Chapter 475: Midnight Encounter with an Unexpected Situation

Lu Cheng didn't answer first; he simply opened the packages, the lighter one was cigarettes, the heavier one was foreign liquor.

Plant Manager Li, being relatively well‑versed, picked one up, recognized it and said, "Oh dear, this is a foreign gadget, right?"

Hearing "foreign gadget" immediately attracted the forest farm workers.

They went forward to look, but it wasn't; the packaging box was covered entirely with unfamiliar foreign script.

Everyone was excited; it was their first time seeing foreign cigarettes and foreign liquor.

Plant Manager Li, even more excited, said, "Lu Jingzhang, is this the benefit you arranged for us?"

Lu Cheng patted the parcels and said, "Ah, getting these things took a lot of effort; I specially obtained a batch of Foreign Exchange Vouchers and bought them for you at the Friendship Store in the Capital City."

Plant Manager Li was moved to tears, grabbed Lu Cheng's hand, and thanked him repeatedly.

"Lu Jingzhang, you're thoughtful, really thoughtful, but these items are too valuable; I'm embarrassed to accept them.

How about you bring some oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, that sort of thing instead? Let's return these items, but I'll accept the sentiment."

Lu Cheng thought, where am I supposed to get oil, salt, sauce, vinegar for you? I can only haul whatever is in the warehouse.

Patting Plant Manager Li's hand, Lu Cheng said, "Plant Manager Li, don't worry about it; this is what the Railway Bureau should do. Our leaders even said that since you support our work so much, we must repay you properly, so please accept it; otherwise I can't report back to the leaders."

Hearing Lu Cheng say that, Plant Manager Li no longer felt polite and immediately ordered the workers to move the items away.

"Thank you so much, Lu Jingzhang. I've grown up and never smoked foreign‑brand cigarettes before; this time I've truly benefited from the Railway Bureau's generosity."

Plant Manager Li was so delighted his mouth wouldn't close.

Lu Cheng chuckled, "It's nothing, nothing. Next time we catch something, I'll get you some more."

"Caught something?"

"Ah, that… the Friendship Store shipment arrived, yes, the goods arrived."

Plant Manager Li scratched his head, "Oh, I misheard. I thought you said you caught something; turns out it's just the goods arriving."

"Right, right, the goods arrived." Lu Cheng silently wiped his sweat,

If Plant Manager Li found out these were smuggled contraband, he probably wouldn't dare accept them.

To avoid lingering on the matter, Lu Cheng quickly changed the subject: "By the way, Squad Leader Ma, when will the Military District's vehicle arrive?"

Ma Dagang checked the time and said, "We haven't received a notice, but according to the previous agreement, it should arrive today."

Then we can only wait a bit longer; this forest farm was reached in the afternoon, and Lu Cheng thought the transport vehicle would come in the evening.

But after waiting until after ten p. m., the transport vehicle never appeared.

Plant Manager Li and the forest farm workers had already gone to sleep, and the hardest workers on this rush were the Jiwu Section laborers.

Seeing that no vehicle had arrived to haul supplies at this hour, Lu Cheng said, "Master Liu, you don't need to keep waiting; go back to the dormitory and sleep. As for the military equipment on the vehicle, I'll guard it."

Ma Dagang immediately replied, "No need, Lu Jingzhang; you've been exhausted all the way. We'll conserve our strength; the task of guarding the vehicle can be left to us Railway Troops."

In fact, guarding or not doesn't matter; after all, this forest farm is quite remote, and we're not worried that villagers will recognize the items and steal them.

But considering how precious the military equipment is, any slip is unacceptable, so it's better to guard the vehicle.

Lu Cheng agreed with Ma Dagang's suggestion, letting the Railway Troops guard it first while the others returned to the forest farm dormitory to sleep.

As for why the transport vehicle hadn't come to haul the equipment, Lu Cheng thought it must have been delayed by something important; otherwise the strictly disciplined transport unit wouldn't break the appointment.

Although extremely sleepy, Lu Cheng kept worrying about the state of the military equipment and didn't sleep soundly.

He didn't know the time; it must have been the latter half of the night when a burst of scolding woke him up.

"Who's there, stand still, don't move, or I'll fire!"

It was Ma Dagang's voice; clearly something unexpected had arisen. His claim about firing was merely intimidation, because they didn't actually have a gun in hand.

He didn't know who had arrived, but the situation felt off; Lu Cheng's drowsiness vanished instantly. Luckily he hadn't taken off his clothes while sleeping, so he slipped on his shoes and rushed outside.

"What's up, Squad Leader Ma? Did the transport team arrive?"

Ma Dagang shook his head, kept alert, and pointed toward the forested hills ahead for Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng looked; there wasn't even a speck of starlight overhead, the forest was pitch black, the specifics were invisible, and there was no engine noise, clearly not the transport team.

Yet there were unmistakable footsteps crunching on fallen leaves in the woods.

The situation was unclear, and since this spot wasn't far from the border, an enemy could not be ruled out.

The Railway Troops are soldiers, so Ma Dagang immediately responded, ordering everyone to stay on guard and be ready for any sudden incident.

"Lu Jingzhang, the situation is unclear; an enemy ambush can't be ruled out. You go back to the dormitory for safety; we'll handle this here."

As a soldier, Ma Dagang, though never having seen actual combat, undergoes regular training, so in this scenario he must first assume a soldier's responsibility.

Protecting the populace is one of a soldier's duties, and Lu Jingzhang, being only a Train Police, is clearly just a civilian in his eyes.

Honestly, given the current situation, Lu Cheng couldn't help feeling stirred when he heard an enemy attack was likely.

How to describe his feeling now? Lu Cheng felt conflicted; was he scared? Yes.

Lu Cheng didn't hide his flaws at all; after all, if the opposite side in the woods were truly enemies, they'd be armed, a volley of bullets would sweep over, and his life would be on the line today.

Facing death, few can remain unafraid.

But beyond fear, Lu Cheng felt more excitement; his blood heated and surged upward.

He knew this was adrenaline, the body's instinctive response to fear.

Regarding Ma Dagang's words, Lu Cheng didn't choose to flee; his mind became rapidly active.

In a forest farm like this, built to guard against large beasts, there would certainly be a hunting rifle, though probably not many.

But in the current situation, having even a few is better than none.

As long as a gun is in hand, people can become bold.

"Squad Leader Ma, be careful; I'll go get a hunting rifle from Plant Manager Li and be right back."

Hearing that Lu Cheng wouldn't hide but would face it together, Ma Dagang, motivated by protecting the populace, intended to stop him.

But before he could speak, Lu Cheng had already run out.

Ma Dagang couldn't help but sigh inwardly; the youngster truly lacked fear, even though he himself was extremely nervous.

Listening to the increasingly close sounds from the woods, Ma Dagang was thinking how to respond, while Lu Cheng returned quickly.

He shouldered three hunting rifles, two of which were single‑barreled and the other double‑barreled.

As for Chief Li, upon hearing Lu Cheng say that an enemy attack was possible, he was so frightened that he hid under the bed.

Ma Dagang took the hunting rifle, and, feeling a surge of responsibility, did not mock Chief Li's actions; after all, he was the crowd that needed protection.

Ma Dagang took one hunting rifle, originally intending to give the other two to the other Railway Troops, but Lu Cheng simply kept one, holding it in his hand.

Ma Dagang was about to urge Lu Cheng to go back, when Lu Cheng cut in and said, "Squad Leader Ma, it's now or never; we can only advance and retreat together, swearing to defend the military equipment to the death."