“Three minutes… sounds like they’re still pretty far away…” Xu Ze frowned. Returning to the apartment complex in three minutes was impossible. After thinking for a moment, he said to Xiao Dao, “Turn off the phone and transfer the signal. You take over the reception.”
“Okay…”
With a soft “beep,” Xiao Dao reported, “Signal transferred. System now receiving.”
At that moment, over ten kilometers away, the GPS positioning dot on the display screen inside a black military helicopter shifted slightly.
The pilot didn’t notice it at first. Only when they got close to Xingda University and the map zoomed in did the operator see that the GPS satellite position had changed.
He paused, surprised, and said in confusion, “This Major Xu Ze sure runs fast. In just a short while, he’s covered this much ground…”
Behind him, a middle-aged soldier in field gear and a helmet, with two bars and two stars on his shoulder, didn’t care about the details. He just said firmly, “Never mind that. Pinpoint the location. We have to pick up Major Xu Ze as quickly as possible.”
“Yes, Lieutenant Colonel.” Obeying the stern order, the pilot said nothing more, acknowledged, and continued flying swiftly toward the new position.
Meanwhile, Xu Ze was striding out of the cafeteria. The only place near the cafeteria where a helicopter could land was the lawn out front, so he needed to get to the entrance and wait for their arrival.
Just as he reached the door, he ran into Sun Lingfei, whom he hadn’t seen in a few days, along with Student Council President Li Yuxuan. The two of them were walking with a few council officers, discussing something as they headed inside.
When they saw Xu Ze, their eyes lit up. Sun Lingfei gave him a sweet smile, but given their recent low-key stance, she didn’t say anything. Beside her, Li Yuxuan laughed and said, “Xu Ze, have you eaten? Want to sit with us for a bit?”
Xu Ze glanced at Sun Lingfei, nodded slightly, then smiled at Li Yuxuan. “No thanks, you go ahead. I’m in a hurry to take care of something.”
Li Yuxuan turned his head to look at Sun Lingfei beside him. Seeing a hint of disappointment in her pretty eyes, he sighed softly inside and said, “Alright then, you go ahead.”
Xu Ze smiled, then looked at Sun Lingfei. Seeing her disappointed expression, he hesitated for a moment before saying, “I have to go to Yanjing. Not sure how long I’ll be. I’ll call you when I’m back.”
With that, guessing he didn’t have much time left, he hurriedly strode out of the cafeteria.
Hearing his rushed explanation, Sun Lingfei was stunned. They had agreed not to show affection in front of others, so why was Xu Ze announcing things like this today, and in such a hurry? Rushing off to Yanjing at this time—was something important going on?
She couldn’t help but turn to look at Xu Ze, who was already heading toward the door, her eyes filled with shock and doubt.
But as she turned, she also saw a girl walking in through the cafeteria entrance. When the girl saw Xu Ze approaching, her face lit up with surprise and joy. She looked at him and said, “Xu Ze, you’ve already eaten?”
Seeing Zhang Linyun in front of him, Xu Ze paused, thinking to himself, What a coincidence—I’m running into everyone today.
Just then, Xiao Dao’s voice rang out in Xu Ze’s mind: “Southwest direction, three o’clock position. An aircraft is approaching fast. Distance: two kilometers.”
“So fast?” Hearing this, Xu Ze had no choice but to nod at Zhang Linyun and smile. “Yes, I’ve eaten. I have something to do, so I have to go.”
He nodded at Zhang Linyun and strode out again.
Under Zhang Linyun’s astonished gaze, Xu Ze stepped out of the cafeteria and looked up at the three o’clock position above him. Sure enough, he saw a small black dot rapidly approaching. Within seconds, the faint roar of rotor blades became audible, and the black dot quickly grew larger. Moments later, with a thundering noise, it arrived above the roof of Xingda’s cafeteria.
“Have you spotted Major Xu Ze yet?” Lieutenant Colonel Li Bai looked down at the students below, all craning their necks to look at the sky, and asked anxiously.
The operator glanced at the location displayed on his screen. After a few flashes, the system locked onto a black figure, and he said excitedly, “I’ve found Major Xu Ze. He’s wearing a short black trench coat and heading toward the lawn below.”
Lieutenant Colonel Li Bai quickly scanned the crowd and indeed saw a young man in a black coat hurrying toward the lawn.
“Good. Land immediately.”
Meanwhile, the sudden roar from outside had drawn the attention of students inside the cafeteria. Many began putting down their food and heading out to see what was happening.
Sun Lingfei recognized the sound of a helicopter. Her face filled with shock and concern as she started walking briskly toward the cafeteria exit.
Xu Ze had left in such a hurry, even disregarding their agreement to keep their distance, and told her where he was going—was something really wrong? And a helicopter was coming to pick him up? Thinking about the Tang family behind Xu Ze, her heart was filled with unease.
At the same time, Zhang Linyun stood on the cafeteria steps, watching Xu Ze run toward the lawn below and then looking at the black military helicopter circling overhead. Her face was also full of shock.
Standing next to the lawn, Xu Ze watched the armed helicopter slowly descending. His expression was serious. To pick him up, they’d even deployed an armed helicopter… What was going on?
“China’s most advanced Z-10 armed helicopter… the fastest and most fully equipped helicopter in the Xingcheng Military Region. It was probably sent specifically to make it easier to find your location, not for any combat mission,” Xiao Dao quickly analyzed.
Hearing Xiao Dao’s words, Xu Ze relaxed a little. He had indeed been alarmed. If they weren’t sending an ordinary helicopter to pick someone up but instead the most advanced attack helicopter, that would really put the pressure on.
As the helicopter touched down on the lawn, the cabin door slid open and an officer in combat gear jumped out, running toward Xu Ze.
When he reached Xu Ze, the officer raised his hand in a salute and asked, “Excuse me, are you Major Xu Ze?”
Xu Ze was stunned for a moment, looking at the two bars and two stars on the officer’s shoulder. This man was a genuine lieutenant colonel, one rank higher than himself. Why was he saluting first? Xu Ze quickly returned the salute and said, “I’m Xu Ze.”
Fortunately, he had watched plenty of military dramas over the years, so his salute wasn’t too far off the mark.
“I am Lieutenant Colonel Li Bai. We finally found you, Major. Please, come with me.” After confirming Xu Ze’s identity, Lieutenant Colonel Li Bai nodded happily and ran back toward the helicopter.
Seeing how urgently the man was moving, Xu Ze didn’t dare delay either and quickly followed him to the helicopter.
“Isn’t that Xu Ze?” The Xingda students gathered outside the lawn watched Xu Ze salute the officer who had gotten off the helicopter, then run toward it. They were dumbfounded.
One sharp-eyed student who was also a military enthusiast blurted out in shock, “A Z-10 armed helicopter… and that officer is a lieutenant colonel… Why did he salute Xu Ze?”
But Xu Ze didn’t care about causing a stir at this point. He simply followed behind Li Bai and climbed into the helicopter.
The Z-10 only had two seats: one for the pilot in front and one for the weapons operator in back. Li Bai sat in the weapons operator’s seat. After climbing in, he pulled Xu Ze up, and the two of them squeezed into the single seat.
After closing the cabin door and waiting for the helicopter to take off, Li Bai apologized to Xu Ze, “Sorry, Major Xu Ze. The orders came through very urgently. I was out on a training mission, so I came directly to pick you up. Please bear with it for a bit.”
“No problem, Lieutenant Colonel. What’s going on? Why the rush?” Two big men sharing one seat was uncomfortable, but fortunately the rear compartment was slightly larger than the front. Xu Ze shifted a little and didn’t find it too unbearable.
Lieutenant Colonel Li Bai also looked puzzled. “I don’t know the details. I only know that the commander personally relayed the order for me to pick you up and take you to the airport. There should already be a J-10 waiting for you there.”
“A J-10?” Hearing that name, Xu Ze gasped. What on earth was happening today that they’d send a fighter jet to fly him to Yanjing?
The J-10 was China’s newest front-line fighter aircraft. It was probably the fastest way the military had to get him directly to Yanjing. How serious was this?
“Major Xu Ze, don’t worry. The pilot taking you there is one of the best in the air force. He’ll keep it as smooth as possible. You won’t be too uncomfortable.” Seeing Xu Ze’s stunned expression, Lieutenant Colonel Li Bai spoke respectfully, trying to reassure him.
He was also very curious about this inscrutable young major. On the surface, the young major appeared to be just a student. Yet the General Staff Department was urgently summoning him, even arranging a J-10 to pick him up. That meant this young major’s identity was something to take very seriously.
That was why, when he first saw that Xu Ze didn’t react to his arrival, he took the initiative to salute first. Otherwise, there was no rule for a lieutenant colonel to salute a major first.
Xu Ze let out a soft breath. By now, he had a rough idea of what was happening. Some very important figure in Yanjing must be seriously ill, at a critical point, and the hospitals in Yanjing had no solution. Old Master Li must have recommended him.
“Does Old Master Li really trust me that much? I just hope he’s not pushing me into the fire…” Thinking about the powerful figures gathered in Yanjing, the sort of person who could make Old Master Li take such a step, Xu Ze’s heart began to pound.
