Chapter 208: Let's go, let's go!

On Monday, Chen Man met with Xie Qingcheng for the last time before his departure.

Also a member of the Dream Breakers organization, Xie Qingcheng naturally knew his next task.

"Brother, the wound on your forehead ......"

"It's okay, it's better." Xie Qingcheng and Chen Man walked side by side in the Martyrs' Cemetery, the wind blowing through the hems of their black coats.

After Wei Rong's crimes were publicized, the tombs of Xie Ping and Zhou Muying were finally moved to the park by the Huzhou police, near Chen Lisheng's tombstone.

Xie Qingcheng and Chen Man presented white bouquets of flowers to the deceased who sacrificed their lives many years ago, and the fragrance of white chrysanthemums lingered on their fingertips.

Xie Qingcheng looked at Chen Lisheng's grave, with the sound of pine and cypress waves and the twittering of dim crows in his ears, "We'll have to act tomorrow, won't we?"

"Uh-huh."

"Twenty-three years."

"Yeah ......"

"In fact, I still remember that before my dad's accident, he once told me, in a few days, one of his disciples will come to my house as a guest ...... should be said to be your brother. The two of them have always had a good master-apprentice relationship, unlike the other people my dad took before."

The gold lettering on the tombstone had been dulled by the time that had passed.

"My dad didn't take many apprentices before, he almost always taught with his colleagues, just your brother and one of your brother's classmates who were under him before they graduated and were completely led by him in their internships."

"Well, I know. It's Li Yun's big brother. His grave is here too, right at ......"

Xie Qingcheng had no intention to pay his respects, he just casually mentioned that Li Yun had gone to another master after his transformation and did not know the family very well.

The two men stayed with their dead for a while longer in silence in the cemetery, the forest leaves rustling.

Xie Qingcheng suddenly said to Chen Man, "That's right."

"Hmm?"

"Part of the reason you transferred to Hiroshima three years ago was actually because you heard their suspicions about He's family's pharmaceuticals, wasn't it."

Chen Man was shocked, and his eyes widened.

He did not expect Xie Qingcheng to suddenly change the subject and ask him such a question.

This question Xie Qingcheng did not even pursue him three years ago, but now ......

The sky was low in clouds, Xie Qingcheng's hands were stuck in the pockets of his trench coat, he deliberately did not look at Chen Man, but continued to look at the tombstones of the fallen police officers.

Chen Man's voice was a bit shaky, even though Xie Qingcheng had talked to him about this matter after talking about something else, he still felt it at once - this was actually what Xie Qingcheng really wanted to talk about when he met with him today.

He said in a trembling voice, "Brother ...... you ...... did you already know?"

"...... hmmm."

Chen Man's face turned whiter and whiter, "Then you ...... then why are you ......"

"Why don't I ask you, yes?" Xie Qingcheng said softly to Chen Man as he looked at Chen Lisheng's tombstone.

"......"

"Why didn't I ask you after He Yu's accident at sea that year. Why didn't I ever ask you when I had so many opportunities in the last three years."

"......"

A crow's cry broke through the sky, and in the desolate cemetery, Xie Qingcheng finally slowly turned over and looked at Chen Man.

"Because I chose to believe you, I trusted a police officer." Xie Qingcheng said, "I know that you hated He Yu at that time, and that you desperately wanted to find evidence of his adultery, which was your selfishness. However, I also believe that you never wanted to wrongly accuse him, nor did you think of intentionally killing or maiming him or insisting on taking his life during the arrest process."

"Shea ......"

"All people have selfishness, the key is to be able to keep that last bottom line. I've watched you grow up, and I know that you always have that line in your heart, so even though you were the last person to see He Yu at that time, I didn't believe that you would use your public position to intentionally harm him out of selfishness."

It was only then that Chen Man realized why Xie Qingcheng, when he left China three years ago, asked "What was He Yu like at that time?" when he finally met with himself.

And after his own silence, Xie Qingcheng didn't ask any further questions.

Chen Man's tears filled up - yes, he went to Guangcheng at that time, partly because he really wanted to grow up, but also partly because, as Xie Qingcheng said, he did learn that there might be a problem with the trading of He's family's pharmaceutical products in Guangcheng, and he thought that he could go and catch He Yu himself if he had really committed a crime. He thought that if He Yu really committed a crime, he could catch it himself.

Later, He Yu died and his suicide note was exposed, everyone knew that He Yu was wrongly accused. He had very complicated feelings at that time, even though he never wanted to frame He Yu, he still felt like he had been heavily slapped by an invisible hand.

The fact that he had learned of the He's family group's criminal intelligence became a sharp claw that tormented his heart all the time.

He several times wanted to Xie Qingcheng explicitly say, but did not dare to open his mouth, fearing that if he said it Xie Qingcheng would misunderstand ...... But he did not expect that Xie Qingcheng actually saw everything clearly from the beginning.

Chen Man shuddered, "You ...... don t suspect me?"

Xie Qingcheng : "I know that you are not so by nature."

Chen Man's tears then finally fell as he choked out, "Brother Xie ......"

Xie Qingcheng : "After I have said this to you today, the last knot in your heart will be gone. Chen Man, I hope you don't have to suffer because of the things that happened three years ago and never get peace. Although you have a selfish heart, you did not do anything to publicize your personal revenge. I have not been living a good life all these years, not because I was resenting anyone, but I just felt that I should have been able to handle the situation more appropriately, so that nothing would have happened to He Yu. But I didn't."

Chen Man wiped his tears with all his might and shook his head, "No, brother, no."

"Tomorrow you're going out to sea, to Mandela Island. That place is very dangerous." Xie Qingcheng looked into Chen Man's eyes, "That's why I want you to go without any burden on your shoulders, and then remember, make sure to protect yourself. When you come back, live well for your big brother."

His voice was steady, low, and as calming as it had ever been.

Chen Man couldn't hold it in any longer, and the block that had been in his chest for three years slowly disintegrated as he cried out.

He knew that this was Xie Qingcheng worried about him such as any accidents, only before the trip to take the initiative to pick through the thorns, released the heavy burden in his heart. He wiped his tears and said, "Brother ...... thank you ......"

Xie Qingcheng patted his shoulder, bent down, and finally lit a cigarette in front of Chen Lisheng's tomb.

Twenty-three years.

Dawn, is it really coming?

The cemetery was cold and silent, and again it seemed as if a myriad of eyes were watching the living who were about to travel far to seek justice.

At this moment, Chen Man did not know that the reason why Xie Qingcheng would take the initiative to untie his heart was not just because he was worried that he would have an accident, but because Xie Qingcheng already had an idea in his heart for this big battle.

That idea is one that no one but the Dean of American Education knows about yet.

.

The next day, at the break of dawn, the real encounter, at last, began.

A group of front-line armed forces, including Chen Man, finally waited for the official landing on Mandela Island, which had been planned for three years, while the main cadres, such as He Yu, were still in the country.

The vast army assembled, embarked, departed--

The fleet broke the ocean and sailed out into the vast expanse of open sea in the direction of that island they knew to locate.

The first batch of this operation consisted of 3,000 personnel, comprising a core of armed special police, criminal police, and scientific researchers who had fought with Duan Wen for many years, leading combat-experienced fighters equipped with high-precision weapons. The main task of these fighters is to penetrate the Mandela's core as far as possible, and at the same time collect real-time combat intelligence, pass it to the rear headquarters personnel, and constantly update the information, so as to spearhead the second and third reinforcements.

Zheng Jingfeng was getting old, and when the commander-in-chief didn't let him go to the front line, he became one of the heads of the rear headquarters. Although he was just an old criminal police officer with no official position, he had been entrusted with the important task of being the leader of the Dream Breakers organization because he had been in charge of the relevant cases for twenty years.

These days, he's not at home at all, working overtime at headquarters almost continuously.

News kept coming in from the front line, Zheng Jingfeng stared at the command center and kept updating the data, the blood in everyone's eyes was almost pulled into a spider web, and the data was still snowballing.

"Updated the attack pattern of combat robots to include a chance of self-destruction when the robot is attacked to the point of immobilization."

"The data has been analyzed, and the absolute safe distance for the robots to blow themselves up is one thousand meters. Their head unit has the lowest chance of detonation, it is recommended to aim for the head in combat."

"The attack data of the battle droid is currently at ninety-five percent."

"......"

Zheng Jingfeng was an old codger who didn't like milk tea, but as he stared at the values, and the real-time footage of the battle coming back from the front, with smoke and blood flying across the screen, he couldn't help but reach out, grab the fat house milk tea that was on the tech's hand, and take a heavy swig in an attempt to make himself feel better.

"Team Zheng, my milk tea ......"

"It's given to me, you keep changing the data and don't stop."

"......"

The results of the battle were remarkable. In just three days, nearly half of Mandela's detailed maps had been created in the background, thanks to the "God of wind", a battle value collection device designed by the commanding officer's tech guru. The God of wind is a ring that is worn on the wrist of a soldier and is capable of accurately recording battle values and automatically videotaping important battle scenes and the island's terrain. Each of the 3,000 soldiers they sent was equipped with a God of wind.

"How's the map coming?"

"It's forty-two percent accurate."

Zheng Jingfeng slammed the technician's shoulder at his words, "Excellent! I'll order a cup of milk tea for each of you when it's raised to fifty percent."

Technician: "...... Team Zheng, you're so fucking stingy."

But the excitement within everyone was real, the map God of wind had built was different from the vague satellite map before, its data would be imported into the weaponry of the second batch of landers, the artificial ai would give battle cues to the recorded attack targets, it would tell the combatants how they should react, it could guide the combatants' paths and break through obstacles.

In other words, the God of wind system will be a "game guide" for the fighters.

The task given by the Dream Breakers organization to the first batch of pioneers was to attack to thirty percent within a week, and because of the much preparatory work they had done before, the morale of the soldiers was high, and on the third day, they had already reached forty-two percent, which greatly exceeded the expectations of the Dream Breakers. What was more encouraging was that the number of soldiers sacrificed by the Dream Breakers was also far below the expectation, and these seasoned veterans exerted their strong survival ability on the battlefield, dodging the attack of the steel machine again and again with their flesh and blood.

On the fifth day, however, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse.

In the middle of the night that day, the command monitor suddenly let out a cry of alarm that startled everyone around him.

"What's wrong?" Zheng Jingfeng immediately snatched up the question, his leopard eyes glued to the screen.

Although the old policeman couldn't understand the string of English codes on it, he had also been watching it in front of the monitor for so many days, and the large red color that suddenly appeared on the screen made a cold sweat trickle down his face before he could wait for an answer.

What followed was the technician's shuddering explanation, stabbing him as hard as an ice pick to the heart.

"Team Zheng! God of wind system monitoring points ...... have suddenly disappeared one by one ......"

"!!!"

The God of wind system monitoring point is, quite frankly, the ring band on each warrior's wrist, and it doesn't stop recording unless it's tampered with.

But the bracelets were carried close to the warriors, and their sudden disappearance from the map means--

"The front line ......" The technician shuddered, "The front line fighters ...... suddenly... ...Suddenly Massive Formation Deaths ......"

Tech B grimaced, "No monitoring data coming back."

Tech C wipes sweat: "All data transmissions are down at fifty-six percent of Mandela Island ...... have absolutely no idea what's going on ......"

It's almost like a horror story.

The original army of more than 2,000 people suddenly disappeared on the map at a very fast speed, as if it was not more than 2,000 people, but more than 2,000 ants, and when one foot of the giant fell, so many lives could even be ashes in an instant. And the recorder was too late to capture any scene of the battle!

Everyone gathered, and after seeing the scene on the screen, there was silence.

"How can this be ......" It was a long time before someone broke the dead silence in the command room.

"Can you reach the frontline personnel?"

"Can't, all transmissions are down too ......"

The commander opened a satellite map, and the location of the army's accident was right in the middle of the island of Mandela, near the Blood River, a man-made chemical river that serves as a natural barrier to the Mandela fortress.

The Blood River steams with so much toxic chemical gas all year round that the animals on the island never dare to go near it, and no grass grows around it.

They had long known about this characteristic of the Blood River, and had also equipped the soldiers with special anti-virus equipment before they set out, so as a matter of fact, it would never be possible for this to happen.

And if there had been an accident when crossing the Blood River, then the loss of front line connections should have been in batches, and it would be impossible for an entire unit of over two thousand men to break company in just a few seconds.

Commander: "Pulling data, how long was it between the last time we heard from the front lines and when we were completely disconnected?"

The technician's fingers crackled on the keyboard for a moment, "Reporting sir, 2.47 seconds."

It was like hearing a pin drop in the command room.

2.47 seconds.

What can hit a team of 2,000 people with highly sophisticated weapons in 2.47 seconds without missing a single person? Duan Wen himself is on Mandela Island, it's not like he's going to drop any nukes on his own lair, and as far as the satellite monitoring shows, there hasn't been any major damage on Mandela Island itself ......

Was there some secret weapon on that island that they had spent three years not monitoring?

The pupils of the Commander's eyes staring at the screen were clenching violently.

What really happened ......!

Day Six.

No news.

On the seventh day, there was still no word from the front of any of the living.

All the relevant top brass had converged inside the Dream Breaker's general command headquarters, anxiety spreading among them continuously along with the smoke from the cigarettes. Political Commissar Wang was rushed to the command center of Huzhou in the morning of the sixth day, he was already very old, and after a day and a night, his eyes would inevitably be sunken and his description was withered, but he still refused to take a rest, and he was staring at the screen, as if he hoped that a few surviving green dots would suddenly appear among the red color that represented "destruction".

But no.

Two days passed, and nothing miraculous came.

It is the fear in the society that is increasing day by day. The mission of the Dream Breakers to attack the island is a classified mission, of course, it will not let the people know about it, but the accidents caused by the drugs of "hearing water" and "submissive" can not be hidden in any way.

If Duan Wen's drug trials were previously limited to a limited number of leukemia patients, it's a completely different story when medical treatments are involved.

One after another, there have been cases in society of people who have mistakenly used prohibited drugs because they were not injected with a pure concentration of rn-13. These cases are not purely psychotic Ai Bola such as Xie Qingcheng's, but rather outbreaks of more violent and obvious manifestations, the most typical of which is a sudden madness and loss of reason, and aggression towards people around them. Researchers now refer to these people as "sub-psychotic Ai Bola patients".

A few days ago, a victim of black medical beauty, who was not discovered by the police in time, suddenly developed an illness in a MTR station and even beat up an elderly passenger beside him to such an extent that he sustained serious injuries and is still hospitalized.

More and more people are caught up in the fear of this disease, and even those who are cured and discharged from hospitals with sub-spiritual Ai Bola are treated differently by others with colored glasses.

"Crazy people deserve to be in an insane asylum."

"On what grounds are they released? Sure they're really cured? Who knows when they'll have another attack, it's socially irresponsible to release them!"

"Disgusting, in order to cure their leukemia, no money, so they are cheap and use illegal drugs, and the kind of women who go for plastic surgery to look pretty, no sense of responsibility to the country at all, infecting the disease, and becoming a cancer of the country! For the safety of the country and its people, we should shoot them irresponsible trash!"

"Indeed, let them go to hell. All had it coming."

While the battle for the islands is plunged into the unknown, society is in another mess and things are getting worse.

By the eighth day.

Arguments began to arise within the Dreambreakers.

According to the original plan, the second group of fighters was supposed to go to Mandela Island the day before to join the first group from the rear, but due to the current unexpected situation, the process has been postponed.

Among the higher-ups, some thought that the second batch of fighters had to leave immediately without further delay, or else this mission would be dead in the water. However, the other part of the group believed that they had no idea what the weapon that had destroyed the second army in 2.47 seconds was, and that hastily allowing the second rank team to go to the rescue would most likely result in even more serious consequences, causing more soldiers to die innocently.

Surprisingly, despite the fact that Chen Man was in the first tier and his life or death was currently uncertain, Mr. Wang chose to side with the latter after a long deliberation.

He said, "We can't let the elites die in vain; we must find out more about the situation before we can send our fighters to the front."

Another high-ranking person asked the commander-in-chief, "--Didn't you always say you had a scattergun? Your scattergun doesn't have a clue when it comes to this problem, does it?"

Commander-in-chief Tie Qing face, tongue licking his lips, looks like he would like to say something, but he held back.

Zheng Jingfeng suddenly said, "What if we turn the second tier into the third tier?"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is ......" Zheng Jingfeng had been thinking about this method for a whole day as well, he made up his mind and spoke, "In order to avoid more sacrifices, let's not send the second echelon for the time being Instead, we'll pick a few experienced volunteer fighters, their purpose is nothing else, get on the island and head straight to the vicinity of the Blood River, and try to find out what's going on over there, it's better than knowing nothing."

Commander: "Actually, I've thought about this method you mentioned, but-"

"But?"

"The cleared portion of the island still has a lot of robot soldiers and mechanical fighting dogs remaining, the chances of being able to reach it successfully are very low." The commander sighed, "It takes a very good stance, and insight, otherwise once you go head to head with a large number of mechanical warriors, it will be completely impossible to survive."

"I can go." Zheng Jingfeng said.

Everyone was silent, and all those eyes, either surprised or sharp, looked at the old detective.

"You guys know my resume, my counter-surveillance skills, my insight, and the accomplishments I've made in my decades as a criminal cop." The old cop said, "I'm willing to take someone to the island."

A long silence.

Finally, it was Political Commissar Wang who coughed, with some hidden sighs in his voice.

"Old Zheng, it's true that you used to be the number one criminal police officer in Huzhou in terms of overall ability and a frontline cadre, but you're getting older ......"

Zheng Jingfeng : "I am older, but my experience is also richer, I once and my teammates infiltrated into the base of the Burmese drug traffickers, we lurked inside for four whole days, all we ate was a little bit of compressed cookies on our bodies, and we didn't move a muscle....... I am now able to do the same thing without being discovered, no matter how harsh the conditions of the lurking are, I am able to endure it."

"This time it's a robot we're facing." The commander said wearily, "Lao Zheng, that's not something a normal person can do, the odds are that they'll just get killed."

Zheng Jingfeng : "And why can't I give my life away? Why does such a risk have to be taken by someone younger?"

"......"

"I'm a frontline criminal police officer, I've been a frontline criminal police officer all my life, I haven't retired yet." Zheng Jingfeng said, "I know this has little chance of success, but I am the most suitable candidate for the most inadequate sacrifice."

Commander: "Alas! Lao Zheng, don't be impulsive, you ......"

Zheng Jingfeng suddenly said, "Do you know why I'm talking about catching the Burmese drug lords back then?"

"......"

"Because it was my first assignment out of the police academy back then. The two comrades who lurked motionless with me for four days in the darkened crevices of a cargo warehouse were Xie Ping and Zhou Muying."

"...... Almost forty years have passed, and the only one left alive is me." Zheng Jingfeng's always cold and rigid eyes actually had a vague wet light in them, "I think it's time for me to be able to fight alongside them once again."

"It's time for me to take over the task of apprehending the culprits they didn't catch."

The people in the conference room looked at each other, and all of those faces gradually became full of emotion.

They are all battle-hardened men who have had many regrets in their lives, and there are some comrades left in their hearts who will never return.

It's not that they don't understand the sentiment.

The atmosphere in the room was momentarily oppressive to the point where everyone was silent ......

However, just at that moment, the automatic doors of the conference room suddenly rang open on both sides.

A tall, upright man walked in, from the shadows to the incandescent light.

He said, "Uncle Zheng, the best person to go is not you."

The crowd turned back in consternation.

Zheng Jingfeng met the peach blossom eyes of the visitor.

Those eyes looked at him gently but firmly.

"The best person for this task, is me."