CHAPTER 317: CHAPTER 301: IS THIS YOUR FIRST TIME ON A MISSION WITH ME?

Xiao Lin stood up, wiped the blood off the blade, and fastened it to his belt. He felt little towards the body that was already starting to grow cold. In truth, he didn’t want to kill; he didn’t want to do this unless it was absolutely necessary, yet circumstances always defied his wishes. In this kind of alley, a few deaths were nothing unusual in the Middle East. With the scene simply staged to look like a brawl, he disappeared down the other end of the alley without a sound, to the point where the inhabitants above, whose lights were still on, remained in a haze. It probably wouldn’t take long for them to discover the murder here. Perhaps this was what he anticipated.

Xiao Lin didn’t return to the hotel; instead, he walked down the street toward the mountain. By midnight, Amman was left with only streetlamps and a few returning vehicles, the entire city at rest in the dark.

He hid in the shadows. Although it wasn’t much of a big city, the patrolling officers still had the professional duty to patrol on time. A foreigner like him wandering the streets in the middle of the night without arousing suspicion would be odd.

His fingers carefully explored the white wall, not missing any spots. However, arriving here, he couldn’t find any more signs; the information stopped in front of a residential area at the bottom of the mountain, which made Xiao Lin furrow his brow. It seemed they’d have to stay in Amman a few more days.

When the clock pointed to two a.m., Hua Qingyi could no longer hold back, and his worry affected the other two. Miao Shaoqing returned to the hotel before Hua Qingyi, and the city map spread on the ground with several points marked — these were the spots where he’d followed the bearded man. The final one should be his home; there seemed to be no problems, but at each point, the bearded man only stopped for half an hour.

Miao Shaoqing was very silent, seemingly unwilling to speak much or offer his opinions, which made the irritable Hua Qingyi feel like hitting someone.

When he was blocked by Miao Shaoqing at the door for the third time, Hua Qingyi finally lost his patience and took action against him. Staying obediently in the room waiting wasn’t difficult, but since it was Xiao Lin, it wasn’t possible. The Middle East was unfamiliar territory to any of them; even as capable as Xiao Lin was, there were regional limitations.

"Step aside," Hua Qingyi said coldly, already striking as he spoke.

Miao Shaoqing took a step back with his right foot, dodging Hua Qingyi’s punch, but he always kept his influence controlled within a single step, defense over attack.

"Miao Shaoqing, don’t force me to go hard." Meanwhile, the Pilot had no opportunity to intervene, only able to watch the tension unfold between the two. From rank to capability, he was no match for them.

Miao Shaoqing continued to answer Hua Qingyi’s rage with silence, neither retreating nor compromising.

"What are you doing?" Walking into the foyer from outside the door, he saw Hua Qingyi attacking Miao Shaoqing, every move perilous.

"Hua Qingyi, what are you doing?" Xiao Lin stood between them, grabbing Hua Qingyi’s fist with one hand, and said coldly, "Internal strife? Did I teach you this?"

"General!" The Pilot breathed a sigh of relief when Xiao Lin returned: "Young Master Hua is worried about you, that’s why he wanted to go out and find you."

"Am I such an unreliable person?" Xiao Lin’s tone sank; this was just the beginning, yet internal chaos had started. He couldn’t help but berate Hua Qingyi: "Is this your first time carrying out a mission with me?"

Hua Qingyi sat dejectedly on the side with his mouth shut. He didn’t know why it was that as soon as he entered the Middle East, he became so irritable, always feeling like something was going to happen, just as if a massive black hole was waiting for them.

"Give me the route map to Saudi Arabia." Xiao Lin didn’t look at Hua Qingyi. The Night Eagle’s mark had been cut off, and he was very likely in danger. Jordan had unfathomable puppet masters hidden, but it wasn’t clear whether they were connected to Saudi Arabia on that side.

The Pilot spread out the route map on the ground: "Drive from Jordan across the border heading to Manama, then transfer to a train entering Saudi’s capital, Riyadh."

"The time required is too long!" Xiao Lin dismissed the planned route. This route might be suitable for a self-driving tourist with no flaws, but its downside was that it would take too long; they didn’t have the luxury of waiting. Taking another look at the map, he couldn’t help but say: "If we go by air, what kind of trouble will we encounter?"

"From Amman to Riyadh would take about three hours, but border crossing procedures would be rather cumbersome, and with the current conflict in the Middle East, air routes aren’t very safe." Out of concern for personal safety, the Pilot didn’t recommend entering Saudi Arabia from the air: "Besides, does the General still recall the mission against heretical bandits? You’ve already become a notable figure on the black market list here."

"Human bombs could happen anywhere." Xiao Lin rolled up the route map. As for the necessity of going to Saudi Arabia, he didn’t consider it. Since the Military Advisor entered the Middle East, there had been a deviation from their precise position, and the signs left by the Night Eagle in Jordan did not necessarily indicate that their destination was Saudi Arabia.

As for his being on the wanted list, it was a bit of a problem, especially since the memory of that brutal battle sometimes flashed in his mind.

"Shaoqing, anything noteworthy about that bearded guy?"

"The casino is a black-market transaction point, with heavily guarded basements. Guards are armed with heavy weapons." Miao Shaoqing pointed at a marked spot on the map as he spoke: "The bearded man took about thirty-four minutes to exit from the back door after entering, then went to the second spot, a local famous entertainment center — Empress Palace, which took forty-six minutes to get out from the front door, and proceeded to the third place, a snack shop, with a thirty-minute stay, finally returning home."

Xiao Lin stared at the map, suddenly pointing to a place at the bottom of the mountain, inquiring to the Pilot, "What’s this place?"

"The lower district of Amman, you could call it a slum."

"We need to stay here for a while. During this time..." Xiao Lin paused, a cold gaze sweeping across the three before him: "Pilot, you’ll handle all the logistics. After we leave Jordan, you immediately return to headquarters. Shaoqing, I need you to gather all the information on Jordan’s underground transactions within a day, no matter how trivial. Qingyi, you frequent all of Amman’s entertainment venues to let the entire city know that a young master from the East is fond of women."

"Brother, what about you?" Hua Qingyi asked curiously.

"I’m the bodyguard on the run by your side, because I killed someone."

"What?" Hua Qingyi exclaimed, wasn’t it supposed to be a low-profile mission? How did it come to this? Then a glint flashed in his eyes: "You did it on purpose." (To be continued. If you like this work, welcome to Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation.)