Chapter 110: Fate Deviates

When the main force openly marched away with the "assets" the Hound Squad had accumulated over many years.

The force that had been kept in the dark finally reacted.

Word had it they were gathering people and rushing toward the two mines outside town at top speed, and the numbers weren't small.

But to be honest.

Baimu watched the large mine being gradually emptied, feeling those dawdling fellows wouldn't make it in time—by the time they arrived, what would be left in the mine?

Not a single hair.

He just didn't know whether the other mine was going as smoothly as theirs.

"Baimu! Get ready to move!"

Flobo's shout pulled him back to himself. "The main force has basically all left, only us rear guards are left. The demolition squad is ready to blow up all the mine entrances and buildings."

"This Star Really Wants to Retire"

"Sigh…"

"If we want the other side to truly realize this mine will only be a drag on them, this kind of thing has to be done, even if cleaning up afterward is a hassle."

Flobo shrugged.

As his words fell, rumbling explosions came from the mine.

Baimu thought of those hundred-odd miners and once again felt the mercy that set Master Liu Ge apart from the other executives.

As the last wave of people withdrew.

The next "battlefield" would shift to the Quicksand Squad's own mine, and it would be a defensive fight.

The Hound Squad would surely attack once or twice—if they did nothing, they'd never be able to hold their heads up in Huang Tie Town for the rest of their lives. Whether splitting the family or having a new boss parachuted in, the loss to their reputation and wealth would be incalculable.

And as long as all the miners were fully transferred through the secret passage to the Quicksand Squad's territory inside town, it would be roughly equivalent to victory.

Even if they didn't want to retreat, the Hound Squad members who had been turned by the Crystal Group would find ways to make them retreat.

The next step after that would be negotiations.

Of course.

A cornered dog will jump over a wall—the Hound Squad could do anything. Attacking the Quicksand Squad's other three mines wouldn't be surprising, so Cang Zhi Lang had long since sent the remaining squads to those other three mines.

He himself was also stationed at one of the mines.

With layer upon layer of insurance, the Hound Squad could only swallow this bitter loss—

In theory.

But the weather is ever unpredictable.

Fate, though standing on their side, had only planted half a foot, ready to pull it back at any moment.

When Baimu safely reached the mine he needed to defend, unpleasant news arrived from inside Huang Tie Town—one of the Hound Squad's top executives had set out with seven squads!

Apart from the squads heading to the other three mines, this contingent of theirs was essentially the whole nest emptied out.

And they hadn't split their forces to intercept the two mines' teams, but concentrated their strength to break through one of them.

At the same time.

The action team at the other mine had run into one problem after another, and the clearing operation wasn't going smoothly. There was a strong chance they would run head-on into the large force the Hound Squad was rushing over.

The most important thing was still the fact that a top executive of the Hound Squad had mobilized.

It seemed the mine incident had truly enraged them. Rather than leave the chaos inside the Hound Squad unattended, rather than be jointly targeted by the other two top executives afterward, they still wanted to strike back at the Quicksand Squad immediately.

This impulsive move truly surprised many people.

Had the Crystal Group made any effort to stop him from mobilizing?

God knows.

"Raiding two mines really was overreaching."

Flobo's tone was not without a sigh. "Big Brother never agreed to taking two at once. Three squads taking one mine is easy, but holding it is hard."

Baimu asked, "So it was the top executives' decision, taking two mines at once?"

"Of course. The target was set by the bosses and the boss meeting. People like us underlings can only agree and make plans."

Flobo shook his head. "The subordinates' merits go to the superiors, but the superiors' responsibility becomes the subordinates' fault. That's the reality of the Quicksand Squad's upper levels right now."

Baimu fell silent.

He suddenly realized that although Flobo kept saying "boss" this and "boss" that, in truth he didn't hold much reverence for either of them—nothing like the sincerity when he called Master Liu Ge "Big Brother."

"Then how will the battle go from here?"

"How will it go? Of course we'll split off people from here and rush them to the other mine for rescue. What, sit by and do nothing and let them smash up the other team, even 'swap bases'?"

Flobo was somewhat wistful. "If things go badly, the enemy takes back one mine and takes another, then comes at us next, marching triumphantly all the way."

The Hound Squad taking back two mines from them?

If that really happened, some forces in Huang Tie Town would probably laugh their heads off.

"There should have been predictions for this kind of scenario before the battle, right?" Baimu was curious how the original plan addressed such a thing.

Flobo laughed. "The Crystal Group's leader Chester said if this situation came up, he'd handle it. But guess whether there's been any pushing behind the scenes from him now that their top executive has mobilized?"

"…Uh, pardon my bluntness, but why do I feel like you're kind of gloating…"

"Of course I'm gloating. Once this raid is over, from now on the Sand Group and the Crystal Group won't just be having little scuffles like before. Some people's unrealistic illusions are thoroughly over."

Even though danger was right before their eyes, Flobo now carried the air of someone who had foreseen this and was looking forward to it happening.

At first glance.

It was as if the ones truly pushing things along behind the scenes, making the Hound Squad's top executive mobilize, were him and Master Liu Ge.

Thinking of a certain guess he had about the two of them, Baimu increasingly felt this hypothesis had a certain plausibility.

——

Ten minutes later.

Master Liu Ge's dispatch order had arrived.

Nearly all the men under his command were to rush off to support another mine, along with some people from the Sanghe squad — but Baimu and his squad were not among them.

"Although you're staying behind, that doesn't mean you're in some safe rear area. No one knows if the Hound Squad will launch a surprise attack — your mission is heavy too."

Before leaving, Fuluobo said earnestly, "But remember: as long as the green mountain stands, there's no worry about firewood. If the mine is lost, we can think of a way to take it back, but once a life is gone, it's truly gone. When it's time to run, you run — don't worry about any person or any matter."

"…Mm."

Baimu nodded, then asked with some worry, "Is Cang Zhi Lang going to support the other mine?"

"Of course — king meets king, general faces general. That's the most basic rule of Huang Tie Town." After saying that, Fuluobo departed along with the main force.

And the temporary command of Baimu and his squad was handed over to the familiar Lady Ayana.

"Lady Ayana!"

He hurried over to report.

Ayana was still the same wheat-brown-skinned, one-meter-eighty giant. Seeing him come over to greet her, she was neither warm nor exactly cold. "What the hell kind of dog-shit luck did you have, kid? Getting Liu Ge to shove the merit right into your mouth and not even sending you to the front line? Are you his illegitimate son? Or his half-brother?"

"Uh… I don't think so."

Baimu laughed awkwardly twice. Indeed, both Liu Ge and Fuluobo had been far too good to him, not caring at all when sharing their own merit.

"Heh."

Ayana casually shook her head. "I've already set the duty roster. Your squad's shift is evening. Any problems?"

Baimu saluted and shouted, "None! Thank you, Big Sis, for the consideration!"

"Cut the crap. I just figured your squad members couldn't be put to much use. The middle of the night and the second half of the night are the prime times for enemy raids — how could I hand those to your squad? But if you yourself are willing, I don't mind you taking extra shifts…"

"That works too…"

"Just a casual remark, don't take it seriously."

"Alright…"