Under the moonlight

Seeing that the two were ignoring him, Xu Ao stood up angrily. He walked up to Huang Meng and slowly bent down. Just as he was about to speak, Huang Meng reached out and covered his mouth with her hand.

Xu Ao looked at her with a puzzled expression, only to see her say leisurely, "No matter what you say, I'm not leaving. You and your colleagues have been in the embassy since the explosion. You should know that the blockade was designed to prevent those inside from leaving, and it also locked the embassy out. So, I know more about the situation in the main city than you do. Also, Lin Hanshuang just told me about the small path they used to escape. There are no mercenaries guarding it. If they enter the main city from there, it's a good way, even though it's a bit of a detour."

After Huang Meng finished speaking, she looked at Xu Ao, who was still looking at her in the same position as before. His eyes were bloodshot. She withdrew her hand, looked straight at Xu Ao, and raised the corners of her mouth slightly, like a proud little princess.

Xu Ao looked at her for a while. The determination in her eyes made him realize that his objection was pointless. He told her to go to sleep, but she was thinking about so much on her own. He had just heard about the clue to that path from Yuri and was also interested in using that path to carry out his plan. Before he could ask her any questions, she barged in.

Xu Ao chuckled, turned to look out the window, pushed up his glasses, and said to Huang Meng with a smile, "Well, it seems I can't persuade you."

Yuri smiled at the two of them and said, "Should I continue?" Xu Ao sat back down and nodded at Yuri.

"If you want to enter the main city tomorrow, taking that small road will take a bit longer, but it's very safe. There are ditches on both sides of the road, so if anything happens, you can hide in the ditches and be safe. The premise is that you have keen observation skills and can detect the situation in advance."

After Yuri finished speaking, he looked at Xu Ao and continued, "That road is rather narrow. If there are many of you going, it might be difficult to proceed. Also, although the first wave of bombing has left almost no one there, you should still be careful. If you encounter any residents, it's best to explain things to them clearly. At times like these, everyone is on edge and easily suspicious. Your sudden appearance might cause unnecessary misunderstandings." After Yuri finished speaking, he looked at Huang Meng.

After hearing this, Huang Meng raised her eyebrows at Xu Ao across from her with a smug look. Xu Ao couldn't help but laugh when he saw her proud expression. He licked his dry lips and said, "Looks like I really can't get rid of you. I really have to take you with me. Your fluent S language will definitely come in handy."

After Xu Ao finished speaking, he stood up, walked to Huang Meng's side, reached out and took her hand, saying helplessly, "Let's go, non-staff member, hurry up and go to the office for the meeting!" Huang Meng smiled, stood up, and followed him out. When she passed her room, she called Lin Hanshuang back.

When they reached the office door, Huang Meng shook off Xu Ao's hand. Xu Ao looked at his empty palm, raised an eyebrow at her, and Huang Meng beckoned him to lean down. Then she whispered in his ear, "Office romances are forbidden."

After saying that, she pushed open the door and went inside. Jiang Ying wasn't surprised to see her appear behind the door, but the other colleagues were somewhat taken aback. As Huang Meng entered the office, the others began to whisper among themselves. Seeing everyone's distracted expressions, Jiang Ying slammed her hand on the table angrily and said loudly, "What time is it? You're still paying attention to other things? Did you all remember what I just said?"

After Jiang Ying said that, everyone immediately perked up again. Long before Xu Ao went to find Yuri, he and Jiang Ying had a small meeting. The two of them split up and she was responsible for explaining the current situation to her colleagues and having a brief communication with everyone.

Xu Ao strode to his seat and sat down, then said seriously, "I'm sorry to disturb your rest. I think you all know what happened by now. Last time we tried to negotiate with the mercenaries to enter the main city to find someone, but the result was not ideal. At that time, our meeting concluded that we should hold back for the time being. They have only imposed a blockade without taking any other action, so this matter has been dragging on."

Xu Ao looked up at everyone and said seriously, "But this afternoon and evening, they not only increased their personnel but also their heavy weaponry. We can't wait any longer. Nobody knows what they'll do next. We can't risk the lives of our compatriots trapped in the city. So we need to develop a detailed plan to enter the main city. The first step is to locate and determine their position and number of personnel. The second step is the transfer, which is also the most difficult. It's not easy to safely bring them out under the noses of those mercenaries. We'll deploy the second step in detail later. Now, let's discuss the first step plan in detail."

After Xu Ao finished speaking, he turned to look at Jiang Ying and nodded slightly. Jiang Ying looked at him and nodded, then stood up and began to state her plan in a loud voice. The other colleagues were all very serious. Although they had drunk some wine at dinner, no one showed any signs of drunkenness at this moment. They all had the most clear and serious expressions.

Some people listened attentively to Jiang Ying's arrangements, occasionally offering their opinions, while others kept scribbling something in their notebooks. Chen Che sat next to Huang Meng, his clothes still completely wrinkled as if he had been sleeping, and his hair was pulled like a bird's nest, but the seriousness and focus on his face was something Huang Meng had never seen before.

He usually has a cheerful and smiling demeanor, as if he has inexhaustible energy. But now he sits quietly to the side, his brows slightly furrowed, and the seriousness in his eyes makes him look a bit more mature.

Huang Meng looked at Xu Ao, who was bent over his desk, having a heated discussion with his colleagues. He would stop from time to time to look at Xu Ao, and push up his glasses. Perhaps he was once like Chen Che, a sunny young man full of youthful energy. It was only after taking on this responsibility that he gradually lost his brilliance and was tempered and tempered into the composed person he is today.

Xiao Zhang sat next to Jiang Ying, constantly taking notes on the key points Jiang Ying mentioned. They were all discussing the matter incessantly. Huang Meng sat in her seat, somewhat anxious but unable to join the conversation. They were the people who knew the embassy best, and the success or failure of this operation had to take into account the impact on Country C.

They couldn't just rush in with enthusiasm alone; they needed a comprehensive plan. Huang Meng was just an ordinary person. She had courage and ideas, but she lacked the thorough consideration that they had accumulated day after day in this position. So she could only patiently sit in her seat and quietly watch them.

She kept rubbing her hands together on the table, her eyes scanning everyone around her. She knew that doing this well would be much more difficult than she had imagined. They had been discussing for almost an hour and a half and still hadn't come up with a final, feasible solution.

A variety of emotions were displayed on everyone's face, sometimes arguing urgently, sometimes compromising helplessly, and sometimes glaring angrily. The two young men, Xiao Zhang and Chen Che, ran around near the desk, constantly handing over the documents they needed. Xu Ao had already unbuttoned his shirt collar, casually hanging his jacket on the back of his chair. His slightly long bangs were blocking his vision, and he grabbed them a few times in frustration. His hair was no better than Chen Che's messy mess.

Huang Meng watched as their discussion gradually turned into a debate, eventually escalating into a full-blown argument. The two groups stood on opposite sides of the desk, gesturing wildly and arguing loudly.

Huang Meng sat at the very back of her desk, watching them standing on either side of her. Although there was a desk between them, their fingers were practically sticking into each other's nostrils.

Xu Ao stood opposite Huang Meng, looking at him across the long desk. His arms were resting on the desk, his head hanging heavily, listening quietly to their argument. A few strands of hair that he had grabbed up in a trance fell down and drooped over his glasses.

Huang Meng felt a headache coming on as she watched the two groups arguing loudly. After listening for a while, Huang Meng could roughly understand what they were saying.

Jiang Ying's group believed they could sneak into the main city, but once they confirmed the location and the survivors, they would immediately retreat and observe the actions of the mercenaries and the New Dealers. If they did not persecute the main city again, they would not risk bringing them out. After all, this situation was caused by internal strife in their country, and the New Dealers intended to use the main city for coercion. If they forcibly brought people out, it would be difficult for them to absolve themselves of responsibility if it caused riots among the local residents. They might even be accused of interfering in internal affairs, which could affect the country.

On the other side, Lao Zhang, despite his name, is not very old. He is a year younger than Xu Ao and is Xu Ao's junior. When he was in college, he liked to follow Xu Ao around and call him "elder" repeatedly.

If he didn't have a girlfriend, everyone would have thought he was after Xu Ao! He applied for a transfer here after graduation; his thinning hair and balding appearance led them to jokingly call him Old Zhang. He's a tech guy; you can contact him for any electronic information technology issues at the embassy.

He stood by the table, his upper body almost touching it, practically leaning over the other person's shoulder, shouting, "Hey~ you're quite the character! What do you mean by 'don't worry about it for now'? Oh~ you mean you'll only care if they die, right? What's that called? That's called collecting corpses! Don't you understand? We need to get them out before they make a move! Are you from China? If your wife were in there, you'd be running faster than anyone else! We can't be afraid of this or that. What we need to do is not only rescue them, but also perfectly resolve this situation. That's what makes our work valuable, don't you think?"

"I didn't say we wouldn't rescue them, but you have to consider the situation. Didn't I say we should go in first to investigate? If, and I mean if, not many of our compatriots survive, then we should reconsider. If there are a lot of them, think about it, with such a large target, how could we not be noticed by the mercenaries? At that point, they won't care if we're from the embassy or from Country C. You've crossed the line, understand? They'll have a reason to shoot you. Are you trying to lead so many people straight into the line of fire?"

"How do you call it sending yourself to the line of fire? Are you stupid? Can't you think of a way? Who told you to just walk straight out the main road? Didn't we tell you to figure out a way to get them out safely?!"

"Didn't I say the solution is to temporarily..."

"Okay, stop talking."

Xu Ao straightened up, rolled up his sleeves back onto his arms, grabbed a handful of stray hairs, and pushed up his glasses.

Looking at the gradually quieting crowd, he took a deep breath and patiently said, "I know that everyone has their own opinions and thoughts on this matter, and I understand that. But everyone, put yourselves in their shoes. If you were trapped in the city right now, and you knew that your country's embassy was stationed outside the city, but you had been trapped for so many days without seeing a single person from the embassy, ​​how would you feel?"

Xu Ao paused, observing everyone's expressions, and continued, "The sudden explosion gave no one time to prepare; they were forced to flee and hide alongside the city's residents. Just when the explosion was over, they were cut off from water, food, and communication. If you were facing such a situation, wouldn't you all wish for someone to rescue you from your suffering? Yet we, the embassy of Country C, the representatives of the country, on whom they place their hopes, are still debating whether rescuing them is more beneficial or harmful!"

After Xu Ao finished speaking, he looked around at everyone intently. Some people stood tall with their heads held high, looking as if they had nothing to be ashamed of, while others silently lowered their heads.

Huang Meng looked at Xu Ao's forehead veins, which were bulging with excitement, and his eyes were red. She couldn't tell if it was from fatigue or from his intense anger.

Xu Ao lowered his head, one hand on his hip, the other taking off his glasses and pinching his brow. Without the glasses to conceal his face, his pale complexion and furrowed brows were even more prominent. He must have been in a difficult position, struggling to make a decision, but he still chose to take a gamble.

Xu Ao calmed himself down, put his glasses back on, and said to Jiang Ying, "Tomorrow, Huang Meng and I will go together to scout out the route first."

Then he turned to Lao Zhang and said, "Lao Zhang, gather all the usable walkie-talkies for me. We'll take them with us tomorrow to keep in touch with you at all times."

He looked at Chen Che and Jiang Ying, who were standing a little further away: "Chen Che, Jiang Ying, and Xu Ming, the three of you take the first aid supplies and stand by. We'll notify you to set off once we've confirmed their location. We'll depart early tomorrow morning. It'll be dawn in three hours. Everyone, get ready."

Xu Ao methodically relayed the arrangements for tomorrow. Old Zhang had already jogged out of the office to prepare the walkie-talkies before they left. Chen Che and Xu Ming were also about to leave their seats when Xu Ao suddenly called out to them, "Wait a minute."

The two of them, still in a turning position, just stopped their steps and turned to look at Xu Ao. Xu Ao calmly said, "For this operation, everyone involved who is going into the city is not allowed to wear the embassy's work uniform. They can only carry their work permit and ID card."

The gloom in Xu Ao's eyes and his words stunned the two men. They exchanged a glance, then looked at Xu Ao again to make sure they hadn't misheard, before replying with a "okay" and turning to leave. They almost never doubted any of the orders Xu Ao gave them.

As everyone gradually left the office, Huang Meng watched them walk past her one by one, some full of fighting spirit, others shaking their heads and pounding their chests in a helpless and regretful manner.

Huang Meng turned to look at Xu Ao, who was facing away from her, his hands behind his back on the desk, looking up at the whiteboard in front of him. On it was a summary of the key points he had written during the meeting, with several words heavily circled. After everyone in the office had left, the previously noisy air suddenly quieted down, and Huang Meng heard a heavy sigh coming from his direction.