232: Chapter 232 Is Yousi an Arab?

Mount Qingcheng, the back vegetable garden.

The scorching sun slammed down onto the loess without any obstruction.

Li Li was wearing a white undershirt that cost nine yuan and nine cents with free shipping, a towel draped over his neck, squatting on the ridge, swinging a small hoe and loosening the soil bit by bit.

Jiang Rumu was curled up under a parasol on the ridge, wearing an exaggerated wide-brimmed straw hat, holding half a chilled watermelon in her hands, using a spoon to specifically dig out the flesh right in the middle.

Xiao Chai was rolling frantically in a mud pit not far away, its grey-black fur covered in mud, forming hard crusts.

Xiao Qian was lying in the shade, looking at this foolish peer with cold eyes, and moved half a meter away in disgust.

"Li Li!" Jiang Rumu pointed at the mud pit with her spoon. "Manage your son!"

Li Li didn't even lift his head.

"That's the dog you brought back. Legally speaking, you are the primary guardian."

Jiang Rumu dug out a large piece of watermelon and walked over, shoving it right in front of Li Li's mouth.

"Open up."

Li Li stopped his hoe, tilted his head, and swallowed the watermelon.

The cold, sweet juice poured down his throat, suppressing a trace of the summer heat.

"Boss Jiang, your style of a capitalist inspecting the farm is becoming more and more practiced."

Jiang withdrew the spoon and took a bite herself.

"I invested twenty million to build this new dormitory building."

"What's wrong with eating a bite of your watermelon?"

The internet's memory is extremely short.

After two months of a cliff-like broadcast hiatus with no content output, the name Li Li had completely vanished from the trending lists.

No paparazzi waiting, no fans picking him up at the airport.

He had completely lived the life of a twenty-five-year-old retired old man, whose daily routine was taking care of kids at the welfare institute, growing vegetables, walking the dog, and cooking for Jiang Rumu.

Li Li stood up, pulled the towel from his neck to wipe the sweat off his face, and walked to the faucet, turning it on to wash the mud off his hands.

The phone in his pocket vibrated.

Li Li shook the water off his hands and took out his phone.

A special attention notification.

International News Channel.

Headline in bold red: [Ala Country declares dissolution! The Middle East returns to the era of warlordism!]

Li Li swiped the screen, quickly scanning the main text.

For the past two months, he had been farming on Mount Qingcheng, while the Middle East had become a total mess.

The hardline faction had a tough stance, directly causing the upper echelons of Ala Country to completely fall out. A huge super-alliance broke up on the spot.

Saudi Arabia became independent.

Iran went solo.

Qatar raised its own flag.

Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and other emirates reorganized into the UAE.

Li Li looked at the new map of the Middle East on the screen; this geopolitical landscape had been forcibly pulled back to the shape of the Earth before he transmigrated.

The world line converged in a simple and brutal way.

The comment section had already exploded.

[Damn! A once-in-a-lifetime series! Ala Country actually dissolved!]

[Did they have a breakup dinner? How are they splitting the assets?]

[Don't worry about them splitting assets, hurry up and go queue at the gas station! Oil prices are going to the sky!]

Jiang Rumu walked over holding half a watermelon, leaning over to look at the screen.

"What's wrong?"

"Look at the oil prices."

Li Li tapped on the next notification.

[The hardline faction announced an indefinite blockade of the Strait of Hormuz! Global crude oil futures soared by 300%!]

[Israel launched long-range missiles, precisely striking the core military facilities of the hardline faction.]

[The Emirate of Oman announced it would respond to the embargo call and cut off transit routes.]

The bullet comments refreshed extremely fast.

[This move by the hardline faction is too wild! Directly flipping the table!]

[Israel is desperate, throwing missiles down like they cost nothing.]

[Oman, this little transparent country, doesn't even have news usually, what did it take today?]

Li Li's finger paused on the last piece of news.

Oman.

A name flashed in his mind.

Delia.

Jiang Rumu bit her spoon.

"How did a transparent country like Oman suddenly jump out to be the first bird?"

Li Li turned off the news interface and put his phone back in his pocket.

"When things are abnormal, there must be a demon."

"I'm going to make a call. What do you want to eat for dinner?"

Jiang Rumu didn't even think.

"Boiled fish in chili oil. Put extra Sichuan peppercorns."

"Okay."

Third floor of the welfare institute, Dean's office.

Li Li pushed the door open and locked it behind him.

He walked to the desk, pulled out the bottom drawer, and took out a heavy military encrypted satellite phone.

He skillfully dialed a string of numbers up to twenty digits long.

It rang three times.

Connected.

"Li. My brother." Fahd's tone was warm. "I heard you are living in seclusion in the East. When are you coming to Dubai? My private jet is on standby for you at any time."

Li Li pulled the office chair over and sat down, putting his legs directly on the edge of the desk.

"Deputy Prime Minister Fahd, you've been promoted and gotten rich, quite the spectacle."

Laughter came from Fahd's side.

"This is all thanks to you. That list helped me clear the nails in my family."

"I am now the Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE. You can see the current situation in the Middle East; Ala Country has dissolved, and we in the UAE must seize the opportunity."

Li Li didn't pick up on that.

He put his legs down and leaned forward.

"Yossi is not dead."

The laughter on the other end of the phone stopped abruptly.

A full three seconds of dead silence.

"That's impossible." Fahd's voice sank. "Delia's suicide attack destroyed the entire convoy, and Mossad also confirmed Yossi's death."

Li Li tapped his fingers on the desk.

"The spy captured during the terrorist attack at the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong confessed in person that Yossi is still alive and was remotely directing that terrorist attack."

"Later, he even called me at the casino; it should have been him."

A very slight sound of a heavy object knocking came from the other side of the phone.

"What kind of monster is he?"

Li Li leaned back in his chair.

"I'm looking for you today not to confirm whether he is dead or alive."

"I'm here to give you a bonus question."

Fahd's breathing became heavier.

"Tell me."

Li Li held up a finger.

"First, Yossi's subordinates refer to him as 'Your Highness'. It is the Arabic 'Your Highness', not the English one."

Fahd's breathing stopped.

The title "Your Highness" in the Middle East belongs only to core members of the royal family.

Li Li held up a second finger.

"Second, Yossi speaks with a faint Arabic accent. He tried hard to hide it, but I could hear a little bit."

There was no sound on the other end of the phone anymore.

"Li." Fahd's voice was tight. "Are you implying that one of the top leaders of Israel's Mossad is a member of one of our Arab royal families?"

"Not just a royal family member."

Li Li looked at the texture of the desk.

"How could a small emirate like Oman, which has never participated in Middle East wars, jump out just after the dissolution?"

"Yossi can mobilize Oman's resources and make Oman jump out to blockade the strait at this critical juncture."

"Fahd, this mine inside you is much bigger than you think."

Another long silence.

"Oman..."

"The Oman royal family..."

Fahd's voice began to tremble.

"Delia's mother died in a Mossad attack back then. Delia lurked for ten years just to kill Yossi."

"If Yossi is a high-level Arab royal..."

"Then the one who betrayed the whereabouts of Delia's mother back then was one of our own."

Li Li snapped his fingers.

"Congratulations, you've discovered the crux of the matter."

Only heavy breathing was left on the other end of the phone.

"Li, the value of this intelligence is immeasurable."

"I will use all the secret lines to investigate, even if I have to turn the entire royal family upside down."

Fahd paused.

"Also, my brother."

"The day we meet is not far off."

Li Li raised his eyebrows.

"What do you mean?"

"You will know. A global internet variety show is about to usher in a feast, and you will definitely represent the East to participate."

Fahd cut off the communication.

The screen went black.

Li Li stared at the black screen.

"Riddlers get out of Gotham."

He threw the satellite phone back into the drawer.

Just as he was about to get up and go to the kitchen to prepare dinner, the private phone in his pocket vibrated wildly.

Caller ID: Unknown number.

Origin: Imperial Capital.

Li Li pressed the answer button.

"Who is this?"

A baritone voice full of energy came from the other side of the phone.

"Comrade Li Li."

"This is the Political Work Department of the Central Military Commission."

Li Li immediately put away his slacker attitude and stood up straight.

"Hello, Chief."

The baritone voice was extremely fast, crisp, and neat.

"The reverse engineering of the F-35A has made breakthrough progress."

"The list provided by Snowden allowed us to pull out three hundred and thirty-seven nails lurking inside."

"Your contribution is great."

Li Li touched his chin.

"Chief, you are too polite; it is all the credit of Comrade Zhang Nan."

The baritone voice paused for two seconds, rarely carrying a hint of a smile.

"Comrade Zhang Nan has already started planting Saxaul trees in the Northwest desert."

"As for you, next Wednesday at nine in the morning, bring your ID and report to the August First Building in the Imperial Capital."

Li Li was stunned for a moment.

"What am I going to the August First Building for?"

"To award you the August First Medal."