Chapter Three: Approaching

  The police car sped down the small road. Dong Xiaochuan was very familiar with the terrain in this area, and stopped the car at a remote intersection, saying: "Alright, your mission is over."

  The kidnapped policeman opened his eyes and said, "You really hit me hard."

  Dong Xiaochuan thought for a moment about his previous actions, and slowly said: "That Shi Haiyang is very likely to be another mastermind, I'm afraid we can't deceive him." After finishing speaking, he jumped off the car, with a bitter smile saying: "Now I am a wanted fugitive."

  The police officer said: "Good luck." He was also a national security agent, from the Vermilion Bird Unit, and belonged to the intelligence personnel. Playing several small roles was still easy for him.

  Shi Haiyang arrived at an inconspicuous hotel, opened a room, wanted to take a good bath, have a good rest, and think about how to safely reach the Golden Triangle.

  Initially, he researched how to produce the most effective ice with the least amount of dosage. He had two requirements for producing ice: one was not allowed to enter China, and the other was that 10% of the annual profit must be given to him, which is almost $100 million every year.

  Turn on the TV, and the subtitles are constantly scrolling with wanted notices. One of them is Dong Xiaochuan, introducing Dong Xiaochuan, male, 21 years old, height 1 meter 78, medium build, active serviceman, injured to death, escaped, extremely dangerous.

  Suddenly, the window on the third floor opened and a figure flipped in. Shi Haiyang shouted "Who is it?" Just as he was about to take action, he found that it was Dong Xiaokuan, who had just been wanted on TV, so he said: "It's you."

  Dong Xiaochuan also looked surprised, "It's you." He followed Shi Haiyang's gaze and saw the wanted notice on the TV screen with scrolling subtitles, saying: "I don't want to hurt you, give me money."

  "How much?" Shi Haoyang asked.

  Dong Xiaochuan sneered and said: "You think I should give you a number, of course the more the better."

  Shi Haiyang suddenly had an epiphany, and the person in front of him was exactly what he wanted - young, skilled in martial arts, and with no way out. However, he thought carefully, wondering if this might be a trap, but then thought again, "I've already been caught and released, what else could happen?"

  He had an idea in his mind and said: "Money, I don't have much now, but I can introduce you to something that will give you a lot of money."

  Dong Xiaochuan sneered and said: "You think I can still go out and work now?"

  "Of course, be my bodyguard." Shi Haoyang said calmly, "I'm hiring you as my bodyguard."

  "Be your bodyguard?"

  "Not bad, I'm going to the Golden Triangle soon, you can be my bodyguard. If you can safely escort me out, I'll pay you $10,000. You've committed a crime in China and can't stay here anymore. I can even smuggle you into the United States, no, any country."

  "Alright, deal." Dong Xiaochuan didn't hesitate and said: "Bodyguard, actually I've done it many times in the army too."

  He is an active special forces soldier, which was his external identity when he was undercover. However, during his time at the National Security Bureau, he had indeed done many security jobs, or rather, personal bodyguard work. The Qinglong department mainly deals with external affairs, while the Baitu department handles internal affairs, but personnel between the two departments still flow back and forth. Longya and Huwei are not actually that clearly divided; they are more like titles, symbols.

  Shi Haiyang casually handed a bottle of Coke that was hard to find in ordinary cities to Dong Xiaokuan, but Dong Xiaokuan didn't take it and said: "No, I want plain water."

  Shi Haiyang felt an inexplicable sense of relief when he saw Dong Xiaokang agree to be his bodyguard, and he sat comfortably on the sofa, asking: "Tell me, what's your situation?"

  "There's nothing." Dong Xiaochuan seemed to think it wasn't right to treat his employer this way, and explained: "I came back from vacation and found out my girlfriend was with another man... so I beat him up."

  "It seems like a small thing, yet it also seems like a big thing." Shi Haiyang nodded understandingly and asked: "Regret it?"

  Dong Xiaochuan said coldly: "A man must have blood!"

  "Well said," Shi Haoyang praised.

  For the next few days, Dong Xiaochuan stayed in his room and didn't go anywhere. Shi Haiyang was very busy and often disappeared for a whole day, but he had arranged for the free servant to deliver three meals every day. During this time, there were also police inquiries, all of which were evaded by him.

  Dong Xiaochuan was also in no hurry. He had carried out many such tasks and knew that for now, nothing needed to be done except wait.

  Being an undercover agent, the most important thing is to be patient. Sometimes in order to gain trust, you have to wait for several years. So basically after an undercover agent completes a task, they will immediately disappear and reassign their identity to another place. Dong Xiaochuan was no exception, after completing this task, he basically could not stay in Yunhe City anymore.

  Before he knew it, a week had passed and Dong Xiaochuan hadn't left the house. He spent his days watching TV in the room opened by Shi Haiyang. One morning, Shi Haiyang suddenly said to Dong Xiaochuan, "Pack up, we're getting ready to leave."

  Dong Xiaochuan said: "I have nothing good to collect."

  Two people stopped a taxi at the door. Although Yunhe City is a tourist city, private cars are still rare, and taxis are the main means of transportation. Shi Haiyang said to Dong Xiaochuan: "Don't worry, he's one of us."

  Dong Xiaochuan was slightly surprised and said: "You're very resourceful, you have people here too."

  "He said: 'It's not my people, it's someone who came to pick me up.'"

  The driver asked: "Excuse me, Doctor, who is he?"

  Shi Haiyang has a postdoctoral degree from the United States, so many people like to call him Doctor, especially those who are above him.

  "My bodyguard."

  "Before, doctors always came alone, why did you bring a bodyguard today?"

  Shi Haiyang smiled slightly and said: "In the past, I didn't come for money, so it didn't matter if there were more or fewer people. This time I came to get money, of course, it's different."

  The driver smiled and said, "Mr. Shi is worrying too much."

  Shi Haiyang remained silent and didn't explain, all these years he had been escaping disaster after disaster by being overly cautious. Having become a postdoctoral researcher, being overly cautious had already become his instinct.

  Dong Xiaochuan didn't say much, but his eyes were observing the surroundings.

  Taxis are the most common mode of transportation in Yunhe City, and most tourists use them to travel, so they didn't attract much attention along the way. However, Dong Xiaokang knew that everything was under the control of the police and national security, who wanted to ensure his smooth entry into the Golden Triangle.

  The so-called Golden Triangle refers to the junction of Thailand, Myanmar and Laos, which is also close to Vietnam and Yunnan Province. It belongs to a no-man's land. Although it is a no-man's land, it is not chaotic because the territory has long been divided by various forces, with the largest being the Thai people known as generals.

  He has a force of several hundred people, with some heavy weapons, so he occupies one side in the Golden Triangle. However, other forces in the Golden Triangle are not weak either, including a force controlled by Chinese people, who are descendants of the Nationalist Party troops that wandered here at that time.

  The Golden Triangle is a notorious drug production base, with 80% of the world's drugs coming from there. This time of year is the poppy harvest season, and every year around this time is when various forces allocate quotas for drugs.

  These materials were still known to Dong Xiaochuan. However, Dong Xiaochuan knew that his real task was not these, but to find and lead out the Longya team trapped in the primeval forest. Whenever national security is involved, everything else takes a back seat, this is what the national security department often says, and it's also the reason for their arrogance.

  Dong Xiaochuan closed his eyes, pretending to be oblivious to the outside world, but in fact, he was highly focused. From now on, he officially entered the dangerous undercover mission.

  The car drove for a whole day, except for adding oil at the gas station several times and eating a simple meal, it almost didn't stop. Dong Xiaochuan strictly maintained the appearance of a bodyguard, silent and expressionless, every time the car stopped, he would get out first to observe his surroundings before asking Shi Haoyang to get out. These standard procedures made Shi Haoyang believe that he had indeed been a bodyguard, making the driver very envious.

  Dong Xiaochuan didn't say anything, but he understood very well in his heart. He found that although the car had been driving for a day, many times it was just circling around. If he wasn't particularly sensitive to directions, he wouldn't have noticed. Cautious, extremely cautious, this was his evaluation of Shi Haoyang and the people who were in contact with him.

  The forces of the Golden Triangle are not just simple fugitives, but also include people with high IQ. The Shi Haiyang in front of us is also a member of the high IQ group.

  In the late afternoon, the car drove to a small intersection and stopped. This was an intersection of a large mountain, and the distant road was a vast forest.

  The driver said: "Mr. Shi, I can only take you here." Shi Haiyang nodded and took out a stack of money from his pocket to give to the driver, saying: "Thank you for your hard work!"

  The driver said with a smile: "Not hard at all, not one bit. I'd be delighted to have more business like this."

  He had just turned his head to leave, and another car drove out from a small road. This car was no longer a taxi, but an off-road military vehicle, like a cheetah full of wildness and power, rushing quickly over.

  The driver was a sturdy man who stopped the car beside Shi Haoyang, jumped out and gave Shi Haoyang a big hug, excitedly saying: "Doctor brother, you've finally arrived."

  "Teddy, how did you end up picking me up?"

  Teddy said happily: "It was General who sent me. This time is different from the previous ones, General knows that I am most familiar with you, and he's afraid that you won't feel at ease, so he sent me."

  Shi Haiyang's mood relaxed a bit, and he said: "The general has a good heart, Teddy, thank the general for me."

  "Alright, big brother, I know. Let's go, get in the car, we're going to General's place now, if we hurry, we can still make it for dinner."

  Shi Haiyang was about to get on the car, Dong Xiaochuan looked into the distance and suddenly said: "No way, can't leave tonight."

  Teddy looked at Dong Xiaoquan with some confusion and asked: "Brother, who is he?"

  "He is my bodyguard."

  Teddy saw Dong Xiaochuan's thin body was actually a bodyguard, and said in surprise: "Don't worry, now that we're here, everything is up to me. Big brother, can't I protect you? Why don't you let your bodyguards stay here, if outsiders come in it won't be good, the general will blame us."

  Shi Haiyang shook his head and said, "It's okay, I'll go talk to the general." He then turned to ask Dong Xiaochuan, "Xiaochuan, why can't we leave at night?"

  Dong Xiaochuan said professionally, "Although I don't know where you're going or which route you'll take, once we enter the depths of the forest up ahead, I believe every road will be difficult to navigate, and even the best cars won't be able to go fast. Therefore, even if you're familiar with the route, if you encounter an ambush, it will be hard to escape. I don't recommend traveling at night; instead, find a place to rest for the night and continue in the morning. Moreover, tomorrow morning, I'll drive your car first to scout out the situation, get familiar with the road conditions and the surrounding environment."

  Teddy Zhang opened his mouth wide and said, "No way, we don't always walk like this every time."

  Dong Xiaochuan said: "It's precisely because you always walk like this that you're more likely to encounter an ambush. Since the boss has asked me to be his bodyguard, it means he's also aware that this road won't be very safe, so we need to be even more careful. As a bodyguard, the most important thing is not to have a fluke mentality. Every bit of negligence is a fatal injury for a bodyguard."

  Teddy burst out laughing and said, "Big brother, it seems your bodyguard is still very professional. But before the general came, he told me to ensure that you are safely sent home, and he has already prepared a banquet to welcome you back."

  Shi Haiyang hesitated for a moment, smiled and said: "Since the general has made up his mind, we shouldn't disappoint him. Let's go, Xiao Chuan, let's go."

  Dong Xiaochuan whispered: "Why do I always feel that the road ahead is very dangerous? It seems I should be more careful. Looking at Teddy's physique, he has a strong back and waist, his vitality is very good, he should also be an expert. Shi Haoyang doesn't seem like a strong person, but I have a feeling that I can't see through him, so I shouldn't underestimate him either. Even if there are any problems on the road, they shouldn't hold us back."