Chapter 1518: Deadly Sniper

"I believe we have met, haven't we?"

August, the director of the Riesa Steel Plant, smiled and extended his right hand to Anna, saying politely, "Captain Anna, welcome to the Riesa Steel Plant."

"Director August, hello."

Anna shook hands with him very politely, though her expression was somewhat helpless and resentful.

The helplessness was for August, but the look she gave Li Xuewu was one of resentment: who is intimate friends with you?

"It seems I don't need to introduce you, right?"

Li Xuewu seemed to have noticed something; he smiled, raised an eyebrow, and said, "Today's itinerary will surely be very interesting."

"I'll go wait for you in the car—"

Anna really didn't want to deal with him, and even less did she want to look at his smug face, so she turned to leave.

But Li Xuewu, who never missed a chance to gloat, wouldn't let it go. He not only reached out to grab her arm but also took the opportunity to whisper something in her ear.

What he said wasn't important; what mattered was that in front of the Riesa Steel Plant's management team, their behavior really looked a bit ambiguous.

Of course, in August's eyes, Li Xuewu's actions were somewhat frivolous, even presumptuous.

"Are you serious?!"

Anna's reaction, however, was unexpected. Not only did she not reject his intimate gesture, but she even seemed curious, leaning her body closer.

"When have I ever lied to you?"

Li Xuewu's words were indeed quite intimate, and he didn't care if others might misunderstand; the meaning was quite vague.

Anna looked him over suspiciously, thinking to herself that they had only known each other for less than a day, yet he spoke so strangely—

It wasn't strange at all; Li Xuewu was doing it on purpose.

"We can begin today's inspection tour." Li Xuewu let go of Anna's hand, patted her arm casually, and looked at August.

August glanced at the two of them, and only then did a smile return to his face. He raised his hand to gesture toward the factory area and said, "Please, let's head to the production workshop."

What was there to see in a steel plant that produced steel pipes?

Heh—there were actually plenty of good things to see.

"Since you come from a steel enterprise, I believe I don't need to introduce these processes to you one by one."

August was in his fifties, and he spoke slowly, with a rhythmic cadence.

Li Xuewu walked by his side, with an interpreter following behind, providing simultaneous translation of the director's introduction, so there were no issues with communication.

"Is your steel rolling system independently developed?"

Li Xuewu pointed to the steel rolling workshop and threw out the first question.

Anna, walking half a step behind him, raised an eyebrow. She hadn't expected him to understand metallurgy technology as well.

She hadn't approached this scar-faced man without doing her research; she couldn't say she understood him in great detail, but the general situation was clear.

To have such skills and abilities, and yet be a business cadre?

"It's technology we've had for a long time."

August explained casually, "We have been using it for many years, and the technology is very mature."

"Oh—" Li Xuewu nodded knowingly and continued to ask, "Then have you encountered any innovation bottlenecks or problems with the technology?"

"That's an interesting question."

August smiled as he looked at him and countered, "Has your side's steel rolling industry encountered such problems as well?"

This old guy wasn't a good person either.

Li Xuewu could summarize the man's character in one sentence: he asked him a question, and he kicked the ball right back.

"Of course, how could there be no problems in the development of science and technology?"

Walking on the path to the workshop, he said calmly, "We uphold one belief: when there is a problem, we solve it, and at the same time, we summarize the experience and lessons learned."

"Actually, we are quite similar."

August waved his hand casually and said, "I mean from the system to the trajectory of industrial development."

"There are certain differences." Li Xuewu didn't follow his lead but instead struck a different chord, emphasizing, "Our starting point was lower."

"Could it really be lower than ours?"

August looked at him seriously, spread his hands, and introduced, "After the war, this place was a ruin. We couldn't even find a complete lathe."

"But at least you could still find lathes in the ruins, couldn't you?"

Li Xuewu glanced at him, continued walking forward, and said, "In our war ruins, there were only sufferers."

August looked at him with surprise, and only then did they walk toward the workshop together.

The group walking behind them maintained their usual silence, including Annabelle.

She was the only Stasi agent here; the team members she brought had gone to perform security duties. Her saying Li Xuewu was in danger was no exaggeration.

If her predictions were correct, there would be opportunities to act in the next few days, right up until the delegation left.

This Mr. Li's methods were too outrageous; he had caused the other side to lose not only face but also their substance.

No one had come to claim the team members she had taken away, and those people had more frankly admitted to the crimes they had committed.

So, quite simply, the Stasi was at a loss with the other side.

She dared to believe that as long as these people went through the motions with a judge, they wouldn't spend half a month in prison before being transferred away.

Where they would go, she didn't know, but she could guess.

Did East Germany dare to challenge the Soviets?

Having a good father, she knew very well that East Germany did not dare; the men who could go to the battlefield had already become weaklings.

From being in the world's top tier to becoming lackeys, it had taken them less than 20 years.

Then again, she was the person primarily responsible for this case. Did Anna dare to challenge the other side?

The answer was certain: she did not dare either.

Don't think that just because she had a fiery temper, she would act on impulse. If that were truly the case, she would have let down her father's years of cultivation.

Following instructions from her superiors, she would not intervene on either side, but she would fully guarantee the safety of the delegation members in Dresden.

Li Xuewu and the others couldn't stay in Dresden forever. As long as she sent them away safely, she wouldn't have to worry about anything, and she might even get a bonus.

Some things were not for them to participate in; getting both a bonus and an award, why not?

Therefore, when Li Xuewu whispered in her ear that he would tell her the truth about that night after today's inspection, Anna would naturally stay by his side.

She was very curious about how Li Xuewu managed to drink two bottles of brandy without getting drunk; the bartender had almost sworn on his life, having seen it with his own eyes.

This forced her to believe that Li Xuewu must have done something.

Furthermore, she also wanted to know where Li Xuewu's helicopter came from and whether other forces had infiltrated East Germany; this was also something she cared about.

"Our group originally specialized in steel rolling." Standing at the entrance of the steel rolling workshop, Li Xuewu put on a safety helmet before following the German personnel inside, explaining, "Perhaps more comprehensive than yours."

"How is the production technology?"

August asked curiously, "Has automation been achieved?"

"Of course not—" Li Xuewu turned his head to look at him and countered, "What about you? Have you achieved automation?"

"Semi-automation, it's quite mature." August introduced calmly, "Our steelmaking, pipe rolling, and pipe processing equipment have achieved semi-automation."

"The direct reduced iron technology is somewhat immature and is still undergoing scientific research."

He introduced very frankly, "Actually, we also make other steel rolling products; after all, once the task is assigned, we have to find a way to complete it."

"For example, seamless steel pipes, stainless steel pipes, color-coated sheets, sponge iron, ferroalloys, copper wire rods, aluminum wires, and so on."

"Do you also produce military steel pipes?"

Li Xuewu suddenly asked this, instantly alerting the sweet girl behind him, her large eyes scanning his profile like a radar.

"Of course, but we don't have access to the relevant production work."

August was very honest; he looked at Li Xuewu, smiled, and explained, "I believe you also receive production tasks in this regard."

"Very few. There are larger industrial enterprises of the same type where the factory is located."

Li Xuewu stood with his hands behind his back, looking up to observe the workshop's industrial equipment and structural design, while the technical personnel following behind had already begun their inspection registration.

"We tend to be a comprehensive group enterprise; what we want is complementary advantages." He introduced to August, "That's why we have our own automobile manufacturing plant, shipbuilding plant, and aircraft manufacturing plant."

"You also have your own aircraft manufacturing plant?"

August looked at him in surprise and asked, "Is it an independently operated enterprise?"

"The enterprise is independent; some projects are cooperative, and some are autonomous."

Li Xuewu smiled and pointed to the equipment in front, asking, "What product is being produced now?"

"Furnace tubes for high-pressure boilers."

August introduced while observing him and thinking about the situation the other side had just mentioned.

If a steel enterprise owned wholly-owned terminal downstream enterprises, what did that mean?

It was an existence even more impressive than a trust enterprise.

"We also make high-pressure gas cylinder pipes, hydraulic support pipes, line pipes, and other specialized pipes; civil water pipes are actually the most numerous."

"When it comes to metallurgy technology, one still has to talk about Europe."

Li Xuewu nodded slightly and sighed, "Germany, Italy, the United States, Belgium, and the United Kingdom are all countries where metallurgical giants are located."

"Perhaps we tend to focus more on technology development." August explained calmly, "If we don't value technology, where would production support come from?"

"You are right; I fully agree with your point of view."

Li Xuewu walked and stopped in the workshop, not mentioning a word about the workshop management methods promoted by the Red Star Steel Group, laying out their own shortcomings very clearly, which also represented their demands.

He was leading a delegation to inspect technology; how much they could take back depended on the ability of the technical team. Who dared to say these Germans wouldn't try to fool them?

Once an expert makes a move, you know if it's real or not.

He would know when they negotiated later. If he didn't see through this steel plant and understand it clearly, the other side would definitely try to fool them.

Hmm, he had already said it: this old man wasn't a good person either, clearly knowing Anna but pretending they weren't familiar.

"If we had the channels, we would definitely buy a set of direct reduced iron smelting process equipment from the UK. In the field of sponge iron smelting, Davy's technology and equipment are very representative."

Li Xuewu turned to look at August and asked, "Have you had any contact with Davy?"

"No, I've only heard of their great name."

August smiled and said, "I have been to the Danieli Group, though. I don't know if you've heard of them."

"I have, the steel industrial company founded in 1914." Li Xuewu said while walking, "An Italian enterprise, right? We have had cooperation."

"Cooperation? You?" August asked curiously, "Through what channels was the cooperation reached, and in what regard?"

"As I just mentioned to you, we have our own shipyard."

Li Xuewu looked back at him and explained, mimicking the casual tone he had just used, "Because of technical cooperation, they helped us find a set of metallurgical equipment produced by the Danieli Group. I'm not too clear on the specifics."

He smiled innocently and explained, "After all, I'm not a professional."

"..." What the hell is not a professional? Didn't you just speak with great authority—

August was somewhat speechless, but he couldn't curse; little Anna was already laughing at him.

"Actually, Davy's technology is more advanced, with a higher degree of metallization."

Li Xuewu felt that the other side had already tasted the bitterness of being outplayed, so he stopped imitating the other side's tone and introduced, "It's a pity we didn't establish a connection."

"You don't fear the West, do you?"

August asked an off-topic question, looking as if he were very curious.

Li Xuewu stopped in his tracks, turned back to look at him, and said, "We never fear any side; we can extend a friendly hand to the whole world."

"That is so." August nodded, caught up with his pace, and the two walked forward together. "We are also researching technology in this regard, but it has never been mature; it's a bit difficult."

"Very normal; we have encountered even more difficulties."

Li Xuewu shook his head slightly and asked, "What is the annual capacity of your ironworks? I'm talking about the capacity including molten iron and iron ingots."

And he said he wasn't a professional; the questions he asked were all right on the mark. If he wasn't a professional technical person, could he be a professional management person?

He looked very young—

However, Easterners didn't look old; perhaps this scar-faced man was already thirty.

"About 150,000 tons, annual production."

August's answer was somewhat hollow—not that his tone was hollow, but the capacity was hollow, so hollow that Li Xuewu didn't believe it.

"Oh—" Li Xuewu's answer hit the other side's pain point exactly.

"Actually, it's already very rare."

He knew how to make up for it; after poking someone, he knew how to smooth things over.

"We have our own metallurgical plant, and the annual capacity doesn't even compare to yours."

Li Xuewu introduced, "Previously, we could complete the production tasks assigned by superiors, but during this period of technical innovation, we can only guarantee the supply of high-quality raw materials for our own steelmaking."

"Do you have electric furnaces?"

August raised his hand to gesture toward the workshop in the distance and introduced, "We have an independently developed electric furnace system, a 5-ton one."

"Ah, electric furnaces—"

Li Xuewu nodded knowingly and said, "We have looked into it, but we haven't decided to launch this project yet."

"Then you can consider it."

August seemed to have found a key point that both sides could talk about; he smiled and introduced, "The electric furnace system is much better than traditional furnaces."

As they said this, a motorcade was already waiting at the workshop entrance. Everyone got into the cars and headed straight for the electric furnace workshop ahead.

After meeting at the workshop entrance, an engineer introduced the production principles and actual production situation of the electric furnace to everyone.

"Our self-developed 5-ton electric furnace system consists of a high-power electric arc furnace, a ladle refining furnace, a vacuum degassing furnace, a ladle bottom oxygen blowing device, wire feeding equipment, and a six-strand round billet continuous casting machine."

The engineer raised his hand and introduced, "This equipment can provide five specifications of continuous casting pipe billets with diameters of 400mm, 350mm, 310mm, 270mm, and 210mm."

"There are also electric furnaces for producing steel billets here."

August introduced, "Other factories participated in the R&D of this set of equipment, but we have made technical improvements."

"In the processing technology, we added a medium-frequency induction furnace to melt alloy mother liquor, and VD becomes VOD to satisfy decarburization and chromium retention, meeting the needs of producing low-carbon stainless steel."

"Stainless steel production technology?"

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow, nodded, and said, "So that's how you do it."

"A 5-ton furnace is enough."

August could see his greed; he smiled and said, "This system also has the ability to cast high-alloy steel ingots."

"It can provide five specifications of steel billets with diameters of 270mm, 251mm, 210mm, 150mm, and 150mm*150mm square billets."

"How much for a set?" Li Xuewu asked straightforwardly, "I'm a bit interested."

"12 million." August smiled and reported the price.

Li Xuewu nodded and countered, "German Marks?"

"Aren't you planning to pay in Rubles?"

August looked at him suspiciously and emphasized, "I'm talking about Rubles."

"Hehehe—" Li Xuewu chuckled, glanced at the other side, and said, "12 million Rubles for me to buy an electric furnace to take back."

He raised his hand and pointed to the 5-ton electric furnace in front of him, saying, "I can buy a 30-ton one from Italy, and I can also buy a 50-ton one from France. Do you believe me?"

"I believe you. You can make a wise choice." August clearly had him pegged and was not afraid of his bargaining at all.

Li Xuewu smiled, looked at him, and emphasized, "So I want to tell you that I have better choices, and I won't consider your electric furnace for the time being."

"What do you mean?" August's expression changed instantly; he frowned and looked at him, saying, "You can't buy other electric furnaces in Germany."

"Don't talk to me about Italy or France." He waved his hand, and without waiting for Li Xuewu to refute, he emphasized, "If you had a choice, you wouldn't have come here, would you?"

"Who told you that?"

Li Xuewu retorted with a tough attitude, looked at the other side, and said seriously, "What do you take international cooperation for?"

"Do you think we came to beg you to bestow industrial technology upon us?"

He sneered and said, "Are you the gods of industry?"

"Cooperation should look like cooperation. You're asking for the moon; do you take us for an ATM, or for big fools?"

Li Xuewu looked him up and down, stepped forward, and walked ahead. His pace was significantly faster, and he no longer asked questions about the engineer's introduction.

August's expression remained gloomy; he couldn't understand where the confidence behind the other side's tough attitude came from.

Could they really have Western procurement channels?

Then why come to Germany to learn?

"This is our pipe rolling unit."

The engineer could clearly see that the leaders of both sides were fighting, so his tone of introduction became much weaker, and he accelerated his speaking speed.

"How thick is the pipe rolling machine?" Li Xuewu didn't speak or ask questions, but the technical personnel who followed had to ask; they still had to write reports.

When technical exchange was handed over to technical personnel, the atmosphere at the scene became much more relaxed.

Li Xuewu's expression was as usual, only he didn't look at August, that old man.

"We have three models: 250, 168, and 258." The engineer introduced, "The main equipment includes a ring heating furnace, a Diescher piercer, a restrained mandrel continuous rolling mill, a reheating furnace, a sizing machine, a vertical inclined roller straightener, and a flaw detector, etc."

"Hmm, the Italian company Pianti also has this set of equipment."

The old professor from Huaqing seemed to say this intentionally and explained, "The 168 pipe rolling unit is used to produce seamless steel pipes."

"The 258 is mainly for convenient stand changing, low consumption, and uniform cooling."

Hearing him introduce this, August's expression changed several times, and there seemed to be some changes in the look he gave the other side.

"Actually, France also has a 460."

The professor looked at Li Xuewu and explained, "That one has a high yield, low tool consumption, and very low rolling costs."

Li Xuewu just nodded and didn't answer; he didn't want to give the factory side a chance to continue the conversation.

"This is the rolling mill; I'm too familiar with it."

The professor pointed to another piece of equipment in the workshop and introduced, "This is the ring heating furnace, that side is the cone piercer, the pipe rolling machine, and the micro-tension sizing machine."

"You can take a look at our rotary expansion pipe unit."

At this moment, August suddenly spoke to the professor, "This piece of equipment was independently developed and produced by us, and the effect is very good."

"Added a car-bottom normalizing and annealing furnace and a hydraulic pressure straightener, right?"

The old professor was really not bad; he broke the mystery in one word, squatted down to knock on it, and then stood up and said, "Used for producing large-diameter thick-walled pipes."

Li Xuewu raised an eyebrow, his expression was faint, and he still didn't pick up the other side's topic. Actually, both sides had been in contact for a long time.

Think about it, August could wait for him at the factory because he was prepared. Whether it was the inspection delegation or the group's pre-negotiations, both sides would be combined, expecting cooperation.

The steel industry naturally corresponds to the steel industry. It wasn't as if other steel industrial enterprises hadn't come to inspect these days; August already had confidence in receiving them.

It was just that this confidence had been dashed by the Red Star Steel Group.

If they really didn't have channels to understand steel rolling production equipment, how could they speak so authoritatively?

He began to fall into self-doubt.

"Cold rolling and cold drawing unit, good stuff."

The professor introduced to Li Xuewu, "Mainly for producing stainless steel pipes."

"We mainly have 220, 180, and 90 cold rolling mills here, as well as 10-ton, 20-ton, and 30-ton cold drawing machines."

The engineer introduced, "There are also 100-ton expansion drawing machines, supporting straighteners, flaw detection equipment, etc."

"You can take a look at this side, the hot expansion pipe unit."

He took the initiative to introduce, "Our three hot expansion pipe production lines are equipped with semi-automatic ultrasonic flaw detectors, large-diameter hydraulic presses, and large-diameter pipe sizing machines and other equipment."

"Basically, it can meet the production needs of various specifications of large-diameter seamless steel pipes under 600mm."

The symbol ￠ represents the pipe diameter. Li Xuewu had looked into it and could feel the rich legacy left to this country by the failed art student.

This was still the leftover scraps left after being scraped by the US and the Soviets, and yet it could develop into such an advanced enterprise.

In the subsequent inspection, everyone looked at the pipe processing technology and heat treatment technology.

Pipe processing technology includes a slotted screen pipe production line, a drill pipe production line, a special-shaped pipe production line, two light pipe production lines, and five thread processing production lines.

Mechanical equipment includes pipe body threading machines, coupling threading machines, and supporting equipment includes hydraulic presses, weighing and measuring devices, pipe cutting machines, chamfering machines, coupling screwing machines, coupling phosphating devices, upsetting machines, etc.

Heat treatment technology mainly includes heat treatment lines, bright heat treatment lines, and solution heat treatment lines. Used for processing stainless steel pipes, high-alloy pipes, boiler pipes, etc.

"If I want to test the qualification of these products, what should I do?"

Li Xuewu turned to ask the professor who had come with him; this was content he was more concerned about.

No matter how impressive the production line is, what's the use if the products are trash?

"You can use electromagnetic, ultrasonic, magnetic particle, eddy current, visual inspection, and other means." The professor explained, "This way, you can perform internal and external transverse, longitudinal, and oblique flaw detection on the steel pipe body, pipe ends, and couplings."

"Oh, so that's how it is."

Li Xuewu nodded, but there was no follow-up. After the inspection ended, he prepared to leave, ignoring the factory's request.

"Let's talk openly and honestly."

Just as they were about to leave, August walked over, faced Li Xuewu, and said, "You certainly won't be willing to return empty-handed."

"You certainly won't be willing to let go of your most sincere and easiest-to-cooperate client." Li Xuewu looked into his eyes and said, "Because you cannot guarantee whether we will go to other steel plants to inspect like other delegation members."

"Is this what you Chinese call comparing three goods, right?"

It seems August, who had been very depressed lately, had started studying China, and actually knew about comparing three goods.

Li Xuewu shrugged his shoulders and emphasized, "On the contrary, I decided to come here first only after I was sure that other steel industrial members of the delegation had returned empty-handed from you."

"A helpless choice, for me, is that so?" August raised an eyebrow and looked at Li Xuewu, asking, "You think you have me pegged, right?"

"You have no choice." Li Xuewu chuckled and said, "Steel industrial enterprises will participate in the first round of screening. Enterprises that cannot reach a cooperation intention will be screened out. Those that have something to talk about have already talked with you."

He looked at the large factory area, paused, and then said, "We Chinese have another saying: those who know the times are heroes."

"What does that mean?" August squinted one eye and looked at him suspiciously.

Li Xuewu pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow, saying, "It means to stop while you're ahead and don't be too greedy."

"..." August was speechless; this person had a lot of nonsense.

"Frankly speaking, I want the electric furnace, and the rolling mill unit technology is also within my consideration."

Li Xuewu asked the old professor beside him, spread his hands, and said, "Other rolling mill technologies can also be discussed, but I'm not very interested."

"You don't need to doubt my purpose; I can tell you straight."

Li Xuewu tilted his head and said, "In the past three years, our group has purchased a full set of advanced metallurgical equipment from all over the world through cooperative merchants."

"Coming here this time is nothing more than wanting to check for omissions and fill in the gaps, perfecting our metallurgical system as much as possible. That's the goal."

He pointed at the other side and emphasized, "Conversely, perhaps in three or five years, our situation will be reversed. By then, it will be you coming to our group to visit and inspect, exchanging technology."

"You wouldn't want me to make things difficult for you then, like you just did to me, would you?"

"Will there be such a day?" August looked at him with some disbelief and said, "I can't imagine it."

"Let's wait and see." Li Xuewu chuckled and said, "I'm not a person who is good at bragging; otherwise, I wouldn't have come here."

"You can think about it: why am I not interested in your full set of equipment?"

He raised his eyebrows and said, "I'm not being malicious, but if your economic development or industrial development still had a booming side, you wouldn't be inviting us for technical procurement, right?"

After saying this, Li Xuewu could see the persistence in the old director's eyes, but he also saw the loneliness that disappeared in an instant.

The collapse and disintegration of East Germany's industrial and economic system were not caused in an instant, nor were they influenced by the system transformation after the unification of East and West; the roots of the disaster had been buried long ago.

At this time, East Germany, like North Korea, was facing an embarrassing predicament: over-reliance on economic cooperation organizations, with its own industries not being comprehensive.

The Soviet Union fell, East Germany fell, and North Korea was also critically ill. If it weren't for the great help from the East, North Korea would have collapsed long ago.

Not to mention anything else, they would have starved to death.

The world situation is changing. In today's increasingly abnormal bipolar opposition, these vassal regions are eggs tied to a chariot, with the possibility of breaking at any time.

They don't necessarily have to collide to break; they can't even stand the bumps along the way. East Germany is in this situation.

The people's livelihood relying on the blood transfusion of economic organizations seems very good, but the industrial system and economic system have long been hollowed out.

Isn't the steel industry lacking raw materials just an empty shell? Li Xuewu didn't even tear his face off to ask them how long they would stop work every year waiting for raw materials.

The capacity mentioned by the other side is in an ideal state, the result of the continuous supply of raw materials by economic organizations.

This is the sorrow of a narrow land area; strategic depth is not significant.

"Electric furnace 8 million..."

"I can only give you 1 million, our money."

Li Xuewu didn't wait for him to finish speaking and said straightforwardly, "I don't want your equipment either; taking it back is just for reference and research."

He shrugged his shoulders and emphasized, "Next year we have to achieve an iron raw material production of 800,000 tons. What is your 5-ton furnace enough for?"

"The rolling mill unit has no technical content; at most 500,000. There's no room for negotiation for even a cent more. That's it."

Li Xuewu pointed to the old professor beside him and said, "If you are willing to cooperate, we will leave some technical personnel here to continue the inspection. Perhaps we won't need to take these pieces of equipment back."

August was uncomfortable being poked, but when he heard the other side belittle his factory's equipment and technology, he was somewhat helpless.

Because he didn't know whether what the other side said was true or false; they were too underprepared before the negotiations.

And the factory really needed this money.

"2 million, Rubles."

"I'm not bargaining with you." Li Xuewu frowned slightly and emphasized, "We could have sat in the conference room, drinking coffee and talking about cooperation."

"Now that this result and situation have appeared, haven't you realized where the problem lies?"

He gestured to the car door, and a secretary helped open it, which caused dissatisfaction and tension on the factory side.

"East Germany doesn't just have steel plants in Dresden, and Dresden doesn't just have steel plants in Riesa. We still have choices, don't we?"

Just as Li Xuewu was about to get into the car, August frowned and said, "You also need our technology, don't you?"

Seeing Li Xuewu turn back, he looked at Anna standing by the car again, and only then said, "We need at least two million, at least."

Li Xuewu looked at him in surprise, then looked at Anna, raised an eyebrow, and said, "For Anna's sake, if you are willing to make the existing production technology public, I can agree to this condition."

"Uh—" Anna, who had been playing the role of a bystander, seemed to hear unexpected news in a trance. What was this about for her sake?

Didn't he just say 1 million and 500,000? Now it's 2 million again. Was her face actually worth 500,000?

Regardless of the currency, 500,000 of any currency was not a small amount.

She looked at the frowning August in bewilderment, then looked up at Li Xuewu. What were they doing!

"Happy cooperation."

Without waiting for Anna to react, August stepped forward and extended his right hand. And Li Xuewu also stepped forward and grasped the other side's hand, "Happy cooperation."

"Hmm?" Anna opened her mouth in surprise.

What just happened? How did it become happy cooperation?

"Thank you, Captain Anna."

August's reaction made Anna even more confused; she let the other side grasp her hand in a daze, at a loss.

After the signing ended, when her subordinates drove over to pick her up, she didn't even notice, following Li Xuewu's gesture to get into the other side's car.

Looking at the profile of the man beside her, the side without the scar was quite handsome. Did he have any ulterior motives toward her?

Anna shook her head vigorously, wanting to shake these wild thoughts out of her mind, but that sentence "For Anna's sake" kept lingering in her mind, unable to be shaken off.

What to do? A man spent an extra 500,000 for her—

"Who is Director August to you?"

Li Xuewu suddenly turned his head to look at the confused little duck and asked, "It looks like he is very familiar with you."

"Ah? Who? Oh—"

The confused little duck instantly came back to her senses, looked at Li Xuewu, and said stubbornly, "We have just met, not very familiar."

"Oh—" Li Xuewu nodded knowingly, looked at the street scene outside the window, and said, "Then have you seen the photo hanging on the wall of his office of him with a man in military uniform?"

"No—haven't seen it—" Anna's mouth twitched, and she asked nervously, "Is there? How come I didn't notice?"

"Hmm, it doesn't matter; you might have been negligent."

Li Xuewu turned his head, smiled at her, and said, "Thank you for your help today; otherwise, it wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

"Ah? Me?" Anna widened her eyes in confusion and said, "I—I didn't help with anything?"

She emphasized, "I didn't say a word."

"But August received a guarantee."

Li Xuewu smiled, looked at her, and said, "Stay away from him in the future; he's not a good person."

"Then are you a good person?" Anna asked habitually, "A good person who manufactures explosions?"

"When do you plan to tell me what happened last night?"

Screech—

Before she could hear what Li Xuewu said, the car they were in suddenly turned and rushed toward the side of the road.

And in that instant, Anna saw the vehicle in front being overturned, and further ahead, a large truck was blocking the middle of the road.

"It's not a car accident! Don't get out of the car—"

Li Xuewu pushed open the car door and shouted, warning the accompanying personnel, but he himself darted toward a building on the side of the street.

Pfft—pfft—

The sound of gunfire couldn't be heard at all, but the sound of bullets hitting the ground followed one after another, chasing Li Xuewu's escape route relentlessly.

It was a pity that Li Xuewu's speed was too fast, and his dodging direction was too strange; the other side couldn't even predict his landing point.

So, watching Li Xuewu hide in the building, the other side could only drink hatred.

"Over there—"

Anna didn't heed Li Xuewu's warning. As a Stasi action team captain, she couldn't watch such vicious behavior occur in her jurisdiction.

She pointed to the building on the front right, reminding the team members rushing over from behind to go block the person, while she herself chased after Li Xuewu.

Compared to the KGB's vicious methods, she was more afraid of Li Xuewu's bombing and blasting. If another helicopter came and dropped grenades later, she really couldn't take it.

Li Xuewu really didn't have time to worry about her. The street wasn't straight, and the buildings along the street weren't connected. It was a bit difficult for him to want to outflank and attract the other side's attention while completing a kill.

He was simply agile; two floors were nothing to him. He climbed and jumped among the building complex, rushing forward as much as possible, and then chasing along the other side's escape route; he would definitely be able to bump into the other side face-to-face.

The motorcade had no ability to fight back, but that didn't mean he didn't.

Once he really found the other side, he must make them drink a pot, at least they wouldn't dare to strike hard again.

"Wait for me—"

Anna's voice came from behind. Li Xuewu only looked back once before being dazzled by the jumping car lights of the other side.

This girl usually walked fine, but once she jumped, how could she be so bouncy?

"Go back, it's dangerous, don't follow."

"You are the most dangerous—"

Anna shouted angrily, trying hard to climb the floor slab, and reminded him, "I have already asked my colleagues to handle it; don't be impulsive."

Impulsive? Li Xuewu wasn't impulsive; he was very calm now, otherwise he wouldn't have stopped to observe the other side's movements.

At the location where the motorcade stopped not far away, there were Stasi people handling the scene. There were no explosions or gunshots, and he couldn't determine if there were any casualties.

From this angle, he could only see part of the street situation; an ordinary person couldn't determine the attacker's position.

But Li Xuewu could, because those people wanted to kill him; the center of the attack must be on him. Just look at who was chasing him and he would know.

Bang—

Without hesitation, Li Xuewu darted to a position on the rooftop, lay down, and instantly took out a Type 66-6 sniper rifle to fight back.

He only fired one shot, then immediately put away the sniper rifle, jumped down the building along the drainage pipe, and ran forward in the right direction.

He had to run forward because only then could he pull away from the other side and reduce the pressure of the motorcade being attacked.

"Damn it! Where did you run to—"

Hearing the gunshot, Anna knew something was wrong; that guy had made a move! ===== CHAPTER 1519 =====