68: Chapter 68 Joining Forces with Iron Wolf

The camp of the Iron Wolf Group's leader, Captain of Iron Wolf Corps, was on the east side of the settlement, twice as large as Courtyard 37. A row of rusted, wolf-head-shaped metal decorations was welded onto the surrounding wall, looking quite old. When Captain Wang Xuan and Li Wei were led into the main hall, Captain of Iron Wolf Corps was squatting on the ground repairing a generator, his hands covered in grease, not even looking up.

“Sit,” he pointed with a wrench toward two folding chairs in the corner. “Give me two minutes. If this thing doesn't start running by tomorrow, the camp's freezer will become scrap metal.”

Captain Wang Xuan didn't sit. He stood in the center of the main hall, looking around at the walls. A hand-drawn map of the Beishan Safe Zone hung on the wall, marking the camp locations of all external Caravans, the territory boundaries of local factions, and the sentry distributions of the Registration Office and the garrison patrols. The map was no less detailed than Professor Qian Weiguo's list of factions.

Captain of Iron Wolf Corps tightened the last screw, threw the wrench into the toolbox, grabbed a rag to wipe his hands, and stood up. He was in his fifties, wearing a faded military vest that revealed two arms covered in burn scars. He had a square face, graying short hair, and eyes as heavy as a scale weight.

“The members of the Iron Wolf Group have been guarding your alley entrance for four days, and you didn't chase them away, which means there's room for discussion. Speak.”

Captain Wang Xuan pulled out the energy fluctuation map hand-drawn by Hu Xiner from his coat and unfolded it on the workbench next to the generator. “There is a containment object hidden beneath the Black Tiger Gang's headquarters. Decay-type, unregistered. Its fluctuation characteristics share the same source as the strange erosion we encountered in the Industrial Park before.”

Captain of Iron Wolf Corps picked up the map and looked at it for a long time. His expression didn't change, but his knuckles holding the paper turned slightly white. “Are you sure?”

“My Detection Type Sequencer has locked onto its location, with an error of no more than five meters,” Captain Wang Xuan said. “The Black Tiger Gang can walk all over the Safe Zone because this containment object is their true trump card. If a Decay-type containment object shares the same source as the strange erosion, it is not just an ordinary unregistered contraband, but something that could threaten the entire Safe Zone.”

“You gave me this map because you want me to hand it over to the garrison for you,” Captain of Iron Wolf Corps put down the drawing and looked straight at Captain Wang Xuan. “I'm a retired garrison member myself, and several mid-level officers in the Safe Zone are my former soldiers. Having me submit it carries more weight than you external Caravans doing so. But why didn't you go to Captain Li? Doesn't he already have a search warrant?”

“A search warrant needs a reason to be executed,” Captain Wang Xuan said. “The Black Tiger Gang releasing strange fog at the Bell Tower to lure bait is a criminal reason. But Boss Hu has been operating in the Safe Zone for over half a year. He has his people in the Registration Office, and some mid-level garrison officers in the core district have also been fed well by him. Based solely on a failed assassination attempt, those people would have a hundred ways to excuse him. Captain Li needs a bigger reason, one that will shut up everyone who wants to protect Boss Hu. This map is that reason.”

Captain of Iron Wolf Corps remained silent for a moment. He folded the map and put it in his pocket. “Your conditions?”

“Two. First, after the Black Tiger Gang collapses, we don't want their territory in the East District. The three alleys around Courtyard 37 will be managed by the Pashanhu Convoy, and the rest will remain as they were. Second, among your retired garrison members, there must be someone who knows demolition. The main entrance of the Black Tiger Gang's headquarters is a reinforced iron plate door; a frontal assault would put us at a disadvantage. We need a controlled demolition to blow a hole in the side wall.”

Captain of Iron Wolf Corps stood up. He was half a head taller than Captain Wang Xuan, and he looked down at him for a full five seconds.

“How do you plan to attack?”

“We strike at dawn. Our Sequencer's perception has already mapped out the internal structure of the Black Tiger Gang's headquarters—a three-story brick building. The first floor consists of warehouses and thug dormitories; the second floor is Boss Hu's living quarters and reception room; the third floor is the archives room storing ledger books and transaction records. The basement entrance is a hidden door beneath the stairs. Boss Hu usually keeps twenty to thirty thugs in the building, including two low-level Sequencers. One is a bald man of the Body Enhancement Type, and the other is a Speed-type. Boss Hu's own sequence ability is D-rank Strength Amplification, which isn't too troublesome, but the strange tooth necklace he wears might be some kind of protective containment object.”

After listening, Captain of Iron Wolf Corps raised an eyebrow. “You've done your homework thoroughly.”

“It's not about being thorough. It's because he forced our hand,” Captain Wang Xuan said.

Captain of Iron Wolf Corps walked over to the hand-drawn map, pointed to the location of the Black Tiger Gang's headquarters with his wrench, and then pointed to the Iron Wolf Group's camp and Courtyard 37. “I'll lead the frontal feint attack, pushing through the main entrance. The demolitions expert will go with your people to the side wall. After the blast, your people will enter from the side, and I'll lead my men to press in from the front, sandwiching them from both sides.”

“A frontal feint is too risky. Boss Hu's firepower is mainly concentrated toward the first-floor main entrance; there are at least two light machine guns set up behind the door,” Captain Wang Xuan walked to the map, his finger pointing to the alley behind the Black Tiger Gang's headquarters. “There is a drainage ditch in the back alley, wide enough for a person to pass through while bending over, which ends at the headquarters' back kitchen. Boss Hu has set up defenses on the front and side, but only left two people in the back kitchen. My suggestion is to shift the feint to the side, and before the demolitions expert blows the side wall, we make some noise in the direction of the back kitchen first.”

Captain of Iron Wolf Corps thought for a few seconds. “A diversion. We start a fire in the back kitchen first to draw the people in the building toward it, then detonate the side wall and stab them from behind.”

“Correct.”

Captain of Iron Wolf Corps slapped the wrench onto the table. “Alright. Your people will handle the demolition and flank entry, and my men will handle the frontal suppression and setting fire to the back kitchen. We strike at midnight tonight.”

Captain Wang Xuan shook his head. “Not tonight. The Black Tiger Gang has informants in the Safe Zone. Although Boss Hu has closed his doors, his men are still active in the market. The Iron Wolf Group has sent people to guard the entrance of Courtyard 37's alley for four consecutive days, so Boss Hu already knows you've taken a side. He is waiting for you to move, and his defenses will be tightest tonight.”

“Then when do you suggest?”

“Tomorrow at dawn. Tomorrow is the Registration Office's monthly resource inspection day. Boss Hu's insider in the Registration Office must be present and won't have time to monitor our movements for him. At the same time, the shift change for the garrison patrol is between four and five in the morning, which is when patrol density is lowest. Boss Hu knows both of these things, so he will think that if we are to strike, we will definitely choose the patrol gap. Therefore, we won't move during the gap. We will strike just after the patrol has finished their shift change, right at dawn. That's when those who have guarded all night are most tired and relaxed.”

Captain of Iron Wolf Corps looked at Captain Wang Xuan, remained silent for several seconds, and then let out a laugh. It wasn't a mocking laugh, but the kind of laugh a veteran makes when hearing the words of an expert.

“Before you led a Caravan out there, were you in the military?”

“No. I was just forced into it by the wilderness.”

Captain of Iron Wolf Corps reached out his hand. The two hands clasped together. Leaning against the doorframe, Li Wei saw this and took his hand off the hilt of his blade.

Meanwhile, on the third floor of the Black Tiger Gang's headquarters.

Boss Hu sat on the sofa, an intelligence slip just delivered by the Green Snake Society this morning spread out on the coffee table before him. There was only one line of text on it: 'Captain of Iron Wolf Corps of the Iron Wolf Group met with Captain Wang Xuan of the Pashanhu Convoy at the Iron Wolf Group's camp this morning for about an hour. Details unknown.'

He crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the corner. A pile of seven or eight such paper balls had already accumulated there, all sent by the Green Snake Society over the past few days. Every piece of intelligence pointed to the same thing—the Iron Wolf Group and the Pashanhu Convoy were drawing closer and closer. Meanwhile, both groups of men he had sent to Courtyard 37 had been blocked by the Iron Wolf Group, unable to even get close to the courtyard.

His bald subordinate came in carrying two cups of tea. Seeing Boss Hu's grim expression, he quietly placed the teacups on the coffee table, not daring to make a sound.

“Where is Glasses from the Registration Office?” Boss Hu asked.

“Today is the resource inspection day, so he's busy at the duty station. He said things have been tight lately, so it's not convenient for him to come over.”

Boss Hu sneered. 'Tight lately.' Before things went south, what he stuffed into Glasses's pockets every month was enough for an ordinary person to live on for half a year. Now that things were slightly tight, he couldn't even summon the man.

“What do you think about the meeting between Captain of Iron Wolf Corps and Captain Wang Xuan today?”

The bald man hesitated. “The Iron Wolf Group might be planning something. But they wouldn't dare use weapons in the Safe Zone; the garrison is not to be trifled with.”

“The garrison,” Boss Hu repeated the words. “When Captain Li came to find Captain Wang Xuan with a search warrant last time, did you think they were just chatting? Can't you guess who that search warrant was targeted at?”

The bald man didn't dare to answer. Boss Hu stood up from the sofa, walked to the window, pulled aside a corner of the curtain, and glanced toward the alley entrance. The members of the Iron Wolf Group were still guarding there. It had been two days, and they were rotating shifts without leaving for a single moment. He drew the curtain shut and turned to look at the safe in the corner. His trump card was locked inside. He had hidden it in the Safe Zone for over half a year, relying on it to eliminate disobedient people, create accidental deaths, and make the Registration Office and several mid-level garrison officers turn a blind eye to him. Neither the Pashanhu Convoy nor the Iron Wolf Group knew about this thing. As long as they remained in the dark, there was still a chance to turn the tables.

“Double the defenses at the back kitchen and the front door. No sleep tonight—everyone stay sharp.” Boss Hu sat back down on the sofa, picked up the cup of tea that had already gone cold, took a large gulp, and crunched the tea leaves between his teeth. “I'd like to see if they actually dare to make a move.”