"You little brat, you finally decided to call me. I know all about your situation. For us, sacrifice is a normal thing, so don’t dwell on sadness. Instead, turn those negative emotions into strength."

"I know." Ling Chen said with a smile, "Don’t worry, General, I’m not that fragile."

"That’s good. So tell me, why did you call me?"

"I want to ask about the military’s attitude towards Zhu Hong. What actions do you plan to take?"

"The military has been in contact with the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, and they’ve reached an agreement. Since Zhu Hong is abroad and protected by a large corporation, it’s not suitable for us to act in the name of the country. Therefore, this matter needs others’ help. The Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion has the capability, and we’re preparing to entrust them fully with this matter—asking for results, not the process."

"Directly kill Zhu Hong? Or bring him back?"

"Zhu Hong’s life or death is secondary. The most important thing is to bring back all the documents." Qiao Zhen said, "The military’s top brass highly values the research outcomes Zhu Hong holds. No matter the cost, we must obtain the research outcomes and prevent them from being leaked to foreign military agencies."

Ling Chen asked, "General, since you’ve already negotiated cooperation with the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, what conditions did they raise?"

"Um..." Qiao Zhen hesitated for a moment and said, "This is a military secret, and I’m not at liberty to disclose it. However, what I can tell you is that the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion has a huge appetite and has laid out numerous conditions. The military’s top brass carefully considered and agreed to their demands. There’s no choice; compared to the conditions proposed by the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, the documents held by Zhu Hong are more important. The military can only compromise."

At this point, Qiao Zhen reminded uneasily, "Also, I know about your grudge with Zhu Hong. However, since the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion is in charge of this matter, you should stay out of it to avoid causing trouble later. Do you understand what I mean?"

Ling Chen chuckled lightly, "General, are you still worried about me? Alright, I have more things to do, so I won’t chat long now. I’ll call you sometime later." With that, Ling Chen hung up the phone.

As soon as he hung up, a sweet voice entered his ear: "Hello, dear passengers, the plane is about to take off. Please turn off your phones and cooperate with our work..."

Ling Chen switched his phone to flight mode, then turned to look out the window. A few minutes later, accompanied by the sound of engines whirling, the plane accelerated sharply, quickly ascending to high altitude, disappearing into the dense night.

The next morning, the plane finally touched down on the airport runway.

Exiting the airport, Ling Chen took off his sunglasses, glanced around the environment, and turned to ask, "Fatty, where’s the person you arranged?"

"Hold on! Let me make a call first." Hu Fei said as he took out his phone and dialed a number. After over ten minutes, a convoy of five Range Rover SUVs slowly arrived, stopping outside the airport exit.

The car door opened, and a Caucasian man jumped down from the front passenger seat, walked straight to Ling Chen’s side, and extended his hand, saying, "Mr. Ling, welcome."

Ling Chen smiled slightly, "Mr. Beison, you’ve worked hard this time."

"Please, Mr. Ling, you’re my boss. It’s my duty to serve you. Let’s go, I’ve arranged a place for you to stay first for some rest."

"Great, thanks!"

For this operation, Ling Chen brought many people over. Hu Fei, Tang Guolun, the Eight Oddities, and Chen Junfeng all came. Since Beison is native to this country, Hu Fei arranged for Beison to take the first steps and prepare the accommodations and transportation here.

Getting into the car, the convoy headed straight to their destination under Beison’s lead.

After a forty-minute drive, the convoy finally arrived. Ling Chen jumped off the vehicle, looked at the five-star hotel in front of him, and asked, "Is this the place?"

Beison nodded and said, "Mr. Ling, I’ve arranged for the entire hotel to be booked under your instructions. Apart from you, there will be no other guests. Moreover, the rooms we’re staying in are all on the hotel’s highest floor."

"Excellent, let’s go up and have a look first."

Entering the hotel, the manager and a bunch of waiters stood on either side, welcoming Ling Chen and the others. Ling Chen glanced around and instructed, "Make sure to withdraw these people later; just leave enough staff to take care of our meals."

"No problem." Beison took note of Ling Chen’s requests.

At the hotel’s top floor, Ling Chen’s accommodation was a presidential suite. As a five-star hotel, the environment and conditions of the rooms were naturally impeccable. However, this wasn’t Ling Chen’s primary concern.

"Fatty, how’s the situation?"

Since entering, Hu Fei had been busy in front of the computer. Upon hearing Ling Chen’s inquiry, Hu Fei replied without lifting his head, "I’ve accessed the hotel’s security system, and I can control all surveillance, including the elevators. The hotel’s monitoring systems are dense; with just a few more cameras, surveillance can cover the entire hotel."

"Great, I’ll leave this matter to you." Ling Chen said, then turned to Qiu Yong, "Big brother, you’ve had a tiring journey. Go get some rest first, and I’ll call you when it’s time for dinner."

"Alright, don’t overwork yourself. We just arrived; there’s no rush concerning Zhu Hong’s matter."

Watching Qiu Yong and the others leave, Ling Chen signaled Beison to close the door of the guest room.

"Beison, is all the information I asked you to collect ready?"

Beison pulled out a thick stack of documents, saying, "Mr. Ling, everything you requested is here. Have a look, and if there’s anything unclear, feel free to ask me any time."

"Alright." Ling Chen took the documents, casually handed two copies to Hu Fei and Tang Guolun, then sat on the sofa and started reading.

A few minutes later, Ling Chen looked up at Beison and asked, "Is the military enterprise collaborating with Zhu Hong called Yingtai?"

"Yes, the Yingtai Group is an internationally renowned company primarily focused on military operations, collaborating with numerous military forces worldwide. Not only does Yingtai conduct independent research and production of military weapons, but they also stand as the largest weapons supplier globally, with many smaller nations purchasing arms from the Yingtai Group."

Pausing slightly, Beison continued, "Mr. Ling, in the city we’re in now, not only is Yingtai Group headquartered here, but several other military enterprises have headquarters here as well."

"What relationships do they share?"

"They’re competitors, naturally. The Yingtai Group is currently the largest military enterprise worldwide. It’s the industry leader, while other military enterprises lag in scale compared to the Yingtai Group. What, do you have any thoughts, Mr. Ling?"