183: I'll take you to meet the real person.

The night was as dark as ink, enveloping the mountains of East Zhejiang.

In the depths of Xuedou Mountain, lights flickered sparsely at the "Travel Agency Guesthouse."

Searchlights on the guard posts swept rhythmically across the dark forest, making the atmosphere exceptionally solemn and guarded.

Like a ghost in the dark night, Lu Fan silently hovered above the main building of the guesthouse.

His multifunctional glasses continuously scanned below, clearly marking out the positions of sentries, hidden lookouts, patrol routes, and the timing of guard shifts.

"Two hidden sentries, one on the roof, one in the bushes at the northwest corner... patrols every five minutes..."

Lu Fan calmly analyzed the data, searching for the optimal infiltration path.

Spotting a gap as the patrol teams crossed paths.

He landed as lightly as a feather in the shadows on one side of the main building.

Then, like a phantom, he moved toward the target's place of confinement, soon arriving outside the courtyard.

Lu Fan held his breath, waiting for a guard to approach the corner before striking like lightning.

A soft cloth soaked in high-efficiency medical anesthetic instantly covered the other man's mouth and nose.

The guard only had time to let out a faint muffled groan before collapsing to the ground, unconscious.

Lu Fan dragged him into a nearby empty room with clean, efficient movements.

Based on the vital sign detection of his glasses, he quickly locked onto the room at the end of the corridor.

The room was simply furnished, with a single desk lamp lit.

A middle-aged man wearing glasses, looking slightly weary but still maintaining his poise, sat at the desk reading a book.

Beside him, a lady with a gentle temperament was mending clothes.

It was Young Marshal Zhang and his wife.

Hearing the extremely faint sound of the door opening, the Young Marshal looked up alertly. Seeing the unfamiliar Lu Fan at the door, his expression changed sharply.

He instinctively shielded his wife behind him and barked in a low voice, "Who are you?!"

"Young Marshal, Madam, there's no need to panic." Lu Fan quickly slipped into the room and closed the door, keeping his voice very low.

"I am Lu Fan. I have been entrusted by Feng Hanqing and Zhang Tingshu to rescue you both from this place."

"Feng Hanqing? Zhang Tingshu?" A flash of suspicion and surprise crossed the Young Marshal's eyes, and he did not believe easily. "Words alone are no proof. Why should I trust you?"

Lu Fan said no more and directly took out the Three-Arrow Badge from his pocket.

He also produced a handwritten letter from Feng Hanqing and handed it over.

The Young Marshal took the badge, his fingers trembling slightly as he carefully felt and identified it.

He then quickly scanned the letter by the lamplight, and the wariness on his face finally transformed into excitement and disbelief.

He looked at Lu Fan with a complex tone: "You... you were really sent by Hanqing? He actually... Sigh, what nonsense! Total nonsense!"

Although he had confirmed Lu Fan's identity, the Young Marshal slowly shook his head and handed the letter and badge back.

His tone became heavy and stubborn: "Mr. Lu, I appreciate your kindness. But... I cannot go with you."

Lu Fan frowned, completely bewildered, shouting in his mind, "WTF~~ Not leaving???"

However, for the sake of the mission, he still asked patiently, "Why?"

"Firstly," the Young Marshal smiled bitterly, "this place is heavily guarded; the defense for a hundred miles around is as tight as an iron barrel.

Even if you are extraordinarily skilled and can take me out of this guesthouse, how can we escape Xikou, or escape the Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces?

Once discovered, we will surely be pursued with full force, which would instead implicate Hanqing and you."

"Secondly," his expression grew even more serious, "Generalissimo Jiang ordered me to reflect here, and there has been no official pardon.

If I escape privately, I would be breaking my promise, no different from a fugitive.

This act would not clear my name; instead, it would tarnish the reputation of half my life.

It would give others leverage against me; for the country and for myself, it is not an act of loyalty or righteousness."

"Thirdly, and most importantly," he looked out at the pitch-black night through the window, his eyes filled with deep helplessness and longing.

"Even if I were lucky enough to escape, I would carry the name of a fugitive.

How could I ever return to the battlefield in an upright manner to lead my soldiers in a bloody battle against the Japanese devils?

If I cannot go to the front lines to kill the enemy, what is the point of escaping?"

Young Marshal Zhang spoke seriously and earnestly, listing points one, two, and three as if they were perfectly logical.

Listening to what seemed to him like a pedantic speech, Lu Fan felt speechless.

What time did he think it was, still worrying about reputation, promises, and clearing his name?

The evaluations in the history books were indeed correct.

He didn't want to waste any more words arguing; time was tight.

While the Young Marshal was still in the middle of his passionate speech, Lu Fan lunged forward like lightning, two disposable syringes already in his hand.

"Young Marshal, Madam, forgive me. Some paths can only be understood after they've been taken."

Before his voice had even faded, two soft "pfft-pfft" sounds were heard as the anesthetic was precisely injected into the sides of their necks.

With expressions of shock and confusion still on their faces, the Young Marshal and his wife collapsed.

Lu Fan moved quickly to catch them both.

How to leave? How to escape this iron barrel formation? He had long been prepared.

After all, one doesn't take on such a delicate task without the right tools.

He took out two specially made sleeping bags from his system space and quickly placed the unconscious couple inside.

Then, using special hooks, he firmly secured the two sleeping bags to his flight suit, one above the other.

After checking everything was correct, he scanned the area again. Once certain no one was around, the flight engines started with a low hum.

The powerful thrust carried him and the Young Marshal couple silently into the night sky, quickly disappearing into the vast mountains.

The entire rescue process, from infiltration to departure, was clean and efficient.

Three hours later, during the final moments of darkness before dawn.

The guards coming for the shift change at the guesthouse discovered their unconscious colleague and the empty room.

Immediately, alarm bells rang out. They had botched the one thing their superiors had repeatedly emphasized; how could they not be panicking like crazy?

As the matter was reported up the chain, the entire Town of Xikou went on high alert. Phone lines were nearly blown up with calls, and everyone was mobilized.

Naturally, an emergency telegram was also sent to Jinling immediately... while others were in a state of chaos, busy as headless flies.

Meanwhile, Lu Fan had already brought the still-sleeping couple to the seaside at the southern end of Shanghai.

The cool sea breeze brushed against their faces, carrying a salty scent, and the Young Marshal and his wife slowly woke up.

They struggled to sit up from the sleeping bags, looking around blankly.

It was no longer the familiar room or the heavily guarded birdcage, but an open beach and the endless sea.

"This... where is this?" the Young Marshal asked, startled and uncertain.

"Fengxian, the seaside of Shanghai," Lu Fan replied calmly while methodically packing the sleeping bags.

"Fengxian?! Shanghai?!" The Young Marshal lunged forward, his face filled with unbelievable shock. "How is this possible?

We were still in Xikou last night! It's only been a few hours and we're in Shanghai? Damn it all, you're bullshitting me."

He couldn't understand how, in the time it took for a single sleep, he had crossed hundreds of miles.

Moving from a heavily guarded mountain range directly to the open and free outskirts of Shanghai?

"Impossible! Impossible! Completely impossible!" Young Marshal Zhang questioned with a look of astonishment, "Who on earth are you?"

"I am someone who was entrusted by others and is fulfilling my duty." Lu Fan ignored the Young Marshal's shock and walked slowly toward the shore.

"Vroom~~"

As the sound of a car engine drifted over.

He drove a small car up to the couple. "Let's go~~ I'll take you to a safehouse and let you meet the real masterminds while we're at it."