Chapter 617: 613. Is This to Fight a War? (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)

"You've finally come." This was the first sentence Whale said upon seeing Zhang Ran's message, a smile appearing on his face.

He had been waiting for this day for a long time, yet there was no sense of hatred on his face; he seemed quite calm and even a hint of... anticipation?

Immediately, he reined in all his emotions, gathered his subordinates, and prepared to begin his own arrangements.

Since Zhang Ran had arrived, he also needed to keep his promise and expose his own location.

And it had to be the kind that would let Zhang Ran know with one hundred percent certainty that he was here, not some feint.

Li Cheng had already learned in advance that Zhang Ran was coming, but just as he was preparing to head to Pretoria, someone found him.

"May I ask if you are Mr. Li Cheng?" A bearded man from Russia came knocking.

Li Cheng looked at him with full vigilance; how did this person know his location?

The bearded man saw Li Cheng, took out a photo to check, confirmed it was correct, and said directly, "Someone asked me to deliver some things to you."

"What things? And who asked you to come?" Li Cheng asked guardedly.

The bearded man said, "Mr. Zhang."

The bearded man did not know who Mr. Zhang was either, only that it was a notification from above.

Upon hearing this, Li Cheng breathed a slight sigh of relief; this made sense, as his location had long been reported to Zhang Ran, and it was only logical that Zhang Ran could find him.

However, he did not completely relax and just asked, "Where are the things?"

"They are right outside; come over and take a look, and check if there are any issues," the bearded man said.

Li Cheng signaled for Scorpion to follow, had the others take cover, and then followed him out.

Two large trucks were parked outside. The bearded man opened the trunks of the trucks, and Li Cheng saw crates upon crates of goods inside.

Scorpion nimbly stepped forward to pry open a crate, and his mouth fell wide open.

"Scorpion, what is it?" Li Cheng felt a sudden tension in his heart, his hand moving discreetly to his lower back.

But the bearded man did not make a single move.

Scorpion was stunned for a moment before he said with difficulty, "Cheng, you... I..."

He felt as if he couldn't speak.

Li Cheng looked at the bearded man, took a deep breath, and barked, "What exactly is it?"

"Come up and see for yourself," Scorpion said.

Hearing this, Li Cheng frowned slightly, but he still climbed onto the truck, and when he saw what was inside, he was also stunned for a moment.

The crates were filled with military hardware, and they were all high-tech weapons, not the kind they usually used.

He then opened several other crates; they were all the same. Two full large trucks of military hardware, all of very high quality, especially since Li Cheng saw some items that were basically never sold to the public.

No wonder Scorpion was so surprised.

They were not lacking in military hardware; they had all the usual things, and it was relatively simple to buy such items here, as they were in this line of work after all.

But these things could not be bought with money alone; for people like them, it was quite difficult to obtain them.

The key was that the price was not low either.

But now, two full large trucks of premium goods were placed right in front of them; how could they not be surprised?

"Check them over; if there are no problems, we will be leaving," the bearded man said.

He had also received notice from above to have these things delivered and had reported the damage assessment for these items.

"No problem, thank you," Li Cheng said, taking a deep breath.

Hearing Li Cheng's words, the bearded man left without another word, not asking a single extra question.

Once they left, Li Cheng and Scorpion drove the trucks inside, and then the others all came forward to ask questions and inspect them.

When they saw these things, they were all stunned as well.

"Boss, what is the boss doing? Is this to fight a war?" Scorpion finally came back to his senses, his mouth feeling dry, but his eyes were growing brighter and brighter.

Li Cheng shook his head and said, "Surely... not?"

At this moment, he was also a bit uncertain. Thinking back to Zhang Ran's crazy actions in the past, this seemed to make sense.

"Forget it, anyway the boss is paying, and he helped us resolve our worries, and even sent so many good things, whatever," Scorpion soon let it go.

Ever since Zhang Ran helped arrange things at home last time, Scorpion had completely set his mind at ease.

Things at home were arranged very well; not only were there high-paying jobs, but even the children's schooling issues were resolved, and his parents' medical problems were taken care of very well.

So Scorpion had made up his mind that from now on, he would follow the new boss.

The others had the same thought; those who had family or other people they cared about had basically all been taken care of properly by Zhang Ran.

There would be no worries at all.

"You all stay here to guard the place, and by the way, move the goods. Scorpion, come with me to Pretoria; we are going to meet Mr. Zhang," Li Cheng said.

He also wanted to see Zhang Ran, and not just Zhang Ran, but also He Yong and Yin Long.

How many years had it been since they last met? He had originally thought that they would basically never meet again in this lifetime, or that the only time they might meet would be when He Yong had completely let go and come to find them.

But with Zhang Ran's return, everything had changed.

"Okay." Scorpion agreed immediately; he was also very curious about what this new boss looked like.

To be able to make his own boss so loyal, and to trust him so much!

The others didn't say anything either; in fact, some of them could perceive some of Li Cheng's intentions.

Scorpion was the youngest among them, but in all these years of life-and-death moments, he had never once been a coward.

Moreover, they had all, more or less, treated Scorpion like their own younger brother, making him a sort of emotional anchor for family.

Another point was that these people could not go back; they could only be like this for the rest of their lives, but Scorpion was different—he was still young and had other choices.

The others began to silently pack up their things and familiarize themselves with the new equipment to avoid any problems when using them.

Li Cheng and Scorpion packed up simply and set off.

The two men had different moods; Li Cheng was excited and apprehensive, while Scorpion was curious.

On the way there, Li Cheng called He Yong to inform him of his itinerary; this was their old rule.

Whenever Zhang Ran encountered danger, anyone around Zhang Ran who wanted to approach him had to report it to He Yong, without exception!

He Yong was not afraid of offending people; whenever such moments arrived, he was always impartial, as this was a habit for people like them.

"Call me again when you arrive, and I will arrange for someone to pick you up." He Yong said only this much before hanging up.