"Ah! I—I don't want to die! I'll cooperate, sir, please put the dagger away! I'll do whatever you ask!" Max was scared out of his wits. He knew very well that if he didn't cooperate, a ruthless guy like Colonel Hank wouldn't hesitate to finish him off.
"Hmph, you'd better behave and quit trying to play tricks, or I'll blow your brains out! Lead the way!" Colonel Hank warned Max harshly, sheathing his tactical dagger. He left a Dragonsquad Special Ops soldier to watch over Shawn Young, then shoved Max forward to lead the way as the group headed out of the dense forest.
By the time they emerged from the forest, night had already fallen. The moon was bright, stars sparse, and the mountain wind carried the thick scent of opium poppies from the foothills. The group stood on the slope of Raveneye Mountain, able to see firelight flickering in the distant mountains, even hearing faint explosions—one after another, intense and relentless. Clearly, Nick Carter's men handling the outer defenses were locked in fierce combat with the Kachin Tribe's army.
But nobody paid much attention to all that. After all, this war wasn't going to end anytime soon. They just stopped for a quick look, then kept following Max up the rugged mountain path toward Raveneye Mountain. Max obediently led the way, holding an AK-74 that Colonel Hank had unloaded, while the rest of the group changed into the clothes of Nick Carter's slain gunmen, pretending to be Max's entourage as they headed for Nick Carter's stronghold on the mountain.
Even Shawn Young and Jade Swann swapped into camouflage combat uniforms, topped with field caps, and smeared their faces with war paint just like the others. Weapons in hand, they followed Max closely, with Colonel Hank right behind Max, his gun pointed at him—ready to pull the trigger at the slightest sign of trouble.
After half an hour winding up the uneven mountain trail, they finally came upon a five or six-meter-wide concrete road, lined with streetlights. In the glow, buildings and bunkers appeared among the trees, and armed gunmen could be seen clustered at the sentry posts.
Max led the group straight ahead, where a checkpoint blocked the road—a bunker-style building sat at the pass, with a metal gate across the way. Two armed gunmen stood behind a heavy machine gun, with a mortar and a pile of ammo crates behind them. But that was just for show; Colonel Hank, Shawn Young, and the others could sense several hidden sentries nearby, including some deadly snipers.
"Who goes there? State the password!" As soon as Max approached the checkpoint, one of the gunmen shouted at him.
"Wildcat, coming home," Max replied calmly.
"Password correct. Wildcat, let them through!" The gunman recognized Max and matched the password, so he waved to his partner. The metal gate slowly slid open, and Max swaggered in with the group.
They followed the concrete road deeper inside and found that Nick Carter's stronghold was impressively built. Most of the buildings were carved into the mountainside, with only a few low-rise blocks. There were barracks, warehouses, ammo depots, and several rows of recreation rooms. The recreation rooms were brightly lit, with men's laughter and women's giggles echoing out. From some rooms came the sounds of clothes being ripped, heavy breathing, and moans of pleasure—clearly, things were getting pretty wild in there.
"Hmm, it's awfully calm here. Doesn't look like anyone's on high alert." Xiao Yuan felt something was off. The front lines were in chaos, yet the defenses on Raveneye Mountain were slack—just look at those guys fooling around in the recreation rooms, not a hint of wartime tension.
"Uh—here's the deal. The guys up here are loyal to Nick Carter, but he's not around right now. A Chinese guy named Leo Chen is handling things, but most folks don't really answer to him since he's an outsider. If he hadn't made Nick Carter a ton of money, nobody would give him the time of day. But Gerhard likes him too, so with Gerhard in charge, everyone just goes along with Leo Chen for now. Not that anyone's risking their neck for him—he's not the one signing our paychecks!" Max whispered quickly.
"Leo Chen?! What's he doing here? Wasn't he arrested? Must be someone with the same name!" Xiao Yuan was stunned. He remembered Leo Chen, the criminal mastermind of the Blue Wolf Syndicate, very well—he'd tangled with him a few times, even roughed him up once. What stuck out most was Leo Chen's background as a top finance student at Beijing University. Xiao Yuan never knew Chen had actually avoided getting caught by the cops.
But Xiao Yuan's doubts vanished quickly—because out of a two-story building ahead, three people suddenly emerged. Leading the group was none other than Leo Chen himself, whom Xiao Yuan recognized instantly! Beside him were two armed gunmen.
As soon as Leo Chen stepped out, he spotted Max and the others, smiled, and waved, then led his men straight over. Xiao Yuan nearly blurted out in shock, but luckily Leo Chen didn't recognize him—after all, Xiao Yuan had been using Leon Grace's face at the time, so his identity was safe.
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