Under the moonlight

Xu Ao brought a standard work uniform just like his, and it was a good size. Huang Meng put it on and looked at herself in the mirror, sighing inwardly. It was a pity that she had lost her phone and had no internet access, otherwise she would have taken a picture to save it.

Huang Meng and Xu Ao ate a simple breakfast and set off. They brought nothing but walkie-talkies. Everyone else knew they were going to negotiate with the mercenaries, which concerned the embassy's next supply of materials, and thus affected each of them. They all consciously stood at the door to see them off.

Huang Meng turned around and saw a group of people staring at her expectantly. Suddenly, a line popped into her mind: "The wind howls, the Yi River is cold, the hero departs, never to return." She quickly shook her head, spitting repeatedly, then comforted herself that everything would be alright!

Xu Ao watched the little girl beside him spitting and shaking her head, and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Huang Meng looked at him and said, "How do you think we'll start talking to those people when we see them later?"

Xu Ao took a deep breath as he watched the approaching blockade and said, "Don't be afraid. Just translate whatever I say. I'm here."

Looking into Xu Ao's determined eyes, Huang Meng immediately felt safe. This time, she wouldn't be facing those masked mercenaries with guns alone.

Before they even got close, several mercenaries guarding the main city blockade line stood up, guns at their sides, occasionally turning to exchange a few words with their comrades, but their eyes remained fixed on them.

Although these people had no religious beliefs, they were quite compliant with international conventions. They immediately recognized Huang Meng and her group's uniforms, especially the red badge on their left breasts, so they simply remained on high alert without taking any further action. Unlike that day, Huang Meng remembered standing with the crowd outside the blockade, when the mercenaries mercilessly shot and killed one person as a show of suppression.

As they got closer, the men became increasingly imposing, their tall stature adding to the oppressive atmosphere. The thought of the cold weapons on their chests was particularly striking; these were not mere decorative objects, but weapons whose fingers were always on the triggers. From raising their guns to aiming at a target to firing a bullet, it took less than 10 seconds.

Huang Meng took a deep breath. Xu Ao, standing beside her, glanced at her slightly, seemingly sensing her nervousness. He reached out and squeezed her hand firmly, as if to remind her that he was there. Huang Meng felt the strength in his hand, and her heart calmed down considerably.

Approaching them, Xu Ao flashed his standard official smile and then got straight to the point: "We are staff members of the C country embassy, ​​here on behalf of our embassy to discuss with your superiors the matter of our supply ship entering the port."

After Xu Ao finished speaking, he turned to look at Huang Meng. The mercenaries, who were completely confused, also looked at Huang Meng. After thinking for a while, she translated Xu Ao's words verbatim, her tone calm and composed, showing no trace of the tension she had just displayed. Xu Ao looked at her with admiration in his eyes.

After Huang Meng finished translating, her hands relaxed slightly. Perhaps because she had witnessed them shooting and killing, she always felt unconsciously nervous when facing these tall mercenaries.

After hearing her words, one of the mercenaries gave her a deep look, then called away his two companions. They walked to a place a little further away to talk, glancing at them from time to time, as if they were discussing something. Xu Ao and Huang Meng exchanged a glance, and Huang Meng shook her head slightly. She couldn't hear what they were saying from so far away.

After a while, one of the mercenaries walked towards them. He went straight to Huang Meng, and Xu Ao deliberately protected her by extending his arm to slightly block her view before staring intently at the mercenary without fear.

Huang Meng took a few steps back and stood beside Xu Ao. She noticed that the mercenary was staring at Xu Ao with an unfriendly look. The two faced off for a while. Seeing that Xu Ao showed no fear, the mercenary looked at Huang Meng and said, "Hey, our commander wants you to go to the dock to find him."

Upon hearing this, Huang Meng asked directly, "Why can't we say it here?"

The mercenary said, "The ship is in the port. You have to go there and sign the papers before we can release it. This is how it's done for the other embassies in the city that didn't have time to evacuate." After saying that, the mercenary turned and glanced at Xu Ao again before turning and leaving.

Xu Ao turned around and looked at Huang Meng after the man had walked away, asking, "Are you alright? What did they say?"

Huang Meng translated the mercenary's words to Xu Ao. Xu Ao turned to look at the mercenaries who were still guarding the blockade line. At this time, they were not as vigilant as before. Perhaps they felt that they were not a threat, so they relaxed their guard and leaned against the wall to rest.

Xu Ao glanced at the distant sky and couldn't help but sigh. Huang Meng had just heard what the mercenary said and thought that as long as they went to the port and signed the papers, everything would be fine. However, seeing Xu Ao's furrowed brows, it seemed that things were not as simple as she thought. Huang Meng asked, "What's wrong?"

"Do you know where the port is?" Xu Ao asked Huang Meng.

"I don't know." Huang Meng shook her head. She had just arrived here and started working as a translator for others. In her spare time, she would stroll around the main streets of the city. She had only heard them say that the port was beautiful and located at the end of the city.

"Did you see them talking on walkie-talkies just now?" Xu Ao asked, looking into Huang Mengde's eyes.

"No." Huang Meng shook her head firmly. Then she seemed to realize something was wrong. If there was no communication with the outside world, how could their superior have ordered them to go to the dock? Unless…

"They had already prepared their excuse. As long as someone asked about the supply ship, they would send us to the port." Xu Ao said what Huang Meng was thinking. He smiled slightly and turned to look at the distant horizon, seeing that Huang Meng hadn't reacted yet.

His narrow eyes were slightly narrowed as he pondered something. His thick, dark eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and the wisps of hair on his forehead seemed a bit long, playfully swaying above his glasses in the wind.

Huang Meng looked at his tightly pursed lips and suddenly thought of the kiss in the office last night. His lips had been roaming and caressing hers. Huang Meng calmly turned her head away and stopped looking at him, but her heart felt as heavy and restless as before a storm.

"Let's go," Xu Ao suddenly breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing Huang Meng still in a daze, he reached out and ruffled her hair, then turned and walked towards the embassy. Huang Meng looked at him and said, "What do you mean by this?"

"Let's go to the port to find people, just like they said."

"But what if they..."

"We don't have any better options right now. This country is a small country, and no country wants to get involved in such a mess. Besides, it's their own domestic matter, and our country can't do anything directly. It's already good enough that they can send us supplies. The rest we have to solve ourselves."

"Then when are we going?"

"Tomorrow, we will only have enough supplies to last for two more days."

Looking at his smooth profile, Huang Meng couldn't help but think that he wasn't much older than her, but he was much more composed and mature than her at this time. In addition to the embassy's supplies, there were so many people who needed to be managed. People are much more complicated than goods. Without some shrewdness and methods, the embassy would probably have been turned upside down by those people long ago. It wouldn't be like this now, with everyone behaving properly.

Xu Ao turned his head and looked at Huang Meng, who was walking a few steps behind him with her head down and not saying a word. "What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I was just thinking about how to tell them when I get back. If they find out that the supply ship can't arrive immediately, they'll definitely complain again."

"Heh, complaining is inevitable. Look at those people living in the embassy. Some of them found the embassy the very night the bombings started. Do you know what that means?"

Xu Ao looked at Huang Meng with a smile in his narrow eyes. Huang Meng lowered her eyelids and thought for a while. She remembered that it was very late that night when she told the translator she was going out to celebrate. The first attack happened on the way there.