day and night!

...

Xue Nan entered the main building and first went upstairs to visit his grandfather, who was in his seventies and the founder of the Xue family. Then, he went downstairs and met his mother in the living room.

The Xue family had many family members. Xue Ping An's generation alone had six sons, and all six were quite fertile. After reaching adulthood, they kept prodding their wives, and now even Xue Nan's youngest uncle had two children.

However, no matter how many family members there were, Xue Nan's branch was the absolute嫡出 (díchū,嫡出, direct descent). His father was very capable in business and had not only expanded the business on the mountain but also established connections with the Qing Yi Bureau and the rebel army. Therefore, Xue Nan was definitely the crown prince in the family, a dazzling and glorious figure.

In the living room, Xue Nan took a sip of tea and said with a somewhat depressed expression, "Mom! It was my fault this time. If I had kept a closer eye, Wang Ying wouldn't have had an accident! And I could have arranged things properly with Zhou Xian..."

His mother sat in the main seat, twirling prayer beads, and looked at him with a kind expression. "Your father has already called Kang Ding Huang. They will still need us later! You don't need to have too much psychological burden..."

"I heard that the family members have all gone to Bana?" Xue Nan asked.

"Yes," his mother nodded slowly. "Your father took the family members to Bana City to work with the Zhan Chui (War Hammer) mercenaries."

"What exactly are they going to do in Bana City?" Xue Nan asked with a frown.

"I didn't ask for the specifics," his mother said after a pause. "Perhaps the politicians in Bana City are planning some action against Tagu!"

"Isn't Tagu the person that the Qing Yi Bureau and the First Zone are supporting?" Xue Nan asked with some surprise. "Why are they going to target him?"

"Tagu is not very obedient. He doesn't want to be a puppet," his mother said softly. "Moreover, this person has a very high reputation in the army. The First Zone feels that he cannot be controlled and may secretly replace him!"

"Oh, that's how it is! Will my father be in any danger going there?" Xue Nan asked worriedly. "Should I go too!"

"How many people do we have? Adding up everyone inside and outside, it's less than three thousand armed men!" His mother replied calmly. "The main force is the Zhan Chui (War Hammer) side! He's just going there to show support, to put on a show!"

"Oh!" Xue Nan nodded and suddenly said, "I'm still a little unwilling!"

"What's wrong?!"

"The An Qiqi matter was a failure. I always feel that Zhou Xian will have opinions about us," Xue Nan said with a cold glint in his eyes. "Otherwise, should I go to the First Zone again?"

"What are you going to do?"

"Let's just deal with Yu Zhen directly!!" Xue Nan said through gritted teeth. "We might as well go all out and do something big!"

"You must not do that! Zhou Xian doesn't even dare to touch Yu Zhen. What are you doing?" His mother immediately advised, "Moreover, An Qiqi had an accident. They're not stupid..."

"Precisely because An Qiqi had an accident, they might think that we wouldn't dare to continue, which is an opportunity for us!"

"I said!! Don't mess around!!" The mother, who had a kind face and was twirling prayer beads, roared with a fierce look in her eyes, "You just stay here and don't go anywhere!"

...

In the sky above the mountain, a small military drone flew past.

Three kilometers away at the foot of the mountain, Su Tianyu sat in the middle row of seats in a car, frowning as he looked at the real-time footage from the mountain top. He couldn't help but curse, "Damn it!! Are they locking themselves up in a tortoise shell?"

Sun Wei immediately added, "To be honest, officer! If the Xue family were easy to deal with, it wouldn't be your turn to take action! We would have already taken care of things!! Do you know how much I hate them?! If they had paid the final installment, I would have had the money to move. If I had the money to move, I wouldn't have met you at the intersection of 045..."

Su Tianyu turned to look at him. "You're not convinced?"

"No, no, that's not what I meant!" Sun Wei said through gritted teeth, "I hate them so much! Really, I dream of raping Xue Ping An's wife against the wall!!"

"......!" Su Tianyu rested his chin on his hand. "It's a bit difficult! The main thing is that the rebel army is too close. We won't be able to escape after we're done!"