Sortie

Knock, knock, knock. The sound of knocking broke the silence. Lu Zhao crossed the room in two quick strides. When he opened the door, the flicker of hope and urgency in his eyes dissolved into pure coldness. Standing outside was not an on-duty soldier, but a somewhat timid young woman, gazing at him with distinct admiration in her eyes. Her presence left Lu Zhao's simmering fury with nowhere to vent. He could hardly take his anger out on a young girl, and her arrival most likely had nothing to do with any deployment. "Officer Lu, sorry to disturb you." The female clerk said nervously, "The station chief gave special instructions. He was worried you might not be familiar with the station's newly issued digital archive system... er, that big computer in the office, so he specifically sent me to show you how to use it." The internet had only just begun to emerge, and computers had only been introduced to government offices two years earlier; many people still had no idea how to operate them. Lu Zhao was not among them, and Lü Jinshan was naturally not doing this out of concern for one of the station's outstanding core officers. It was merely an excuse to plant someone to keep watch over him. As Lu Zhao's direct superior, Lü Jinshan would also be held accountable if Lu Zhao intervened in the operation without authorization. Lu Zhao let out a sigh. "Lead the way." He left the dormitory and headed to the records room in the administration building, where she began teaching him how to use the computer. Lu Zhao seized the opportunity to browse through the border defense station's patrol schedules. Since computerized recordkeeping had only begun two years ago, the earliest files in the system dated back a year and a half. That was also when the most recent patrol route change had occurred—a document bearing Zhang Like's signature. The young clerk knew nothing of the power struggles among the station leadership. She was simply thrilled to be in close quarters with the legendary 'Lu Tiger.' Previously, she had only dared to steal glances from afar, nudging her colleagues and daring each other to ask for his contact information. Even when someone had gathered the courage back then, Lu Zhao's chilling, dead-eyed glare had always frightened them away. Time ticked by, minute by minute. Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from outside. With a violent crash, the door to the records room was shoved open. The deafening sound made the clerk flinch in terror. The figure barging in knocked over a chair. It was Lü Jinshan, rushing inside in sheer panic. This border defense station chief, who typically took such pride in his polished image and composed demeanor, had completely lost his composure. He had run so hard that he had to brace himself against the doorframe, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath. "Lu... Lu Zhao!" Lü Jinshan's voice could not hide his panic. "Quick! Immediately! Go reinforce Ning County right now!" Without even giving Lu Zhao time to respond, words spilled out of him like machine-gun fire: "The intelligence was faulty! The special investigation team walked into an ambush, and the Special Counter-Terrorism detachment took heavy casualties! General Security Directorate Command issued a direct order commanding you to reinforce them at full speed!" Even now, Lü Jinshan was still dodging responsibility, covering up his earlier misjudgment and obstructions. He no longer mentioned whether the deployment protocols were fully in order, acting as though none of this had anything to do with him and that Lu Zhao was simply obligated to clean up his mess. Men like him were like bloated parasites of bureaucracy, having mastered the game of political maneuvering to perfection. Lu Zhao rose to his feet. Lü Jinshan stared fixedly into his eyes, terrified of catching a single trace of hesitation or mockery that might sting his fragile pride. Yet there was none. Lu Zhao would save those words for later. At this moment, his bounden duty as a soldier allowed for only one response: "Sir!" Lu Zhao saluted. His voice was not loud, but firm and resonant. "Mission guaranteed." With that, without another glance at Lü Jinshan, he took the dispatch order and strode out, bolting like an arrow released from a bow. Lü Jinshan felt only a suffocating tightness in his chest, an indignation worse than humiliation. A few minutes later, dispatch order in hand, Lu Zhao arrived at the equipment management department. "Emergency dispatch! I need the equipment department's immediate cooperation!" His voice arrived before his figure did. Carried by psychic power, the call reverberated through the hall, instantly silencing the bustling, clamorous equipment department. The logistics personnel inside turned toward the door in unison. Without pausing for a second, Lu Zhao swept toward the desk of Logistics Chief Mo Kun like a gust of wind. "Joint emergency dispatch order. Provide me immediately with a combat-ready utility helicopter and a full flight crew. In addition, one high-precision sniper rifle, complete with all sights and accessories. I need them ready within ten minutes!" "Hold on, let me verify this with higher-ups—" Mo Kun was about to follow standard procedure when Lu Zhao cut him off sharply: "You can confirm with Lü Jinshan while you prepare. Skip every other protocol. I will take full responsibility." "But—" "This is an order." Meeting Lu Zhao's razor-sharp gaze, Mo Kun swallowed hard and finally nodded silently. Compared to Lü Jinshan's slick evasiveness, Lu Zhao was sharp as a dagger. Reprimands might follow later, but Lu Zhao did not care. Rather than merit, his sole urgency was to wipe out the bandits and avenge the fallen border defense soldiers. "I'm only asking you one thing right now: which bird in the hangar can fly?" Mo Kun answered, "Helicopter Number Two. It just passed static testing, but hover validation isn't done yet." "All I need is for it to get off the ground." "Understood!" Mo Kun grabbed the internal telephone. "Hangar, scramble Helicopter Number Two! Crew, board immediately! Ground support crew, move it—clear the landing zone! Repeat, clear the landing zone!" In less than five minutes, the roar of a turbine engine echoed from the helipad. Carrying the sniper rifle on his back, Lu Zhao pushed briskly through the rotor wash and boarded the helicopter. The rotor blades spun up to maximum power, and Helicopter Number Two lifted off, soaring away from the base. ----- Ning County. Twenty minutes had passed since the explosion. Gunmen had appeared in the buildings flanking the devastated mahjong parlor, firing upon them with semi-automatic rifles produced in illicit local workshops, alongside a few bolt-action rifles. Firearms were banned across the Federation, yet homemade guns had never vanished. This was especially true in Nanhai; its proximity to the Miye Sanjiang region ensured a ceaseless influx of contraband weaponry. Furthermore, the chaotic, gang-ridden outer feudatory districts harbored a massive demand for arms. Guns were hardly high-tech marvels; anyone with a lathe could easily manufacture them. More importantly, the world itself had changed. After the Cataclysm, there was no returning to the peaceful eras of the past. Everyone in the East depended on the solitary continent of Shenzhou for survival. Under extreme resource scarcity, even minor squabbles quickly escalated into violent conflicts. Only ten years separated the present from the days before the Cataclysm, yet it felt like a century ago. Back then, a single homicide was a monumental criminal case; now, Zhang Like did not feel the slightest ripple of emotion as he engaged in a street firefight with armed outlaws. Zhang Like's Team Three reacted swiftly. The two snipers in their squad quickly neutralized the exposed gunmen, while their squad machine gun laid down covering fire. In less than three minutes, the enemy's gunfire ceased completely. Lin Zhiyan offered her praise for their performance. Yet Zhang Like could not bring himself to feel any joy. Reloading his magazine, he cursed under his breath, "We're definitely getting chewed out when we get back. This is practically a full-blown war." Even though they had evacuated the civilians beforehand, an intense firefight in an urban center was still a blow to the local populace, even if the people of Nanhai had grown accustomed to warfare. Besides, over the past two years, higher-ups had just coined the slogan "Peaceful Nanhai." Moreover, it was now confirmed that the opposition possessed firearms and unknown numbers. An urban street battle was almost certainly looming.