In the Name of Divine Powers, Part 21

Lu Zhao waited in the room for half an hour, only to find that no one had come to notify him.

"Something went wrong on Zhang Like's end."

That was his guess, and faces flashed through his mind one after another.

Lin Zhiyan didn't get along with him, and she might have put obstacles in the way of his deployment. But as the task force commander, she would never trifle with the success or failure of the entire operation.

That left only Lü Jinshan, who had both the reason and the authority.

Lu Zhao rose to leave the room and find Lü Jinshan, but stopped when he reached the door.

He could head straight to Ning County, which was only forty kilometers from the border station. But how would he explain how he knew the location when he got there?

And how would he answer the accusations of interfering with the operation and abandoning his post?

Lu Zhao realized he had reached a dead end.

The military's iron laws took precedence over the justice of the outcome.

Whatever his reasons and whatever the final outcome, he would be held strictly accountable.

Without authorization, it would be wrong for him to move so much as half a step!

After thinking it over for some time, Lu Zhao finally returned to his seat and sat upright. He suppressed all his anxiety and unwillingness, leaving only a face as cold and hard as iron.

He could only wait: wait for an emergency deployment order, wait for his colleagues to suffer casualties, wait until the task force was powerless to turn things around.

If possible, Lu Zhao hoped that order would never come.

He hoped Old Zhang had been worrying too much.

Just then, clear footsteps sounded in the corridor outside and stopped at the door.

Chapter 25: Deployment

Knock, knock, knock.

At the sound, Lu Zhao crossed the room to the door in three quick strides.

He opened it, and the hope and urgency in his eyes turned completely cold when he saw who had come.

It wasn't a soldier on duty standing there, but a rather shy young woman with a hint of admiration in her eyes.

That left Lu Zhao with nowhere to vent his anger.

He couldn't very well take it out on her, and she most likely hadn't come to deploy him.

"Officer Lu, sorry to disturb you."

The female clerk was a little nervous. "The station chief gave special instructions. He was worried you weren't familiar with the station's newly issued network information system... um, the big square computers in the office. He specifically sent us to teach you."

The internet had only just begun to take off, and computers had become widespread in government offices only two years ago. Many people didn't know how to use them.

Lu Zhao wasn't among them, and Lü Jinshan naturally wasn't showing concern for one of the station's outstanding officers, either.

He was merely looking for a reason to send someone to keep an eye on Lu Zhao.

As Lu Zhao's direct superior, Lü Jinshan would also be held responsible if Lu Zhao intervened in the operation without authorization.

Lu Zhao sighed. "Take me there."

He left the dormitory and went to the records room in the administration building, where she taught him how to use a computer.

Lu Zhao took the opportunity to look over the border station's patrol plans. Since computerized office work had only begun two years ago, the oldest records on the computer dated back a year and a half.

That was also when the patrol routes had last been changed, and the plan was signed by Zhang Like.

The young clerk knew nothing of the struggle between the station's leaders. She was simply happy to get close to the legendary "Lu the Tiger." Before, she had only dared sneak glances at him from afar, then nudge her colleagues and urge someone to ask for his contact information.

When someone finally worked up the courage, Lu Zhao's lifeless stare would frighten them away.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Suddenly, hurried footsteps sounded outside.

The records room door was flung open with a bang, and the tremendous noise made the young clerk jump.

The figure rushing in knocked over a chair. It was Lü Jinshan, racing in with frantic haste.

The border station chief, who normally cared about his appearance and carried himself with composure, had completely lost his poise.

He had run so hard that he had to brace one hand against the doorframe. His chest heaved as he gasped for breath.

"Lu... Lu Zhao!" Lü Jinshan couldn't hide the panic in his voice.

"Quick! Immediately! Go support Ning County right now!"

He couldn't even wait for Lu Zhao to react, speaking as fast as a machine gun. "The intelligence was wrong. The task force was ambushed, and the Special Counterterrorism Brigade has suffered heavy losses. The General Public Security Directorate Headquarters issued a direct order for you to go to their aid at full speed!"

Even now, Lü Jinshan was distancing himself from responsibility, covering up his own earlier misjudgment and obstruction. He no longer mentioned whether the deployment procedures were complete, either, as if none of those problems had anything to do with him and Lu Zhao ought to clean up his mess.

A man like him was a bloated rat of power, who had taken the study of power to its furthest extent.

Lu Zhao stood up. Lü Jinshan stared fixedly into his eyes, terrified of seeing a trace of hesitation or mockery on his face that would sting his fragile pride.

But there was none.

Lu Zhao would save those words for later. Now, his duty as a soldier allowed only one answer:

"Yes, sir!"

Lu Zhao saluted. His voice wasn't loud, but it rang with conviction.

"I guarantee I'll complete the mission."

With that, he stopped looking at Lü Jinshan, took the deployment order, and strode away like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Lü Jinshan felt a tightness in his chest, a frustration worse than being humiliated.

A few minutes later, Lu Zhao arrived at the equipment management department with the deployment order.

"Emergency deployment! I need the equipment department's support for an operation."

His voice arrived before he did.

The voice carried on a surge of mental power, instantly cutting through the bustle and noise of the equipment department.

The logistics soldiers inside all turned toward the door.

Without slowing for an instant, Lu Zhao swept like a gust of wind to the desk of Mo Kun, the logistics section chief.

"Joint emergency deployment order. Get me a combat-ready utility helicopter immediately, with a full crew. Also, a high-precision sniper rifle with a full set of sights and accessories. Have everything ready within ten minutes!"

"Wait a moment, I'll confirm it with my superiors..."

Mo Kun had just started to follow procedure when Lu Zhao cut him off. "You can confirm it with Lü Jinshan while making preparations. Skip all other procedures. I'll take responsibility."

"But..."

"That's an order."

Meeting Lu Zhao's knife-sharp gaze, Mo Kun swallowed and finally nodded without a word.

Compared with the smooth Lü Jinshan, he was as sharp as a blade.

He might be criticized afterward, but Lu Zhao didn't care. More than earning credit, he was eager to wipe out the bandits and avenge the fallen border soldiers.

"I'm asking you one thing now: which aircraft in the hangar can fly?"

Mo Kun answered, "Number Two. It just passed its static tests, but its hover verification isn't complete."

"I only need it to get off the ground."

"Yes, sir!"

Mo Kun grabbed the internal phone. "Hangar, emergency takeoff for Number Two. Crew, board the aircraft! Ground support, move it-clear the takeoff and landing area! Repeat, clear the takeoff and landing area!"

Less than five minutes later, the roar of a turbine engine rose from the helipad.

With a sniper rifle on his back, Lu Zhao strode through the rotor wash and boarded the helicopter.

The rotors climbed to maximum power, and Number Two flew away from the camp.

In Ning County, twenty minutes had passed since the explosion.

Several gunmen appeared in the buildings on either side of the mahjong parlor, which had already been destroyed by the explosion. They fired at them with semiautomatic rifles made in small civilian workshops, and there were bolt-action guns among them as well.

The Federation banned guns, but homemade firearms had never disappeared.

In the South Sea region especially, its proximity to the Miye Three Rivers Region meant that the influx of firearms had continued despite repeated bans. There were also the outer vassal areas, full of chaos and gangs, where demand for weapons was enormous.

Firearms weren't exactly cutting-edge technology. Anyone with a machine tool could make them.

More importantly, the overall situation had changed. After the Great Cataclysm, there was no going back to the peaceful days of old.

Everyone in the East depended on the land of the Divine Land for their livelihood. With resources in extreme shortage, even minor problems from the past could turn into fierce conflicts.

Only ten years separated the time before the cataclysm from the present, yet it felt like a hundred.

A single death used to be a major case, but now Zhang Like felt nothing at all as he fought a street gun battle with bandits.

Zhang Like's Group Three reacted promptly. Two teammates from the sniper team quickly took out the gunmen who showed themselves, while the squad machine gun provided fire support. In less than three minutes, the enemy's gunfire ceased altogether.

Lin Zhiyan praised them for it.

But Zhang Like couldn't feel happy. As he replenished his ammunition, he cursed, "We're definitely getting chewed out when we get back. This is just like fighting a war."

Although they had evacuated the civilians, they were engaged in an intense firefight in an urban area. Even if the people of the South Sea were already accustomed to the fires of war, it was still a blow to their livelihoods.

What was more, the higher-ups had only just put forward the slogan "Peaceful South Sea" in the past two years.

And now that they had confirmed the enemy had guns, with their numbers unknown, they would most likely be moving on to fighting in the alleys.

Chapter 26: Fierce Battle

Twenty-five minutes after the explosion, word came over the channel that Group Two had joined up with Group One.

A burst of intense gunfire followed.