Under the moonlight

Chapter 148 Several People Arrested

"Um, cough cough, it's me. Xu Ao asked us to go to a meeting together." Huang Meng didn't think it was the right time to knock on the door. She had watched Li Shuo enter Jiang Ying's room. So much time had passed, and anyone with eyes could see the ulterior motives between the two of them, but Xu Ao couldn't leave.

"Oh, okay." After a long while, Jiang Ying's hurried voice came from inside, which was very different from her usual self. She would never let herself lose her composure before.

Huang Meng didn't say anything more and went upstairs first. Inside the room, Jiang Ying had already stood up, and she had covered Li Shuo's mouth tightly. She only let go after about a minute.

"Why are you covering my mouth?" Li Shuo asked, puzzled. "Didn't Huang Meng know I was in your room?"

"Don't worry about it, I'll go first, then you can go up," Jiang Ying said hurriedly. She didn't know why she felt like she had done something wrong, as if this wasn't the time for romance, and she couldn't let her guard down.

Seeing Jiang Ying pacing back and forth, seemingly unsure of what to do, Li Shuo sighed softly, pressed her shoulder, looked into her eyes seriously, and said, "What's between us won't affect anyone else, nor will it affect what we're going to do. Don't be anxious, and don't overthink it. Just do what you normally do, understand?"

Jiang Ying looked up at Li Shuo. He was right. She was indeed a little anxious and felt that she shouldn't be talking about these issues at this time. Li Shuo's words slowly calmed her racing heart. She took a few deep breaths and quickly regained her usual energy. "Okay then, let's go to the conference room together in a bit. But when it comes to work, listen to me."

"No problem, I'll do whatever you say." Li Shuo said, gesturing for Jiang Ying to proceed, and looked at her with a smile.

His initial tension subsided, and Jiang Ying smiled and rolled her eyes at him before the two went to the conference room one after the other.

The people in the meeting room didn't seem to react much when they saw them appear together, but they had all seen their interactions over the past few days and were well aware of what was going on.

"Alright, everyone's here. Let's begin today's meeting. Our first step is progressing smoothly and we've made some good progress. These photos are the evidence to convict them. Old Zhang has already sent them back to China, and I believe we'll get a response soon. Now, let's discuss the next step." Xu Ao finished speaking and looked at everyone seriously.

“Judging by the time, several days have already passed. Although the medicine won’t expire, those who need it may not be able to wait. Also, we still don’t know where those Chinese who came here with us are.” As soon as Xu Ao finished speaking, a young man rushed into the conference room and shouted, “Brother, something bad has happened! Several mercenaries are coming this way.”

"What's the panic? If we don't go after them, they'll still come after us. What are we afraid of?" Old Zhang said to the young man.

"No, they're holding a few Chinese citizens hostage right at the entrance," the young man quickly explained, waving his hands.

"What!" Xu Ao frowned, surprised, and quickly followed the young man out of the conference room. Huang Meng and the others also ran out.

They went downstairs without stopping, and just as the young man was about to rush out, Xu Ao quickly grabbed him. "Wait a minute, catch your breath." Xu Ao held the young man's hand and waited at the bottom of the stairs. The others who followed quickly understood Xu Ao's meaning. Such a flustered and anxious appearance was not in line with the demeanor of a great nation. They had to remain calm and composed and not let them see the slightest bit of their panic.

"Let's go!" After pausing for two minutes, Xu Ao also carefully analyzed the situation in his mind. It was very likely that they had only brought a few people. No matter what those mercenaries said, they had to sever ties with the embassy and absolutely could not let this incident affect their next steps.

"Hey, tsk tsk, do you remember me, friend?"

"Hmph, of course, what is it?" Xu Ao looked at the man opposite him and said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

“Since we’re old friends, I’ll get straight to the point. Our men found these people in the quarantine zone. They’re yours, aren’t they?” Saudi gestured behind him, and then several mercenaries escorted a few people over.

Upon seeing them, Xu Ao's brows furrowed even deeper. Who else could they be but those people from the airport?

"What's wrong?" Xu Ao didn't answer his question directly, but instead chuckled and asked in return.

"What's wrong? Young lady, translate this properly for him. The quarantine zone is our territory. We discovered that they were illegally buying and selling medicine in the quarantine zone. Isn't this your fault?" Huang Meng translated the words perfectly and then glared at the group of people with a look of disappointment.

"Oh? Buying and selling drugs? Do you have any evidence?" Xu Ao knew that they wouldn't have brought them here unless they had irrefutable evidence, but he needed to wait, he needed time.

"Haha, evidence? Can't you see it?" Saudi Arabia laughed as he looked at the group of people, then tapped their heads with his finger. Whether they were frightened or knew they were in the wrong, the group of people hadn't uttered a single word.

"Since it's about buying and selling medicine, we can't just arrest people. We need evidence, right?" Xu Ao said with a sneer, looking at Saudi Arabia's arrogant expression.

“I advise you not to waste everyone’s time. If you don’t admit to being from your embassy, ​​then I’ll stay here and find out about them.” Saudi Arabia was clearly losing patience. As soon as he finished speaking, the mercenaries behind him raised their guns and pointed them at the group.

"No, no, help, help me! It's all his fault, it was all his idea, it has nothing to do with me!" Finally, under the threat of death, their small group fell apart, each blaming the other.

Although the mercenaries couldn't understand what they were saying, they were so frightened by the mercenaries' panicked expressions that they almost knelt down and burst into laughter.

Xu Ao and his companions watched the mercenaries' smug and arrogant demeanor, but they were powerless to do anything about it. Finally, after they had finished laughing, Saudi Arabia's expression changed instantly, and he said fiercely, "I don't have time to watch them wet their pants. Tell me, what should we do?" All he wanted was a word from Xu Ao. If he would save their lives, it would prove that this matter was related to the embassy, ​​and they could then act according to their rules.

"They are indeed from country C, but we don't know anything about them. Your people should know as well. We were checked by you at the airport. Although we thought that kind of check was a complete waste of our time, we did it for the sake of peace, didn't we?"

"Haha, peace? You're talking to me about peace? Hmph, we have our principles. As long as you don't interfere in our affairs, we'll be at peace. But..." Saudi Arabia looked at Xu Ao with a forced smile, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

"I'm sorry, we still have things to attend to. If it's inconvenient for you to take them with you, you can leave them at the embassy. However, they are, after all, citizens of Country C. If you execute them without authorization, our country will definitely hold you accountable." Xu Ao spoke calmly and expressionlessly, his eyes carrying a warning and threat.

After listening to Huang Meng's translation, Saudi Arabia turned to look at Xu Ao with the gaze of a ferocious beast staring at its prey. He stared at Xu Ao for a full minute. Just as Huang Meng was anxiously waiting, Lao Zhang suddenly ran over, walked to Xu Ao's side, and whispered, "They replied, telling us to follow our rules. The army has already set off; they're coming from international waters, it should take about three hours."

Hearing Lao Zhang's words, Xu Ao finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, Saudi Arabia on the other side took his behavior as contempt and felt a surge of anger. He grabbed a gun from a mercenary next to him and held it to the man's head: "Do you believe I can send him to meet God right now?" With the sound of a bullet being chambered, the man opened his mouth but could no longer make a sound. If he hadn't been supported by two mercenaries, he wouldn't have been able to stand up at all.

"Save us! It's my fault! I'm the one who let them come out with me! Save us!" The man they had always called their big brother finally spoke. He pleaded with Xu Ao repeatedly. Perhaps he had been clinging to a sliver of hope, but after listening for so long and seeing the gun about to be pressed against his head, he finally became afraid.

"Hmph, now that you can talk, where were you just now? Did you only realize you were scared when you thought it would be your turn next?" Li Shuo looked at the man with obvious disdain.

"Everyone, I know you are all good people, please save us! We... we just want to earn some money to support our families, and we haven't harmed our own people!" The man was now sobbing uncontrollably. Seeing that the man next to him had been held at gunpoint and had already passed out, but the people in front of him were still motionless, he was truly panicked.