Chapter 13 - Fellow Professionals

Chapter 13: Fellow Professionals

The four exchanged glances and smiled, they had run into fellow professionals. In these treacherous mountains and harsh lands, encountering others in the same line of work was no small coincidence. But then again, given their profession, this was probably the only place they would meet. After all, people in their trade didn’t exactly operate in the cities.

“How about teaming up? Judging by the location, our targets are probably the same,” Chen Yuze spoke first. His family had been in this business before, and though he hadn’t inherited it directly, he still knew the ropes. Besides, this was their first expedition, having two more hands wouldn’t hurt, though they’d have to stay cautious.

“What do you mean? What’s ‘teaming up’?” Fatty stared blankly at Chen Yuze, who shot them a surprised look. Did these guys really not know? Were they rookies too?

Old Hu tugged at Fatty’s sleeve. “Stop embarrassing yourself. What the kid means is working together, joining forces. It’s industry jargon.”

“Kid, and this…” Old Hu’s gaze shifted to Hu Yifei, whose outfit was undeniably striking. Her clothes looked downright unbelievable to them.

“Just call me Yifei,” she replied calmly. She could tell Old Hu was sizing her up, but there was no lewdness in his eyes, just pure curiosity. Plus, judging by their attire, she was certain the timeline here didn’t match their own world.

“Ah, Kid and Miss Yifei, how about we chat while we walk? We’ve got a game to spare, might as well treat ourselves. Even if the deal falls through, there’s no harm in camaraderie. After all, you saved Fatty here.” Old Hu spoke humbly, his posture ramrod straight—clearly a military man.

Hu Yifei glanced at Chen Yuze, who nodded. “Sure. We’re hungry from the journey anyway, and a break wouldn’t hurt. This place was a pain to find, so we’ll take you up on that. Hope you don’t mind the intrusion.”

“Kid, you flatter us. We’re honored you’d even consider it.” Old Hu cheerfully led the way, kicking Fatty along the route. “Go on, carry the boar. You expect us to do it for you?”

“Old Hu, you’re something else. Fine, Fatty’s on it!” Grumbling, Fatty hoisted the wild boar onto his shoulders. Chen Yuze’s eyes widened—this was a Northeastern wild boar, no joke. It had to weigh several hundred pounds, fully grown. Lifting it alone was no small feat.

Old Hu smirked, then eyed the gear at their waists and backs. “You two American?”

“No, we’re pure-blooded Chinese,” Chen Yuze replied. He understood—their outfits and equipment were way too modern. The misunderstanding was natural.

Old Hu pointed at their holsters and backpacks. “Then your gear’s something else. Genuine M1911s—only seen those with U.S. troops. And those rifles on your backs? Soviet AKs, right? Tough as nails.”

Chen Yuze drew his pistol, surprised Old Hu recognized it at a glance. He waved it lightly. “Yep, M1911. Had to pull strings to get these—only two. But with enough money… well, you know how it is.”

Old Hu nodded. Firearms were treasures, but it depended on who you were. For common folk, even glimpsing one was rare. But for the wealthy? Bulk purchases were unrealistic, but scoring one or two wasn’t hard.

“If you like them, I’ll gift you a couple someday. But for now, we need these for protection.” Chen Yuze wasn’t worried—his system store had them. A standard M1911 cost barely any points; even a modified one was just five. A Gatling gun? Only a few dozen. But who’d lug that around tomb-raiding? Way too heavy.

As Chen Yuze chatted with Old Hu, Hu Yifei kept her distance. She knew her limits—better to avoid saying too much and making mistakes. Instead, she wandered over to inspect the boar, fascinated. She’d never seen one up close before.

Soon, they reached Old Hu’s campsite. Hu Yifei, now in high spirits, pulled out her phone—no signal. Yingzi and Fatty gawked at the device.

“Ugh, should’ve brought a brick phone instead. This thing’s only good for photos now.” She turned to Chen Yuze. “Yuze, can you hotspot me? What if the others worry after we’ve been gone so long?”

“Get lost. Who’s ever heard of Wi-Fi out here? Think I’m a router? Be glad it still takes photos.” Chen Yuze shot her an exasperated look. Wi-Fi? Not in this era. Even in their time, deep in the wilderness like this, signal was nonexistent.

Old Hu and Fatty stared, utterly lost. Chen Yuze realized Hu Yifei had derailed things—none of this jargon made sense to them. Hell, most people in this world wouldn’t get it.

“Tch. Useless. How’d I end up on this damn boat with you?” Hu Yifei snapped photos of the boar, even squeezing in a couple of selfies with it. She didn’t miss the scenery or the dogs Yingzi had brought along, posing with them too.

“Don’t mind her. The spendthrift brought a ‘camera’ but skimped on other stuff.” Chen Yuze offered a half-hearted explanation to the baffled duo.

Fatty eyed the phone eagerly. “That’s a camera? Like, spy gear? It’s so slick! Can you snap a few of me?”

“Sure!” Hu Yifei was generous, her carefree attitude didn’t matter. Once their mission was done, they’d vanish. Fatty could search the whole world and never find them.

“Kid, you here for the Yuan dynasty general’s tomb too?” Old Hu steered the conversation back. Now wasn’t the time for distractions—the tomb (and the Japanese military stronghold inside) was what mattered.

Chen Yuze nodded. “Seems we’ve got the same goal. How about joining forces? We’ll split the loot, or you can pick first.”

Money wasn’t an issue for Chen Yuze. He was here for the mission. And he highly doubted these guys would pick anything valuable.