CIATB Chapter 303 Ready!
Chapter 303 Ready!
The Tyrannosaurus Rex lowered its head.
Two dark blue electronic eyes swept over the more than thirty armed men opposite.
A moment of silence.
Then came the screaming.
It wasn't just one person screaming; it was more than thirty people simultaneously emitting uncontrollable cries of fear.
Someone pulled the trigger, and the bullet hit the Tyrannosaurus Rex's titanium carbide alloy armor, sparks flew, but it didn't even scratch the paint.
"Go." Zhang Yan's voice came from the Tyrannosaurus Rex's loudspeaker, like a god looking down on ants. "Or die."
The leader reacted the fastest.
He didn't fire a shot, nor did he retreat.
He turned and ran.
The remaining men reacted two seconds later, dropping their rifles, backpacks, and machine gun mounts, and scrambling towards the off-road vehicle.
Someone tried to aim an RPG at the Tyrannosaurus Rex's head.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex raised its right forelimb.
The three-barreled electromagnetic rapid-fire cannon spun half a circle, its muzzle aimed at the off-road vehicle mounted with a heavy machine gun.
A one-second shot.
Six hundred tungsten-core bullets were unleashed.
The SUV is gone.
It wasn't blown away; it was physically torn apart.
The chassis, doors, and engine were all reduced to thumb-sized fragments scattered within a radius of thirty meters.
The man carrying the RPG threw the launcher on the ground and ran away.
Thirty seconds later, five off-road vehicles carrying the remaining personnel sped away, the frozen soil debris kicked up by their wheels flying in the searchlight beams.
The sound of the engine faded into the distance.
A minute later, silence returned to the wasteland.
The Tyrannosaurus Rex put away its rapid-fire cannon and slowly turned its head towards the bottom of the depression.
Angtun sat on the ground, looking up at the twelve-meter-tall dark golden behemoth, his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.
His pants were wet in one spot.
It's not ice water.
Zhang Yan put away the Tyrannosaurus Rex and jumped into the depression.
Ang Tun was still sitting on the ground and hadn't gotten up.
His two men rushed out of the jeep to draw their guns, only to find that there were hardly any fragments left on the other side, so they simply put the guns back on their waists.
"Let's go." Zhang Yan walked towards his patrol car.
Ang Tun's legs felt like they were made of lead. He leaned against the rock wall to stand up and chased after them.
"Boss... that... that..."
Don't ask.
Ang Tun swallowed the rest of his sentence.
Zhang Yan paused before opening the car door and glanced at him.
"Is there anything else you need to do here?"
Ang Tun paused for a moment, then remembered that he did indeed have something to do.
The source of the anomaly reported by the informant a few days ago has not yet been fully investigated—the red-eye symptoms and the animal deaths.
"I...I need something."
"Send me the report after you've finished investigating."
"Yes."
Zhang Yan got into the car.
The sound of the engine starting echoed across the permafrost.
Angtun stood there watching the black Land Cruiser drive across the gravelly wasteland.
He opened his mouth, but only managed to squeeze out one sentence.
"Have a safe journey, boss."
The sound was carried away by the wind.
The Land Cruiser disappeared on the southern horizon.
Ang Tun glanced down at his wet pants, cursed, and turned to yell at his two men.
"What are you looking at? Pack your things! Get to work!"
……
The return trip was faster than the journey there.
The terrain was downhill, and Zhang Yan had pushed the vehicle to its maximum speed, which the Land Cruiser chassis could withstand.
Twelve hours later, the gray skyline of Vladivostok appeared in front of the windshield.
Zhao Hong was already waiting at the dock after receiving the satellite phone call.
"Mr. Zhang, the plane is ready to take off at any time."
"No need." Zhang Yan tossed him the car keys. "Return the car for me."
He walked to the edge of the coastline and summoned the sea-devouring sharks.
Zhao Hong didn't drop his cigarette this time, but his face was a shade paler than last time.
The mechanical shark slid into the water and disappeared beneath the gray-blue surface.
At a depth of 150 meters underwater, it cruises at 35 knots.
Zhang Yan leaned against the cockpit and did two things first.
The first thing to do is send a message to Nie Qingcheng.
"Void Crystal obtained, back."
Three seconds later.
"A few days?"
"About thirty hours."
I'll pick you up at the dock.
"Need not……"
"I'm in charge."
Zhang Yan put down his phone.
The second thing is to close your eyes and go to sleep.
He hadn't had a proper night's sleep in over sixty hours.
I slept for a full eight hours.
When I woke up, the holographic map showed that the Sea Devouring Shark had crossed the Strait of Tartary and was steadily advancing in the southern waters of the Cherry Blossom Sea.
The passive sonar scan was normal, with no ship signals detected.
Hai learned his lesson and stopped trying to extort money from him.
Four new messages appeared on my phone.
Nie Qingcheng: "Where are we?"
Nie Qingcheng: "Why aren't you replying?"
Nie Qingcheng: "Did you sleep the whole way again?"
Nie Qingcheng: "Zhang Yan, if you don't reply soon, I'm going to buy a plane ticket."
The last message was sent two hours ago.
Zhang Yan typed: "I took a nap and just woke up."
She replied instantly: "Do you know how long I've been waiting?"
Eight hours.
"You have the nerve to calculate?"
"Next time, change it to four hours."
There was a ten-second silence on the other end.
"...When will you arrive?"
"Tomorrow morning."
Have you eaten?
Zhang Yan pulled out the last box of braised beef from his luggage.
"Eating now."
"I'll make you some noodles when we get back."
"under?"
"What's wrong?"
"expect."
Nie Qingcheng sent a string of ellipses, followed by a voice message.
He clicked on it.
"If you dare to throw up, I'll never do it again."
His voice had a slightly nasal quality, as if he had just taken a shower.
Zhang Yan held his phone to his chest.
The sea-devouring shark moved silently through waters 150 meters deep.
The blue light from the holographic screen reflected on his face.
The cockpit was quiet.
The corners of his mouth curved slightly.
……
The following morning at 11:00 AM, Jinghai, Pier No. 7.
Nie Qingcheng's Maybach was parked next to a private parking space.
She was wearing a beige trench coat, and her hair was swaying slightly in the sea breeze.
The eyeliner was drawn very lightly, and the lipstick shade was one shade lighter than usual.
She always did this when she came to pick him up—instead of wearing her usual ruthless work attire, she would change into something soft and gentle.
It was as if she was afraid of scaring him.
As the shark's fin ripped through the water, her fingers gripped the phone tightly in her trench coat pocket.
Zhang Yan leaped off the shark's back, his boots landing on the concrete dock.
Nie Qingcheng walked over.
Without saying a word, she buried her face in his neck.
The trench coat was made of soft fabric, and she nestled into his arms, her shoulders slightly hunched, as if trying to squeeze herself into an even smaller space.
"You've lost weight," she said in a muffled voice.
Zhang Yan put one arm around her waist and patted the back of her head with the other.
"You've lost weight."
"I eat well every day."
"Hmm, instant noodles are a decent meal."
Nie Qingcheng looked up and glared at him, her eyes slightly red.
"Let's go home." She turned and opened the car door. "The noodles are ready."
Zhang Yan got into the passenger seat and fastened his seatbelt.
He reached out and grabbed her fingers that were resting on the gearshift.
Nie Qingcheng did not shake her off.
The Maybach departed the dock and merged into the midday traffic flow at Jinghai.
The sun was shining brightly, and the shadows of the plane trees lining both sides of the road raced across the car window.
Zhang Yan glanced at the folded A4 paper in his shirt pocket. Forty-seven items.
Got home.
The noodles are indeed cooked.
The noodles were served in clear broth, topped with a poached egg and sprinkled with chopped green onions. The presentation was an improvement over the last time.
Zhang Yan took a bite.
The noodles were a bit clumpy—obviously they had been sitting in the pot for too long after being cooked.
"It's delicious," he said.
Nie Qingcheng sat opposite him, resting her chin on her hands as she watched him eat.
"Your lying expression looks just like the real one."
"I'm not lying."
"The dough has lumped together."
"Hmm, but the eggs are good."