Zhang Debiao felt that the troops in Tonglong City wouldn’t be able to achieve any more significant combat results tonight. Furthermore, having fought continuously from 5:00 PM until now, the troops were exhausted and needed to rest. Whether they would resume the attack or not would depend on the actual situation after a period of rest.
Currently, his forces held the initiative in Tonglong City. They called the shots on when to fight and when to stop. Therefore, he instructed Dong Qipeng to contact Zhao Yang and ask Hu Hao if they should halt the offensive. However, Mo Qin, standing nearby, immediately asked why Zhang Debiao didn’t just issue the order himself!
“Hah, you… you’re still doubting me, aren’t you?” Hearing this question, Zhang Debiao immediately knew what Mo Qin meant and asked with a smile.
“I have no choice but to doubt. Although Hao-ge said you are his brother, we’ve never heard him mention you before. Dong Qipeng, Wang Yao in Late City, Hao-ge, and I were all dorm mates in the military academy—brothers for five years!
The moment you arrived, you took over Hao-ge’s command, and Hao-ge personally went to the front lines! Of course, since Hao-ge said you are his brother, I shouldn’t doubt you. But as Hao-ge’s brother myself, I must consider his best interests. Your origins are unknown!” Mo Qin stated directly, looking at Zhang Debiao.
“Hah, what else? Keep going!” Zhang Debiao smiled, looking at Mo Qin.
“Furthermore, I am skeptical of your command abilities. The massive combat results achieved in Tonglong City right now are due to Hao-ge’s previous arrangements; they have nothing to do with you. All you did was arrange the defenses around Gunan City!
Most importantly, the fact that you took over command the moment you arrived, without Hao-ge showing the slightest intention of a gradual transition… I suspect Hao-ge handed over command solely because he values relationships heavily, perhaps because he owes you some massive debt of gratitude from the past!” Mo Qin continued, standing his ground.
“Hmm, if I remember correctly, Er Lengzi put you in charge of intelligence work?” Zhang Debiao asked with a smile.
“Yes!” Mo Qin nodded.
“That kid really knows how to utilize people. Not bad!” Zhang Debiao nodded in approval!
“You still haven’t answered my doubts!” Mo Qin stared straight at Zhang Debiao, while Dong Qipeng watched the two of them nervously!
“You two are not bad. I acknowledge you!” Zhang Debiao smiled and patted Mo Qin on the shoulder.
“Don’t speak in riddles. We aren’t ignorant children!” Mo Qin maintained his stare, silently demanding an explanation.
“Mhm, not bad, you guys are not bad! You just said you and Er Lengzi have a friendship spanning five years! Let me tell you, my relationship with him… no, you can’t even call it a relationship anymore. The two of us brothers have known each other far longer than you have.
There are many things I cannot explain to you. I’ll just tell you two things: Anyone who wants to mess with Er Lengzi has to ask my permission first. And anyone who wants to mess with me has to ask Er Lengzi’s permission first.
Between us brothers, if we live, we live together; if we die, we die together!” Zhang Debiao stated solemnly, his gaze locked onto Mo Qin.
Mo Qin was shaken by his tone and the immense, awe-inspiring killing intent that radiated from him. This kind of killing intent… Mo Qin had felt it emanating from Hu Hao on multiple occasions.
“You are Hu Hao’s brothers, and I acknowledge you two. Because I acknowledge you, you will be able to learn even more from Er Lengzi! His brothers are my brothers. You guys… are not bad!” Zhang Debiao smiled at the two of them, his demeanor shifting as swiftly as a spring breeze.
“Yes… yes!” Mo Qin snapped out of the shock induced by the killing intent and quickly replied.
The surrounding staff officers looked on in confusion. They didn’t understand what Zhang Debiao meant by “acknowledging” them. Even Mo Qin and Dong Qipeng didn’t fully grasp the significance of being acknowledged by Zhang Debiao!
“Call Er Lengzi’s side!” Zhang Debiao ordered Dong Qipeng.
“Yes, sir!” Dong Qipeng immediately dialed Zhao Yang’s number. However, the call went unanswered. Dong Qipeng tried again, calling three times in total, but still, no one picked up. All the while, Zhang Debiao kept his eyes fixed on Dong Qipeng.
“No one is answering!” Dong Qipeng reported.
“That little brat! He’s gone and stirred up trouble again, damn it!” Zhang Debiao cursed aloud, then strode over to the large screens.
“Pull up the footage from the park! Zoom in! Also, notify Wu Kexiao immediately to mobilize a tank division and assault the railway station! Tell him to use maximum firepower to put immense pressure on the Allied forces! Do it now!” Zhang Debiao roared. The staff officers behind him immediately scrambled to execute the orders.
“Wh-what’s wrong?” Mo Qin was entirely lost, not understanding why Zhang Debiao was suddenly so anxious.
“Pull up the footage! Rewind it! Find Er Lengzi or Zhao Yang for me! Around Zhanqian Park! That little brat… the moment I arrives, you go and stir up trouble! Ah! Can’t you let me rest for a second?!” Zhang Debiao demanded anxiously as the staff officers quickly played back the footage!
“Found them! Look, Hao-ge led Zhao Yang and a squad from the Special Operations Regiment down into the subway station!” a staff officer stood up and yelled to Zhang Debiao.
“I fucking knew it!” Upon seeing the footage, Zhang Debiao slapped his forehead in exasperation and shook his head.
“Uh… what are Hao-ge and the others doing?” Mo Qin asked.
“You tell him!” Zhang Debiao pointed at Dong Qipeng.
“I… I don’t know!” Dong Qipeng shook his head.
“You don’t know?! Aren’t you helping Er Lengzi manage the Special Operations Regiment?! How could you not know?!” Zhang Debiao turned to stare at Dong Qipeng in astonishment.
“I am, but I truly don’t know what Hao-ge went to do!” Dong Qipeng threw his hands up, looking at Zhang Debiao.
“Oh, right, I forgot. How long has the Special Operations Regiment even been training?!” Zhang Debiao suddenly recalled that this unit hadn’t been training for long.
“Biao-ge, what did Hao-ge go do?” Mo Qin asked again.
“What else could he be doing?! He went to attack their command center!” Zhang Debiao snapped in exasperation.
“Report! We have ordered Corps Commander Wu to deploy a tank division to attack the railway station!” a staff officer stood up and reported.
Hearing this, Zhang Debiao checked his watch, then checked the timestamp of when Hu Hao entered the subway station.
“Order them to hurry! Charge at maximum speed! Immediately!” Zhang Debiao roared!
“Yes, sir!” The staff officer shouted acknowledgment and immediately sat back down.
“This… that’s impossible, right?” Mo Qin said, looking at Dong Qipeng.
“I don’t know either!” Dong Qipeng replied.
“When Er Lengzi gets back, you stick by his side and have him teach you all his skills. You don’t know anything, how are you supposed to lead a Special Operations Regiment?!” Zhang Debiao lectured.
“Did Hao-ge really go to attack the Allied command center?!” Mo Qin asked Zhang Debiao.
“Nonsense! That kid loves doing this kind of shit! Sigh, I really can’t do anything about him. Oh, right, get me a leather belt. When he gets back, Iam going to beat him to death!” Zhang Debiao instructed a staff officer behind him.
“Yes, sir!” The staff officer nodded.
However, he was highly skeptical about Zhang Debiao actually beating Hu Hao to death. Although Zhang Debiao was currently in command, these were still Hu Hao’s troops. They simply didn’t believe Zhang Debiao truly dared to whip Hu Hao. Besides, Hu Hao was no pushover himself.
While they had seen Zhang Debiao kick Hu Hao earlier that afternoon, they understood that emotions were running high upon their initial reunion. But once Hu Hao returned, they doubted Zhang Debiao would dare to strike him again. After all, Zhang Debiao’s command authority was given to him by Hu Hao.
“Dong Qipeng!” Standing there lost in thought, Zhang Debiao suddenly called out.
“Here!” Dong Qipeng responded.
“Contact the frontline Special Operations Regiment! Prepare two to three squads to rendezvous with Er Lengzi at the subway station! Go immediately!” Zhang Debiao ordered Dong Qipeng.
“Shouldn’t we send them down?” Dong Qipeng asked.
“No. Sending them down might disrupt Er Lengzi’s plan. We don’t know what the situation is down there right now. Rushing in blindly might bring trouble to Er Lengzi! Do not send them down! Unless you hear calls for help from inside, do not send them down!” Zhang Debiao shook his head.
He knew a thing or two about Hu Hao’s capabilities. If someone truly wanted to kill Hu Hao, it wouldn’t be that easy!
“Yes, sir!” Dong Qipeng immediately went to execute the order!
Meanwhile, back in Tonglong City, Hu Hao had already eliminated the twelve guards, and Zhao Yang had reached the generators.
“Three, two, one! Cut the power! Move!” Having confirmed Zhao Yang was ready, Hu Hao immediately shouted the order. The moment he gave the command, Hu Hao sprinted forward.
He hadn’t even taken three steps when the entire subway station plunged into darkness.
Hu Hao ignored it and continued charging forward rapidly. He could hear the heavy thud of numerous footsteps behind him—his squad members charging forward.
“What’s going on?! Why is the power out?!” “Damn it, why did the power go out?! Hurry up and fix it!” “What happened?!”
Seeing the station suddenly plunge into darkness, the Allied personnel immediately began shouting questions. About ten seconds later, many officers had retrieved flashlights and were sweeping their beams around the command center tents.
“Hurry up and check the situation at the generators!” an officer emerged from a tent and yelled to a nearby guard.
“Yes, sir!” the guard replied!
“Who’s there?!” Bang! Bang! Bang!
A guard had likely heard the sound of numerous footsteps and shouted a challenge. Upon hearing the shout, Hu Hao instantly opened fire on the enemy ahead. He was now less than 100 meters away from the Allied command center tents!
Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!
Hu Hao’s gunfire was the signal. Every soldier moving with him immediately opened fire on any Allied soldiers they spotted.
“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!” a guard screamed. He had barely finished shouting when he was hit, the impact of the bullets forcing him back several steps before he collapsed.