"Yo yo yo, isn't this Brother Zhao? Hello, hello! Your squad really made a name for themselves last time! I'll have to ask you to teach me a few tricks sometime! Hehehe!"

Seeing Old Zhao come in, Scarface immediately went up to greet him, so much so that someone who didn't know better might think he had a close relationship with Zhao Yunhai.

This made Old Zhao pause slightly, but he reacted quickly, both admiring Scarface's "shameless audacity" and extending his hand promptly.

Clearly, this wasn't the first time Scarface had played this "two-faced" trick in front of Xu Renjie. At least from Old Zhao's perspective, if it was his first encounter with the former, there's a good chance he would have been taken in by such fake enthusiasm.

After a simple handshake, Old Zhao didn't linger with Scarface and turned toward Xu Renjie inquiring, "So, Captain Xu, I wonder why you called me over this time? Are you planning a big mission?"

Skeptically, Old Zhao voiced his question and went straight to the point.

Xu Renjie smiled gently, not rushing to answer but instead pointed to the chairs in front of him, indicating, "No rush, Comrade Zhao. Have a seat, come on, take a seat first! Let me explain slowly!"

Once Zhao and Scar were seated, Xu Renjie stood and walked over to a white tactical layout board nearby, which had a city map plastered on its shiny surface.

Seeing this, Old Zhao had pretty much guessed what was to come and perked up as he awaited Xu Renjie's next words.

"Here's the situation! I called you two here to discuss the 'big plan' I mentioned earlier! Take a look here..."

At this point, Xu Renjie pointed on the city map, "This is where we are currently: Yuhuan Gymnasium. Now, heading south along this road, approximately here..."

Following the previously drawn small dot, Xu Renjie moved his hand slightly downward and continued explaining, "Right here, there's a small granary. Barring any surprises, the strategic reserve grain inside should be enough to sustain everyone at our base for quite a while. So my plan is to head there and bring back food. But given the base's security duties, I can't send out all the soldiers, which makes manpower for the food collection quite scarce. So, I need the help of your squad. So... what's your take on it? Of course, as always, the base doesn't demand it; everything is still on a voluntary basis."

Xu Renjie's approach of seeking rather than mandating impressed Old Zhao sincerely.

Considering if he were the base administrator, in such a crisis-driven situation, it would be hard for him to maintain Xu Renjie's level of openness and honesty.

So there was little to consider; Old Zhao naturally was going to give a positive response, especially since the plan was something their team had been eagerly awaiting. Yet before agreeing, he needed to clarify some things: "Captain Xu, I want to ask, how far is this granary you mentioned from our gymnasium?"

"It's estimated to be about 40 kilometers away. Why? Is there a problem?"

Without answering directly, Old Zhao lowered his head and pondered for a moment. Just as he was about to speak again, Scarface interjected before him, "Seems like Brother Zhao still has some concerns about this mission! But it's understandable, given the risks of reaching the granary and the distance. Unlike our last supply run, this is a formidable task that can't rely on luck. So, how about this — since Brother Zhao's team has concerns about the operation, why not, Captain Xu, have them guard the base while you and the troops along with our Civilian Corps head to the granary to get the grain? After all, this relates to a major issue for our base, and as base members, our Civilian Corps must take responsibility."

Scarface's words were impeccably spoken, openly pledging allegiance to Xu Renjie while subtly undermining Old Zhao and his team.

Indeed, they secured the top spot for supplying resources last time, but in Scarface's words, it turned into sheer luck.

Despite feeling a bit annoyed, Old Zhao, accustomed to dealing with students and construction site foremen, had long learned to control his emotions.

He didn't reveal his irritation, instead smiling faintly, "Thank you, Brother Dai, for considering our team. But you might have misunderstood me. I admit I did have some concerns when I asked Captain Xu about the granary distance, but they weren't about our team's safety. Rather... if it's as Captain Xu estimated, it's 40 kilometers to the granary, and that means over 80 kilometers round trip. I'm wondering how we'll resolve the fuel issue for these 80 kilometers and if we have enough fuel reserves. Apart from that, it's impossible to send just one or two vehicles for this mission. If I recall correctly, the base has only four vehicles, excluding the off-road. How much grain can the remaining two military trucks and one city management vehicle carry? Obviously not much! So, another question arises, where do we get more vehicles? Of course, saying all this isn't to undermine Brother Dai. Instead, I fully understand Brother Dai's eagerness to contribute to the base and trust in his determination! But... sometimes enthusiasm alone isn't enough!"

Pretending to be troubled, Old Zhao pointed to his own head, seemingly mocking Scarface. His gesture implied a caution to "think things through and not let personal gain risk one's life."

Scarface could hardly miss the implication in Old Zhao's gesture and instinctively prepared to retort, but Xu Renjie seemed intent on not giving him that chance, as the former started clapping before Scarface could speak.

Yes, Xu Renjie indeed had reasons to applaud because the middle-aged man before him had, with a single topic, dissected all the significant issues facing the grain retrieval operation.

This not only earned Xu Renjie's silent admiration but also further deepened his appreciation and trust in the Third Squad.

Now with the problems laid bare, finding solutions became the focal point of the trio's upcoming discussion!!

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