Chapter 204: Lone Goose

The Chain Links Gang had built their base at one of the mountain passes in North Ornament Highlands. The ground was covered in the gang members’ corpses, and most of them were not fully intact.

The forts were still fully intact, though, because Black Orchid Co. hadn’t launched a full-frontal assault.

The forts could only defend against enemies on the ground. They could not stop enemies who could fly, jump about in the forests in the mountains, and fight in all sorts of terrain—namely, the combat praying mantises.

The bio-weapons were not attacking mindlessly either. Some of them attracted the gang’s attention, while the others went around to the back and the sides to attack them.

Since practically all the forts faced forward and most of the gang members weren’t competent fighters, the Chain Links Gang didn’t set up any defenses for attacks from other directions.

After the combat praying mantises ambushed the forts, the Blood Ink Guards broke into the forts. They weren’t worried about regular guns, and they moved so quickly that it was almost impossible to track them with the naked eye. In just a few breaths, they broke through the Chain Links Gang’s defenses.

As for the gang members in the forts, when the Blood Ink Guards passed by, they threw in cans of neurotoxic gas and paralyzed the gang members before killing them.

Despite the fact that the forts had been able to withstand armies of thousands in the past, their defenses were broken in just a little over ten minutes. Of course, this happened partly because the Chain Links Gang didn’t have cannons or competent fighters.

But even if they had these things, they wouldn’t be able to do much against the combat praying mantises and the Blood Ink Guards. One of them was able to fight in all sorts of terrain, while the other had superhuman reflexes.

At the end of the day, the weapons of the Chain Links Gang and the forts were designed to fight against traditional armies made of normal people. They were useless against the fully-armed elite rapid response guards and bio-weapons.

However, there were fewer Chain Links Gang members in the forts than Black Orchid Co. expected—they killed fewer than two hundred gang members. The Chain Links Gang was huge and had more than ten thousand members. They should have been able to amass an elite group of at least a thousand people.

Black Orchid Co.’s analysis was that the Chain Links Gang didn’t want to risk their necks for the government, so they stationed a small number of gang members to pretend that they were following through with the plan.

Black Orchid Co. was satisfied with making it this far already. They were more than halfway through their plan.

The pass defended by the forts was the narrowest point in the mountain range, but also the smoothest one, which made it the easiest to traverse. Once they broke through, all Black Orchid Co. employees could make it through in less than an hour.

When they crossed the mountain pass, they walked onto a slope of around sixty meters in height. The five board directors were leading the way. When they saw the endless plains ahead of them, they felt as if they were already in control of the world.

Their goal was the Chaotic Land more than two thousand kilometers away. Once they were there, they could rebuild the Black Orchid empire once more.

But they weren’t going to walk all the way there.

“They’re here.”

After waiting for a while, a board director noticed two large, shining Zeppelins flying over to them. Once they drew closer, the observant ones saw spinning propellers at the Zeppelins’ sides.

Black Orchid Co. had built these two large Zeppelins in secret in the northwest mountain range. Once all key systems were installed, they could carry over two hundred people. The rigid airships could carry most of them to the Chaotic Land within a day.

Their moles within the Chain Links Gang had set up the mooring masts a long time ago, and they were right at the foot of the slope. The gang’s senior leadership had been persuaded to build a small airship, and they even built a workshop to go with it. The moles had convinced them to do this as a means of escape for themselves during critical moments.

What the senior leadership didn’t know was that Black Orchid Co. had arranged for this to happen. They had even provided the technology and resources for it. Everything, including the workshop and the small airship they built, had been taken, allowing their escape to be even easier and better supplied.

“The pursuers can reach us in an hour at the earliest. We’ve set up simple sniper positions at the foot of the mountain. No matter how hard they chase us, they won’t be able to catch up,” one board director said.

“Black Orchid will be able to rebuild itself in the Chaotic Land.”

“Yes. The Chaotic Land will provide enough nutrients, and a brand new Black Orchid will bloom.”

***

While the board directors envisioned their future, the members in the war room in the Constabulary’s headquarters were in chaos.

They had received the news about the two large Zeppelins that were visible from a distance.

“You didn’t notice such large Zeppelins? Has the government been paying you to be useless?!” someone yelled.

A government official from the Department of Administrative Affairs wiped the sweat from his brow with a handkerchief. “We knew that Black Orchid had a hot-air balloon factory in the northwest mountain range, but it was only a tourist attraction. We didn’t know that it’s a Zeppelin factory...”

The factory was located far away in the mountains and had nothing to do with Yangzhi City. Besides, the mountains were much more dangerous than the city. Who would be stupid enough to inspect such a place?

“What should we do now, Mr. Cao? The men we’ve sent won’t be able to catch up to them.”

The question made all eyes in the room shift to Mr. Cao. After all, he was the person-in-charge of the operation.

“We can stop chasing them,” Mr. Cao said gravely.

“What?”

Mr. Cao looked outside and repeated himself, “We can stop chasing them.”

***

The Black Orchid Co. employees were gathering in the airship workshop at the junction between the wilderness and North Ornament Highlands. They were going to inflate the small airship with air while waiting for the two Zeppelins to land at the mooring post.

“Mr. Cui, what are you doing? Who are you sending a telegram to?”

An employee gave Cui Hong, the vice security supervisor, an inquisitive look. At that moment, Cui Hong was sitting alone by a telegraph set and sending a telegram.

“It’s nothing. I’m contacting the colleagues who will be meeting us at the Chaotic Land,” Cui Hong answered casually.

Cui Hong’s calm attitude eased the man’s suspicions. After all, even if he was sending a telegram to Yangzhi City, everyone was too far away to stop them.

As the employee looked at the giant Zeppelins getting closer, excitement roared in his heart. The journey in the Zeppelins to the Chaotic Land made him feel like they were gods journeying through the mortal lands.

***

Approximately twenty kilometers away were circular train tracks. Fixed on them were artillery bases that the government had spent three days setting up, and set on top of them were fourteen 270-mm-caliber railway guns.

The artillery crew had long since set the firing coordinates. The gun barrels were all trained on the area where the Black Orchid Co. employees were.

Frozen Valley City’s army had spent a year fixing up the railway up to this point. In the future, they were going to fix the remaining part that connected to Yangzhi City.

At that moment, a telegraph clerk finally received a telegram they had been waiting for, and he immediately notified the commander of the attack.

The commander looked at the shadows of the mountains in the south, picked up the phone receiver, and said grimly, “Tell the men to fire at the designated target.”

“Fire!”

“Fire!”

“Fire!”

As the orders were passed down the line, the fourteen railway guns let out earth-shattering roars. In an instant, it was as if time had frozen. The earth trembled, and the air filled with smoke.

***

Once Cui Hong finished sending the telegram, he took out a cigarette in a casual fashion and lit it up. Then, he passed a written telegram to the employee next to him. “Show this telegram to the five board directors.”

The employee was delighted. This was a rare chance for him to show his face to the five board directors. Gratefully, he said, “Thank you, Sir.”

“Off you go.”

Cui Hong exhaled slowly, removed the hat representing his status as a Black Orchid Co. employee, and put on an old hat that he always brought with him. Then, he pinned the Great Shun Republic’s straw hat emblem on his chest and looked up.

“The sky sure is blue...”

***

The employee ran to the five board directors, but the Blood Ink Guards stopped him, so he could only wave the telegram in his hands while shouting, “Sirs, a telegram from the Chaotic Land! Mr. Cui asked me to hand it to you!”

The five board directors’ attention was immediately drawn to him when he mentioned the Chaotic Land, but they were puzzled, because they had never asked Cui Hong to do this. It should have been the Intelligence Department’s job.

Wariness and skepticism appeared in their eyes, and they told an assistant to get the telegram.

At the same time, they looked outward. All the Blood Ink Guards were loyally standing guard around them, which made them feel at ease. As long as they were protecting them, they would be safe.

Once a Blood Ink Guard made sure there was no foul play on the paper, he brought the telegram over. One of the board directors took it and read.

Greetings. I’m Cui Hong, special agent of the National General Affairs Bureau, codename Lone Goose. I hope you have a pleasant trip to the afterlife.

The board director’s eyes flew wide open, and terror seized his heart, but right when he opened his mouth to say something, the artillery rounds that had been flying for half a minute finally landed.

Boom!

The artillery rounds not only covered the entire region, but also ignited the hydrogen stored in the airship workshop, causing an explosion that sent a large fireball shooting up into the sky.

The low, heavy boom traveled all the way to Yangzhi City. The windows trembled because of it, and dust fell from them.

“Mr. Cao?”

“Mr. Cao, what was that?”

Mr. Cao didn’t offer any explanation. He just removed his hat in silence while staring north. He wasn’t the only one doing it. All the National General Affairs Bureau members removed their hats.

Most of the people didn’t understand why they did this, but some did, and somber expressions appeared on their faces.

Half a minute later, Mr. Cao put on his hat and walked to the phone. “Tell the artillery team to speed up their assault. Get rid of all the enemies there.”