Chapter 976: Rescue at Lan Five: The Helpless and the Risk

At three in the afternoon, Tang Heng sent a message in the Northern Alliance group chat: “@Leader Xia Qing, Sister Qing, can Huo Zhun, Ye Yang, and I come see you? We need your advice on something.”

Tang Huai, who was feeding evolved insects in Territory Two at the time, immediately replied: “Ah Heng, what’s going on? I’ll come too.”

Tang Heng reaching out now probably meant their plan from this morning—to let a Tang family business partner temporarily look after Ye Yang’s niece—had fallen through.

But Xia Qing wasn’t in the Territory right now, so she couldn’t have them meet at Section Three. She replied, “Where are you all now? I’m at the Ninth Planting Center with some things to handle. I’ll come find you as soon as I’m done.”

Tang Heng quickly texted back: “No rush, Sister Qing. Let’s meet at Territory Fifteen after you’re finished. @Tang Huai, big bro, handle your stuff first. I’ll fill you in once I’m back.”

Just as Xia Qing finished her work and was about to drive to Territory Fifteen, Yang Jin messaged her: “Tang Zhengbo wants to rent the Section One helicopter to pick up some people from Lan Five. He’ll pay the fuel himself, and the rental fee is 10,000 credits. What do you think?”

On paper, the Section One helicopter belonged to the Azure Dragon Squad, but in reality, it was Xia Qing’s. Since Tang Zhengbo wanted to rent it, Yang Jin had to get her approval.

Now Xia Qing understood why Tang Heng had asked to see her. She decided to discuss this with Tang Heng in person later. She lowered her head and replied to Yang Jin: “If the helicopter gets blown up, will they compensate us?”

Lan Five’s air was thick with explosive particles, so flying a helicopter in was incredibly risky.

Yang Jin replied right away: “If it’s destroyed, the Tang Family will replace it with a brand new, identical model they bought this year.”

That sealed the deal—Xia Qing decided to take the 10,000 credits.

After agreeing, Xia Qing drove into Territory Fifteen and met with the Tang brothers, Huo Zhun, Ye Yang, Zhang Hongda, Yue Haiying, Shi Du, Hu Zifeng, and Tan Qi, the young lord of Territory Fifteen currently on summer break, in the conference room.

Once everyone was there, Tang Heng explained the current situation.

Only then did Xia Qing learn that, two hours ago, over a thousand rioters from Lan Five’s outer city took advantage of the rare opportunity created by explosive new elements in the air—making firearms nearly useless—and went on a rampage. Tang Family’s business partner, Zheng Jialin, was forced to flee Lan Five’s Safe Zone with valuable supplies. He and his group were now hiding in a cave fifty miles southeast of the safe zone.

Zheng Jialin contacted Tang Heng, offering 500,000 credits to get the Tang Family to send someone to bring them to Hui Three.

Ye Yang was at the meeting too because, while escaping, Zheng Jialin stopped by Ye Yang’s older brother’s house, as Tang Heng had told him to—only to find the man had already passed away. So he brought Ye Yang’s niece along as they fled the Safe Zone.

To put it nicely, Zheng Jialin had risked his own life to save Little Shiyi. To put it bluntly, he took her along so the Tang Family would have an extra reason they couldn’t leave him behind.

For the moment, Little Shiyi was safe. But if the Tang Family didn’t send help, she might become a burden Zheng Jialin could abandon—or even kill—at any moment.

Tang Heng had wanted to help, but never thought things would escalate this far. He was wracked with guilt. “By the rules, until Lan Five’s disaster emergency is lifted, no military or combat team from Hui Three can enter Lan Five’s base, unless the chief disaster commander of Lan Five officially requests rescue.”

“If we use our private family helicopter, it’ll draw too much attention. So my dad spoke with Captain Yang of the Azure Dragon Squad and borrowed the Section One helicopter instead. But the squad’s members can’t take part in this rescue. Our family has two evolved fighter rescue teams standing by at Territory Twelve—ready to move the moment we’re cleared.”

“The shortcoming of these teams is that neither has a senior sniper. Sister Qing, can I invite you personally to join the mission? The reward’s fifty thousand credits, or any goods you need of equal value.”

Tang Heng clarified he meant “personally” because his well-intentioned actions had ended up making Ye Yang’s niece a hostage.

Ye Yang quickly spoke up. “Heng, I already told you—none of this is your fault, you meant well. I’ll cover Sister Qing’s reward for this mission.”

Just earlier, after Xia Qing agreed to lend the helicopter, Yang Jin had messaged her a reminder to think things through. Now Xia Qing knew what he meant: should she actually join this risky rescue?

Tang Huai—usually loud and hot-tempered—was strangely calm and serious now. “Xia Qing, it’s fine if you don’t join. I’ll go for sure. I’m already a solidly above-average sniper.”

Tang Heng had just opened his mouth to argue when his older brother stomped on his foot—so hard he couldn’t say a word.

With Huo Zhun, Zhang Hongda, and Shi Du also sitting in, it meant all three had already agreed to join. With Huo Zhun and Zhang Hongda’s fighting skills beyond doubt, and Shi Du, a level-five-and-a-half strength-based evolution fighter, surely going as support for hauling supplies.

If Little Shiyi wasn’t with Zheng Jialin’s group, Xia Qing wouldn’t risk herself just for credits. But with the girl involved, she had no choice. If they couldn’t save Little Shiyi, Zhang Shi would never work with Third Brother again, and without the recovery factor from Zhang Shi’s blood, Third Brother would soon lose his only reason to keep living.

Not wanting to make the others suspicious, Xia Qing didn’t agree immediately. Instead, she asked, “Has Zheng Jialin led his people out of the range of Qiang 46 yet?”

Tang Heng spread out a map. “I just went to see Third Brother and got Lan Five’s latest Qiang 46 distribution chart. An hour ago, there wasn’t any detected at their hiding spot. According to the weather report and wind predictions, it’s likely to stay safe for the next 12 hours too.”

With no low-temperature, explosive Qiang 46 in the air, a senior sniper could really make a difference. Xia Qing continued, “Why isn’t he asking Hui Six or Lan Four for help?”

Lan Five is over a thousand kilometers from Hui Three, but only about six hundred from both Hui Six and Lan Four.

Tang Heng explained, “Mr. Zheng trusts my dad a lot more than anyone from Lan Four or Hui Six, that’s why.”

Tang Zhengbo certainly was worthy of that trust. Xia Qing asked one last question: “If things go sideways, do we save the people first, or grab the cargo?”

That was…

Tang Heng realized he still hadn’t thought of everything and looked sheepish. “One sec, Sister Qing. I’ll check with my dad.”

Tang Heng called his father on the spot and, at his dad’s request, put him on speaker.

Tang Zhengbo first thanked Xia Qing, Huo Zhun, Zhang Hongda, and Shi Du for their willingness to help in a crisis. He then apologized formally to Ye Yang:

“Ye Yang, Tang Huai was reckless. Let me apologize on his behalf.”

After Ye Yang accepted, Tang Zhengbo, as the mission leader, officially laid out the plan. “This rescue will be headed by Du Zuohang, who has gone to Lan Five three times and dealt with Zheng Jialin before. The first priority for the rescue team is to save the child caught up in all this. If things go wrong after that, do what Zheng Jialin wants, but only as long as you can keep yourselves safe. If anyone tries to kill or hijack the helicopter, eliminate them all—bring back as much of the cargo as you can. I’m counting on all of you.”