I chose one of four options at the start, and I chose the number one clan in Lingnan.

Lin Ting pushed the test report on the conference table aside.

"How many people are in vehicle number nine, and what are they transporting?"

Lin Fu retrieved the logistics order.

"Eight trucks, two security vehicles, and a total of twenty-six people. The goods were high-purity ceramic base materials, two sets of spindle temperature control components, and a batch of precision cutting tools. There were also four Hongtu assembly workers on the trucks; they had just returned from a supplier in another city."

"What's the final decision?"

"At the 17-kilometer mark of Qingshiling, the GPS, walkie-talkies, and cell phones of ten vehicles lost signal at the same time."

Lin Ting stood up.

"It wasn't a traffic accident. Someone planted jamming equipment."

Qingshiling spans three townships, with over 40 kilometers of mountain roads. In addition to the main road, there are also transport routes left by the forest farm. Searching the mountains at night by convoy can take half a day.

Lin Ting picked up the phone.

"The entire Tazhai drone team has been mobilized."

The surveying machines from Lin's Construction, the inspection machines from the logistics stations, the agricultural patrol machines from the Golden Fruit Base, and the night-flying aircraft from Huasheng Security were loaded onto trucks in batches.

Two hundred aircraft, not one missing.

Lin Dabiao dispatched 300 young men from the Lin family in Washington, dressed in security uniforms, and carrying first-aid kits, lighting equipment, and demolition tools to Qingshiling.

Lin Fu simultaneously reported the incident to the police, sending the list of personnel, cargo, and last location of the No. 9 convoy to the local police station.

Lin's security team entered the mountains under the pretext of searching for missing persons, and all video footage along the way was archived.

At 12:20 a.m., the first batch of vehicles arrived at the east entrance of Qingshiling.

The drizzle fell on the car window, washing away most of the tire tracks on the road.

Lin Ting sat in the command vehicle, with a map of the Qingshiling forest area hanging on the wall.

Lin Dabiao divided the three hundred people into twenty groups.

"Forty people will remain at each of the east and west entrances and the old forest road. The rest will go into the mountains. Each group will be equipped with two walkie-talkie repeaters, and no one is allowed to act alone."

More than 90 drone operators sat in a temporary tent.

Two hundred drones were deployed in four layers for the search.

The aerial work platform is responsible for mapping the mountain roads, while the medium-sized aerial work platform inspects vehicles and personnel.

Low-altitude aircraft searched along ditches and forest roads, while twenty infrared thermal imaging cameras were used to search mountain valleys and abandoned sheds.

The first flight lasted fifteen minutes, and a burned-out bread cart was spotted in the southwest direction.

The vehicle bears the Lin's Logistics logo and its license plate belongs to Team Nine.

Lin Fei and his men arrived at the scene and used tools to pry open the car door. There was no one inside, blood was splattered on the seats, and two Lin's work uniforms were thrown into the trunk.

"The license plate is fake."

Lin Fei scraped off the vehicle identification number (VIN) below the windshield.

"This car has been totaled for two years, and the blood was spilled on it."

Some people want to lead the search and rescue team southwest.

Lin Ting crossed out that road on the map.

"Ten vehicles can't get into the abandoned forest. Check both sides of the main road to find a ravine where cars can hide."

As the rain intensified, more than forty drones returned to base to recharge. Lin's Logistics delivered spare batteries to three resupply points, allowing operators to switch drones and fly again.

At 1:40 a.m., an operator raised his hand.

"Signal detected in Southeast No. 2 Ditch".

A red dot appeared on the screen; it was the rescue bracelet worn by the driver of Team Nine.

The wristband failed to upload data within the shielded area, and rainwater washed it into a drainage ditch, where it drifted two kilometers down the hillside, just outside the interference range.

Lin Fu retrieved the bracelet's cache.

The last location was 23 kilometers from Qingshiling.

There were no villages there, only a quarry that had been abandoned for many years.

All two hundred drones turned around.

Ten minutes later, the infrared thermal imaging camera detected more than twenty heat sources in the ravine north of the quarry.

Eight trucks and two security vehicles were all there.

Two steel cables stretched across the entrance to the convoy, and all four tires of the first security vehicle were punctured. When the following vehicles tried to reverse, their escape route was blocked by an abandoned dump truck.

The truck's tires were deflated, and the battery cables were cut.

Twenty-six members of the convoy were tied up in a drainage ditch; several had head injuries, and four Hongtu assemblers were kept alone in a tool shed.

There are still seven people in the ravine.

Two men were guarding the area from a high vantage point, three were pouring gasoline into the bottom of the truck, and the remaining two were installing the ignition device.

After watching the drone footage, Lin Fei picked up his riot shield.

Give me sixty men.

"Keep alive."

Lin Ting only gave three words.

Lin Fei entered the ravine from the drainage ditch on the east side. Two groups of security guards circled up the hillside and cut off the other side's retreat route.

Four forestry firefighting drones hovered above the truck, their nozzles aimed at the gasoline trail.

The man in the ravine took out a lighter.

Before the thumb could even be pressed, the fire-fighting drone sprayed dry powder, covering the gasoline trail.

"Someone has come in!"

The guard on the high ground raised his pistol.

Lin Fei pushed the riot shield across the gravel slope, bullets hitting the shield but being stopped by the protective layer. He crashed into the other man's arms, raised his elbow to press down on the wrist holding the gun, and with his other hand, he snatched the pistol.

The second guard turned and ran into the woods.

A dozen or so Lin's security guards appeared from behind the hillside and blocked the exit with shields.

The three men next to the truck grabbed iron bars, but before they could take more than a few steps, Lin Fei was already in front of them.

He used the edge of his shield to push aside the first one, then grabbed the second arm with his backhand. Lin's security guards pressed down from both sides, pinning the three of them to the ground.

The person in charge of igniting the fire abandoned the equipment and crawled into the waste pit.

The drone kept following overhead.

When he climbed out to the other end, Lin Dabiao was guarding the exit.

"Still running?"

The man raised his hand to touch his waist.

Lin Dabiao used a riot baton to hold down his hand and dragged him out of the pit.

All seven people were captured.

Lin's security team cut the cable ties in the drainage ditch. Two drivers suffered rib injuries, and one had a head injury. The emergency team first stabilized the injuries before sending the driver to the ambulance.

None of the four Hongtu assembly workers sustained serious injuries.

One of them told Lin Fei that after the group captured them, they repeatedly questioned who had installed the new machine tool spindle and who had come into contact with the L3 rotor.

They also opened two boxes and took pictures of the material numbers and the knife packaging.

Lin Fu inspects the seized items.

The seven individuals were carrying two foreign passports, five fake ID cards, a satellite phone, jamming equipment, a combustion device, and three encrypted mobile phones.

One of the phones was still on the money transfer page.

$480,000.

The payer is North Cape Macro Hedge Fund, registered in the Cayman Islands.

The funds passed through two companies in Singapore before finally ending up in the account of a security consulting firm in mainland China.

The transfer remarks consist of only one line of English text.

Jiangnan Equipment Project, Phase II Execution Fee.

Lin Fu put the equipment into the evidence bag.

"Grandpa, Mitsui didn't pay from its own account; they used an overseas fund as a shell company."

Outside the mountain valley, excavators and loaders were clearing dump trucks blocking the road. Local police were still on the way into the mountains, more than forty minutes' drive from the quarry.

Lin Ting walked up to the seven mercenaries, twirling a walnut in his hand.

The man at the head raised his head.

"We are commercial security personnel; you have no right to interrogate us."

Lin Ting looked down at the excavator on the hillside.

"The soil here is soft, so we can dig a hole quickly."

The man tried to back away, but two Lin family security guards kept him in place.

Lin Ting put the walnuts into his pocket.

"Dig seven holes and bury them up to their necks. Before dawn, I want them to reveal all about their overseas accounts, domestic contacts, and the people who placed the orders with Mitsui."