Searching for someone in northern Myanmar, and you call that earning tuition fees?

The rain poured down, and the beams of the searchlights were shattered by the rain curtain.

The binoculars in Zhao Gang's hands were trembling.

The huge gray outline is becoming clearer and clearer; this is not an illusion!

It was an adult Asian elephant, wading through the muddy floodwaters with earth-shaking steps.

On the elephant's back, a young man sat steadily at the front, with a thin girl on his back as well. Behind them were a man and a woman, and a monkey picking lice.

"Attention! All personnel on alert!"

Someone shouted, and the soldiers on the riverbank all pulled back their rifle bolts.

This scene is so damn surreal! Nobody has ever seen anyone smuggling across the border on an elephant, let alone riding an elephant out of a five-meter-high flood!

"Don't move! Put your guns down! Those are our own people!"

Liu Jianjun rushed forward, slapped Xiao Wang's helmet, and pressed down the dark muzzle of the gun.

"That's Mr. Su! Anyone who dares to misfire, I'll kill him!"

Xiao Wang: "???"

The elephant stopped ten meters from the shore. It snorted and flicked out a jet of water, washing the faces of several soldiers in the front row.

"arrive."

Su Ming patted the elephant's rough forehead, as if he were patting the dashboard of a taxi.

He leaped lightly and landed silently, the splashing mud and water not even reaching his ankles.

Then he turned around and steadily lifted the medicine girl down into his arms.

Finally, Ling Qiao helped Jerry, who had slumped down like a lump of fat, slide down the elephant's trunk.

"vomit--"

Jerry had barely touched the ground when he immediately lay down in the mud and vomited up all his bile. The wild monkey, looking disgusted, jumped up and landed on the shoulder of a nearby soldier.

Zhao Gang took a deep breath and strode forward.

Rainwater streamed down the brim of his hat like a waterfall, but he didn't bother to wipe it away.

He stood before Su Ming, his eyes bloodshot, his lips trembling slightly with excitement.

He suddenly brought his feet together, straightened his rain-soaked back, and raised his hand to give a strong and powerful military salute!

Whoosh—!

As he moved, all the heavily armed special forces soldiers on the riverbank immediately lowered their guard, straightened their chests, and raised their hands in salute!

A line of olive-green figures stood tall in the torrential rain, forming an impregnable wall.

Zhao Gang, his voice hoarse with excitement, roared, "Zhao Gang, Captain of the Southern Border Special Operations Brigade! Welcome home!"

Perhaps infected by the solemn atmosphere, the monkey perched on the soldier's shoulder also imitated him, raising its little paws to its eyebrows and making a comical salute.

Rainwater mixed with mud slid down Su Ming's face, but he didn't wipe it off immediately.

His gaze swept over the row of soldiers standing at attention, lingering for a moment on their young yet resolute faces. His expression was complex, as if he were filled with emotion. He wasn't a soldier, and he felt somewhat unfamiliar with this most solemn form of respect, even... uneasy.

He withdrew his gaze, looked at the tough man in front of him who was so excited he was about to cry, remained silent for a moment, and then nodded slightly in response.

"Zhao Gang?" Su Ming repeated the name, his tone finally showing a hint of emotion. "I know a bodyguard with the same name, he's a goofball."

Without waiting for a response, he looked at the woman in his arms, his expression turning serious again: "I've brought her back. Her condition is very bad; she needs immediate medical support. Also..."

He pointed to the elephant behind him that was rolling up leaves to eat.

"Could you reimburse me for the transportation cost? I promised to get them two tons of sugarcane."

For a moment, all that could be heard was the crunching sound of elephants chewing leaves.

Zhao Gang opened his mouth, feeling as if a walnut was stuck in his throat. After a long pause, he finally managed to squeeze out a sentence through gritted teeth: "Report... two tons of sugarcane?"

Su Ming added earnestly, "We also need to add ten kilograms of coarse salt. It has put in a lot of effort and is severely dehydrated."

Just then, Old Zhang, who was in charge of logistics, rushed over with his notebook in hand. He dropped his pen when he heard this. He had worked in logistics his whole life, and had reimbursed bullets, gasoline, and even military dogs that died in the line of duty, but he had never reimbursed the appearance fee for an elephant.

Zhao Gang felt his head buzzing, and nodded vigorously: "Okay...okay! Don't say two tons, ten tons is fine! Army doctor! Quick!"

The military doctors quickly surrounded her and lifted the woman into a stretcher.

Liu Jianjun sidled up to Su Ming, his expression more affectionate than if he were seeing his own father, and offered him a still-wet cigarette: "Mr. Su, this is... amazing! Where did you hire this elephant? And it doesn't even have a license plate?"

Su Ming took the cigarette and tucked it behind his ear, casually saying, "I picked him up on the road. He's got a good temper; he'll leave if you give him a bite to eat."

Jerry, lying on the ground, gagged again upon hearing the words "good-tempered."

Just then, the elephant, as if having completed its task, rubbed its trunk against Su Ming's shoulder, leaving it covered in mud. Su Ming patted its tusks and pointed to the dense forest behind him. The elephant raised its head and neighed, then turned and stepped into the darkness, disappearing from sight.

"Holy shit..." Xiao Wang couldn't help but swear.

Zhao Gang glared at him, but he also wanted to shout it out in his heart. He looked at Ling Qiao, whose face was pale and whose left arm was still bleeding, but whose eyes were unusually firm.

Ling Qiao saluted and said in a hoarse voice, "Team Leader Zhao, mission accomplished. If it weren't for Su Ming... we don't know how many times we would have died."

"No need to say anything more." Zhao Gang waved his hand, looking at Su Ming who was discussing sugarcane distribution with logistics officer Zhang, and felt that everything in front of him was absurd.

"Where's the fang?" Zhao Gang asked the most crucial question.

Su Ming turned around and said calmly, "He's probably still swimming in the river, or feeding the fish. His boat is broken."

"broken?"

Su Ming didn't mention the catapult, as that would be too complicated to explain. He simply said, "Well, the parts were worn out, and the propulsion unit fell apart. Anyway, my mission is complete."

As he spoke, Su Ming pulled out something wrapped in layers of waterproof bags from his pocket, and... a sampling container wrapped in plastic wrap.

He suddenly smiled, a pure and harmless smile.

"Oh, right, besides people, I also brought some local specialties."

Su Ming shoved the two items into Zhao Gang's arms.

"This is a free bonus from the part-time job, and it's free."