20demayo Chapter 191 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind
Chapter 191 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind
Chapter 191 The Mantis Stalks the Cicada, Unaware of the Oriole Behind
Upon hearing Chen Wen's words, Liang Kuan seemed to be injected with adrenaline.
She immediately perked up and strode out of the living room, a stark contrast to her previous preoccupied demeanor.
Chen Wen watched his departing figure, shook his head with a smile, and thought, "Young man."
He withdrew his gaze, pondered for a moment, and then instructed the people outside, "Lu Huiguang, Lin Guobin, come in."
The two men quickly pushed open the door and entered, bowing respectfully: "Sir."
Chen Wen pointed to the empty space in the center of the living room.
"You two, spar right here and let me see if you've improved these days."
Lu Huiguang and Lin Guobin exchanged a glance, both looking somewhat bewildered.
I don't understand why Sir Chen suddenly became interested in watching them spar.
But an order is an order, and the two dared not ask any questions. After bowing with clasped hands, they took their stances and began to fight back and forth in the living room.
Chen Wen crossed his arms in front of him and leaned back in his chair in a relaxed manner.
His gaze fell calmly on the two figures leaping, tumbling, and exchanging blows, as if he were merely watching casually.
However, in his mind...
As Lu Huiguang and Lin Guobin clashed, a series of system notifications quickly popped up:
[Observe basic hand-to-hand combat to improve your skill level!]
[Analyze power generation techniques to improve your martial arts proficiency!]
The night was deep and quiet on the beach, with only the soft sound of the tide lapping against the mudflats.
On a shallow beach, thick logs are submerged in the water, swaying gently with the waves.
Ma Rulong and Zhuo Yifei emerged from the shadows, both carrying heavy sacks and panting heavily.
He looked around cautiously, and only after confirming that no one was around did he wade through the water to a piece of wood.
"Quick, hide here!"
Zhuo Yifei lowered his voice, and the two of them worked together to unwrap the long, narrow object that was tightly wrapped in oilcloth inside the sack.
It was those one hundred rapid-fire guns.
Carefully stuff it deep into the crevice.
Zhuo Yifei then took out several long nails and a conspicuous red cloth from his pocket, and skillfully nailed the red cloth to the wood near the location where the gun was hidden as a marker.
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After finishing all this, Zhuo Yifei wiped his forehead, patted the red cloth triumphantly, and smiled at Ma Rulong, "How about that? Clean and efficient! We've done a great job this time!"
"If these guns fall into the hands of those ruthless pirates, how many innocent civilians will be killed?"
"Now that's great! We've intercepted it, and I'll find a reliable buyer to sell it to the rebels. We'll get rid of this menace and earn some hard-earned money at the same time—a win-win situation!"
Ma Rulong looked at the red cloth markings, then at Zhuo Yifei's smiling face, his brows furrowing slightly. He felt uneasy: "You—you're really not lying to me? This gun, is it really something the Hong Kong government wants to sell to pirates? Are you sure the buyer is the rebels?"
Zhuo Yifei's face hardened, and he put his arm around Ma Rulong's shoulder: "My dear Brother Long! We're brothers, we've known each other since childhood, I wouldn't lie to you! Trust me, you won't regret it!"
"Come on, you've been working all night, you're exhausted. Brother, let's go to a nice place to relax and calm down!"
Without saying another word, he pulled the still hesitant Ma Rulong away from the beach.
Both were preoccupied with their own thoughts and didn't notice.
Behind a pile of rocks not far away, Liang Kuan and several Blood Flag soldiers watched them silently.
He took in the entire scene he had just witnessed.
A soldier sighed softly, "Captain Ma is too easily fooled! He actually believed that fat man's nonsense!"
Another shook his head: "Zhuo Yifei is the person the master specifically requested to be investigated. We've already investigated him thoroughly; he's an expert in all sorts of swindling and deception."
"What nonsense! The Hong Kong government colluding with pirates? It's just that Zhou Yongling paid him to procure guns for the pirates!"
"He's the one who orchestrated this mess! Captain Ma was just used as a pawn."
"Fortunately, the gentleman anticipated this and sent us along."
"Otherwise, if this fat guy really sells the guns to the pirates, we'll have to fight them at sea, and who knows how many more brothers will die, and the people along the coast will suffer too."
Liang Kuan remained silent, his sharp gaze sweeping over his surroundings.
Seeing Zhuo Yifei and Ma Rulong walk away, he was about to wave to signal for action when his ears suddenly twitched. He raised his hand and whispered, "Take cover! Someone else is coming!"
The group immediately retreated into the shadows of the reef and held their breath.
On the dark beach, a figure returned, moving nimbly and silently, once again approaching the pile of logs.
Liang Kuan and the others took a closer look in the dim light and were all taken aback.
"Huh? Ma Rulong is back again!"
That's right, the dark figure really was Ma Rulong!
Didn't he already leave? Why is he coming back again?
Ma Rulong still hadn't found Liang Kuan and the others. He just cautiously observed his surroundings and quickly found the piece of wood with the red cloth nailed to it.
He stared at the red cloth for two seconds, then muttered under his breath, "That bastard Zhuo Yifei, he really was lying to me!"
Without hesitation, he reached out and ripped off the red cloth that served as a marker.
Then, to the astonishment of Liang Kuan and the others, he pulled out a large handful of red cloth.
A striking red cloth was nailed to each of the other pieces of wood!
After doing all this, he looked around warily again, then quickly disappeared in the direction he had come from.
Behind the reef.
Several Blood Flag Army soldiers looked at each other, their faces showing surprise.
"This—Captain Ma—"
"He didn't believe Zhuo Yifei at all!"
"He's using a trap! He deliberately followed Zhuo Yifei to hide the gun, then turned around and messed up the markings!"
"When Zhuo Yifei comes to pick up the goods tomorrow, he'll be dumbfounded when he sees so much red cloth!"
"I never expected Captain Ma, who seems so straightforward, to have this hidden skill!"
The group whispered amongst themselves, immediately forgetting their earlier assessment of Ma Rulong as too foolish and naive.
A hint of surprise flashed in Liang Kuan's eyes, and he couldn't help but nod.
But they weren't there to watch the show; they had other things to do. They immediately said in a deep voice, "Captain Ma has his plans, but the gentleman is even more astute. Don't delay; things could change if we wait any longer. Let's move out!"
Without further hesitation, the group quickly leaped out from behind the rocks and waded through the water to the pile of logs.
They quickly found the log where the guns were actually hidden, and deftly removed all the long guns wrapped in tarpaulin and repackaged them.
"Take them all, leave not a single one!" Liang Kuan confirmed, then waved his hand.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking.
Several horse-drawn carriages had already arrived near the shallow waters by the sea, where logs were soaking.
Zhou Yongling, wrapped in a thick coat, stood on the shore with a somewhat impatient expression, accompanied by a group of his men.
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Zhuo Yifei greeted him with a broad smile, rubbing his hands together: "Boss Zhou, good morning! Everything is ready, just waiting for you to inspect the goods!"
Zhou Yongling frowned, surveying the desolate beach and the rotten logs submerged in the water. His tone was unfriendly: "Zhuo Yifei, what are you up to? We want guns! Real guns! You brought us to this dump to see this rotten wood?"
"Hehe, don't be in such a hurry!" Zhuo Yifei shook his head smugly. "A hundred rifles aren't a hundred sticks of firewood. Do you think I can just swagger around carrying them down the street?"
"Of course, we'll find a safe place to hide! Right inside these pieces of wood, completely unnoticed!"
Zhou Yongling squinted: "Which one?"
Zhuo Yifei pointed confidently at the logs: "See? I made a special mark. I nailed a red cloth to the log where the goods were hidden! You can recognize it at a glance—"
He pointed with his finger as he spoke, but before he could finish, his words caught in his throat.
Because of the direction his finger was pointing, and the area his gaze was looking at.
On that large log submerged in water, pieces of red cloth were clearly nailed to it!