novelaction Chapter 770 Jingwu School? Why are the Dragon Tiger Guards out?
Chapter 770 Jingwu School? Why are the Dragon Tiger Guards out?
The night was cool and still, and the cold wind had temporarily subsided.
Tonight's moon is unusually round and bright, like a giant silver plate suspended in the dark blue sky, its clear light spilling down and illuminating the seven factory areas. Walking in such moonlight, even a flashlight becomes superfluous; shadows are clearly cast on the frozen, hard ground, their outlines distinct.
A man, exceptionally tall and dressed in a heavy dog-skin coat, strode briskly through the frost-covered ground to a secluded side gate of the Seventh Institute. He paused briefly at the gate, slightly raising his face to look at the sentry post. The sentry didn't even need to look closely; he immediately recognized the man from his imposing figure and familiar gait.
"Captain Wang!" the sentry greeted him in a low voice, clearly used to his late-night appearances.
Old Wang gave a mumbled reply, waved his hand, pushed open the heavy side door, and squeezed inside. Outside was a cool and quiet moonlit night, but inside was a completely different, bustling scene—brightly lit, with voices, the sounds of tools clattering, and the low growl of engines all mixed together, and a strong smell of engine oil, sweat, and the heat of metal hitting the air.
His gaze swept across the noisy workshop like a searchlight, quickly locking onto the familiar wheeled armored vehicle and the group of people surrounding it.
However, the next second, his pupils suddenly contracted, and the relaxation he had just felt from the cold night vanished instantly, replaced by disbelief and deep heartache.
The once imposing and awe-inspiring 14.5mm twin anti-aircraft machine gun had been completely disassembled. Its heavy body and complex feeding mechanism lay on the ground to the side, like a ferocious beast with its fangs pulled out, having lost its former ferocity.
The spot on the roof where the machine gun was originally mounted now had an unsightly round hole, and several technicians were busy working around it.
"Ouch! I..." Old Wang subconsciously clicked his tongue, making a "tsk" sound, feeling as if a piece of flesh had been ripped out of his heart.
This incredibly powerful thing, which he saw as an absolute symbol of force, an "iron broom" capable of sweeping away all obstacles, has now been dismantled like this.
His gaze swept past the busy crowd and finally found the culprit behind it all—Jiang Xia.
Jiang Xia was intently focused on the hood of the car, the spread-out blueprints almost covering half of the front. He held a wrench in one hand and gestured with the other towards the disassembled roof panel. A noticeable oil stain was smeared on his forehead, and his brows were furrowed. He was completely absorbed in the technical problem and seemed oblivious to the commotion around him.
In Lao Wang's view, Jiang Xia at this moment was like a spoiled child who had received a new toy but couldn't wait to take apart the original good thing, and this child thought he was doing something extremely right and important.
He looked at Jiang Xia's focused, even slightly excited, profile, then at the innocent-looking "iron broom" on the ground, and felt a lump in his throat, making it hard for him to breathe.
"Hey, did you know that a 14.5mm gun can blow down an earthen wall in just two shots?"
"I don't know, Grandma won't let me play..."
"You... the reason you were allowed to stay here was because of this armored vehicle. Now that you've dismantled it, I can't guarantee you can control the entire area..."
"Tsk, you think you're some Nascent Soul cultivator? Suppressing..."
Jiang Xia shoved the measuring tape into Lao Wang's hand and let him hold it, while he himself wiggled his skinny legs and climbed onto the roof of the armored vehicle.
Old Wang was still unwilling to give up. He went to the side of the roof to protect it, still muttering his report, but his eyes were still glancing at his private stash:
"I have something to tell you. That guy surnamed Liu—the head of the security department at Factory 615—has been acting strangely these past few days!"
Jiang Xia didn't even look up, but half of his body went into the large round hole on the top of the armored vehicle: "What's wrong? Tell me, I'm listening."
“I had Xiao Zhou follow him for three days,” Old Wang said, opening the car door and sticking his head out to look at Jiang Xia hanging upside down. He lowered his voice. “The day before yesterday afternoon, he and his wife went to the chemical counter in the department store and bought hydrochloric acid, caustic soda, and a few bags of ammonium chloride. His wife works in the 615 electrolysis group. Normally, she should have a material requisition form from the factory to use these things. Why did she have to pay for them herself?”
The technician just handed over a bracket, which Jiang Xia took, gestured towards the roof of the car, and then slowly asked, "Anything else?"
“There’s something even stranger!” Old Wang rubbed his hands together, his tone becoming more urgent. “Yesterday morning, he went to the factory’s logistics department and said that his small apartment building was ‘too luxurious’ and that he wanted to show some class by exchanging apartments with his coworkers who lived in bungalows. Think about it, those small apartments were provided by the factory for middle-level managers, and they had heating. The bungalows are cold and damp. Why would he give up the better ones? There’s definitely something fishy going on here!”
Jiang Xia crawled directly into the carriage through the hole in the roof, pulled Lao Wang onto the vehicle, and pointed to the wooden crates piled up in the workshop that were still sealed.
“Old Wang,” Jiang Xia pointed to the boxes, “the chips and single-board computers I’ve been waiting for just arrived. I need to keep an eye on installing the radar on the vehicle these next couple of days. As you can see, this single-board computer uses a lot of transistors, and it’s bigger than I expected. With all these sensors, the Jiefang truck can’t carry it, so we’ll have to rely on the armored vehicle’s load-bearing capacity and space.”
After a pause, he continued, "You know this line with that guy surnamed Liu better than I do, so just keep an eye on it. Investigate what needs to be investigated, follow what needs to be followed, and handle any issues yourself. Don't bother me with these details. I'm so annoyed here. I was so focused on increasing the detection depth with the array that I forgot that having too many probes is also a problem..."
"Should we put out a few probes for people to hold?" The boy with the dazed hair rubbed his chin and suddenly had another idea.
"Tsk, it's such a hassle!" Old Wang perked up as soon as Jiang Xia mentioned the hassle.
"If you ask me, what's the point of investigating! The chain of evidence is enough! Let's rearm this iron machine!" He slammed his hand on the armor plate of the armored vehicle, making a dull thud. "I'll just drive it there! With this 14.5mm behemoth set up, what kind of monsters and demons dare to cause trouble? A barrage of fire, what stronghold can't it take down? I guarantee I'll wipe them all out! Clean and efficient! Now look what's happened, you've pulled out their 'teeth,' isn't this just a toothless tiger?"
"This...this iron thing has no teeth, is it still an armored vehicle? What if...what if those bastards get desperate and do something rash, what are we going to use to shoot them? We can't just drive this metal shell into them, can we?"
Jiang Xia then understood the real reason behind Old Wang's roundabout explanation and heartache: these violent elements couldn't bear to part with that powerful heavy machine gun!
He straightened up, both amused and exasperated, and wiped the sweat from his brow with his arm.
"Catching a few people is no big deal. The important thing is to find that missing gold! Think about it, even if those guys have the gold, they'll just exchange it for food and other necessities and waste it! But if it's in our hands, its usefulness will be completely different..."
Seeing that Old Wang still had a long face, the simple-minded kid kindly comforted him: "It's okay, I'll get you a new one after we find the gold! That 14.5mm gun isn't anything special. When I upgrade the Il-28, I'll also make you an electric one, that'll be even more powerful!"
"By the way, those guys by the wall were sent by Old Li from our hideout. We have plenty of manpower, so catching them won't be a problem. Let's get the radar installed first. Finding that batch of gold as soon as possible is more important than anything else."
Old Wang listened to the pie-in-the-sky kid's promise and nodded in satisfaction. Only then did he notice that several soldiers were standing next to the large, unopened wooden crate.
"Damn it, the Dragon Tiger Guard!"
"Huh? What?" Jiang Xia didn't hear clearly and turned his head curiously to look at the badge warriors.
The leader gave Jiang Xia a gentle smile, but when Jiang Xia turned to work, that gentle smile took on a different meaning.
Yes, this change of heart is aimed at Old Wang.
The leader beckoned with his finger, and while Jiang Xia was busy, Old Wang quickly ran up to the three of them.
Next, stand at attention and salute.
"Hello, Chief!"
"Alright. Don't make a fuss. Besides, Flying Tiger is the only one here who still holds a rank; we can't accept your gift."
"You're joking, sir..."
"Ha, you still know how to joke? What's your mission? Are you here to investigate a case? What, just because I call you 'Old Wang,' you really think you're 'Old Wang'? Can't you tell the difference between what's important and what's not!"
"Searching things is even more tedious and inefficient!" the leading soldier grumbled in dissatisfaction.
"Of course, this is just our opinion. Your actions are commendable in the eyes of the elders... at least they didn't overly provoke those pests."
Old Wang grinned, about to say that it was Dai Maozai's idea, but then he remembered that Dai Maozai had mentioned the electric big biubiu, so he took the blame and remained silent.
"Finish things here as soon as possible; we still need to accompany the old master abroad. Later, take Investigator Yan out to check things out and scout out all the necessary locations..."
"Yes!"