Wan Yunting was led into the warehouse, his shoulders held by the mercenary leader who guarded it, only to discover many large iron cages inside!
Inside the cages were many people, most of them young men captured from the local villages near Tesali. Looking at the cages of various sizes, there were over a hundred people imprisoned nearby. These individuals were unwilling to submit to Morton’s mercenary training, so they were confined here to be subdued.
“Come, drink…”
A table was set up at the entrance. The mercenary leader, while eating a roasted lamb leg, produced another bottle of foreign liquor and handed it to Wan Yunting, taunting, “I’d like to see how much you, a H-country Smida, can drink.”
Wan Yunting accepted the drink and retorted with a smile, “Officer, why don’t we have a competition?”
Faced with the provocation from this yellow-skinned Asian, the mercenary leader became spirited. He beckoned his assistant to bring another bottle of foreign liquor and said in English, “Let’s see who finishes their bottle first and collapses.”
“Come on.”
Wan Yunting, naturally unafraid, directly opened the bottle, gestured to the mercenary leader, and began to drink.
The other mercenaries, seeing them competing in drinking, cheered them on…
Those confined in the cages watched with indifference…
*Thump…!*
Ultimately, it was the mercenary leader who fell, while Wan Yunting had also finished his bottle. The surrounding mercenaries immediately gave him a thumbs-up, showing their admiration.
Wan Yunting continued to drink with them. After becoming friendly with these warehouse guards, he used the excuse of needing to use the restroom and headed to another side of the warehouse. Then, he began to search the caged area for Gu Yingbo’s whereabouts.
“Hey, what are you wandering around in here for? Come out for a drink?”
A black mercenary saw Wan Yunting browsing the cage area and called out loudly.
Wan Yunting walked towards him and smiled, “Which cage is that Huaxia person in?”
The black mercenary, without any suspicion, pointed to another room inside and said, “He’s locked up inside. The boss said he’ll be executed tomorrow noon with a global live broadcast to give the Huaxia people a warning!”
“Executed tomorrow?”
Wan Yunting’s expression changed. He hadn’t expected Morton to change his mind and execute Gu Yingbo tomorrow.
This meant their time was running out; it had to be tonight!
Wan Yunting frowned, his heart heavy, and his mind began to race on how to rescue Gu Yingbo…
“Right, he probably hasn’t eaten yet. Go in and bring him some food,” the black mercenary said, already quite drunk, as he stumbled outside.
“Alright.”
Wan Yunting smiled and nodded, followed him to the warehouse entrance, picked up some food, and then entered the cage area, heading straight to the innermost section.
Seeing two fully armed mercenaries standing on either side of a door, Wan Yunting held up the food and smiled, “The boss told me to bring some food for the person inside.”
The guards at the door, not suspecting anything, gestured for him to enter.
Wan Yunting smiled and nodded, then pushed open the iron door. In the dim light, he saw Gu Yingbo, dressed in a dirty white coat, squatting in a corner. As soon as he saw someone enter, he became nervous and shouted in English, “Let me out…”
The light was a bit dim, and with Wan Yunting’s face covered by a scarf, Gu Yingbo couldn’t recognize him at first. Perhaps he was too tense from being confined here, having witnessed the murder of his assistant Lin Wenbin by a slit throat yesterday, making Gu Yingbo very frightened.
Wan Yunting slowly closed the door, carrying two flatbreads and a bottle of water. He slowly squatted down, made a gesture to Gu Yingbo to remain silent, and then pulled down his scarf to reveal his face…
“Wan…!”
Gu Yingbo gasped, about to shout. Wan Yunting quickly covered his mouth, turned his head, and vigilantly scanned the door outside. Fortunately, the two guards at the door were not alerted and did not enter. Gu Yingbo’s face was filled with excitement. Wan Yunting whispered to him, “Uncle Gu, be quiet. I’m here to save you.”
Gu Yingbo nodded excitedly. Wan Yunting said, “They will broadcast your execution globally tomorrow noon, so I must rescue you tonight. But this base is currently full of mercenaries, and I can’t get you out safely alone.”
“So, Uncle Gu, please bear with it a little longer. I’ll go out to contact our troops and figure out a way to rescue you tonight.”
“Good, good, good…”
Gu Yingbo was extremely excited, never expecting Wan Yunting to come to his rescue.
“Eat something first. I need to go out, otherwise, they’ll get suspicious.”
Wan Yunting gave him the two flatbreads and water, then stood up to leave, to avoid arousing suspicion from the guards at the door.
Gu Yingbo, filled with excitement, quickly ate the flatbreads, quietly awaiting Wan Yunting to rescue him later…
Wan Yunting, upon exiting, smiled at the two guards at the door and then headed straight outside. In the lounge area next to the warehouse entrance, the mercenary leader was fast asleep on the sofa, while others were still drinking. However, there were people patrolling outside the warehouse, preventing any suspicious individuals from getting close.
Wan Yunting had managed to sneak in earlier by helping to carry food, but he had to leave now because he was eager to find a way to contact Qin Guowu and formulate a plan to rescue Gu Yingbo!
Wan Yunting checked the time; it was nine o’clock in the evening.
After sneaking out of the warehouse, he quickly walked towards the town square, knowing that the armed group would still go out to the villages that night to fetch food…
Upon reaching the square, Wan Yunting encountered the same group of people who had gone to the villages for food in the morning. Naturally, Wan Yunting climbed onto a truck and followed them as they slowly left the town, heading to the same village.
“Hurry up, get down and get inside, quickly…”
The leader of this group waved his hand, and Wan Yunting and the others disembarked and entered the courtyard. The village women were already preparing food, but it would take some time to finish.
So, these armed men gathered in the courtyard, grilling a few sheep while drinking and chatting. Wan Yunting pretended to be on patrol, then, while they weren’t paying attention, he leaped over a wall into another small courtyard and then quickly sprinted towards a distant hillside… At the top of the hill, a hidden sniper immediately locked onto a figure rapidly approaching. Although it was night, the sniper couldn’t see clearly. He reported, “Captain Qin, there’s a situation. Someone is running towards us. Based on their speed, I can confirm it’s Doctor Wan returning!”
“Good, you continue to monitor the situation in the village behind Doctor Wan.”
At this moment, Qin Guowu was also holding a night-vision scope, staring in the direction of the distant village. Wan Yunting was as fast as a leopard, covering the one-kilometer distance in just a minute. With a leap, he jumped into the gully on the hillside and slid down. Qin Guowu and Lu Xin immediately met him and asked, “Doctor Wan, you’re finally back…”
“How’s the situation? Have you scouted the base?” Qin Guowu also quickly asked.
Wan Yunting nodded and said urgently, “Almost. There’s an urgent piece of news now: Morton will execute Gu Yingbo tomorrow noon, so we must act tonight to rescue him!”
“You know.”
Qin Guowu and Lu Xin exchanged glances, then asked Wan Yunting, “Well, Doctor Wan, do you have a good plan?”
Wan Yunting replied, “I do have a plan: a pincer movement from within and without!”
“From within and without?”
Qin Guowu and Lu Xin were startled and asked, confused, “An external attack is understandable, but we don’t have anyone inside Morton’s base!”
“Me.”
Wan Yunting pointed to himself and said, “I’ve returned to inform you. Tonight, you intentionally attack the base to draw Morton’s firepower and attention. I will continue to infiltrate the base, then rescue Gu Yingbo, and leave through another exit on the east side of the town. You can rendezvous with us there!”
“This method is feasible.”
Qin Guowu nodded, exchanged a glance with Lu Xin, and said, “We can have the stationed forces send drones for support, making Morton believe it’s our Huaxia peacekeeping forces retaliating against them!”
“Retaliating?”
Wan Yunting looked at them with confusion.
Qin Guowu explained, “At noon, Morton’s mercenaries attacked our convoy again in Niger City, injuring five soldiers. Fortunately, there were no casualties.”
“So, we’ll make Morton believe we’re retaliating against him, to draw his attention,” Lu Xin said.
Wan Yunting nodded and added, “It would be best if we could draw some of their forces out of the base.”
Qin Guowu stated, “This requires reporting to the stationed forces for reinforcements. After all, Morton’s mercenary force is too strong; we alone cannot hold out for long.”
Wan Yunting waved his hand and said, “You focus on a feint attack, don’t engage them directly. Just draw their attention and give me time.”
Qin Guowu and Lu Xin nodded in understanding, but they frowned and looked at Wan Yunting with concern, “Doctor Wan, can you do it alone?”
Wan Yunting smiled confidently, “No problem. I guarantee I can bring Gu Yingbo out safely.”
Seeing this, Qin Guowu immediately said, “I’ll report to Captain Luo right away.”
“Alright, I’ll head back then. Otherwise, they’ll suspect something if they can’t find me,” Wan Yunting said.
“Be extra careful…”
Lu Xin and Qin Guowu watched Wan Yunting run out again and quickly return to the village. The two of them immediately contacted the stationed command post, made contact with Luo Guowei, and reported Wan Yunting’s plan for a pincer movement.
Luo Guowei immediately reported this plan to the Commander-in-Chief He Yongchang. After their discussions and considerations, they agreed to Wan Yunting’s plan, and the stationed forces once again dispatched reinforcements, rushing towards Tesali overnight…