240: Chapter 240 The Undercurrents of the Northwest

Imperial Capital, Longwan No. 1 Villa.

The study door was closed. Chen Fan sat behind the desk, looking at a document in his hand.

The door opened. Chen Haoyu walked in and stopped in front of the desk.

“Boss, something happened in the Northwest.” Chen Haoyu took out an encrypted tablet and placed it on the desk.

Chen Fan didn't look up, continuing to flip through the paper document in his hand. “Speak.”

“The peripheral radar detection network caught a cluster of abnormal signals. About thirty people in six off-road vehicles have already reached a point five kilometers outside the perimeter of Mine No. 3.” Chen Haoyu pointed at the red dots on the tablet screen. “They are disguised as a geological survey team, but their vehicles are equipped with high-frequency jammers.”

Chen Fan put down the document in his hand and looked at the tablet screen.

“Furthermore, we intercepted their supply manifest,” Chen Haoyu continued his report. “It includes high-explosive armor-piercing rounds and deep-strata geological drilling equipment. Looking at their route, their target is our main underground transport artery.”

Chen Fan watched the movement trajectories of the red dots on the screen. He knew Xiao Ye had lost in the financial market and was now resorting to extreme measures. He wanted to use explosives to create an artificial earthquake and bury the lifeblood of the Huihuang Group's new mining area directly under the sand.

“Have you found out who's leading the team?” Chen Fan asked.

“Yes,” Chen Haoyu nodded. “The leader goes by the code name ‘Scorpion.’ He's a mercenary leader who has been active in the Middle East for years. Xiao Ye paid them a thirty-million-dollar advance through several shell companies belonging to overseas military-industrial complexes.”

Chen Haoyu paused, looking at Chen Fan.

“Boss, they have already entered the danger zone. There are two hundred Shadow Guard members on standby here. Requesting permission to engage.” Chen Haoyu’s voice carried a hint of anger.

Chen Fan picked up the thermos on the desk and took a sip of water. He capped the thermos and pushed it aside.

He did not give the order immediately.

“Did you call the police?” Chen Fan asked.

“No. I wanted to wait for your instructions,” Chen Haoyu replied.

“No need to report it.” Chen Fan stood up and walked to the window, looking out at the night. “If they dare to touch the core assets of the Chen family, there’s no need for conventional legal procedures. Activate the ‘Desert Hunting Ground’ contingency plan.”

“Understood.” Chen Haoyu turned to go and issue the combat orders.

“Wait.” Chen Fan called him back.

Chen Haoyu looked back.

“Tell the men not to make too much noise. I want them to evaporate from the face of the earth along with those explosives.” Chen Fan’s voice was flat, as if he were assigning a mundane household chore.

“Yes. They’ll all be thrown into the high seas to feed the fish.” Chen Haoyu pushed the door open and left.

The study fell silent.

After a while, the study door was pushed open again. Su Wanqing walked in carrying a small tray. A white porcelain teacup sat on the tray.

She walked to the desk and set the teacup down. Inside was freshly brewed calming tea, still steaming.

“It's so late, and Hao Yu is still running out?” Su Wanqing asked.

Chen Fan walked back and sat down in his chair. He picked up the teacup and blew on it.

“The wind is strong in the Northwest.” Chen Fan took a sip of tea and set the cup down. “A few gerbils have scurried into the perimeter of the mining area. I told Hao Yu to take some men to clear them out, so they don't chew through the underground equipment.”

Su Wanqing smiled and helped him stack the scattered documents on the desk.

“Don't stay up too late, get some rest early,” Su Wanqing urged before leaving with the tray.

Chen Fan watched the door close. He reached under the desk drawer and pressed a button.

The wall on the side of the study slid open to both sides, revealing a massive electronic monitoring screen. It displayed real-time footage of the Taklamakan Desert in the Northwest.

The footage was in night-vision mode; against the green background, all heat sources had nowhere to hide.

The outskirts of the Taklamakan Desert.

The night wind whipped sand against the car windows. The temperature had already dropped to minus ten degrees Celsius.

Six modified off-road vehicles were parked behind a sand dune. Scorpion pushed open the car door and jumped out. He adjusted the windproof mask on his face and looked ahead through night-vision binoculars.

“Boss, two kilometers ahead is the ventilation shaft for Mine No. 3,” a man wearing desert camouflage next to him said in a low voice.

Scorpion put away his binoculars and made a hand gesture.

The rear doors of the vehicles all opened. Over twenty mercenaries jumped out, opened the trunks, and began hauling out black crates of explosives. These high-explosive armor-piercing rounds were enough to completely collapse the underground rock layers.

“Set up the drilling rig. Move fast,” Scorpion ordered.

Several men began assembling the equipment. A demolition expert carrying a tablet computer walked over.

“Boss, something’s wrong.” The demolition expert tapped the screen. “The electronic detonator signal is being jammed. The electromagnetic environment here is very abnormal.”

Scorpion glanced at the screen. The signal bars had all turned into red crosses.

“Forget electronic ignition. Switch directly to timed fuses.” Scorpion didn't hesitate. He was being paid to do a job.

Just then, a sentry standing on the perimeter responsible for lookout raised his rifle.

“Boss,” the sentry’s voice crackled over the comms channel, “there’s something over there.”

Scorpion turned and looked in the direction the sentry was pointing.

On the rolling sand dunes surrounding them, dozens of eerie green points of light had appeared at some unknown time. These points of light were very prominent in the dark night, slowly closing in on their position.

“A wolf pack?” the demolition expert asked.

Scorpion raised his night-vision binoculars to look.

Through the binoculars, those green dots were magnified. They weren't wolves at all. They were the faint glint of light reflecting off mechanical structures. The eerie green glow emanated from sensors in individual metal heads.

Four mechanical legs stepped on the soft sand without sinking in at all.

“Pangu Mechanical War Dogs...” Scorpion recognized the serial numbers on the side of the machines, and his hand gripped the binoculars tighter.

Before he could issue a combat command, behind the mechanical war dogs, in the shadows of the sand dunes, dozens of figures in black tactical gear appeared.

The Shadow Guard.

They wore individual night-vision goggles and held assault rifles fitted with silencers. They spread out in a pincer formation, trapping the six off-road vehicles tightly in the middle.

The mercenaries around Scorpion all raised their guns. The two sides were less than fifty meters apart.

Just as Scorpion was about to shout the order to fire, the satellite phone in his pocket vibrated.

Scorpion took it out and pressed the answer button.

“Are the explosives in place yet?” Xiao Ye’s voice came through the phone.

Scorpion looked at the motionless mechanical war dogs and the men in black ahead. He swallowed hard.

“Mr. Xiao. The mission cannot continue,” Scorpion said into the phone.

There was a second of silence on the other end. “What happened? Did you run into a patrol? Take them out.” Xiao Ye’s tone was full of dissatisfaction.

“It's not a patrol.” Scorpion braced the rifle stock against his shoulder. “We’re surrounded.”

The moment he finished speaking, an extremely clear voice cut directly into their encrypted internal mercenary comms channel.

“Before you came here, didn't you check the security level of this place?”

Chen Haoyu’s voice rang out in every mercenary’s headset.

Xiao Ye heard this voice on the other end of the phone as well. His hand holding the phone tightened forcefully.

“Who are you?” Xiao Ye asked loudly into the phone.

In the desert, Chen Haoyu stood on a high sand dune. He looked down at the mercenaries holding their guns and pressed the button on his communicator.

“Kill them all. Leave none alive,” Chen Haoyu said.

No gunshots rang out. The dozen or so mechanical war dogs in the lead lunged forward with a burst of power from their limbs.

A chaotic mess of crashing sounds and screams came through the comms channel.

In his hotel room, Xiao Ye pressed the phone to his ear.

“Hello? Scorpion! Speak!” Xiao Ye shouted.

Chen Haoyu walked over to a wrecked off-road vehicle and picked up the satellite phone that was still on the call from the ground.

“Mr. Xiao.” Chen Haoyu spoke into the microphone. “Your gerbils have all been stepped to death.”

Xiao Ye grit his teeth on the other end: “You dare touch my people? You think the Huihuang Group can cover the sky with one hand?”

“The Boss said, keep the tricks coming.” Chen Haoyu ignored his threat. “Also, this batch of junk you bought, we’ll pack them up overnight and send them back to the high seas. Remember to check the delivery.”

The call was disconnected immediately.

Imperial Capital, Bvlgari Hotel penthouse.

Xiao Ye slammed his phone violently against the floor-to-ceiling window. The phone screen shattered into pieces. He knew his play in the Northwest had been completely dismantled. The path of physical destruction was simply not viable; Chen Fan’s defense system was even more terrifying than he had imagined.

There was a knock on the room door. His trusted assistant walked in quickly, holding a freshly printed top-secret document.

“Mr. Xiao, an insider among the executives of the domestic banking system just leaked some news.” The assistant handed the document over.

Xiao Ye didn't take it, looking at him coldly: “What news?”

“On the Huihuang Group’s financial books, there is a trillion-level bridge loan.” The assistant lowered his voice. “It's due the day after tomorrow.”