We offered you a summer job, but you went and became a mercenary?

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ocean.

United States, CIA headquarters.

"Reporting to the Director, the target has boarded a flight bound for Jiangcheng, the capital of China."

"Damn it!"

The bureau chief, who had just issued a "natural disaster" level alert, slammed his fist on the table, his face full of dejection and resentment.

"...The Dragon Kingdom has obtained this ultimate trump card, one that could change the world's格局 (geju, a term referring to the overall situation or landscape)..."

A deputy cautiously suggested, "Should we... send someone over...?"

"Send people?!" The director whirled around, his eyes bloodshot. "Who do you want to send? Delta Force or SEALs? To deliver their heads? Or do you want me to order an attack on China's civilian airliners? Are you trying to start World War III?!"

"From this moment forward, all infiltration plans concerning the Dragon Kingdom are suspended! Until a way to restrain that 'monster' is found, no one is allowed to provoke that sleeping lion!"

······

10,000 meters above the ground.

The plane flew smoothly through the clouds, emitting a soft roar.

Lin Ye let out a long sigh of relief.

He turned his head and looked through the small porthole at the vast, golden desert below that was gradually shrinking. Recalling his bizarre "summer job" experience over the past few days, the corner of his mouth twitched involuntarily.

Although he was exhausted like a dog, the boss he encountered tried to cheat him out of his wages, and he was even almost sent to the sky with a ton of explosives.

But to be fair, they really made a lot of money.

"Finally, I can go back and buy a top-of-the-line Alienware computer."

Lin Ye took off the sunglasses he had swiped from the corpse of some unlucky guy and began to daydream happily.

"Buy a mechanical keyboard and an ergonomic chair... and comfortably play games in the dorm, occasionally skipping classes. This is the life that an ordinary college student should have."

He was completely unaware that the passengers sitting next to him were secretly eyeing his tattered T-shirt, baggy shorts, flip-flops, and the vintage red, white, and blue snakeskin bag lying at his feet, looking at him with the eyes of someone looking at a country bumpkin.

A wave of intense fatigue washed over me.

The intense killings and tense nerves of the past few days finally allowed for complete relaxation at this moment.

Lin Ye pulled a thin blanket from above his seat, covered himself with it, put on an eye mask, tilted his head to the side, leaned against the window, and fell into a deep sleep.

In his dream, he seemed to have returned to that internet cafe, where the air was filled with the mixed smell of instant noodles and cigarettes, and the sounds of keyboards being typed and teammates roaring rose and fell.

I don't know how much time passed.

A gentle, sweet-voiced broadcast woke Lin Ye from her sleep.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our aircraft has begun its descent and is scheduled to land at Longguo Jiangcheng International Airport in fifteen minutes. The ground temperature is 28 degrees Celsius..."

Lin Ye jolted awake and sat up abruptly.

He took off his eye mask, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and turned to look out the window.

Below, the monotonous yellow sand was no longer there.

In their place are familiar green fields and towering skyscrapers, with traffic flowing like a river on the crisscrossing highways.

came back.

finally come back!

Fifteen minutes later.

With a slight turbulence, the plane landed smoothly on the runway of Jiangcheng International Airport.

Lin Ye carried the empty red, white, and blue snakeskin bag on his back, which was covered in dust and dark bloodstains that couldn't be washed off. Wearing flip-flops with soles almost worn flat, he mingled in the bustling crowd and slowly walked towards the exit with the flow of people.

His outfit stood out conspicuously among a group of well-dressed young students dragging stylish suitcases.

A girl with exquisite makeup and a designer dress tugged at her boyfriend's arm, lowered her voice, and looked at him with undisguised disdain.

"Look at that person, dressed like a migrant worker, with that snakeskin bag... Good heavens, what era is this, people still use things like that."

Her boyfriend followed her gaze and chuckled, "Probably just got back from a construction site for the summer break. It's not easy for them to earn a little money during their summer jobs."

Similar whispers drifted intermittently into Lin Ye's ears.

He didn't take it seriously at all, not even bothering to lift his eyelids.

He greedily took a deep breath of the hot and humid air from home, feeling every cell in his lungs relax.

"Cool!"

Lin Ye sighed from the bottom of his heart.

"It's so much better back home. You can't even see a single person with a gun. This is the kind of place people should be in."

At this moment, the tension in his heart, which had been building up because of the constant threat of being blown up by rockets in the Middle East, finally relaxed completely.

He pulled out his nearly cracked phone, glanced at the time, and began to mentally plan his next steps.

"First, I'll go to the computer mall and buy that Alienware I've been longing for. Then I'll find a place and get a bowl of authentic Lanzhou noodles, with extra meat and an egg. Finally, I'll go to school to register. Perfect."

Thinking about the wonderful university life that was about to begin, Lin Ye couldn't help but break into a simple smile.

Just as he was about to follow the flow of people out of the security checkpoint and merge into the sea of ​​people in the arrival hall.

An unexpected change occurred.

"Swish—swish—swish—"

On both sides of the lobby, several doors to the normally closed "employee passage" and "VIP room" were suddenly pushed open from the inside at the same time.

A dozen or so men dressed in sharp black suits, wearing black sunglasses and invisible communication earpieces, strode out in unison.

Each of them had an extremely serious expression, exuding a chilling aura that was completely out of place with the noisy surroundings.

Their movements were seamless, with not a single unnecessary action, demonstrating perfect teamwork.

The originally crowded and noisy crowd seemed to be pushed aside by an invisible force, subconsciously making way for them.

Everyone's attention was involuntarily drawn to the group of "men in black" who had suddenly appeared.

"Wow, what's going on? Are they filming a movie?"

"With that aura, which big star has arrived?"

"Wait a minute, look at their positioning and the way they walk, they're definitely professional bodyguards, maybe even... soldiers?"

Lin Ye was also taken aback by the sudden commotion. He stopped and curiously craned his neck to join the crowd in watching the spectacle.

"Wow, what a grand spectacle! Are they welcoming some important figure?" he muttered to himself, clearly enjoying the spectacle.

However, the next second, his expression froze.

Because he noticed that after the group of men in black passed through the crowd, they did not go to any VIP passage, nor did they go to greet any of the important figures he had imagined.

Their goal was crystal clear.

She walked briskly straight towards his direction.

"Um?"