Chapter 496, Asking for Someone
Inside the meeting room.
Qi Hancai sat on one side, flanked by two subordinates and two skeleton attendants for protection.
Opposite them were three people.
A middle-aged man in a black down jacket, Deputy Commander Liu from before, and a young man with a straight posture.
The middle-aged man in the black down jacket slammed his palm on the table, shouting loudly.
Qi Hancai looked at him and said, "As I've already said, the craters and explosion marks outside are from when we attacked the factory to deal with the zombies. Why do you keep insisting that we killed someone?"
The middle-aged man replied, "Before the squad went missing, they sent a message back saying they had a conflict with you."
"I don't understand what you're saying. In any case, they're not here," Qi Hancai said firmly.
"Are you willing to let us search the place?"
"Sorry, but we don't make a habit of letting people search our home."
"You—!"
Creak!
The door opened, and Wu Heng walked in directly.
Qi Hancai immediately showed a relieved expression and made space for him.
"What's going on?" Wu Heng glanced at the people across the table and asked directly.
Qi Hancai answered, "The rescue team says someone went missing near us."
Wu Heng sat down and looked at Deputy Commander Liu. "How did you know we were here?"
"Uh…"
Deputy Commander Liu glanced to the side and explained, "We had a squad conducting missions nearby."
His tone softened noticeably.
"What missions?" Wu Heng pressed.
"Terrain scouting and resource collection."
Wu Heng stared at him. "Why say it has anything to do with us?"
The middle-aged man interjected coldly, "Before the squad went missing, they sent a message saying they had a conflict with you."
Wu Heng turned to him. "What's your name?"
"My surname is Qi."
Wu Heng nodded. "According to what you're saying, your men were planning to attack us?"
"How could that be?"
"We were attacking the factory. Why would we attack you?" Wu Heng said to the middle-aged man, then turned to Deputy Commander Liu. "Deputy Commander Liu, you've tricked us before."
Deputy Commander Liu squinted slightly, emphasizing, "The squad is indeed missing."
"So what? Everyone faces risks while gathering resources. Are you going to come to us every time someone goes missing? Or do you intend to start looting other bases' supplies?"
"Of course not!" Deputy Commander Liu immediately retorted.
The middle-aged man named Qi's expression darkened. "Dare to let us search?"
"What if you don't find anything?"
"If we don't, I'll apologize to you."
"What use is your apology? If you don't find anything, I'll take your four armored vehicles outside. Let's see if you dare." Wu Heng stared him down.
Qi Hancai stood nearby, her hands tightly clenched behind her back.
The armored vehicles and trucks seized yesterday were in the garage.
They had serial numbers and could easily be identified.
"On what grounds?" the man snapped.
Wu Heng stared back. "Yeah, on what grounds?"
"Hmph!" The middle-aged man sneered coldly. "Our armored vehicles are right outside. We can flatten this place anytime."
Wu Heng locked eyes with him, then suddenly smiled.
He turned to Qi Hancai and said, "Notify Xinfu City to suspend all material exchanges with the province."
Bang!
Deputy Commander Liu slammed the table and stood abruptly.
He shouted angrily at the man beside him, "Qi Anrong, apologize to Commander Wu! Who told you to talk about war like a bandit?"
"You—!" Seeing Liu genuinely angry, Qi Anrong took a deep breath.
Then he said, "I'm sorry, Commander Wu. I got carried away and misspoke."
Wu Heng waved it off. "Alright. You can leave now. If you get any concrete information later, we can help look, but the timeline of their disappearance doesn't match when we took the factory."
Deputy Commander Liu stood up and said, "Then we'll take our leave. As for the trade between our cities, Commander Wu, please don't pass on the suspension notice. We're working hard to collect gold."
"Hmm. I also hope we can coexist peacefully."
"Then we won't disturb you further." Deputy Commander Liu nodded and left with the other two.
The group left the factory, boarded the armored vehicles, and gradually drove away.
Qi Hancai commented, "Bringing so many armored vehicles, I thought they'd fight us to the death."
"Their base is controlled by three factions. They have to discuss everything," Wu Heng said, watching the departing convoy. "But we still need to be cautious in case they try something."
Qi Hancai nodded, then said, "By the way, we found the place where the blueprints are stored, but the vault door won't open."
"Let's go take a look."
...…
Inside the rescue team's vehicle.
Qi Anrong looked dissatisfied. "Just going back like this makes it hard for me to explain to Boss Huang."
Deputy Commander Liu glanced at him. "Just tell him it's unlikely related to them. I think we should look for other clues."
"Boss Huang only has one son. He won't let this go."
Deputy Commander Liu glared at him coldly and warned, "You'd better not provoke them again. If the grain exchange is affected, you know the consequences."
"Hmph!" Qi Anrong snorted and fell silent.
...…
Wu Heng and Qi Hancai stood before a massive iron door.
On one side of the wall, the words "Archive Storage Room" were clearly written.
The door was made of solid steel, like the kind used for bank vaults in movies.
The door had two locks.
A combination lock and a keyhole.
Qi Hancai said, "Someone suggested blowing up the side wall, but we're worried about damaging the documents inside. I think we could wait for Xinfu City to send tools and try cutting it open."
Cutting or drilling through such a steel door would be tough.
Blasting through the side wall might actually be faster.
Wu Heng glanced at the iron door and said to Qi Hancai, "Get me a bottle of water."
"Oh!" Qi Hancai turned and walked outside.
Wu Heng took out a bronze key and unlocked the door.
The door was absurdly thick, almost five centimeters.
It could probably withstand a cannon blast!
Shortly after, Qi Hancai returned with a bottle of mineral water.
She stopped in her tracks when she saw the open door, astonished. "You know the code?"
Wu Heng shook his head. "It's hard to explain. I used a special ability to open it."
Qi Hancai sighed. "Abilities are really great."
Wu Heng took the water, drank a sip, and stored the rest.
The two entered the room and began inspecting it.
The room was spacious, with rows of neatly arranged cabinets full of drawers.
Wu Heng opened one casually, revealing a vast number of blueprints.
The blueprints were indeed here.
"There are also digital versions here," Qi Hancai said from nearby.
Wu Heng walked over to find a section with rows of external hard drives, each labeled with different data categories.
These were even clearer than the blueprints.
Wu Heng collected everything, including the cabinets.
It was quite a haul.
Leaving the room, Wu Heng said, "Find a warehouse. I brought some grain; let everyone eat their fill."
"Got it!" Qi Hancai smiled and led him to a nearby warehouse.
Wu Heng placed all the grain into the warehouse.
He gave Qi Hancai a few more instructions before returning to his room.
...…
In the dormitory room.
Wu Heng sat and waited for a while. Xiaoxiao flew back in from outside.
She said, "Uncle, Deputy Commander Liu warned that guy not to provoke you and to look for clues elsewhere. But that old jerk said he won't let you off."