My hotel is full of emperors throughout history.

Watching Sergei walk out, Chen Mo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing the door closed, Old Zhu immediately snorted coldly.

"This damned Northern Union, the people in the government offices, are all greedy for money and have no manners whatsoever! They're even worse than the corrupt officials back then; at least they put on a show!"

Liu Che seemed to be deep in thought.

"It seems that the laws are lax here, and money can move mountains."

"Those two constables were arrogant at first and then obsequious; they were driven solely by self-interest. In this way, we might actually be less constrained by officialdom in our actions."

Li Shimin sat by the radiator, rubbing his hands together.

"Although this Sergei is not from the proper path, he is efficient and has many connections. In extraordinary times, such an extraordinary person may be useful. However, we must guard against his backlash."

"Do you even need to tell me?"

Old Zhu glanced at him.

"That kid was up to no good earlier, his eyes kept glancing over here. If he knew our strengths and weaknesses, he probably would have..."

Old Zhu sneered again.

"It's probably a case of double-crossing."

"No problem, as long as I can buy what I want and bring it back to the Han Dynasty."

"As for their double-crossing?"

Liu Che smiled.

"Anyway, I can go straight back, so why be afraid of this?"

The others nodded, but then, as if suddenly remembering something, all turned to look at Chen Mo.

"We can go back, but what about you?"

Chen Mo fell silent.

Seeing this, Old Zhu suddenly grinned, walked to Chen Mo's side, and patted him on the shoulder.

"If anything really comes up, why not come to our Great Ming Dynasty!"

"Actually, I'd really like to show you the Hongwu Emperor under our rule."

"Father, are you just watching? You're probably going to experience torture firsthand, aren't you?"

Zhu Di muttered something to himself and looked at Chen Mo.

"If you're going to come, come to Yongle!"

"My Han people are no less formidable!"

"Then why don't you come to my Great Qin? I'll appoint you as a Grand General!"

"Just forget about it, all of you!"

Just as everyone was arguing, Li Shimin suddenly spoke up.

"If anything happens, I will personally bring him back to the Tang Dynasty!"

Li Shimin looked at Chen Mo with a serious expression.

"Don't worry, even if you don't come back, I won't treat you badly."

"I'll let you..."

As they were talking, there was a gentle knock on the door—three short knocks followed by one long one—the pre-arranged code between Sergei and his family.

Chen Mo gestured for the others to be quiet, then stepped forward and opened the door.

Sergei stood outside the door, carrying two bulging plastic bags, and the aroma of bread and sausage wafted in.

"I brought you some food."

He grinned, revealing teeth stained yellow by tobacco, but his gaze subtly swept over the people in the room.

"Dark bread, salami, and vodka to warm you up."

Zhu Yuanzhang stared at the clear bottle of vodka, his eyes full of curiosity.

"This is the strong liquor you were talking about?"

Sergei nodded and placed the items on the table.

"Authentic North Russian vodka, drinking this will warm you up."

Li Shimin stepped forward, picked up a piece of black bread, broke off a small piece, chewed it, and frowned slightly.

"The taste is very strange."

Sergei didn't understand what he said, but he guessed what it was from his expression, so he shrugged and didn't care.

He pulled a crumpled flyer from his pocket and slapped it on the table.

"I've found you a great place—a military-themed park on the outskirts of the city. You can drive tanks and shoot targets; it's all real stuff. Didn't you want to buy some merchandise? Most of the instructors there are retired veterans; they're pretty rudimentary."

Chen Mo's eyes lit up, and he was about to speak when Liu Che asked first.

"Is it safe? Is someone watching us?"

Sergei patted his chest and assured him.

"Don't worry, I've taken care of everything. Just pretend you're tourists, no one will ask any questions. But—"

He changed the subject, rubbed his fingers together, and gave a shrewd smile.

"The cost of living there is not low, and if you want to make connections with veterans, you have to be prepared with some 'sincerity'."

Chen Mo understood what he meant and took out a wad of US dollars from his wallet and handed it over.

"This is a deposit; it will be doubled once the deal is done."

Sergei's eyes lit up instantly, and he quickly stuffed the money into his pocket and patted it.

"That's great! I'll pick you up first thing tomorrow morning. By the way..."

He looked at Zhu Yuanzhang and the others.

"Wear something warm; it's colder over there than in the city. Also, talk less; too much talk leads to mistakes."

After Sergei left, Zhu Di couldn't help but say.

"This kid looks like he's only interested in money. Is he reliable?"

"Even if it's unreliable, we have to use it."

Chen Mo sighed.

"We're unfamiliar with this place now, so we can only take it one step at a time."

Liu Che walked to the table, picked up the leaflet, and looked at the tanks on it with burning eyes.

"If we could bring this iron lump back to the Han Dynasty, it would be worth a thousand soldiers."

Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his hand on the table, making the vodka bottle shake.

"Let's do it! What are a few setbacks if we can get our hands on such a powerful weapon! We'll take turns keeping watch tonight and set off tomorrow morning!"

In contrast, Zhu Gaoxu's attention was not on this.

He looked at the bottle of vodka and muttered to himself.

"It can warm you up, really?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Zhu Di.

"Dad! How about we get something?"

Zhu Di laughed and cursed.

"You little brat!!! All you ever think about is drinking!"

……

As night deepened, the heating in the room continued to hum, but it did not dispel the vigilance in the hearts of the group.

Zhu Yuanzhang stood guard by the window, his eyes scanning the activity below like a hawk.

Liu Che was studying the leaflet, trying to find some useful information from the Russian text on it.

Li Shimin leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes to rest, but his fingers tapped lightly on his knees, as if he were pondering something.

Ying Zheng was drinking vodka with Zhu Gaochi and Zhu Di, marveling at it as he drank.

"This stuff is really strong!"

"You should learn from your older brother and be more mature!"

Zhu Di, his face flushed, lectured him.

But Zhu Gaoxu was displeased and slammed his hand on the table, causing the vodka bottle to shake.

"If I were to follow my older brother's example, wouldn't you be worried?"

"Besides! With my elder brother's mild and unambitious nature, can he really protect our Ming Dynasty's territory?"

"If it really comes to war, you have to look to us! Back in the Jingnan Campaign, we led our cavalry into battle, and we were...we were absolutely invincible!"

"Oh~!"

Old Zhu glanced at him from the side.

"Looks like you're quite capable!"

Zhu Gaoxu shrank his neck, his face turned red and his neck thickened, his tongue began to curl, but he still stubbornly shouted.

"No...Grandpa, you don't know..."

Zhu Di paused, his hand holding the wine cup, his brows furrowed, and he kicked him in the knee.

"You brat! Are you out of your mind? What kind of place is this, daring to spout nonsense like that!"

He cursed, but then tilted his head back and took a big gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing and a hint of red appearing in the corner of his eye.

"Are things from back then something you can just talk about outside?"

Ying Zheng sat to one side, listening to the conversation between the two people next to him. His gaze swept over Zhu Gaoxu, and he chuckled.

"Talking nonsense while drunk is a major taboo in the army. If you were under my command, you would have been dragged away and dealt with according to military law long ago."

Zhu Gaoxu was sobered up a bit by Ying Zheng's rebuke, but he still muttered resentfully.

"I'm just... I'm so excited! The thought of opening that metal thing tomorrow is making me so itchy!"

"That's..."

"Enough! Shut up, all of you!!!"

Old Zhu glared and whispered.

"Do they really think this place is their own home? There might be someone listening next door!"

Zhu Gaoxu immediately shut his mouth and became alert.

Old Zhu snorted and continued in a low voice.

"Be careful tonight, don't sleep too soundly, understand?"