After sending the message, Lu Li casually asked, "Are you a retired Marine Corps?"
I recall the mayor once mentioning that she seemed to have great faith in this armed force.
Aurora shrugged. "With a few steel plates in my body, I can't stay in the army anymore. By the way, where's your guarantor?"
Before he could finish speaking, Lu Li's phone rang; it was his homeroom teacher calling.
He stepped aside to take it, and Aurora listened intently:
"Teacher, I have something personal to ask you. Could you please give me her number?"
"Okay, I'll go back to school as soon as everything's alright."
Aurora's expression grew increasingly strange as she listened—he was still in school? And the guarantor was a classmate?
At this moment, Aurora began to waver in her previous judgment...
At the same time, as Lu Li returned, he dialed the phone number of Teresa, which had been sent to him by his homeroom teacher.
The call connected quickly, and the voice sounded somewhat surprised: [Lu Li?]
"Yes, it's me. Can you vouch for me? I need to buy some very sensitive items."
[Although I don't quite understand, I'd be happy to help.]
After communicating for a while, Lu Li handed over his phone.
Aurora, her face serious, took it in her hand and turned on the speakerphone...
Soon, Teresa's voice came through:
Hello, I am Teresa Delgado Maria.
If Franco can pronounce both his father's and mother's surnames, most Tijuana residents would know that he is the mayor's daughter.
But Aurora got too excited and quickly held up her phone with both hands, shouting:
"Miss Teresa! I'm Aurora, do you remember me?"
[Second Lieutenant Aurora... Hello, it's been a long time!]
"I've retired; I'm no longer Second Lieutenant."
The two clearly knew each other. Aurora glanced at Lu Li and asked directly:
"You know this person? Do you know what he's up to?"
[I know him, I believe everything he has done, and I am willing to vouch for him in the name of my family.]
"What!?"
Aurora was somewhat incredulous! Miss Teresa's words... indicated she valued this person highly!
But what surprised her even more was yet to come.
There was some noise coming from the phone, and soon an older woman's voice rang out:
[I am Second Lieutenant Maria Aurora. This Mr. Lu is a trustworthy man. Please grant him all his requests!]
"Ms. Maria!"
At this moment, Aurora was completely stunned—just who was Lu Li to make Ms. Maria say such a thing!
When Lu Li saw the female gun dealer's flustered state, he realized that women's reputation among the people was higher than he had imagined.
Out of politeness, he said, "Thank you for your trust, ma'am."
You're too kind, I was just stating the facts.
Maria responded gently, then said to Aurora:
[Second Lieutenant, as I just said, you can trust Lu Li 100%]
Aurora quickly replied, "I understand, ma'am."
At this point, all joints are no longer obstructed.
Lu Li said, "Then we won't disturb you any longer. Goodbye, ma'am."
~~~~~~~~~~
After hanging up the phone, Lu Li said, "How is it? No problems, right?"
Aurora looked him up and down for a while before speaking:
"You want heavy machine guns, anti-tank weapons for individual soldiers, and C4?"
"That's right. The machine gun needs to be an M2."
The heavy machine gun that Lucardo used earlier had left a deep impression on Lu Li, so he directly stated the specific model— Browning M2.
But Aurora shook her head and said, "This is outdated. I strongly recommend the W95 from Northern Industries of Xia Country."
Lu Li nodded and said, "Okay, you can make the arrangements."
Aurora added:
"Regarding anti-tank weapons and C4, you just mentioned needing to breach walls? These two requirements can be combined. I still recommend the PF98 from Xia Country —a 120mm heavy rocket launcher! It can destroy fortifications!"
The idea of weapons from his hometown sounded reassuring, so Lu Li nodded slightly and said, "Then give them to me."
"How could I possibly keep something like that in my home?"
Aurora held up three fingers. "Come pick it up in three days."
Lu Li had a lot of things to buy, including a villa, so he didn't mind waiting a few days.
"See you in three days, Miss Aurora. I hope you can become an arms dealer."
Just as Lu Li was about to leave with his things, Aurora pointed at the money on the ground and shouted:
"You don't need that much, you can take it back... 300,000."
"No need, just prepare some extra ammunition for me."
Lu Li didn't even glance at the pile of banknotes on the ground; he just started moving bullets onto the "Raptor."
Aurora found this person increasingly unfathomable, and with a sullen face, she stepped forward to help without saying a word.
After everything was loaded, Lu Li started the car.
Before parting, Aurora shouted, "Kid, who exactly are you?"
"Just a... well-meaning citizen."
With a joking remark, Lu Li on the gas and sped away.
Amidst the roar of the off-road pickup truck, my phone vibrated, displaying a phone number and a message from Teresa:
[This is my mother's private number. You can contact me if you need anything, or you can contact her directly, or call the mayor's office. Thank you again for your help, and may God bless you.]
Lu Li immediately understood. "It seems the mayor needs my help. What she needs is... force."
~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, inside the Tijuana City's office.
Teresa placed a thick stack of documents on the desk and looked at her mother, saying:
"Almost all of this information is publicly available; we've already found it."
"Let's see what secrets he holds."
Ms. Maria put on a pair of glasses and began to read the document seriously.
The document contained Lu Li's photo on the first page, followed by his life story.
The 17-year-old boy only occupied one page of A4 paper; the information was simple and pitifully scarce.
Ms. Maria continued flipping through the pages; it was Lu Hongbing's.
This person was clearly a scholar, and his title of PhD in nuclear physics was impressive, but his career path was somewhat awkward, leading to a series of tragedies.
At that moment, Teresa stood to the side watching as well, and both mother and daughter frowned.
"Given his life experiences, the fact that he didn't develop antisocial personality disorder... is a testament to his innate kindness."
The mother and daughter knew all too well how tragic it would be to fall into the slums.
"But how did he acquire his skills?"
This was the biggest question. The mother and daughter continued to flip through the documents, only to find that the rest of the files belonged to the Old Master Lu!
"Lu Chiyuan, born in 1925, went to the battlefield at the age of 14 and killed five invaders with a machete."
He participated in all the battles before and after the founding of the Xia Country, and was wounded and retired during the War of Defence.
"After one month of fighting in the Great Patriotic War, we killed 200 enemy soldiers!"
At this moment, the mother and daughter were flipping through page after page of files, all of which detailed the military career of the Old Master Lu.
"This person has recorded over 1,000 enemy kills!"
"He's a monster!"
The mother and daughter exchanged a shocked look, suddenly realizing that Lu Li's abilities... weren't so surprising after all.