Chapter 197: Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Yuan Fei stared at the fluctuating numbers on the detector, his breathing quickening; in that instant, he even began to resent his own mind—if he were a fool who couldn't even count, he wouldn't have to suffer this torment.

But…

Seeing the device in the captain's hand suddenly tremble like those handy little toys in national movies, his brother-in-law couldn't help leaning in curiously—until he saw the reading, then recoiled several steps in shock, unable to stabilize even with the exoskeleton's built-in balance protection, collapsing straight onto the ground.

"Captain! We've stumbled upon…"

"Shut up!" Yuan Fei wanted to slap him, but he was too terrified to even lift his arm; after several deep breaths, he gritted his teeth and said:

"Drones? Send them out to scout!"

One by one, optically invisible drones rose silently into the air; Yuan Fei's eyes locked onto their feeds, his heartbeat accelerating steadily.

Yet this situation persisted for over ten minutes—the drone footage kept spinning in circles, the entire route lined with ordinary residential homes, and even the equipment mounted on the drones didn't flicker wildly as it had when held in hand.

"Boss, no reaction at all—could the gear be broken?" his brother-in-law muttered, but his eyes blinked rapidly as if sand had gotten in them; Yuan Fei wanted to curse, but seeing that expression, he suddenly understood.

But he knew very well he had no right to say such a thing; he thought for a moment, then immediately dialed the number of his superior who'd dumped him in this stupid Li Su district:

"Hello?"

The low voice carried a hint of resentment, but Yuan Fei clearly had no intention of caring what the man thought—he didn't even let him speak, cutting in directly:

"Major! We've detected an anomaly in the readings, but found no visible situation—what do you think…"

"Do I really have to teach you this? Get going and…"

On the other end of the line, the Major was about to hang up and vent—but his words choked in his throat, for he suddenly realized his subordinates weren't fools; if they couldn't do real work, they were all experts at slacking off, bullying civilians, and exploiting power—how could they not know how to…

"That ID—that's Yuan Fei's kid—he's setting a trap!"

A chill ran through him; he muttered a silent prayer of relief, recalling the district he'd assigned to the kid—and his head throbbed.

Li Su district was inherently a troublesome area where prosperity and chaos coexisted; how many traps could be dug there? Even someone in his position as Major had some sense of it.

Investigate? Who knew what might turn up—a misstep and he could get silenced.

Withdraw? But if something truly went wrong later, wouldn't he be held responsible?

Remembering the Lord's order—"The deity must die"—he gritted his teeth, cursed Yuan Fei inwardly, yet had no choice but…

"No! Yuan Fei didn't specify whose territory this is—meaning this place probably isn't owned by any powerful clan; otherwise, he'd have just reported it outright. If he'd deliberately concealed it, recordings alone would be evidence—he wouldn't dump blame like this."

The Major rubbed his stubble, his gaze turning icy—

"So… he really found something, but daresn't get close?"

Thinking this through, he let out a sly smile and said directly:

"Keep investigating! Turn the entire area upside down. If you need more hands, I'll redeploy other squads to you!"

The Major finished speaking, cut off Yuan Fei before he could reply, then immediately opened the combat channel and issued a muster order.

Come on—danger was for the troops below to face; what did it matter to him, the commander sitting in headquarters giving his secretary overtime? He wasn't some old warlord worried his men would all die and leave him a general with no army; this country had no shortage of people eager to become traitors!

…

Watching the muster order flash across the channel, Yuan Fei's face flushed and paled in turns—he knew his plan had failed, and he'd soon face the resentment of other squads whose good fortune he'd ruined.

But then he thought again—

I've been working nonstop for the past two or three hours, while you've all been slacking off—what's wrong with you coming over to do some work?

Besides, seeing the Major hand over command just to dump blame, Yuan Fei was amused—after all, didn't he now have cannon fodder? What? Won't obey? Even better—now he had someone to blame!

Undeniably, muster orders carried authority; within ten minutes of the Major's command, a group of heavily armed but disorganized soldiers arrived at West Li Su. Seeing their fierce, murderous gazes, Yuan Fei remained calm and said plainly:

"Had your fun yet? I've been working for hours! Pull out your spirit detectors and scan the area—then decide what to do next. Anyone who wants to run, go ahead now!"

Hearing this, a few squads actually dug out their already-stowed detection gear; seeing the readings, their faces turned ashen.

But run?

They dared not.

Or rather, this bastard probably hoped they'd all flee—because if anyone ran first, he could pursue them under the pretext of chasing deserters, creating enough noise to alarm the target inside; whether the target fought or fled, it'd be the留守 troops and the aliens' problem—he'd just need to run far enough, then shoot himself to claim he'd left the battlefield.

Though they all wanted to blow Yuan Fei's head off, whoever fired would give the others an excuse to retreat; enforcing military law wasn't something only one person could do—everyone here was already a traitor; who had the spirit to sacrifice themselves to save the whole squad?

Realizing this, the soldiers, however reluctant, began organizing their gear—they knew full well what came next wouldn't be the low-intensity crime of snatching women off the street.

…

"Understood?" Feng Xue paused his action as he built a channel to the nearly dead kidney, then turned as if deliberately halting, looking at Tina, drenched in sweat beside him.

"Understood… but I don't get it," Tina knew this sounded stupid 【哔——】, but that's exactly how she felt.

She, a top student with dual PhDs in medicine and biology and a healing ability, understood every movement, every intention behind Feng Xue's actions—but she couldn't fathom how he did it!

"Understanding is enough. You don't need to comprehend—the ability will fill in the gaps. Remember: your ability is total medical competence. The more you do, the more you think, the less energy you consume."

As he spoke, he handed the surgical instruments to Tina, her eyes wide with terror.

"Alright, you handle the rest. I've got something to attend to outside…"

"Wait! Even if you're leaving, won't you watch?" Tina was more panicked than during her first surgery—her hands, once steady enough to amputate patients without anesthesia, now trembled violently.

"No choice. Uninvited guests need entertaining. If you really can't do it, just close the abdomen—it won't kill him. We can redo it later. Worst case, we lose one kidney." Feng Xue shrugged, already at the door. Tina's face paled as she remembered today's traitor operation.

"Should I notify…?"

"No. I told you—I don't want to be tied to you. Whether you continue the surgery is your choice. The rest is my business."

As Feng Xue spoke, he vanished from the room. Tina stared down at the kidney turning into kidney pâté, and bit her lip…

(End of Chapter)