Chapter 3417: Combustion (6)

Ning Shu stayed in contact with Song Yi and updated him on the status of the other squads.

“This has to be just a probe,” she said. “None of the other squads intercepted anyone. It’s likely the criminal syndicate set this up to root out informants.”

Once the informants were eliminated, they wouldn’t need to hold back anymore.

Their undercover agents were in serious danger now. They must be in constant fear, maybe even while being forced to use drugs, while still needing to pass on information.

Going undercover wasn’t a job for the faint of heart. The mental toll was crushing. One misstep, and you could lose everything—your life, your identity.

And everything they endured was for the sake of their country.

Compared to that, Wu Jing’s work didn’t seem quite so tough after all.

Song Yi pressed his lips into a hard line. His expression was firm and resolute. At last, he said, “File a report using my name. Tell them to send me reinforcements. I’m planning to stage a double-dealing operation. At the very least, we have to save some people.”

Ning Shu gave a quick nod and began drafting the report. At the same time, Song Yi also submitted an official request to his superiors.

If he’d known things would get this complicated, he might not have hijacked the trucks in the first place.

Damn these cunning criminals.

The six drivers were merely pebbles thrown ahead to test the waters.

Ning Shu turned to Little Nine, who still hadn’t let go of his laptop. “We need to help the squad commander.”

Nine Jiu didn’t even lift his head. “Oh? How?”

Ning Shu stroked her chin, thinking. True—how were they supposed to help? They didn’t even know exactly where in Jinzhou Song Yi was scheduled to make the exchange.

After a moment’s thought, Ning Shu decided to go back and pressure the two drivers again.

They seemed like peripheral figures, people on the fringes. They knew very little.

Yet with each run, they earned nearly tens of thousands.

There were plenty of truck drivers smuggling contraband like this. All they had to do was avoid the police. If they got caught, it was just their bad luck.

None of it would shake the criminal syndicate abroad.

It was a rather depressing reality.

The country could only respond by stepping up enforcement. Otherwise, these things would flood across the border.

There wasn’t much else Ning Shu could do, other than keep a close watch on the two drivers. She also examined the bodies of the four deceased men—checking their clothes, their shoes, and the color of their skin.

The drugs were manufactured in the tropical regions, where it was warm and humid—ideal for growing poppies.

People there planted them out of desperation, trying to make a living. However, the crops ended up being turned into those substances.

The drivers had very dark skin, suggesting they were from tropical regions. Ning Shu cross-checked their identities against their ID cards.

Some drug runners were actually locals who held foreign citizenship.

All the while, Ning Shu kept monitoring the status of the other squads and updating Song Yi with every development.

So far, none of the other squads had intercepted anyone. Aviation security was particularly tight, yet nothing unusual had been detected.

That in itself confirmed the entire situation was a setup.

Unfortunately, it had landed right in Song Yi’s lap. He had no choice but to see it through. If things went wrong, he’d be held responsible. If he pulled it off, he might earn some credit for it.

Ning Shu relayed this to Song Yi. He attentively listened to her report through the Bluetooth earpiece he wore.

“Stay alert at all times,” he said.

Ning Shu responded with a quiet acknowledgement.

Just then, the phone in the truck rang. Song Yi said, “That’s them calling. Probably instructions for our next move.”

The call had come through the driver’s phone.

After Ning Shu ended the call, she glanced sideways at Little Nine, who was still glued to his computer.

Following the instructions of the drug lord, Song Yi proceeded to the designated location to make the exchange.

During the exchange, Song Yi pulled out a gun and shot a man on the spot, seizing the other side’s case, which was packed full of cash.

And at the scene of the firefight, drugs were scattered all over the ground.

Song Yi was also shot and only managed to escape under the cover of his other squad members.

The chase that followed was like something straight out of Fast & Furious. It was an absolutely heart-pounding scene.

Song Yi was rushed to the hospital. Before entering the operating room, he clenched his teeth against the pain and instructed Ning Shu to deliver the four bodies and two drivers to the Jinzhou Public Security Bureau.

Their official cause of death was to be declared a gunfight—an internal betrayal among criminal gangs trying to cut each other out.

Apparently, the drivers had been blinded by money.

They loaded the bodies into the car, and Ning Shu, along with Little Jiu and the injured Old Two, transported the corpses and the drivers to the Jinzhou Public Security Bureau.

After the handover, Ning Shu and the others went to Jinzhou Hospital to check on Song Yi.

The bullet had already been removed from Song Yi’s body, and he was now lying in bed, resting.

Besides Song Yi, Old Four—Zhu Yi—was also injured. Their hospital beds were separated by just a curtain.

Ning Shu asked the two of them, “How’s the pain?”

Song Yi replied as if nothing had happened, “I’m fine.”

“Fine, my ass! Hurts like hell,” Zhu Yi immediately cried out. He clearly lacked Song Yi’s tolerance.

Ning Shu simply said, “Since you’re injured, use this time to rest and recover.”

Even among soldiers, some liked to indulge in pleasure.

Zhu Yi was that kind of person.

He looked at Ning Shu. “I’ve always known you don’t like me. Unlike your precious Song Yi, I’m not all about purity and restraint—but I never asked you to like me.”

Ning Shu shot him a sideways glance. What was his problem? Why was he throwing a fit?

As for that ‘your Officer Song Yi’ Zhu Yi had said, Ning Shu acted like she hadn’t heard it.

“Officer Song is indeed clean and upright. And you—constantly chasing skirts—still think you’re in the right? I respect Officer Song. What’s wrong with that?” Ning Shu looked at Zhu Yi expressionlessly.

Was the entrustor’s feelings something this guy could joke about?

Zhu Yi shrugged. “Okay, okay. I said the wrong thing.”

He rolled over and turned his back to her.

Song Yi rubbed his temples. “Why is it that after completing the mission, instead of hugging each other and crying in relief, you two are already arguing?”

Ning Shu apologized. “I wasn’t careful with my words. I disrupted squad unity.”

Was there anything wrong with what she said? Not at all.

Her apology, though, made Zhu Yi feel surprisingly embarrassed.

Bickering with a woman wasn’t a good look.

“I was just joking with you,” he muttered.

Ning Shu rolled her eyes in response.

They stayed in the Jinzhou hospital for a few days. Then, Song Yi and Zhu Yi were transferred to the military hospital.

The rest of the squad also returned to base.

After finishing a mission, they had to take some time to rest. Even a body made of steel couldn’t keep going nonstop.

Because Song Yi had been injured, his superior came in person to visit him in the hospital.

Yes—this was the superior who would later become Song Yi’s father-in-law.

Ning Shu was sitting by Zhu Yi’s bedside peeling an apple, while Song Yi’s bed was surrounded by people.

Among them was a man in his fifties, who radiated authority. That was Wu Xianrou’s father.

His attitude toward Song Yi was warm and approving. Clearly, he thought highly of him.

Zhu Yi shook his head at Ning Shu. “You’re out of the game. I heard Political Commissar Wu has a daughter. Looks like he plans to marry her off to the squad commander.”

Everyone on the squad basically knew how Wu Jing—the entrustor—felt about Song Yi.

Everyone, that was, except Little Nine, who was only in love with his computer.

Ning Shu calmly peeled the apple, without caring at all.

Zhu Yi shifted his leg and, seeing her like that, said, “You really don’t care?”

Ning Shu shot him a look. “You’re underestimating my feelings for Song Yi. It’s not some petty, possessive love. It’s camaraderie, admiration, and a deep, unwavering faith.”

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