95: Take a lot of trouble

Xu Ning frowned, lost in thought. Originally, due to unforeseen circumstances, Xiao Jianhao couldn't accompany them. They had agreed he would temporarily stay at the base and catch up after finishing his tasks.

Two days had passed. He should have finished his trivial matters and be on his way. Why couldn't they contact him via satellite phone? Could he have encountered trouble at the border?

This made Xu Ning involuntarily recall the problems the team had faced before, but he quickly shook his head, dismissing the idea. After all, moving alone and without heavy equipment, crossing the border should be much easier than it was for them.

Especially for someone as resourceful and agile as Xiao Jianhao, even if there were unforeseen circumstances, he should be able to escape.

He remembered that in Iraq, even with the language barrier, he successfully arranged a train evacuation route for himself. And now, he was only facing a group of scattered armed personnel, not a regular army.

"Uncle Chao should have also arranged a guide for him, so nothing bad could have happened," Xu Ning murmured softly. "Could something have gone wrong somewhere?"

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his eyes became sharp.

"Could it be that he deliberately turned off his satellite phone to avoid detection by the Black Sea Fleet? He wouldn't have crossed the Black Sea by boat and headed directly to Utopia, would he?"

After careful consideration, Xu Ning increasingly felt that this might be the case.

"Should I ask Uncle Chao for help?" He shook his head, trying to calm himself down. Ultimately, he decided to wait another day to see the situation.

Perhaps it was all just a misunderstanding, and the satellite phone's battery had died. If there was still no news tomorrow, asking Uncle Chao for assistance wouldn't be too late. Excessive worry was useless; the best approach now was to wait patiently.

Thinking of this, Xu Ning looked up and said to Xie Biao, "Let's wait a bit longer. If we still can't contact him tomorrow, we'll make a plan."

"Understood, Boss."

Xie Biao had no objection and stepped aside to continue monitoring Kadeyafu's situation, while Xu Ning leaned against a pile of goods, feeling a bit uncomfortable in his backside.

Xu Ning rubbed the bridge of his nose to relieve the fatigue in his eyes, then looked at Kadeyafu and began to calculate in his mind. According to Sun Bo, Kadeyafu hadn't lied about the border situation, but this made tonight's mission complicated.

Crossing the border as easily as they did on the way in was clearly impossible. He had considered taking Kadeyafu as a hostage but immediately dismissed the idea.

Doing so would only make himself an enemy of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, and since Kadeyafu had seen their faces, even if they could temporarily pass, they would have no future interactions with the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, which was an outcome he did not want to see.

As for extreme measures like killing to silence witnesses, he wouldn't resort to them unless absolutely necessary. After all, Xu Ning was essentially a businessman, preferring to achieve a mutually beneficial situation through transactions. He believed there were no problems in the world that couldn't be solved.

Since Kadeyafu was the President's grandson, he definitely had enough leverage in terms of power and resources to make a deal with him.

He wondered if it was still in use now? Xu Ning quickly walked to the gate, pressed the switch, and activated the gate. As the gate slowly rose, the scene inside the cold storage was revealed.

Under the dim light, dozens of rows of shelves filled the space, piled high with dusty wooden crates. Only narrow aisles were left between each row of shelves, and the refrigeration units were still hanging on the wall.

Only after seeing that there was no cold air in the room did Xu Ning relax slightly.

He noticed that the shelves were full of goods to be sent to the Rabbit Country. It was also clear that this place, which should have been a cold storage, was being used by Sun Bo as a general warehouse. It was surrounded by thick walls with no windows or other exits.

Xu Ning didn't have to worry about Kadeyafu discovering his location after removing his blindfold and earplugs. He said, "This is the place." He nodded with satisfaction. This was indeed an excellent location for negotiations and keeping someone under guard.

Then he had Xie Biao bring Kadeyafu inside and agreed on a long-short knocking signal. After that, he had Xie Biao lock the gate from the outside. As the gate closed tightly, Xu Ning turned to face the bewildered Kadeyafu, ready to begin negotiations.

Xu Ning removed Kadeyafu's blindfold and earplugs and stood aside, waiting for him to adjust to the light.

When Kadeyafu recognized the person in front of him as Xu Ning, who had previously stabbed him, he was so scared that he immediately recoiled. However, because his hands and feet were tied, he lost his balance and fell to the ground.

"You... what do you want to do?" Kadeyafu asked in terror.

Although Xu Ning was smiling, in Kadeyafu's eyes, he looked like a devil, scaring him so much that he broke out in a cold sweat.

"Let's make a deal," Xu Ning said, "Mr. Kadeyafu, the current President's own grandson."

Hearing this, Kadeyafu was stunned. He hadn't expected Xu Ning to know his true identity so quickly. Did he really have inside connections at the top?

When one person knows everything about another, while the latter knows nothing about them, the fear brought by the unknown makes one even more uneasy. This was exactly how Kadeyafu felt at that moment, breaking out in a cold sweat.

He swallowed, trembling, and asked, "You... who exactly are you?"

Xu Ning said mysteriously, "Who I am isn't important. What's important is that I have something you want. We can cooperate."

After a moment of silence, Kadeyafu said, "Then what about my freedom?"

A helpless smile appeared at the corner of Xu Ning's mouth. "I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. I don't have anything on me that can be exchanged."

"As for my grandfather, from what I understand, he won't bother himself over a captured fellow."

When his eyes were covered, the darkness around him gave him space for calm thinking and also allowed him to have a clear understanding of his situation.

"Clever, but not clever enough," Xu Ning said softly.

"I don't understand why you think you're useless. In my opinion, whether a person has value is not defined by others, but by whether the person themselves can bring about change."

"And what I can bring you is precisely this power of change: the freedom of your country."

Kadeyafu was stunned, muttering and repeating Xu Ning's words, "The entire... country's... freedom..."

"That's right," Xu Ning nodded. "I can provide a batch of weapons to help you resist future oppressors."

"You've already seen how powerful our individual equipment is. With them, even when facing the enemy's mechanized forces, you will have a certain ability to fight back."

"In return, I only hope to obtain a permit that allows safe passage through your border and the support of your country when necessary."

"I don't think this request is excessive," Xu Ning said frankly, spreading his hands.

He knew this was the first time he hadn't mentioned money in a transaction. The Chechen Republic of Ichkeria was an agricultural country, and under the rule of powerful neighbors, it didn't even have the autonomy to decide what crops to plant.

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