Starting from South America, speeding through the world

Chapter 101 Sudden Changes
5:24 a.m.

Before dawn, the city remained in the pre-holiday silence.

Zhou Yi opened his eyes when the satellite phone on the chair started vibrating.

He didn't go to get it right away; he first glanced at the side.

The girl in the coffee shop was still fast asleep, her hair disheveled, her cheeks buried in the pillow, and her shoulders half-exposed.

Zhou Yi's gaze lingered on her for a second before he reached for the phone and sat up.

"It's going to be shut down again, for another thirty-six hours."

Ivan's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Understood." Zhou Yi said and then hung up the phone.

The signal has been confirmed.

A 36-hour window.

It took much longer than expected.

Zhou Yi dressed, walked to the table, put the cigarette case and lighter into his pocket, and checked the location of the pistol and spare magazine again.

Just as he bent down to fasten his belt, the girl on the bed turned over and groggily opened her eyes: "John, where are you going?"

Zhou Yi turned to look at her, his tone calm: "You're awake?"

"What time did you get up? It's only a little past five." She propped herself up on the edge of the bed and sat up. "Today is New Year's Eve, have you forgotten?"

"I didn't forget."

The girl bit her lip and whispered, "My mom prepared dinner and said she wants to see you tonight."

Her eyes held a hint of expectation: "Do you have time? Even just for a little while."

Zhou Yi paused for a moment, then smiled, opened the door, and walked out.

"Don't be silly, goodbye, Vera."

Downstairs, there were only a few pedestrians on the street.

A hint of iron gray appeared on the horizon.

Zhou Yi got into the Lada Niva, started the car, left Nikolayev, and drove towards Sevastopol.

There, he needs to find Mikhail.

Then "convince" him to act according to your plan.

Speechless all the way.

Zhou Yi changed his clothes on the way, wearing a cheap jacket, gray cloth pants, and an old woolen hat that had been washed until it was faded, looking like an ordinary worker getting off work at the port.

The toolbox lay quietly at the passenger's feet, its metallic texture occasionally making a soft clanging sound when the brakes were applied.

Finally, after more than seven hours, we arrived at our destination.

A fog had appeared in the sky sometime earlier.

Mikhail's residence is located in the northern suburbs, near an abandoned communications tower.

The area is located on high ground, far from the main roads of the city, and is usually deserted.

Zhou Yi parked the car at the foot of the mountain behind a patch of dry grass.

Then, wearing a mask and carrying a bag, he crept up through the woods.

About two hundred meters before reaching the manor, he stopped and lay prone behind a grassy slope on higher ground, using both his naked eye and binoculars to observe the perimeter of the target.

Within minutes, he noticed something was wrong.

The alert level here is very high.

Four heavily armed men were stationed near the main entrance, and there were even security cameras installed nearby.

Someone is on guard against something.

Or perhaps, they are waiting for something.

After figuring out the pattern, Zhou Yi quietly approached the side and squatted down in front of a wire fence.

He crouched down, took out a tungsten wire saw from his bag, cut a rectangular slit, and carefully cleared away the soil at the bottom.

Ten minutes later, a hidden entrance appeared.

Zhou Yi deftly slipped inside.

With a few minutes to go before the next patrol, he walked close to the wall, avoiding the cameras, and stopped by a window in the main building.

Zhou Yi tapped the glass lightly with her fingernail to confirm that the glass thickness was appropriate, then pulled out a cutting knife from her sleeve.

Once the last cut was closed, he gently removed the entire circular piece of glass, then freed his hand to pry open the latch.

The building was surprisingly empty. Only a few picture frames remained on the walls, and the wooden box that used to hold piano sheet music was also empty.

Zhou Yi quickly checked the entire floor.

No one was around.

The entire house seemed to have been emptied out long ago.

According to the short-haired woman's testimony, Mikhail's family had been active here at least a week ago.

Moreover, there is considerable security here, far exceeding the standards of an abandoned dwelling.

The problem is huge.

Zhou Yi walked up the stairs, and just as he reached the corner, he heard someone approaching.

He immediately stepped back, drew his military knife, crouched low, and held his breath—

The footsteps are getting closer.

The man turned the corner in the corridor and was walking this way.

As soon as he stepped within attack range, Zhou Yi flashed out, grabbed the opponent's shoulder, and thrust his knife straight at the side of the neck.

Missed.

The man reacted extremely quickly, instinctively leaning back to dodge and then reaching out to block.

The two briefly entangled for half a second.

Zhou Yi suddenly exerted force with his right arm, delivering an elbow strike that slammed into the lower edge of the man's collarbone, slamming him against the wall.

Taking advantage of his opponent's loss of balance, he circled around and cut in from behind, tightening his arm to lock the carotid artery while hooking his right foot around the inside of the opponent's calf.

Within three seconds, the other person's body began to convulse.

Four seconds later, he completely lost consciousness.

Zhou Yi let go, carrying the man's rifle in one hand and dragging the man beside him into the study with the other.

Then, he took out a rope and tied him to the chair, with his hands behind his back, and tied two tight knots.

After everything was settled, Zhou Yi finally had a moment to look around the room.

Empty, utterly empty.

All the filing cabinets had been emptied, and the bookshelves were bare except for a row of decorative hardcover books.

Zhou Yi frowned.

Important documents were quickly cleared, traces on the house were cleaned, and security patrols were increased.

Mikhail is probably not trying to escape, but rather preparing to "do something big".

Just then, the security guard groaned and opened his eyes in pain.

But as soon as he looked up, he saw a pistol pointed at him.

"you--"

Before he could speak, the gun was thrust into his mouth.

His throat constricted instantly, and a strong urge to retch surged up. He instinctively began to struggle.

"Don't move." Zhou Yi gripped the back of his head with one hand and warned softly, "Otherwise I'll pull the trigger and splatter your brains all over the ceiling."

Upon hearing this, the man immediately stopped what he was doing, nodded stiffly, and looked terrified.

Seeing this, Zhou Yi slowly pulled out the muzzle of his gun and said, "Your identity."

The man swallowed hard, not daring to hide anything, "I'm the shift leader of the security team. I'm responsible for patrolling and dispatching this area."

"What is your name?"

"Andrei Ilich Matviyenko".

When was the last time you met Mikhail in person?

"An hour ago."

Zhou Yi narrowed his eyes, his tone unchanged: "Then tell me, what was his state an hour ago, who was he with, what car was he driving, and where was he going?"

Andrei tried hard to recall, not quickly, but without daring to stop:

"He was wearing casual clothes, and his car was that gray-silver Mercedes S600. He was with two other people, whom I had never seen before; they must be from out of town."

"As for where to go, he said Yevpatoria, to see his boss, Igor. I remember they had a party today."

"Exactly where?"

"The site of the northern sanatorium used to belong to the Black Sea Fleet."

　[1] Chapter 97 because the evidence was completely lost (the general plot is that Ivan talks about his life experiences, and then at the end he promises to help Zhou Yi keep an eye on the blockade time of the Kamine Station).
　　[2] Regarding the choice of the next world, please, dear readers, go to the book club and vote! Orz
　　
　
(End of this chapter)