Zhao Qiang said, "Actually, I also plan to make a plan like your grandfather's. However, my plan is very casual. We will implement it as far as it can go. We can adapt to any situation. The first step is that our economy has already developed. We are not short of money now, and we will only have more money in the future. In this way, we will not be subject to your grandfather's control. We don't care about his billions now."
Yang Shiqi stroked Zhao Qiang's arm and said, "Yes, you're making almost as much money as my second uncle now. I think one day you will defeat PetroChina and become the number one enterprise in the country."
Zhao Qiang said nonchalantly, "Our goal is to be the world's number one! Take your hand off me, your groping is giving me goosebumps..." Yang Shiqi pinched Zhao Qiang angrily. She felt so wronged and really wanted to tell him right now that she was a woman. Couldn't a woman be a little coquettish? Her mother used to ignore her when she begged her to be coquettish.
"Since we've become economically independent, it's best if we're also militarily independent..."
Yang Shiqi suddenly asked, "Are you planning to rebel?" After saying that, Yang Shiqi chuckled. Rebellion was almost equivalent to rebelling against her grandfather, which amused her. If her grandfather and Zhao Qiang were to fight, she didn't know who would win.
Zhao Qiang said, "Am I out of my mind? Am I just bored and have nothing better to do?"
Yang Shiqi said, "If you want military independence, that's tantamount to rebellion. Even my grandfather wouldn't dare say that."
Zhao Qiang said, "I was just using a metaphor! You understand metaphors, right? You haven't studied Chinese, have you?"
Yang Shiqi said, "Yes, I'm not well-educated, please bear with me, please continue."
Zhao Qiang said, "What I mean is, stop making your grandfather worry about self-protection. If we have the power ourselves, why would we need to ask your grandfather for help? Who knows, one day your grandfather and his family might turn around and ask us for help."
Yang Shiqi said, "You've painted a pretty good picture. I've been thinking, what if one day my grandfather comes to discuss this with me and says, 'Shiqi, what do you think we should do about this or that? This country is like this and that, how about we go and take them down?' Hehe..."
Zhao Qiang said smugly, "What you're talking about is exactly what I'm planning to achieve."
Yang Shiqi rolled her eyes at Zhao Qiang: "I'm not asking you to brag. Do you think it's even possible for us to achieve this?"
Zhao Qiang said, "How will you know it can't be achieved if you don't try?"
Yang Shiqi said, "If you have such a goal, great! I'm handing myself over to you. Just tell me what to do, and we'll do it!"
Zhao Qiang said, "Of course, the first step is to take the economic route and acquire a number of heavy enterprises. This will lay the foundation for our future manufacturing of advanced weapons and equipment. Then, you can use your advantage as a soldier to lead an army and gradually expand it. Arm them with our most advanced equipment. If we have such a fast-response and powerful fighting force, will your grandfather still dare to bully me with airplanes and cannons?"
Yang Shiqi snorted: "He wouldn't dare! Let's hurry back and do it, but if it's like you said, I can't stay outside anymore. I'll probably have to stay in the army every day from now on, which is very annoying."
Zhao Qiang said, "You're the head of the company. You're not planning to do everything yourself, are you? You'd be exhausted and still not be able to complete the mission."
Yang Shiqi said, "You want me to be like you, arranging things down the chain of command, and then we're all exhausted from running around, while you go to school to relax?"
Zhao Qiang blushed. "That's about the same idea. I went to the university to do experiments. Now the radiation of the mixture has been reduced by half. That's a great breakthrough. It's much more meaningful than doing those mundane things outside."
Yang Shiqi suddenly said, "You don't plan to reveal the refining method, do you?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I would like to, but there's simply no way right now; our technological level isn't up to par."
Yang Shiqi said, "That's good. This is your biggest weapon for saving your life right now. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Zhao Qiang solemnly hummed in agreement. When you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. Fortunately, he still has the power to hold his head high.
Yang Shiqi asked, "Do you think it's still necessary to raid their stronghold? This incident has made me very anxious. The plan you mentioned must be implemented as soon as possible, otherwise our situation will become increasingly dangerous."
Zhao Qiang said, "Do you have anything else to do when you go back? Although the plan is urgent, it's impossible to start implementing it as soon as you get back."
Yang Shiqi said, "If I don't do what you say, I have nothing else to do."
Zhao Qiang said, "Can't we just treat it as a trip and go see it? I've never been abroad before in my life, and I'm really excited. I wonder what the moon is like in other countries."
Yang Shiqi scolded angrily, "You're so old-fashioned!" Then she closed her eyes and looked up at the sky. The two stopped talking, but their hearts were churning. The stronger one's economic power, the more attention one attracts. So having a little bit of fighting ability is the best way to protect oneself. There's no way around it. This world is just like that. It's not like people will feel embarrassed to mess with you just because you're well-behaved. Good people will suffer in this world.
Volume 2 [317] Run Fast
"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!" A noisy commotion rang out in the camp. By this time, the clothes had almost all been hung out to dry. Zhao Qiang and Yang Shiqi put on their clothes and returned to the camp under the escort of three guards. It was still steamed rice and canned food. Yang Shiqi had no appetite, but Zhao Qiang ate with great relish. He only stopped when he was strictly ordered not to eat anymore. If he were allowed to eat to his heart's content, there would not be enough food for these people.
As evening approached, the bearded man ordered his men to check their guns and ammunition. The porters also began to pack their belongings and prepare to set off. Hongtashan and two guides returned from scouting ahead. The bearded man waved his hand and whispered, "Let's go! No one is allowed to make a sound. If anything happens, stick close to the guides. If we get separated, everyone will know the next campsite and we'll wait there to regroup."
Longhair and Hongtashan flanked Yang Shiqi from the front and back, as Big Beard had specifically instructed. He was worried that the three guards might not be capable enough and could lose Yang Shiqi if something went wrong while crossing the border, which would ruin everything.
As a porter, Zhao Qiang was assigned to walk at the back. There was a distance of nearly ten meters between him and Yang Shiqi, so he had no choice but to keep a close eye on Yang Shiqi's movements.
The surroundings were quiet and dark, with only a few flashlights shining faintly from the leader. They dared not shine them randomly into the sky, as that would surely be spotted by the People's Liberation Army at the border post.
"Keep up, keep up," someone called out from ahead. They had reached the closest point to the border patrol post. Theoretically, the border patrol was the least active at night, with only two patrols per night, the last one being in the early morning. Now, as darkness fell, it was a gap in the patrol schedule.
"Awooo..." The sound of wild beasts suddenly rang out again from the depths of the dense forest. The bearded man stopped using his machete to cut tree branches and asked the guide beside him, "How come there are wolves so early in the night?"
The guide said, "They probably lack food, which is why they appear so frequently."
The bearded man asked, "They won't take us as food, will they?"
The guide said, "They probably wouldn't dare. There are so many of us, and they're not stupid enough to come here to their deaths."
The bearded man was relieved and continued walking forward. The wolf howls stopped after a dozen or so times, and no one paid any attention to it, assuming that they must have retreated because they were too scared to attack the troops. They wondered which wild animal would be unlucky enough to be attacked by them that night.
"Ah..." A scream suddenly came from the back of the column, followed by the rat-a-tat-tat of rifle fire. Bullets broke tree branches, shattering the tranquil night sky. The large searchlight above the border post immediately turned on! To save energy, the light was usually off, but when it was turned on, it could illuminate a large area nearby by taking advantage of the terrain.
The bearded man threw down his machete, slung his rifle over his shoulder, and ran backward, yelling, "Damn it, what happened? Who told you to fire the guns!"
"Wolves! Wolves!" Another scream rang out, followed by the increasingly rapid gunfire. The entire group was thrown into chaos. The porters threw down their loads and scrambled up trees, while the bearded man's men were more valiant. Although some of them had already been injured by wolves, they did not flee indiscriminately. Instead, they formed a small group and began to fight back against the wolves that were attacking the rear of the group.
Hongtashan and Changmao cursed, "Damn it, being attacked by wolves at this time, all our kung fu is wasted!" After saying that, the two of them drew their guns and became alert for their surroundings. A branch next to them moved, and a dark object pounced. Hongtashan fired a shot, and the object screeched as it was sent flying. Changmao was not weak either; he fired as soon as the bushes moved. Screams of pain echoed, and it seemed that the wolves lying in ambush had been hit hard. For a moment, the two of them could no longer pay attention to Yang Shiqi and kept firing, cursing as they shot.
With one hand carrying the load, Zhao Qiang reached out to pull Yang Shiqi along with the other. Yang Shiqi was initially flustered, as she had little experience with real danger. However, seeing Zhao Qiang catch up, she felt much more at ease. She grabbed Zhao Qiang's arm, and the two ran forward. With wolves behind them, how could they not run forward? As for the others, who cared?
While firing his gun, the bearded man directed his men: "Hurry up, get through this area quickly. In another half hour, we'll be across the border into another country's territory. At that point, the border guards won't be able to do anything to us. Longhair, you lead five men to provide cover, the rest of you keep going! After you've successfully provided cover, you take a detour to your destination. We'll be waiting for you there!"
They could vaguely see several beams of light moving towards them from the border station. It must be the border guards coming. Their combat strength was naturally no weaker than these people. The bearded man dared not delay and immediately led his team to break away from the wolf pack and rush forward. The long-haired man led a small team to cover the rear. When the border guards arrived, they only saw wolf carcasses and bullet casings on the ground.
"Run, run!" Yang Shiqi kept urging Zhao Qiang. Zhao Qiang was carrying a load and couldn't run too fast, but the two of them were still much faster than Big Beard and his men. When they looked back, they couldn't find the group anymore. At this moment, the gunfire stopped. Perhaps because of the terrain, the border post's searchlight also disappeared. Looking up, there was only a gloomy sky, without even a single star. It was a cloudy day.
"W-Where is this?" Yang Shiqi felt a chill run down her spine from the surrounding silence and involuntarily moved closer to Zhao Qiang. Zhao Qiang scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Sorry, we seem to have gotten lost."
Yang Shiqi kicked Zhao Qiang: "Are you that afraid of wolves? Why did you run so fast? What do we do now?"
Zhao Qiang said, "I'm not afraid of wolves. Didn't you keep urging me to hurry up? What else can we do but go back the way we came? We don't know the way forward. Do you expect me to take you there?"
Yang Shiqi had no choice. "Alright, let's turn back. We've wasted our time. I think I scratched my leg on a branch. It really hurts." Yang Shiqi squatted down to check, and luckily it was just a small wound, so neither of them paid much attention to it.
Time passed, and it was already dawn. Although the sun wasn't out yet, the muggy heat in the air was intensifying. Exhausted, Yang Shiqi nudged Zhao Qiang's waist. "Hey, Lao Zhao, what time is it?"
Zhao Qiang raised his wrist to look at his digital watch and said, "It's almost 11 a.m.
Yang Shiqi plopped down on a rock and said, "We're not going anymore. When we encountered the wolf pack, we only ran for a little over two hours. We've been turning back for half a night and a morning now. Tell me, where are we? We're not already back in Xiahe Village, are we?"
Zhao Qiang was a little embarrassed: "I'm sorry, there's no satellite signal here, let alone cell phone signal, so I can't locate myself. I guess we're in a foreign country. It feels a bit like being abroad."
Yang Shiqi was both amused and exasperated: "It smells like foreign countries? I can't smell it at all."
Zhao Qiang said, "You probably smell it so often that you don't notice it anymore."
Yang Shiqi said, "Then tell me what it tastes like abroad."
Zhao Qiang sniffed: "It's very hot and humid, and there seems to be a dangerous atmosphere."
"A dangerous aura?" Yang Shiqi seemed to be affected by Zhao Qiang's words. She looked up and around. It was a fairly open clearing in the woods, surrounded by tall trees. She saw the woods on the right trembling. Startled, Yang Shiqi ran two steps to Zhao Qiang's side and hid behind him, looking to the right.
Whoosh! A dark creature leaped out of the woods! It was robust, nearly three meters long and almost one and a half meters tall, and its four hooves snapped the low bushes in half with a single step.
"Wild...wild boar?" Yang Shiqi was a little scared. She had heard the team members say that it was better to encounter a wolf than a wild wolf, because wild boars have thick skin and tough flesh, and sometimes even a rifle might not be able to kill them instantly. The fighting power that a wild boar can unleash in an instant can kill a skilled fighter by simply charging into him.
Zhao Qiang was also surprised. It would be a lie to say he wasn't afraid of such a big wild boar. He could calmly face several experts because he had been fighting with people for a long time and didn't have much of a psychological burden. But he had never fought with a wild boar before. Who knew how much fighting power it would take to kill it? If he didn't have enough strength, he might get hurt.
Zhao Qiang hesitated to bend down to retrieve the compression gun hidden in his trouser leg, because wild boars are said to have extremely strong sprinting ability. If he bent down in front of it, it might be right in front of him before he could even raise his head. Besides, the wild boar in front of him was pawing at the ground with its four hooves, as if it was trying to boost its speed.
Yang Shiqi dared not move her body, but she said, "Get the gun, get the gun and shoot it!"
Zhao Qiang said, "The gun is under my trouser leg. Help me get it, but be slow and don't attract its attention."
Yang Shiqi slowly bent down and quickly found the holster strapped to Zhao Qiang's trouser leg. But before she could draw the gun, she clearly saw what was happening between Zhao Qiang's legs: a taller, darker object was about to slap Zhao Qiang across the face! Yang Shiqi grabbed Zhao Qiang's legs with both hands: "Run!"
Zhao Qiang was confused, but the dangerous aura behind him made him uneasy. He reached out and picked Yang Shiqi up by the waist. He pushed off the ground with his running shoes and shot into the air. When he looked back, the wild boar crashed into the dark figure behind where Zhao Qiang had just been standing, like a diesel-powered tractor. It was a large black bear.
The two beasts started wrestling and fighting. Zhao Qiang broke out in a cold sweat. It turned out that he had blocked their path while they were fighting! Yang Shiqi, held in Zhao Qiang's arms, frantically touched his waist. "Where's the anti-gravity device? Turn it on quickly."
Zhao Qiang said, "The humidity here is too high. I noticed it was malfunctioning when I entered Xiahe Village. How did you know I had an anti-gravity device?" Although he didn't have an anti-gravity device, his body bounced off the ground after losing all its strength. However, Zhao Qiang chose a big tree as his landing point. He hooked the screwdriver onto the tree trunk, and the two of them used the momentum to leap onto the tree branch.
Yang Shiqi said smugly, "I analyzed the video footage from the provincial capital that day. If you didn't have an anti-gravity device, you couldn't have jumped through the air so easily. Do you think I don't know anything? No matter what, I am a top student from a military academy."
Zhao Qiang said, "You really don't know how to be modest. This anti-gravity device is not perfect yet. Because the internal structure is too complicated, the environment in which it is used is affected. But don't worry, running shoes are the same. We don't plan to fly in the woods."
Yang Shiqi asked, "Did you see where we were when we were launched into the air?"
Zhao Qiang shook his head: "I zoomed in with my glasses, but the surrounding area is all covered by mountains, so I can't tell where we are."
Yang Shiqi, sitting on the tree trunk, asked, "Then what do we do?"
Zhao Qiang chuckled: "There's no other way. Let's just keep wandering around here, hunt some wild boars, and look at some bears. You can't find this kind of scenery anywhere else in China."
Volume 2 [Chapter 318] An Unexpected Incident...
Boom! The tree trunk was hit. Sometime during the night, the black bear, unable to defeat the wild boar, turned and fled. The wild boar, following the human voice and scent, found the tree. It circled the tree once and began to ram it. Yang Shiqi lost her balance and swayed, falling downwards. Zhao Qiang reached out and grabbed her clothes at the chest, but Yang Shiqi was very hot and her clothes were open. That meant she was only wearing a tight-fitting undershirt underneath. It wasn't made of bulletproof material; the fabric had been repeatedly soaked in sweat and was no longer durable. Besides, even if it were new, it couldn't withstand the force of Yang Shiqi's fall. With a ripping sound, it tore apart.
Zhao Qiang grabbed only a piece of cloth. Startled, he immediately sprang down the tree trunk! He couldn't let Yang Shiqi fall; the wild boar on the ground could kill her if it stepped on her! Using the momentum of the jump, Zhao Qiang caught up with the falling Yang Shiqi. This time, he grabbed her belt, then swung the steel cable back up the tree trunk. The two of them grazed past the wild boar's head, using the momentum to return to the tree.
Zhao Qiang breathed a sigh of relief. He loosened his grip on Yang Shiqi's belt and his gaze naturally drifted upwards. What he saw made his head spin, and he swayed and fell downwards! He witnessed a shocking scene. Although he had touched Yang Shiqi's breasts the previous night and felt she was different from ordinary men, touching was based on feeling, and Zhao Qiang hadn't given it much thought. But now, Yang Shiqi's clothes were torn, and there seemed to be another layer of fabric underneath. Zhao Qiang had pulled with tremendous force, breaking the fabric as well. Yang Shiqi's snow-white chest was completely exposed to his eyes. In Zhao Qiang's mind, what was so interesting about a man's chest? But when his eyes received the image of Yang Shiqi's chest, his first thought was: this wasn't a man's chest!
Even though those buds were small, they were still different from men's. They were snow-white and delicate, plump but not very big, like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl who had just started developing. The cherries on them had a pinkish glow. A drop of mist just happened to fall from the tree and hit the cherry with a splat. The water and pink flesh were so bright and dazzling.
With a thud, Zhao Qiang landed heavily on the ground. His super biochip was reacting too strongly, and he didn't even notice his body falling. His mind was completely occupied with everything that had happened since he met Yang Shiqi. Even before landing, the super biochip had activated the X-ray glasses to scan Yang Shiqi's lower body. Damn, there were no signs of a man's body. She was definitely a woman! No wonder she refused to take a bath, and even when her clothes were wet, she wouldn't take off her last piece of clothing. Foolish girl, she should have realized it sooner.
The wild boar was furious. The tree the two were nestling in was thick enough that it couldn't be moved after a few bumps, so it decided to leave. Suddenly, a person fell from the tree and landed right in front of it. The wild boar was stunned for a moment, thinking, "What a stroke of luck!" Well, then, it wouldn't be polite! It brought its big hoof and snout up at the same time, kicking the person first and then twisting off their head to eat slowly.
Zhao Qiang was jolted awake by the heavy slam. The pig's snout was already at his neck. He punched out with a whoosh, and the ring instantly transformed into a glove-like shape, locking onto his arm. This protected his fist and amplified the force of the punch. Bang! The pig's snout was knocked askew by the punch, spurting out a stream of blood and several pig teeth. Taking advantage of the moment, Zhao Qiang pushed off the ground with his foot, his body sliding backward along the ground, causing the wild boar's hoof to miss its mark.
Zhao Qiang propped himself up with his hands, pulled up his trouser leg, and pulled out his compression gun. Because he had been facing enemies everywhere these past two days, he had set the compression gun to medium power. Bang! Before the wild boar could recover from the punch, its head was hit hard again. Thud! The powerful explosion forced the boar's head into its body, breaking its neck inch by inch. The subsequent force blew off the boar's forelimbs!
With a thud, the wild boar collapsed to the ground. No matter how much explosive power it had, it was no use now, because its head was gone.
After Zhao Qiang waited for the air compressor gun to finish inhaling and loading, he fastened the safety and put it in the holster on his trouser leg. Then he circled around the tree for a while, hesitated for a long time, and finally grabbed the tree trunk and climbed up. It took him five minutes to climb to Yang Shiqi's hiding place. The person was sitting with her knees drawn up to her chest, sobbing softly. Her coat was already tied tightly around her chest.
"Um...this...it was an accident..." Zhao Qiang didn't know what to say.
Yang Shiqi ignored him, and Zhao Qiang, sitting opposite her, poked her arm with his finger. "Alright, I'll say sorry, okay?"
Yang Shiqi remained the same, and Zhao Qiang was at his wit's end. "Then what do you want me to do? You didn't tell me before."
Suddenly, Yang Shiqi cried out and threw herself into Zhao Qiang's arms. Afraid that she would fall again, Zhao Qiang had no choice but to catch her. However, since he already knew that she was a woman, Zhao Qiang did not dare to hold her too tightly. But Yang Shiqi did not care about this and insisted on burrowing into Zhao Qiang's arms. Zhao Qiang wanted to back away but there was no way to do so. He could only say, "No, no, say something if you have something to say."
Yang Shiqi cried as she said, "Are you looking down on me?"
Zhao Qiang said, "No, I'm not that kind of person."
Yang Shiqi said, "You're probably laughing at me in your heart for being a transvestite who's neither male nor female!"