Mercenaries

The sky was a deep blue, like a giant piece of blue jade. The enormous sun, like a fireball, hung high within this giant jade. The ground was covered in scorching sand and gravel, and under the intense heat, even space itself seemed to be distorted.

Wearing combat boots, Luo Zhe walked forward on the scorching sand, his feet sinking deep into the sand, beads of sweat glistening on his forehead.

Traveling in this weather was already taking its toll, even for someone with his High-level War God physique. Moreover, these Red-Horned Sand Lizard were nomadic, scattered throughout the vast desert, making them a formidable challenge to find.

Shh~shh~shh~

A scorching wave swept in, whipping up sand and stones. Luo Zhe subconsciously squinted. This place was truly bizarre; sandstorms would suddenly erupt every now and then. He wondered how the Red-Horned Sand Lizard managed to survive.

"Beep--beep--beep--" A series of urgent whistles sounded.

Luo Zhe subconsciously looked in the direction from which the sound came, and saw two military off-road vehicles kicking up clouds of dust as they drove menacingly toward him. As for how Luo Zhe Luo Zhe they were military off-road vehicles, he only needed to look at the bright red flags standing on them.

The off-road vehicle soon arrived beside Luo Zhe, and several fully armed soldiers got out of the vehicle. The leader was a burly, muscular man with two bright silver hammers on his back. Like Gao Feng, the captain of the Fire Hammer Squad, he was a Fighter used hammers.

The muscular man led several soldiers forward, first saluting Luo Zhe, and then saying, "Comrade, you are about to enter our military defense zone. Please show your identification to verify your identity; otherwise, we have the right to use force to subdue you."

"Military defense zone?" Luo Zhe curiously sized up the soldiers. Each of them had a fierce look on their faces, clearly indicating that these soldiers were elites who frequently experienced the flames of war.

"Comrade soldier, could you please make an exception? We are all citizens of Huaxia Nation. My name is Luo Zhe, and my Fighter certificate number is 426126105608010001. I am a former Elite Training Camp student who recently left Hongning Base City. You can check if you don't believe me. I really didn't know there was a military defense zone here." Luo Zhe explained. It's better to avoid trouble than to get involved in such matters.

"Luo Zhe?" The muscular man looked Luo Zhe up and down with suspicion, then saluted and said, "Comrade, we need to verify your identity. Please wait here for a moment and do not make any offensive moves, otherwise we have the right to retaliate, or even kill you!"

After speaking, the muscular man turned to a thin man beside him and said a few words. The thin man nodded repeatedly and then quickly ran back to the military off-road vehicle. The other soldiers kept a close eye on Luo Zhe.

Curious, Luo Zhe sized up the muscular man and asked, "May I ask your name, sir? What's this military defense zone you mentioned earlier? I haven't been Fighter for very long and I'm not very familiar with these things. Could you please explain it to me?"

"Big Brother?" The muscular man gave Luo Zhe a strange look, shook his head, and said, "My surname is Qin, and my given name is Yong. Just call me Lao Qin. I am the captain of the Seventh Special Operations Brigade of the Northwest Border Defense Military Region of Huaxia Nation. These are all my good brothers."

"So it's Brother Qin."

Northwest Border Defense Military Region, Seventh Special Operations Brigade —these were names Luo Zhe had never heard of before. However, judging from Qin Yong Yong's attire and the distinctive bright red flag on the off-road vehicle, they were unlikely to be lying.

"As for the military defense zone, I can't say much because it involves national defense and security secrets. I can only tell you that I have received reliable information that a group of armed mercenaries who were originally active in Europe seem to have received an assassination mission and are moving towards our territory. The Military Department leaders have ordered us to intercept them within the border area." Qin Yong was quite easy to talk to and told him everything he knew and could say.

"Armed mercenaries? Assassination mission?" Luo Zhe pondered the message in Qin Yong's words for a moment, then shrugged, spread his hands, and put the matter out of his mind.

He hadn't made any life-or-death feuds with anyone, so even if it were about assassination, it wouldn't be his turn. He was just a simple, ordinary Fighter.

The thin man quickly jumped out of the SUV again, whispered something in Qin Yong's ear, Qin Yong glanced at Luo Zhe a few times, nodded, and waved for the thin man to leave. Then, Qin Yong walked up to Luo Zhe, extended his hand apologetically, and said, "Comrade Luo Zhe, I'm truly sorry for stopping you for so long! We've verified your identity, there's no problem, you can leave now."

"Okay." Luo Zhe nodded and started to walk forward.

"Hey!" Seeing Luo Zhe heading in that direction, Qin Yong quickly reached out to stop him. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you, the entire Tarim Basin will be under martial law for the time being, so please leave as soon as possible. Come back after the martial law is lifted."

Luo Zhe: "..."

Is it really going to be this big?

They're just a bunch of mercenaries, no need to be so nervous!

Ultimately, the arm can't twist the thigh. Luo Zhe doesn't yet have the power to contend with the state apparatus. Since martial law has been declared, let's leave. Anyway, the world is vast, and if one path is blocked, let's find another!

******

Just as Luo Zhe was leaving the Tarim Basin under the 'friendly accompaniment' of Qin Yong and his group, the armed mercenaries Qin Yong mentioned had already bypassed the strict defenses of the Huaxia Nation Military and penetrated deep into the heart of Huaxia, then set up camp in County-level City 0201, hundreds of kilometers outside the Jiangnan Base City.

The leader, a blond-haired, blue-eyed Caucasian, was sitting in a room at the Sea Sky Hotel, looking at a photo of Luo Zhe, the target of this mission and a former Elite Training Camp student, with various documents scattered around him.

One of the photos clearly showed Luo Feng, with the following text: Name: Luo Feng, one of the Fighter team members closest to the target, became Fighter in August, latest achievements: hunted over 10,000 Beast Soldier Level monsters in the past two months. Strength assessment: Junior War General! Recommendation: This person could be a candidate to lure out the target.

"Knock, knock, knock~" A knocking sound rang out on the door.

"Didn't I tell you not to bother me when I'm thinking?" the blond white man suddenly roared angrily toward the door. "John, if you don't give me a satisfactory answer, I'll twist your head off and use it as a football!"

She stormed out of the room, and there stood a short, dwarf holding a phone, trembling as he answered, "The boss is on the phone..."

The blond white man grabbed the phone, glared at the dwarf, and slammed the door shut, leaving the dwarf standing helplessly outside.