Chapter 3468

Because Tavana is scheduled to land on the island tomorrow morning, the staff must begin preparing welcome materials tonight, so at this point, it's already difficult for guests on the island to maintain secrecy, and thus the staff openly admitted: "The information we've received so far is as follows, but we cannot guarantee whether it's true or whether there will be any other unexpected developments."

The tourists playing with manta rays in the beach suddenly erupted in excited cheers.

Wanting to buy a concert ticket at ten times the price just to catch a glimpse of their idol from afar is already difficult, let alone imagining that the idol would actually vacation on the same island as them—just like when Chinese people travel abroad and unexpectedly encounter Jay Chou at their hotel—how could they not be excited?

Moreover, although White Horse Island is an island, it is actually a large hotel, and all its public facilities, barring any unforeseen circumstances, are open to all guests, which means everyone might very well end up dining at the same restaurant as Tavana, swimming in the same pool, or setting out to sea on the same yacht!

Among this group of ecstatic tourists, two people wore expressions of surprise, showing no sign of joy.

One of them was Ye Chen.

The other was his wife, Xiao Churan.

Ye Chen was one of ten thousand people who did not want to see Tavana.

Especially when he was with Xiao Churan.

He even suspected that Tavana had secretly sent people to monitor him, knowing he had come here, which was why she had also followed him over.

But after thinking carefully, he believed Tavana shouldn't have such great influence.

Combined with what she had previously said—seemingly hoping to go on vacation—he felt this was more likely just a coincidence.

But what a damn coincidence!

He and Xiao Churan had come out to travel, not even asking for a private world just for two, at least hoping to spend a few quiet days together, but with Tavana's arrival, could they still remain peaceful?

Moreover, the fervent and unrestrained nature of American women sometimes left him unable to cope.

He preferred the relatively reserved tenderness of East Asian women, as the saying goes: gentle emotions like flowing water.

Xiao Churan also felt no happiness in her heart; since learning Ye Chen's true identity, she had also guessed many things related to Tavana.

The reason Tavana came to Huaxia and held so many concerts was likely because her husband had invited her.

After all, Tavana was ostensibly invited by Changying Automobile, and Changying Automobile was a joint venture between her husband's grandfather's family and her maternal grandfather's family, even using the name of Ye Chen's father for its brand.

With this inference, it followed that Ye Chen's recent actions—posing as a feng shui supervisor and following Tavana around—were likely baseless and fabricated.

She had previously suspected that the male dancer whom Tavana passionately kissed on stage was Ye Chen, but she had thought that, as an international superstar, Tavana would hardly be interested in her husband, a mere feng shui master.

At that time, she felt that compared to her husband Ye Chen, Tavana was practically a heavenly figure—so far above him.

But now, upon reflection, the one truly standing high above was not Tavana, but Ye Chen!

Now, having just arrived at White Horse Island, Tavana is coming tomorrow—no need to say it, one knows she must be coming for Ye Chen.

This is the only time she has ever traveled with Ye Chen, and possibly the last.

Who could have imagined that, so soon, another person of extraordinary status would appear as a rival—how could her heart possibly feel at ease?

Seeing Ye Chen's somewhat bewildered expression, she deliberately asked him: "Husband, is Miss Svet also coming to White Horse Island? What a coincidence! Did you previously tell her you wanted to come here?"

"No!" Ye Chen sighed: "I only told people I'd come out for vacation during the New Year, but I didn't tell anyone where I was going—with so many vacation destinations worldwide, so many holiday islands in the Maldives, I never imagined Tavana would choose this place."

Xiao Churan saw Ye Chen didn't seem to be lying, but recalling how he always spoke seriously about everything, she felt half convinced, half doubtful, yet she said aloud: "Although there are many vacation destinations worldwide, now the entire Northern Hemisphere is winter, and places with such good beach weather for holidaying are limited to tropical regions and the Southern Hemisphere—the Maldives are undoubtedly a top choice, and moreover, the White Horse Island we came to is one of the best in the Maldives; Miss Svet is so wealthy, choosing this place is not surprising at all."

Saying this, she muttered under her breath: "You and Miss Svet really have good fate—being able to meet here."

Ye Chen said awkwardly: "If that's the case, then I also have good fate with that Middle Eastern boss from the restaurant earlier."

"Indeed, we do." Xiao Churan nodded: "You know I've lived in Jin Ling for so many years, yet I've never run into an acquaintance on the local subway, let alone after going out—yet you've gone abroad and still keep running into familiar faces; it must be fate."

Ye Chen gave a shy laugh and said nothing.

Because the butler was busy preparing for Tavana's arrival, Ye Chen and Xiao Churan walked back along the beach to their waterfront villa.

Xiao Changkun and Ma Lan, who lived next door, had not yet returned. Ye Chen was just about to enter the house when he saw the door of the diagonally opposite villa open, and Hamid stepped out, then waved at him: "Old brother Ye, would it be convenient to chat for a moment?"

Ye Chen nodded: "Sure."

After speaking, he told Xiao Churan: "Wife, you go back first—I'll chat with this old brother for a while."

Xiao Churan gave a slight nod, then pushed the door open and entered the villa first.

Hamid then walked toward Ye Chen, and upon reaching him, said quietly: "Old brother, let's step aside to talk."

The surroundings were a row of independent waterfront villas, with good privacy, but chatting outside might still be overheard.

So the two walked farther away before Ye Chen asked: "Old brother, what do you need?"

Hamid said to him: "Old brother, I've booked a flight for the day after tomorrow morning, planning to return. I'll take the seaplane from White Horse Island to Malé early the day after tomorrow, then fly to Beirut, Lebanon."

Ye Chen asked him: "Is this the original plan or a sudden decision?"

"Sudden." Hamid sighed: "Originally, I planned to rest properly for a while, but after hearing your conversation at the restaurant entrance in the evening, I've felt uneasy and anxious, so I decided to return earlier. I originally wanted to leave tomorrow, but my two wives heard that the international superstar Tavana Svet would be landing on the island tomorrow and refused to leave unless they could see her, take a photo, and get an autograph—I had no choice but to delay until the day after tomorrow."

After saying that, he sounded somewhat regretful: "I originally wanted to catch up properly with you, old brother, but it seems I'll have to wait until next time."

Ye Chen said: "No problem, old brother—go attend to your affairs first. During this time, make sure to contact some fringe forces within the opposition early; laying groundwork ahead of time is always beneficial."

As he said this, Ye Chen suddenly recalled something and asked him: "Old brother, do you still remember when I helped you defend against the attack from the Wanlong Hall?"

"Of course I remember!" Hamid said excitedly: "Every one of your strategies was extremely effective—digging tunnels under sloped surfaces, constructing fortifications, building bunkers, laying overlapping firepower networks, drone reconnaissance—those well-trained Wanlong Hall soldiers were beaten to a pulp! Oh, just thinking about it now still makes my blood boil!"

Ye Chen said: "What I want to remind you of is this: earlier, when I told you to make good use of drones, those small drones were mainly used for reconnaissance—agile, mobile, small targets, hardly detectable by the enemy—but over the past two years, the war situation in Eastern Europe has stagnated, and drones have been developed for many new uses, most commonly carrying small bombs for low-altitude bombing and suicide attacks. I think you should stockpile a large number of drones as soon as possible—ideally, stockpile 100,000 units—so that if the enemy launches a total offensive, drones will work wonders!"

"Yes..." Hamid nodded repeatedly in agreement: "I've also read many related reports—this thing is truly powerful, low cost, and very hard to defend against."

Ye Chen said: "You also need to prepare defenses against drones—see if you can procure advanced radar. Once enemy drones approach, you may not be able to completely block them, but at the very least, you need early warning to prevent them from conducting precision strikes on your large equipment or carrying out decapitation operations against you."

"No problem!" Hamid's expression turned stern as he also realized the danger: "I'll have them implement anti-drone measures at the entrances of the permanent fortifications and the sloped surface tunnel entrances."

Ye Chen again instructed him: "You must definitely normalize aerial drone patrols, strictly monitor personnel and equipment movements within a 50-kilometer radius of your base, and also prepare for evacuation—once the battle turns one-sided, find a way to survive and escape; when the time comes, come find me in Huaxia, and I will ensure your safety."

Hamid said nervously: "Old brother, is the situation really this grim? This base has been my life's work for so many years—you've even invested so much money in me and built so much new infrastructure. If we truly abandon it, wouldn't we just be giving a cheap advantage to those bastards?"

Ye Chen shook his head: "Old brother, one must think big—when it comes to life and death, besides life itself, there's nothing that cannot be actively given up."

Because he feared Hamid might become too anxious and affect his mindset, Ye Chen added with a smile: "But then again, it might not necessarily be this serious—just being thoroughly prepared is always good. Your place has too many variables; anything could happen."

Hamid bit his lip, nodded heavily, and said: "Good! I'll follow your lead!"