Yang Zhaoxi's face was pale. He said, "Xiaoya, I am your grandfather. Do you really want to force us into a dead end?"
Xu Xiaoya said, "Have I ever pressured you? It seems like you've always been the ones pressuring Zhao Qiang."
Yang Zhaoxi said, "Xiaoya, you should understand that national affairs are not something an old man like me can control. I bear some responsibility for what happened before, but I will obey the central government's decision."
Xu Xiaoya said, "In that case, let the central government handle the negotiations."
Yang Zhaoxi said, "Am I representing the Central Committee?"
Xu Xiaoya said, "There's nothing more to talk about with you, Mr. Yang. I'm sorry, I have a lot to take care of, so I'll be leaving now."
Yang Shiqi followed behind Xu Xiaoya and said, "Grandpa, I also have something to do. You go ahead with your work."
Yang Zhaoxi's face turned green, but he couldn't get angry or lose his temper. When had he ever been treated like this? But this was retribution, and Yang Zhaoxi really couldn't say anything. In fact, what else could he say? Zhao Qiang had been forced to go abroad, and things had reached a dead end. Zhao Qiang would definitely live a better life if he left China, but the consequences of China losing those advanced technologies would be unimaginable.
As Hu Qian watched the others leave, she finally stood up and said, "Old Yang, calm down. We are not pushovers. You can't just squeeze us whenever you want, however you want. What does your power have to do with us? We've worked so hard and wholeheartedly, and this is the result we get. We're heartbroken. Goodbye."
The door creaked open and then creaked shut again, leaving only the two old men inside. They looked embarrassed, too ashamed to even look at each other. They were now reaping the consequences of their past actions. They had thought a few kind words and some promises of benefits would settle things, but these young girls weren't buying it.
The next morning, Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun finished getting ready and left their room, only to find Zhang Keyu still smoking on the service desk chair. Had he been waiting here all night? Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun exchanged a glance. When did civil servants become so patient? Before, it was always others waiting for them.
Seeing Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun come out, Zhang Keyu stood up wearily, threw his cigarette butt into the ashtray, and said, "Comrade Zhao Qiang, I think you must have rested well. Can we talk now?"
Zhao Qiang glanced at his watch. "I'm very pressed for time."
Zhang Keyu hurriedly said, "Give me five minutes." How could he explain to his superiors back home if he couldn't complete the mission? So, having waited all night at the hotel, how could Zhang Keyu possibly give up now?
Seeing that Zhang Keyu had indeed worked hard, Zhao Qiang felt it wouldn't be right to refuse him, so he said, "Alright, let's go into the room."
Zhang Keyu certainly didn't want to be outside. Once the two entered the room, Zhang Keyu said, "The central leaders asked me to convey their message to you. The central government previously implemented incorrect policies towards you, but now your case has been overturned. The leaders hope that you can return to China to sit down and have a proper discussion. They can agree to any conditions and fulfill any requests."
Zhao Qiang sneered: "Consul Zhang, please tell your superiors that I have no conditions or demands, and I will not allow anyone to restrict my freedom. Since they've started this, I'll do the same. I don't need a single penny of the money in China, but if any of my friends in China dare to lay a finger on me, I will make them regret it to the core. Anyone who touches them, I will kill."
After saying this, Zhao Qiang slammed the door and left. Zhang Keyu was both angry and anxious, his face instantly breaking out in a sweat. Zhao Qiang was the first person to dare threaten the state, but he certainly had the power to do so, leaving Zhang Keyu speechless. Even though Zhao Qiang's attitude was unacceptably rude, Zhang Keyu still didn't dare give up and hurriedly chased after him. However, Zhao Qiang walked very fast, and Zhang Keyu ultimately missed the elevator and was left upstairs. Zhang Keyu's attempt had failed; it seemed he would need to put in more effort to succeed.
At the hotel entrance, Yang Shiyun had already met Benny. When Benny saw Zhao Qiang coming downstairs, he was a little unhappy. "What's wrong with you? You're late for the departure and getting kicked out is a real problem."
Zhao Qiang got into the car. "If you drive fast, you won't be late."
Benny stepped on the gas: "Then you'd better hold on tight!"
After rushing for a while, Zhao Qiang finally arrived at the warehouse where he had registered the day before the team set off. Blake was already taking attendance, and several fully armed men were surrounding a Hummer. All the windows of the vehicle were one-way. Zhao Qiang wanted to use his X-ray vision to look for diamonds, but he found a superhuman sitting inside the vehicle. The superhuman emitted something like an energy wave that blocked Zhao Qiang's X-ray vision. Fearing that the superhuman would become suspicious, Zhao Qiang quickly turned off his X-ray vision glasses.
"Benny Benny!" Blake shouted. Benny jumped out of the car before it had even come to a complete stop. "Here, here, here!"
Blake glanced at the three men; these were the last three. He put down the roll call and said, "Very good, everyone is here. Go collect your weapons; we'll set off in a bit."
Several assistants carried out three large boxes. One box contained submachine guns, another contained grenades, and the third was full of magazines filled with bullets. Just by looking at this, you could tell how powerful the Bonanos family was. You couldn't find a gang like this in the country. This was practically comparable to the military. How could they have purchased such weapons without strong economic power?
Benny excitedly tucked two submachine guns into his waistband, then picked up a few magazines and grenades and stuffed them into his pockets, weighing them down and making them crooked. Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun each took only one submachine gun and two spare magazines, and that was it.
Blake directed everyone to get into the armored cars in the warehouse. Three cars led the way, followed by a protected Humvee in the middle, then three more armored cars, and finally a Humvee at the very front to guide the way. The convoy drove out of the warehouse and headed south along the highway. To prevent leaks, no one knew the location of the transaction so far.
In addition to the three people in Zhao Qiang's car, there were two black people. Benny was driving the car. One black person was sitting in the passenger seat, and the other was sitting next to Zhao Qiang. Originally, the black person in the back wanted to sit next to Yang Shiyun, but Zhao Qiang deliberately separated them. Therefore, the black person's attitude towards Zhao Qiang was somewhat bad, and he would occasionally squeeze Zhao Qiang with his buttocks.
The road conditions were getting worse and worse, which was impossible in downtown New York. As the buildings on both sides of the road became more and more dilapidated, Zhao Qiang wondered if he had entered an abandoned area. In the morning light, people of all races with ragged clothes kept appearing, as if it were a melting pot of races from all over the world. Even the most prosperous city has dark corners.
Benny asked, "Where are we going? Do we still have to keep this a secret?"
Yang Shiyun said, "Don't ask anymore. Just drive well, and you'll understand when you get to your destination."
The black man in the passenger seat said, "If I'm not mistaken, there's an abandoned steel mill ahead. We should head towards it; it's not far away. It doesn't look dangerous. So, will we still give you the 100,000 yuan reward?"
With a screeching sound of brakes, the black man in the passenger seat nearly slammed his head against the windshield. He angrily grabbed the submachine gun lying beside him and yelled at Benny, "Screw you, you want to die?" Anyone who dares to become a desperado is naturally not good-tempered.
Benny was so frightened that he quickly raised his hands: "It's not my fault, the car in front stopped, and if I hadn't stopped, I would have hit its backside."
At this point, the entire convoy stopped moving. The black man in the back seat said, "Wait a minute, we're not at the steel mill yet."
Boom! Boom! The cars in front exploded. Someone had planted explosives underground beforehand, and when they detonated, two armored cars were sent flying into the air. The cars behind weren't spared either. Although they didn't stop at the explosive point, someone fired a rocket from a roadside building, which struck Zhao Qiang's armored car with a loud bang. These cars' bulletproof capabilities were generally weak; the rocket's penetrating power was far beyond what its shell could withstand. The black man sitting next to Zhao Qiang was blown to pieces.
Volume 2 [668] Bait
Zhao Qiang helped Yang Shiyun crawl out of the wreckage. Benny's face was covered in blood; he was terrified. Someone actually dared to target the Bonanos family. It seemed this money wouldn't be easy to earn.
Rat-a-tat-tat, bullets flew from the roadside buildings, and many guards who had just crawled out of the car fell into pools of blood. They didn't even have time to fight back. After all, these people were untrained and their reaction and combat abilities were severely lacking in special situations. A bunch of rabble, don't expect them to do anything big.
Yang Shiyun fired back, but Zhao Qiang deflected her gun, sending the bullet flying into the wall and kicking up a cloud of dust. Yang Shiyun said, "What are you doing?"
Zhao Qiang said, "You're really stupid. We have nothing to do with the Bonanos family. It's not worth killing someone for them."
At this moment, Benny and another black man climbed out of the car. Both of them were injured. Benny huddled behind the wreckage of the car, trembling. The other black man was firing wildly into the building with a submachine gun. A sniper bullet came flying, bang, and the black man's head exploded. Then the sniper rifle's muzzle veered, bang, and a bullet came flying at Zhao Qiang. Zhao Qiang raised his hand and caught the bullet. With the support of energy, plus the scanning of the glasses and the ultra-fast biochip control, it was not too difficult to do this.
Zhao Qiang snorted, threw the bullet on the ground, and glared at the sniper's position. The sniper saw this clearly through his scope and was too frightened to fire at Zhao Qiang again. What did it mean to catch a bullet?
Boom! Another rocket hit. The Hummer, which was being protected in the middle, finally couldn't hold on any longer. The door opened, and the people inside ran out carrying boxes. The driver and two escorts had been knocked unconscious and injured by the explosion. After the people carrying boxes ran out, another rocket went through the door and exploded. The Hummer exploded, and the people inside were killed instantly.
"Damn it!" Zhao Qiang cursed, a rare occurrence for someone as usually composed as him.
Yang Shiyun, who was firing wildly, asked, "What's wrong?"
Zhao Qiang adjusted his glasses and said, "We've been tricked. There aren't any diamonds in the box at all." The superhuman carrying the box was busy escaping and didn't pay attention to Zhao Qiang's X-ray scan.
Yang Shiyun was taken aback, but quickly understood and said, "We've been used as bait. Someone else must have already gone to the transaction site with real diamonds."
The Bonanos family didn't want to see their own people die, so they temporarily recruited guards, offering $100,000 to lure fearless cannon fodder. Fearing that the box might be scanned by certain devices and expose their plan prematurely, they spared no expense in sending a person with special abilities to protect the box. Now, the person and the box have been forced out of the Hummer. This person with special abilities actually has no combat capabilities. A burst of bullets knocks him down into a pool of blood, and the box in his hand falls to the ground, stained with blood.
A member of the Bonanos family shouted, "Run with the box! Whoever gets the box to the steel mill wins $100,000!"
That sentence was so enticing that the guards who had been hiding behind the car and by the roadside immediately jumped out. A skinny American was the fastest; he grabbed the box and leaped forward. Bang! A sniper bullet hit him in the back, and the box flew out of his hand. As soon as it landed, a fat American snatched it away. He fired wildly at the sniper's position while running with the box in his hand. The box was quite heavy. Only then did everyone understand why the test required strength and obstacle courses.
The Bonanos family members commanded, "Fire! Cover him!"
Benny reached out with trembling hands, randomly pointed the gun at a spot, and fired haphazardly. He quickly emptied his pocket and pulled out a magazine, but couldn't reload it due to nervousness. Benny simply threw the gun away and crawled into an abandoned sewer to hide. As for whether Yang Shiyun would look down on him, Benny didn't care at the moment; his life was more important.
Zhao Qiang said to Yang Shiyun, "I'll go to the steel plant to take a look. I'm afraid that may not actually be the place for the transaction."
Yang Shiyun nodded: "Be careful."
Zhao Qiang ran forward, and the occasional bullets that hit him couldn't hurt him. Yang Shiyun took cover to the side. The enemy's attack power was very strong. The dozen or so guards plus the Bonanos family members were no match for them. Soon the enemy attacked from the roadside buildings, and the box was blocked behind a cover and could no longer move towards the steel plant.
Benny was crouching under the manhole cover when suddenly there was a loud thud, and then drops of liquid dripped down onto Benny's head. Benny reached out and touched it; it was sticky. Looking up, he saw a person lying on top of the diamond box, already dead. The blood flowing from the body first stained the box before falling into the manhole.
Dead bodies are terrifying, but the box is tempting. Benny climbs up the handrail, then pushes open the manhole cover. The box is within reach. Bang! Bang! Bang! Bullets hit the concrete ground a few centimeters away from Benny, sending up clumps of dirt. Peeking out is dangerous, but Benny still sticks out half his head and arm, pulling the box down into the manhole. A box full of diamonds. He'll steal a few in the chaos and hide them in this manhole. He'll come back for them when it's safe. That way, he won't have to be stuck at the company, having to put up with other people's attitudes anymore, and the Bonannos family shouldn't be able to find out.
The Bonanos family was actually watching from a short distance. They were furious that the box had stopped transporting them midway. Even the lure of $100,000 was useless. Almost all of their newly recruited guards had been killed. They never expected the enemy's firepower to be so fierce. Suddenly the box started moving, and the Bonanos family realized that there was a person hiding in the well. The box once again attracted the enemy's attention, and their bullets were fired even more fiercely and rapidly.
"Get the box to the steel mill!" someone shouted at Benny, which was basically telling him to go and die. Even if Benny was stupid, he understood this, so he ignored it and finally positioned the box correctly. Whoosh, the big box went into the sewer.
“He’s trying to steal the diamonds,” cursed a member of the Bonanos family.
A retired Marine from the Bonanos family pulled out a grenade: "I think this game should be over now, because the deal over there should be done. We've successfully completed our mission." He then pulled the pin and threw the grenade.
The grenade, puffing smoke, rolled to the manhole opening and then crashed in with a thud. Benny had just picked up the box when suddenly something round appeared at his feet. Benny recognized grenades, and his face turned green with fright. He threw the box aside and scrambled to climb out, but it was clear he wasn't fast enough to dodge. The grenade was about to explode, sending him and 'Diamond' flying into the air.
Benny frantically climbed up, but in his haste, he made a mistake and fell off the escalator. There wasn't enough time to begin with, and this fall gave him no chance to avoid the explosion. Benny closed his eyes. It was over. He didn't get the diamond, and he was dead.
Suddenly, a rope flew down from above the manhole, ensnaring Benny as he fell. A tremendous pull then sent Benny tumbling out of the manhole like a wild horse. A deafening explosion followed behind; the manhole was riddled with shrapnel, leaving it riddled with holes.
Benny spun through the air on the rope, and only then did he realize that a metal figure had saved him by wielding the rope. Almost all the gun barrels around them were now firing at her, but her metal suit blocked all the bullets. She raised her hand and another rope flew out, grabbing a window of a roadside building. She pulled herself up the building by the rope, and with her other hand, she lifted Benny and swung him down. Benny landed on the rooftop with a whoosh, covered in trash. He was unharmed when he landed.
Bang bang bang, bullets continued to fire at the metal woman, but she threw out the rope again, then climbed onto it and flew further away, eventually disappearing from both sides' sight. Benny climbed up from the garbage on the rooftop, looked in the direction the metal woman had disappeared, and said, "Spider-Man."
Zhao Qiang was furious at being tricked, so he wanted to find the real transaction location of the Bonanos family. His first target was, of course, the abandoned steel mill that everyone guessed. This place was not far from the scene of the fight. Zhao Qiang quickly arrived at the outer perimeter by moving between the buildings, but the X-ray vision glasses scanned the area and found it to be quiet with no one there. Zhao Qiang knew that this so-called transaction location was a smokescreen and there must be another location, but who could he ask?
As Zhao Qiang stood bewildered, a faint light flashed in the distance. He immediately zoomed in, and saw a head appear briefly on the roof of an abandoned building before disappearing again. The light was from sunlight reflecting off his wristwatch. Zhao Qiang activated his anti-gravity device and silently floated over, following the path behind the head. Therefore, the person didn't notice him when he appeared in the dilapidated building.
The other person was a man, who was peeking around and observing the abandoned steel mill not far away. Zhao Qiang walked up behind him without noticing. In the man's hand, there was an object slightly larger than a mobile phone. Zhao Qiang immediately scanned it with his X-ray glasses and found that it was a remote control device. Zhao Qiang suddenly struck out and chopped the man's wrist. The remote control device immediately lost its grip and fell to the ground. Zhao Qiang caught it.
"Ah!" Zhao Qiang's palm strike made the other party cry out in pain, possibly breaking a bone. The man looked back while crying out in pain. At this moment, Zhao Qiang activated his armor to conceal his face. The man turned around and was so frightened by the sight of a monster that he fainted.
Helpless, Zhao Qiang helped the man up, then slapped him a few times across the face. It worked! The man slowly regained consciousness and asked, "Who...who are you?"
Zhao Qiang didn't answer, but instead asked, "Where is the transaction taking place?"
The man said, trembling, "I...I don't know what you mean."
Zhao Qiang stomped on the man's thigh, and with a crack, the thigh bone broke. This was Zhao Qiang's usual method. The man had just woken up, but now he fainted again. Fortunately, Zhao Qiang knew how to wake someone up, so he woke up quickly.
Volume 2 [669] Robbery
"Where is the transaction taking place?" Zhao Qiang asked again, his voice icy cold. He had learned this from Yang Shiyun; it was the most effective way to intimidate people. Sure enough, the man couldn't stand his cold voice.
"I... I was only responsible for detonating the bomb in the abandoned steel mill. I really don't know anything else." The Bonanos family's plan was insidious. They intended to lure the enemy into the steel mill with fake diamonds and then blow them up together, both to create a smokescreen for the real deal and to effectively eliminate the enemy.
Zhao Qiang crushed the remote detonator in one swift motion and said, "You won't talk, huh?" As he spoke, Zhao Qiang stepped forward and stomped on the man's other leg. Because one of his thigh bones was already broken, the man was sweating profusely from the pain. Seeing that Zhao Qiang was ruthless and about to target the other leg, he was so scared that he wet himself. It wouldn't be difficult for someone who dared to oppose the Bonanos family to kill him.
"Don't, don't hurt me, I, I'll tell you." Insisting was useless, so this guy chose to compromise. "Only the most esteemed members of the family are qualified to know the specific transaction location, but everyone guesses it should be in Central Park, because many brothers went there today."
Zhao Qiang immediately pulled up a map to check. The south was far away, and it was daytime. If they flew openly in the sky, they would definitely be wanted by the FBI. Before they even reached Central Park, a large number of American special forces would arrive. What should they do? If they delayed any longer, the transaction between the two sides might be completed. Where would they find diamonds then?
With a whoosh, Yang Shiyun leaped over from a distance. Zhao Qiang kicked the man on the ground in the head. The pain in his thigh bone had been unbearable for him, and Zhao Qiang's kick knocked him unconscious, which helped relieve his pain.
Yang Shiyun asked, "How did it go? What were the results?"
Zhao Qiang said, "The steel plant is just a front; there are bombs planted inside. The real transaction location should be in Central Park."
Yang Shiyun said, "It's too late, let's give up." Yang Shiyun had lived in New York for a while, so she had a slight impression of the surrounding terrain. It was currently the morning traffic jam period, and she estimated that she would be able to have lunch by the time she reached Central Park.
There seemed to be no other choice. Zhao Qiang was so frustrated that his liver ached. Just then, he heard a faint rumbling sound overhead, and soon a television helicopter flew over. Someone on board was carrying a camera and filming the battlefield. This was probably going to be another good news story. Seeing the helicopter, Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiyun exchanged a glance and nodded. The two of them ran towards the helicopter.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is D reporting that a shootout has broken out between the H gangs in the old city. Both sides used weapons of mass destruction, and at least a dozen people have died..."
The helicopter suddenly veered off course, and the cameraman lost his balance and fell towards the ground. Luckily, he managed to drop the camera mid-flight and grab onto the seat. The camera shattered on the floor below. The cameraman broke out in a cold sweat and cursed, "Damn it, are you trying to kill me? How do you fly a helicopter like that?"
D dropped her microphone in fright, her face turning pale with shock. A fall would mean certain death. Looking back, she was even more terrified. Originally, there were only three people on the plane, but now there were two more—or rather, two that weren't even human, as they were completely encased in metal suits. The TV station's helicopter pilot was lifted from the cockpit by one of these metal figures and then casually tossed to the ground.
"No!" D shouted, watching his colleague fall to his death was a painful experience. But to D's surprise, a rope caught the driver in mid-air, and with the rope's elasticity, the driver safely descended to the rooftop. Then, the rope tightened, and the driver landed unharmed, but he was terrified and his legs were too weak to stand up.
The helicopter was taken over by a metal figure and headed towards Central Park. D hesitated for a while before leaning closer to the cockpit and tentatively asked, "Hello, who are you? Aliens?" This kind of metal suit was unheard of outside, so it was reasonable to say that they were aliens. If he were to witness the first official contact between humans and aliens, D would certainly know the news value of it.
Zhao Qiang glanced at her. The female reporter was quite attractive, the kind of Western beauty that would make anyone's heart flutter. Her breasts, in particular, were so stunning that even Hu Qian would be ashamed. Her deep cleavage was almost a slit, with half of her breasts exposed. With every movement, her breasts trembled violently. In fact, this kind of thing was nothing special for Western women, but for Eastern women who were used to flat-chested women, seeing such voluptuous breasts was bound to make anyone's heart flutter.
Yang Shiyun was unhappy with the way Zhao Qiang looked at the female reporter, so she quietly stepped on Zhao Qiang's foot. Zhao Qiang then turned away and ignored her. But D wouldn't give up. Although she was scared, her curiosity got the better of her. She mustered up her courage and walked up behind Zhao Qiang. "Hey, don't you understand English? What planet are you from, and what's your purpose in coming to Earth?"
Yang Shiyun said coldly, "Go back and sit down, or I'll throw you down too."
D could finally confirm that these two monsters weren't aliens, otherwise they wouldn't speak English. She obediently went back to her seat and sat down, thinking that it might be safer to be more compliant, since the other party wasn't a friendly alien, but rather a group of robbers.
They finally arrived at Central Park. The park was crowded in the morning, and neither Zhao Qiang nor Yang Shiyun knew which group was the buyer and seller. Zhao Qiang asked the cameraman, "Can you fly a helicopter?"