Siheyuan (traditional courtyard house): Starting with the Korean War, returning home to take charge

On the third night of his stakeout, Yang Xiaobing realized something was wrong.

The warehouse was located near the old Tanggu wharf in Tianjin. It had gray brick walls, a tin roof, and windows boarded up. There was only one lamp at the entrance, casting a dim, yellowish light. During the day, it looked lifeless, but it came alive at night—after nine o'clock, vehicles would always arrive. Trucks, tricycles, and sometimes jeeps, people unloading goods and moving boxes, a constant flow of movement.

Yang Xiaobing lay on the roof of the abandoned warehouse across the street, watching with his night-vision binoculars. In the footage, the people moved nimbly and walked with discipline; they were clearly not ordinary porters.

He shouted into his headset.

"Old Lu, did you see that over there?"

Old Lu's voice came through the earphones.

"I saw them. There are two standing at the door, pacing back and forth, their arms bulging. They probably have weapons."

Yang Xiaobing put down the binoculars and rubbed his frozen hands.

"The commander is right, this place is not simple."

On the fourth night, He Yuzhu arrived.

He squatted down next to Yang Xiaobing and took the binoculars to observe for ten minutes. At that moment, goods were being unloaded at the warehouse entrance. Several dark figures were lifting boxes from the truck. The boxes were not large, but they were heavy, and it was difficult for two people to lift them.

"What goods?"

Yang Xiaobing shook his head.

"I couldn't see clearly. But three cars went in last night and came out empty this morning."

He Yuzhu returned the binoculars to him.

"Did you go inside and check?"

Yang Xiaobing lowered his voice.

"We've checked the perimeter. There are three dogs behind the wall. There's a sentry post on the east side, on 24-hour shifts. There are at least ten people inside, armed with guns."

He Yuzhu didn't speak, but stared at the warehouse for a long time.

"We'll make our move tomorrow night. You take the men and follow the drill plan."

Yang Xiaobing nodded.

"clear."

The next night, the moon was completely obscured by clouds.

Yang Xiaobing led his men along the west side of the dock, close to the wall, making no sound. Zhao Tiezhu walked in front, clutching the military crossbow in his hand—a silent weapon that He Yuzhu had obtained from the system, capable of taking down a person within fifty meters.

Old Lu led the second group to circle around from the east, preparing to block their retreat.

A night breeze blew in, carrying the salty smell of the sea. Yang Xiaobing gestured, and the group stopped.

Thirty meters ahead, a figure crouched in a corner, a cigarette glowing intermittently.

Zhao Tiezhu raised his crossbow.

whoosh-

It was a very soft sound, like the wind blowing through the branches. The dark figure stumbled forward, the cigarette butt fell to the ground and went out.

Zhao Tiezhu rushed forward and dragged the man into the shadows. The man had an arrow stuck in his neck and was already dead.

Yang Xiaobing pulled a gun from his waist; it was a German-made, brand-new gun.

He gestured behind him.

Keep going.

There was a small wooden door in the back wall of the warehouse, which looked quite sturdy. Zhao Tiezhu squatted there and studied it for half a minute, then took out a small bag from his waist and attached the explosives to it.

The fuse was lit, hissing as it went off.

Everyone stepped back.

boom--

The door exploded, sending splinters flying everywhere.

Yang Xiaobing was the first to rush in, his gun held level, his eyes scanning the surroundings. The warehouse was larger than it appeared from the outside, filled with stacks of wooden crates, neatly arranged. In the corner was a table with a radio on it, its antenna extending to the roof.

Someone rushed out from behind the box, holding a gun.

Before he could even stand up straight, Yang Xiaobing shot him down.

Gunshots rang out in the warehouse, making ears ring. Several more rushed out from behind, firing as they ran. Bullets hit the crates, sending wood chips flying, and sparks flew as they hit the walls.

Zhao Tiezhu crouched behind a pile of boxes, his submachine gun spitting fire. A new recruit next to him poked his head out to fire, but Zhao slapped him back down.

"Don't show your face!"

Before he could finish speaking, a bullet grazed his ear and lodged in the box behind him.

Old Lu rushed in through the back door, leading his men to flank the guards from the side. The guards were caught in the middle, with guns pointed at them from both sides. Two of them dropped their guns and tried to run, but Zhao Tiezhu swept them down with a burst of fire.

The last one cowered under the table, firing his gun haphazardly. Yang Xiaobing circled around to the side and kicked him in the wrist, sending the gun flying. The man tried to struggle, but Yang Xiaobing pinned him to the ground and pressed his knee into his lower back.

"Don't move!"

The man's face was pressed against the cement ground, he was breathing heavily, and he didn't move.

The warehouse suddenly fell silent, with only the smell of gunpowder lingering in the air.

Yang Xiaobing stood up and glanced around.

Six people were lying on the ground, and three others were crouching in the corner, covering their heads, too afraid to move. Old Lu led his men to take a count, kicking the men's guns aside.

"Open the box."

Zhao Tiezhu pried open a wooden box and shone his flashlight inside.

It was all yellow inside. Gold bars, neatly stacked, gleamed a dark yellow light under the flashlight.

He pried open another one. It was gold too.

The third, the fourth, the fifth.

All of them.

Zhao Tiezhu stood there, almost dropping the crowbar in his hand.

"Captain... Captain, how much is this?"

Yang Xiaobing walked over, glanced at it, and showed no expression on his face.

Stop looking. Get to work.

When Old Man Tong's son was arrested, he was still sleeping in that small room.

He was only wearing thermal underwear when he was dragged out, shivering from the cold. Yang Xiaobing pressed him down into a chair. He looked up at the wooden crates and guns scattered on the floor, and the color drained from his face little by little.

"That kid from the Tong family?"

The man nodded.

"Tong...Tong Shijie."

He Yuzhu walked in from the door and stood in front of him.

Where is your father?

Tong Shijie shook his head.

"I don't know. They ran away."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"What are these things used for?"

Tong Shijie lowered his head and remained silent.

Old Sun came in from outside, carrying a notebook in his hand, and flipped through a couple of pages.

"The ledger. It records that part of this gold was used to fund espionage activities, and the rest was reserved for future national restoration."

Tong Shijie raised his head.

"It's not about restoring a country, it's about restoring the Qing Dynasty—"

Before he could finish speaking, Old Sun slapped him on the back of the head.

"The Qing Dynasty? Your Qing Dynasty is long gone."

Tong Shijie covered his head and remained silent.

He Yuzhu walked to the front of the box, picked up a gold bar and weighed it in his hand.

Shen.

He recalled the words he had spoken when he was arrested in Jinzhong.

"You think it's just us?"

Now it seems that it wasn't just those people.

And this gold.

He put the gold bars back and turned around.

"Old Sun, what should we do with these things?"

Old Sun lit a cigarette.

"Hand it over. The national treasury is short of foreign exchange; this can be exchanged for a lot of money."

He Yuzhu nodded.

As I walked to the door, I looked back one last time.

The boxes, row upon row, gleamed in the flashlight beam.

On the way back to the lab, Yang Xiaobing sat in the car without saying a word for a long time.

Halfway there, he suddenly spoke.

"Commander, we could never earn that much gold in our lifetime."

He Yuzhu looked at him.

"You want to make that money?"

Yang Xiaobing shook his head.

"I don't want to. I just feel that those people are risking their lives for this stuff, is it worth it?"

He Yuzhu did not answer.

It was pitch black outside the window; I couldn't see anything.

The voice in my head rang.

Side Quest: Nest Cleared

[Mission Reward Points: +3,000,000]

[Current total points: 50,980,000 + 5,000,000 = 55,980,000 points]

He didn't look at the number.

I remembered what Lao Sun had just said.

"Old Man Tong hasn't been caught yet. He's probably hiding in the mountains."

In the mountains.

He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.