Love, death, and false man

Chapter 40. Above the Clouds
10/2—14:00
Inside a business hotel in Sakaki City.

The decor is quite exquisite, with two bedrooms, a balcony with a view, separate bathroom and toilet, and a screen partition with a pebble-lined drain base for the bathtub.

"The private plane will take off from here at 12 noon tomorrow, transit through two cities, and finally arrive in Yungang City at 5 am on the 4th. It will take off from Yungang City at noon on the 4th, heading to Tokyo. The flight will take four hours, and it will pass by the coast at 1 pm. You can either parachute home or go sightseeing in Tokyo. This is the last day of preparation time. Are there any questions?"

It wasn't during the band's work hours, so Xia Bing wasn't wearing a leather jacket, just an oversized silver-gray hoodie, which revealed a bulletproof tactical vest underneath, with a black shirt underneath.

Fang Yan was dressed the same way, wearing oversized, loose-fitting clothes on the outside and combat gear underneath.

The aircraft's parking location has been found and scouted. The satellite base station can overcome all obstacles at the checkpoints. During the routine maintenance tomorrow morning, the aircraft will blend into the maintenance team and then stay in the electronic equipment bay mezzanine for 24 hours.

"I don't mind spending a day and a night in such a cramped space, but are you sure you can handle it?"

Fang Yan had a similar experience on the Cheng Yun, but he wasn't sure if Xia Bing could endure the hardship, even though she was the one who proposed the plan.

In order to maintain the mental and physical condition for the day's battle, sleep and nutrition also need to be considered.

"I have no problem. This mission is indeed very difficult, but it's not the most difficult one I've ever experienced. You, on the other hand, really need to mentally prepare yourself and not overexert yourself."

Xia Bing remained calm, not taking it seriously at all.

"A little bit of Niulanshan liquor will do."

Fang Yan said that whether it was killing Bai Zhe or Lu Cheng, this had to be done, otherwise he would always feel uneasy and find it difficult to get over that hurdle. Passive defense and scheming to eliminate someone are not the same thing.

"You are the real queen of stress resistance."

Xia Bing clicked her tongue in amazement. In large-scale operations, many privates and second-class soldiers would be brought in. Sometimes the biggest problem was not the strength of the enemy, but the madness and cowardice displayed by these people when they completely collapsed, which seriously shook morale.

Fang Yan is an exceptionally good collaborator.

"I'm so sorry, I've ruined your SUV."

Fang Yan learned how to drive by partially wrecking a car, but the price was too high. Although Fang Yan didn't know much about cars, the car clearly looked expensive.

"It's okay, just ask the liaison officer for reimbursement. As long as it's a task-related expense, you can add as many zeros as you want. Money is meaningless to us."

Xia Bing didn't care at all. Although she was a high-income earner and received military pay, she still had such good conditions that these two things alone were not enough.

There are also gray areas within the Salvation Army. If a mission is completed, it's okay to get a small kickback, since it's just a matter of modifying some code for the server.

She continued, "Also, as a private first class, you can ask the liaison officer to arrange your monthly military supplies. Those people can get all sorts of strange and unusual things, so you should make use of them."

Xia Bing noticed that Fang Yan had only been in the army for about twenty days and didn't quite understand, so she reminded him.

Fang Yan remained silent, trying not to affect Xia Bing's mindset. He managed to keep a straight face, but it was impossible for him not to feel a little uneasy. They were playing too hard, damn it.

Despite having studied airplane piloting and skydiving tutorials over the past few days, Fang Yan believes that if anyone could learn these skills in just a few days, they could make the Vatican's god stand up and make him sit down.

I only got a general idea; the plane won't fly, and skydiving might require passing a test or exam.

"How do I judge the distance to the ground? I've never parachuted before."

Fang Yan asked this question.

"You're a high school student, so you definitely know more about trigonometric functions measured by the angle of depression than I do."

Xia Bing continued, "It's not as difficult as you think. Just unfasten the safety buckle and pull the drawstring, and the backpack will open. The troubleshooting function is actually quite useful; it can provide a completely foolproof tutorial on the spot."

Despite Xia Bing's words of comfort, Fang Yan still felt that it was too damn ruthless.

"Because the people of the Vatican are all madmen, like... martyrs, so I can't guarantee whether I can take you with me when we jump. So you'll have to rely on yourself."

Xia Bing said this, but she was confident in her abilities. The directional explosives were extremely powerful, and she hadn't really thought too much about it. The day after tomorrow, she would use a cardboard box-shaped explosive to directly destroy the plane's cabin. After confirming the target was dead, she and Fang Yan would simply parachute away. Even if Fang Yan did nothing, as a senior who was half a generation older than her, she still had to take care of him.

Fang Yan realized he had shown weakness, and quickly perked up. "What the hell are you doing? Too many beasts need to be eliminated, too many mind-control dogs need to be slaughtered, and you're thinking about something as trivial as skydiving?"
"Get a good night's sleep, and be alert for 24 hours a day after you wake up tomorrow."

Fang Yan lit a Hongtashan cigarette and took a drag, saying casually that since it was a long holiday, he saved the trouble of asking the school for leave.

“Indeed.” Xia Bing glanced at her watch and then at the weather forecast for the day after tomorrow. “We can’t waste any energy before takeoff tomorrow. Sleep as long as you can. Don’t worry, I’ll wake you up tomorrow.”

……

……

……

10/4—11:40
Yungang City, Mercury Electric Private Helipad.

The sunlight was intense, the clouds were thin, and the sky was clear and blue.

The Bombardier Global 7500 is parked on the runway, with its gangway already set up. It is larger than the private jets that most people imagine, and strictly speaking, it falls into the category of business jets.

Mercury Electric is a large multinational energy company. Derek felt that his recent schedule was a bit strange. Although it was normal to be assigned a security team, it was intriguing that he had been under high protection for half a month.

Furthermore, these three individuals differed from ordinary mercenaries; their aura was inexplicably much stronger than that of ordinary mercenaries.

After searching the plane for a while and finding nothing amiss, they allowed Derek to board.

The interior of the plane is quite luxurious, equivalent to a private entertainment club, with a lounge, kitchen, and bedroom, all fully equipped. Furthermore, the crew members have undergone rigorous background checks, leaving no room for error.

At noon, after a run-up, the aircraft slowly flew into the air with a huge roar and retracted its landing gear.

They will arrive in Tokyo around 4 p.m. to discuss cooperation on oil and gas energy with the local government. As an island nation with scarce resources, the country relies heavily on imports from foreign companies.

"I'm curious, are you the original security company or a third party that you outsourced? You seem different from the security personnel I used to have."

Derek started talking to the security personnel, but their silence made him feel uneasy.

However, the three people ignored him and simply communicated with each other in a language he couldn't understand, a minor language.

"How much longer will this protection mission last? I feel like I can't take it anymore. This guy is flying around every day, and I'm starting to feel numb to it."

"The head of the ministry hasn't replied yet; it might be another two weeks."

"Fuck it, if you want to fight, then fight. I hate this kind of anxiety and psychological pressure of waiting."

"This is part of the trial."

The group consisted of two men and one woman. In order to avoid the devil's satellite, they could not show any religious beliefs and had no tattoos or religious attire; they were dressed in ordinary mercenary clothing.

Seeing that the three ignored him, Derek was very disappointed. The kitchen was still preparing food, so he decided to have some wine first.

"Margaret."

Derek went to the bar, tapped two fingers together, and said to the bartender.

"Hold on."

Ji Wei was dressed in a business suit. She was just learning how to mix drinks and didn't know much about it, but as long as she put in a potent poison, it would take effect in an hour.

(End of this chapter)