149 Where the Yangtze River Flows (Second Translation!)

"Damn it!"

"Mr. Clark, give them the money!"

In the distance, those Libyans were clearly not here for the scenery. Soon, clouds of dust were seen billowing up within their field of vision.

The Libyans were making their move.

Even within the Tunisian border, the Tunisian soldiers suddenly became high-strung, to say nothing of the refugees and the British inside Libyan territory.

"Round them all up!"

The order was given.

More than a hundred armed Libyan soldiers began charging into the crowd of refugees to make arrests. The Old Russian took just one glance to understand what they were trying to do.

Drafting able-bodied men!

Or rather, reinforcing their militia's armed forces.

Virtually all the males, including underage boys, were rounded up and shoved onto pickup trucks, rapidly approaching the location of the British.

By this time, Clark was no longer able to maintain his tough stance.

"Damn it, I agree! You damned Russian, I agree. Make them let us out right now."

Fuck!

"Keyboard!"

The Old Russian tilted his head toward Keyboard. His fingers, holding the cigarette, were trembling slightly—not out of nervousness, but from sheer excitement.

Twenty-five million!

Damn it! That was twenty-five million pounds, more money than he had ever seen in his entire life!

People at gunpoint will always make extraordinary decisions, and Clark was only human. Thus, the remaining portion of the commission was transferred successfully in short order. Keyboard had actually prepared everything beforehand.

It seemed he wasn't the only one who was pumped up.

"Release them!"

"Hurry, let them all through!"

The gates on the border fence were immediately pulled open.

The British swarmed through instantly, though the dozen or so British agents remaining had long since vanished without a trace.

The Old Russian wasn't stupid; he hadn't left those agents out in the open earlier. However, Clark's expression at this moment was exceptionally grim.

These damned mercenaries had squeezed virtually every drop of blood out of them—fifty million pounds!

Damn it!

Without even thinking, Clark knew what kind of situation he was about to face.

Dismissal!

Perhaps even imprisonment!

***

After securing the money, the Old Russian didn't hesitate for a second and prepared to move his men out immediately. Now that he had the cash, he naturally wanted to avoid unnecessary trouble. However, the sudden roaring sound erupting overhead abruptly heightened his vigilance to an abnormal degree.

"Damn it! It's the Tunisian military!"

Above them.

More than three French-made Tiger attack helicopters and two American-made Black Hawk utility transport rapidly reached the designated airspace and commenced a swift troop insertion.

The Old Russian instantly realized things had escalated significantly.

Soon enough.

Scores of heavily armed Tunisian special forces soldiers had completely surrounded the British who had just crossed the border, as well as the personnel from Lion Guard.

Less than three minutes later.

An armed convoy suddenly appeared in view along the border highway.

"Take them all away!"

The Tunisians wasted no words, directly forcing everyone onto the vehicles before speeding off into the distance.

On the straight highway.

The vehicle suddenly jolted. The girl in the back seat let out a soft exclamation, and Liu Bo hurriedly hit the brakes, pulling the car over to the roadside.

"Meng Yao, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Brother Liu. Let's keep going!"

Rolling her eyes at him, Xu Xiaofeng simply rolled down the car windows to let the air circulate. The rushing wind quickly cleared out the somewhat stuffy air inside the cabin. Having driven a long distance for nearly seven hours, let alone Meng Yao, even she was feeling the strain.

Taking advantage of the summer vacation, the couple had brought Meng Yao along and headed straight for Nanjiang without prior notice. Ever since Li Changjiang had mailed things to Liu Bo over a month ago, he had gone completely off the grid once again.

Moreover, this disappearance was extremely thorough; they couldn't even dig up any news about him.

Setting off at 5:00 AM, it wasn't until nearly 4:00 PM that they finally got off the highway and drove toward Shili Village.

Having been here once before, Liu Bo navigated the familiar route without needing to ask for directions, driving straight into the village and parking smoothly right in front of Li Changjiang's house.

Pushing open the car door.

The village's characteristic scent, a mixture of grain and earth, rushed over them. It brought a sense of familiarity to Liu Bo, yet also a touch of unfamiliarity.

It had been a very long time since they had breathed in this particular fragrance.

By this time, Li Lin and Liu芬 had already hurried out of the house. Twelve-year-old Ke'er, who had been bent over a table doing her homework, also ran out upon hearing the engine.

Familiar faces.

"Brother Li! You still remember us, right?"

"You are Liu—"

"Liu Bo!"

"Right, right, right! Reporter Liu, please come in, please come in! Xiao Fen's mother, go get the tea!"

A flurry of bustling activity ensued.

***

Li Changjiang naturally remembered Liu Bo and was well aware of the relationship between Liu Bo and his son, Li Changjiang. During his previous trip to the provincial capital with his son, one of their tasks had been to mail things to Liu Bo.

Compared to their last visit.

Liu Bo and Xu Xiaofeng quickly noticed that the atmosphere in the Li household was much more relaxed, even somewhat cheerful.

"Are you here looking for Changjiang? Bad timing, he joined the military a while ago. That brat hasn't even called home since then; when he left, he called to say he'd be training in the military and wasn't allowed to make phone calls."

What?

Changjiang joined the military? When did this happen?

Liu Bo and Xu Xiaofeng exchanged a stunned look, locking eyes in disbelief.

Meanwhile, sitting beside them.

The expression on Meng Yao's face suddenly darkened.

Both Li Lin and Liu Fen were seasoned in the ways of the world. Initially, they had been somewhat puzzled as to why the couple had brought such a young girl here, especially since, given Liu Bo's age, it was impossible for him to have a daughter that old. Therefore, seeing the sudden look of disappointment on Meng Yao's face, their hearts instantly skipped a beat.

Could it be that their son Changjiang had gotten himself mixed up in some messy business outside, and now the young woman had tracked them down?

Putting everything else aside, though, this young lady was truly stunning. If she could become the daughter-in-law of the Li family—

Liu Bo didn't notice the expressions on Li Lin and Liu Fen's faces; his mind was already racing. Joined the military?

That was absolute nonsense. Changjiang was a born warrior, but his temperament was far too wild to tolerate restraint; he would never enlist. Besides, he had supposedly left over a month ago—which coincided almost precisely with the time he received the package.

If he hadn't been in contact with his family for over a month, and he hadn't joined the military, then—

Libya! Damn it! He must have gone to Libya!

A video he had previously seen on the internal communications network suddenly flashed through his mind. Although Liu Bo didn't personally know Williams, Shi Junqiang, and the others who had been captured by the Libyans, he had a strong premonition that Li Changjiang was heavily involved in this affair and had definitely gone to Libya.

He certainly wasn't in the military as Li Lin claimed.

This punk was an absolute bastard!

While everyone else was desperate to stay far away from that zone of conflict, he had run right back into it.

"Ah?"

Poked in the ribs a few times by Xu Xiaofeng's elbow, Liu Bo abruptly snapped out of his reverie. Seeing the mixture of apprehension and hopeful anticipation on Li Lin and Liu Fen's faces, he couldn't help but inwardly smile.

He glanced over at Meng Yao, then back at Xu Xiaofeng, who was wearing a knowing smile, clearly having figured it out as well.

"Elder Brother Li, Sister-in-law, I'm no outsider. Your Changjiang saved my life. I came this time to check in on you, and there's something else: Meng Yao is Changjiang's girlfriend, and she came here to meet you."

Meng Yao's face had already flushed a deep crimson. Having caught Xu Xiaofeng teasing her with a sidelong glance for quite some time, how could she not have noticed?

Prompted by Liu Bo's words, her face burned even brighter.

Even so, she quickly stood up and looked toward Li Lin and Liu Fen, who were already beaming with unconcealed joy.

"Uncle, Auntie!" (To be continued.)