189: Chapter 189 The Silent Crackdown

At a farmhouse in the Beijing Suburbs, this place looked like a rural resort on the surface, but in reality, it had been converted into a safe house for the Jinyiwei.

After Lin Zhou secretly returned to Beijing, he did not alert anyone. Instead, in the name of the Lord of the Cyber Freedom Republic, he announced that an official commendation ceremony regarding the Gold Mine War would be held.

As a participant in the war who had performed outstandingly, Old Lu was naturally on the "must attend" list.

The advance payment for the destroyer procurement deal was long overdue, which made Old Lu anxious.

He had wanted to stay in Washington to continue maneuvering, but he dared not disobey the "commendation" order issued personally by the Lord.

He had no choice but to bring his nominal "negotiation team" back to the country first, intending to lobby He Jun and the Lord in person at the ceremony to get the funds approved as soon as possible.

He did not know that the core members of the "negotiation team" he brought back had already been quietly replaced by Jack's men.

Old Lu was standing in the courtyard, pacing anxiously and glancing at the entrance from time to time.

He had already arranged to meet He Jun here, wanting to touch base with his big brother before facing the Lord, hoping he would put in a good word for him.

After all, that was six million US dollars, enough for his whole family to live in luxury for the rest of their lives.

Just as he was having these grandiose daydreams, a black commercial vehicle slowly pulled up to the entrance of the farmhouse.

The door opened, and He Jun stepped out first.

He was wearing a neat uniform. Although he wasn't carrying a sidearm, his aura as a military tough guy made everyone in the courtyard subconsciously tense up.

"Grand Marshal!" Old Lu rushed over, beaming. "You've finally arrived! This negotiation was very productive. As long as the funds are in place, our navy will be able to upgrade its equipment immediately!"

He Jun patted Old Lu on the back, his eyes complex. He had just received a secret summons from Lin Zhou two hours ago, at which time Lin Zhou had only played him the audio of Old Lu communicating with the other party.

It was both heartache and hatred.

"Old Lu, you've worked hard." He Jun's voice was a bit hoarse.

Old Lu didn't detect anything amiss, thinking his big brother was praising him for his capable work. "It's not hard work, it's for our country! Big Brother, after this commendation ceremony is over, you must put in a good word for me in front of the Lord. That payment is being chased urgently; the longer it drags on, the more trouble we'll face."

He Jun didn't speak, just stepped aside.

The back door of the commercial vehicle opened again, and Lin Zhou slowly stepped out.

In that instant, Old Lu's smile froze on his face, and cold sweat instantly broke out on his forehead. He remembered that the Lord was supposed to be vacationing in Hainan, and the commendation ceremony was clearly scheduled for the day after tomorrow.

"Lord... why are you..." Old Lu's voice trembled, and he didn't know where to put his hands and feet.

Lin Zhou walked slowly to the center of the courtyard with his hands behind his back. Jack, with his perpetually expressionless face, followed behind him, holding a black encrypted tablet.

"I heard our naval procurement is progressing very smoothly?" Lin Zhou's gaze swept over Old Lu and finally landed on the group of "team members."

"Ye... Yes, Lord. We are just waiting for your nod. Once the funds arrive, we can immediately..."

Lin Zhou raised his hand to interrupt him and turned to Jack: "Show Deputy Old Lu the 'interesting' things."

Jack stepped forward, lit up the tablet screen, and handed it directly to Old Lu.

On it was not only the bank flow chart of the three million US dollar "advance payment" that had appeared in his wife's Cayman Islands account, but also a noise-reduced video clip of him secretly talking with Mark Smith at the Hyatt Hotel in Washington.

Old Lu's legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground. He opened his mouth, making a "ho-ho" sound in his throat, but he couldn't spit out a single word.

He turned his head and looked at He Jun with a last glimmer of hope: "Big Brother, this... this must be a misunderstanding. They made a mistake. They are trying to frame me!"

He Jun suddenly raised his hand and slapped Old Lu across the face with a loud crack.

Old Lu was spun around in place by the blow, and half of his face instantly turned red and swollen.

"Frame you? When I carried you out of a pile of dead bodies on the Southern Frontier battlefield, I didn't see you having such a wolf-hearted, dog-lunged gut!" He Jun's tiger eyes widened, his voice trembling with extreme anger.

"You actually took this money to fill the greed of those American politicians? Embezzling from military procurement—you really don't know how to spell the word 'death'!"

Lin Zhou did not participate in this drama of "brothers turning against each other." He looked coldly at Old Lu, who was collapsed on the ground.

"Jack, take him away." Lin Zhou's voice carried not a hint of warmth. "Escort him directly back to Bir Tawil and hand him over to the special military tribunal for trial."

Several Jinyiwei agents who had just been playing the roles of "team members" immediately stepped forward, hoisted Old Lu up, gagged him, and dragged him directly into another car.

The courtyard instantly fell silent.

Lin Zhou looked at He Jun.

"Old He, I'll leave Old Lu to you. Handle it according to the law. Sentence him to whatever he deserves."

Lin Zhou looked at He Jun: "Old He, I've handled the person. You must still sit firmly in the position of Grand Marshal. But this incident is a lesson; the army cannot be your personal fiefdom."

He Jun lowered his head and responded heavily: "Yes, I misjudged the person. I am willing to accept punishment."

"There's no need for punishment." Lin Zhou's tone softened slightly. "But starting tomorrow, I will promote military reform and establish a more complete framework. The Jinyiwei will conduct cross-supervision and audits of the current military. You have no objections, right?"

He Jun heard that this was meant to divide his power, but he knew that because he had misjudged a person and nearly caused a catastrophe, he no longer had any bargaining power. He could only agree in a deep voice: "Everything is as the Lord commands."

This fire, which had not yet flared up, was extinguished by Lin Zhou with a near-cold, high efficiency.

But he knew this was just the beginning. He needed deeper systems to prevent the emergence of the next "Old Lu."

After handling all this, Lin Zhou felt a sense of exhaustion from the bottom of his heart. The power struggles and the betrayal of human nature were more mentally draining than any real battle with swords and guns. He waved his hand, letting He Jun leave on his own, and took the car back to the hotel in the city.

He didn't go back to his room, but instead, as if possessed, walked into the dimly lit whiskey bar on the first floor of the hotel.

He chose a corner to sit down, just wanting to use alcohol to numb his tense nerves. Just as he raised his glass, a familiar, silver bell-like laughter drifted over.

Lin Zhou looked up and saw two beautiful figures sitting by the bar counter—they were the two girls he had met on the beach in Hainan last time.

They seemed to have noticed the gaze from this side and looked over. The girl with the ponytail paused for a moment, then her eyes lit up, and she pulled her companion over.

"What a coincidence! We meet again!" She sat down across from Lin Zhou generously. "Last time in Hainan, this time in Beijing. Aren't we very fated?"

Lin Zhou also smiled, and the gloom in his heart seemed to be washed away a little by this bright smile: "It is very fated. If you don't mind, may I buy you two a drink?"

"Sure!"

The three did not probe too much into each other's identities, just drinking happily like old friends reuniting.

From whiskey to tequila, as the alcohol went to their heads and the night deepened, some boundaries became blurred amidst the alcohol and laughter.

Lin Zhou had never been so relaxed. He temporarily forgot that he was the Lord, and was just a man in a foreign city seeking a moment of comfort.

...

The next morning, sunlight shone through the gap in the curtains into the hotel suite.

Lin Zhou woke up from the headache of a hangover. There was no one beside him, only the faint scent of perfume and the lingering warmth of another person remaining on the sheets.

Those two beauties had already left freely, without leaving any contact information, as if everything from last night was just a hearty dream.

Come to think of it, he didn't even know the names of the two beauties. If the police had come to check the room yesterday, he would definitely have been dragged in for a lecture.

He smiled self-deprecatingly and got up to walk into the bathroom. The water washed over his body, taking away the last bit of chaotic thoughts.

The dream was over; he was still the Lord who needed to use an iron fist to govern a newborn nation.