Dare to shirk responsibility? This adorable little one will tear down your military district!

Platoon Leader Li received the order and gave a tactical hand signal. Four veterans, bayoneted semi-automatic rifles, carefully made their way up the sticky blue brick steps.

The passageway in the underground palace was already narrow, and with the recent gunpowder explosions and machine gun fire, the blue brick walls were covered in soot. More than twenty corpses lay scattered on the ground, broken knives and guns strewn everywhere.

Old Zhao, the veteran walking at the front, stepped on a bandit's thigh with his military boots. He looked down and felt a chill run down his spine.

The seven or eight people on the ground had all been knocked down by Niu Dan, their wounds neat and uniform, all fatal injuries including severed Achilles tendons and slit throats. The method was swift and decisive, leaving no chance of survival.

Old Zhao had spent over a decade on the battlefield, killing countless people with real swords and guns, but seeing the carnage created by this seven-and-a-half-year-old child still made him uneasy.

"That little brat, he'll be a real menace if he wears a military uniform," Old Zhao muttered under his breath, kicking away a rusty homemade gun next to him.

A series of humming and moaning sounds came from the top of the steps.

Platoon Leader Li, gun in hand, strode forward and swept the beam of his flashlight across the area. It turned out to be four slow-moving bandits, plus the one-eared bald man with a bullet wound in his shoulder. These wretches scrambled and stumbled, but they didn't get far before their legs cramped, and they collapsed on the open ground outside the stone gate, panting heavily.

When the one-eared bald man saw the flashlight shining down on him, he was so frightened that he kicked his legs and knelt down on the sand with a thud.

"Sir! Sir, spare our lives! We're just beggars in this desert. We didn't recognize your greatness and offended you gentlemen. Please give us a way out!" The one-eared bald man had lost his arrogant and desperate attitude. Ignoring the bloody hole in his shoulder, he kept kowtowing to the sand.

Platoon Leader Li ignored his nonsense and kicked the bald man right in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Tie them up! Gag them with their tattered clothes, and if they make a sound, fix them with bayonets!" Platoon Leader Li ordered sternly.

Several veterans rushed forward, pulled belts from the bandits, and quickly tied the hands of the five survivors behind their backs, binding them tightly. Their stinking sheepskin coats were torn into strips and stuffed into their mouths, and now the world was finally quiet.

In less than half an hour, the "Northwest Wolf" bandit gang, which had been a headache for Hongshanbaozi for more than a decade, was completely wiped out by thirty elite soldiers and a seven-year-old child.

After dealing with these scumbags, Platoon Leader Li arranged for two soldiers to take the survivors away first, while he led his men to the outskirts of the ruins.

The two soldiers left outside to guard the camels were now bound hand and foot and thrown into a broken sand pit. The one-eared bald man had sprayed a strong sleeping potion into their faces with a blowpipe. Platoon Leader Li took out his canteen and poured cold water directly onto their faces.

The two soldiers snapped out of their daze, and after figuring out what had happened, they were so ashamed that their faces turned bright red. They kept cursing themselves for being useless and not even putting out a proper sentry.

"Alright, as long as they're alright. These bandits do this kind of despicable thing all the time, it's impossible to guard against them. Go check what they left behind." Platoon Leader Li waved his hand and pulled the two men up.

I don’t know, I’m scared.

Behind the sand dunes, in a sheltered spot, a large herd of livestock was tethered tightly together. This band of sand bandits had come out in full force, with dozens of sturdy desert horses and more than ten Bactrian camels.

A large pile of sheepskin water bags hung on the horse's back, heavy with sweet well water. Besides water, there were also a dozen sacks of dried, unleavened naan bread and strips of salted mutton.

Guide Old Ma shakily crawled out from the crack in the rocks, staring wide-eyed at the huge pile of livestock and supplies.

"Good heavens! Sir, you've raided a den of thieves! Those damned wolves from the Northwest, all their belongings are here!" Old Ma slapped his thigh excitedly.

In the Taklamakan Desert, gold and silver are less valuable than a sip of water or a camel. With these dozens of animals and full water bags, escaping this sea of ​​death would be a piece of cake.

After the supplies were packed up, Platoon Leader Li ran back to the underground palace stone chamber and reported the results of the battle to Gu Changfeng.

After listening, Gu Changfeng finally showed a hint of satisfaction on his dark face. He was sitting on a large camphor wood chest, holding a damp cloth handed to him by Lin Wanrou, wiping the bloodstains from Niu Dan's neck.

Niu Dan stood quietly, without saying a word. After his outburst, the frenzy born of fear within him had been completely suppressed. As long as the people around him stayed put, he wouldn't have to fight.

"Well done. Gather all the captured horses and camels outside the underground palace. Distribute the water bags as well." Gu Changfeng tossed the wet cloth aside. "Platoon Leader Li, everyone rest for ten minutes, eat some dry rations and drink some water. The real battle is about to begin."

As soon as Gu Changfeng finished speaking, all thirty veterans looked at the camphor wood chests piled up like a small mountain in the center of the stone chamber.

The tension was too high during the battle, and now that everyone has some free time, looking at these hundred boxes of bright yellow croaker, a sense of worry is starting to creep in.

Ya Ya squatted down beside him, peeling the special chocolates Lei Zhentian had given her. These were the goodies her godfather had stuffed into a whole tin box before she left Beijing. She took a big bite, her cheeks bulging, her large eyes darting back and forth between the wooden crate and the camel.

This gold is quite a heavy thing. A box containing fifty pounds of large yellow croakers, plus the thick, insect-proof old camphor wood box, and the lead blocks and tar paper poured in inside for moisture protection, a single box must weigh at least a hundred pounds.

One hundred boxes, that's a solid ten thousand jin!

Even if they captured dozens of camels and horses, this is the desert! The sand is as soft as flour; a person walking on it will sink up to half their instep. A camel can carry a maximum of 300 pounds; any heavier and its hooves will get stuck. Horses are even less effective in the sand.

If you were to force over 10,000 kilograms of gold onto these animals, they wouldn't even make it out of the desert; they'd all die of exhaustion before they could even get two miles out.

"Chief of Staff, we have enough camels. But the canvas bags we brought can't hold all these gold bars. If we have to carry the boxes out as well..." Old Zhao squatted on the ground, munching on a flatbread, and sighed as he looked at the high steps.

Gu Changfeng stood up, took out a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes from his pocket, took one out and put it in his mouth, but didn't light it. The air circulation in this place was poor, and he was thinking of his wife and children, so he forced himself to suppress his craving for a cigarette.

"We have to fill them up, even if we can't fit them all! These are the foundations left by our predecessors to save the nation's destiny; not a single one can be lost here." Gu Changfeng's eyes were resolute as he reached out and patted the nearest camphor wood chest.

"Two people at a time! By any means necessary, take off your clothes and leggings! Take all the gold bars out and pack them up! If the camels can't carry them, everyone carry them on their shoulders! If we can't carry them all in one trip, we'll camp here and carry as much as we can. We still have time; we can't let those foreign devils behind us get the spoils!"

As soon as Gu Changfeng gave the order, the veterans stood up without a word. Everyone knew how grueling this job was, but military orders were absolute.

Old Zhao, carrying an entrenching tool, pried open the wooden crate lid with a single shovel. The dazzling golden light once again dazzled everyone's eyes. Several soldiers took off their military overcoats, spread them on the ground, and began stuffing the large yellow croakers into their coats one by one.

Fifty pounds of gold bars were wrapped in his clothes and tied in a tight knot. Two burly men found a sturdy, thick wooden stick, threaded it through the knot, and huffed and puffed as they hoisted it onto their shoulders.

"Rise!" Old Zhao shouted.

The veins on the necks of the two veterans bulged, and they staggered as they walked up the blue brick steps.

The underground passage was far from flat; the ground was covered with wood chips and the blood and gore left by bandits. The soldiers trudged up, their boots constantly slipping. After carrying dozens of meters, they were panting heavily, their backs soaked with sweat.

After moving things for more than half an hour, with thirty people going back and forth, their arms and shoulders were shaking from exhaustion. Looking back, they realized that only a small corner of the golden mountain in the center of the stone chamber was missing; they hadn't even finished moving one-tenth of it.

"Dad, this iron lump is too heavy. The uncles are sweating from exhaustion." Ya Ya sat on another wooden box, her two short legs dangling in mid-air.

Gu Changfeng walked over and gently patted Ya Ya's head.

"Those are the uncles working for the country. Be good, Ya Ya, don't run around, there's miasma here. After your mom gets you some hot water to drink, lie down on the box and take a nap. When it's light, Dad will carry you out." Gu Changfeng's tone was extremely gentle.

He glanced at the soldiers, whose faces were flushed from exhaustion, and his brows furrowed deeply.

At this rate, even if they worked for three days and three nights without eating or drinking, they still wouldn't be able to empty this underground palace. What if the foreign mercenaries followed the footprints they left behind? By then, they would be exhausted and wouldn't even have the strength to fire a gun. How would they protect these treasures then?

"Everyone! Rest for twenty minutes! Then take turns!" Gu Changfeng shouted.

The veterans breathed a sigh of relief, plopped down on the cool flagstones, and gulped down water. Platoon Leader Li leaned against a pillar, rubbing his aching thighs.

The underground palace fell silent, with only heavy breathing echoing through the air.

Ya Ya looked down at the small piece of chocolate left in her hand, a sly smile spreading across her face.

Her 200-square-meter personal space had previously been filled with smuggled rosewood furniture and several large sacks of medicinal herbs from Qin Dachuan, but there was still a large area of ​​land next to the medicinal herb field left empty. Time stood still in that space; it couldn't hold living things, but it was perfectly suited for holding these lifeless nuggets of gold.

She'd been eyeing those big yellow croakers for a while. Since no one else could carry them, she decided to be a good person and help ease the burden.

"Hmph, with me in charge, this little bit is nothing." Ya Ya stuffed the last bite of chocolate into her mouth and patted the dust off her tactical vest.

While the veterans were resting with their eyes closed and Gu Changfeng was inspecting the passage defenses, Ya Ya jumped off the box and, like a little mouse, quietly crept to the back of the camphor wood boxes that had not yet been opened at the innermost part of the stone chamber.