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

The shuttle boat's engine roared as it approached, stirring up white spray.

A burly officer in marine camouflage was the first to leap onto the deck of the "Atrume," his tactical boots making a heavy thud as they stepped onto the metal. Behind him, eight fully armed Marines quickly spread out, guns pointed outward, establishing a perimeter.

The newcomer moved swiftly and decisively, his sharp eyes exuding a ruthless and murderous aura. His gaze quickly swept over the group of engineers on the deck who looked like refugees, finally settling on the young man with a cigarette dangling from his lips at the bow.

Marine Corps Captain Zhang Yi's eyelids twitched suddenly.

According to intelligence, the key figure in this operation was this civilian expert named Su Ming. He expected to meet a ruthless man with a weathered look in his eyes and bulging muscles.

But this guy... he looks like a college student who skipped class for a budget trip? Apart from that somewhat heavy canvas bag, he wasn't wearing any tactical gear. The unlit cigarette added to his relaxed demeanor, which seemed completely out of place in the room.

Zhang Yi suppressed his doubts, strode forward, and stopped abruptly three steps in front of Su Ming, giving a standard military salute.

"Report! I am Zhang Yi, captain of the Marine Corps of Ship 168 of the Chinese Navy. I am ordered to escort Dr. Chen and all the trapped compatriots home! Please give instructions!" His voice was loud and clear.

The surrounding engineers were dumbfounded.

These were elite soldiers, armed to the teeth, yet they were saluting a student who looked even younger than them, and even using phrases like "please give instructions."

Su Ming took the cigarette out of his mouth, held it between his fingers, and gestured with his chin behind him.

"Everyone's here. Dr. Chen is cleaning his glasses over there. Apart from a bit of low blood sugar and some emotional distress, he's all right. The rest of the people are all there too, just a little thinner from hunger. They'll be fine after they get back."

Zhang Yi looked in the direction he was pointing and immediately arranged for two team members to step forward to protect him. He turned to Su Ming again, about to speak.

Su Ming pointed to the other end of the nail plate, where one person was unconscious and the other was kneeling on the ground trembling.

Su Ming casually remarked, "This is a complimentary local specialty, an internationally renowned hazardous waste, codenamed 'Wild Dog.' This thing has a bounty on the black market, and it possesses a considerable amount of secret information about the 'Vulture' mercenary group. I suggest recycling it; although it's non-biodegradable, we can still extract some of its remaining value."

Zhang Yi's gaze swept over the two men. Upon hearing the terms "hazardous waste" and "recycling," he was initially taken aback, but then he wholeheartedly agreed. The terminology was a bit crude, but it wasn't wrong.

"And this one," Su Ming said, pointing to Captain Kant kneeling on the ground.

Kant shuddered, his face instantly plastered with a fawning smile, and he raised his hands, shouting, "Sir! We're on the same side! I'm here to surrender! I didn't take a single bag of those noodles, I can vouch for that!"

Zhang Yi glanced at Kant's government army uniform, then at the gunboat with white underwear hanging on it not far away, and his brain went blank for half a second.

This scene... contains a lot of information.

"Take them all away." Zhang Yi waved his hand, and two team members immediately stepped forward and dragged Wild Dog and Kant towards the shuttle boat like sacks.

At this moment, Dr. Chen, supported by his team members, walked over and excitedly grasped Zhang Yi's hand: "Good, good! Thank you, comrade, thank you, motherland!"

After saying that, he turned to Su Ming and solemnly introduced him to Zhang Yi: "Captain Zhang, this is Su Ming! He saved us all this time!"

Zhang Yi's gaze fell on Su Ming again. He saluted Su Ming solemnly, his voice steady and powerful: "Mr. Su, thank you for your hard work."

Su Ming carefully stuffed the CET-6 practice test book back into his canvas bag before slowly replying, "It's not hard work, it's just that I'm unlucky. Oh no, it's that taking the CET-6 exam is hard work."

His gaze passed over Zhang Yi and landed on the guide, Sam, who was still crying while hugging a bowl of instant noodles.

"Sam," Su Ming said.

Sam jolted awake, wiped away his tears and snot, and scrambled over: "Boss! What can I do for you?"

Su Ming took out an unopened pack of braised beef noodles from the box of instant noodles, and then took out two intact bottles of Lao Gan Ma chili sauce from his backpack and handed them to Sam.

"Your payment."

Sam, holding the noodles and hot sauce, was teeth chattering and on the verge of tears: "Boss... am I going to jail? I heard that Chinese people are very rude to collaborators."

"You're a contract worker." Su Ming pulled out a crumpled wad of US dollars from his pocket, which he had won from General Buck. "This is the final payment, plus a tip."

Sam hesitated to accept the money, but his eyes were fixed on it.

Su Ming stuffed the money into the pocket of his tattered jacket: "Take it. This boat is yours too."

Sam froze, pointing at the "Truth" ship at his feet, a vessel welded from barges, truck engines, and scrap metal: "This...this is for me too?"

"Hmm." Su Ming looked at the ugly steel monster. "It's a bit ugly, but it's very sturdy. Take it back upstream, modify it a bit, and it can haul cargo. All the bridges in this area have been blown up. If you have a boat, you have a monopoly."

Sam was stunned by the sudden windfall. He looked at the US dollars in his hand, then at the ship at his feet, and suddenly knelt down with a "waah," hugging Su Ming's leg and crying.

"Boss! You're like a second parent to me! I, Sam, will work for you from now on!"

Zhang Yi and the marines looked at each other, momentarily stunned.

Sending money, supplies, and even a ship? This move... they don't understand it either.

Su Ming struggled to pull his legs out of Sam's embrace.

Dr. Chen stood behind him, watching Su Ming's retreating figure. The setting sun cast its last rays, perfectly outlining the silhouette of the distant destroyer and the young man. This scene overwhelmed him with emotion, and he couldn't help but remove his glasses and wipe the moisture from his eyes.

"A peerless hero..."

Su Ming was half-squatting, laboriously pulling a thick copper wire out of a dilapidated electrical box on the "Truth". Hearing the exclamation behind him, he turned around but didn't stop: "Doctor, what did you say? This copper wire? This won't do, I had my eye on something else first, I can sell it for a lot of money when we get back."

Dr. Chen's hand froze in mid-air.

Dr. Chen felt a surge of anger within him.

Give me back my gratitude!